The Worry Snuggie (10/29/2009)
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? (Matthew 6:27)
Worries. Nerves. Anxieties. Fears.
A thousand words.
One feeling.
That you are not in control.
It doesn’t matter how old you are, how young you are. It doesn’t matter if you are in school, or have a full time job, or even if you sit around the house all day eating bon-bons and watching brain-dead talk shows or the latest “Judge” show.
Worry impacts all of us. It infects us like a bad cold and slowly but surely, it completely takes over all of us. It’s like wrapping ourselves in a “Worry Snuggie.”
But there is a huge problem with the Worry Snuggie. That is, instead of making us feel all warm and toasty, the Worry Snuggie saps us of every ounce of energy we have. The Worry Snuggie plays havoc with our minds and emotions because as we wrap ourselves even tighter in the Worry Snuggie’s grip, we put our minds into overdrive by over-thinking with the thought of “if I can barely get by today, how on earth am I going to deal with tomorrow?” And it’s an endless cycle that keeps us from enjoying the life God intends for each of us to live everyday.
A few weeks ago in the small group I attend, we talked a lot about living happily in the “here and now,” and about how difficult it is to give God our problems in a culture where we are literally bombarded with thoughts, images, and false promises that we can do it all, and that we somehow have this magical power to flip a switch and make everything all better.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Because every time we try to go solo and tackle something in our life that looks and feels so overwhelming – whether it be a test or paper in school, a project at work, or dealing with difficult people, we are simply going to lose.
Why?
Because we tried to do it on our own, without God. And by going alone, we tried to become God.
Are you worried today? Over money, or flunking a test at school, or falling behind at work, or losing a relationship?
Then try something new today – try keeping God big in your life, and yourself small. God knows what you are going through, and absolutely wants to help you, right now. Just give it to him, and let God be God, and you be you.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
What's Your Sacrifice?
The person who cheats will be cursed. He has a male animal in his flock and promises to offer it, but then he offers to the Lord an animal that has something wrong with it. I am a great king," says the Lord All-Powerful, "and I am feared by all the nations. (Malachi 1:14)
Before Jesus' once-and-for-all sacrifice on the cross, God's people had to offer several different sacrifices every year in order to maintain their relationship with Him. There were sin offerings, thanksgiving offerings, freewill offerings, festival offerings, just to name a few. Most of these offerings involved killing animals.
But the one common thread of all of these Old testament offerings is that God expected the absolute best from His people. If the offering called for a young bull, God expected the person offering the sacrifice to use the best young bull in his herd. Not the young bull with a blemish, was crippled, or just simply was not the best of the flock.
The good thing for us is that God doesn't require us to give him animals or birds or used cell phones as an offering to Him. But that doesn't mean God still does not desire and reward sacrifice. It's a golden opportunity for all of us.
What kind of sacrifice does God want from you today?
It's very simple.
He wants us.
He wants us to give Him our heart.
He wants is to give Him our mind.
He wants us to give Him our will.
And we can do this by loving and worshipping Him.
By putting Him first in our lives.
Would you put Him first by using your money to sponsor a child in Africa instead of using what little money you have to stuff your face with pizza or a bacon-ator at Wendy's, or going to the movies every week?
Would you put Him first by serving a ministry of your church for two or three hours a week instead of wasting countless hours playing video games, getting brain-dead doing Myspace or Facebook or AIM for hours, or watching TV?
If you truly put God first in your life, give Him the best you have. God wants prime sacrifices, not your leftovers. God wants all of you, not just what you think you can spare.
Have a great and blessed day. And remember to love those in and around your life as Jesus loves you.
Before Jesus' once-and-for-all sacrifice on the cross, God's people had to offer several different sacrifices every year in order to maintain their relationship with Him. There were sin offerings, thanksgiving offerings, freewill offerings, festival offerings, just to name a few. Most of these offerings involved killing animals.
But the one common thread of all of these Old testament offerings is that God expected the absolute best from His people. If the offering called for a young bull, God expected the person offering the sacrifice to use the best young bull in his herd. Not the young bull with a blemish, was crippled, or just simply was not the best of the flock.
The good thing for us is that God doesn't require us to give him animals or birds or used cell phones as an offering to Him. But that doesn't mean God still does not desire and reward sacrifice. It's a golden opportunity for all of us.
What kind of sacrifice does God want from you today?
It's very simple.
He wants us.
He wants us to give Him our heart.
He wants is to give Him our mind.
He wants us to give Him our will.
And we can do this by loving and worshipping Him.
By putting Him first in our lives.
Would you put Him first by using your money to sponsor a child in Africa instead of using what little money you have to stuff your face with pizza or a bacon-ator at Wendy's, or going to the movies every week?
Would you put Him first by serving a ministry of your church for two or three hours a week instead of wasting countless hours playing video games, getting brain-dead doing Myspace or Facebook or AIM for hours, or watching TV?
If you truly put God first in your life, give Him the best you have. God wants prime sacrifices, not your leftovers. God wants all of you, not just what you think you can spare.
Have a great and blessed day. And remember to love those in and around your life as Jesus loves you.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Seeing God through the Mud – Bob’s Message to the MHC Youth Group on Oct. 24, 2009
“Seeing God through the Mud”
October 24, 2009
First off, I want to repeat something that I mentioned the last time I had the honor to speak to you guys a few weeks ago – that is this – we, all of us, Billy, Chris and Frank – we all know that there are like a million things you could be doing on a Saturday night. You could be at the movies, or hanging out with friends at the mall, or at Friendly’s. But just think about how awesome it is, that each of you may have decided, yeah, I could do any one of those things tonight –the movies or the mall or bowling, or whatever your group of friends typically do on a Saturday night. But I decided that I am going to a church youth group meeting tonight. Sure, you may want to come here and play in the gym or hang out with your friends. But my guess is that for most of you, at least part of the reason you came tonight is that you want to get to know God and this guy Jesus just a little bit better than you knew him yesterday.
Why? Because even if you are an atheist and don’t believe in any God, people in general just seem to be interested in the life of Jesus. But here’s the reality. Jesus was either who He said He was, or He was a total liar. Really, it boils down to that. He either was who He said He was – Jesus said, “I am God, God in the flesh, and I came to pay for your sins,”- or He ran this great scam, and 2000 years later you guys are coming here, to youth group, to come worship a liar. Nobody denies that He existed. The problem seems to be that people tend to deny is that Jesus was who He said He was. Do people believe that He was who He said He was? That he was God, in human form, like you or me??
I’m going to talk a little tonight about a very important event that took place thousands of years ago during a time we call the Ministry of Jesus. This event is in found in the Bible in the Book of John, and it’s a story of Jesus healing a blind guy. What you’ll notice in this story is that Jesus didn’t just heal the blind guy. I mean, if I’m God walking around on earth and I’m going to heal somebody, I could just snap my fingers or say abra cadabra, “You’re healed” and I’m done. But Jesus doesn’t do this. There’s more that’s going on in this story. In fact, this story has three types of people that may remind you of somebody you know in your life today.
The first group of people we’ll call a person who is hurting from something that has gone wrong in their life. The second group of people is those that really don’t believe that Jesus is God. And the third group is what we call the followers of Jesus Christ. All I ask is that for the next few minutes, you follow along this story the best you can.
The Bible says in John 9 that Jesus was walking along the road, and He saw a man who had been blind since he was born. What you need to know about this guy who was blind from birth is that at this time in human history there was only one job for somebody who had been blind from birth. It was the job of a beggar. In this culture, at this time, if you were blind, that’s what you did. You were a beggar. So Jesus is walking along. He sees this guy who had been blind from birth. Then His followers, His disciples, said this: “’Teacher,’ the disciples asked Him, ‘Why was this man born blind? Was it punishment from his own sin or, or was it a sin his parents committed before he was born?’”
Picture this: Jesus is walking through town. The Bible says that everywhere Jesus went, there was a crowd. There are people lined up to see him. If you can’t picture this in your head, then picture a parade. How many people in here have been to a parade in person? Maybe a parade on the Fourth of July or maybe a parade on Thanksgiving Day or New Years’ Day, or maybe you saw the Red Sox parade when they won the World Series or the Patriots when they won the Super Bowl. Well, imagine this parade with no floats, no marching bands – just one man walking down the street. Jesus. And there are like hundreds of people on the sidewalk watching Jesus walk down the street. So imagine Jesus is walking down Main Street in Mansfield, and he sees this blind guy in the crowd, and he suddenly stops – and He stops the whole parade. Jesus looks at this blind guy. And as Jesus is looking at this blind dude, Jesus’ disciples – his followers, ask Jesus, “Hey Jesus, was this guy born blind because of some sin he committed or some sin his parents committed?”
And that’s a pretty normal question for people at this point in history because during this time, it was normal to think that if a person had any type of deformity – like a short arm or a limp in your walk or something about their body was messed up – like blindness, that it was a punishment for your sin or your parents’ sin.
So this is how Jesus answered the question:
Jesus tells his followers, you’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. Jesus says, “c’mon guys, there’s just no connection between this man’s blindness and his sin or his parent’s sin. He is blind so the deeds of God may be put on display.
When Jesus said this, his disciples must have looked at each and said, “say what?” This guy was born blind so that the power of God could be shown? Oh good grief, now I’ve heard everything! You see, what Jesus is doing when He answers their question is saying, “I’m not going to be caught in this dumb discussion of whether it’s his sin or his parent’s sin. It’s neither. This guy was born blind so the power of God could be shown.” Right there, He sets the stage for a great miracle that we’re about to see.
Now my guess is that nobody in here is blind, because if you are, you’re doing a pretty good job of pretending you can see. But try to imagine for a second what a blind guy must have been going through. He is blind – darkness is all this guy ever knew. Darkness and begging. He can’t even conceive of what blue looks like or red or orange or green. A million images that you and I take in every day of nature, he has no idea. This guy has never seen a sunset or a tree or a mountain or an ocean. He has no idea of that. Even as a little child, when his mom would hold him in her arms and he could maybe reach up and feel her face or even feel a warm tear that might have come out of her eye, he has no idea what his mom looks like. I mean, he doesn’t even know what a tear looks like. This guy was always dependent on a friendly arm or a walking cane take him places. But what is about to happen is so cool. Jesus is about to heal him.
The Bible says “Then Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man’s eyes.” Wow – I mean, of all the ways that Jesus could heal this guy, this is how He chooses to do it. He’s talking to this guy, then He spits on the ground, and He takes the saliva and makes this mud pie and puts it on his eyes.
So he gets to the pool, and he begins to wash. Just imagine for a second that light now begins to pour into his eyes. Something he’d never experienced ever before – he could see light. Then, all of a sudden, as his eyes, as the crust comes off, all of a sudden, he begins to see a reflection of a person he had never seen in his entire life. He sees himself! He looks up and sees the sky. He’d heard people say the sky was blue. Now, all of a sudden, it registers that that’s blue. He sees a tree and goes, “Green tree!” And for the first time, he sees a mountain and an ocean.
I have to imagine that, at that moment, it had to have been awesome for the blind guy. I can’t imagine he was healed and then all of a sudden went, “Oh! Ok, now I can see. Well, time for me to get back to my begging post because I’ve got a great spot on the corner and that’s where good business is now – right on the corner.” No way! He saw clearly. The Bible said he started to move toward his family and friends. Probably picking up the pace and running a little bit – “I can see, I can see!” and the closer he got to his parents’ house… “Mom! No cane! Check this out!” No walking cane!
Then the Bible says, “When he went and washed, he came back seeing. His neighbors and others, who knew him as a blind beggar, asked each other, ‘Is this the same man? Is that the blind beggar?’ Some said he was, others said, ‘No it can’t be the same guy, but he sure looks like him.’ And the beggar kept saying, ‘It’s me! It’s me, the guy who used to be blind! I can see. I am that same man. “Then the people asked him, ‘Who healed you? What happened?’ And he told them, ‘The man they call Jesus made this mud pie and smoothed it over my eyes and told me, “Go to the pool of Siloam and wash off the mud.” I went and washed and now I can see.’ They said, ‘Where is this dude Jesus now?’ And the blind man said, ‘I don’t know.’”
This really frustrated the people who knew him. So they did the only thing they knew to do – they took the man to the Pharisees. Now, I realize some of you in here have grown up in church and you know what a Pharisee is. But many of you haven’t, so let me explain. A Pharisee, these are the people who doubt what’s going on here. “Pharisee” is a fancy word for “religious ruler.” A Pharisee is somebody who’s focused on a real small picture of God instead of the big picture of God. For example, if there were Pharisee leaders at youth group tonight, they wouldn’t let some of you in this room. A Pharisee leader would stand by the door and go, “Not you! Not the way you’re dressed. You can’t come in. No. I’ve seen you. You have a reputation at your school. There’s no way you can come into this church.” A Pharisee is someone who would like to keep human laws and not necessarily God’s laws. They knew God’s laws, but they were much more interested in keeping human laws. They were kind of like the religious cops of the day.
So the people took the guy who was blind to the Pharisees on the same day that Jesus had healed him, which just so happened to be a Sabbath day. Why weren’t the people just happy that this guy’s blindness had been cured? Because of one simple reason – Jesus had healed the man on a Sabbath. Now, a Sabbath doesn’t mean much to you today. But a Sabbath is a day that the law said you don’t work on. Some of you who may ask, “How did Jesus work on the Sabbath? All He did was heal a guy.” You know how He worked? He spat on the ground and He made mud. That was considered work. That’s how nutty the Pharisees were about man-made laws, that He worked on a Sabbath. The only time that you could actually work on a Sabbath was to save somebody’s life – not to heal someone. So now these religious leaders, they don’t even care that the blind guy’s been healed. They’re just really ticked off that Jesus worked on the Sabbath.
The Bible goes on to say that “The Pharisees asked the man how his blindness had been cured. So the man told them, ‘He smoothed some mud over my eyes, and when it washed away, I could see.’ And then some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man Jesus is not from God because He’s working on the Sabbath.’ But on the other hand, some of the other Pharisees were saying, “Ok, if Jesus is not from God, then he is just an ordinary sinner – but how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?’
Now the Pharisees were just as confused as the people who lived in town! They didn’t know what to think. So they asked the man who used to be blind, “This man who opened your eyes. Who do you say He is?’ What do you make of him? And the man said, ‘I think He must be a prophet.’”
The Bible doesn’t even tell us that these Pharisees, these religious leaders, were actually excited that this guy was healed. All they’re after is trying to get at Jesus. The religious leaders didn’t like Jesus because He taught differently. He taught more about God’s love, than man-made rules. He taught more about a relationship with God than keeping the rules.
The story goes on – the Jewish leaders wouldn’t believe that he had been blind, so they called in his parents. So here’s this guy who’s been healed, telling his story, and they go, “No, we don’t believe you because that would mean that Jesus is something special, like he’s God or something, and we just won’t stand for that! So they call the parents in. They said, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he see?” The reason this is such a big deal is that no one in the history of the world has been born blind and healed. No one in the history of the world. Do all the research you want. But nobody in the history of the world has been born blind and healed. Until this moment.
