Echoes in Eternity

   "What we do in life, echoes in eternity." I love that line. In the movie "Gladiator", Russell Crowe's character, Maximus, makes that claim as he leads his troops into battle. The character had a different meaning but it's true none the less. One of the coolest things to me, as a Christian, is that I have an opportunity to impact eternity for others. I don't deserve it, it's not by my power or goodness, but I get to shape the eternal destiny of people every day.  The only way I do that is by striving to live for and as Jesus.
   The truth is, everyone impacts eternity. The question is, do we impact it positively or negatively? Do we push people towards hell or towards heaven? I have been blessed for many years now, to help point people to Jesus as a profession. I have struggled with the reasonings, the motives, the effectiveness, the pride struggles, the self-doubt; virtually anything you can wrestle with related to how we perform ministry and lead and train others for ministry. But I am coming to a place where I find peace in my role in the Kingdom. I savor it; I'm thankful for it. I see how God has made me to fill an important part of the Kingdom and how He's continuing to shape me to better fill that role.
   So it invigorates and humbles me to share this with you. This past Sunday, July 31st, I had the privilege to baptize Tanya into Christ! It's an honor I never tire of and each one is special. This one has another layer of significance, though.
   Tanya is the first person immersed in connection to The Knightdale Movement. That is huge. That is a sonic boom in eternity in my opinion. We hope it's the first of many more. In fact, I know it is. Not because I'm awesome or because our team is (they are awesome). It's the first of many because Jesus is Lord and His Gospel is powerful. How many "the many" are will be directly correlated to how many we get out and share the love of Jesus with. But the Gospel never loses its power.
   So pray for us, that we rely on Jesus for our power. Pray for Tanya and her husband Steven and their two boys. They are part of our launch team. It's growing and God is moving. So, no matter if it's a sonic boom or a tiny little echo, I'm glad to know the Knightdale Movement is echoing in eternity. Thanks for your part in the movement!

Tanya, fresh out of the Baptistry!

He Ain't Safe

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

    That's a quote from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", where the question is asked if Aslan is safe. In the story, Aslan represents Jesus. And, he's a Lion.  I love that quote. It's a question I've asked before and many of you probably have as well. We really want to know if it's safe to trust Jesus with our life and follow Him.
    I've battled with that question for much of my ministry and I've made war with that question over the last few months as we've contemplated and finally begun the church planting journey. Church planting is an exciting, exasperating, invigorating, and frightening endeavor. And I haven't truly gotten below the surface yet.
    The whole "Is Jesus safe?"question kept me out of church planting for years. I wanted to follow Him if the path was a smooth, well-marked, well-lit asphalt jogging path. However, I wasn't too excited about following Jesus up and down rugged mountain trails, inches from the cliff and certainly not excited blazing a new trail. Yet, here I stand, clinging to edge of all that's familiar and trying to do my best to blindly forge ahead. Jesus seldom (never?) calls us into safe lives. He calls us to leave everything and follow Him. For you, maybe that's across the street. Or across the yard. Or across town. For me, that is church planting.
    The fear isn't gone. Sometimes it's buried. Deep. Other times, it's the walking dead. It taps me on my shoulder and tries to eat my brains. Sometimes it succeeds. When that happens I have to send it back where it came from. I have to remind it and myself that my success isn't based on my strength, my personality, my skills, my good looks (praise God!), or my benchmarks. My success is based on my faithfulness to the God who is not safe, but He IS Good!
    So I will keep following Him on the paths that He leads me on, and I'll blaze the trails that only He has been on before me.  I'll press on knowing that He is Good and He is with me.

KnightdaleMovement.com

Movement Makers!!!!!!! Sign up!

Sign ups for Movement Makers is here!
If you are willing to commit to praying for The Knightdale Movement when you receive a text or email, please sign up and we'll send you urgent or important prayer requests as they come up.

A few important things:
1. We wont' text you every hour.  Every two hours, tops. ;)
2. Don't feel bad if you can't commit. This is not for everyone.  You don't have to do a guilty sign up.
3. Thanks for considering being a Movement Maker Prayer Partner!
4. Of course, if you don't sign up, still pray!

