Our new message series at Lord of Life:
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A Different form of Gossip
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:19-20
Yesterday, I read an anonymous letter that I would call a hit and run. It was filled with criticism. No word of encouragement. No word of love.
I have to say that it really didn't bother me at all. I figure that someone who writes an anonymous letter has some issues. The issue is not with me but with them.
This is just a different form of gossip. I have always said that if you can't say something to someones face then it is better not to say it at all.
I don't think Jesus would be in the business of writing anonymous letters. Imagine Jesus writing an anonymous letter to the Pharisees or the money changers in the temple.
Matthew 18 directs us that if a brother sins against us, that we are to go to them and show them their sin. Not hide behind an anonymous letter.
When we can confront each other with the truth in love is when we know that we have grown in maturity of faith. Please don't send me another anonymous letter because I have got the perfect place for them. My garbage can!
I heard a great message this past week. If you were to add up all the words you spoke this week. Positive and Negative. Which side would win out? Or how about all the words you spoke in relation to another person. Positive and Negative. Which side would win out?
God directs us to speak words of encouragement with a song on our heart. To always put the best construction on everything.
Lord, help me to be complimentary and encouraging this week. Amen.
Yesterday, I read an anonymous letter that I would call a hit and run. It was filled with criticism. No word of encouragement. No word of love.
I have to say that it really didn't bother me at all. I figure that someone who writes an anonymous letter has some issues. The issue is not with me but with them.
This is just a different form of gossip. I have always said that if you can't say something to someones face then it is better not to say it at all.
I don't think Jesus would be in the business of writing anonymous letters. Imagine Jesus writing an anonymous letter to the Pharisees or the money changers in the temple.
Matthew 18 directs us that if a brother sins against us, that we are to go to them and show them their sin. Not hide behind an anonymous letter.
When we can confront each other with the truth in love is when we know that we have grown in maturity of faith. Please don't send me another anonymous letter because I have got the perfect place for them. My garbage can!
I heard a great message this past week. If you were to add up all the words you spoke this week. Positive and Negative. Which side would win out? Or how about all the words you spoke in relation to another person. Positive and Negative. Which side would win out?
God directs us to speak words of encouragement with a song on our heart. To always put the best construction on everything.
Lord, help me to be complimentary and encouraging this week. Amen.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
A Crazy Confession
Here is a confession I prepared for Sunday:
Consumer or Consumed?
We confess our corporate sin.
We come consumers of worship, critics, complainers, caught in conflicting conduct. Creating controversies. Condemning, cursing, convicting.
We critique and condemn - the choir is off key! The keyboardist is off cue! The clergy is unkempt. And the congregation is counterfeit.
We come connoisseurs claiming I am the center, I am the content, I am the king. We command concession to our choice, our call, our chair.
We confess this corporate sin.
Consuming counselor kindle a fire! Convert my corruption. Consume my self-centerdness.
Clothe me as a contagious, conquering Christian. Create in me compassion and character.
My Christ was crucified on the cross to clear my considerable sin, cleanse and console my conflicted conscious.
So I will celebrate with the kingdom chorus community congregation crowd! Carry my cross! Continually commit control of my life to Christ to claim the victory! Wear the crown! Dance in his courts! Clap for Christ. Cling to his cross.
Consumer or Consumed?
We confess our corporate sin.
We come consumers of worship, critics, complainers, caught in conflicting conduct. Creating controversies. Condemning, cursing, convicting.
We critique and condemn - the choir is off key! The keyboardist is off cue! The clergy is unkempt. And the congregation is counterfeit.
We come connoisseurs claiming I am the center, I am the content, I am the king. We command concession to our choice, our call, our chair.
We confess this corporate sin.
Consuming counselor kindle a fire! Convert my corruption. Consume my self-centerdness.
Clothe me as a contagious, conquering Christian. Create in me compassion and character.
My Christ was crucified on the cross to clear my considerable sin, cleanse and console my conflicted conscious.
So I will celebrate with the kingdom chorus community congregation crowd! Carry my cross! Continually commit control of my life to Christ to claim the victory! Wear the crown! Dance in his courts! Clap for Christ. Cling to his cross.
God is my hope and salvation
Wow, it has been awhile since I attended to this blog. There is good reason for that. I have just recently returned from a mission trip to Louisiana. There were two parts to this mission trip.