“The parents replied, ‘We know this is our son and that he was born blind. But we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. He’s old enough to speak for himself. Ask him yourself.
So the Pharisees call this guy back in a second time. And this time they say to the man, “Give God the credit. He’s the one who healed you. All glory belongs to God by telling the truth because we know Jesus is a sinner.” You’ve probably figured out by now that these Pharisees are the skeptics, the doubters.
Here’s what the guy said, and this is a great response: “‘I don’t know whether He’s a sinner,’ the blind man replied. ‘But I know this. I was blind, and now I see.’” What did this guy say? He didn’t know the answers to their question. He didn’t know who Jesus was. All he said was this, “I was blind, but now I see.” This was his entire story of being healed…these seven words…”I was blind, but now I see.”
Still, despite all these questions to the man who was blind and to his parents, the Pharisees still are not satisfied! They keep going after this guy and ask ‘What did He do? How did He heal you?’ The guy says, ‘Look! I’ve already answered all these questions, and you don’t like my answers. Do you really want me to repeat myself over again? Are you guys thinking about joining up with Him and becoming his followers?
Then the Pharisees cursed him and said, ‘Get out! You don’t know anything.’ And as the former blind man is leaving, he stops on the way out the door, turns around, and really gives it to the Pharisees. The man who was blind tells them, “This is very strange. He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know anything about Him. You religious people are supposed to be so close to God. He healed me, and you don’t know anything about Him. God doesn’t listen to sinners, but He listens to those who are ready to worship Him and do His will. Ever since the world began, has anybody been able to open the eyes of someone born blind? If this man were not from God, He couldn’t do it.’ Wow. Can you imagine on his way out, that the man who used to be blind really gives it back to the Pharisees? These religious rulers in their robes and their fancy hats, whatever they were wearing, they went after him. They said, ‘You were born in sin. Are you trying to teach us?’ And they threw him out of the synagogue.”
As we finish up tonight, let me ask you a question. Would you identify with one of these three? Is there one of these three that you would say, “That describes me?” You don’t need to say it out loud. You don’t need to share with anybody. Just in your own heart. Are you the one hurting? Or are you a doubter of Jesus Christ? Or are you a follower of Jesus Christ?
“Bob, you might be saying, I’m hurting. I may not be blind, but I’m hurting and need some healing.” Or you may say, “I’m a skeptic. I am a doubter. I came tonight with a friend and I’m interested in this Jesus. But I gotta tell ya Bob, I just don’t get it. I don’t get the God thing. I don’t get the Jesus thing. I don’t get the church thing. I’ve got questions.” Or third, maybe you’re here today and you’re a follower. You got out of bed today because you want to go to youth group. You like coming to church or youth group. This is the time you get your spiritual tanks recharged.
Who are you? You don’t have to answer that right now…just think about it…which one are you?
Are you a follower. If you’re a follower, just remember this tonight. You watch for changed lives. If you’re a follower of Jesus, if you’re a disciple of Jesus, watch for changed lives. Don’t be like the Pharisees who saw this blind guy healed and they didn’t care about him. It didn’t impact them. When you hear about a friend who has come to Christ, you ought to throw a little party. You hear of a friend who would just normally come to youth group on a Saturday, but then starts coming to church on a Sunday morning – when you hear that, you ought to go, “Wow! That’s great!” Because if you are not celebrating anybody’s spiritual growth, you have become hard to the ways of God. If you look around and say, I’ve got a friend who’s now reading the Bible and just go, “That’s cool,” but it doesn’t mean anything to you, here’s what’s happened to your heart. It’s shriveling up. So celebrate! Watch for changed lives. Why? Because it proves the power of God.
The second person is the skeptic, the doubter. Maybe this is you. You’re like, “This is my parent’s deal. I’m forced to come here. I come here to play this game with my folks that if I come to youth group, they will think I have it all together and I will behave at home and do my homework and take out the trash and walk the dog, and in return my parents will extend my curfew or they’ll get me a cell phone, or they will let me drive, or this whole youth group thing is just really a condition for me getting my driver’s license.” Whatever it is. But in your heart, you’re a skeptic. You’ve got questions. You don’t get it. There’s stuff that we talk about at youth group or read in the Bible that’s hard for you to buy. You wonder. You doubt.
If that kinda describes you, here’s what I want to say to you…I think being a skeptic is a fine place to be. If you’re a skeptic, let me challenge you. Go ahead and ask questions. There’s no question that you’re asking today that hasn’t been asked in over 2000 years of Christianity. If you have a question, just pull me or Billy or Chris or Frank aside and ask. There are no dumb questions. I should know. Sometimes I think all my questions are dumb!
Finally – are you hurting tonight? What does it mean to hurt? Some of you in here, I understand. You cover it well. You hide it well. You live in a decent house. But I know there’s some hurt in here, in this room, right now. It might be relational hurt. It might be from fighting with your parents or brothers or sisters every day, or watching your parents fight with each other all night. There are addictions in here that you can’t shake. There are people in here tonight who are hurting because they have made some bad decisions. Whatever it is. What I want you to hear tonight is this: just like Jesus stopped that parade that one day, just like He stopped the crowd and He looked at that blind guy, I want you to feel that, sense that you might be hiding your hurt from other people, but God sees it, just like he saw that blind guy that day thousands of years ago. God is looking at you right now, at this very moment and saying, “I don’t want you to live like that. I don’t want you to be hurting anymore. I’ve got a way that you can find some healing in your life.” God is just saying, “Follow me.”
Let’s pray:
God, we want to worship You. We want to worship You with our lives. I know there are some people here today who are just hurting so badly they don’t know how to worship You because all they’re thinking about is their pain. I pray that You would meet them like You met the blind beggar and heal them of their hurt. And, God, there are some people here who are skeptics, who’ve got so many questions. They’re just not sure what to do with those questions. I pray that You would, in the way that only You can, provide them answers through other people, through Your word, through their study and their sincere investigation. God, I know there are followers here today who know You and have relationship with You. God, I pray that You would help them to look at changed lives, to see Your power, for them not to focus on their problems but to see how You could take their problems and reveal Your power. God, that we might be different as we walk out of here today. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
October 24, 2009
First off, I want to repeat something that I mentioned the last time I had the honor to speak to you guys a few weeks ago – that is this – we, all of us, Billy, Chris and Frank – we all know that there are like a million things you could be doing on a Saturday night. You could be at the movies, or hanging out with friends at the mall, or at Friendly’s. But just think about how awesome it is, that each of you may have decided, yeah, I could do any one of those things tonight –the movies or the mall or bowling, or whatever your group of friends typically do on a Saturday night. But I decided that I am going to a church youth group meeting tonight. Sure, you may want to come here and play in the gym or hang out with your friends. But my guess is that for most of you, at least part of the reason you came tonight is that you want to get to know God and this guy Jesus just a little bit better than you knew him yesterday.
Why? Because even if you are an atheist and don’t believe in any God, people in general just seem to be interested in the life of Jesus. But here’s the reality. Jesus was either who He said He was, or He was a total liar. Really, it boils down to that. He either was who He said He was – Jesus said, “I am God, God in the flesh, and I came to pay for your sins,”- or He ran this great scam, and 2000 years later you guys are coming here, to youth group, to come worship a liar. Nobody denies that He existed. The problem seems to be that people tend to deny is that Jesus was who He said He was. Do people believe that He was who He said He was? That he was God, in human form, like you or me??
