“Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
- Mark 16:15
Serving God means to help spread the gospel through personal ministry. Christians are told to go preach the gospel to the world and to all of God’s followers in Mark 16:15. Everyone who commits their life to Christ commits to work for the salvation of their fellow man. They commit to walk onto the battlefield each and every day and fight.
Jesus told his disciples to go into the world, telling everyone how He had paid the penalty for sin, so that those who believe in Him can be forgiven for all their sins and can live eternally with God. We are disciples of Christ. We are all over the world spreading the word to people who have not even heard His name. It’s through faith where we are sent out onto the battlefield and by determination that we live to be a disciple for Christ.
Answer this question in your head. Do you feel like you are not capable of being a witness for Christ, due to either lack of knowledge, skill, or determination for Him? You must realize that Jesus rose from that dead and lives for us today. He is a part of you. As we continue to grow in our relationship with Christ we begin to realize that he gives us opportunities to go out and serve Him. We all have the strength to go out and tell his message because Christ is with us.
There is a lady named Sohpie “the scrubwoman.” Her testimony is simple. She says that God called her to go out and scrub and preach. Her sermons do not happen from a podium or pulpit, but from a washtub or a scrub brush. She cleans for a living but also preaches while she is on the job. People call her to clean but she will not clean until they listen to her preach the gospel first. She says, “No preach, no work.” It’s that plain and simple. People hire her because she does really great work and she is trustworthy. They also get to hear her share the gospel. By her standards, if you are not preaching then you are not working. Sophie says the God is the best employment office. Why? Because you don’t have to pay or wait for him; you are always first in line.
Questions:
Back to what it said in the devotion; you feel like you are capable of being a witness for Christ? Why?
Do you think people keep hiring Sophie just because she does good work? If you hired her, what questions would you like her to help answer?
How can you go out into the world and be like Sophie? What would you like to do? Who would you like to help?
Monday, September 17, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
NOW
Here you are. Here. Right now. Looking at a computer screen. Another second goes by. Another moment of life. Zoom. It's gone. Oops. There goes another one. The seconds and minutes pass. An hour. A day. A week. A year. Here today. Gone tomorrow.
Here you are. Somewhere on planet Earth. What are you thinking...RIGHT NOW? Nothing? Or is it something like, "I want more"?
Yes, but more what? Good grades? Friends? Parties? Dates? CDs? Clothes?
Remember when you got that thing you wanted, or finally dated that person you wanted to date...remember the feeling you had afterward? Wasn't it something like, "That didn't radically change my life like I thought it would"?
Then what do you do? Go back to the drawing board?
Maybe the experience or the thing you hoped in wasn't really what you were looking for after all. Or maybe you just need MORE of that experience or thing. More clothes. More CDs. More dates. More parties.
But even then you're left with the feeling, the plaguing thought: "I still want more."
So you want more. More of something. But you're not sure what that something is. It's like there's a constant itch in your life. The feeling that something is missing. The feeling that there must be something more IN life and something more TO life. Something more to be gotten out of life.
You think, "Am I just a round peg in a square hole? What's the deal? What's my problem?" The itch remains. And what you've experienced so far just hasn't scratched it.
Of course, this isn't something you tell your friends about. If they knew you were having these thoughts, surely they'd say, "Wow...s/he's getting WAY TOO serious about life."
But maybe they've got the same itch you do. Maybe they have the same thoughts you do. Maybe everyone is under a conspiracy of silence: "I don't want anyone to know what I'm really thinking about life."
Have you ever considered that the itch has something to do with God? Sure, God is around us, invisible to the naked eye. But God also exists in realms beyond ours. And maybe that's the dilemma. We need something beyond our realm to scratch the itch.
What if life has been set up (by God) in such a way that nothing in this realm can fully satisfy us? Even good things like a successful career, a healthy home life, getting married to someone you really love. Maybe even those things still leave the emptiness. Maybe even those things don't scratch the itch. Why? Because they're in this realm. And because we need something outside this realm to fulfill our lives.
Maybe God has designed us that way, so that we would seek him.
Think about it. If everything we ever wanted or needed could be gotten from the world we live in, then we wouldn't want God. We wouldn't feel the need for him. And maybe he feels he's too important to be overlooked.
So here you are. Right now. Needing more. Wanting more. But what if the "more" you want isn't found in this world? Then what? Where do you turn?
Why does Jesus mention the relationships this woman has had with all of these men? And what has that got to do with living water?