Follow the link for easy sign up!!

http://vols.pt/661Gru

We're using VolunteerSpot (the leading online Sign-up and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming Sign-ups.

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our Sign-up on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/661Gru
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on VolunteerSpot.

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

We are excited to see what God will do through The Knightdale Movement as God's People pray!

Question #3: When is your first service?

   When's the baby due?  When is a good time to ask that question of someone that you don't absolutely know is pregnant? The rule is: Never, Never, Never, Never, Never! Oh, and if you feel confident they are expecting...Never. It is however, perfectly fine to ask when the new church will begin meeting in Knightdale.  The look I get when I answer this question in person is something like this:

The answer to the question is sometime in the Fall of 2017.

    You, like others, may be wondering why it is so far in the future.  The simple reason is, there is a tremendous amount of work to do.  We are truly starting from scratch. There is no team, yet. There is no building, yet. There are very few potential attenders that we have met. But the people are there. We are already meeting some really great people that we want to share Jesus with and train them to do the same with others. The perfect space is out there for us. The team is out there and ready to go, whether they know it or not.  God knows it all and He has been revealing each part so far, as we need it. He will do the same for all the other pieces.  

    So, start praying for our launch in the Fall of 2017. God is listening!

You've got questions, I've got answers. Maybe.

    There are times in our lives when we just don't have a clue.  That time for me has encompassed the last 39 years and 3 months.  It has been a mind blowing adventure seeing God unfold His plan in all of this over the last couple of months.  I understand a little more every day. But the next revelation unveils the next question.  But the "not-knowing" makes life... interesting, to put it mildly.
    Through my learning process in all of this, I'm learning a lot of you have questions too.  So over the next week or so, I plan to answer some questions I've come across in talking with people about our journey and church planting in general.  I'll try to keep'em short. But, I'm a preacher.  I'll do my best.  Stay tuned!

What I Want for Christmas

 I don't want no stinkin' Hippopotamus nor my two front teeth. Let's get down to business. Here's my top three four things I want for Christmas.

1. Pray for us and the people of Knightdale. That we have wisdom and that they have open hearts.

2. I would like to ask you to officially follow this blog.  Seeing followers on here would be so encouraging. It helps to know that someone is paying attention.

3. I'll be really honest. Consider partnering with us financially.  I hate to ask this but it's a necessity. We need people who are willing to team up with us for a few years (statistics say it takes 3-5 years for a church to be totally self-supporting). Lord willing, we'll be 3 or less. If you can give a little for 1,2,3,4, or 5 years that would be awesome.  If you can only give a one time, gift awesome still.

4. Tell someone about us and ask them to pray!  The more people we have praying, asking God to do great things for His glory, we will truly see great things.

If you're still reading, you are pretty stinking cool.

