Happy New Year! Yes, Happy New Year. It is the beginning of a new church year. Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. All things are new. That is especially true as we serve our loving God who is full of forgiveness. With him, not only is every Sunday a new start, but every day.
We have a big Sunday coming up at Lord of Life. We have an Every Member Breakfast where Lord of Life members can come and meet their elders and learn about the upcoming Every Member Visit in 2008. WYLL (http://www.wyll.com/) will be here to feature us as their church of the month. The Northern Illinois District (http://www.ni.lcms.org/) will be here as our mission of the month. We begin a new message series called "Return of the King." It is going to be a great weekend!
Another thing to happen this Sunday is every person in attendance this weekend will have the opportunity to receive a mp3 CD Bible. Best of all it will be free! Keep in mind that this CD will not play in most regular CD players. You will need a computer or a special mp3 capable CD player. Of course you can always transfer the mp3's to a mp3 player or iPod. It is another great opportunity to be in the Word.
This got me thinking about how we can reflect on God's Word in diverse ways. One person might reflect upon the Word by seeking to memorize it and write it upon their hearts. Another person might reflect upon the Word by blogging about what they have read and heard and experienced. Still another person might seek to capture the heart of the Word through music and song. And yet another way to reflect could be through art (check out http://www.wordsofgreatreward.com/).
God's Word will capture your heart and imagination if you allow it to. Our youth did a great job with this last week with the video they made (www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN8NaPuoqR4).
Seek to creatively express what God speaks to you through the Word and you will not only discover blessing yourself, you will bless others as well. Don't keep the Word to yourself. Live it, share it, express it!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Postive Energy: Postive Hospitality (Message from November 25)
A special thanks to Brian Zielke and our Lord of Life Youth (Greg Albers, Kyle Straughn, Danny Banovz, Anna Summinski, and Chelsee Gatchel) who made the video for the day's message. Great job!
The Lord put something upon my heart this past week I want to share with you: There are many hurting people in this world, in our community, and in our church
I want you to look to the person to your right. Now look to the person to your left. I want you to realize that they have hurt in their life.
No matter how together they may seem to be – they are facing struggles in their life at this very moment.
You may not be able to see it on the outside by just looking at them. But some of them need a friend. Some need encouragement. Others need someone to show them kindness.
We need to get past the surface here and we need to go deeper with each other. We need to see others as God sees them. How is that you ask?
It says in 1 Samuel 16:7 "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
Peeling off the layers, God so often sees something very different in others, that we don’t see, because we don’t get past the surface.
That hurtful person, you know the one who belittles you, the one that is constantly critical of everything you do, the reality is that they are hurting on the inside. That person that seems to have everything on the outside (they got the good looks, when they enter a room all attention is drawn to them, they seemingly have the world at their finger tips) they are really empty on the inside.
In Matthew 9:10 Jesus is having dinner with Matthew and his friends. Matthew was a tax collector. Tax collectors were not looked upon very pleasantly by the Jews. Tax collectors were seen to be corrupted in more ways that one.
The Pharisees in verse 11 ask Jesus disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
But Jesus response in verse 12, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
So while the Pharisees saw one thing, Jesus saw quite the other. The Pharisees saw the tax collectors and sinners, as people beyond hope, as people who had wronged cheated them, cheated them, hurt them. They could use a lot of four letter words for these people.
Jesus saw these as people just like you and me who needed hope, healing, and forgiveness.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our world, that all we see is how this other person offended us, how they took advantage of us, how they cheated us. The reality is that what we perceive as an attack against us, when we see it from God’s perspective it is really more often than not a cry for help.
If you brought your Bibles I want to invite you to follow along with me as we look at Matthew 25 starting in verse 31.
Next week we begin a new message series called “Return of the King.” Jesus is coming. Matthew 25 describes that coming. Here it says:
NIV Matthew 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
We don’t know when he will return, but we know that Jesus return is certain. And Revelation 1:3 indicates that the time is near. We need to be ready!
When he will come in his full glory and majesty which is so eloquently described in Revelation 1.
Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will
mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and
who is to come, the Almighty.”
When Jesus came on the first Christmas, there was only a handful of people who knew about it. And I doubt hardly anyone recognized the full significance of the event at the time. There wasn’t much fanfare accompanying the birth of Jesus. A few shepherds, Mary and Joseph, some of the townspeople.
But when Jesus returns again, it will be much more triumphful. There will be no mistaking that it is indeed him who is coming. Everyone will know that it is Jesus. Even those denied him, doubted him, or even defamed him.
The person who says there is no God. The person who says there is a God, but lives as if there no God. The person who persecutes the followers of the true God. In the moment that Jesus returns, every eye will see, and more than that every eye will recognize that it is Jesus the King, the Lord of Life, the righteous judge.
When he comes he will judge the peoples of the earth. It says he will separate them, the sheep from the goats. Not only will Jesus return as king, he will also return as judge, as a God of justice. He will make right what is wrong. He will make a declaration between the righteous and the unrighteous and set them towards the destinations prepared for them.
The hearers in Jesus day would have been very familiar with this custom of separating the sheep from the goats. It was a common practice of shepherds, especially on cold nights. With their thick wool sheep could better resist the cool evenings, so the shepherds would separate out the goats so that they could provide adequate warmth for them.
In a similar way, Jesus will separate and divide the people of the earth. It may not be as easy as it seems.
In Matthew 7:7 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven . . .”
Just because we come to church and sing “Lord I lift your name on high” does not mean that we will be separated with the sheep to enter the kingdom of heaven.
When we stand at the judgment it is not going to matter if we own a Bible. It is not going to matter if we give our tithe to your local church. It is not going to matter if you forward do good emails about keeping “under God” in the pledge of allegiance, “in God we Trust” on our money, and prayer in our schools. There are many that carry the name Christian today, do Christian things, that when the judgment comes, Jesus will say, “I never knew you.”
That might sound scary, but listen to this:
Matthew 25:34 “the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
An inheritance is not given to a worker, but to a relation. It is given to a son, to a daughter, to a child.
When Jesus comes to judge, he is not going judge us based upon our religion, what we did to be a Christian. He will judge us upon the relationship we share with the Father through him.
So verse 35 continues with the evidence of that relationship. Works is the resulting consequence of a relationship of faith.
I am not here today to tell you how to live, for you to follow my teaching, but first and foremost to tell you what Jesus has done for you. About how he loves you so much. That there is nothing he would not do for you. He loves you more than anyone else has ever loved you. His love is not self serving, but self-giving, sacrificial.
He doesn’t care about your past, where you came from, what you look like. He doesn’t care about what you can do for him, only what he can do for you.
He wants to know you, and to be known by you.
When you know what Jesus has done for you, when you experience what Jesus has done for you, when you taste what Jesus has done for you – the rest will just follow.
The gospel is not instruction about how to live. The gospel is what Jesus has done for us. We can turn to a lot of different places for advice on how to live. Jesus doesn’t give us advice to live, but gives us a reason to live, to love, to share, to help, to serve.
There is no looking back when you know Jesus. You will never be the same.
So Jesus says, “NIV Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Jesus is describing here, people who know him, people who love him. It is the evidence of the relationship we share with Jesus. Because when we know in an intimate way, we will seek to live as Jesus lived and to be like Jesus to others.
Jesus is not describing here the means of salvation, do these things to be saved, but the result/consequences of salvation.
For one who has received the gift of salvation, when they see that other person in hurt, they will not to see them as a bother, but to see them as the next best thing to having Jesus actually present.
For the one who has received the gift of salvation, when they see the other person in need, they will not see it as a burden, but as an opportunity, a privilege to do for someone else what Jesus has done for them.
The way we interact with others is the evidence of what is truly inside us. James the brother of Jesus writes in the book of James 2:18 “Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
That is what Jesus is getting at here. I am not saved because of what I do for others. But rather I do what I do for others because I am saved.
It comes naturally. Notice that those who are saved ask, “When did we do these things.” Just another thing to point out, it is not about what we do. It is about what Jesus has done.
So what does this mean? Our place this morning is first to know Jesus. To learn of him. His hurt upon the cross. What he went through. The pain of the Father for loving you his child.
It is simply for us to linger in his presence. To listen for his voice and the compassion, the mercy, the acceptance, and the forgiveness he offers to you this morning.
To hear it in the words that are sung, are read, and preached. To taste in the meal offered for forgiveness. And to experience it through the hugs, the smiles, the handshakes, and the greeting of his people. This is a place where God lives and dwells.
As we experience him more and more, we will grow to be more and more like him.
I have a prayer for Lord of Life. My prayer is that we will not be a friendly church. In my travels, I have come to discover that being described as a friendly church is one of the worst descriptions that someone can give of their church. The reason for this is that usually what they mean is that the people of the church are very friendly with themselves. But for the newcomer, they will find themselves outside the holy huddle of friends.
So my prayer for God’s church in this place is that we would be a welcoming church. I pray that when someone walks in the door for the first time that they recognize this is no ordinary place. This is a place where God lives and dwells, where he walks and talks through the words and actions of his people.
My prayer is that we would take to heart the words of Jesus: "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." (Matthew 18:5) I pray that we would be accused as Jesus was accused that we welcome and eat with sinners (see Luke 15:2).
I pray that a person, no matter what their background, no matter what they look like . . . they would know that this is a place where they are cared for and loved.
That we would perceive every person here today as someone who needs a loving touch. That they are looking for healing. That they are looking for something worth trusting in. That they are looking for a friend. That they are looking for to get past the dead end they have found themselves in.
How do we do this? Let me suggest some things real quick.
One is to walk slowly. Too often we are going through life fast and busy. We are so wrapped up in our everyday affairs that we miss seeing the hurt and the need.
Sometimes we can get so busy with the business of the Church that we miss out on the work of the Church. Just look around and observe.
Closely tied to that is be open to the holy interruption. Don’t be so consumed by your work, that you skip out on God’s work. You never know how the work of God might just interrupt your day.
Hospitality is found in the small stuff. It is in remembering someone’s name. It is in sharing with them a cup of coffee. It is in writing a thank you note. Making a phone call. Sometimes it is the most insignificant stuff that is so significant.
Don’t assume a person is content. What if you could look into their heart? Treat every person, no matter how gruff or rude they might be on the exterior as if they were hurting on the inside.
Get to know someone new. I would encourage you to greet two people this morning you do not know. Learn who they are. Where they are from. What brought them here. What they enjoy doing.
If we know others as Jesus knows us, there is only one response we will have. It is to feed them, give them drink, visit them, clothe them, love them, serve them, minister to them.
So what’s the point of this message? Let’s get to know Jesus! Let’s get to know him in worship and through his Word. But let’s also get to know Jesus through working to serve his people in need.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving (Weekly Email - 11/21/07)
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am so thankful for you. I am thankful that we share together in the Lord's blessings and that he has brought us together as a church.
Perhaps you have read this, or perhaps not. As such I would like to share with you the presidential declaration made by Abraham Lincoln that inaugurated Thanksgiving as a national holiday:
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
Thank you Jesus for everything you have done for me. May I give you the gratitude you deserve. Amen.
Perhaps you have read this, or perhaps not. As such I would like to share with you the presidential declaration made by Abraham Lincoln that inaugurated Thanksgiving as a national holiday:
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the field of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.
In testimony wherof I have herunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
[Signed]
A. Lincoln
Thank you Jesus for everything you have done for me. May I give you the gratitude you deserve. Amen.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Living Positively (Message from Nov. 18)
We all struggle with living positively, whether it be maintaining a positive outlook, filling our lives with positive influences, or looking at our relationships in a positive way.
