Whose Son is the Christ?

Jesus makes them (listeners) think. He quotes King David from Psalms 110:1 "David calls him (Christ) the Lord, then how can he be his son?"---Answer: Jesus is the christ. He was before David. Jesus is God. He is the One that sits at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus was born into the world (incarnation: God became flesh:Jn.1:14) from David's lineage. Jesus moves them to critical thinking, instead of being sucked in by the deception of the religionists. He moves them to think on their own: "Whose son is the Christ?" It is high-time that they figure it out. He warns them of the "teachers of the Law." They are more concerned with their religious seats of high places than the TRUTH. They rob widows and pray lengthy prayers for attention. They will be punished. Think for yourself. Seek the Truth. In this case, the Truth was standing before them. ---In our day, it is a little different. Christianity is attacked instead of considered. We carry the Good News of Jesus, and the world turns a deaf ear to the Truth. The Truth is Jesus is God. He came. He was crucified. He arose. He is coming back. Check it out, while He still may be found.---Lk.20:41-47

Discipleship

Disciples making disciples is what the Great Commission is all about (Mt.28:18-20). Consequently, it is what most churches would say that they are all about. But like prayer and Bible study, it is so hard to stay focused and persevere. The enemy sets out a scheme in spiritual battle to defeat churches in the area of DMD just like he fights individuals in their prayer lives. So, a church has to be extremely intentional in the discipleship of new believers. The church has to have laser-like focus so the discipling of the new believer stays on course. We must be intentional in every age group. We can't just throw a Bible at a new believer and say, "good luck." A four week study just doesn't do it either. Our success in discipling new believers could be summed up like this: Intentional-Distractions=How we are really doing in Discipleship. Is your church intentional about growing new christians? Are you focused on this, and are you removing the distractions as best you can? Have you taken the time to evaluate how you really are doing in the Disciples Making Disciples arena?

Got Your Back, Get Mine

It's no secret that it's not okay to attack any group today, but Christians. I absolutely believe we should not attack our fellow man with verbiage, even while we maintain differences. "Go along, get along" doesn't mean you have to agree with me, nor does it mean that I have to agree with you. If you're group is into blindly jumping off cliffs, then I'm probably not going to hang with you. I may disagree with you, but I ain't your daddy. So, rock on. (I digress.) ---There is another current that runs beneath this whole tolerance/intolerance thing. When a christian is verbally assaulted, slandered or even slaughtered sometimes by the media's big club, social media or whoever; they are doubly attacked if a friend gets their back. Recently, a sports media guy put some tweets out that subtly made me aware that he was a believer. Prior to this, I had no idea. It wasn't in your face, but he shared simple things. I thought that was pretty cool. However, an atheist didn't think it was cool that this man just simply expressed some things from his christian perspective. So, this guy attacks him and basically tells him to shut up (no free speech for christians). The christian responded that he respectfully disagreed. ---My first thoughts were to affirm my (new-found) brother. But then, I thought of the response I've gotten recently about jumping in this melee. I thought, if I get this guy's back then the conversation may heat up even though I speak respectfully. I think of what others have said recently that make it sound like we're hate-mongers for even replying. While I certainly don't believe in arguing with the not-yet believers, I do think I should take up for my guy. You see, christians are known for shooting their own. But they also leave their own to be crucified in the public arena. That is where we have gone wrong. We've allowed the media to shut us up. We can do this respectfully. There are christians that don't have home-training or social skills and should keep their mouths shut and their fingers off the key board. Hey, play with the keyboard, but for goodness' sake don't push "send"! Gratefully, we do have some that can respectfully defend the faith. Pray for them to rise up. Christians are servants of the Most High God. We love God and we love people. That's how we roll. It's ignorant to attack christians. It's like cutting off the hand that feeds you. (As I've written many times, we are the ones that build hospitals, show up first in Disaster Relief, bring food, etc.)---So when those intolerant of believers go on their rant, if you have the skills get your brother's back; if you lack the ability to speak the truth in love, then pray. The opposition might back off when they know we'll speak up for one another. Maybe they won't. But at least they won't have free reign to say whatever expecting no comeback. After all is said and done we only really care about pleasing God, but while we're here; it won't hurt to get your brother's back.

