Exceptional

Living a godly life in the military can be tough for anyone. There is an overwhelming pressure to conform and fall in line. Those who resist this culture of conformity risk being ridiculed, harassed, and even threatened. This pressure is especially strong for the single Soldier, Airman, Sailor, or Marine.

While I was serving in the Air Force during the Gulf War, I was the one bringing the pressure to bear on a fellow Airman. He was outspoken about his faith in Christ and didn’t party, cuss, or laugh at any number of my extremely inappropriate jokes. Instead he would invite me to church, tell me about Jesus, and try to be my friend. Man, I hated this guy.

I would make fun of him, his wife, his church, and his God. I would be part of groups that would harass and ridicule him for his faith and his unwillingness to do anything that the rest of us were doing. He never gave in, never quit, and never, ever compromised.

Being a strong Christian in a culture of conformity is tough, real tough; but it can be done. While everyone else is out getting drunk, shacking up with their girlfriend or boyfriend, and participating in other self destructive behavior, you might feel like you are missing out. You might be sick of being on the outside and you just want to be one of the team. Compromise is not the answer.

Jesus faced similar circumstances in His life. He was betrayed by his own people and one of his best friends turned him in for a crime he didn’t even commit. Jesus was a true non-conformist in a culture of conformity. While everyone else was going along with the program, Jesus stood for what was right, not what was popular.

Being a non-conformist in the Christian sense does not mean that we are different just to be different. It means that we are different because we are following Jesus, and Jesus is different. He is more than different; He is exceptional and we are to live exceptional lives for Him.

Chances are you won’t be single forever; but right now you have some awesome potential for the Kingdom of God. You have more personal time, more expendable income, and probably more energy than you will ever have again. You could use all those resources in the same way that everyone else is, or you can put those resources in God’s hands and allow Him to use you like never before.

For three years I harassed that guy in my shop for being a Christian. One night though, something happened. The presence of God entered my barracks and Jesus touched my life. I surrendered to Him that night and started a lifelong journey of following Jesus.

It’s all really because of one Airman’s faithful uncompromising love for me that I am a Christian today. He refused to give in to the culture of conformity that I was neck deep in. Commit today to be exceptional for Christ and go against the tide of the typical military lifestyle. God will use your faithfulness to bring others into a relationship with himself.

Full

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:16–18, ESV)

These words tell us that there is a fulness in Christ. There is a fulness of essential Deity, for “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead.” There is a fulness of perfect manhood, for in him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. There is a fulness of atoning efficacy in his blood, for “the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” There is a fulness of justifying righteousness in his life, for “there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” There is a fulness of divine prevalence in his plea, for “He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” There is a fulness of victory in his death, for through death he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. There is a fulness of efficacy in his resurrection from the dead, for by it “we are begotten again unto a lively hope.” There is a fulness of triumph in his ascension, for “when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and received gifts for men.” There is a fulness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fulness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is a fulness at all times; a fulness of comfort in affliction; a fulness of guidance in prosperity. A fulness of every divine attribute, of wisdom, of power, of love; a fulness which it were impossible to survey, much less to explore. “It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” Oh, what a fulness must this be of which all receive! Fulness, indeed, must there be when the stream is always flowing, and yet the well springs up as free, as rich, as full as ever. Come, believer, and get all thy need supplied; ask largely, and thou shalt receive largely, for this “fulness” is inexhaustible, and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel—God with us. 


Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening : Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Fornicating on the Battlefield

by Tony Anderson

When I ask men about their sexual behavior, most guys are surprisingly honest when anonymity is a factor. We’ve spoken about porn, oral sex, prostitution, lust, marriage, thoughts, immorality, intimacy, desires, homosexuality, masturbation, sexual abuse, incest, greed, and idolatry. I’ve eaten meals with pastors, executives, bankers, doctors, religious people, church planters, frat guys, students, entrepreneurs, traffickers, and average guys that work 40 hours a week and stay relatively pure.

The Majority of Us Are Sexually Broken

Most of us had absent fathers. 1 in 5 of us were sexually abused. Every one of us has learned the art of concealing sin. Around 80% of men in the church are currently using pornography. Some of us don’t need a girlfriend because we’re in full-fledged relationship with our hand or laptop. And some of us know the feeling of cold emptiness after leaving a strip club or a brothel. Some of you men know what it's like to go to sleep next to an empty shell of a woman that used to be your wife because your infatuation with photoshopped women has extinguished the intimacy. You’re no longer lovers, you’re roommates with children. Some of you are fathers that see your sexual sin manifested in your children, but you’re too fearful to expose it in your own life regardless of the damage its doing to your marriage and family. “What if coming out with this stuff makes things worse?” is the only question you’ve thought of.
I know where you’re at. I know what you’re thinking. And I know the lies you’re deceived by. I’ve been where some of you are.

You Love Porn...And Jesus? 

A good friend of mine has battled sexual addiction all of his life. He’s a graduate of Bible college and is part of a healthy church. He’s got a lovingly invasive community and has had numerous Godly mentors pushing him towards Jesus for the last 7 years, but he still uses pornography every chance he gets—disabling the X3 watch on his phone and computer. If he’s alone for longer than 30 minutes with an internet connection, he begins searching for filth. He still habitually masturbates. He lies about his sin. He conceals his secrets. He manipulates Christian women into sinning with him, then he lies about that. He exemplifies the epitome of selfishness and a lack of self control.
But he also calls Jesus his Lord…Are you that guy? It’s sometimes an anomaly to me when men can be sexually enslaved while following Jesus, yet that’s what the overwhelming majority of them tend to be living. Can the two coexist? Are they diametrically opposed? Isn’t one the antithesis of the other?

Still Enslaved 

I’m not going to quote your favorite authors or offer free accountability software. I don’t have a PDF to read or an invitation to a men’s conference. You’ve probably already tried those things. You’ve read books and made countless commitments, which you’ve broken. You’ve tried accountability. You’ve gone through a “freedom season.” You’ve confessed your sin. You’ve been rebuked. You’ve disconnected the internet. You’ve been kicked out of the house. You’ve destroyed the computer. You’ve memorized the Word of God. You’ve pleaded with Jesus to remove the thorn in your flesh. You’ve shouted, screamed, and wept. You’ve tried everything and you’re still shackled.

A Different Kind of Image 

Just imagine for a moment that this is reality: You’re on a battlefield. It’s dark. Chaotic. Cold wind is whipping your face. The stench of death fills the air. Corpses of demons lie all around you and the field is soaked in blood. You can hear the sounds of armor and weapons colliding while sparks are flying. Screams pierce your ears.
You see chiseled, powerful beings radiating in white and they’re destroying shadows, gripping the throats of principalities and slitting them with iridescent blades. But you’re without armor. You wonder how you got to this place and why you came unprepared.

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

Men that you recognize are rushing the opposite direction—spears aligned, ready to throw. Swords sharpened, shields fixed, helmets lowered they’re ready for battle. They’re calling for you to join them. They’re rushing for the the front lines—they’re unafraid. They know they’ve been given victory.
But not you. You’ve got your pants down around your ankles. You’re roaming in circles looking for the seductress that’s calling you by name. You can’t wait to fornicate on the battlefield.
And all the while, the kingdom is coming. The lost are being found. The sick are being healed. Demonic assignments are being cancelled. The veil is being lifted off of false religion and the persecuted church is exponentially growing in the face of opposition. Jesus is authoritatively mediating a covenant—the Spirit is interceding for the children of God, breathing life into dry bones.
You? You want an orgasm.

A Reminder of Who You Are

• You are God’s child
  John 1:12
• You are a friend of Jesus
  John 15:15
• You have been justified
  Romans 5:1
• You’ve been united with the Lord and are one with him in Spirit
  1 Corinthians 6:17
• You’ve been bought with a price…you belong to God
  1 Corinthians 6:19-20
• You’re a member of Christ’s body
  1 Corinthians 12:27
• You’ve been chosen by God and adopted as his child
  Ephesians 1:3-8
• You’ve been redeemed and forgiven of all your sins
  Colossians 1:13-14
• You are complete in Christ
  Colossians 2:9-10
• You have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus
  Hebrews 4:14-16
• You are free from condemnation
  Romans 8:1-2
• You cannot be separated from the love of God
  Romans 8:28
• You are free from any condemning charges against you
  Romans 8:31-34
• You’ve been established, anointed, and sealed
  2 Corinthians 1:21-22
• You were washed…you were sanctified. You were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God
  1 Cor 6:11
• You are hidden with Christ in God
  Colossians 3:1-4
• God started this work in you, and he will bring it to completion
  Phil 1:6
• You are a citizen of heaven
  Philippians 3:20
• You haven’t been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind
  2 Timothy 1:7
• You are born of God, and the evil one cannot touch you
  1 John 5:18
• You are a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of his life
  John 15:5
• You have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit
  John 15:16
• You are God’s temple
  1 Corinthians 3:16
• You are a minister of reconciliation
  2 Corinthians 5:17-21
• You are seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm
  Ephesians 2:6
• You are God’s workmanship
  Ephesians 2:10
• You can approach God with freedom and confidence – not because of your obedience, but because of Jesus’ obedience
  Ephesians 3:12
• When you are faithless, he will remain faithful, because he cannot deny himself
  2 Timothy 2:13

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus 

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? (Hebrews 12:1-5).
You've been eating with the pigs long enough. Come home, son.

Click here to see the original post at the Resurgence website.

Top 10 Reasons To Watch "The Playboy Club" on NBC

1. Hugh Hefner defines class and sophistication.
2. It's about time we had a show that glamorizes the porn industry.
3. Finally something to compete with "family" television programming like "Jersey Shore".
4. Young girls will find new purpose as they aspire to be Playboy bunnies.
5. The Hefner empire needs more money.
6. It's not porn if it's on network television, right?
7. Young ladies will finally learn that looks are all that matters.
8. What else are you going to do, read a book?
9. It's great sermon research for my next series "The Play-Christian Club".
10. It's a show that feeds the idols of sex, celebrity, and money all at once.

Obviously this is a sarcastic response to the upcoming network television show "The Playboy Club". Porn is destroying lives, the lives of those who make it and the lives of those who consume it. The pornification of America is a cancer that is sweeping though secular society as well as the church of Jesus Christ. If you struggle with porn you are not alone, please take a moment to read Mark Driscoll's free resource "Porn Again Christian". This is a frank commentary and recommended reading for adult men and women.

Did Michelangelo really carve the Statue of David?

A guest blog by Stacey Leighty

Someone recently told me: “I’m too logical to believe there is a God.”  This statement has been weighing on me ever since.  Mostly because I consider myself to be an extremely logical person (what with being a math major and everything) and I believe in God.  All of my ponderings have led me to the conclusion that I’m too logical to believe there is no God.  Follow my thought process, if you will.

For some reason, I started thinking about the (new) seven wonders of the world – here are just a few of them:

1. The Great Wall of China – built between 5 BC and 16 AD, it’s the world’s longest manmade structure.  But, how do we know it’s manmade?  Were any of us there when it was built?  How do we know that rocks didn’t just fall into place over thousands or millions of years to create this wall?  Sure, there were eyewitnesses to the building process, but I’ve never met them either.  How do I know they’re trustworthy?
   
2. Christ the Redeemer Statue – a 130 ft. tall concrete and soapstone statue towering over Rio de Janeiro.  It was designed by Heitor da Silva.  I didn’t know who designed it before I looked it up, but I knew there was an artist/designer.  It will be illogical to think otherwise.
   
3. The Taj Mahal – built between 1632 and 1648, it’s a mausoleum commissioned for an Indian emperor’s wife.  It actually incorporates quite a few different architectural styles in its design.  But, again, how do we even know that there was an architect?
   
4. Petra – an ancient city in Jordan literally carved out of the rock.  Who carved it?  Would it be logical to assume that years of wind and water somehow carved out beautiful, inhabitable buildings in the stone?

So, here’s the conclusion I came to: I believe that all of these “wonders” had a builder or artist or architect for one reason – they exist.  Their mere existence points to the fact that they were indeed built or designed by someone.  I see a building and I know there was a builder.  I see a piece of art and I know there was an artist.  Yet, we see all of creation around us and some would say that there is no Creator?  How can this be?  The human eye is more complex than any of these wonders, and yet it’s logical to believe that it came into existence by mere happenstance?  That, in my opinion, is illogical.  I think it takes far more faith to believe that everything we see around us came into being with no Creator orchestrating it all.

Don't Think Now, Take The Road

“He (Jesus) said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:29–30, ESV)

The wind was actually boisterous, the waves were actually high, but Peter did not see them at first. He did not reckon with them, he simply recognized his Lord, and stepped out in recognition of Him and walked on the water. Then he began to reckon with the actual things, and down he went instantly. Why could not our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves as well as on the top of them? Neither could be done saving by recognition of the Lord Jesus.