I’m going to talk a little tonight about a very important event that took place thousands of years ago during a time we call the Ministry of Jesus. This event is in found in the Bible in the Book of John, and it’s a story of Jesus healing a blind guy. What you’ll notice in this story is that Jesus didn’t just heal the blind guy. I mean, if I’m God walking around on earth and I’m going to heal somebody, I could just snap my fingers or say abra cadabra, “You’re healed” and I’m done. But Jesus doesn’t do this. There’s more that’s going on in this story. In fact, this story has three types of people that may remind you of somebody you know in your life today.
The first group of people we’ll call a person who is hurting from something that has gone wrong in their life. The second group of people is those that really don’t believe that Jesus is God. And the third group is what we call the followers of Jesus Christ. All I ask is that for the next few minutes, you follow along this story the best you can.
The Bible says in John 9 that Jesus was walking along the road, and He saw a man who had been blind since he was born. What you need to know about this guy who was blind from birth is that at this time in human history there was only one job for somebody who had been blind from birth. It was the job of a beggar. In this culture, at this time, if you were blind, that’s what you did. You were a beggar. So Jesus is walking along. He sees this guy who had been blind from birth. Then His followers, His disciples, said this: “’Teacher,’ the disciples asked Him, ‘Why was this man born blind? Was it punishment from his own sin or, or was it a sin his parents committed before he was born?’”
Picture this: Jesus is walking through town. The Bible says that everywhere Jesus went, there was a crowd. There are people lined up to see him. If you can’t picture this in your head, then picture a parade. How many people in here have been to a parade in person? Maybe a parade on the Fourth of July or maybe a parade on Thanksgiving Day or New Years’ Day, or maybe you saw the Red Sox parade when they won the World Series or the Patriots when they won the Super Bowl. Well, imagine this parade with no floats, no marching bands – just one man walking down the street. Jesus. And there are like hundreds of people on the sidewalk watching Jesus walk down the street. So imagine Jesus is walking down Main Street in Mansfield, and he sees this blind guy in the crowd, and he suddenly stops – and He stops the whole parade. Jesus looks at this blind guy. And as Jesus is looking at this blind dude, Jesus’ disciples – his followers, ask Jesus, “Hey Jesus, was this guy born blind because of some sin he committed or some sin his parents committed?”
And that’s a pretty normal question for people at this point in history because during this time, it was normal to think that if a person had any type of deformity – like a short arm or a limp in your walk or something about their body was messed up – like blindness, that it was a punishment for your sin or your parents’ sin.
So this is how Jesus answered the question:
Jesus tells his followers, you’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. Jesus says, “c’mon guys, there’s just no connection between this man’s blindness and his sin or his parent’s sin. He is blind so the deeds of God may be put on display.
When Jesus said this, his disciples must have looked at each and said, “say what?” This guy was born blind so that the power of God could be shown? Oh good grief, now I’ve heard everything! You see, what Jesus is doing when He answers their question is saying, “I’m not going to be caught in this dumb discussion of whether it’s his sin or his parent’s sin. It’s neither. This guy was born blind so the power of God could be shown.” Right there, He sets the stage for a great miracle that we’re about to see.
Now my guess is that nobody in here is blind, because if you are, you’re doing a pretty good job of pretending you can see. But try to imagine for a second what a blind guy must have been going through. He is blind – darkness is all this guy ever knew. Darkness and begging. He can’t even conceive of what blue looks like or red or orange or green. A million images that you and I take in every day of nature, he has no idea. This guy has never seen a sunset or a tree or a mountain or an ocean. He has no idea of that. Even as a little child, when his mom would hold him in her arms and he could maybe reach up and feel her face or even feel a warm tear that might have come out of her eye, he has no idea what his mom looks like. I mean, he doesn’t even know what a tear looks like. This guy was always dependent on a friendly arm or a walking cane take him places. But what is about to happen is so cool. Jesus is about to heal him.
The Bible says “Then Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man’s eyes.” Wow – I mean, of all the ways that Jesus could heal this guy, this is how He chooses to do it. He’s talking to this guy, then He spits on the ground, and He takes the saliva and makes this mud pie and puts it on his eyes.
So he gets to the pool, and he begins to wash. Just imagine for a second that light now begins to pour into his eyes. Something he’d never experienced ever before – he could see light. Then, all of a sudden, as his eyes, as the crust comes off, all of a sudden, he begins to see a reflection of a person he had never seen in his entire life. He sees himself! He looks up and sees the sky. He’d heard people say the sky was blue. Now, all of a sudden, it registers that that’s blue. He sees a tree and goes, “Green tree!” And for the first time, he sees a mountain and an ocean.
I have to imagine that, at that moment, it had to have been awesome for the blind guy. I can’t imagine he was healed and then all of a sudden went, “Oh! Ok, now I can see. Well, time for me to get back to my begging post because I’ve got a great spot on the corner and that’s where good business is now – right on the corner.” No way! He saw clearly. The Bible said he started to move toward his family and friends. Probably picking up the pace and running a little bit – “I can see, I can see!” and the closer he got to his parents’ house… “Mom! No cane! Check this out!” No walking cane!
Then the Bible says, “When he went and washed, he came back seeing. His neighbors and others, who knew him as a blind beggar, asked each other, ‘Is this the same man? Is that the blind beggar?’ Some said he was, others said, ‘No it can’t be the same guy, but he sure looks like him.’ And the beggar kept saying, ‘It’s me! It’s me, the guy who used to be blind! I can see. I am that same man. “Then the people asked him, ‘Who healed you? What happened?’ And he told them, ‘The man they call Jesus made this mud pie and smoothed it over my eyes and told me, “Go to the pool of Siloam and wash off the mud.” I went and washed and now I can see.’ They said, ‘Where is this dude Jesus now?’ And the blind man said, ‘I don’t know.’”
This really frustrated the people who knew him. So they did the only thing they knew to do – they took the man to the Pharisees. Now, I realize some of you in here have grown up in church and you know what a Pharisee is. But many of you haven’t, so let me explain. A Pharisee, these are the people who doubt what’s going on here. “Pharisee” is a fancy word for “religious ruler.” A Pharisee is somebody who’s focused on a real small picture of God instead of the big picture of God. For example, if there were Pharisee leaders at youth group tonight, they wouldn’t let some of you in this room. A Pharisee leader would stand by the door and go, “Not you! Not the way you’re dressed. You can’t come in. No. I’ve seen you. You have a reputation at your school. There’s no way you can come into this church.” A Pharisee is someone who would like to keep human laws and not necessarily God’s laws. They knew God’s laws, but they were much more interested in keeping human laws. They were kind of like the religious cops of the day.
So the people took the guy who was blind to the Pharisees on the same day that Jesus had healed him, which just so happened to be a Sabbath day. Why weren’t the people just happy that this guy’s blindness had been cured? Because of one simple reason – Jesus had healed the man on a Sabbath. Now, a Sabbath doesn’t mean much to you today. But a Sabbath is a day that the law said you don’t work on. Some of you who may ask, “How did Jesus work on the Sabbath? All He did was heal a guy.” You know how He worked? He spat on the ground and He made mud. That was considered work. That’s how nutty the Pharisees were about man-made laws, that He worked on a Sabbath. The only time that you could actually work on a Sabbath was to save somebody’s life – not to heal someone. So now these religious leaders, they don’t even care that the blind guy’s been healed. They’re just really ticked off that Jesus worked on the Sabbath.
The Bible goes on to say that “The Pharisees asked the man how his blindness had been cured. So the man told them, ‘He smoothed some mud over my eyes, and when it washed away, I could see.’ And then some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man Jesus is not from God because He’s working on the Sabbath.’ But on the other hand, some of the other Pharisees were saying, “Ok, if Jesus is not from God, then he is just an ordinary sinner – but how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?’