The negative will kill you! There is a reason the negative sign is a flat line. It will cause you to flat line. The negative will just suck the life right out of you.
So today we are going to talk about living positively. We have no other choice! No other way! Either we live positive or we die. We may not die physically, but if we hold on to the negative we will die mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
As I prepared for this message, I was trying to think of one of the most negative parts of the Scripture. I did not have much trouble doing so.
We are going to start at the beginning of Exodus. Israelites, had been enslaved in Egypt for many, many years. They had been treated very harshly.
Exodus 1:13-14: (The Egyptians) worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor . . .
Exodus 2:23 The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
Let’s just say it was not a very pleasant time. We might say a negative experience. But there is hope, it goes on to say:
Exodus 2:24-25 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Out of that concern for them he sends them a deliverer Moses. Through Moses and many miracles it says, Exodus 13:13 with a mighty hand the Lord brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Israelites were delivered from their slavery. They were given freedom. They find themselves in the desert. Certainly life is not easy in the desert. But it is not a life of slavery and harsh labor. God provides them food. It was called manna. It wasn’t anything fancy. But it was food to eat.
We pick up the story in Numbers 11. Here in spite of the freedom God had given them, the food God had provided them, the Israelites spin a serious negative vibe.
So Numbers 11 and we will pick up in verse 4:
The rabble . . .
I love the name – “The rabble” Right away you can tell this is not the most positive group.
They began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna.
They bring out the first form of negativity on our outline and that is discontentment.
They complain. “How good we had it back in Egypt. Those were the good old days!”
The problem was that the good old days that they remembered were not so good. They forgot about their slavery and their harsh labor. The way they were treated ruthlessly and how they groaned under their oppression.
Anyone here like candy corn? I am not a big fan, but it one of those things that I start snacking on, and I can’t stop. This week coming up is Thanksgiving. We have probably all heard about the story of the pilgrims.
I was reading something interesting this past week, that the ration of food that they had for the winter was five kernels of corn a day! That is one, two, three, four, five kernels. One kernel for breakfast. Two whole kernels for lunch. And two whole kernels for dinner! Five kernels of corn.
What I found interesting was that after they survived the first winter, that they would place 5 kernels of corn beside their dinner plates. The 5 kernels of corn served as a reminder to them of the many blessings they have been given.
Five kernels of corn is not much, but it is something. Most of us can point to blessings that far surpass five kernels of corn. We have so much and yet we complain. We are discontent.
Discontentment sometimes comes in the form of jealousy. God why can’t I have a house or a car like that person? Why can’t I have the recognition and the success that they do? Why can’t I be as influential as him? Why can’t I be as smart, or artistic, or as athletic?
Discontentment says to God the cross is not enough. There is something more that I need.
I have been reading through the book of Daniel recently in my devotion time. One of the stories that struck me was the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. If you know the story, King Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden statue and orders that everyone should bow down and worship its likeness. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship this image. They declare that they will only worship one true God. You can imagine this does not make King Nebuchadnezzar too happy. He orders that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be thrown into the fiery finance.
The response of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is one of true contentment, as the result of faith, in a difficult circumstance. They say:“O Nebuchadnezzar we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16
What an amazing display of contentment. They put their future into the hands of God. And the story goes on that they are indeed saved. They are thrown into the furnace, but the fire has no power over them.
Is the cross enough or do you need more?
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
This is a hard verse. And I want you to ask yourself this morning if you really believe what it says here. Because there is a hard truth in this verse.
It is that all things work for the good of those who love him? It says not just some things, but all things work for our good and for his glory. This includes tragedies, this includes disappointments, this includes everything we don’t understand.
If you are thrown into a fiery furnace, do you believe God will use that for your good and his glory? If you loose your job, your home, your spouse, your child, do you believe God will use that for your good and for his glory? If you are diagnosed with cancer, do you believe that God will use that for his good and his glory? Whatever it might be, if God’s blessings do not match your expectations, do you believe that he will use it for your good and his glory?
Beyond discontentment, another form of negativity is judgmentalism. In chapter 12 the negative vibe continues.
Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.
In our minds, one of the easiest ways to cover up our shortcomings is to point out the shortcomings of others. Why is it that when someone gives us a jab, we give them a jab right back. It is because we find ourselves exposed and we are falsely led to believe that if we expose someone else, then the attention will be drawn to them.
The best way to overcome this negative vibe is to really put ourselves into perspective. To see ourselves for what we really are.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
It is the big “H” word. It is humility. Notice in Romans 12:3 what Paul starts with. He starts with the grace that God gives him. When we recognize just how much grace God has extended to us, we are better able to extend his grace to others.
Pray for others! Do you have negative feeling towards someone else? I need to ask you if you have prayed for that person? I am not talking about praying that they get what is coming to them! Pray for their welfare, for their well-being, for their salvation, and for reconciliation.
I had an anonymous email sometime ago. Someone asked me to pray for them and a difficult marital relationship. I replied that I would pray for them and their husband. I soon received a reply back asking me not to pray for the husband involved in this situation.
There is this passage in James that says, “wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy . . . that is a big one. We don’t like to be merciful, but vengeful . . . so be full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Yet, a third form of negativity is pessimism. Pessimism is discovered in chapter 13.
The very next chapter, the Israelites, send 12 spies to scout out the promise land. When these spies return, Caleb give the first report. It is filled with positive energy. He says, We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.
But! The big but! The men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
The Word, can’t does not exist in the vocabulary of child of God. Jesus said it, “With God all things are possible!”
There is no doubt about it. Yet too often we add the word but. No! With God all things are possible. Say it with me – With God all things are possible.
One thing I have learned about negative pessimism is that the negative side of things is typically exaggerated. The mountains and walls are seen as insurmountable against a limited power of God. But it is really the reverse. The power of God far surpasses the size of any obstacle that stands in our way.
Lord of Life’s financial situation is one obstacle that seems enormous at this moment. But we serve a God that is much, much bigger!
