How would life be different if you couldn’t hear? For some people, that is a reality. Think about how many opportunities you’d never hear about, or how many warnings you’d miss, or how many other beautiful and wonderful sounds you wouldn’t get to experience.
Just consider that Jesus came to earth so that we could hear, “Well done good and faithful servant, welcome to the joys of heaven!” (Matthew 25:21, 23). This is the good news that every living person would love to hear. But before you hear “Well done,” you have to hear about how He made that possible and what that requires of you.
The good news message of redemption and salvation Jesus shared was what the Apostles were called to witness, and that’s what they shared with the world. 1 John 1:1-4, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”
They spread the gospel like seed on soil—all kinds of soil eventually. In fact, Jesus told a parable in Mark 4:1-20 that compared seed to the Word of God. Just like wheat seed, or grass seed, not all of it sprouts just because it’s been spread. But the job of the sower is to sow seed, not make it grow. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.”
What makes one soil closed to “hearing” the good news in the message, while others respond and grow? It has a lot to do with seeking God’s will over our own will (Matthew 7:21, Mark 3:35, even Philippians 2:3-4). But until we understand God’s will, it may not make a lot of sense to us. However, Jesus said that it is understandable, which is why He told us to “seek, knock, and ask” (Matthew 7:7-12). Just think about the story He told of the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24-27); and what Paul says in Ephesians 5:17, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
When we talk about the “plan of salvation,” it always begins with hear, because without the desire to know God and His will, there isn’t any chance we’ll trust the message enough to go deeper.
Friday, March 23, 2018
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Are You Experiencing Chaos or Blessings?
If you’ve ever been in sales for longer than a week, then you’ve probably realize it takes a lot of falls before you gain any height in the wild world of business. Failure is part of success. That’s true in business, and really, that’s true in our walk with God.
The gospels are filled with people that experienced all kinds of failures, set-backs, disappointments, and fears. That’s where Jesus comes in; He begins His ministry by healing people of their diseases (aka problems). From evil spirits (Mark 1:21-28), to sickness (1:29-31) and leprosy (1:40) and paralysis (2:1-5) Jesus began making a positive difference in the lives of hundreds of people.
The goal was not necessarily to eradicate sickness from earth, but rather highlight how the Son of God has the power to confront any problem—even death. Hebrews 2:14-15, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Turning chaos into something good is what God specializes in. Just think about the opening lines of Genesis, “...the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” Formless and void refers to a state of chaos, disorder. Therefore, God brings order to what has been chaos. 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of disorder (chaos) but of peace…”
His blessings of life bring a “peace that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) Or as Psalms 104:27-28, “All creatures look to You to give them their food at the proper time. When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.” Jesus is the author of life, the bread of life, the living water. In Him, there is life; outside of Him, there is only death, chaos, and hopelessness.
The Gospel only brings life and peace to those who will surrender their own will and submit to the will of God. His perfect and pleasing will offers the blessings we’re looking for. Our problems and failures come in different shapes and sizes, but in the end they all lead to our own demise without Christ. The good news is that everyone with a heartbeat can experience God’s blessings if they’ll trust in the Son of God. Trusting in Him is more than acknowledging His existence, but submitting to His way of doing things, realizing you need to repent of those “diseases” of life, then confess to yourself and to others that He is the only “way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him." Baptism marks the birth of a new person with new motivations and behaviors.
Do you trust in God enough to obey the Gospel?
The gospels are filled with people that experienced all kinds of failures, set-backs, disappointments, and fears. That’s where Jesus comes in; He begins His ministry by healing people of their diseases (aka problems). From evil spirits (Mark 1:21-28), to sickness (1:29-31) and leprosy (1:40) and paralysis (2:1-5) Jesus began making a positive difference in the lives of hundreds of people.
The goal was not necessarily to eradicate sickness from earth, but rather highlight how the Son of God has the power to confront any problem—even death. Hebrews 2:14-15, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Turning chaos into something good is what God specializes in. Just think about the opening lines of Genesis, “...the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” Formless and void refers to a state of chaos, disorder. Therefore, God brings order to what has been chaos. 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of disorder (chaos) but of peace…”
His blessings of life bring a “peace that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) Or as Psalms 104:27-28, “All creatures look to You to give them their food at the proper time. When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.” Jesus is the author of life, the bread of life, the living water. In Him, there is life; outside of Him, there is only death, chaos, and hopelessness.
The Gospel only brings life and peace to those who will surrender their own will and submit to the will of God. His perfect and pleasing will offers the blessings we’re looking for. Our problems and failures come in different shapes and sizes, but in the end they all lead to our own demise without Christ. The good news is that everyone with a heartbeat can experience God’s blessings if they’ll trust in the Son of God. Trusting in Him is more than acknowledging His existence, but submitting to His way of doing things, realizing you need to repent of those “diseases” of life, then confess to yourself and to others that He is the only “way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him." Baptism marks the birth of a new person with new motivations and behaviors.
Do you trust in God enough to obey the Gospel?
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Are You Following Christ?
What defines the church? Perhaps we’d turn to passages like Colossians 1:18, “He [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.” Or verses like: Matthew 16:16-18, or Ephesians 1:22-23 and 5:23-24, or Hebrews 12:23.
There are many references that help us realize the church isn’t a building, but people who are faithfully committed to following God’s word, which was lived out in Jesus, the Word of God (John 1:1-3).
But when we share the good news with people about the accessibility of God’s kingdom via Christ, and that His ways lead to life and godliness, and a “peace that passes all understanding,” how do they interpret what the church is?
Ultimately, it must be in how we model Christ in our lifestyles. As Jesus told John’s disciples in Luke 7:22-23, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor…”
James echoes the same sentiment in James 1:22-25, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says! (25) “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
This is the most difficult, and often most confusing part about responding to the Gospel; because this is more than ritualistic responses to God, and it’s more than lip service, but instead it's genuine and sincere submission to God’s ways of living (Romans 12:1-2). This is what should serve as a way to define the church to the world (1 Peter 2:12 and Titus 2:7-8).
We must follow Jesus in word and deed. This requires us to do as Paul encouraged Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:14-15, “Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth"
There are many references that help us realize the church isn’t a building, but people who are faithfully committed to following God’s word, which was lived out in Jesus, the Word of God (John 1:1-3).
But when we share the good news with people about the accessibility of God’s kingdom via Christ, and that His ways lead to life and godliness, and a “peace that passes all understanding,” how do they interpret what the church is?
Ultimately, it must be in how we model Christ in our lifestyles. As Jesus told John’s disciples in Luke 7:22-23, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor…”
James echoes the same sentiment in James 1:22-25, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says! (25) “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
This is the most difficult, and often most confusing part about responding to the Gospel; because this is more than ritualistic responses to God, and it’s more than lip service, but instead it's genuine and sincere submission to God’s ways of living (Romans 12:1-2). This is what should serve as a way to define the church to the world (1 Peter 2:12 and Titus 2:7-8).
We must follow Jesus in word and deed. This requires us to do as Paul encouraged Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:14-15, “Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth"