Revival or Riot

Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.---Acts 19:32Demetrius, a silver smith, was worried about his idol-making business as more and more people put their faith in Christ. His was a big-business in that part of Asia and employed a lot of people. Give him credit for one thing: he knew that those accepting Christ as their Lord God would have no need for a bunch of man-made gods. He understood that their lifestyles would change upon conversion. Consequently, he stirred up a riot, and we see what is comical and common today. People were screaming and hating on christians, and most of them didn’t even know what they were talking about. —- If the world understood the breadth of christianity, then they would understand that we are FOR people. Consider current events: the abortion business is being exposed. Just watch for the demonizing of christians when they stand up for life. Instead of dealing with those behind this evil business (which includes the silent majority of media and politicians keeping their mouths shut), the initial attack is on the people exposing the dirty business for what it is. —- Yet, there will be a lot of noise from people that have no clue of what is going on. There are two responses to truth in crowded assemblies: Revival or Riot. If we accept the wonderful truth of the Gospel, then we experience a Great Awakening. If we reject the truth of the Gospel, then we continue our rebellion against God. Don’t be like those making a lot of noise, and don’t even know what they’re yelling about. At least listen. Check out the Gospel story for yourself.

#1 Fan

At various and sundry times pastors are under attack. However, God has His ways of letting us know that He is there. It was just another Monday and I was going through some things as I received a call. God spoke to me in only a way that He can do. One of the men in our church called to tell me that he led his first person to Christ last week...it was his Dad! All the small groups, all the men's retreats, all the discipling is worth it when you hear one story like that! He was ecstatic that he stepped out of his comfort zone and was on fire. --- God used this to lift me up too... when I needed it. After hanging up with him, I thought "God, what are you telling me here?" I looked up and saw this foam "#1 Fan" thing sitting above me on a cabinet. I took it as God saying, "Hey, I am your #1 Fan, let's go." --- LORD help me today to strive more to be your #1 Fan. Do not let me put anything or anyone above my attention to you. My worship of You and my service to You should be pure. I love you Jesus.

Premeditated Accident

Things often don't happen the way we planned...especially accidents. So, I have to come clean on an embarrassing moment. My cel phone is currently resting in a bed of rice hoping for resuscitation after it went into the water. The plan was for it to not go into the water, because I was going to be in a boat. The sad part is that the phone didn't go in the water by itself. It was in my pocket. Long story short, we were launching the boat and I fell into the water at the dock. Yeah, I laughed too. Fortunately, a couple of guys were working on the pier next to us and motioned, that as far as fall-ins go, I had a perfect "10." --- It did take me some time to see how this one fit into spiritual application. There are a lot of things in life that we would not have done had we known there was going to be a slip-up in the plan. Before I left the house (twice) I thought about getting a water-proof container for my phone in case of an accident. Even at the dock I almost left it in the truck when I realized some guys had better cameras on board to capture an awesome moment on the Gulf. --- What chances in life are you taking? Is there someone you need to speak to about something before it is too late? Have you thought about something you needed to do a couple to three times, and you still haven't bothered? We don't plan for things to happen that we might regret later. The ultimate question: have you accepted Christ as your Savior or is that something you are putting off. --- My shoes are drying, my wallet has dried, and I am still hoping my phone will come back around; but those are just temporal things. No big deal. Most accidents are preventable. We often get mysterious warnings or just common sense to take precautions. If we ignore the warnings, I guess you could say our accidents are sort of premeditated.

Alien Adventure

Recently I got the chance to have a very interesting conversation with a person that believed we come from aliens. Being an alien myself I thought it good to listen to this person’s belief, and see what God would have me to say or not say. To gain some central ground, I asked what the person believed about Jesus, the cross and the resurrection. The person believed the first two, but said the resurrection was too hard to believe. So I asked for their beliefs only after I complimented their answer saying that one of Jesus own disciples didn’t believe… at first (Thomas). I told them that Thomas’ original disbelief was for us, because the resurrection does sound crazy and hard to believe. Thomas was not naive, nor were the other disciples. They believed because they saw it. —- Anyway, my not-yet-convinced compadre said it was easier to believe in aliens, because the vast universe is silent when it comes to God. To this I nearly choked in disbelief. Are you kidding me? The heavens literally preach the glory of God. —- The conversation was healthy, but I don’t believe for a second that my new friend really believed any of that. —- We live in a world where people want to believe in anything, but the truth, because the truth is inconvenient. My prayer is that he/she would sincerely seek the truth. After we have shared Jesus, that is all we can do.