When "I don't know" isn't good enough

The chief priests and teachers of the Law were supposed to be the smart ones. They had all the answers (allegedly). So they decided to trap Jesus. That should be easy, right? There were more of them than the one of him. As they posed their question to trap Jesus, he turned the question back on them. They huddled up, and said, "well if we say this, then he'll say that; but if we say this then the people will be mad at us." So they came back with this wise answer: "We don't know..." "I don't know" is not a good enough answer especially when eternity hangs in the balance. It seems like the boys ought to head back to the books or something and figure it out!---Think about other times when "I don't know" isn't good enough. "Is the chicken cooked all the way?" You better get that one right. "Is anyone standing in front of the plane as it's about to take off?" You might want to know that one. "Did you lock the door...did you flush the toilet...did you brush your teeth" (yuck, in the same sentence!). The point is there are lot of questions we ask that "I don't know" is not an acceptable answer. ---These guys would end up putting Jesus on a cross, because they didn't know the answer. Some people are living an antichrist life right now, because they haven't sought out the answer to life. Heaven, Hell, real or not? ---Is "I don't know" good enough? God has given us the Scriptures. I recommend you check them out. see Luke 20:1-8

Uncomfortable

All through the Bible God calls his people out to do something. He calls them out from a place to a promise. He expects them to trust Him with the unknown. God called Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah to uncomfortable tasks and places. When the children of Israel were about to cross over into the Promised Land, it was anything but comfortable. It was called the Promised Land, not the Comfort Zone. They would first have to cross a raging river, and then they would have to fight to conquer the land. God is looking for people to trust Him even with the stuff He has given to them. It's a place of trust, faith, dependence on God. It is often a little foggy and unclear, but that is the deal. We trust in the promises of God. When was a time God asked you to do something that was comfortable? (I'll answer for you: rare, if ever.)I've shared Jesus with total strangers, new acquaintances to my grouchy old uncle. These were not comfortable situations. Yet, when we are obedient, we get to see God do might things first-hand. Abraham was given a son which Jesus would eventually be a descendant. Moses would set the captives free. I've been allowed to lead many people to Christ, because I got uncomfortable. So, please, if your excuse is ever, "I'm uncomfortable," don't tell me.

Reflection of Camp

I don't know why it's taken so long, but I did my first "camp pastor" thing with a sister church this week (and was very grateful for the opportunity). An added bonus was bringing our worship leader and some of his friends to lead a totally awesome worship experience with 3rd-5th Graders. Let me say how proud I was of these young folks who went above and beyond the call of duty. They did a fantastic job, and the kids loved them. They were dishing out autographs in the cafeteria at lunch time, because the children loved them so much. That was fun. The kids showed me exactly why Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me." Their worship was unabashed, unashamed, and as loud as they could sing. The adult volunteers that gave of their time and money to come and serve tirelessly had the greatest attitudes. Not to be missed in all of this is the fact that a church loves their children enough to set a special time for them like this (and budget it!). The heart of the leader was mixed all up in this. My friend (he acts all tough) has the best for the children in mind. A few years ago, he switched from youth ministry to children's ministry, because he wanted to have more influence on the foundation of the faith for children.---So, I prepared well in advance, because I wanted to not only lead children to Christ, but also give them some stuff that would help their walk. It was a good experience for me to adjust with the flow and needs as I sensed them throughout the week. It was interesting that by the end of the week, God had me giving them three verses that would help them cope and flourish in the christian walk. I've labeled these verses and tell them to our church all the time: the Bad News Good News verse is Rom.6:23; the Hope So to Know So verse is 1Jn.5:13; and the We Ain't From Around Here verse is Eph.2:6. Try them on for size, you'll find hope and peace.