We step right out on God over some things, then self-consideration enters in and down we go. If you are recognizing your Lord, you have no business with where He engineers your circumstances. The actual things are, but immediately you look at them you are overwhelmed, you cannot recognize Jesus, and the rebuke comes: “Wherefore didst thou doubt?” Let actual circumstances be what they may, keep recognizing Jesus, maintain complete reliance on Him.

If you debate for a second when God has spoken, it is all up. Never begin to say—‘Well, I wonder if He did speak?’ Be reckless immediately, fling it all out on Him. You do not know when His voice will come, but whenever the realization of God comes in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon. It is only by abandon that you recognize Him. You will only realize His voice more clearly by recklessness.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

The Discipline of Prayer

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, ESV

Prayer has always been an integral part of my life. Talking with God about my life, interceding for others, and praising Him has come natural to me since the day I came to Jesus. I have been serving the Lord for over 15 years now and I can truthfully say I have spent time in prayer almost every day.

It was through a prayer of surrender that I came to know Jesus as Lord of my life. Once Jesus was part of my life so was talking to Him every day. I have missed on occasion, but those days are usually my toughest, loneliest, and most unproductive because I have not spent time with Jesus, my best friend.

In ministry it is easy to get so bogged down in what needs to be done that we can neglect the one that all our efforts are supposed to be for. it's like the father who works 80 hours a week so his kids can have the best of everything but all his kids really want is to be with Him.

God loves the wonderful things His people do in His name to further the Kingdom but business of any kind is never an excuse for not spending time with God. We must remember that we are workers in the Lord's field. Let us also remember to pray to the Lord of the harvest.

There are many lessons on prayer and I am sure that another is not needed here. Prayer is not something learned, prayer is something practiced. I have five main things that have kept my prayer life consistent for 15 years.

1. Schedule time for prayer
2. Pray in the morning
3. Be genuine
4. Find a consistent place to be alone with God
5. If you miss a day, don't beat yourself up

This might seem over simplistic or leaving you wanting more instruction but prayer is wonderful in that it is something unique that you and God share. Your prayer time will not be like my prayer time and your prayers will not sound like mine or anyone else.

A word to my friends in ministry. Pray before you get to work or at least pray before your expected office hours begin. I have found that as I sacrifice my time to the Lord in prayer He honors that time with more of His presence. Everyone else in your church must make time to pray. How can you lead them in this discipline if you refuse to practice it yourself?

Prayer is foundational for everyone. The habit of prayer is not always easy but it is always beneficial. Commit to make prayer a priority. You'll be glad you did.

Back to the Future

I recently completed my sixth class in my Assemblies of God ordination studies. The class was on the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses. The study was encouraging, enlightening, and full of hope.

The Old Testament points to God's plan of redemption for fallen humanity as far back as Genesis 3:15, where God says to Satan,  "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” In God's Son, Jesus, victory over sin and subsequent death has been granted once and for all. Jesus crushed Satan when he rose from the dead and His victory has been imparted to those who by Faith receive Him as their personal Lord and Savior.

Throughout the Pentateuch we are reminded of who we are in God's plan, His standard of holiness, and how desperately we need a Savior. God's law as expressed through the ten commandments and Leviticus 19 can never be satisfied in our efforts or desire to please Him. The law exists to point us to our profound need of a savior.

The wonderful instruction, commands, promises, and blessings found in the first five books of the Old Testament set the foundation for our faith in Christ. The first step in coming to saving faith in Jesus in acknowledging our sin. We know what sin is because it is outlined in the Pentateuch. Without acknowledging sin we cannot acknowledge our need for a savior. Paul said in Romans 7:9, “I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. ” It is in our realization of how sinful we really are that drives the consuming need to look to our Savior.

When I came to Christ over 15 years ago and picked a Bible for the first time I didn't start reading in Genesis, I started in John. As I matured in my faith I began to study the Old Testament and my eyes were opened to see Christ everywhere in the Bible, not just the New Testament. I want to encourage you, if you have never studied the Old Testament, particularly the Pentateuch, to commit to doing so. I believe that this trip back to the future will open your eyes to the love and provision of God and His wonderful plan for your life.