The best way to understand the story is to first realize that Jesus speaks on two levels. He speaks of two different kinds of water. One of the waters is the natural water in the well (regular H20). The other water in question is something he calls "living water."
What's the difference between the two waters? Jesus said that regular water does not satisfy our thirst, but that living water will satisfy our thirst. So, what is the living water?
By living water, Jesus meant a relationship with God. Only a relationship with God ultimately satisfies our spiritual thirst.
Here you are. Somewhere on planet Earth. What are you thinking...RIGHT NOW? Nothing? Or is it something like, "I want more"?
Yes, but more what? Good grades? Friends? Parties? Dates? CDs? Clothes?
Remember when you got that thing you wanted, or finally dated that person you wanted to date...remember the feeling you had afterward? Wasn't it something like, "That didn't radically change my life like I thought it would"?
Then what do you do? Go back to the drawing board?
Maybe the experience or the thing you hoped in wasn't really what you were looking for after all. Or maybe you just need MORE of that experience or thing. More clothes. More CDs. More dates. More parties.
But even then you're left with the feeling, the plaguing thought: "I still want more."
So you want more. More of something. But you're not sure what that something is. It's like there's a constant itch in your life. The feeling that something is missing. The feeling that there must be something more IN life and something more TO life. Something more to be gotten out of life.
You think, "Am I just a round peg in a square hole? What's the deal? What's my problem?" The itch remains. And what you've experienced so far just hasn't scratched it.
Of course, this isn't something you tell your friends about. If they knew you were having these thoughts, surely they'd say, "Wow...s/he's getting WAY TOO serious about life."
But maybe they've got the same itch you do. Maybe they have the same thoughts you do. Maybe everyone is under a conspiracy of silence: "I don't want anyone to know what I'm really thinking about life."
Have you ever considered that the itch has something to do with God? Sure, God is around us, invisible to the naked eye. But God also exists in realms beyond ours. And maybe that's the dilemma. We need something beyond our realm to scratch the itch.
What if life has been set up (by God) in such a way that nothing in this realm can fully satisfy us? Even good things like a successful career, a healthy home life, getting married to someone you really love. Maybe even those things still leave the emptiness. Maybe even those things don't scratch the itch. Why? Because they're in this realm. And because we need something outside this realm to fulfill our lives.
Maybe God has designed us that way, so that we would seek him.
Think about it. If everything we ever wanted or needed could be gotten from the world we live in, then we wouldn't want God. We wouldn't feel the need for him. And maybe he feels he's too important to be overlooked.
So here you are. Right now. Needing more. Wanting more. But what if the "more" you want isn't found in this world? Then what? Where do you turn?
Why does Jesus mention the relationships this woman has had with all of these men? And what has that got to do with living water?
The best way to understand the story is to first realize that Jesus speaks on two levels. He speaks of two different kinds of water. One of the waters is the natural water in the well (regular H20). The other water in question is something he calls "living water."
What's the difference between the two waters? Jesus said that regular water does not satisfy our thirst, but that living water will satisfy our thirst. So, what is the living water?
By living water, Jesus meant a relationship with God. Only a relationship with God ultimately satisfies our spiritual thirst.
Friday, August 17, 2007
The Comforter
Life hurts in hundreds of ways—through disappointments, sicknesses, losses, betrayals, or financial reversesl; all of us feel the hurts of life.
Remember when your best friend turned on you and said something such as, “Just stay out of my life” or how about the time you studied hard and still didn’t pass the exam? You liked your job, worked faithfully, expected a promotion, but lost out to a coworker.
The pain seeps deep down inside. Some of us can let the tears flow and find relief. Others long ago learned, “Only sissies cry. Real men don’t feel those things.”
One spring day, I was reading in the tiny book of Lamentations. With image after image, the writer describes his suffering. But more than that. He insists that God is responsible for it. The Old Testament writers weren’t afraid to call God the author of tragedy. It wasn’t a wail of blame, but an acknowledgment of God as the ultimate cause of everything that goes on in the world.
“He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light” (v. 2).
“Surely He has turned His hand against me time and time again” (v. 3).
“He has aged my flesh and my skin and broken my bones” (v. 4).
“He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and woe” (v. 5)
“He has set me in dark places like the dead of long ago”(v. 6).
As I read, I felt the depression of his words. It was as if the writer had allowed me to overhear his deepest, inmost thoughts. He pointed to God as the cause of all his difficulties. That day I too felt as if God had afflicted me, sent me into darkness and filled me with bitterness.