Now the Pharisees were just as confused as the people who lived in town! They didn’t know what to think. So they asked the man who used to be blind, “This man who opened your eyes. Who do you say He is?’ What do you make of him? And the man said, ‘I think He must be a prophet.’”
The Bible doesn’t even tell us that these Pharisees, these religious leaders, were actually excited that this guy was healed. All they’re after is trying to get at Jesus. The religious leaders didn’t like Jesus because He taught differently. He taught more about God’s love, than man-made rules. He taught more about a relationship with God than keeping the rules.
The story goes on – the Jewish leaders wouldn’t believe that he had been blind, so they called in his parents. So here’s this guy who’s been healed, telling his story, and they go, “No, we don’t believe you because that would mean that Jesus is something special, like he’s God or something, and we just won’t stand for that! So they call the parents in. They said, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he see?” The reason this is such a big deal is that no one in the history of the world has been born blind and healed. No one in the history of the world. Do all the research you want. But nobody in the history of the world has been born blind and healed. Until this moment.
“The parents replied, ‘We know this is our son and that he was born blind. But we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. He’s old enough to speak for himself. Ask him yourself.
So the Pharisees call this guy back in a second time. And this time they say to the man, “Give God the credit. He’s the one who healed you. All glory belongs to God by telling the truth because we know Jesus is a sinner.” You’ve probably figured out by now that these Pharisees are the skeptics, the doubters.
Here’s what the guy said, and this is a great response: “‘I don’t know whether He’s a sinner,’ the blind man replied. ‘But I know this. I was blind, and now I see.’” What did this guy say? He didn’t know the answers to their question. He didn’t know who Jesus was. All he said was this, “I was blind, but now I see.” This was his entire story of being healed…these seven words…”I was blind, but now I see.”
Still, despite all these questions to the man who was blind and to his parents, the Pharisees still are not satisfied! They keep going after this guy and ask ‘What did He do? How did He heal you?’ The guy says, ‘Look! I’ve already answered all these questions, and you don’t like my answers. Do you really want me to repeat myself over again? Are you guys thinking about joining up with Him and becoming his followers?
Then the Pharisees cursed him and said, ‘Get out! You don’t know anything.’ And as the former blind man is leaving, he stops on the way out the door, turns around, and really gives it to the Pharisees. The man who was blind tells them, “This is very strange. He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know anything about Him. You religious people are supposed to be so close to God. He healed me, and you don’t know anything about Him. God doesn’t listen to sinners, but He listens to those who are ready to worship Him and do His will. Ever since the world began, has anybody been able to open the eyes of someone born blind? If this man were not from God, He couldn’t do it.’ Wow. Can you imagine on his way out, that the man who used to be blind really gives it back to the Pharisees? These religious rulers in their robes and their fancy hats, whatever they were wearing, they went after him. They said, ‘You were born in sin. Are you trying to teach us?’ And they threw him out of the synagogue.”
As we finish up tonight, let me ask you a question. Would you identify with one of these three? Is there one of these three that you would say, “That describes me?” You don’t need to say it out loud. You don’t need to share with anybody. Just in your own heart. Are you the one hurting? Or are you a doubter of Jesus Christ? Or are you a follower of Jesus Christ?
“Bob, you might be saying, I’m hurting. I may not be blind, but I’m hurting and need some healing.” Or you may say, “I’m a skeptic. I am a doubter. I came tonight with a friend and I’m interested in this Jesus. But I gotta tell ya Bob, I just don’t get it. I don’t get the God thing. I don’t get the Jesus thing. I don’t get the church thing. I’ve got questions.” Or third, maybe you’re here today and you’re a follower. You got out of bed today because you want to go to youth group. You like coming to church or youth group. This is the time you get your spiritual tanks recharged.
Who are you? You don’t have to answer that right now…just think about it…which one are you?
Are you a follower. If you’re a follower, just remember this tonight. You watch for changed lives. If you’re a follower of Jesus, if you’re a disciple of Jesus, watch for changed lives. Don’t be like the Pharisees who saw this blind guy healed and they didn’t care about him. It didn’t impact them. When you hear about a friend who has come to Christ, you ought to throw a little party. You hear of a friend who would just normally come to youth group on a Saturday, but then starts coming to church on a Sunday morning – when you hear that, you ought to go, “Wow! That’s great!” Because if you are not celebrating anybody’s spiritual growth, you have become hard to the ways of God. If you look around and say, I’ve got a friend who’s now reading the Bible and just go, “That’s cool,” but it doesn’t mean anything to you, here’s what’s happened to your heart. It’s shriveling up. So celebrate! Watch for changed lives. Why? Because it proves the power of God.
The second person is the skeptic, the doubter. Maybe this is you. You’re like, “This is my parent’s deal. I’m forced to come here. I come here to play this game with my folks that if I come to youth group, they will think I have it all together and I will behave at home and do my homework and take out the trash and walk the dog, and in return my parents will extend my curfew or they’ll get me a cell phone, or they will let me drive, or this whole youth group thing is just really a condition for me getting my driver’s license.” Whatever it is. But in your heart, you’re a skeptic. You’ve got questions. You don’t get it. There’s stuff that we talk about at youth group or read in the Bible that’s hard for you to buy. You wonder. You doubt.
If that kinda describes you, here’s what I want to say to you…I think being a skeptic is a fine place to be. If you’re a skeptic, let me challenge you. Go ahead and ask questions. There’s no question that you’re asking today that hasn’t been asked in over 2000 years of Christianity. If you have a question, just pull me or Billy or Chris or Frank aside and ask. There are no dumb questions. I should know. Sometimes I think all my questions are dumb!
Finally – are you hurting tonight? What does it mean to hurt? Some of you in here, I understand. You cover it well. You hide it well. You live in a decent house. But I know there’s some hurt in here, in this room, right now. It might be relational hurt. It might be from fighting with your parents or brothers or sisters every day, or watching your parents fight with each other all night. There are addictions in here that you can’t shake. There are people in here tonight who are hurting because they have made some bad decisions. Whatever it is. What I want you to hear tonight is this: just like Jesus stopped that parade that one day, just like He stopped the crowd and He looked at that blind guy, I want you to feel that, sense that you might be hiding your hurt from other people, but God sees it, just like he saw that blind guy that day thousands of years ago. God is looking at you right now, at this very moment and saying, “I don’t want you to live like that. I don’t want you to be hurting anymore. I’ve got a way that you can find some healing in your life.” God is just saying, “Follow me.”
Let’s pray:
God, we want to worship You. We want to worship You with our lives. I know there are some people here today who are just hurting so badly they don’t know how to worship You because all they’re thinking about is their pain. I pray that You would meet them like You met the blind beggar and heal them of their hurt. And, God, there are some people here who are skeptics, who’ve got so many questions. They’re just not sure what to do with those questions. I pray that You would, in the way that only You can, provide them answers through other people, through Your word, through their study and their sincere investigation. God, I know there are followers here today who know You and have relationship with You. God, I pray that You would help them to look at changed lives, to see Your power, for them not to focus on their problems but to see how You could take their problems and reveal Your power. God, that we might be different as we walk out of here today. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
To Tell the Truth (10/22/2009)
His wife Rebekah was very beautiful, and the men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her. (Genesis 26:7)
Unless you have been sleeping under a rock since the beginning of the year, you have no doubt heard all the political chatter going on in our nation’s capital. Now before you go ahead and delete this message because you think this is going to be some sort of political commentary in support of Democrats or Republicans or Libertarians, or whatever label you choose, this is not about politics or government or policies or legislation or elections or being on the right wing or the left wing.
It’s about telling the truth.
