THE IRREPRESSIBLE THEME OF JOY

“Be full of joy in the Lord always. I will say again, be full of joy. Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon.”  (Philippians 4:4-5 NCV)

To a large extent, joy flows from a certain kind of thinking. Cognitive psychologists remind us that always between the events that happen to us and our responses to them lie our beliefs or interpretations of those events. This thought helps us to understand the irrepressible theme of joy in the New Testament. The New Testament writers were engaged not so much in some form of positive thinking as in what might be called "eschatological thinking." That is, they viewed all events in light of the Resurrection and the ultimate triumph of the risen Christ.

-- John Ortberg in “The Life You've Always Wanted”

#5848

WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”  (Romans 12:6-7 NIV)

Many years ago in Nuremberg, Germany, two young lads, Albrecht Durer and Franz Kingstein, trained and toiled to become artists.  Both showed promise and each dreamed of becoming famous.

As time passed, it became obvious that Albrecht's skills were those of a genius.  But Franz was not gifted and would never be more than an art lover.  Each had undertaken a rendering of the passion of Christ.  When Franz viewed Albrecht's lovely etching, he lifted his hands in an act of despair.

"Albrecht, it's hopeless.  I can never become an artist," he cried.  "You will be famous; I never will be."

Albrecht responded quickly, "Hold your hands just as they are.  Don't move them.  You, too, shall be famous."  Then the gifted artist grabbed his brush and painted the hands that have become famous as "The Praying Hands."

Not all of us have the same talents, gifts and opportunities.  But we all have something that can strengthen, bless or enrich others' lives.  We can use our resources to give them a productive future. 

-- Dr. Norm Wakefield & Jody Brolsma in “Men Are from Israel, Women Are from Moab”

#5847

REMAINING CONNECTED TO THE VINE

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing…If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." John 15:5,7

Jesus told His disciples that if they want to be fruitful, if they want to live according to His purpose for them, if they want to live victorious lives, they must stay connected to Him. Their connection to Jesus would determine their destiny. Their connection to Jesus would determine whether or not their prayers were answered.

Jesus likened their relationship to that of a living plant. He is the vine, the main source of water and nutrients, while the disciples are the branches that depend upon the vine for survival. As the branches must remain connected to the vine in order to grow and multiply, so too, must the disciples remain connected to Jesus for the same reasons. Jesus makes it very clear what will happen should they become separated from Him. Apart from Him, the vine, they will not be able to do anything. 

-- Ronda Sturgill

#5846

THE BOOKS BABIES READ

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”  (Proverbs 22:6 NIV)

I venture that the books babies read before they are enrolled in school are probably the most important books that will ever come into their lives. I am speaking of those things which children read in the lives of the people around them. The book of human conduct: there is no other quite like it. The print is large, the lessons are both clear and subtle, the illustrations command attention. Long before a child knows the alphabet, it has begun formulating profound and perhaps lifelong attitudes about God, character, love and human values. The infant may not be able to verbalize those ideas until years later... in fact, some ideas will always be a little beyond verbalization; perhaps that's why we sometimes say, "I really don't know why I feel the way I do" but the ideas are there. A baby has read them in the most persuasive of all books, the conduct of those around her. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “Honey in the Lion” from a sermon called "Books That Babies Can Read"

#5845

THE BLAME GAME

“The Lord God said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”  (Genesis 3:11-13 ESV)

All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your guilt, your unhappiness, or your frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty about something by blaming him, but you won't succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy.

-- Adapted from Wayne Dyer 

#5844

BREAKING OUR PRIDE

“To honor the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil ways and false words.”  (Proverbs 8:13 GNT)

Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “There is perhaps no one of the natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it. Struggle with it. Stifle it. Mortify it as much as one pleases. It is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself... Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”

Unchanging God, Your power and presence change us. Break our pride and transform our lives. Help us become messengers of Your grace and truth. For Christ's glory we pray, Amen. 

#5843

GOD GIVES HUMILITY

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  (Philippians 2:5-8 ESV)

The chief mark of a Christian is humility.  But we are not saints, we confess to ourselves, and don't expect to be.  God is holy, but we are not.  Christ is humble.  We are far from it.  We admire the ideal.  But we consider reaching it unattainable.  Our conduct lags behind our creed.  We go around with a cloud of hopelessness hanging overhead.

But don't you see, as long as we think of humility as an ideal, beautiful but unattainable, that we will never even try for it?  Don't you see that even with all our theology about Christ saving us, if we flinch under every humiliation, and fail to see God's hand upon us, we will never be what we can be?  The first mark of a Christian is humility.  It is not easy to reach.  It was not easy for Jesus.  Don't think it was!  He prayed and struggled.  He was tempted like us.

"God …. gives humility," says Thomas Kelly.  "Growth in humility is a measure of our growth in the habit of the Godward-directed mind.  And he only is near to God who is exceedingly humble … There is a humility that is in God Himself.  Be ye humble as God is humble." (Thomas Kelly, “A Statement of Devotion”)  God gives humility to us. 

-- H.S. Vigeveno in “Jesus the Revolutionary”

#5842

THY KINGDOM COME

We’re often content to ask for less. We enter the throne room of God with a satchel full of requests – promotions desired, pay raises wanted, transmission repairs needed, and tuition due. We’d typically say our prayers as casually as we’d order a burger at the drive-through: “I’ll have one solved problem and two blessings, cut the hassles, please.”

But such complacency seems inappropriate in the chapel of worship. Here we are before the King of kings. The pay raise is still needed and the promotion is still desired, but is that where we start?

Jesus tells how to begin. “When you pray, pray like this. ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.’”  (Matthew 6:9-10)

When you say, “Thy kingdom come,” you are inviting the Messiah Himself to walk into your world. “Come, my King! Make Your throne in our land. Be present in my heart. Be present in my office. Come into my marriage. Be Lord of my family, my fears, and my doubts.” This is no feeble request; it’s a bold appeal for God to occupy every corner of your life.

Who are you to ask for such a thing? Who are you to ask God to take control of your world? You are His child for heaven’s sake! And so you ask boldly. “So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive His mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) 

-- Max Lucado in “Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God”

#5841

INTENTIONAL ABOUT THE WAY WE LIVE

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”  (Titus 3:4-5 NRSV)

Following Christ comes naturally to no one. As Christians, we are all on a journey under the guidance of the Holy Spirit who is forming and molding us to look increasingly like our Savior. That said, it can be easy for us to slip back into behaviors that do not represent Christ, which is why we must be intentional about the way we live…

Good works are necessary for the Christian life -- not to achieve our salvation, but to display it to the world. Our behaviors reveal what we truly believe, but we often discount the influence of our environment upon the ways in which we live.

There are many things contending for priority in our hearts -- culture, relationships, career, money, and so on -- and when we devote ourselves to anything other than Christ, we will live in ways that discredit the good news He desires for all to embrace.

We all have blind spots, which is why we need deep relationships within the body of Christ… Take the courageous step of asking whether or not your behavior reflects what you claim to believe. Doing so might require you to make some changes about the way you live, but they will lead you to a deeper intimacy with Christ, which is worth even the greatest of sacrifices. 

-- Excerpted from the study guide to “The Book of Titus” by Chip Ingram

#5840

DEVELOPING A NEW PERSPECTIVE - Part 2 of 2

“A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”  (Proverbs 19:11 NIV) 

Notice the word wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view, getting God’s perspective on a situation. From that perspective I gain three important insights. 1) I am only human; I am not God. Of course, God knows that, but He wants me to acknowledge it also. I am not perfect, and I am not in control. In fact, most of the things I face in life I cannot control. 2) No one else is perfect either, so I should not be surprised or overly upset when people make mistakes or let me down. 3) God is in control, and He can use the situations, the irritations, and the problems that come into my life to accomplish His purposes for me.

-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”

#5839

DEVELOPING A NEW PERSPECTIVE - Part 1 of 2

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV)

Patience begins by changing the way you view something. When I am impatient, I have a limited perspective. All I see is myself: my needs, my desires, my goals, my wants, my schedule, and how people are messing up my life. The root of impatience is selfishness. So I need to get a new perspective on life from other people’s point of view.

Would you like to know the secret of success? If you want to be a successful husband or wife, learn to see life from your partner’s point of view. If you want to be a successful parent, learn to see life from your child’s point of view. If you want to be a successful business person, learn to see life from your customers’ point of view. If you want to be a successful employer, learn to see life from your employee’s point of view. Look at the situation from the other’s point of view and discover why that person feels as he or she does. I don’t know of anything that has greater potential for reducing conflict in your life. 

-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”

#5838

OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”  (John 8:12 NIV)

One day, a young minister who had not been at his new church very long decided it was the darkest, most cheerless church he had ever seen. Even on a sunny day it was more of shadows than of sunshine. And when it was cloudy or night had fallen it was downright dismal. Therefore, at the next officers' meeting he requested that they vote to buy a large chandelier to be hung high and proper in the sanctuary. He was left speechless by their reply. "Can't do it. First of all, we can't afford it. Second, no one can spell it. Third, we wouldn't know where to put it. And fourth, what we really need in the sanctuary is some more light."

Well, first of all…when it comes to the light of Christ, we can certainly afford it because it is given to us free. Secondly, salvation is easy to spell. Third, we know where to put it… at the very center of our souls. And fourth, we really do need more light in a world dedicated too often to darkness… because yes, darkness is dismal…and who but a fool would choose that over light? 