Jeremiah 17:7 says: Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
This is some positive stuff. And it all starts with God.
The moment we loose our focus, the moment we begin to look at ourselves and away from God is the moment we go negative. I can’t do it. We can’t do it.
Well of course we can’t do it, but God can! With God all things are possible.
And it is with that confidence, I want to invite you to be ministered to this morning. Part of the reason that we felt led to do this message series, there seems to persist a negative spirit.
This morning, maybe you feel that you cannot overcome the negative spirit that is in your heart. Maybe you are feeling discontent this morning. Maybe the grass seems greener on the other side of the fence. You are not content where God has placed you. You want to be at a different place in life, even though you may not know where that place is.
Still others of you, maybe you have a relationship where you are experiencing bitterness. Someone is not treating you the way you think you deserve to be treated, or that someone is not doing what you think they should be doing. Maybe you are continually talking down to or about another person or people. You greatly desire to be a voice of encouragement, but more often than not you are spouting discouragement.
Or you have an obstacle before you that seems impossible to overcome. You feel like you have walked down a dead end. You have lost hope.
This morning if a negative spirit is weighing heavy upon you. It is sucking the life right out of you, you are dying a slow death, but you don’t know where to turn, you don’t know what to do.
But I will assure you of this. God does. Not only does he know the answer. Not only does he provide the answer. He is the answer.
If you feel the weight of negativity, whatever that form of negativity is, and you want a word spoken to that negativity, I want to invite you to come forward, to be prayed for and to receive a word from the Lord.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Weekly Email (11/13/07) - Long term accomplishment
Have you been feeling a little down recently? Getting some serious negative vibes? Feel like the life has been sucked right out of you? Need a little positive energy? This Sunday we will be talking about positively living as we overcome discontentment, judgmentalism, and pessimism. If you know someone who might benefit from this positive message, make sure to invite them to join you in worship!
Have you ever bitten off more than you could chew? Have you ever made a commitment that was bigger than you could handle? Pastor and author John Maxwell says that most people over estimate what they can accomplish in the short term, but underestimate what they can accomplish in the long term.
In other words we often aim too high in short term. We have grand visions of what we will accomplish on a given day, a week, or a month. More often than not, these visions of grandeur are far from reality. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we often aim too low in the long term. We don't dream big enough for what we can accomplish in the next year, the next 5 years, or next 10 years.
Growing in God's Word is no different. Let's face it. The Bible is a thick book. It has small print. It is not always easy to understand. You are not going to master it in a short amount of time. It takes consistency and regularity over the long haul.
It is nice to have a goal to read the sum of God's Word over the course of a year. Yet for some of you, that may be shooting too high in the short term. You might consider reading through just the New Testament over the course of the year. Then the following year consider jumping into the Old Testament. Reading the sum of God's Word might be goal to aim for over the course of the next two or even three years.
It is not important how much we read as much as it is important that we are consistently reading, studying, praying, and meditating on the Word. If we are consistently in God's Word on a daily basis, even if it just a little bit, we will be amazed how much of Scripture we will cover over the course of time.
Take your time. Don't rush. Take time to read, reflect, study, and pray. Seek understanding and application. In the God's Word you will find great wisdom!
Psalm 119:97-104
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
Have you ever bitten off more than you could chew? Have you ever made a commitment that was bigger than you could handle? Pastor and author John Maxwell says that most people over estimate what they can accomplish in the short term, but underestimate what they can accomplish in the long term.
In other words we often aim too high in short term. We have grand visions of what we will accomplish on a given day, a week, or a month. More often than not, these visions of grandeur are far from reality. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we often aim too low in the long term. We don't dream big enough for what we can accomplish in the next year, the next 5 years, or next 10 years.
Growing in God's Word is no different. Let's face it. The Bible is a thick book. It has small print. It is not always easy to understand. You are not going to master it in a short amount of time. It takes consistency and regularity over the long haul.
It is nice to have a goal to read the sum of God's Word over the course of a year. Yet for some of you, that may be shooting too high in the short term. You might consider reading through just the New Testament over the course of the year. Then the following year consider jumping into the Old Testament. Reading the sum of God's Word might be goal to aim for over the course of the next two or even three years.
It is not important how much we read as much as it is important that we are consistently reading, studying, praying, and meditating on the Word. If we are consistently in God's Word on a daily basis, even if it just a little bit, we will be amazed how much of Scripture we will cover over the course of time.
Take your time. Don't rush. Take time to read, reflect, study, and pray. Seek understanding and application. In the God's Word you will find great wisdom!
Psalm 119:97-104
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Loving God's Commands
Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments. Psalm 112:1
We are blessed when we put our trust in God above all else. We are blessed when our delight is found in God's commandments.
As believers we are called to obedience. We often raise up the importance of obedience. But as I read this verse there was something that I really had not thought of before. We are to love obedience. Obedience is to be our delight, our desire, and our joy.
When I think about my obedience, I have trouble saying that obedience is always my delight. There are many times in my life where obedience does not seem so delightful and more like a burden.
Certainly obedience is not always pleasant. It is often difficult. But we can take delight knowing that obedience is really the only way to go. Disobedience may be pleasant for a time, but it will only be a short time.
For the one who delights in the commandments of the Lord . . . He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. he has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. (112:7-9)
We are blessed when we put our trust in God above all else. We are blessed when our delight is found in God's commandments.
As believers we are called to obedience. We often raise up the importance of obedience. But as I read this verse there was something that I really had not thought of before. We are to love obedience. Obedience is to be our delight, our desire, and our joy.
When I think about my obedience, I have trouble saying that obedience is always my delight. There are many times in my life where obedience does not seem so delightful and more like a burden.
Certainly obedience is not always pleasant. It is often difficult. But we can take delight knowing that obedience is really the only way to go. Disobedience may be pleasant for a time, but it will only be a short time.