I read most of chapter three again, this time aloud. I resonated with the writer’s pain and anguish. I felt as if I too were living in the darkness, or as 3:7 puts it, “He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out.”
As I continued to read chapter three, the tone began to change: “Remember my affliction and roaming…. This I recall to my mind. Therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not” (19, 21-22). Finally comes the big leap of faith—he goes for comfort to the very God who had afflicted him. “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly” (3:25).
What a picture to contemplate. Assuming that it begins with our failure, we encounter the heavy hand of God. We cry out, “Help me. Don’t turn your back.” And then we go on to say that the God who brought the pain is the one who brings comfort.
Then we grasp the loving, comforting God, who is there all along. The Lamenter saw God as pushing him to despair before revealing joy and goodness.
God loves us enough to push us into a corner, to make us face our utter misery. Only after we’ve confronted our misery can we appreciate the comfort. Only after we’ve experienced the deepest darkness can we value the light.
Remember when your best friend turned on you and said something such as, “Just stay out of my life” or how about the time you studied hard and still didn’t pass the exam? You liked your job, worked faithfully, expected a promotion, but lost out to a coworker.
The pain seeps deep down inside. Some of us can let the tears flow and find relief. Others long ago learned, “Only sissies cry. Real men don’t feel those things.”
One spring day, I was reading in the tiny book of Lamentations. With image after image, the writer describes his suffering. But more than that. He insists that God is responsible for it. The Old Testament writers weren’t afraid to call God the author of tragedy. It wasn’t a wail of blame, but an acknowledgment of God as the ultimate cause of everything that goes on in the world.
“He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light” (v. 2).
“Surely He has turned His hand against me time and time again” (v. 3).
“He has aged my flesh and my skin and broken my bones” (v. 4).
“He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and woe” (v. 5)
“He has set me in dark places like the dead of long ago”(v. 6).
As I read, I felt the depression of his words. It was as if the writer had allowed me to overhear his deepest, inmost thoughts. He pointed to God as the cause of all his difficulties. That day I too felt as if God had afflicted me, sent me into darkness and filled me with bitterness.
I read most of chapter three again, this time aloud. I resonated with the writer’s pain and anguish. I felt as if I too were living in the darkness, or as 3:7 puts it, “He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out.”
As I continued to read chapter three, the tone began to change: “Remember my affliction and roaming…. This I recall to my mind. Therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not” (19, 21-22). Finally comes the big leap of faith—he goes for comfort to the very God who had afflicted him. “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly” (3:25).
What a picture to contemplate. Assuming that it begins with our failure, we encounter the heavy hand of God. We cry out, “Help me. Don’t turn your back.” And then we go on to say that the God who brought the pain is the one who brings comfort.
Then we grasp the loving, comforting God, who is there all along. The Lamenter saw God as pushing him to despair before revealing joy and goodness.
God loves us enough to push us into a corner, to make us face our utter misery. Only after we’ve confronted our misery can we appreciate the comfort. Only after we’ve experienced the deepest darkness can we value the light.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Life Success By Fixing Our Eyes On God
"...in everything David did, he was a success because the LORD WAS WITH HIM.."
- 1 Samuel 18:14
We all want to be successful. Being successful means different things to each of us. As a student, we want to make good grades, as a child, we want to make our parents proud, as a worker, we want to make money and have a good job position and do our jobs well. As a parent, we want to raise good kids. As an adult, we want others to look up to and respect us.
David was a man in the Bible who had a lot of success. He wasn't perfect, but he was a man after God's heart. God blessed his life. I think we all really want a life blessed by God. As I am reading about David and Goliath and the cool things David did, I see that David did not do all this cool stuff on his own strength...I mean, seriously, could he have really killed Goliath with a ROCK without God's help?! I don't think so. David was successful because the Lord was with him; because he was seeking after God and trying to live a life that was pleasing to God.
He wasn't defining his success by the world's standards, but by the Lord being with him. And God used him to impact many people's lives. As a servant of God, David's life was successful because he pointed people toward God.
I have come to a point where the Lord is telling me that in my life, if I don't get anything else accomplished today, if I have truly loved God and pursued Him with my heart, and served Him, then God is pleased with me, and that is success in His eyes. I hope that each of us will remember to fix our eyes on God, and let our lives be used by Him. And we will be successful, not because we're trying so hard and throwing our own stones, but because the Lord is with us, giving us power to kill giants, and power to make a difference in the world.