-- Rev. V. Neil Wyrick in a sermon titled "Out of Tune, Out of Sync -- What to Do?" 

#5837

HIGHLY REGARDED HUMILITY

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."  (Philippians 2:3)

The person who serves selflessly, lovingly, without complaint, and without seeking recognition is highly regarded in the Kingdom of God. 

-- Henry Blackaby

#5836

COMMITTED TO DAILY DISCIPLINE

“Then Jesus said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’”  (Luke 9:23 NKJV)

Making the conscious effort to do something intentional and beneficial with a relationship is always our opportunity, irrespective of how we feel… And that includes committing ourselves to the discipline of daily time and attention regarding our relationship with God. What better way to grow spiritually than through the generous love of deliberate action?

Conscious effort is the first and biggest step toward the “becoming” part of spiritual formation -- the decision and the discipline of it -- the element that lost its way so easily when all we had to fall back on was our desire.

In our men’s group someone pointed out the infrequent occurrence of the miraculous in most of our day-to-day lives. “It’s not that we are looking for something spectacular in particular,” he said. “But things just happen around people of great faith who choose to believe.”

He is exactly right. Saying “I choose You, Jesus; it is my intention and my goal to follow more deliberately in Your way” can open the door to the most amazing things. 

-- Adapted from “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men” by Derek Maul

#5835

 

COMMITTED TO ONE ANOTHER

“Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. What a foundation you stand on now: the apostles and the prophets; and the cornerstone of the building is Jesus Christ Himself! We who believe are carefully joined together with Christ as parts of a beautiful, constantly growing temple for God. And you also are joined with Him and with each other by the Spirit and are part of this dwelling place of God.”  (Ephesians 2:19-22 TLB)

When you became a Christian, you committed yourself to Jesus Christ. Now you can become a part of the local body of believers committing yourself to those people. That is what “church membership” is -- a commitment to other Christians. It is a decision to become a participant, not merely a spectator. You stop being a consumer and become a contributor…

Who can count on you? Can anyone? There is no such thing as a Lone-Ranger Christian. Koinonia, the Greek word translated “fellowship” in the Bible, means being as committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). One way love expresses itself is in faithfulness to others [in the body of Christ, the church]. 

-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”

#5834

THE RISEN CHRIST IS WITH US – Part 2 of 2

The risen Christ is with us and therefore we need not fear the events of this day or any day that lies in our future. We know that each day will be lived in companionship with the only One who is able to rescue, redeem, save, keep, and companion us through every experience of this life and the next.

This realization does not take away the pain or uncertainty life holds. But it does give us strength, wisdom, guidance, and most of all, a Companion to travel through each of these experiences with us. Easter Sunday and every Sunday are gentle yet dramatic reminders that we are not alone or on our own. As followers of Jesus, we walk with God in Christ, and that makes the journey rich in meaning, joy, and peace no matter where it leads. Jesus Christ is alive and reads with you now words that are intended to turn your eyes, heart, and life more fully toward God.

-- Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#5833

THE RISEN CHRIST IS WITH US – Part 1 of 2

“Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”  (Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV)

At this very moment when I write and at the very moment when you read these words, you and I are in the presence of the living Christ. To remember this truth is to be shaped constantly by the presence of God in Christ in our lives. We often forget this central truth of the Christian faith, and when we do [forget], we are easily overcome by the troubles of the world.

For me, what I write will pass before the eyes of the One about whom I write. As I write, I hope that my ordinary capacity will be energized, directed, and used by the One who gives me life and has called me to this ministry. If I allow myself to think that this ministry… is all up to me, I risk feelings from despair to arrogance. However, if I remember that I am not alone, but think, work, and live in the presence of the living Christ, I remain hopeful that even the most simple and ordinary task carried out in that presence and with the assistance of Jesus Christ is sacred, meaningful, and useful.

For you, what you read comes not from the word processor of someone full of years and short of energy or imagination. For these words are now read and heard in the presence of Jesus Christ who is able to use the most simple and ordinary words and events to enlighten, comfort, heal, and direct the seeking heart. 

-- Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#5832

THE BREATH OF NEW LIFE

"[Jesus] breathed on [His disciples] and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'"  (John 20:22,23)

When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He brought them more than proof that He was indeed alive -- He gave them new life. As Jesus breathes on His disciples, He is giving them the Holy Spirit. This is the ‘ruach’, the breath, the life, the Spirit of God filling them up and changing them. Something new is expected of them in light of this Spirit. They are to be new people, new creations. This act of breathing the Holy Spirit out brings new life for the disciples, one in which they follow a resurrected Christ who is Life, who is Spirit, who is Breath. With each breath, we too can take in the glory of God and be reminded of the Spirit that fills us and sustains us and changes us.