And, sadly, this daily struggle all of us have with “telling the truth” is not confined to our politicians. The struggle to be truthful is everywhere – at work, at school, in our neighborhoods, in our homes. And worst of all – in our churches. And that’s probably the hardest one to swallow.
In Genesis 26, Isaac was really up against the wall. If he told the truth and admitted that Rebekah was his wife, there was no doubt that the men of a town called Gerar would kill Isaac and take her. If he told a little “fib” or “white lie” that this beautiful woman was his sister, the men would probably just leave both Isaac and Rebekah alone, and move on to someone else. In the end, Isaac decided to lie.
Now none of us were there at the time and can tell what Isaac was thinking when he said that Rebekah was his sister. My guess is that Isaac figured, “hey, this is just a little white lie - no one will get hurt from this little fib.”
Wow…how wrong he was.
Let me ask you a question…
Right now, as you read this, are you in a situation where you are wondering if you should tell the truth, or a “little white lie”?
If you are, ask yourself this – if I lie, will God bless my deceit?
Think about it for a minute…the God who hates lies and loves the truth…will this one and only holy God bless my fibbing? Bless my cheating on an exam or project in school? Will He bless me surfing the web at work when I should be working? Will He bless me when I spread false rumors about others at school or work so I get more popular or look better in the eyes of my school or work-mates?
I sincerely doubt it.
If you are even considering a thought that is less than 100% truthful, maybe, just maybe, it’s time to examine your heart, look in the mirror, and start asking the tough questions you know need to be answered.
Am I being honest at school or work or with friends?
Are my relationships real, or based on flimsy lies?
Do you always tell the truth, or only when it is convenient for you? If you cannot honestly answer that question, let me suggest this…start by answering that question truthfully today. You may be young and think you have all the time in the world to “right your ship,” but you never know when something is going to happen and God’s plans just don’t mesh with yours. Think about the people that have been in and around your life that were taken suddenly and never had a chance to tell the truth and “right their ship.”
Don’t let that person be you. If you are a witness in a court case, you’ll be asked to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
You may not be a witness in court today.
But you are a witness for Jesus everyday. So, “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Unless you have been sleeping under a rock since the beginning of the year, you have no doubt heard all the political chatter going on in our nation’s capital. Now before you go ahead and delete this message because you think this is going to be some sort of political commentary in support of Democrats or Republicans or Libertarians, or whatever label you choose, this is not about politics or government or policies or legislation or elections or being on the right wing or the left wing.
It’s about telling the truth.
And, sadly, this daily struggle all of us have with “telling the truth” is not confined to our politicians. The struggle to be truthful is everywhere – at work, at school, in our neighborhoods, in our homes. And worst of all – in our churches. And that’s probably the hardest one to swallow.
In Genesis 26, Isaac was really up against the wall. If he told the truth and admitted that Rebekah was his wife, there was no doubt that the men of a town called Gerar would kill Isaac and take her. If he told a little “fib” or “white lie” that this beautiful woman was his sister, the men would probably just leave both Isaac and Rebekah alone, and move on to someone else. In the end, Isaac decided to lie.
Now none of us were there at the time and can tell what Isaac was thinking when he said that Rebekah was his sister. My guess is that Isaac figured, “hey, this is just a little white lie - no one will get hurt from this little fib.”
Wow…how wrong he was.
Let me ask you a question…
Right now, as you read this, are you in a situation where you are wondering if you should tell the truth, or a “little white lie”?
If you are, ask yourself this – if I lie, will God bless my deceit?
Think about it for a minute…the God who hates lies and loves the truth…will this one and only holy God bless my fibbing? Bless my cheating on an exam or project in school? Will He bless me surfing the web at work when I should be working? Will He bless me when I spread false rumors about others at school or work so I get more popular or look better in the eyes of my school or work-mates?
I sincerely doubt it.
If you are even considering a thought that is less than 100% truthful, maybe, just maybe, it’s time to examine your heart, look in the mirror, and start asking the tough questions you know need to be answered.
Am I being honest at school or work or with friends?
Are my relationships real, or based on flimsy lies?
Do you always tell the truth, or only when it is convenient for you? If you cannot honestly answer that question, let me suggest this…start by answering that question truthfully today. You may be young and think you have all the time in the world to “right your ship,” but you never know when something is going to happen and God’s plans just don’t mesh with yours. Think about the people that have been in and around your life that were taken suddenly and never had a chance to tell the truth and “right their ship.”
Don’t let that person be you. If you are a witness in a court case, you’ll be asked to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
You may not be a witness in court today.
But you are a witness for Jesus everyday. So, “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Monday, October 19, 2009
Time to Clean Up
The priests and Levites had gone through a ceremony to make themselves acceptable to lead in worship. Then some of them killed Passover lambs for those who had returned, including the other priests and themselves. (Ezra 6:20)
Can you remember the last time you tried to get yourself cleaned up after getting dirty? I mean real dirty – like after painting part of the house, planting shrubs, cleaning out the attic or basement or garage?? Me? I hate cleaning the basement because it seems that all of the dirt seems to attach to me like a second skin. And what’s up with that smell down there? I mean, it smell’s like my Grandmother’s house!
But that second skin of dirt. Man, that is definitely what sin is like. It clings to us. It makes us stink. I can deal with being dirty and smelly. But one thing I can’t deal with is the dirt and smell of sin getting in the way of my relationship with God. Why? Because if God is holy and pure and completely removed from sin, than sin simply cannot exist in his presence. So, in order for me to have a growing and loving relationship with sinless and pure God, doesn’t it just make sense that we have to be pre and sinless?
But that’s where our problem lies – we, as humans, cannot come close to purifying ourselves. Oh, we could try every self-help book in the local bookstore, or try some mystical magical wand to clean ourselves like we discussed this week at the kick-off the Original Life series at Meetinghouse Church. But we know that none of that stuff will work in the end.
Simply put, each and every one of us need Christ to do this for us.
You have heard this simple truth before and you will no doubt hear it until the day you leave this earthly life – that is, Jesus’ death on the cross paid the eternal cost for our sins. It justified us. It made us holy and pure in God’s eyes. There is a “but” here – Jesus’ death did not eliminate the sinful urges each of us has every day. And the fact is that if we continue to give in to those urges, our sin creates a huge distance between us and God.
One of the constant and consistent themes of the Bible is the relationship between purity and obedience. Obedience is having a heart that’s right before God. Listen, it’s pretty easy to fool your friends, co-workers, school-mates, and even your parents with a fake purity act. But you can’t fool God. Simply out, if what you are doing on a daily basis in your life doesn’t match up with what’s in your heart, you know that you are putting on an act. And you mind as well drop the act ‘cause God knows you just ain’t being real.
If this sounds like you, don’t worry. God has great news for you, and all of us. God can and will change your heart. All you have to do is ask. It’s a gift to you, from God.
And it’s free.
Can you remember the last time you tried to get yourself cleaned up after getting dirty? I mean real dirty – like after painting part of the house, planting shrubs, cleaning out the attic or basement or garage?? Me? I hate cleaning the basement because it seems that all of the dirt seems to attach to me like a second skin. And what’s up with that smell down there? I mean, it smell’s like my Grandmother’s house!
But that second skin of dirt. Man, that is definitely what sin is like. It clings to us. It makes us stink. I can deal with being dirty and smelly. But one thing I can’t deal with is the dirt and smell of sin getting in the way of my relationship with God. Why? Because if God is holy and pure and completely removed from sin, than sin simply cannot exist in his presence. So, in order for me to have a growing and loving relationship with sinless and pure God, doesn’t it just make sense that we have to be pre and sinless?
