God, Where Is My Persistence?

As a Seminary student and follower of Christ for many years, I read lots of things that give ideas of what to preach on and things that encourage but on a very seldom occasion do I read something that stops me in my tracks. I read this story for a missions class and I wept and cried for forgiveness immediately. Read this and know that you are called to a life of missions and called to a life of persistence and advancment of the gospel AT ALL COSTS.

One day Joseph, who was walking along one of these hot, dirty African roads, met someone who shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. Then and there he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The power of the Spirit began transforming his life; he was filled with such excitment and joy that the first thing he wanted to do was return to his own village and share that same Good News with the members of his local tribe.

Joseph began going from door-to-door; telling everyone he met about the Cross of Jesus and the salvation it offered, expecting to see their faces light up the same way his had. To his amazement the villagers seized him and held him to the ground while the women beat him with strands of barbed wire. He was dragged from the village and left to die alone in the bush.

Joseph some how managed to crawl to a waterhole, and there, after days of passing in and out of consciousness, found the strength to get up. He wondered about the hostile reception he had received from the people he had known all his life. He decided he must have left something out or told the story of Jesus incorrectly. After rehersing the message he had first heard, he decided to go back and share his faith once more.

Joseph limped into the circle of huts and began proclaim Jesus. "He died for you, so that you might find forgiveness and come to know the living God," he pleaded. Again he was grabbed by the men of village and held while the women beat him, reopening wounds that had just begun to heal. Once more they dragged him unconcious from the village and left him to die.

To have survived the first beating was truly remarkable. To live through the second was a miracle. Again, days later, Joseph awoke in the wilderness, bruised, scarred--and determined to go back.

He returned to the small village and this time, they attacked him before he had a chance to open his mouth. As they flogged him for the third and probably the last time, he again spoke to them of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Before he passed out, the last thing he saw was that the women who were beating him began to weep.

This time he awoke in the his own bed. The ones who had so severely beaten him were now trying to save his life and nurse him back to health. The entire village hade come to Christ.

How do you respond to the good news that has been given to you. Do you hoard it and guard it and keep it to yourselve? This man went 3 rounds as a new Christian and there are those who have known Jesus Christ for years, even decades and have failed to go 1 round. I pray that this story challenges you, because Christ has set the bar high. Where is your persistence to share the greatest news ever given?

What Keeps You Busy?

As an Associate Pastor and one who is in charge of many things that occurs in the Baptist church that I attend I am always pushing my teens and church members to attend every activity that is going on. But when certain things come up and I hear things such as "I have to work that day" or "I have a volleyball game this weekend" or "I just want to sleep in this Saturday" or "I have homework to do" how exactly am I suppose to feel? I understand that many many things encompass the lives of the young adults that I am responsible for but what really are we created for? Are we created to fill our lives and weekends with sports practices and games, are we created to work on days that are suppose to be set aside for our Lord and Savior, and finally are we created to fill our days with so much stuff that we are forced to do homework during times designated for church (because I do believe school is important)? Where do we draw the line? What am I suppose to tell the parents of the young people I am responsible for?

Most people know what I mean when I say the gospels but for those who don't, the gospels are the books of the New Testament that are written explaining the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. During the early church after the time of Jesus Christ and before the gospels were written what do you think was going on? Jesus Christ the savior of man had just come to live and had just ascended into heaven after performing miracles, healing the sick, encouraging the suffering and pretty much changed the lives of everyone in that region but the gospels or stories of His live werent written down until 30 years later. What in the world were they doing? Why would these individuals who had physically seen the miraculous stuff that Jesus had done but wait 30 years before they put it down on paper?

BECAUSE THEY WERE TO BUSY....But not with the mindles stuff that will have no impact in eternity, they were busy telling people the stories of Jesus Christ, they were to busy spreading the gospel, they were to busy making a difference in this world.

If you think about your day to day you will find lots of things that take up your time that will not make a difference in this life or the next. We are to busy worrying about our future and to busy worrying what makes us happy rather than focus on the Great Commission.

What are you created for? You are created for the glory of God and in God you are created and destined for greatness. Don't fill your life with the things that are trival but fill your life with the things that will allow God to say "Good job my good and faithful servant."

