Take the "I Am Third" Challenge...
This last week at Grace, I spoke on the Prodigal Son Parable and mentioned three ways to keep from having a Me First attitude. The first step is to make God First not Me First. That means putting God first in your life in your time, priorities, resources & money, serving and in your relationships and marriage. The second step is to put Others Second. That means to serve other people in ways that God has positioned you to serve. For instance, you have already developed relationships/friendships with neighbors, co-workers, friends, relatives and organizations to which you belong. This is God positioning you to serve! Find ways to serve these existing relationships in a unique way. It might be something as simple as baking cookies for a neighbor. We often do these things when people have had an emergency in their family, but what if we made it just a way of life? Or visiting with someone, or inviting a co-worker over for coffee, or stepping outside the normal comfort zones to serve somebody. God will tell you what to do if you ask. As Nike says, "Just do it!" The third step is Self Last. The Bible says that whoever humbles himself will be exalted. It also says that we are to empty ourselves as Christ emptied HImself. That means instead of acting like the second member of the Trinity and co-Creator of the UNIVERSE, He took the form of a servant and served. Wow! Imagine, if we didn't make ourselves important or take ourselves so seriously and just served God and others. This is the "I Am Third" challenge....In the picture to the left is my wonderful prayer partner, Margie Forguson. Margie passed away at the age of 94 this Spring. From the time she was 86, she drove 35 miles ONE WAY to church much to the horror of her children and grandchildren. She passed forty churches along the way to come to our church in downtown Dayton. When her family and friends asked her why she drove such a long way when another Methodist church was literally around the corner from her, she said, "I have a job to do." Her job? Every Sunday morning, she came to my office and prayed for me. Every morning, she rose at 6 AM to pray for me. That's the spirit of the "I Am Third" challenge! To put God first, serve others second and put self last! What a powerful effect this has in a person's life and in the life of others. In the picture above is also Cheryl. Margie was one of the first to welcome Cheryl into the church. They had a special relationship as Cheryl would come to visit her often and bring her pizza. This had a ripple effect for a city that had been torn apart by racial division. Margie set an example for other people her age and younger to welcome ALL people into God's House! You never know what God will do when you take the "I Am Third" Challenge!!!
Grace, Grace, Grace
Ephesians 2:8: "But God saved you by His grace...."
Justice is getting what we deserve.
We all like the idea of justice, don't we? Particularly when it involves other people. Our movies, tv shows and investigative news reports often deal with the cold hand of justice being handed down on someone or something that has committed a wrong. But we aren't so keen on justice being done to us.
Paul in the second chapter of Ephesians says that we all deserved justice. Justice is what we should have received for our sins. Now, I know what we are thinking: I'm a pretty good person. I've done this and that right. I don't kick my dog. I'm mostly kind to people. But Paul in Romans also said that we "all have sinned" and "fallen short of the glory of God." So, it doesn't matter how big or little we perceive our sins to be, we all have messed up and blown it. When we break part of God's laws, we break all of God's laws. So, here's where mercy comes in. When we realize we're sinners, we beg for mercy.
Mercy is not getting what I deserve.
We ask God to forgive us and not give us what we know we deserve. I know I did. I begged for mercy. But the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ: God gave us grace.
Grace is getting what we don't deserve.
Grace is a cease and desist order on the judgment for our sin. Grace is forgiveness; a wiping of the slate clean. Grace is another chance; a second, third, fourth and fifth chance. Grace is a new life. Grace, Grace, Grace. When we come to God, we receive His grace. We don't get what we deserve; we get what we don't deserve. And Jesus made it possible.
Some points of examination are:
1. Do I follow or serve God out of a strict set of rules or trying to earn my salvation/way to Heaven or do I serve Him because I know He loves me and offers me grace?
2. How does my worship, prayers, life and attitude reflect God's grace in my life?
3. In what areas of my life do I need to fully embrace God's grace?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You made a way when it was impossible to please God with our works or lives. You made a way through Your death on the Cross. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, for your grace. May my life be transformed by it forever. Amen.
Justice is getting what we deserve.
We all like the idea of justice, don't we? Particularly when it involves other people. Our movies, tv shows and investigative news reports often deal with the cold hand of justice being handed down on someone or something that has committed a wrong. But we aren't so keen on justice being done to us.
Paul in the second chapter of Ephesians says that we all deserved justice. Justice is what we should have received for our sins. Now, I know what we are thinking: I'm a pretty good person. I've done this and that right. I don't kick my dog. I'm mostly kind to people. But Paul in Romans also said that we "all have sinned" and "fallen short of the glory of God." So, it doesn't matter how big or little we perceive our sins to be, we all have messed up and blown it. When we break part of God's laws, we break all of God's laws. So, here's where mercy comes in. When we realize we're sinners, we beg for mercy.