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

     It was a cool October night in 2004.  The Boston Red Sox of the infamous curse were falling yet again to their hated rivals, the New York Yankees.  It was the ninth inning and they were down one run.  With Mariano Rivera taking the hill that's as good as a Win.  Normally.  The Yankee fans could sense another trip to the World Series. It was the ninth inning of Game 4.  Did I mention that the Yankees were up 3-0 in the series?  Then it began to happen.  Dave Roberts stole second.  Bill Mueller singles to score Roberts.  With the score tied up, the game headed to extra innings.  David Ortiz finally ends it in the 12th Inning with a walk off Home Run.  The Red Sox pushed back elimination by one game, or so the Yankee fans thought.  The Red Sox went on to win game 5 in extra innings.  They won Game 6 with the famous "Bloody Sock" of Curt Schilling.  Finally, making history, they Boston Red Sox closed out the Yankees with a thumping in Game 7.  It was Bean Town's turn to head to the World Series.  They came from 3-0 in the series to win the next 4, count'em 4 games to finally defeat the dreaded Yankees for a chance to end the 86 year "Curse of the Bambino."  Oh yeah, I almost forgot, they won the World Series.
     The world was fixated on the two ballparks during October that year.  People who weren't even fans of either team tuned in to watch History unfold.  It was electric.  For the sports fan, it has to listed among the top come from behind victories of all time.  We like those kind of stories.  We can relate to feeling defeated and counted out.  We all hope for a chance to prove everyone wrong and come out victorious.  Even though that's a great story and a phenomenal comeback, it has nothing on Friday to Sunday turn around that took place about 2,000 years ago.  Jesus looked as if he had been defeated and Satan was sure he had won.  On that Sunday, at the darkest hour, literally and figuratively, just before dawn, victory began to stir in the cold, lonely tomb.  The world as we know it changed...forever.
     The interesting thing is that it didn't end there.  That was the beginning of the end for Death and Satan but just the beginning for God's people.  The messengers of life and light.  Jesus was soon going to give us the task of telling people about His new life and their shot at it too.
     Then, a few years into the work of spreading the Gospel, a man was in prison.  Not some common criminal.  One of the leaders of this movement of Grace.  He was in chains for telling people about the life in Jesus.  To many, especially the enemies of the church, and even some of the followers of the way, it looked like Satan was winning.  Christians were scattered and attacked for their faith.  The leaders, like Paul, were arrested and beaten.  Was all of this for nothing?  Maybe, just maybe, as some were about to give in and walk away from it all, Paul added one little sentence in his letter to some believers.  This is what he said, look closely, or you may miss it.  "All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household."  A short, almost uninteresting sentence.  One that is easy to skip over.  Yet it carries some valuable information.  The Gospel had reached even into the house of Caesar!  The very man who was commanding the persecution of Christians.  The one who would not tolerate the praise of anyone above himself.  The Good News had pierced the hearts of people who were right under the nose of the Emperor of Rome.  Paul was saying, "If you think all is lost, just wait."  You can almost see the gleam in his eye as he shared those words.  You ain't seen nothing yet.  Hang in there, the Gospel isn't done.  It's going to go where Jesus has commanded.  Everywhere!
     So, if you feel defeated, just wait.  Victory has been won.  It may be the bottom of the 9th, but there's a comeback waiting.  Jesus is victorious.  So don't give up on your neighbors, your husband, your wife, or your kids.  Jesus Wins! We Win!

Read Philipians 4:21-23

Punching a Grizzly Bear

It was a hot, sticky day in July.  We were winding up a week of Jr. High camp.  There had been some major thunderstorms so the air was thick!  About half way through the week, there began to be a strong smell around the gym.  The smell of a dead animal.  You know it.  It had to be strong since we were at a Jr. High week and we could smell it over the aroma of non-bathing boys.  At first we suspected a rat. Then a possum. Finally, a deer.  It was big.  Well, on the last day of camp when everyone was saying their tear-filled goodbyes, one of the campers came crying from the back of the gym.  She was sobbing hysterically.  We finally got the idea from her sobs that we needed to go behind the gym.  My friend Eric and I went back there and we found a sight that we never expected.  One of the camp dogs had gotten wedged between the wall and some stacked lumber hiding from a storm and probably died of a heart attack.  It was sad, but man he looked alive. He was standing there, eyes wide open.  You would have thought he could play fetch until you smelled him.

     Some of us are like that.  We look alive and ready to play until you smell us.  Often, the only one that can smell us is God.  We can cover our stench to those around us.  But God smells the pungent odor of a greedy, weak Christian.  We all know that a Christian can seem alive but really be dead.  Just read the first three chapters of Revelation.  I submit to you one way that we don't normally consider that reveals our level of health.  Paul told the Philippians  in chapter 4 vs. 18, that their gifts to help the gospel were a "fragrant offering, and acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God."  I understand that if we are giving back out of what God has loaned us, we smell good to God.  If we are not giving, we can infer that we may just stink.  It's a sign of spiritual health.  Why is giving so important to our spiritual well-being?  Does God need our money?  Not truly.  It is one of the most real ways we can relate to the sacrifice of God.  Giving up what we want to help others.  When we give until it challenges us, we can catch a small glimpse into the heart of God.  