For the one who delights in the commandments of the Lord . . . He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. he has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. (112:7-9)
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Weekly Email (11/06/07) - Practical Application
I was greatly encouraged this past Sunday. It was great to have Bill and Marilyn Berg (Curt’s parents) here with us to share about the work of Love & Action, our mission of the month. It was great to see the time of fellowship between services in the Cup of Life Café. There were so many people and all the cookies were gone before 11am worship.
But what encouraged me the most was the feedback that I received from Sunday’s message. What encouraged me so much was what you shared with me about what you were able to take away from Sunday’s message. So many of you shared with me specific and practical ways in which you were going to be more conscious about working together with others.
If you missed Sunday’s message you can listen to it online at Lord of Life’s website http://www.lolchurch.net/ or you can read it on my blog at http://pastorpr.blogspot.com/2007/11/sundays-message-110407.html. The cookie video is also posted on the blog.
Hearing your comments got me thinking about a very important aspect of reading God’s Word. It is taking away practical application.
A few months back I was speaking with a Lord of Life member about reading God’s Word. They shared with me that they were in the Word every day. But they were not getting much out of their reading. They would walk away from their reading forgetting most of what they read.
So the question is how do we get more out of our reading? We should never read the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible. Reading the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible is a pointless exercise. When we read, we ought to look for practical application. Look for nuggets of truth to uncover to take with us into our day. It was one of the reasons I began writing a blog. It provided me an opportunity to write out some practical applications of the Word that I was reading on a daily basis.
When you read God’s Word, ask yourself these questions: 1) what is this Scripture about? 2) What does it teach me about God? 3) What does it teach me about life? 4) Is there a command for me to follow? 5) Is there an example for me to follow? 6) Is there a warning given? 7) Is there an error to avoid? 8) How does this apply to my life and how can I practically put it into practice.
Be specific here. If the passage is about love, don’t write that your practical application is to be more loving. Write a specific way that you are going to be more loving such as giving three compliments to you child today before you go to bed.
You might consider writing down a passage that you believe to be important. Try to memorize it and carry it with you into the day. Look for ways to live out the passage. You might read 1 Peter 4:7 which says, “Be clear minded and self-controlled so you can pray.” When you start to get upset about something that happens to you in the middle of the day, remember that verse, and talk to the Lord about what is making you so frustrated.
Some other great material on this subject comes from one of Pastor Barry’s messages in October. It was called “Get a Grip on Your Bible.” You can read it on his blog at http://docvmp.blogspot.com/2007/10/get-grip-on-your-bible.html .
Groups Page:
If you have not yet discovered it, there is a groups page for this mailing list. You can visit it at: http://groups.google.com/group/pastorpr . On this page you can see previous emails, download the One Year Bible Reading Plan, and find some other resources. I will be adding more to this page as we go along.
Have a great week.
In Jesus,
Phil Ressler
But what encouraged me the most was the feedback that I received from Sunday’s message. What encouraged me so much was what you shared with me about what you were able to take away from Sunday’s message. So many of you shared with me specific and practical ways in which you were going to be more conscious about working together with others.
If you missed Sunday’s message you can listen to it online at Lord of Life’s website http://www.lolchurch.net/ or you can read it on my blog at http://pastorpr.blogspot.com/2007/11/sundays-message-110407.html. The cookie video is also posted on the blog.
Hearing your comments got me thinking about a very important aspect of reading God’s Word. It is taking away practical application.
A few months back I was speaking with a Lord of Life member about reading God’s Word. They shared with me that they were in the Word every day. But they were not getting much out of their reading. They would walk away from their reading forgetting most of what they read.
So the question is how do we get more out of our reading? We should never read the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible. Reading the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible is a pointless exercise. When we read, we ought to look for practical application. Look for nuggets of truth to uncover to take with us into our day. It was one of the reasons I began writing a blog. It provided me an opportunity to write out some practical applications of the Word that I was reading on a daily basis.
When you read God’s Word, ask yourself these questions: 1) what is this Scripture about? 2) What does it teach me about God? 3) What does it teach me about life? 4) Is there a command for me to follow? 5) Is there an example for me to follow? 6) Is there a warning given? 7) Is there an error to avoid? 8) How does this apply to my life and how can I practically put it into practice.
Be specific here. If the passage is about love, don’t write that your practical application is to be more loving. Write a specific way that you are going to be more loving such as giving three compliments to you child today before you go to bed.
You might consider writing down a passage that you believe to be important. Try to memorize it and carry it with you into the day. Look for ways to live out the passage. You might read 1 Peter 4:7 which says, “Be clear minded and self-controlled so you can pray.” When you start to get upset about something that happens to you in the middle of the day, remember that verse, and talk to the Lord about what is making you so frustrated.
Some other great material on this subject comes from one of Pastor Barry’s messages in October. It was called “Get a Grip on Your Bible.” You can read it on his blog at http://docvmp.blogspot.com/2007/10/get-grip-on-your-bible.html .
Groups Page:
If you have not yet discovered it, there is a groups page for this mailing list. You can visit it at: http://groups.google.com/group/pastorpr . On this page you can see previous emails, download the One Year Bible Reading Plan, and find some other resources. I will be adding more to this page as we go along.
Have a great week.
In Jesus,
Phil Ressler
Monday, November 5, 2007
A Higher Calling: Working Together
www.jesus.me
A Higher Calling
Today’s message is about sharing our work. It is about working together which is a higher calling than working alone.
It is a principle grounded in Scripture. We start in Genesis. God made Adam.
Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man (Adam) and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
God created Adam to work. Work is not a dirty word. Through the “Work” God gives us, we find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. We were created to work.
As we read a little further in Genesis, we also recognize God did not create Adam to work alone, but to share the work God gave him.
Genesis 2:18: “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”
God knew there is great value in working together and sharing work. It is shown in the very nature of God, the Holy Trinity. The Father does the work of creation. The Son does the work of salvation. The Holy Spirit does the work of converting hearts. Together they share the work as one God in three persons.