Mercy is not getting what I deserve.
We ask God to forgive us and not give us what we know we deserve. I know I did. I begged for mercy. But the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ: God gave us grace.
Grace is getting what we don't deserve.
Grace is a cease and desist order on the judgment for our sin. Grace is forgiveness; a wiping of the slate clean. Grace is another chance; a second, third, fourth and fifth chance. Grace is a new life. Grace, Grace, Grace. When we come to God, we receive His grace. We don't get what we deserve; we get what we don't deserve. And Jesus made it possible.
Some points of examination are:
1. Do I follow or serve God out of a strict set of rules or trying to earn my salvation/way to Heaven or do I serve Him because I know He loves me and offers me grace?
2. How does my worship, prayers, life and attitude reflect God's grace in my life?
3. In what areas of my life do I need to fully embrace God's grace?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You made a way when it was impossible to please God with our works or lives. You made a way through Your death on the Cross. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, for your grace. May my life be transformed by it forever. Amen.
Life-Giving....
Deuteronomy 30:9-20
"9 “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors. 10 The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.The Choice of Life or Death 11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand, and it is not beyond your reach. 12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ 13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ 14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. 15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
When I think of how to understand the tone of the Bible, I like to think of it as a good, loving friend telling us how to avoid rush hour traffic around Dallas-Fort Worth so that we can get safely and without much consternation to our next destination. Our friend isn't saying avoid 4:30 like the plague because he is mad at us, wants to hurt us or wants to boss us around. The friend is saying that because he cares about our safety and wants to make sure that we make it to the next stop. Avoid the instruction and we end up stuck in traffic, unable to change lanes, missing our exits, hot-hot-hot, prone to over-heating cars, and worse, an accident. It's not that our friend is causing these bad things to happen. He just understands the road better than we do. He knows what's up ahead so he is warning us now. A good friend does that for his friends. So does a good God.
Jesus told his disciples that he no longer calls them servants because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing; Jesus calls them his friends. Did you fully realize that you are a friend of Jesus? A friend of God? He calls you "friends." So, when the writer of Deuteronomy gives the instructions above that God gave him, it is done out of love. Count the number of times God (through the writer) says, "a long, good life in the land" (or similar). God want us to live a long, good life in the land with our descendants multiplying and our influence growing so that all people of the world will experience the blessing of the Lord.
The Bible is LIFE-GIVING because God is LIFE-GIVING.
Some points of personal examination here are:
1. Do you see the words of the Bible as life-giving or as just a rule book?
2. In the Deuteronomy passage, it says choose life or death. In your choices and relationships with people which one are choosing?
3. What life-giving thing can you do to help someone today?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are my friend and I am yours. Draw me closer to you to understand your heart. Transform me on the inside through the power of your Word so that I might live a good, long life in the land and be a blessing to myself, my family and to those that you put in my path. Amen.
"9 “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors. 10 The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.The Choice of Life or Death 11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand, and it is not beyond your reach. 12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ 13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ 14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. 15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
When I think of how to understand the tone of the Bible, I like to think of it as a good, loving friend telling us how to avoid rush hour traffic around Dallas-Fort Worth so that we can get safely and without much consternation to our next destination. Our friend isn't saying avoid 4:30 like the plague because he is mad at us, wants to hurt us or wants to boss us around. The friend is saying that because he cares about our safety and wants to make sure that we make it to the next stop. Avoid the instruction and we end up stuck in traffic, unable to change lanes, missing our exits, hot-hot-hot, prone to over-heating cars, and worse, an accident. It's not that our friend is causing these bad things to happen. He just understands the road better than we do. He knows what's up ahead so he is warning us now. A good friend does that for his friends. So does a good God.
Jesus told his disciples that he no longer calls them servants because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing; Jesus calls them his friends. Did you fully realize that you are a friend of Jesus? A friend of God? He calls you "friends." So, when the writer of Deuteronomy gives the instructions above that God gave him, it is done out of love. Count the number of times God (through the writer) says, "a long, good life in the land" (or similar). God want us to live a long, good life in the land with our descendants multiplying and our influence growing so that all people of the world will experience the blessing of the Lord.
The Bible is LIFE-GIVING because God is LIFE-GIVING.
Some points of personal examination here are:
1. Do you see the words of the Bible as life-giving or as just a rule book?
2. In the Deuteronomy passage, it says choose life or death. In your choices and relationships with people which one are choosing?
3. What life-giving thing can you do to help someone today?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are my friend and I am yours. Draw me closer to you to understand your heart. Transform me on the inside through the power of your Word so that I might live a good, long life in the land and be a blessing to myself, my family and to those that you put in my path. Amen.