     Besides our odor problem or lack thereof, Paul reminds us of some important lessons about giving.  First he ties together their giving with the Philippians concern for him.  If we don't give, we don't care.  We give, we care.  Pretty simple, but we try to make excuses as to why we hold on  to our treasure.  Next, Paul applies learning to do without when you are the recipient of offerings but we can learn a lot as a giver.  Now buckle up, buttercup.  I am about to blow your mind.  Philippians 4:13 does not directly refer to your sports activities, test taking, job interviews, mud wrestling, sudoku puzzles, Angry Birds, or lottery chances.  The main point of this verse is contentment.  The ability to make it on a little because God is with you.  Trusting God through lean times as well as the good times.  Paul had learned this blessing.  I struggle with it.  But we can survive the difficult times in life because Christ gives us strength.  Even when if seems as if we are all alone.  

     Here's the icing on the cake.  MMMMMM, cake.  The church at Philippi had learned to give at the beginning of their Christian walk (vs. 15).  That's when we need to teach others to give. From day one. Not when they get settled, or when they get a high-paying job.  Now.  When you have a little, give.  When you have a lot, give.  When you're dripping from the baptistry, give.  If we can learn the lesson early on that we can survive when there are cobwebs in the piggy bank because Jesus is guiding and providing, we will smell better all the days of our life.  We will learn a valuable lesson.  God will supply all of our needs in Christ Jesus.  Perhaps not the 'wants' that may hurt us but the needs that sustain us.  So, you're welcome. Now you know not to punch a Grizzly Bear in the face while shouting, "Philippians 4:13."

Please read Philippians 4:10-20

Quit Yer Complainin'!

     I get the feeling that Paul thinks Christians will argue.  What would ever give him that idea?  Christians get a bad rap for arguing.  Don’t get me wrong, we do it.  Sometimes over the silliest things.  I’ve been around long enough to know that people will fight in the Volunteer Fire Department, the Ruritans, at work, and any other place you get a few together.  So why does the world spend so much time talking about when the church fights?  Because even they know that we should know better.  You can question their motives as to why they critique us, but the truth remains that we should know better and we’ve been given a greater responsibility.

     The Philippian church seems to have been a “good” church.  They don’t get the scathing rebukes that the Galatians get.  Paul is hammering in the idea that they must get along.  What is so important about us getting along?  Paul ties it to their salvation!  He previously reminded them of Christ’s attitude and how they were to take on Christ’s attitude.  Then he moves right in and challenges them to work our their salvation!  That’s a heavy task!  God’s grace saves us, but have no doubt, we are players in the game too!  Our faith is required and the Bible is tireless in teaching us that faith is an active faith!  Not merely belief.  The demons acknowledge the truth about God.  Paul says here in chapter 2 that God is working in us to carry out our salvation.  When we choose to do the opposite of the good He is leading us towards, we are fighting GOD!

     What sin does Paul and the Holy Spirit choose to focus on when he teaches us about working on our salvation?  Murder, theft, adultery, or homosexuality?  No. Good old arguing and complaining.  Those two sins are just as deadly as any other when we don’t give Jesus lordship over them.  Complaining and arguing are toxic in the church and sadly, many people don’t even feel a tinge of guilt when they perpetrate them against a brother, sister, preacher, or elder.  

     If I want to be blameless and pure, I must cease complaining and arguing!  That’s a tough pill to swallow.  Some people believe that is their spiritual gift!  There are others that think they are doing a service to the church by keeping a “voice of reason” around.  If there were not some negativity around, imagine what would happen!  But Paul and God teach us that when we complain, fight, and argue, our light for Christ in this world dims.  If the church is going to shine light and save people from Hell, we must live at peace with one another.  Make no mistake, we must follow the Bible in the church.  We can’t remain silent when people are teaching falsehood.  Think about this; are most arguments and complaints in the church about Biblical truth?  Or are they about personalities, opinions, traditions, and preferences?  

     When you feel the urge to complain, nitpick, argue or cause a hubbub (I like that word), stop.  Remember, when we fight unnecessarily we cause Jesus to blend in to the scenery of this world.  With enough complaining He might just disappear in our life.  Think about the people that have influenced you for Jesus.  Do you want them to fear that they labored for nothing?  That all their life sacrificing for you to know Jesus was meaningless?  How about the people that you are influencing?  When your brothers and sisters in Christ, your neighbors, your children, grandchildren, or parents look at you, do you want them to be closer to or farther away from Jesus.  I bet you feel like Paul.  You would be willing to give it all to help someone get to heaven.  So start with your opinion.  If it’s not building someone up and it’s not a matter of spiritual life and death, talk to the Lord about it.  I bet he can do more about it than Bertha at the grocery store.  Shine your light!  