The Plan

 April ended with a wonderful South Texas District Council. We had wonderful speakers for every service and the Spirit of the Lord moved in the hearts of those in attendance. Stacey and I are truly blessed to be part of a wonderful fellowship.

Thursday morning during the prayer service the Spirit of God spoke a powerful and timely word into my heart. The Spirit said to me, "I have given you the vision, and I will lead you in my plan to see the vision fulfilled.”  I just began to weep before God as He also reminded me of Jeremiah 19:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

As many of you know I am a detail guy, someone who likes to have a plan and follow it. By God’s grace he has given me many great visions for His will in my life and I have been privileged to see some of them come to fulfillment. As I reflect on those victories I see that it was never my plans that led to eventual success. It is only when I surrendered to God’s plan that success was realized.

As Stacey and I began this new missionary endeavor God gave us a vision of a church in Stuttgart full of military families growing in grace, sharing their faith, and daily worshiping God. So I formed a plan to get us there, my plan, not His. That Thursday morning in prayer at council God showed me my foolishness, and I was broken.

The new plan is this, trust the Lord and His plan as He chooses to reveal it to me in prayer and His Word. My daily goal is to walk in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. This time the vision is too big for my plan and the stakes too high to fail. God has called us and given us a great vision and He knows the plans He has for us. Our only job is to follow the plan.

Tips for Staying Fit on the Road

About 3 years ago I weighed 280 pounds. The bottom came while trying on size 50 pants and they were not fitting. I decided in the dressing room to lose weight by exercising and eating right. I lost 80 pounds in about eight months, getting as low as 199 pounds.

I put about 30 pounds back after a year following several missions trips to Germany and Romania. I have been between 215 and 230 ever since then. My goal weight is between 190 and 200 and I have yet to keep it there for any length of time. But recently I have rededicated myself to the effort and am well on my way to reaching this goal.

Of course being on the road 80% of the time makes staying fit and eating right a real challenge. I am currently making some progress in reaching my weight goal and thought the tips I have learned over the years night help others. If you are interested in maintaining your current weight or losing a few pounds I hope the following tips help.

1. Pray - Food can be an idol, it is for me, and I need the power of the Holy Spirit to empower me to gain the victory over my idols. Pray daily for the Holy Spirit to guide your food choices.
   
2. Eat In - This can be tough for an itinerating missionary, but make a deal with yourself that you will not eat out unless it is a special occasion, or in the course of building a ministry relationship.
3. Good Choices - When you do go out remember that you eat to live not live to eat. It's easy to lose control at a restaurant so try and look at the menu online and research the calorie and fat content before arriving. That way you will know what to order before the smells and pictures hit you.
4. Brand Loyalty - Seek out restaurant chains that have several healthy options but keep in mind not everything on the menu is healthy. Some examples include: Subway, Genghis Grill, Chipotle Grill, TGI Fridays, Soup or Salad, Jason's Deli, Panera Bread, Applebee's, Orange Leaf Yogurt.
5. No Red Meats - This is a must if you are trying to lose weight, there are some benefits to eating red meat but the negatives outweigh the positives here. Instead eat chicken, turkey (best choice), fish, and once in a while lean pork.
6. Drink Water - Your body is mostly water and many times when you feel hungry you are just thirsty. Before snaking (healthy of course) drink a tall glass of water and two tall glasses at every meal. Cut out sodas (including diet) all together.
7. Portion Control - Most restaurants serve way too much food with your order. My number one way to not eat it all is to ask for a take out container right away and split my meal (if I am not sharing with my wife, also good) and take it home or to the hotel for lunch the following day. Never eat until stuffed only until you are no longer hungry.
   
8. Join a Gym - Joining a good gym with plenty of weight machines, aerobic options, and locations close to your home is an important step in getting fit.
9. Schedule Workouts - When can you dedicate 60- 90 minutes a day three times a week to working out? Look at your calendar and see what days you are most likely available. If you are a morning person go in the morning, if not, then in the evening. Be sure to give yourself at least one day in between workouts to recover.
   