Body & Soul
Matthew 25:31-45
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious
throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he
will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are
blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of
the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink.
I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me
clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited
me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help
the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’"
John 3:7
"....You must be born again."
Two scriptures. Two scriptures that have caused a chasm within Christianity. What's more important: the personal gospel of salvation or the social gospel of loving your neighbor? This has been debated for generations with more conservative Christians siding with the personal gospel and more moderate/liberal Christians siding with the social gospel. But I believe both are necessary. A social gospel without a personal gospel is like a body without a soul. A personal gospel without a social gospel is like a soul without a body. One is a corpse; the other one is a ghost. Both are necessary for a whole gospel. Jesus stressed you must be born again, but He made it equally important that if you say you love God and don't love your neighbor through works, then your faith is not worth much.
How someone becomes born again is different for everyone. Some have the moment of decision; an epiphany where you bow and ask Christ into your heart. Some have a gradual mental and emotional assent to the ways of Christ. Others have been raised in the church and confirm their faith as taught to them. All are equally valid paths to God. How someone expresses love for neighbor is different for everyone as well. For some, it is a prison ministry. For others, it is visiting the sick. For some more, it is feeding people who are hungry. All are valid paths to loving your neighbor.
A holistic faith requires a whole gospel. We are to be concerned about the condition of someone's physical/emotional/mental circumstances as much as their soul. The book of James says (Phil's paraphrase): Really? What good is it if you say 'God bless' and I need gas for my car? Really, seriously, you call that faith? And what good is it if you give me gas for my car and ignore my soul?
Some places of personal examination here are:
1. Do you see the gospel of Jesus Christ as more personal or social?
2. What expressions of love are you actively involved in to help people around you?
3. What is your "born again" experience? Are you a gradual, confirmation or moment of decision or a hybrid?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are both body and soul; mind and heart; faith and actions. Lead me to be that as well. Show me where I can love others today and the days to come. Empower me with Your Spirit to minister to soul and body. Amen.
Links for Other Devotionals:
God Calling - A great daily quick devotional
http://www.twolisteners.org/God%20Calling%20TOC.htm
Bible.com - Read through the Bible in one year
http://bible.com/index.php
My Utmost for His Highest - A classic devotional
http://utmost.org/
The Daily Office - For those who like liturgy
http://www.dailyoffice.org/
The Upper Room - A wonderful Methodist daily devotional
http://upperroom.org/devotional/
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious
throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he
will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are
blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of
the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink.
I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me
clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited
me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help
the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’"
John 3:7
"....You must be born again."
Two scriptures. Two scriptures that have caused a chasm within Christianity. What's more important: the personal gospel of salvation or the social gospel of loving your neighbor? This has been debated for generations with more conservative Christians siding with the personal gospel and more moderate/liberal Christians siding with the social gospel. But I believe both are necessary. A social gospel without a personal gospel is like a body without a soul. A personal gospel without a social gospel is like a soul without a body. One is a corpse; the other one is a ghost. Both are necessary for a whole gospel. Jesus stressed you must be born again, but He made it equally important that if you say you love God and don't love your neighbor through works, then your faith is not worth much.
How someone becomes born again is different for everyone. Some have the moment of decision; an epiphany where you bow and ask Christ into your heart. Some have a gradual mental and emotional assent to the ways of Christ. Others have been raised in the church and confirm their faith as taught to them. All are equally valid paths to God. How someone expresses love for neighbor is different for everyone as well. For some, it is a prison ministry. For others, it is visiting the sick. For some more, it is feeding people who are hungry. All are valid paths to loving your neighbor.
A holistic faith requires a whole gospel. We are to be concerned about the condition of someone's physical/emotional/mental circumstances as much as their soul. The book of James says (Phil's paraphrase): Really? What good is it if you say 'God bless' and I need gas for my car? Really, seriously, you call that faith? And what good is it if you give me gas for my car and ignore my soul?
Some places of personal examination here are:
1. Do you see the gospel of Jesus Christ as more personal or social?
2. What expressions of love are you actively involved in to help people around you?
3. What is your "born again" experience? Are you a gradual, confirmation or moment of decision or a hybrid?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are both body and soul; mind and heart; faith and actions. Lead me to be that as well. Show me where I can love others today and the days to come. Empower me with Your Spirit to minister to soul and body. Amen.
Links for Other Devotionals:
God Calling - A great daily quick devotional
http://www.twolisteners.org/God%20Calling%20TOC.htm
Bible.com - Read through the Bible in one year
http://bible.com/index.php
My Utmost for His Highest - A classic devotional
http://utmost.org/
The Daily Office - For those who like liturgy
http://www.dailyoffice.org/
The Upper Room - A wonderful Methodist daily devotional
http://upperroom.org/devotional/