We are Family!

     Have you ever known that guy (or girl) that just says whatever comes to their mind?  The no filter type.  They just let it pour out and there's no holding back.  That sums up the Apostle Paul.  Paul is not one for beating around the bush.  He certainly doesn't here.  Paul is trying to impress a point.  It's one that I try to miss.  It's an uncomfortable one that he pressed yesterday.  He won't let up today.  Again with the unity.  To rub it in, he states, "IF you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, IF any comfort from His love...fellowship with the Spirit...tenderness...compassion, then be united with each other!  Come on!  Make us feel guilty, why don't ya?  It is a valid point isn't it?  He reminds a bunch of blood bought, grace saved sinners that they had a debt they could not pay and yet they were set free.  We need that same reminder.  Of course we have been encouraged by our life in Christ, we definitely have been comforted by His love.  No doubt we've experienced fellowship that can only happen through the Spirit.  So then, do we have a unified mind with other Christians?
     Do we treat our church family like family or are they just casual acquaintances?  Do we tolerate them for a couple of hours a week or do we cherish them, warts and all?  We put up with a lot from our blood family and overlook quite a bit.  But truly our Christian family is blood!  In many ways we can be closer to the church than our natural family!
     How do we become like-minded?  We have to be on the same page!  Actually the same book.  We must be grounded in the Word together.  A church will always be at odds if the standard is not God's Word.  If we all have our own opinions, we'll never agree. If we study the Word together, we'll grow together.
     If we study together, we will begin to love who and how God loves.  Something I pray quite a bit, is for God to help me see people the same way He does.  To love them like He does.  The more we see how lost we are without Jesus, the more it helps us see the great need of others.  Our purpose becomes His.  We begin to be about the most important thing in the world. Introducing people to their Savior.
     Then the toughest part comes.  Putting ourselves last.  Even more difficult is putting others first.  They aren't as good as us.  Do you know their personality?  How about what they used to do?  Or still do?  But God never graded on a curve.  All are unworthy and all are still loved.  Then Paul pours a little salt in the wound.  Act like Jesus.  If you think you don't have to humble yourself, are you better than Jesus?  We wouldn't say that out loud, but we often act that way.  I know I do.  He is God, but he emptied himself of power for a while.  All to be like us; to become one of us, to die for us.
     If Jesus could do that for you, don't you think others deserve to know that good news?  If we can humble ourselves and try to love our brothers and sisters and the lost people we come in contact with everyday, the world would be much better.  Not only would we change eternity, but we would even improve this life!  So, have you gotten anything from being in Jesus' family?  Then start acting like family!  Let's stop going to church and start being the church!  The world is watching, let's show them how family acts!
                                                        Read Philippians 2:1-11

Hello, My Name is Mr. Magoo

      Are you a glass half full or glass half empty kind of person?  I’m a, “Who drank half of my Diet Dr. Pepper?” kind of person.  When it comes to my own personal life, I can be a little pessimistic.  It blows my mind to think that Paul had such a positive outlook on life.  I’m a little envious of people who can see the good in bad situations.  

     The man was in jail. Not because he knocked over a liquor store, but because he was preaching the Gospel!  If anyone besides Jesus had a reason to complain because of unfair persecution, it was Paul.  Yet here he is seeing the good that God can bring through his life even in horrible circumstances.  People are causing him trouble and he praises God that no matter their motives, they are preaching Christ.  He knows that he may be facing death for offering people real life and he can’t make up his mind how he wants to be delivered.  Through his 20/20 kingdom-eyed vision, he sees that living is deliverance and dying is deliverance.  He sees everything clearly.  If he lives, he knows there is more work that he can do for Christ.  If he dies, he gets his ultimate grand prize!  I would be choosing life and wanting an all-expenses paid, six week vacation in the Mediterannean.  

