Insanity

"Insanity is doing the same things and expecting different results!" Unfortunately, that is exactly what most churches who are struggling to keep their heads above water are doing.

Unapplied Knowledge

"The heart is like a sponge. Fill it with knowledge of the Word of God that remains unapplied, and it becomes stagnant. But use the knowledge and the heart becomes ready to soak in more." - Lawrence Richards, Creative Bible Teaching

The Gospel

The gospel is not an offer, it's a declaration.

Twice Mine!

Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Illustration:  Tom carried his new boat to the edge of the river. He carefully placed it in the water and slowly let out the string. How smoothly the boat sailed! Tom sat in the warm sunshine, admiring the little boat that he had built. Suddenly a strong current caught the boat. Tom tried to pull it back to shore, but the string broke. The little boat raced downstream.  Tom ran along the sandy shore as fast as he could. But his little boat soon slipped out of sight. All afternoon he searched for the boat. Finally, when it was too dark to look any longer, Tom sadly went home.  A few days later, on the way home from school, Tom spotted a boat just like his in a store window. When he got closer, he could see -- sure enough -- it was his!  Tom hurried to the store manager: "Sir, that's my boat in your window! I made it!"  "Sorry, son, but someone else brought it in this morning. If you want it, you'll have to buy it for one dollar."  Tom ran home and counted all his money. Exactly one dollar! When he reached the store, he rushed to the counter. "Here's the money for my boat." As he left the store, Tom hugged his boat and said, "Now you're twice mine. First, I made you and now I bought you."

Loving Each Other Deeply

1 Peter 4:8  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Do you know how a pearl is formed? A grain of sand, or some foreign substance, getting entrance within the shell of an oyster, hurts its sensitive body, which, having no power to expel the cause of pain; covers it with a secretion, and by degrees rounds off all sharp angles, molds it into a sphere, and finishes it with a polished surface. Thus it accepts the inevitable presence as a part of its life, and when it dies yields up, shaped and perfected, a perfect gem, lovely with the tints of the skies, a jewel whose worth is far beyond the pain that gave it existence.

In the same way, God often introduces into our lives an element of discomfort, unrest, or suffering--a thorn in the flesh that cannot be plucked out, a burden that must be borne, a daily cross not to be laid down. Some souls thus dealt with chafe against the trial; they contend with it till their sensibilities are lacerated by its cruel edges, and their hearts become morbid and bitter. They make its presence one long perpetual pain and poison.

Others, recognizing the trial as Heaven-sent, and therefore not to be escaped, accept it, not with joy, indeed, but with meekness; and though it press hard and sharply, they wear it with a sweet patience that, day by day, enables them to carry it more easily. It even becomes the source of an inward development, the growth of a grace which at the last proves to be the crowning, adorning attribute of their character, the especial quality which, rounded out to perfect symmetry, reflects the beauty of heaven.

Speaking Meaningfully

Tit 1:12  One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

"Every generation of Christians has the same problem of learning how to speak meaningfully to its own age…we must know and understand the thought forms of our own generation." - Francis Shaeffer

Election and Free Will

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me (Election), and the one who comes to Me (Free Will) I will by no means cast out”

In God I Trust

Psalms 56:11 "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Fear is the absence of faith and faith is the absence of fear.

The Gospel

The gospel is not only for the down-and-out, but also for the up-and-out.

Christ's Ambassadors

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. Based on our modern definition, we immediately assume that an ambassador is a representative who brings goodwill between countries. However, that was not the role of an ambassador in Rome during the time that Paul penned this letter. Instead, an ambassador was a representative who had been sent from an overpowering army to one that was about to be destroyed. It was a military custom that the ambassador brought the terms of surrender and, thus, peace to the army that was about to be overwhelmed. It was a final offer before utter devastation. You and I have the terms of surrender for a lost and dying world!

The Teacher's Job

"The teacher's job is to help people discover where they are and where they aren't so that they can more clearly understand where they need to be." - Andy Stanley

Content vs. Audience

Don't be so concerned with the content that you forget your audience.

High As The Heavens

Psalms 103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; To understand just how high the heavens are above the earth, check out the link below!

http://htwins.net/scale2/

Jesus' Example

John 4:7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." We see four examples for us to follow by looking at how Jesus ministered to the woman at the well.

1. He intentionally walked through Samaria when everyone else avoided it. Sometimes, we must be willing to go where others do not or will not.

2. He initiated contact with her. Sometimes, we are the ones who need to start the conversation.

3. He affirmed her humanity and value. Everyone deserves to hear the gospel because they are precious to God.

4. He proved that he cared more for her soul than he did for his own religious tradition. Religious tradition dictated that Jesus not even have a conversation with this woman, and yet, he cared so much for her that he did it any way

Church Leadership

The Lord only put one person over the church and that is the pastor. Boards are only mentioned one time in the New Testament (Acts 27:44) and they were the result of a shipwreck!

The Faint of Heart

When apostate Christians and agnostics are allowed to set the agenda and define the arguments, the faint of heart self-consciously seek to surrender and quickly abandon Martin Luther's words: "Here I stand. I can do no other." - Michael Youssef

Why I'm Not a 'Fan' of Jesus

Fans want to be close enough to Jesus to get the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.

Pastor Kyle Idleman: Why I'm Not a 'Fan' of Jesus

How Apostates Take Over (Part 1)

The human desire to be accepted, to not be seen as "outside the mainstream," can be overwhelming. But that desire is our weakness, our downfall.

How the apostates take over (Part 1) (OneNewsNow.com)

Whatever the Cost

Matthew 18:15 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

"No one can call himself a follower of Jesus who is refusing to obey His orders. Since this order to evangelize the world was clearly and repeatedly given, it must be obeyed. Jesus' commission to evangelize the world was not a suggestion to be considered but a command to be obeyed. Jesus' followers did not consider this Great Commission to evangelize the world as an option to entertain but rather saw it as a mandate to fulfill whatever the cost." - Earley, Dave; Wheeler, David (2010-06-01). Evangelism Is . . . (p. 21). B&H Academic. Kindle Edition.

Two New Papers

Just finished up two papers that I've posted under "Writings." The first is on the Canon of Scripture: It's Inspiration and Preservation. The second is on the Doctrine of the Rapture and it's various views.

Jesus' Seeker-Sensitive Plea

Mat 10:37-39  "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; (38)  and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (39)  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

"As if this were not enough, Jesus finished his seeker-sensitive plea with a pull-at-your-heartstrings conclusion. "Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Give up everything you have, carry a cross, and hate your family. This sounds a lot different than "Admit, believe, confess, and pray a prayer after me." - David Platt "Radical"

Feverish Selfish Little Clod

1 John 1:4  We write this to make our joy complete.

George Bernard Shaw once said, "This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose:  the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, and being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

The Greatest Gift

John 1:14  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!" The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"

Cracked Pots

I received this today and thought that I would share it. It's about cracked pots. I'm sure that most of us will identify with it.

The Cracked Pot
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his masters house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your masters house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts." The pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the masters house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the Pot apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pots side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my masters table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, our flaws are used to grace life's table. In Gods great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty.