New Sermon On The Player To Your Left

For those interested this Sunday's sermon (3-27-11) is up!

James

What It Means To Have a Shepherd

I was praying this afternoon and God brought me to Psalm 23. King David wrote this familiar Psalm and in so doing recognized his dependence upon God for everything. David, one of the mightiest men to ever walk the earth, understood his place in God's economy.

Kind David was far from perfect but he was called a "man after God's own heart." He was a mighty warrior, leader of men and the greatest King Israel had ever known. Men wanted to be David and women wanted to be married to David! He was the pro athlete, movie star and super hero of his day. Yet, even in the midst of the greatest blessing and success a man of his day could attain, David recognized his dependence upon God; the kind of dependence a sheep would have upon its shepherd.

David knew his life was not simply the product of what he could do, but rather the product of everything God could do in and through him. God was the Shepherd who provided for David's needs. God was the Shepherd who led David into righteousness (God's way of doing things) so David could glorify God (be a testimony of God's power and character). God was the Shepherd who protected (staff) and guided (rod) David through the day to day living of life. God was the Shepherd who never left David and gave Him courage as he experienced the shadows and valleys of life (even the valley of the shadow of death). God was the Shepherd in whom David entrusted his future and received hope of Heaven. David was thankful for all he knew God and God alone could do in, through and for him.

As I read and pray Psalm 23 I can almost feel the peace and relief King David must have felt as he wrote this great Psalm. David, one of the greatest, most capable men the earth had ever known, was relieved and at peace because he knew his life was completely in the hands of God. May we too find such great peace and release.

James

Abnormal or Normal...Which Kind of Christian Are You?

John Wesley once said, "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer."

Have we become so complacent with abnormal Christianity that normal Christianity is seen as radical and extreme? God calls us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength! This is a call to radical commitment! The "balanced" church member in the Bible was called "lukewarm" and found himself vomited from the mouth of Christ in Revelation 3:16. Ironic when you consider the radical love commitment God demonstrated in the "3:16" found in the Gospel of John.

God loves us with a radical love so extreme that He left the glory of Heaven to enter earth as a humble baby in a manger. This great, incomprehensible love, led Christ to a bloody cross and glorious resurrection! God's love for us is radical and extreme! Can we justify anything less than what some might consider radical or extreme love for Him?

James

May We All Experience God's "Power Through Prayer!"

I just finished reading "Power Through Prayer" by E. M. Bounds and encourage you to do the same! This is one of the most encouraging books I have ever read. You will be inspired and challenged in ways you cannot imagine.

The importance of prayer in the life of the believer cannot be overemphasized. If we are to know God and have a life which enjoys God's power and strength we MUST spend time with Him. It is in spending time with God that we know His heart, see things through His eyes and begin to truly desire His will for our life.

To the church Bounds says, "The past has not exhausted the possibilities nor the demands for doing great things for God. The church that is dependent on its past for its miracles of power and grace is a fallen church." May we prayerfully depend upon God, dream big dreams and have big faith for a future filled with God's power and grace! Such a future is only possible through prayer!

You can find "Power Through Prayer" for free at this link. You can also download it on your kindle or iPad (for almost free) here.

James

God Has It All Under Control!

Recently I read the book of Amos and was struck by the repeated references to God as "Sovereign." "Sovereign" is not a commonplace word in our everyday language. "Sovereign" means, "to have supreme rank or authority; preeminent; indisputable; being above all others in character, importance and excellence." God is all of these and so much more! God is the absolute, perfect, holy God and as such is completely and totally SOVEREIGN!

Control is not an easy thing to relinquish because most of us love to feel as though we are in control. Most of us love the sense of empowerment and security which comes with the idea we are in control of our circumstances. But, in reality, control is simply an illusion. Many Japanese felt they were in control as they went about their daily routine in the safety of their homes before a violent earthquake and tsunami shattered the illusion. All of us exist at the pleasure of a loving God and each of us will continue to exist by His love and grace. God is the only one who is ever truly in control.

The good news is that God loves us with an immeasurable kind of love. God can be relied upon to faithfully watch over and care for us because we are His children. Even when tragedy occurs in our life God holds us close to Himself and buffets the storm until it passes. We know our future is in His hands and that He will carry to completion the salvation He gave us when we first placed our faith in Him (Phil. 1:6).

No matter your circumstances, God will never lose control!

James

Is The Cross Burden Or Death?

The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 2, "I am crucified with Christ therefore I no longer live, Jesus Christ now lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Non-Christians, and unfortunately not a small number of actual believers, fail to understand the meaning of these verses. The point of Paul's thought is simply this, "You cannot be a Christian, nor live the life of a Christian, until you first die to all you are so Christ can live His life through you!"

Are you "trying" to be a Christian? Are you "trying" to live the Christian life? If the answer is "yes" you have yet to understand what it means to be be a Christian. It is not about striving, trying or vying. (Isn't that ingenious wordplay!) You become a Christian and actually live the Christian life by dying!

The crucified man is a dead man. The Cross is an instrument of death. When Jesus said, "take up your cross and follow Me," He was not extending an invitation to come and live a good moral life, always striving to do right and abstain from what is wrong! He was extending an invitation to die and be raised to eternal life. "Eternal life" in this case being a life which participates in the life of God. After all, who is eternal other than God? In order to participate in eternal life one must participate in the life of God! We do this by ceasing our own vain efforts in the flesh and embracing a life of faith in Christ.

The life of the believer is empowered, influenced and guided by the Holy Spirit of God. We obey God because His choice is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. We obey God because are convicted to do so by the Holy Spirit. We obey God because we are empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit. Ours is a life of faith (belief plus trust) in God through Jesus Christ. We participate in the life of God through our faith in Him. We believe and trust God's Holy Spirit at work within us.

Are you striving or dying today? It is only when we cease to strive, die to our effort and embrace life in Christ through faith that we become true (and successful) followers of Christ!

James

Said Musa Update

Said Musa has been released. Read Story Here

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise!

God is magnificent, beautiful, holy, perfect, love, sweet, kind, faithful and full of grace. Allow your mind a moment to wrap around the previous sentence. There are no words to describe the wonder, glory and awesomeness of the God we serve. He is higher than any height we could ascribe to Him and greater than any measure we could apply. God is beyond all of our comprehension. Yet, He has chosen to reveal Himself to us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, as well as in His written word, the Bible.

Jesus is the perfect reflection of God and demonstrates for us His character. In Jesus we see God’s love, compassion, mercy and faithfulness. We see through Jesus the incredible patience and justice of the beautiful God we serve. Jesus is the perfect representation and the best comprehension we have of the incomprehensible God we serve. Thank God for his merciful revelation of Himself to us!

Isn’t it comforting to know you cannot “figure out” God? Wouldn’t it be terrifying to think you could completely understand the One who created you? Such a small God could never truly be relied upon for the needs of our life. We could never depend upon such a God for meaning, life or eternity! Thank God we serve a mighty, infinite God!

David wrote in Psalm 9:1-2, “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” Try taking a page from David’s life today and sing praise to the infinite, holy, perfect God who loves you!

James