     I’ve heard it said that, “We often spend more time praying saints out of Heaven than we do praying sinners out of Hell.”  Ouch!  How can we be so naive to not recognize that we talk about wanting to go to heaven but we just don’t want to go today?  That seems a little hypocritical doesn’t it?  I think in my case and maybe yours, we think that if we go to heaven a little too soon, there won’t be anyone around to tie up our loose ends.  Ummmm, God?  The creator of the universe, sustainer of all life, the author and FINISHER of our faith is still here!  He can handle the situations better than we ever could.  Maybe there is another little lesson in there.  Don’t leave so many loose ends. (Ephesians 5:15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.)  We are told to make the most of every chance.  That way when our time is done we don’t have so many loose ends.  Tell who you need to about Jesus.  Love those who need loving.  Forgive those who need forgiveness.  Ask for forgiveness from whom you need it.  

     It all boils down to the jewel in the crown of chapter 1.  “For to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.”  Make it your life’s ambition to live that kind of life.  That is living on the edge.   Being so sold out to Jesus that if you keep on keeping on, you can make Jesus more famous.  If you die, ‘Winner, Winner, chicken dinner!’  So, what is standing in your way to having that attitude?  Ask God to make it clear to you and then smash that idol.  Live your life on Go!  I get to Go tell others or I get to Go home!  Oh yeah, I almost forgot, who drank my Diet Dr. Pepper?

     Read Philippians 1:12-26

Don’t be a Fibber    

      Allow me to let you in a little known secret.  Many times when people say, “I’ll pray for you,” they never do.  Earth shaking news, I know.  You probably were aware of that.  You may have been an “empty promise pray-er” before.  When we tell someone that we will pray for them, we usually mean well and have every intention of praying for our friend.  Unfortunately life soon catches up and takes over and we simply forget.  There are some intense prayer warriors out there that don’t relate to this but most of us are Prayer “Weekend Warriors”. 

     I find in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church a good way to help your prayer life and to be included in the lives of others.  In Philippians 1 Paul writes that he thanks God every time he remembers them and prays with joy.  How do we become that kind of person instead of the heart-burn inducing type of person?  Well, I think the text answers our question.  First, Paul writes that they have helped him while he preached the Gospel from the beginning of their relationship with Christ until now.  There was no, “Let me be fed and then I’ll sacrifice later.”  They jumped right in and gave to help others know the Good News.  He goes on in verse 7 to say that the Philippians are in his heart because they are partakers or share with him in the grace of God. Even during his imprisonment and his fearless defense of the Gospel.  The way to endear yourselves to others and be included in their prayers is to stand with them when they go through their darkest times and greatest tests.  

     On the other side of the coin, how do we become a person who prays when we say we will?  Pauls shines some light on that in verse 8.  We will become better at praying for others when we truly get to the place in our lives where we love them more like Christ does.  That’s a tall order.  We begin down the path toward Christ-like loving when we start doing what we spoke about in the previous paragraph.  We will love people more when we suffer along side them.  We’ll love them more when we weep when they weep and laugh when they laugh.  

     So, the key to becoming a Prayer Warrior and Prayer worthy?  Live life with others. Not just your family.  Stand with your brothers and sisters in Christ through the good times and bad. Be there for you neighbor who doesn’t follow Jesus. Have them in your home. Don’t just nod on the lawn mower.  You’ll love them more and they’ll love you more. You will keep your prayer promises because they will be on your heart. Then maybe, just maybe, when your name is mentioned in prayer it will be ‘Thank you, Lord’ and not ‘Help me, Lord.’