The values of sharing work:
First, our work is multiplied
We can do so much more together than we could ever do individually. The work of two will double the work of one. The work of four will double the work of two.
You listen to an athlete being interviewed and they are asked about the effort that they will give for the game. They reply is usually along the lines of giving 110%.
The problem is that they cannot give 110%. It is impossible. We can only give 100% of ourselves and nothing more. We our not infinite beings, but finite beings. We have a limit, which is 100%.
You can only do so much. When you try to do too much you find yourself in a world of hurt. Overstretched, overburdened, burned out. This is a prime reason God calls us to share the work.
As 1 Corinthians 3:9 proclaims: “we are God's fellow workers . . .” We are more than just God’s workers, but fellow workers.
As believers one of our most important jobs is to reproduce ourselves. When we reproduce ourselves our 100% becomes 200%. Our 200% become 400% and so on. We end up being able to give much more than 110%.
I want to give you just one practical way that this works out. It is the loose change that you find in your pocket. It does not seem like very much. I put $.75 in the offering plate for the mission of the month. You can’t do much these days for $.75. You can’t even buy something off the dollar menu at McDonalds.
But when we combine our $.75 with another persons $.75 it begins to add up. Our $.75 is multiplied into $500/month. The $500 is multiplied into $6000/year that goes towards missions and the work of God’s people.
When we share our work, we multiply our work. Multiplication is the reason we partner with Love & Action, HELPS, and other ministries. To be able reach more people, than we could reach on our own. Working together expands the scope of our impact. There is just some things we cannot do alone as a local church – but when we join with other believers in other places – the possibilities are endless.
Second, we will have someone to pick up where we leave off.
You will only do what you do for so long. Whatever your calling, your work, your ministry – there will come the day when you will no longer do that work - whether it be retirement, death, or you just move on to a different type of work.
By raising others up, when you leave, there will be others to pick up where you left off. Others will be there to do the work that you are no longer able to do.
If you are involved in a ministry, whatever that ministry is, invite others to participate with you, to serve with you. Ask yourself this question. If you died today – would there be someone able to step up and fill the gap that you have left void?
Sure it was great that Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt. But what would have happened if he had not raised up Joshua to lead the people into the promise land.
Sure it was great that Jesus died on the cross the salvation of the world, but what would have happened if he had not raised up his disciples to take his message of hope to the ends of the earth after he ascended to heaven.
Sure it was great that the Apostle Paul started churches throughout Roman Empire, but what if he had not raised up pastors like Timothy and Titus to lead these churches after he left.
“Never do ministry on your own.” I want you right now just to think about the particular work that you do. The ministry here at Lord of Life that you contribute to. Now ask yourself this question. Do I do my ministry alone?
If the answer to that question is yes – then ask yourself who can I bring along? Who could help me in my ministry, that I could share the work with? Whether we are a pastor, a tech team member, an usher our goal should be to work ourselves out of a job. To reproduce ourselves.
To do this we invite and bring others alongside of us to serve with us? When was the last time you invited someone to serve with you?
Third, working together develops relationships.
Many of us are task oriented. We have our to-do lists, the things we need to get done. We work to efficiently and effectively accomplish our tasks to the best of our ability. Our focus is getting the job done and we do that fairly well.
But when we get so focused on the task, we miss the big picture. God has given us a higher calling. God is not as concerned about our tasks as much as he is about our relationship with him and with others.
On Friday, I spent part of the day, with my daughter Abby, working and serving together. I would like to share with you a little bit of this experience.
By making the cookies on my own, I would be able to do it faster, more efficiently, and there would certainly be less of a mess. I could have made it real easy and have gone to the store and bought a couple of dozen.
But this is the key. It really is not about baking the chocolate chip cookies is it? It is about spending time and building that relationship with my daughter. It is about instilling in her the value of service and ministry.
Ministry is never about the task is ever about the task, it is always about the person. It is always about the relationship.
Parents – I want to emphasize the importance of teaching your children the value of work and service. Find ways that are appropriate for you to serve with them. Whether it is through Feed my Starving Children, a Lord of Life event at Marklund, baking cookies for IYC - look to share experiences of service together.
I once heard someone sarcastically say, “Ministry would be great if it wasn’t for all the people.” I recognized this as a sarcastic comment, but sometimes it is easy to feel this way in our heart.
There are many of us who are not good at working with other people. We get frustrated. They do not do the job the way we would do it or in the way we like it.
My wife can probably attest to this. This last summer we painted our basement. I probably was not the best person to work with. I wanted it done my way. And when it was not done my way I would grow irritated and get short with her.
The problem was that I made it about the task and not the relationship. 100% of the time, the relationship is the most important thing. When we loose site of that, we loose our ability to work alongside of other people.
We need to continually be reminded, it is not about the task, but the relationship.
Fourth, we find encouragement and help.
Working together offers a place of encouragement, refreshment, and hope. Working together replaces loneliness and despair.
Psalm 133: How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! . . . For there the Lord bestows his blessing even life forevermore.
When we have someone serve with us, we have someone to encourage us and to pick us up. To pray with and for us.
You don’t need to do it alone. To often we are left out all alone. We feel isolated in our work.
The result is we often feel overwhelmed in our work. We feel as if the weight of the world is upon our shoulders.
How many of you can relate to this: You sometimes feel as if you don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done. You feel scattered and spread so thin. You have an endless to-do list that seems to get larger rather than smaller. You feel pressure from our employer. You feel pressure from our family. You feel pressure from our church. Pulled in so many directions, you are not really devoted to any one thing.
Stress! Burn out!
But know this: You don’t need to do alone. At the very least, God wants to be a part of your work.