The first part of our mission trip led us to the Louisiana State Prison at Angola. It is a large maximum security prison with more than 5000 inmates on 18,000 acres of land. It was once considered the bloodiest prison in the south. They say it is still the bloodiest prison, but it is now covered with the blood of Jesus. Our mission team took part in a celebration called the Returning Hearts Celebration where more than 700 children were reunited with their inmate fathers.
It was an incredible day that you cannot put words to. If you would like to see some pictures from this event, visit www.awana.org/lifeline . I will warn you now - make sure you have some Kleenex handy.
After leaving Angola we traveled to Chauvin, LA. It was a small town which was part of the Bayou of Louisiana. Our mission here was to help rebuild homes and lives that have been impacted by hurricanes and other difficult circumstances. We partnered with a ministry called Bayou Grace http://www.bayougrace.org/ .
One thing that this trip showed me is that there is a lot of hopelessness in this world. So many people living with a spirit of depression and poverty over them.
But as God's believers, we know our hope is in Jesus. That no matter how bleak the circumstances - God is more than able to overcome those circumstances.
When I returned this past week, I returned to a difficult circumstance. Lord of Life is currently experiencing a budget shortfall of $100,000. That is a lot of money and unless circumstances change we will be faced to make some deep cuts.
This is why Isaiah 49:8 stood out as I read it:
This is what the Lord says: "In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances . . ."
There is a powerful promise here. First, God will answer us. Second, God will help us. And third, God will make us to be a covenant people to bring restoration and healing.
When we go back to the covenant we see that God promises to bless Abraham so that he can be a blessing to others. It would be very easy to be discouraged in this moment. But I know from God's promise that we are experiencing this moment so that we can experience his blessing and then share that blessing with others.
Lord Jesus, thank you for your abundant provision. Thank you for your promise to answer us, help us, and restore us. Help us to walk by faith and not be sight. Lord, to trust in your promises and to shine your light of hope in so many places that are filled with hopelessness. Amen.
One thing that this trip showed me is that there is a lot of hopelessness in this world. So many people living with a spirit of depression and poverty over them.
But as God's believers, we know our hope is in Jesus. That no matter how bleak the circumstances - God is more than able to overcome those circumstances.
When I returned this past week, I returned to a difficult circumstance. Lord of Life is currently experiencing a budget shortfall of $100,000. That is a lot of money and unless circumstances change we will be faced to make some deep cuts.
This is why Isaiah 49:8 stood out as I read it:
This is what the Lord says: "In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances . . ."
There is a powerful promise here. First, God will answer us. Second, God will help us. And third, God will make us to be a covenant people to bring restoration and healing.
When we go back to the covenant we see that God promises to bless Abraham so that he can be a blessing to others. It would be very easy to be discouraged in this moment. But I know from God's promise that we are experiencing this moment so that we can experience his blessing and then share that blessing with others.
Lord Jesus, thank you for your abundant provision. Thank you for your promise to answer us, help us, and restore us. Help us to walk by faith and not be sight. Lord, to trust in your promises and to shine your light of hope in so many places that are filled with hopelessness. Amen.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Give me the words
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Isaiah 6:4
I imagine this was the most humbling experience for Isaiah. He has this direct encounter with the Holy, Holy, Holy God. The first words he cries out are words of insufficiencies and deficiencies. In other words he says, "who am I to stand before you God? Who am I that you should call me to serve you?"
I find it interesting that Isaiah centers in on the deficiencies of his lips and the words he speaks. I recognize I am no different than Isaiah. I don't have the words to do God justice. In fact, there are no human words any of us could use that would put God in the proper perspective.
When I began this blog I shared that I really don't have much to share. I still believe that. Why should anyone listen to me? Why would anyone care to read this blog? I don't normally read other people's blogs. They don't really interest me. On occasion where I have read some blogs, I have seen much opinion and little fact. It is not very edifying to me other than to study the thoughts of the human mind.
This is why we must rely upon God to give us the words - to touch our lips with the burning coal. We must rely upon the Spirit to open the hearts of men - so they are hearing and also understanding, seeing and also perceiving.
Jesus, give me the words to share today. Help me share words of encouragement and hope. words of comfort and joy. Make my words to be your words. Words that are filled with grace and forgiveness. Use me Lord, so that others can see you through me. Amen.