But that’s where our problem lies – we, as humans, cannot come close to purifying ourselves. Oh, we could try every self-help book in the local bookstore, or try some mystical magical wand to clean ourselves like we discussed this week at the kick-off the Original Life series at Meetinghouse Church. But we know that none of that stuff will work in the end.
Simply put, each and every one of us need Christ to do this for us.
You have heard this simple truth before and you will no doubt hear it until the day you leave this earthly life – that is, Jesus’ death on the cross paid the eternal cost for our sins. It justified us. It made us holy and pure in God’s eyes. There is a “but” here – Jesus’ death did not eliminate the sinful urges each of us has every day. And the fact is that if we continue to give in to those urges, our sin creates a huge distance between us and God.
One of the constant and consistent themes of the Bible is the relationship between purity and obedience. Obedience is having a heart that’s right before God. Listen, it’s pretty easy to fool your friends, co-workers, school-mates, and even your parents with a fake purity act. But you can’t fool God. Simply out, if what you are doing on a daily basis in your life doesn’t match up with what’s in your heart, you know that you are putting on an act. And you mind as well drop the act ‘cause God knows you just ain’t being real.
If this sounds like you, don’t worry. God has great news for you, and all of us. God can and will change your heart. All you have to do is ask. It’s a gift to you, from God.
And it’s free.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Express Lane Repentance (10/15/2009)
LORD, after I wandered away from you, I changed my heart and life. After I understood, I beat my breast with sorrow. I was ashamed and disgraced, because I suffered for the foolish things I did when I was young. (Jeremiah 31:19)
This is probably a loaded question, but let me ask all of you this…
Have you ever really disappointed someone? I mean, have you ever done something or failed to do something, where after you did that thing (or failed to do that thing), it made other people change their opinion of you?
I think we all have…maybe you got caught going too far with your boyfriend or girlfriend…maybe it had to do with something embarrassing in your locker at school, or on your cell phone…maybe you came home wasted after a party.
If you’ve ever had an experience like that, you know how you feel afterwards. The guilt. The distress. You walk around and it feels like you’re wearing shoes made of cement. And all you want to do is go back in time for a “do-over.” All you want is people to stop being disappointed in you, and return to the way things used to be.
Easier said than done.
Or is it?
You see, there’s this “churchy” word that you may have heard called “repentance.” Unfortunately, the word has been used, and unfortunately abused, to mean something that it really isn’t. What I’m trying to say is this – genuine repentance, as illustrated so clearly in God’s word, is simply this – the desire to get rid of your sin and start over so God will look at you with joy once again.
So, what does the instruction manual say for how we should repent? Well, one problem I think we all face is that more often than not, we do something stupid or just plain mean, and we go through what I call “Express Lane Repentance.” Express Lane Repentance is:
1) Offer a quick prayer of apology to God
2) Ask God to forgive us
3) Get on with our lives
The problem with “Express Lane Repentance” is that it offers no real repentance at all. Express Lane Repentance is like what it sounds – like you are just driving through a toll booth of apologies.
But here’s the deal – when you sin against and disappoint someone in or around your life, there may be times when a simple “I’m sorry” may be good enough for your buddy or Mom or Dad. But for God, sometimes we actually need to give ourselves the time to experience the grief of regret so we can fully understand God’s forgiveness.
So here’s my suggestion for the next time you need to repent – instead of just doing the thoughtless Express Lane Repentance, try spending some time thinking about what Jesus went through and did for you on the cross. About how much he loved you that day, and loves you today. Think about who Jesus is, and understand that when we do those stupid or mean things in this life, we are sinning against Jesus. Because the more we understand this, the more we will experience real repentance.
Still stuck? Then just ask God to show himself to you, and help you repent. God will answer your prayer.
This is probably a loaded question, but let me ask all of you this…
Have you ever really disappointed someone? I mean, have you ever done something or failed to do something, where after you did that thing (or failed to do that thing), it made other people change their opinion of you?
I think we all have…maybe you got caught going too far with your boyfriend or girlfriend…maybe it had to do with something embarrassing in your locker at school, or on your cell phone…maybe you came home wasted after a party.
If you’ve ever had an experience like that, you know how you feel afterwards. The guilt. The distress. You walk around and it feels like you’re wearing shoes made of cement. And all you want to do is go back in time for a “do-over.” All you want is people to stop being disappointed in you, and return to the way things used to be.
Easier said than done.
Or is it?
You see, there’s this “churchy” word that you may have heard called “repentance.” Unfortunately, the word has been used, and unfortunately abused, to mean something that it really isn’t. What I’m trying to say is this – genuine repentance, as illustrated so clearly in God’s word, is simply this – the desire to get rid of your sin and start over so God will look at you with joy once again.
So, what does the instruction manual say for how we should repent? Well, one problem I think we all face is that more often than not, we do something stupid or just plain mean, and we go through what I call “Express Lane Repentance.” Express Lane Repentance is:
1) Offer a quick prayer of apology to God
2) Ask God to forgive us
3) Get on with our lives
The problem with “Express Lane Repentance” is that it offers no real repentance at all. Express Lane Repentance is like what it sounds – like you are just driving through a toll booth of apologies.
But here’s the deal – when you sin against and disappoint someone in or around your life, there may be times when a simple “I’m sorry” may be good enough for your buddy or Mom or Dad. But for God, sometimes we actually need to give ourselves the time to experience the grief of regret so we can fully understand God’s forgiveness.
So here’s my suggestion for the next time you need to repent – instead of just doing the thoughtless Express Lane Repentance, try spending some time thinking about what Jesus went through and did for you on the cross. About how much he loved you that day, and loves you today. Think about who Jesus is, and understand that when we do those stupid or mean things in this life, we are sinning against Jesus. Because the more we understand this, the more we will experience real repentance.
Still stuck? Then just ask God to show himself to you, and help you repent. God will answer your prayer.
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Leader in You (10/12/2009)
Day after day, new men came to join David, and soon he had a large, powerful army. (1 Chronciles 12:22)
Do other people in or around your life often call you a leader, or consider you a leader because of something you may have done, the way you behave, or maybe the way to reacted to a certain situation.
Here’s a question for you – do YOU consider yourself a leader??
I was reading somewhere last week where most kids in high school would answer NO to that question. The article talked about how today’s teenagers would rather remain safe as part of the crowd and be followers rather than stick their neck out and draw attention to themselves by trying to take charge, or, try to be a leader. Now, a lot of people that get this devotional are teenagers that I know who are definitely not followers and rarely remain silent. You guys know who you are.
In 1 Chronicles 12:22, David finds out something pretty cool – that is, you can become a leader without even trying to take charge of a specific situation, or without trying to make stuff happen. What I am trying to say is this – if YOU commit yourself to following God, others will definitely notice and want to join you.
Maybe not right away.
Any maybe not in the way you expect.
You see, our culture tends to reach us that leadership somehow comes automatically with getting a position – like a supervisor at work, an elected politician, or even an “officer” or “leader” position in a club or group.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Because leadership has nothing to do with titles, or positions of authority.
Leadership is all about influence. And for those of us who are committed to following God, it’s all about getting people to do the right things in life.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “peer pressure” until you’re ready to scream! You know, how there’s no away to avoid it, how it ruins lives, that kind of thing. But, look at it this way – what if YOU were the person exerting the pressure, and NOT your peers. Can you imagine what would happen in people’s lives if YOU “pressured” people to not party or not pick on the weak or not blow off spiritual growth? Can you imagine how YOU could change people’s lives, starting TODAY, by encouraging them to help the weak, have fun in ways that honor God, or not feat to talk about what they believe?
Wow.
So, do you have what it takes to be a leader?
Guess what?
