The LORD God blesses everyone who trusts him and depends on him. (Psalm 146:5)
There was a man in the Bible who was just an ordinary, un-assuming, everyday Joe. But his name wasn’t Joe.
It was Moses.
It’s weird to me that many people I talk to today, including those that claim to be Followers of Christ, seem to equate Moses as being some ancient God from thousands of years ago.
But Moses was anything but that. Moses was just an ordinary Sheppard. Tending sheep in his pastures. Until one day a completely unexpected call came.
“Moses, this is God. Lead my people from bondage.”
“Uh, you mean me?” Moses responded. “You must mean one of the religious leaders.”
“No,” God said, “I mean you.”
The lesson so many thousands of years ago is the same and as important as it is right now as you read this.
God uses people to change the world.
People like you. Like your best friend. Like your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband. People like your school bus driver, the cafeteria worker at school, or the person behind the counter at the convenience store or the cashier at the supermarket. The boss in the corner office or the dude that keeps the copy machine working.
God doesn’t save world-changing stuff just for the jocks, corporate vice presidents, politicians, school teachers, or religious figures.
God uses everyone. The good. The bad. The beautiful. The ugly. War-loving hawks and groovy peace doves. The worst of the worst in solitary confinement in a prison and the number one ranked student in his class at some prep school. The princes and the paupers. The rich and the poor.
Over the past couple of years I have seen first-hand how the ordinary have done the extraordinary.
The college student who leaves everything convenient behind to tell people in Africa about the love of God.
The Mother who remains strong in her faith despite the cries for her troubled child remaining unheard.
The musician that uses his obvious musical talents to bring enjoyment to his listeners, but uses the love of God to minister to an ailing friend.
The guy that stands up for a friend when people in authority falsely accuse.
The lady who rescues animals that the rest of society has given up on.
The teenager who can see the forest through the trees.
Ordinary people. Doing extraordinary things. Because they trust God and depend on Him.
And in return, God blesses them.
Do you trust God? Do you depend on God? If your answer is yes, then you will do things for God’s kingdom that make the world’s version of successful people pale in comparison to what you have done.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
A Real Jesus (12/15/2009)
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. (John 1:14, The Message)
I wonder how many of us today claim to have a “personal relationship” with Jesus, but still treat our over-all faith like some sort of ritual infested ceremony.
I was at a Roman Catholic funeral the other day, and what really caught my attention was not so much the sadness that someone had died, but the sheer amount of rituals and memorized prayers that everyone seemed to chant at once, with none of it having any apparent meaning to the chanters, if “chanters” is such a word. My point is not to poke fun at Roman Catholicism; rather, it’s to see how quickly we can reduce Jesus to a few simple rituals and prayers every now and then when someone passes away.
In the Bible, John says that “The Word became flesh.” What does that mean for us as followers of Jesus Christ?
It means more than just a bunch of words strung together to sound important.
It means that Jesus was real. It means that Jesus was completely accessible, just like your best friend. It means that Jesus was easily reached, just like your girl friend, or your boyfriend, or your wife or husband.
So what does that mean for us today? I mean, he is no longer “in the flesh,” but is seated at the right hand of the Father. But if Jesus were today, my guess is that he would still want to have that “personal relationship” with each of us.
Jesus would be the guy to give us a lift to the mall.
Jesus would be the guy who comes over on a Sunday afternoon to watch the Red Sox and maybe a barbeque.
Jesus would be the guy we call on the phone or text that we just missed the train and will be a little late to Dunkin’ Donuts to share our heartaches over coffee.
Jesus is the guy who would go walk your dog because you are stuck in traffic.
Jesus is the guy who helps you with your homework when you just don’t get it.
Jesus is the guy playing Farmville on Facebook.
And when you had something to say to Him, he would listen to you as if you were the only person on earth.
This is the kind of Jesus that is available to each us that call themselves “followers.”
I can’t honestly say if any of those people at the funeral had a relationship with Jesus, or a relationship with a ritual, a Priest, or a prayer. I have no idea of what was in each of their hearts. But if you are a follower of Jesus, today is a day to celebrate – to celebrate that you don’t follow a religion – you live a faith!
I wonder how many of us today claim to have a “personal relationship” with Jesus, but still treat our over-all faith like some sort of ritual infested ceremony.
I was at a Roman Catholic funeral the other day, and what really caught my attention was not so much the sadness that someone had died, but the sheer amount of rituals and memorized prayers that everyone seemed to chant at once, with none of it having any apparent meaning to the chanters, if “chanters” is such a word. My point is not to poke fun at Roman Catholicism; rather, it’s to see how quickly we can reduce Jesus to a few simple rituals and prayers every now and then when someone passes away.
In the Bible, John says that “The Word became flesh.” What does that mean for us as followers of Jesus Christ?
It means more than just a bunch of words strung together to sound important.
It means that Jesus was real. It means that Jesus was completely accessible, just like your best friend. It means that Jesus was easily reached, just like your girl friend, or your boyfriend, or your wife or husband.
So what does that mean for us today? I mean, he is no longer “in the flesh,” but is seated at the right hand of the Father. But if Jesus were today, my guess is that he would still want to have that “personal relationship” with each of us.
Jesus would be the guy to give us a lift to the mall.
Jesus would be the guy who comes over on a Sunday afternoon to watch the Red Sox and maybe a barbeque.