10. Strength Train- Aerobic activity helps you burn calories while active, but strength training keeps you body burning calories 2 to 3 hours after working out. More is not better here, you are looking for 14-18 reps with moderate exertion levels. If you are unfamiliar with strength/resistance training getting a trainer for a few weeks is recommended.
11. Free Training - This is a term I use for training when you are traveling. I hate to run but it is the one thing I can do wherever I am. Get a good pair of running/walking shoes and pack workout clothes. Make every attempt to stay on schedule no matter where you are. Choose a hotel with a fitness center (most offer this amenity) when traveling. You can also visit a park and play basketball or Geocache as a family.
12. Stay Active - Leading an active lifestyle on days you are not working out will accelerate your fitness and weight loss levels. Play golf, walk, go to the park, and other activities will help you lose weight faster.
13. Shop Smart - Choose foods that will strengthen and build your body, not make you feel sluggish and tired. Avoid processed food if possible. If you cannot buy fresh all the time get frozen not canned veggies. Pay attention to portion sizes and nutritional information. Try to plan out balanced healthy meals for your family.
14. Pack Your Snacks - One thing that really works is buying road snacks at the market before your trips. Convenience stores don't often have a wide selection of healthy snacks so buy ahead and back a grocery bar with nutrition bars, nuts, fruit, and water.
15. Be Persistent - If you slip, get up, analyze why you slipped, and develop a plan not to slip again. This is a marathon not a sprint so once in a while you are going to stumble. Being healthy and fit is not a fad, it's a life choice.

I hope this serves as a blessing. I am not a fitness guru or a expert, I am just a guy who struggles in this part of his journey with the Lord and has learned some things along the way. I am convinced that bringing discipline to this area of my life brings glory to God and refusing to do so brings dishonor. 


Philippians 3:19, Matthew 6:25, Romans 8:12-14

Three Keys in Missions Giving

At a national conference, a pastor of a large and growing church asked a colleague for some counsel: “We are starting another building program, but we have many financial problems. We are constantly in debt and under pressure for more money. What is our problem?”

After asking a few probing questions, the colleague correctly diagnosed the twofold difficulty: First, the pastor was not teaching his people to tithe and give offerings and alms as directed in Scripture. Second, he did not regularly promote missions in his congregation with such things as missions conventions, faith promise giving, and adding new missionaries and projects to the church’s support list. In other words, the troubled pastor had overlooked three key principles related to missions giving:

1. Missions and world ministries outreach is not an optional program. Every local church, regardless of its size or income, is part of the active body of Christ and must share in the task of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20; Mark 16:15–18).
   
2. Part of a church’s spiritual program is to develop a missionary vision and program. A well-planned missions convention can become one of the spiritual highlights of the year.
   
3. When churches begin to give to missions or increase their missions giving, the general income of the church usually increases as well.

One particular congregation was giving only $255 annually to missions. Within six years, however, it had increased its annual missions giving to $43,000. At the same time, the annual amount the members gave for local operating expenses and ministries increased to $46,000. Moreover, this church had been burdened with a debt of more than $80,000. Yet during the time of missions growth, the church paid off its debt in full and purchased a parsonage for its pastor.

Kilpatrick, J. (2006). Church Administration, Finance, and Law (48–49). Springfield, MO: Global University.

Is He Risen In You?

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1, ESV)

 Do you remember the day you gave your heart and life to Jesus? The day that you cried out to Him in complete surrender and asked Him to fulfill His promises in you? That is the day of your death, the day you died to yourself. Or did you?

So many people in churches today come forward and make a decision to be a Christian, come to church, volunteer, make friends, sing cool songs, do the right thing, etc. There are very few who come forward to die. There is no acknowledgment of guilt, no repentance, and no death.

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:8–9, ESV)

The blame for most of the false or weak conversions in our churches rest primarily on the pastors and spiritual leaders in our churches. In an effort to see our altars full we have watered down the message of the cross. The message of the cross calls us not to just raise our hand in our seat, or say a prayer, but calls a man to come and die.

After three days Jesus rose from the dead and He is now at the right hand of the Father making intercession for the saints. Has Jesus risen in you? Is He the author and director of your life? Does Jesus and your relationship with Him take priority over every other thing? In order for Christ to rise to this place of prominence in your life you must share in His death.

Examine your heart and ask Christ to put to death every thing that is not of God in your life so that the life of Christ may rise up in you.

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13, ESV)
 

Do You Now Believe?

“Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:32–33, ESV)

‘Now we believe.’ Jesus says—‘Do you? The time is coming when you will leave Me alone.’ Many a Christian worker has left Jesus Christ alone and gone into work from a sense of duty, or from a sense of need arising out of his own particular discernment. The reason for this is the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. The soul has got out of intimate contact with God by leaning to its own religious understanding. There is no sin in it, and no punishment attached to it; but when the soul realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and produced for himself perplexities and sorrows and difficulties, it is with shame and contrition he has to come back.

We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus much deeper down, to get into the habit of steadily referring everything back to Him; instead of this we make our commonsense decisions and ask God to bless them. He cannot, it is not in His domain, it is severed from reality. If we do a thing from a sense of duty, we are putting up a standard in competition with Jesus Christ. We become a ‘superior person,’ and say—‘Now in this matter I must do this and that.’ We have put our sense of duty on the throne instead of the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to walk in the light of conscience or of a sense of duty, but to walk in the light as God is in the light. When we do anything from a sense of duty, we can back it up by argument; when we do anything in obedience to the Lord, there is no argument possible; that is why a saint can be easily ridiculed.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

Heal the Sick

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ” (James 5:13–14, ESV)

It is the responsibility of the sick to call the elders of the church. When a person is so ill that he or she cannot go to church, they want the people with the most faith in the church to come and pray. Normally, when the illness is not major, the rule is ‘pray for each other’. The elders will act just like the disciples in Mk. 6:13 who must have learned it from Jesus, and anoint the sick person with oil as they pray, so their prayer is not only heard, but physically felt. The important fact is that the prayer is to the Lord and the anointing is done in the name of the Lord. It is the Lord, not the power of the prayer or the oil, who will raise him up. And that is just how James promises that the Lord will respond to the prayer offered in faith. This is not a ‘hope so’ or ‘maybe’ prayer, but a prayer which shows secure confidence that God will heal because the elders have first listened to God and have received this confidence in their hearts. It is close to Paul’s gift of faith in 1 Cor. 12:9. Such prayers take time; they are not a quick ritual or routine.

Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Jas 5:13–18). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

The God of the Irresistable Future

"The God of Israel will be your reward." - Isaiah 52:12

Security from Yesterday. “God requireth that which is past.” At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise from remembering the yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace is apt to be checked by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them in order to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual culture for the future. God reminds us of the past lest we get into a shallow security in the present.
 

Security for To-morrow. “For the Lord will go before you.” This is a gracious revelation, that God will garrison where we have failed to. He will watch lest things trip us up again into like failure, as they assuredly would do if He were not our reward. God’s hand reaches back to the past and makes a clearing-house for conscience.

Security for To-day. “For ye shall not go out with haste.” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, unremembering delight, nor with the flight of impulsive thoughtlessness, but with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will never return but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ.

Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

The Test of Loyalty

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28, ESV

 It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberties with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord. Suddenly God breaks up a particular set of circumstances, and the realization comes that we have been disloyal to Him by not recognizing that He had organized them. We never saw what He was after, and that particular thing will never be repeated all the days of our life. The test of loyalty always comes just there. If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses.
 

Loyalty to Jesus Christ is the thing that we ‘stick at’ to-day. We will be loyal to work, to service, to anything, but do not ask us to be loyal to Jesus Christ. Many Christians are intensely impatient of talking about loyalty to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more emphatically by Christian workers than by the world. God is made a machine for blessing men, and Jesus Christ is made a Worker among workers.
 

The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us—‘I reckon on you for extreme service, with no complaining on your part and no explanation on Mine.’ God wants to use us as He used His own Son.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

The Bow in the Cloud

"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth." -Genesis 9:13

It is the will of God that human beings should get into moral relationship with Him, and His covenants are for this purpose. ‘Why does not God save me?’ He has saved me, but I have not entered into relationship with Him. “Why does not God do this and that?’ He has done it, the point is—Will I step into covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.

Waiting for God is incarnate unbelief, it means that I have no faith in Him; I wait for Him to do something in me that I may trust in that. God will not do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man has to go out of himself in his covenant with God as God goes out of Himself in His covenant with man. It is a question of faith in God—the rarest thing; we have faith only in our feelings. I do not believe God unless He will give me something in my hand whereby I may know I have it, then I say—‘Now I believe.’ There is no faith there. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved.”