Lynne Payne
Youth Pastor
Central Christian Church
Van Buren, Indiana
- 1 Samuel 18:14
We all want to be successful. Being successful means different things to each of us. As a student, we want to make good grades, as a child, we want to make our parents proud, as a worker, we want to make money and have a good job position and do our jobs well. As a parent, we want to raise good kids. As an adult, we want others to look up to and respect us.
David was a man in the Bible who had a lot of success. He wasn't perfect, but he was a man after God's heart. God blessed his life. I think we all really want a life blessed by God. As I am reading about David and Goliath and the cool things David did, I see that David did not do all this cool stuff on his own strength...I mean, seriously, could he have really killed Goliath with a ROCK without God's help?! I don't think so. David was successful because the Lord was with him; because he was seeking after God and trying to live a life that was pleasing to God.
He wasn't defining his success by the world's standards, but by the Lord being with him. And God used him to impact many people's lives. As a servant of God, David's life was successful because he pointed people toward God.
I have come to a point where the Lord is telling me that in my life, if I don't get anything else accomplished today, if I have truly loved God and pursued Him with my heart, and served Him, then God is pleased with me, and that is success in His eyes. I hope that each of us will remember to fix our eyes on God, and let our lives be used by Him. And we will be successful, not because we're trying so hard and throwing our own stones, but because the Lord is with us, giving us power to kill giants, and power to make a difference in the world.
Lynne Payne
Youth Pastor
Central Christian Church
Van Buren, Indiana
Monday, July 23, 2007
This Weeks Devotional
Trading Spaces - Rubble Troubleby Ed Young
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21
Christ traded spaces with us on the cross. He died in our place, for our sin. But if you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, you only believe one-half of the Gospel. The other half of the Gospel is the fact that Christ fulfilled God's standard perfectly. He was 100% righteous. So, had Christ been 90% righteous or 80% righteous, his sacrifice would not meet God's demands. He was 100% righteous.
So, once you bow the knee to Christ and ask him to come into your life to take residence, to come into the dwelling place of your heart, then the righteousness of Christ is imputed into your life. Thus, when God sees you, he sees Jesus and his perfect character. This is only able to take place because of the resurrection power.
That's the power that can renovate our minds and hearts today and that will one day completely renovate and restore our sin-torn bodies into glorified bodies that will live forever in heaven.
The resurrection is the final hope of every Christ-follower. It is the "final reveal" of God's design and renovation: the perfection of our mind, body, and spirit. On the other side of the grave, when God says, "Okay, open your eyes and see your new space," you will open your eyes in a resurrected, recreated body, a completely new space that you will inhabit for eternity.
It will be the perfect space, designed by the perfect Designer (God the Father), rebuilt by the perfect Carpenter (Jesus Christ) and purchased at the ultimate cost (Christ's precious blood). But you've got to make the choice: Are you going to keep trying on your own to rebuild the rubble left by sin or are you going to let the Carpenter renovate your life into the perfect space?
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21
Christ traded spaces with us on the cross. He died in our place, for our sin. But if you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, you only believe one-half of the Gospel. The other half of the Gospel is the fact that Christ fulfilled God's standard perfectly. He was 100% righteous. So, had Christ been 90% righteous or 80% righteous, his sacrifice would not meet God's demands. He was 100% righteous.
So, once you bow the knee to Christ and ask him to come into your life to take residence, to come into the dwelling place of your heart, then the righteousness of Christ is imputed into your life. Thus, when God sees you, he sees Jesus and his perfect character. This is only able to take place because of the resurrection power.
That's the power that can renovate our minds and hearts today and that will one day completely renovate and restore our sin-torn bodies into glorified bodies that will live forever in heaven.
The resurrection is the final hope of every Christ-follower. It is the "final reveal" of God's design and renovation: the perfection of our mind, body, and spirit. On the other side of the grave, when God says, "Okay, open your eyes and see your new space," you will open your eyes in a resurrected, recreated body, a completely new space that you will inhabit for eternity.
It will be the perfect space, designed by the perfect Designer (God the Father), rebuilt by the perfect Carpenter (Jesus Christ) and purchased at the ultimate cost (Christ's precious blood). But you've got to make the choice: Are you going to keep trying on your own to rebuild the rubble left by sin or are you going to let the Carpenter renovate your life into the perfect space?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)