Perseverance

struggles

This was part of our devotion Bible passage this morning at our Men’s Council meeting at Mo-Ranch near Hunt, Texas.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 NIV)

Love, mercy and forgiveness are the gifts we have received and receive from God. As followers of Jesus we are called to share love, mercy and forgiveness with others. The comfort and encouragement which we receive from these gifts gives us the ability to persevere in times of difficulty.

These verses from our passage resonate with me because they remind me about how God works to shape us through hard times.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8, 9 NIV)

It IS a blessing to learn to rely more on God and not rely on ourselves. I want to rely entirely on God and have complete faith on His provision for me and my family. It is a constant struggle to maintain that perspective, however. “The World” emphasizes what individuals can do, while Jesus encourages us to focus more on what God can do. I need regular reminders of this. Difficult life circumstances definitely can and do point me to the reality of God’s provision and His sufficiency.

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I want to fish with Jesus

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These were some of the verses we read and discussed this morning at our Friday morning men’s group:

When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.” Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch. (Luke 5:4-7 MSG)

One of the thoughts I have reading and reflecting on this is how I need to keep pursuing opportunities to help people use social media to share about how they/we have seen and are seeing Jesus act in our lives. A couple Sundays ago, I met Chad from the city rescue Mission and talked to him about this. Over the last several years I have shared a few presentations for different groups about sharing our testimonies with social media, and telling the stories of mission work in our churches online. Today’s Bible study and conversations inspire me to take the next step and contact Chad about sharing more presentations and workshops for people like this through the City Rescue Mission.

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Showing God’s Love in Our Actions

God, service

A couple weeks ago we read from Romans 12:9-13, in our Friday morning men’s group:

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. (Romans 12:9-13 NLT)

I was thinking about the terrible killing of Chris Lane this week in Duncan, Oklahoma as I read these words. This message from God is SO contrary to how people are responding in comments to articles online about this situation.

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Compassion in Action

prayer, service

These verses resonated with me today:

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17, 18 NIV)

This weekend when I was shopping at Walmart, I had a man come up to me when I got in my car and ask for some money. This is something that is fairly common when you live in the city, instead of living in the suburbs. I have not had a tremendous amount of experience living among the poor, but I certainly got my eyes open to a lot more of this when I lived in Mexico City in 1992 to 1993.

When someone who is poor confronts you personally and asks for a handout, it challenges you at several levels. It encourages you to ask, what am I doing right now to help the poor and this person specifically? I know it is generally a bad idea to give cash to people who ask for handouts, because many of them will use the money to buy drugs, alcohol, or something else that is probably not in their best interest to consume. It can seem very harsh and callous, however, to reject every single request for help when you confront someone personally.

In the case I am describing, I went ahead and gave the man $10. He said he was homeless, and I asked him if he had been to the City Rescue Mission or any of the other shelters in town. He said he had, but said some things about how they didn’t meet his needs and he did not like them. I held his hand and said a prayer for him and over him. He told me he knows God has many names, and one of them is Jehovah. I encouraged him to seek God and call on his name. His name was Rodney, and when I prayed and I prayed for God to bless my brother Rodney.

I am not sure what I did in the situation was right, but I was inspired to pray by Paul Burns book, “Prayer Encounters,” which our spiritual parenting class will be using this fall. Paul’s basic message is, instead of telling someone we will pray for them, we should take an opportunity and pray for them right then in that moment.

There are many things I do not know, but I do know it is right and good to lift each other up in prayer. Giving Rodney $10 provided an opportunity to say a prayer together. I continue to pray that God will open up doors of love, kindness, and help for Rodney and his family.

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Focus Our Relationship With God

focus, God

These are my notes from Mateen Elass’ sermon today on August 11, 2013.

God calls us to focus not on the things of this world, but on our relationship with God.

Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:16-21 NLT)

The average house size has grown immensely for average US citizens the past few decades, at the same time storage rental facilities have boomed in popularity to store all our stuff.

No where in this story from Jesus do we see or hear the rich man mentioning God or talking with God. The man seeks advice and wisdom from himself, and “says to his soul” (the transcendent / eternal part of his life) to take it easy.

Some millionaires today have actually set up trust funds for themselves so they will have those funds when they are brought back to life hundreds of years in the future.

If you are consumed by your work, you may neglect your family, your health, and your relationship with God. We study the Bible so we will desire the things God desires. The world, however, speaks with a megaphone and says otherwise: The world tells us to focus on consumption and ourselves.

April 2011 example: “India bank termites eat piles of cash”

Retired CEOs in Naples, Florida, start measuring their lives by how many rounds of golf they can play. They find themselves leading empty lives.

Story of Katie as an elementary student, collecting pennies trick-or-treating at Halloween, for a fresh water mission project in Mexico.

Remember: Life is NOT about the accumulation of THINGS.

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Be Patient

gifts, prayer

God calls us to be patient and wait on Him to fulfill the promises He has made. Patience is a virtue, and we rarely hear it extolled in the worldly messages which surround us. In the book of James we read:

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! (James 5:7-9 NIV)

Dear God, help me be patient and have faith in your promises. I see the fullfillment of so much around me and in my life, and I am thankful. I pray that your patience would fill my heart, and rather than look to tomorrow, I would rise up to meet the challenges and opportunities of this day with you by my side.

Amen.

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Chosen To Praise and Serve

God

I found this verse reading notes from others in the YouVersion iPhone Bible this morning:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

This verse explains one reason we are called and blessed by God is to praise Him. This is one reason why worship is so important for us every week and even every day.

We are called to follow the example of Jesus, who not only took time to praise God but also to seek God alone as well as with others regularly. Jesus also made time to serve others regularly, and explained to his disciples that service is at the heart of following him and God.

Sometimes when we hear the phrase “chosen people” I think we may overlook or ignore the purposes for which God calls us. God does not call us to simply live in our homes and closed communities and remain separated from the troubles and challenges of the world. God calls us to praise and worship him, and go forth serving him by becoming his hands and feet!

This verse also speaks to how we are called to be witnesses for Christ. We declare our praise for God as we share with others the ways he has and continues to work in our lives.

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The Heart is the Tree & Words are Your Fruit

God, struggles

A powerful message from Pastor Robert Morris on the value and power of words.

Here are some verses and key messages from this sermon.

From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:20, 21 NIV

and

And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 12:31-37 NIV

Speak life into your family. The words we speak shape ourselves and shape our family members into the creations we and they become.

7 divine words for healing every relationship: “I was wrong, will you forgive me?”

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