I imagine this was the most humbling experience for Isaiah. He has this direct encounter with the Holy, Holy, Holy God. The first words he cries out are words of insufficiencies and deficiencies. In other words he says, "who am I to stand before you God? Who am I that you should call me to serve you?"
I find it interesting that Isaiah centers in on the deficiencies of his lips and the words he speaks. I recognize I am no different than Isaiah. I don't have the words to do God justice. In fact, there are no human words any of us could use that would put God in the proper perspective.
When I began this blog I shared that I really don't have much to share. I still believe that. Why should anyone listen to me? Why would anyone care to read this blog? I don't normally read other people's blogs. They don't really interest me. On occasion where I have read some blogs, I have seen much opinion and little fact. It is not very edifying to me other than to study the thoughts of the human mind.
This is why we must rely upon God to give us the words - to touch our lips with the burning coal. We must rely upon the Spirit to open the hearts of men - so they are hearing and also understanding, seeing and also perceiving.
Jesus, give me the words to share today. Help me share words of encouragement and hope. words of comfort and joy. Make my words to be your words. Words that are filled with grace and forgiveness. Use me Lord, so that others can see you through me. Amen.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Break the strongholds
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6
This verse is clearly talking about arguments against existence of God and the need for faith. The weapons of the Spirit are able to overcome any of argument or resistence to faith.
The need for Christ is not often recognized through points of intellectual debate, but through the experiences of life.
Jesus did not call us to debate but to love. It is through the love of Jesus that the strongholds of doubt will come tumbling down.
This verse is clearly talking about arguments against existence of God and the need for faith. The weapons of the Spirit are able to overcome any of argument or resistence to faith.
The need for Christ is not often recognized through points of intellectual debate, but through the experiences of life.
Jesus did not call us to debate but to love. It is through the love of Jesus that the strongholds of doubt will come tumbling down.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The Spirit of Poverty
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians (:18
I am reminded that there exists a great spirit of poverty throughout the Church. It is so easy to get focused on everything that we perceive to be lacking.
The spirit of poverty has been weighing me down recently. I look at my to-do list and think to myself, there are just not enough hours in the day. I think of all the various ministries that we have going on at Lord of Life and think there are just not enough people to make them what they could be. I look at our praise team and I see missing instrumentalists replaced by a midi. I see a decline in worship participation. I look at our church's financial situation that is not good. And I think about my own skill, knowledge, and wisdom or lack thereof.
It could lead a person to despair. Satan throws in our face every thing that is missing. And we end up crying out poverty. Look at everything we don't have.
But we end up missing what we do have. "God is able to make all grace abound to you." He promises to give us everything we need to do his work. Our trust is not in our budget, in the number of people serving on a Sunday morning, or in our own ability. Our trust is in God!
I rebuke the spirit of poverty by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). What else do you need?
I dreaded all summer long the prospect of finding new Sunday School teachers for the fall. I was worried that I wouuld not be able to do it. But guess what. Sure you can probably guess! God provided. It wasn't me, but it was all him. God is good.
I imagine I will look back at this past year and ask, why did I ever doubt. God is faithful. God is abundant. It is time to do his work, his way, and trust in his supply.
I am reminded that there exists a great spirit of poverty throughout the Church. It is so easy to get focused on everything that we perceive to be lacking.
The spirit of poverty has been weighing me down recently. I look at my to-do list and think to myself, there are just not enough hours in the day. I think of all the various ministries that we have going on at Lord of Life and think there are just not enough people to make them what they could be. I look at our praise team and I see missing instrumentalists replaced by a midi. I see a decline in worship participation. I look at our church's financial situation that is not good. And I think about my own skill, knowledge, and wisdom or lack thereof.
It could lead a person to despair. Satan throws in our face every thing that is missing. And we end up crying out poverty. Look at everything we don't have.
But we end up missing what we do have. "God is able to make all grace abound to you." He promises to give us everything we need to do his work. Our trust is not in our budget, in the number of people serving on a Sunday morning, or in our own ability. Our trust is in God!
I rebuke the spirit of poverty by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). What else do you need?
I dreaded all summer long the prospect of finding new Sunday School teachers for the fall. I was worried that I wouuld not be able to do it. But guess what. Sure you can probably guess! God provided. It wasn't me, but it was all him. God is good.
I imagine I will look back at this past year and ask, why did I ever doubt. God is faithful. God is abundant. It is time to do his work, his way, and trust in his supply.
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