No matter what others or you think of you as a “leader,” you have what it takes. Because you have God’s Holy Spirit in you. And that’s all you need.
Now, are you ready to take advantage of the opportunities God gives you? You don’t have to be a jock, or the class President, or a leader in your youth group.
YOU can be a leader among your friends, or in your school, or a your job, or in your neighborhood, or even in your youth group, starting right now. All you have to do is have the desire to do what you know is right, do it what is right, and people will follow.
Do other people in or around your life often call you a leader, or consider you a leader because of something you may have done, the way you behave, or maybe the way to reacted to a certain situation.
Here’s a question for you – do YOU consider yourself a leader??
I was reading somewhere last week where most kids in high school would answer NO to that question. The article talked about how today’s teenagers would rather remain safe as part of the crowd and be followers rather than stick their neck out and draw attention to themselves by trying to take charge, or, try to be a leader. Now, a lot of people that get this devotional are teenagers that I know who are definitely not followers and rarely remain silent. You guys know who you are.
In 1 Chronicles 12:22, David finds out something pretty cool – that is, you can become a leader without even trying to take charge of a specific situation, or without trying to make stuff happen. What I am trying to say is this – if YOU commit yourself to following God, others will definitely notice and want to join you.
Maybe not right away.
Any maybe not in the way you expect.
You see, our culture tends to reach us that leadership somehow comes automatically with getting a position – like a supervisor at work, an elected politician, or even an “officer” or “leader” position in a club or group.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Because leadership has nothing to do with titles, or positions of authority.
Leadership is all about influence. And for those of us who are committed to following God, it’s all about getting people to do the right things in life.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “peer pressure” until you’re ready to scream! You know, how there’s no away to avoid it, how it ruins lives, that kind of thing. But, look at it this way – what if YOU were the person exerting the pressure, and NOT your peers. Can you imagine what would happen in people’s lives if YOU “pressured” people to not party or not pick on the weak or not blow off spiritual growth? Can you imagine how YOU could change people’s lives, starting TODAY, by encouraging them to help the weak, have fun in ways that honor God, or not feat to talk about what they believe?
Wow.
So, do you have what it takes to be a leader?
Guess what?
No matter what others or you think of you as a “leader,” you have what it takes. Because you have God’s Holy Spirit in you. And that’s all you need.
Now, are you ready to take advantage of the opportunities God gives you? You don’t have to be a jock, or the class President, or a leader in your youth group.
YOU can be a leader among your friends, or in your school, or a your job, or in your neighborhood, or even in your youth group, starting right now. All you have to do is have the desire to do what you know is right, do it what is right, and people will follow.
Monday, October 05, 2009
The Suitcase
For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6)
Let’s imagine a situation you may have experienced. You have this elderly person in your neighborhood or on your street always, and everyone thinks that the guy is a little off. One day, you come home from school or work, and you find out that he died. As word of his death makes its rounds, you come to find out that before he died he had hid a suitcase full of money somewhere in the neighborhood. Rumors fly that there may be as much as a million dollars in the suitcase.
How would you react if you knew there was a bag of money in a nearby secret location, and there was nobody who could rightfully say it was theirs? If you what I would do, I have to be pretty honest – I would be one of the first people out there in the wee hours of the morning searching for any clues to lead me to the loot!
Now, let’s change the situation just a little bit. Let’s say that instead of a suitcase full of money, word gets around that something the elderly neighbor buried something more valuable than money – in fact, people find out that he buried a suitcase full of…wisdom. And, let’s say word gets around that he didn’t bury it in a secret location…in fact, he placed the suitcase full of wisdom in a known place, just waiting to be claimed by the first lucky person! The question today is – would you pursue the easily found suitcase full of wisdom as hard as you would pursue to secretly buried suitcase full of money?!
You have to admit; today’s culture teaches us that the search for the money is a lot more exciting than the easier search for wisdom. You and your family may think, “Wow, if I could only get my hands on that free money, how great life would be! No more bills! All the cool stuff we could ever want! A new car every year!”
But would all that money help you, or your family, or your friends, when you are struggling with doubts about your life? Doubts about how to live your life? Doubts about God? Could all that money give you direction in your life? Could a cool million bucks help you resist a temptation that could ruin your life?
The great thing about that suitcase of wisdom is that it can do all of those things! Wisdom can help you live your life better – today! Wisdom can bring you closer to God. And wisdom can change your role in the life of others looking for purpose and meaning.
You have a choice to make. If you choose the suitcase full of money, people will see you as shallow, as a gold-digger, as someone who values material things over everything else, including other people. But, if you choose the suitcase full of wisdom, people around you will start to notice immediately. People will see you as a mature believer, as someone to go to for advice and counsel, as someone who can even mentor others. Imagine being able to make a positive difference in someone’s life – today. Wow! And that’s what wisdom can do for you today.
Are you ready to start your search for wisdom? If you are, there is a great map where it shows clearly where that suitcase of wisdom is located.
It’s your bible.
And the starting point is the book of Proverbs.
The search will not always be easy, nor will it likely be a quick mission. In fact, it will probably take the rest of your life. But the reward will be great.
Have a great day today. And remember to love those in and around your life as Jesus loves you.
Let’s imagine a situation you may have experienced. You have this elderly person in your neighborhood or on your street always, and everyone thinks that the guy is a little off. One day, you come home from school or work, and you find out that he died. As word of his death makes its rounds, you come to find out that before he died he had hid a suitcase full of money somewhere in the neighborhood. Rumors fly that there may be as much as a million dollars in the suitcase.
How would you react if you knew there was a bag of money in a nearby secret location, and there was nobody who could rightfully say it was theirs? If you what I would do, I have to be pretty honest – I would be one of the first people out there in the wee hours of the morning searching for any clues to lead me to the loot!
Now, let’s change the situation just a little bit. Let’s say that instead of a suitcase full of money, word gets around that something the elderly neighbor buried something more valuable than money – in fact, people find out that he buried a suitcase full of…wisdom. And, let’s say word gets around that he didn’t bury it in a secret location…in fact, he placed the suitcase full of wisdom in a known place, just waiting to be claimed by the first lucky person! The question today is – would you pursue the easily found suitcase full of wisdom as hard as you would pursue to secretly buried suitcase full of money?!
You have to admit; today’s culture teaches us that the search for the money is a lot more exciting than the easier search for wisdom. You and your family may think, “Wow, if I could only get my hands on that free money, how great life would be! No more bills! All the cool stuff we could ever want! A new car every year!”
But would all that money help you, or your family, or your friends, when you are struggling with doubts about your life? Doubts about how to live your life? Doubts about God? Could all that money give you direction in your life? Could a cool million bucks help you resist a temptation that could ruin your life?
The great thing about that suitcase of wisdom is that it can do all of those things! Wisdom can help you live your life better – today! Wisdom can bring you closer to God. And wisdom can change your role in the life of others looking for purpose and meaning.
You have a choice to make. If you choose the suitcase full of money, people will see you as shallow, as a gold-digger, as someone who values material things over everything else, including other people. But, if you choose the suitcase full of wisdom, people around you will start to notice immediately. People will see you as a mature believer, as someone to go to for advice and counsel, as someone who can even mentor others. Imagine being able to make a positive difference in someone’s life – today. Wow! And that’s what wisdom can do for you today.
Are you ready to start your search for wisdom? If you are, there is a great map where it shows clearly where that suitcase of wisdom is located.
It’s your bible.
And the starting point is the book of Proverbs.
The search will not always be easy, nor will it likely be a quick mission. In fact, it will probably take the rest of your life. But the reward will be great.
Have a great day today. And remember to love those in and around your life as Jesus loves you.
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