When I have really transacted business with God on His covenant and have let go entirely, there is no sense of merit, no human ingredient in it at all, but a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and the whole thing is transfigured with peace and joy.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of A Sermon

The Art of Listening might well be the most the important skill a Christian must develop, because Christianity is at its essence all about the Word of God. In fact, God himself is the Word (John 1:1) and the Word became flesh (John 1:2)—safe to say that if God is the Word then how we use our ears is pretty important. Furthermore, you can only come to faith through hearing (Rom. 10:14) and then you grow mature through hearing (Matt. 13:23).

The Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord (1 Sam 3:21).

Do you get it? Seeing God happens through hearing. Our vision is through our ears. My friend, if you have either not yet come to Christ, or you have but are frustrated, confused, and not really growing, then I would bet big money that your problem revolves around not listening as you should. Here are some tips on listening well to a preacher, or to the Word of God in any context:

1. Get in range regularly

The reason Zacchaeus collided with Jesus was because he climbed the tree. If the soil is not in range of the sower then it isn't going to receive any seed. This first point isn't rocket science: you need to be regularly exposed to God's word. Try to do a few minutes of personal time each day with the Bible, and obviously ensure you are at church each Sunday. Get in range.

2. Be expectant to receive

The good news is that the Word of God is supernatural stuff. It is living and active and burrows right inside us, doing us good (Heb. 4:12) and it will always achieve its purpose (Isa. 55:11). So listen expectantly. If it is a topic or preacher that you are not too excited about, then pull yourself together and get excited—the issue is the pizza, not the delivery boy or the box it comes in.

3. Understand it

The Parable of the Soil (Matt. 13:23) stresses the importance of not just hearing but understanding. Take notes, listen again to the download, discuss it at small group, go over the Scriptures again. One way or another, check you that you 'get it'.

4. Mix with faith

Hebrews 4:1-3 speaks about two groups of people who heard the same message. One group benefited big time. The others thought the message was useless. What was the difference? Only one group mixed the incoming word with faith. As you listen, be assured that God has your best at heart, and set yourself to receive the word and to obey it with joy and conviction. Not because you 'have to' but because you 'get to.' God isn't looking for blind, begrudging obedience. He is looking for faith!

5. Actually do it

The difference between the foolish and wise builders in Matthew 7 was that one put the word into practice and one didn't. If you don't actually obey the word then your life and faith will be built on sand. You will continuously be unsure that 'Christianity really works.' So, if you hear a message on forgiveness but do not forgive, then your house may fall flat. James says that you will be a like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he looks like—you will be insecure in who you are and in who God is. Obey. Put it into practice. Then you'll grow.

  

From the Resurgence Blog, written by PJ Smyth

Authority and Independence

 
"If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments." John 14:15 (R.V.).

Our Lord never insists upon obedience; He tells us very emphatically what we ought to do, but He never takes means to make us do it. We have to obey Him out of oneness of spirit. That is why when Our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an IF—you do not need to unless you like. “If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself”; let him give up his right to himself to Me. Our Lord is not talking of eternal positions, but of being of value to Himself in this order of things, that is why He sounds so stern (cf. Luke 14:26). Never interpret these words apart from the One who uttered them.

The Lord does not give me rules, He makes His standard very clear, and if my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without any hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else in competition with Him, viz., myself. Jesus Christ will not help me to obey Him, I must obey Him; and when I do obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small petty incidents, altogether unnoticeable and mean, but if I obey Jesus Christ in the haphazard circumstances, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God, and when I stand face to face with God I shall discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When once God’s Redemption comes to the point of obedience in a human soul, it always creates. If I obey Jesus Christ, the Redemption of God will rush through me to other lives, because behind the deed of obedience is the Reality of Almighty God.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

Crushed

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,” -Colossians 1:24, ESV

 We make calls out of our own spiritual consecration, but when we get right with God He brushes all these aside, and rivets us with a pain that is terrific to one thing we never dreamed of, and for one radiant, flashing moment we see what He is after, and we say—“Here am I, send me.”
 

This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with. If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way! But when He uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, and makes those the crushers, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. If ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.
 

I wonder what kind of finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you, and you have been like a marble and escaped? You are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you, the wine would have been remarkably bitter. To be a sacramental personality means that the elements of the natural life are presenced by God as they are broken providentially in His service. We have to be adjusted to God before we can be broken bread in His hands. Keep right with God and let Him do what He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.