You and Your Marriage...Made in the Image of God

It is terrible to think about that 50% of all marriages end up in divorce, but if you think that is bad, continue reading because the same percentage is found inside the church. Thats right, from a numbers stand point there is ABSOLUTELY no difference between life inside the church and life outside the church when it comes to marriage and family. How could this be? How could it happen when something such as divorce and marriage and family are talked SPECIFICALLY and EXPLICITLY in Scripture. We as a generation have forgotten what the image of God looks like. If you believe that Genesis 1:26-28 was written to boost your self-esteem because you "physically look" like God then you would be wrong. The latin term imago Dei from where we get image of God does not describe a physical attraction or resemblance to the one who has never been seen, but rather a functional resemblance. We as man and woman, whom are made in the image of God are suppose to function as if He were here. Man was placed here on Earth to function just as God would if He was here and and if He experienced the same as we do. Do you think that God would be the one endorsing or going through a divorce if He were here? Of course you don't so you might say "well God is perfect so therefore He wouldnt be in a divorce" but how does that explain Him asking you to function like Him. Don't you think He knows you are sinful and that you are fallen and that you are unworthy of Him, of course He does but He asks you to function like Him anyways. God tells us in 1 Peter 1:16 "be holy because I am holy, not because He is mean and not because He is asking to much of you but because with Christ, as a new creation, you have dominion over sin, you have power over Satan, you are made in the image of Christ therefore you are to function as He would function as a Christian believer. God HATES divorce. The whole idea of marriage is to paint a picture of how God ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS loves the church. God would NEVER divorce the church for the church is His bride. Men, start loving your wifes as God loves the church, women start being obedient and submissive just as the church is to God...Couples remember that you are created in the image of God, therefore you are to look/function as God does.

Revival...A Key To a Locked Door

Churches all across America have the habbit of just simply placing revival on the church calender thinking of it as just another church event. Revival is not something that we can just plan and put on the calender but must come from God. Along with with this mediocre notion of just another church event, church members blindly put their faith in revival to solve the problems in the church and the community around them. Revival is NOT for LOST people, it is for the church. It is a time where God sends down his power and his spirit to ENABLE and to ENGAGE the world around them. As Christians it is our duty and responsibility to be light and salt to the lost, both are substances that completely changes the environment they are in. We are also called to be all things to all people and revival is where these duties and responsibilities are enabled. Becoming all things to all people and becoming light and salt to a lost world is not a spiritual gift that is given, it is more of a mandate or requirement for Christianity. Revival is where these duties and responsibilites are enabled that allows you to change the world for Christ. The lost world is outside the walls of our church building and outside the walls of our Christians friends and outthere is the locked door that you cannot open without the power of God through a revival. Revival is your key to your locked door in the shape of your families, coworkers, town, and community. Christians, we are given the tools and means and they KEYS to unlock the lost world and expose them to the light of Christ. Seek a revival in your own heart, not a revival placed on a church calender.

"Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God."

-William Carey

Is Missions For Everybody?

The Southern Baptist Convention is one where the whole emphasis and focus of their existance is on the concept of missions, both local and abroad all for the advancing of the gospel. Scripture talks a great deal of missions and in a way I believe is the entire focus of Scripture. The heartbeat of God lies in mission work. The whole idea of our salvation is to realize what Christ has done for us and to not SIT on that information but to go and tell. Almost half of the New Testament was written by Paul when he infact was on his missionary journeys. Missions is the goal and should be the focus of every Christian believer, but what constitutes as mission work? Programs such as the Cooperative Program, Lottie Moon, and Annie Armstrong are offerings and means to take in income to support missions but does that get an individual off the hook. I have no problem with those programs and means of raising funds but when the concept of GIVING, PRAYING, and SHORT TERM MISSION when God has called you full time becomes a supplement for you so you are off the hook, I have big issues with. When your duties and responsbilities turn into the check list of "I have given my money, Im good now" or "I have prayed for the missionaries, Im good now" or "God has called me to be in Africa for 2 years but I went for 2 weeks instead so Im good now" you are not full filling the Great Commission. You are short changing God. We must have a heart for the nations and do it will full obedience to Christ. Missions is for EVERYONE no matter their skills, talents, abilities or limitations. God has not instituted ANY means to excuse you from missions but rather has created means for you to be involved. Go and do the Lord's work. You are the vehicle and means that God has created to share the Gospel..Go and Do and Be Obedient.

One Small Step At A Time

The Christian life by some is thought to be abstract, knowing that the Bible contains the information to accomplish the major goals of the Christian life but it almost seems dated. It is true that things are differnt now than they were during the writing of Scripture but don't you think God knew that? Of course He knew, therefore He didn't leave you in the dark. Knowing what to do and how to act is key to living the Christian life. There are specific goals for each believer, so there are specifc goals for each moment. If you are asked to submit a report to your employer, you should do it "heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord will receive the inheritance as your reward." There is no mandate or Scripture that requires you to submit that report, on time and in the form requested. But this is the application of many more general teachings of Scripture. Not every instance is covered in Scripture but the principle for every action and decision can be found. We are to do ALL THINGS for the glory of God, which includes the little things because the journey toward reaching the major goals of the Christian life requires many little steps.