Pulling Weeds

Our lives can really blossom into what God desires for us. We can be on a winning streak for quite some time. It is possible to live for a while with an uncluttered life with smooth sailing. However, you better pay attention to the weeds. A yard can be looking real good, but it takes maintenance. A beautiful yard is such because it is well-manicured. Someone is paying attention to it. They are mowing the lawn and pulling up the weeds. If we do not pay attention to the “weeds” that can show up in our lives, then they will choke out the good. Having a quiet time with God in communion through prayer and His Word is essential to live a Christ-like life. If that part of your soul life is well-manicured because you have given it top-shelf attention, then you will avoid fall-out and burn-out that can easily set in on the best of us.

Act Like A Man

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her---Eph.5:25 So how does a man love his wife like Christ loved the church today? He loves her by committing to her whole-heartedly. Aside from his personal relationship with God, the man's relationship with his wife becomes top priority as he is willing to lay down his life for her. But a whole host of men do not comprehend this, and we can be sure from basic statistical analysis. So what does it mean for a man to lay down his life for his wife? Certainly God is not counting on the fact that every man will have to physically die for his wife. --- Well first let's establish that a man becomes a man when he becomes serious about life and responsible for himself and those with him. When a man commits to a woman in holy matrimony, he and she are coming out of the public "dating pool" and commit to the journey of life together. So what does it mean for a man to lay down his life for his wife? It does not mean that a man has to necessarily stop hunting, fishing and overall "hobby-ing." It simply means that those things are no longer the high priority they may have been as a single man. The love of your life now is your wife, not Bass Pro Shop. --- Take the example of Christ a step further. Serve her! Christ who is God, came not to be served, but to serve (Mk.10:45) It also means that any carousing, flirting and women-chasing is over. You have made a commitment as Christ made a commitment to the church. He died to sin when he came to the world. The Bible says that he was tempted like every other man, yet he never sinned. He died for the sins of the world on the cross. So God isn't calling for your blood to be shed, but He is calling for you to die to self. You're not a boy any more. Boys play with toys. So, act like a man! While you are living for the One who died for you and rose again, don't mess up God's picture of Christ and the church, for that is what the marital relationship is a picture of in the first place.--- This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. ---Eph.5:32

Pull Over

As our mission team showed up to build a home for Jose and family, the locals would stop by in curiosity, as they saw these strangers show up at the property. It was obvious that we weren’t from around there by our skin color and language. Those who passed by, whether walking, riding a bike, or even a motor-bike would at least take a double-take. However most would stop to see what was going on. Some would even stop to lend a hand. with the work that was going on. There were those that would watch from across the street and gradually inch closer to the job site. It was amazing to see our work force of fifteen nearly double at times as the community (made up of friends, family and just people in the neighborhood) would jump in and help build the house. People from different nations, speaking different languages were working together for one cause. It was truly a cool thing that everyone should experience at least once. We (Americans) all recognized the fact that most of us would have just kept on going if we saw something like this in our neighborhood. We would be too “busy” to stop, because we are always too busy. Sadly our being too busy or unwillingness to stop and care causes us to miss out on amazing stories around us. Those who stopped by heard Jose’s story of faith. Jose had torn down his tin-roofed house of 29 years just a day or two before the Americanos on mission with local Christians (Casas por Christo and local church) came to build the foundation of a new home; and resurrect this new place in just over three days. —- As I paused or pulled over to reflect on all this, I wondered how this trip effected me. In that quiet time God pointed out to me three recent missed opportunities to pull over: two were in my own community before I left the country. As I was hastily getting things ready to depart, that was my excuse for not stopping by to see a person that I felt God nudging me to go see. I didn’t have time for that. Also in my hurriedness, God had bumped me to just send a note of care to another person; and I was distracted just enough to not do that. The third opportunity was in the airport. I observed from a distance what looked like an elderly woman missing her flight emotionally distraught as she sat down to cry it out. —- I don’t know her. She doesn’t probably even speak English were my thoughts. I’m sixty feet away from her in an airport full of people. Why is this bothering me? It’s not my problem. I’m off duty. I’m headed on mission. All three of these opportunities would have offered a unique blessing from God for those involved. Who knows what good it would have done had I “pulled over?”—- When we go on a mission of any sorts, we usually think about what we are doing for someone else. However, God is using that tender moment as we are submitted in humility to mold and shape us. But we have to stop and pull over and see what’s going on! Have you pulled over lately to see what is going on in the lives of people around you? If I learned nothing else, it was maybe just a simple reminder: people matter. Jesus stopped and pulled over all the time… for people, and amazing things followed.