                                                            Read Philippians 1:1-8

The Next Temptation of Christ

      Devil with a blue dress. The devil is in the details. Did you ever dance with the devil by the pale moon light? The Devil went down to Georgia.  The Devil is in the mirror.  When thinking about Satan and his workings and wondering about where we find him, we can come up with lots of interesting ideas. But I want you to consider that the Devil could be in the mirror.  That sounds kind of harsh, but we need to realize that we can be used by the devil if we are not careful. 
      I was reading the account of the temptation of Jesus found in Matthew 4 and it dawned on me that we can easily offer the same challenges that Satan offered to the Lord.
      Matthew tells us, The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”(vs. 3)  Have you ever demanded that God provide something for you, immediately?  Surely never in public prayer and maybe never in your prayer time. But how about in those "off the record" talks you have with God or about God?  Maybe it was a good thing like a job, but you still weren't willing to wait for God's timing.  Jesus has the same answer to you and I that he had for the Deceiver.  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (vs. 4)  Maybe we need to be reminded that God is enough and His word is enough. His word tells us that He provides everything we need. Do we trust Him or do we push?
     Then Satan said, “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’(v.6)   Have you ever stood on a cliff in your life that your bad choices led you to, and challenged the Lord to catch you as you threw yourself down?   We challenge God's wisdom and power and His identity and we say, "if you are God, get me out of this mess I've made!"  God can fix our messes, but our attitude is important!  Are we throwing ourselves in chaos and wanting relief from the consequences? Or are we truly wanting to turn back to Jesus? Jesus answered the Devil and us with, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' (v.7)
     Satan then laid his last challenge at the feet of Jesus. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  (v. 8,9) There are times when you and I want the best of the world and the best of the Kingdom. But we can't have both. We try to set ourselves up as God and command the Lord to bow down and worship our every whim and grant our every desire.  The same message goes for us that Jesus delivered to Satan.   Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (v.10)
     Don't be like Satan. Don't turn and leave Jesus when you realize you are standing in the Desert taunting the Savior. Fall at His feet and repent. Allow the Spirit through the Word to convict and change you. Don't let the next temptation of Christ come from you.      

          

      

26.2

     I ran a Marathon! Yes I did it.  It seems like forever ago but it was only a year.  Just to make it clear, it was 26.2 miles.  It was one of the most challenging and fulfilling things I've ever done.  And every step closer to the finish line made me understand why Paul compared the Christian life to a race.

I probably took off too fast and didn't replenish enough early on.  It's easy for us to take off too fast in the Christian life and not replenish early on.  What I mean is, early on we tend to survive on the euphoria of being in the race and don't feed on God's Word.  It's easy to burn out quickly.  

There were times I wanted to quit.  Leading up to my race I ran into all kinds of obstacles (pun intended).  I met people who thought I was stupid for running a marathon.  You'll meet people who think you're stupid for following Jesus.  I met people who doubted I could finish the race. You'll meet people who will question your ability to stay faithful.  And you will meet those special people who are thrilled you are getting in the race.  They drown out the doubters if you listen.

     During my race there were a few times that I wanted to quit!  The course was too tough, they weren't enough encouragers, I thought I wasn't strong enough.  

     Nearly every runner in a marathon hits "the wall".  It's usually around 19 miles and it affects every runner differently. Some runners' bodies give up on them, some just get really tired or discouraged.  I was really focused on not hitting the wall at 19 miles.  When I started to see that wall coming, at just the right time, I made some friends! I caught up to a husband and wife who had tons of experience and a  good attitude.  The husband had run 25 marathons!  His wife had a little more experience with 40!  They encouraged me that it could be done and they took my mind off the struggles.  When you want to give up in your Christian life, if you're patient, God will send help at just the right time.  

     Like I said, I avoided the wall at 19 miles!  It was great, but then like a ninja the wall jumped out of nowhere and roundhouse kicked me in the spleen at 21 miles!  No one was around at the time, no other runners or crowds cheering me on.  It was quiet and I was alone and the only voice there was my doubt.  I came the closest to quitting at that point.  

     I know too many people who have quit the race with Jesus with just a few miles to go.  A few things kept me in the race and I'm confident the same will keep you in the race with Christ.  First, I knew others had gone before me.  I knew that people had completed the race.  I knew people like me had finished.  I knew I had friends and family that were looking for me to finish.  I couldn't let them down.  I made a decision to start the race and I was going to finish. And finally, I remember thinking, that Jesus went through so much physical pain and didn't quit when he had every right to.  

     So remember, there is a great cloud of witnesses that has gone before you that is cheering you on. There are others counting on you to finish. A lot of it boils down to making the commitment and sticking to it.  And most importantly, there's Jesus.  He has won the prize and won the war and gives you and me the privilege to run with him and even receive the winner's crown.  I was nowhere near the front of the pack, yet when I got a quarter of a mile from the finish and heard the people cheering, I began to hold my head up higher and felt my legs grow stronger.  I began to run like the starting gun had just gone off.  And when I crossed that finish line to the cheers of a great cloud of witnesses, I raised my hands in victory.  I finished  and you can too.