Many of us, we don’t think much about God until Sunday, and then we wonder: “God, where have You been? I’ve had such a crummy week. Work has been so difficult”
Then Sunday is over, God is out of our life for another six days. We complain about our work to God, but we fail to make God a part of our work. How do we make God more a part of our work and share our work with him:
1 Thessalonians 5:16 says to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
What always grabs me about this verse is the idea of praying continually. I don’t think this means that we bow our heads, close our eyes, fold our hands, and formally pray. I perceive this to be more of an ongoing conversation with God.
Talk with God about how much you love him. At the start of the day just simply welcome his presence. Thank him for the day ahead. As you brush you teeth, thank him for those teeth. Thank him for the school you attend or the job you have to go to. When your boss yells at you, thank God that you have a pay check. Say grace over your meal. On a cold day, you breath the cold air into your lungs, thank him that you have air to breath. Sometimes just slow down and look around, remember it’s all there (everything you see) because of God.
Another part of sharing our work with God, is asking him about your work. Is he a part of the decisions you make in regards to your work. Do you listen to what he has to say about your work? Are you doing work that he can approve of and be involved in? Ask yourself, “is my work within the boundary of what God desires for me.
Maybe the employment requires you to work long hours that keeps you away from your family, beyond your family it keeps you from serving through your local church. You need to ask yourself if you have stepped outside of the bounds of the work God has appointed you for and the type of work God will bless. Are you are engaged in work, that God will not be a part of?
Another way – if we want God to be more a part of our Work – we need to treasure his Word. Colossians 3:16 “Let the Word dwell in you richly.”
This means that God’s Word is something that is deep in our heart and at the tip of our tongue. It is about memorizing his word and carrying it with us. In our heart, in our head, and in our mouth.
Consider posting God’s Word in places you regularly see. If you are on the computer often, post a Bible verse on your monitor to help you focus. Maybe your work has you driving in the car. Post a verse on your dash board. Put God’s Word where you can see it and be reminded of God’s presence in your work.
Finally, just know this. God is always present with us. Psalm 46 – God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of trouble. When you are struggling in your work, it is not because God is not there, but that you have not recognized or welcomed his presence and his help.
So we come to the close of this message series. Worship, Word, and Work. WWW. We come to this point that we recognize the importance of how these three work together. It is like a three legged stool. A stool cannot stand with just one leg. Or even two legs. It needs three legs to be balanced.
As Christians we need to ask ourselves, are we standing on three legs. Is our walk of faith balanced? Are we consistent and weekly in our worship? Are we daily growing the in the Word? Do we have a way in which we are working to serve the kingdom of God, through our time treasure, and talent?
A Higher Calling
Today’s message is about sharing our work. It is about working together which is a higher calling than working alone.
It is a principle grounded in Scripture. We start in Genesis. God made Adam.
Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man (Adam) and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
God created Adam to work. Work is not a dirty word. Through the “Work” God gives us, we find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. We were created to work.
As we read a little further in Genesis, we also recognize God did not create Adam to work alone, but to share the work God gave him.
Genesis 2:18: “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”
God knew there is great value in working together and sharing work. It is shown in the very nature of God, the Holy Trinity. The Father does the work of creation. The Son does the work of salvation. The Holy Spirit does the work of converting hearts. Together they share the work as one God in three persons.
The values of sharing work:
First, our work is multiplied
We can do so much more together than we could ever do individually. The work of two will double the work of one. The work of four will double the work of two.
You listen to an athlete being interviewed and they are asked about the effort that they will give for the game. They reply is usually along the lines of giving 110%.
The problem is that they cannot give 110%. It is impossible. We can only give 100% of ourselves and nothing more. We our not infinite beings, but finite beings. We have a limit, which is 100%.
You can only do so much. When you try to do too much you find yourself in a world of hurt. Overstretched, overburdened, burned out. This is a prime reason God calls us to share the work.
As 1 Corinthians 3:9 proclaims: “we are God's fellow workers . . .” We are more than just God’s workers, but fellow workers.
As believers one of our most important jobs is to reproduce ourselves. When we reproduce ourselves our 100% becomes 200%. Our 200% become 400% and so on. We end up being able to give much more than 110%.
I want to give you just one practical way that this works out. It is the loose change that you find in your pocket. It does not seem like very much. I put $.75 in the offering plate for the mission of the month. You can’t do much these days for $.75. You can’t even buy something off the dollar menu at McDonalds.
But when we combine our $.75 with another persons $.75 it begins to add up. Our $.75 is multiplied into $500/month. The $500 is multiplied into $6000/year that goes towards missions and the work of God’s people.
When we share our work, we multiply our work. Multiplication is the reason we partner with Love & Action, HELPS, and other ministries. To be able reach more people, than we could reach on our own. Working together expands the scope of our impact. There is just some things we cannot do alone as a local church – but when we join with other believers in other places – the possibilities are endless.
Second, we will have someone to pick up where we leave off.
You will only do what you do for so long. Whatever your calling, your work, your ministry – there will come the day when you will no longer do that work - whether it be retirement, death, or you just move on to a different type of work.
By raising others up, when you leave, there will be others to pick up where you left off. Others will be there to do the work that you are no longer able to do.
If you are involved in a ministry, whatever that ministry is, invite others to participate with you, to serve with you. Ask yourself this question. If you died today – would there be someone able to step up and fill the gap that you have left void?
Sure it was great that Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt. But what would have happened if he had not raised up Joshua to lead the people into the promise land.
Sure it was great that Jesus died on the cross the salvation of the world, but what would have happened if he had not raised up his disciples to take his message of hope to the ends of the earth after he ascended to heaven.
Sure it was great that the Apostle Paul started churches throughout Roman Empire, but what if he had not raised up pastors like Timothy and Titus to lead these churches after he left.
“Never do ministry on your own.” I want you right now just to think about the particular work that you do. The ministry here at Lord of Life that you contribute to. Now ask yourself this question. Do I do my ministry alone?
