Moms Are Awesome

The phrase, “working mother,” is redundant. 

Of course she works, and harder than we men and we her children fully realize! We know our mother’s work hard and we often wonder why they don’t complain more than they do? This answer is obvious too…because they are too busy to have time to complain! We all can learn a lot from this example. Proverbs 31 describes her well when it says, “She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”

Have you ever wondered what it is about your mother’s house that makes you feel like you can fully relax? Let me help you with the answer…it’s your mother! Even the memory of your mother there is comforting and helps you feel at home, helps you relax, and helps you think everything will be okay. In other words, moms are kind of like superheroes. They should be given super hero capes upon leaving the hospital after giving birth to each child.

Quite possibly my favorite quote about moms is this: “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool your mom” (anonymous). Oops, shame on me for trying all those years.

Washington Irving once said of mothers, “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” 

Exercise Your Faith

 
“Without faith it is impossible to please God” the author of Hebrews tells us (11:6), so yes, exercising faith is extremely important.

Some of you have known the Lord for many years, whereas, some of you haven’t been followers of Christ for long. Do you remember when you first trusted Christ as Savior and Lord? I understand it can be hard to remember something that happened a long time ago…but try to remember that day. Do you recall feeling that now everything was going to be okay? Do you remember a feeling of peace, of hope, or of joy?

For those of you who have known Christ for many years now you certainly realize that faithfully following Christ requires a lot of hard work on your part. Maybe you have discovered like me that in order to be healthy, your spiritual life in Christ needs constant attention.

Let me add to this that if you are struggling spiritually, if you find it difficult to put God first and consistently put His Word into practice in your life you are not alone. If you struggle to have the right thoughts you are not alone. If you often can’t help but complain about your life and the people around you then you aren't alone. And, if you are struggling in any of these ways then maybe you are beginning to discover that there is some work that needs to be done. Maybe you too are realizing that your spiritual life needs constant attention. In other words, we need God’s help every day to live up to God’s standards for our lives.

I love the plants and flowers that are in my flower beds and flower pots around the outside of my house. There is something about their beauty that gives me a feeling of peace and reminds me of the presence of God, the Creator of all beauty. But right now, most of my flower beds are in disarray.

Right now plants, trees, and flowers need to be trimmed/pruned and flower beds need to be weeded and cleaned up. The beauty isn't really there right now…there is too much clutter…too many distractions…why is that? Because if there is no gardener, then there is no garden. Since I am the gardener I have to find the time to get in there and do the work that will create the beauty that is desired.

There is no way around the need here. There are no labor-saving devices that will fix my flower beds and there are no labor-saving devices that will grow a garden of spiritual virtue in us as well. Becoming a person who reflects the light and love of God is work of God in us, but don’t miss the reality that it is “work.” Becoming a person who is full of spiritual fruitfulness requires attention and time…mostly time spent with Jesus.
When God saves you He calls you to a life of obedience. Just as a garden will not take care of itself, your spiritual relationship with God will not take care of itself either. If you’re going to be a fruitful Christian then you need to put forth some effort by living in obedience to God’s Word.

Our faith is the means through which we connect with God every single day. Our faith in God is what grants us access to His promises. Our faith in God is what helps sustain us through the trials and tribulations of life. Our faith also makes us a reliable instrument to be used by our great God.

Do you want to be used by God? Do you want to experience the “abundant life” that Jesus offers to His followers? If you say yes, then it’s time to exercise your faith…to put on your gardening gloves, set aside time and get in the Word and listen to the Lord’s instruction for you. The results will be beautiful.
 

Dignity & Respect for All

Everyone says they respect all people, but when it comes down to it is common for us to hold prejudices against others. We hate to admit it…but it is true.

Why are Sunday morning church services still some of the most segregated meetings in America? We divide ourselves along racial lines and socioeconomic lines in every city in America.

Heaven will not be divided this way.

I've always dreamed of church being a little taste of heaven every time we get together. I've always dreamed that a church should look like the community that it serves, thus, if our community is diverse, so should our church houses be. Is that a pipe-dream? I don’t think so. In fact, the churches that fail to dream that dream are the churches that lose influence in a changing community year by year…until they are irrelevant.