Jesus would be the guy we call on the phone or text that we just missed the train and will be a little late to Dunkin’ Donuts to share our heartaches over coffee.
Jesus is the guy who would go walk your dog because you are stuck in traffic.
Jesus is the guy who helps you with your homework when you just don’t get it.
Jesus is the guy playing Farmville on Facebook.
And when you had something to say to Him, he would listen to you as if you were the only person on earth.
This is the kind of Jesus that is available to each us that call themselves “followers.”
I can’t honestly say if any of those people at the funeral had a relationship with Jesus, or a relationship with a ritual, a Priest, or a prayer. I have no idea of what was in each of their hearts. But if you are a follower of Jesus, today is a day to celebrate – to celebrate that you don’t follow a religion – you live a faith!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Sweet Temptation (12/8/2009)
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. (Matthew 4:1-2)
Did it ever occur to you that so many of us who count ourselves as Christians or Followers of Jesus Christ go on with our daily living with the mistaken belief that because Jesus never sinned, he was never tempted? And every time we are tempted, we scold ourselves and beat ourselves up because we faced temptation.
If you’re like me, sometimes it’s easy to fall into that thinking trap. But there is good news in Matthew 4:1-11. These versus tell of how satan tempted Jesus, and how Jesus never fell for the devil’s bag of tricks. What makes this story even more incredible to us as fallen humans is that Jesus faced these temptations after he had not eaten for forty days. What? Most of cannot imagine not eating for four hours! Jesus had not eaten for forty days. He was tired. He was hungry. His blood sugar levels must have read zero. And, after forty days and nights in the wilderness without food and water, Jesus was at his most vulnerable. And the devil knew it. And used that opportunity to attack!
First temptation – c’mon Jesus, you must be hungry…turn this rocks into bread. Jesus says no way.
Second temptation – hey Jesus, if you are the son of God, just jump from the top of the temple and God will catch you. Jesus laughs him off and refuses to test God.
Third temptation – ok Jesus, just worship me and I will give you the power to rule over the entire world. Jesus, tired and hungry and beaten with temptation, clenches his fists, breathes deeply, and tells satan to take a hike as there is only one God to serve.
You may not be hungry or thirsty. You may not be tired. But as a follower of Jesus Christ, satan has you in his gun sights, right now, even as you read this. But he is waiting – waiting until you are the most vulnerable to strike. It may be when you are frustrated at school, have a bad day at work, or a fight with a boyfriend or girlfriend or wife or husband. And most of all satan will wait for tragedy or disaster to strike you or your family or your friends. And when any of these things happen in your life, Satan will be there, waiting patiently to offer you false hope and false promises.
There may not be any easy 3-step programs guaranteed to defeat satan. But there are ways we can do some preventive maintenance…try making it a habit of being in God’s word every day, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Keep your prayer life active and fresh by just talking with God throughout the day. And immerse and surround yourself with genuine followers of Jesus Christ who are certain to pick you up when you feel you are starting to fall down.
Temptation is part of everyone’s life everyday. The key is resisting the urge through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because if you keep Him big in your life and yourself small, satan has no chance.
Did it ever occur to you that so many of us who count ourselves as Christians or Followers of Jesus Christ go on with our daily living with the mistaken belief that because Jesus never sinned, he was never tempted? And every time we are tempted, we scold ourselves and beat ourselves up because we faced temptation.
If you’re like me, sometimes it’s easy to fall into that thinking trap. But there is good news in Matthew 4:1-11. These versus tell of how satan tempted Jesus, and how Jesus never fell for the devil’s bag of tricks. What makes this story even more incredible to us as fallen humans is that Jesus faced these temptations after he had not eaten for forty days. What? Most of cannot imagine not eating for four hours! Jesus had not eaten for forty days. He was tired. He was hungry. His blood sugar levels must have read zero. And, after forty days and nights in the wilderness without food and water, Jesus was at his most vulnerable. And the devil knew it. And used that opportunity to attack!
First temptation – c’mon Jesus, you must be hungry…turn this rocks into bread. Jesus says no way.
Second temptation – hey Jesus, if you are the son of God, just jump from the top of the temple and God will catch you. Jesus laughs him off and refuses to test God.
Third temptation – ok Jesus, just worship me and I will give you the power to rule over the entire world. Jesus, tired and hungry and beaten with temptation, clenches his fists, breathes deeply, and tells satan to take a hike as there is only one God to serve.
You may not be hungry or thirsty. You may not be tired. But as a follower of Jesus Christ, satan has you in his gun sights, right now, even as you read this. But he is waiting – waiting until you are the most vulnerable to strike. It may be when you are frustrated at school, have a bad day at work, or a fight with a boyfriend or girlfriend or wife or husband. And most of all satan will wait for tragedy or disaster to strike you or your family or your friends. And when any of these things happen in your life, Satan will be there, waiting patiently to offer you false hope and false promises.
There may not be any easy 3-step programs guaranteed to defeat satan. But there are ways we can do some preventive maintenance…try making it a habit of being in God’s word every day, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Keep your prayer life active and fresh by just talking with God throughout the day. And immerse and surround yourself with genuine followers of Jesus Christ who are certain to pick you up when you feel you are starting to fall down.
Temptation is part of everyone’s life everyday. The key is resisting the urge through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because if you keep Him big in your life and yourself small, satan has no chance.
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