-- Carla Barnhill in “The Green Bible Devotional” 

#5831

EYEWITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTED CHRIST

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you -- unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him.”  (1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NLT)

Modern attempts to get away from the sheer historical facts of the Resurrection are, at best, based on a total misunderstanding.  The whole Bible proclaims the need for, and the achievement of, a salvation that will remake creation, and it is just such a salvation, at once supernatural and historical, that was won on Easter Day.  If the Resurrection narratives are [merely] a subtle way of convincing us that God still loves us, or that there is a life beyond death, they must be reckoned among the oddest and most ill-conceived stories ever written. 

-- Michael Sadgrove & Tom Wright 

#5830

MY EASTER QUESTION: WHY GALILEE? – Part 3 of 3

That first Easter, nobody actually saw Jesus rise from the dead.  They saw Him after He had risen.  They didn't appear to Him; He appeared to them.  Us.  In the Bible, the "proof" of the resurrection is not the absence of Jesus' body from the tomb; it's the presence of Jesus to His followers.  The gospel message of the resurrection is not first, "Though we die, we shall one day return to life," it is, "Though we were dead, Jesus returned to us." 

If it was difficult to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, it must have been almost impossible to believe that He was raised and returned to us.  The result of Easter, the product of the Resurrection of Christ is the church -- a community of people with nothing more to convene us than that the risen Christ came back to us.  That's our only claim, our only hope.  He came back to Galilee.  He came back to us.

In life, in death, in any life beyond death, this is our great hope and our great commission.  Hallelujah!  Go!  Tell!  The risen Christ came back to [your town], uh I mean Galilee.

-- Adapted from a sermon entitled “He Came Back… To Us!” by William Willimon

#5829

 

MY EASTER QUESTION: WHY GALILEE? – Part 2 of 3

One might have thought that the first day of His resurrected life, the risen Christ might have made straight for the palace, the seat of Roman power, appear there and say, "Pilate, you made a big mistake.  Now, it's payback time!"

One might have thought that Jesus would do something effective.  If you want to have maximum results, don't waste your time talking to the first person whom you meet on the street, figure out a way to get to the movers and the shakers, the influential and the newsmakers, those who have some power and prestige.  If you really want to promote change, go to the top. 

But Jesus?  He didn't go up to the palace, the White House, the Kremlin, or Downing Street.   (Jesus never got on well with politicians.)  Jesus went outback, back to Galilee. 

Why Galilee?   Nobody special lived in Galilee, nobody except the followers of Jesus.  Us.

The resurrected Christ comes back to, appears before the very same rag-tag group of failures who so disappointed Him, misunderstood Him, forsook Him and fled into the darkness.  He returns to His betrayers.  He returns to us. 

It would have been news enough that Christ had died, but the good news was that He died for us.  As Paul said elsewhere, one of us might be willing to die for a really good person but Christ shows that He is not one of us by His willingness to die for sinners like us.  His response to our sinful antics was not to punish or judge us.  Rather, He came back to us, flooding our flat world not with the wrath that we deserved but with His vivid presence that we did not deserve.   

It would have been news enough that Christ rose from the dead, but the good news was that he rose for us.

-- Adapted from a sermon entitled “He Came Back… To Us!” by William Willimon

MY EASTER QUESTION: WHY GALILEE? – Part 1 of 3

“Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?’ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.’”  (Mark 16:2-7 NKJV)

Mark says that on that first Easter, women went to the tomb to pay their last respects to poor, dead Jesus.  To their alarm, the body of Jesus was not there.  A "young man, dressed in a white robe" told them, "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified?  Well, he isn't here.  He is raised.  He is going ahead of you to Galilee."

Here's my Easter question for you:  Why Galilee? 

Galilee?  Galilee is a forlorn, out of the way sort of place.  It's where Jesus came from (which in itself was a shock -- "Can anything good come out of Galilee?" -- John 1:46).  Jesus is Galilee's only claim to fame.  Jesus spent most of His ministry out in Galilee, the bucolic out back of Judea.  He expended most of His teaching trying to prepare His forlorn disciples for their trip up to Jerusalem where the real action was.  All of Jesus' disciples seem to have hailed from out in Galilee.  Jesus' ultimate goal seems not to focus on Galilee but rather on the Capital City, Jerusalem.  In Jerusalem He was crucified and in Jerusalem He rose.  Pious believers in Jesus' day expected a restoration of Jerusalem in which Messiah would again make the Holy City the power-center that it deserved to be, the capital city of the world.  Which makes all the more odd that the moment He rose from the dead Jesus left the big city and headed back to Galilee.  Why? 

-- Adapted from a sermon entitled “He Came Back… To Us!” by William Willimon

#5827