The Bible teaches us that all human life is sacred and that the dignity of a person is paramount. That principle is grounded in the biblical truth that each person is made in the image and likeness of God. Furthermore, Jesus spent His earthly ministry teaching His disciples to love the outcasts and to give dignity to the “least of these.” In fact, hanging out with the outcast was one of His primary evangelistic strategies.

Each person on the earth is precious in God’s sight…He loves them…and sent Jesus to die for them so that they may live eternally with Him. We must see this God’s way. We must believe God’s will on this. We must!

Share the Gospel: Heaven—Am I Ready to go There?

How can a person be ready for  heaven? How do I get into the presence of a Holy God? God has already done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Jesus said "...unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:1-8). He explains that the second birth is to be born spiritually. Those born just once will die physically then will die spiritually at the second death (following the Great White Throne judgment—Revelations 20:11-15). Those who are born twice (both physically and spiritually) will die physically, but will live spiritually forever and be given new and transformed bodies (1 Cor. 15:43; 2 Cor. 4:13-18).

How are people born again spiritually? Jesus said: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). By faith we trust in the work Jesus did on the cross to pay for our sins, and through God’s grace we are born again (Eph 2:8-9).

When you commit to follow Jesus as Lord you become righteous (by faith taking on the righteousness of God through Christ—Romans 3:22), by faith, before God. This forgiveness of sins is a gift given by God alone, not based on your good behavior, but based upon the righteousness of Christ—Roman 5:8; 6:23. By accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, we give Him permission to change us into a new creation—2 Cor. 5:17. We grow closer to Him daily as we seek Him and experience His presence. If you choose not to believe, you will be judged on the basis of your sin and will be separated from God forever (the second death). God will not allow sin to live with Him in Heaven.

Devotional--Core Values--Biblical Truth #2

Core Value 1 -- Biblical Truth

I work with a 1^st grader every week as a mentor. My time supports him emotionally, provides a male role model for him, helps motivate him at school, and supports the school’s goal of producing literate and successful students.

Illiteracy is a crippling curse in any circumstance, but biblical illiteracy today is a chronic problem, even within the church…and it is unacceptable.

Why is biblical illiteracy such a big problem? Do I really need to study the Bible?

To truly understand the dilemma you must first get over your own pride. We think we know a lot, but we don’t, and as people who are easily deceived living in a world of counterfeits and lies, knowing biblical truth is of great importance.

Biblical truth contains the Word of God. This truth has come to us from God the Father, through the Son of God, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Due to its trustworthy source it is the complete and final authority for belief and behavior.

Thus, our desire should be more than studying the truth; yes, we should also let the truth study us. These are the very Words of God to us. They are alive and powerful (Heb 4:12). They are life changing (John 14:6-9; 8:32). We need to live lives that are laid bare by the truth of God about our lives. We need our relationship with God to be centered around the Truth (Jesus Christ—John 14:6-9), and the freedom that is only found in Christ. 

Celebrate to Replicate

It doesn't matter if you are leading people forward in their relationship with God or in potty training, what's celebrated is replicated.  If we acknowledge and applaud progress, progress will continue.  If we ignore it, enthusiasm will wane and progress will stop.

Perhaps this is why God designed baptism as a visible and outward expression of an inward reality.  When life change is celebrated within the church it becomes contagious and it inspires people to consider their own lives, often resulting in conversations with God that lead to their own personal change. Don’t you get excited when one of our church members tells their story to you? Don’t you get excited when we have baptisms and the candidate shares their love for the Lord on video? I do!

Therefore, today help me celebrate the great work of our Children’s Ministry. Our Children’s Team are all volunteers and they do amazing work. Last Saturday a great team of Children’s leaders and kids were out at Independence Park serving at the “Paws in the Park” event. Yesterday, our Children’s Team was at the Chic-fil-a meeting hundreds of kids and their parents and providing a fun and adventurous Easter egg hunt. And, today you witness the great work of our Children’s Team as our Kids Choir sings in the Easter Service!

Kuddos to our Children’s workers. Join me in celebrating a great team! If you see one of our Children’s workers this week, pat them on the back and tell them how proud you are of their great work!  

Today, I celebrate with you these great servants of Jesus!