If the answer to that question is yes – then ask yourself who can I bring along? Who could help me in my ministry, that I could share the work with? Whether we are a pastor, a tech team member, an usher our goal should be to work ourselves out of a job. To reproduce ourselves.
To do this we invite and bring others alongside of us to serve with us? When was the last time you invited someone to serve with you?
Third, working together develops relationships.
Many of us are task oriented. We have our to-do lists, the things we need to get done. We work to efficiently and effectively accomplish our tasks to the best of our ability. Our focus is getting the job done and we do that fairly well.
But when we get so focused on the task, we miss the big picture. God has given us a higher calling. God is not as concerned about our tasks as much as he is about our relationship with him and with others.
On Friday, I spent part of the day, with my daughter Abby, working and serving together. I would like to share with you a little bit of this experience.
By making the cookies on my own, I would be able to do it faster, more efficiently, and there would certainly be less of a mess. I could have made it real easy and have gone to the store and bought a couple of dozen.
But this is the key. It really is not about baking the chocolate chip cookies is it? It is about spending time and building that relationship with my daughter. It is about instilling in her the value of service and ministry.
Ministry is never about the task is ever about the task, it is always about the person. It is always about the relationship.
Parents – I want to emphasize the importance of teaching your children the value of work and service. Find ways that are appropriate for you to serve with them. Whether it is through Feed my Starving Children, a Lord of Life event at Marklund, baking cookies for IYC - look to share experiences of service together.
I once heard someone sarcastically say, “Ministry would be great if it wasn’t for all the people.” I recognized this as a sarcastic comment, but sometimes it is easy to feel this way in our heart.
There are many of us who are not good at working with other people. We get frustrated. They do not do the job the way we would do it or in the way we like it.
My wife can probably attest to this. This last summer we painted our basement. I probably was not the best person to work with. I wanted it done my way. And when it was not done my way I would grow irritated and get short with her.
The problem was that I made it about the task and not the relationship. 100% of the time, the relationship is the most important thing. When we loose site of that, we loose our ability to work alongside of other people.
We need to continually be reminded, it is not about the task, but the relationship.
Fourth, we find encouragement and help.
Working together offers a place of encouragement, refreshment, and hope. Working together replaces loneliness and despair.
Psalm 133: How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! . . . For there the Lord bestows his blessing even life forevermore.
When we have someone serve with us, we have someone to encourage us and to pick us up. To pray with and for us.
You don’t need to do it alone. To often we are left out all alone. We feel isolated in our work.
The result is we often feel overwhelmed in our work. We feel as if the weight of the world is upon our shoulders.
How many of you can relate to this: You sometimes feel as if you don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done. You feel scattered and spread so thin. You have an endless to-do list that seems to get larger rather than smaller. You feel pressure from our employer. You feel pressure from our family. You feel pressure from our church. Pulled in so many directions, you are not really devoted to any one thing.
Stress! Burn out!
But know this: You don’t need to do alone. At the very least, God wants to be a part of your work.
Many of us, we don’t think much about God until Sunday, and then we wonder: “God, where have You been? I’ve had such a crummy week. Work has been so difficult”
Then Sunday is over, God is out of our life for another six days. We complain about our work to God, but we fail to make God a part of our work. How do we make God more a part of our work and share our work with him:
1 Thessalonians 5:16 says to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
What always grabs me about this verse is the idea of praying continually. I don’t think this means that we bow our heads, close our eyes, fold our hands, and formally pray. I perceive this to be more of an ongoing conversation with God.
Talk with God about how much you love him. At the start of the day just simply welcome his presence. Thank him for the day ahead. As you brush you teeth, thank him for those teeth. Thank him for the school you attend or the job you have to go to. When your boss yells at you, thank God that you have a pay check. Say grace over your meal. On a cold day, you breath the cold air into your lungs, thank him that you have air to breath. Sometimes just slow down and look around, remember it’s all there (everything you see) because of God.
Another part of sharing our work with God, is asking him about your work. Is he a part of the decisions you make in regards to your work. Do you listen to what he has to say about your work? Are you doing work that he can approve of and be involved in? Ask yourself, “is my work within the boundary of what God desires for me.
Maybe the employment requires you to work long hours that keeps you away from your family, beyond your family it keeps you from serving through your local church. You need to ask yourself if you have stepped outside of the bounds of the work God has appointed you for and the type of work God will bless. Are you are engaged in work, that God will not be a part of?
Another way – if we want God to be more a part of our Work – we need to treasure his Word. Colossians 3:16 “Let the Word dwell in you richly.”
This means that God’s Word is something that is deep in our heart and at the tip of our tongue. It is about memorizing his word and carrying it with us. In our heart, in our head, and in our mouth.
Consider posting God’s Word in places you regularly see. If you are on the computer often, post a Bible verse on your monitor to help you focus. Maybe your work has you driving in the car. Post a verse on your dash board. Put God’s Word where you can see it and be reminded of God’s presence in your work.
Finally, just know this. God is always present with us. Psalm 46 – God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of trouble. When you are struggling in your work, it is not because God is not there, but that you have not recognized or welcomed his presence and his help.
So we come to the close of this message series. Worship, Word, and Work. WWW. We come to this point that we recognize the importance of how these three work together. It is like a three legged stool. A stool cannot stand with just one leg. Or even two legs. It needs three legs to be balanced.
As Christians we need to ask ourselves, are we standing on three legs. Is our walk of faith balanced? Are we consistent and weekly in our worship? Are we daily growing the in the Word? Do we have a way in which we are working to serve the kingdom of God, through our time treasure, and talent?
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Working Together
Tomorrow morning we conclude our message series about worship, word, and work. I will be preaching about the importance of working together and sharing our work with others.
Here is a example of how I worked together with my daughter to make cookies to serve during our time of fellowship on Sunday morning at Lord of Life.
Here is a example of how I worked together with my daughter to make cookies to serve during our time of fellowship on Sunday morning at Lord of Life.
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