So Close, Yet so Far.

  Imagine there's a contest.  The contest is to find the wonderful village of Chocowinity.  You've never been there before (not many have)and you are clueless as to how to pinpoint its location.  You're dropped off in the Congo with a Swiss Army knife, some gum and a pack of Swiss Cake rolls (mmmmmm, Swiss cake rolls...oh sorry).  After days of stowing away on banana boats and hopping trains you end up in California and finally in Cherokee, North Carolina. You find yourself deliriously debating a cigar store indian, because you were so excited to have Swiss Cake rolls that you ate them all the first day and only had gum for the rest of your journey. Anyway, compared to the Congo and Cali, Cherokee, NC is pretty darn close to Chocowinity, NC.  But the contest is to make it to Choco.  You're talking 8 hours in a car averaging 65 miles an hour.  Do you win?  No, close (compared to the Congo), but yet so far.  You explain that they are both Native American names and in NC; but it doesn't matter. 

     Our lives are alot like that.  Honestly alot of us spend a lot of time going to church and sometimes talking about God and praying when things are going poorly, but how many of us really make it to Chocowinity?  For the person who has realized that God is really the only way to go, our "Chocowinity" is total surrender.  I'm not saying that if we're not perfect we are a million miles away from God, but, how often do we even try to put God first and give him everything?  If you're like me, there are plenty of things that come before your relationship with your Creator and Savior.  I hear people all the time that claim to follow Christ but He and His Church are second choice to any number of activities. Work, school, and definitely sports.  But even good stuff like those things and even something as precious as family sometimes gets in front of God and that is wrong!  It has been said that "Jesus is either Lord of all or He's Lord of nothing." 

    It scares me that so many of us are going through life coasting spiritually.  Jesus gave us His all and if we give him 5% of our life we think we've done something.  I think its time to smash our idols and get our priorities in order. 

Who wants to hear, when you meet Jesus, "You were close, but yet so far."

 

None too familiar.

Familiarity breeds contempt.  If I wanted to make you sick of something, I would talk about it over and over and over and make it a byword.  I would tell you all about the benefits of it but never let you experience them.  I would create a watered-down version of it and push it on you at every turn.  That's a nearly fool-proof plan to breed contempt or better yet, apathy, towards the object of my scorn.  How do I know that it's nigh upon fool-proof?  The plan has already been carried out with painstaking effort.  What was the target?  What fiend perpetrated it?  The answers are: Jesus and the church.

Over many years we have taken Jesus and talked about Him over and over and over; while too often keeping people from truly experiencing the benefits of Him.  We've done this by allowing a watered-down version of Jesus to permeate our lives and the world.  Jesus, to many, has become little more than a logo for a knick-knack, shirt or bumper sticker.  We have not, for the most part, been ill-intentioned.  Most of us have been duped.  Satan in all of his wily ways has bought and sold us not by the devil-worshippers or the atheists, but with plain old, grade-A apathy.  

We have raised at least two (if not vastly more) generations of weak, skin-deep "Christ Followers".  I think that too many "Christ Followers" follow like Peter did on the night of Jesus' arrest, not wanting to be seen with the man.  

We have become overwhelmingly a people ignorant of scripture, unwilling to serve, and blind to the need of evangelism.  We deem it a chore to study the Word of God with Christians, and feel that only the tasks that meet our needs are worthy.  We do not tell the good news of Jesus Christ because it honestly isn't good news for us.  

I propose a radical course of action for myself and all those who may read this (thanks mom!).  Instead of reading the newest religious self-help book, let's read the Bible!  Let's fall in love with the one who made us and redeemed us.  I know I've forgotten how amazing He is.  Let's serve others instead of ourselves.  Let's tell anyone who will listen that Jesus has changed us.  Oh but don't forget to let Him first.  Allow your decisions to catch up with your soul.  If a handful of us actually do what the Lord commands, this world couldn't stand it.  I need your help.  Because as simple as the prescription is, I have forgotten to do it.  

I guarantee that if we get to know the Jesus in the Bible, He won't be contemptible; even if He becomes familiar.