Yes or No?

1 Peter 2: 21 - 22

²¹ For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

How would you say you’re doing at following the example of Jesus?

Let’s try this test, shall we? Check them off, as you go along…

Are you forgiving those who persecute you?                       YES      NO

Are you loving your  enemies?                                                    YES      NO

Are you praying for your enemies?                                           YES      NO

Are you verbalizing your faith?                                                   YES      NO

Are you studying the Word, to an approved status?         YES      NO

Are you giving your tithes & offerings?                                   YES      NO

Are you actively abiding in Christ?                                             YES      NO

Are you an imitator of Christ?                                                      YES      NO

If you love Him, are you keeping His commandments?    YES      NO

Are you trusting Him with all your heart?                               YES      NO

Would you say you have the mind of Christ?                        YES      NO

Have you taken up His yoke, yet                                                YES      NO

That should be enough to consider for a while…

Respect and Esteem

1 Thessalonians 5: 12 - 13

¹² We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.

John MacArthur said and I quote regarding the role of the Pastor/Shepherd:

“There are always people eager to falsely accuse a man of God. They may do so because they resent his calling, reject his teaching,

resist biblical authority, resent virtue, or are jealous of the Lord’s blessing on his life.”

I’ve been around people who wish to make accusations against the Pastor.

We sometimes just pass it off as not being a big deal, but many don’t consider it sinful, when it actually is.

The devil himself, uses false accusations to bring destruction to the ministry of the church.

Private forms of accusations are really considered whispering, which God really does hate.

There’s a right way of going about bringing correction to a Pastor, but most people don’t practice it.

God takes attacks on His man, very seriously.

Paul is telling the church at Thessalonica, that Shepherds must be respected and esteemed.

Do you respect your Pastor? Do you esteem his work of handling the Word of God?

I wonder what might happen, if we held ourselves responsible, to the level we hold our Pastors to?

The wicked one is always looking to stir up confusion, that in the end harms the community of Christ.

How might you help your Pastor, so his work of bringing about the Word of God, doesn’t become laborious

Devoted prayer!

Acts 1: 14   ESV

¹⁴ All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer…

In the early church, these were kind of earth shaking moments.

Jesus has just ascended, and the disciples were making a choice to replace the betrayer, Judas.

But one thing that brought them peace and agreement, was prayer.

They devoted themselves to prayer.

When things turn tipsy topsy in your life, do you devote yourself to prayer?

You’d be surprised at what people turn to, when things get spiritually crazy.

I realize that when things get chaotic, it’s hard enough to keep up on our daily devotions, let alone pray.

Life serves up so many excuses, not to take prayer seriously.

A church that prays its way out of a tail spin, won’t crash into a big pile into the ground.

The church that prays together, will actually stay together, no matter how few that congregation becomes.

We need daily reminders to stay devoted to prayer and the study of God’s Word.

Do you need to be reminded today, that God is just waiting to hear from you this morning?

So what’s it going to be for you? A tail spin, or intercession from within?

The choice is yours to make, but I’d encourage you to chose wisely.

Excuse me for rushing out so quickly, but I’ve got some brothers to meet this morning at church for prayer…

Destructive Talk!

James 4: 11

¹¹ Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law.

But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

Not many people know this, but the definition of defamation in the State of Wisconsin is… “defamation is a statement that”…

·         is false…

·         is communicated to a third person…

·         tends to harm the reputation of the another as to lower the person in the estimation of the community or deters others from associating or dealing with the person…

People that can prove they’ve been defamed, have the lawful ability to sue another person for damages.

When I saw the definition, I fully realized that I have been guilty of breaking this law.

Have you ever defamed another person? Have you ever broken this law?

Have you ever tried willfully to defame another person’s reputation?

Maybe we should be more concerned with defaming the name of God.

Maybe it’s His law, that we should adhere to.

This is a very destructive sin, and I know confessed followers of Jesus, who are guilty of defaming other people.

The defamer is not a humble person at all. They have every intent of executing destruction.

Maybe what my Mom taught me as a little boy, is true enough today.

If we can’t say anything nice about another person, maybe we should actually think twice about speaking

Is it Possible?

Proverbs 18: 12 KJV

¹² Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

Do you know that the enemy can poison even the thoughts of any follower of Christ?

Most people don’t even realize this, but that’s what the enemies flaming darts can accomplish.

A person like this, doesn’t even know the attack is coming, or has taken place.

Once deceived, this person doesn’t even realize the cause, and they don’t know enough to even oppose it.

This is a very dangerous place to be.

The most well intentioned Christian, can be deceived in the most subtle way.

The enemies plan isn’t just to take down the single person, but he means to take out a whole battalion if possible.

Is it entirely possible to consider, that you  might not be walking in the spirit?

This kind of person doesn’t even realize it, until it’s too late.

We should purpose ourselves to study our thoughts and feelings, so we know for sure where they are coming from.

There are times when the devil will cause our spirit to become hard, stubborn, narrow, and even disobedient.

If right now you’re thinking about someone else this could affect, you might not be operating within the spirit of humility.

Maybe before you consider someone else’s haughty spirit, you might want to look under your own hood, first.

Is it  possible the enemy concentrated on you, and you might not even realize it?

How is your Review?

Romans 12: 10  ESV

¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Whenever I buy something from Amazon, they look for me to offer a review of the product I purchase.

People do that with authors of books that certain people write.

I was surprised to see how many people don’t like some of the authors I like.

Joyce Meyers and Francis Chan and David Platt and others, really take a review beating by some people.

Actually, I happen to like the teaching of those people, and I also like John Hagee’s material too.

I wonder though, when a person prepares to write a review, do they take into account the person’s/authors true character?

When people take reviews written from other folks as Gospel, without ever once taking the time to really get to know the person writing the review, or even bothering to read the book by the author.

Some people take those scathing thoughts, and go out on the warpath. If someone were to write a review about you, what would they write?

Would they take the time to authentically get to know you?

I thought the Body of Christ was supposed to offer brotherly affection to one another.

Who have you outdone lately, in showing honor to?

A friend of mine wrote a book a number of years ago, and people have really beaten him up over it.

The one thing that none of them have ever considered doing, was to get to know this guy in a personal way, or read his book cover to cover.

It’s amazing all the so called “experts” there, who have never taken the time to sit with my friend, and get to know him in a personal way.

I guess at the end of the day, it’s really their eternal loss, and his eternal spiritual gain…

Misunderstandings!

1 Corinthians 3: 3  NLT

You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

I don’t know about you, but there sure seems like there are a lot of politics in the church today.

Dietrich Bonheoffer once said: "Politics are not the task of a Christian."

That doesn’t mean we can’t have good, concrete discussions in the church, but sometimes discussions get out of hand.

Even Jesus went through some trials, and the people in the church were the culprits.

Sometimes we forget that, don’t we?

It was for my sins, and for your sins, that Jesus was punished and condemned.

If you had been an observer in the crowd that day, would you have turned on Jesus too?

No sense trying to dodge that question. I think we all know what the real answer is.

The God of the Bible has higher thoughts than our thoughts.

Our limited understanding is so often classified as misunderstanding, of God’s purposes and plans.

Who have you misunderstood lately in your church?

I assume you’ve gone to them personally, and tried to work things out, haven’t you?

Maybe the reason we’re not seeing people saved in the church we attend, is that we’re acting too much like the world.

Maybe there’s too much quarreling going on, and not enough praying in agreement…

Crazy Faith!

Hebrews 11: 7  ESV

⁷ By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.

By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith, God appoints men to do some crazy things sometimes.

It’s suggested that Noah took some grief from people when he built the ark, but the Bible doesn’t shed any evidence of that.

Most people will never know though, what God verbally tells men who actually follow Him.

He only trusts men with that information, who will actually carry it out.

I’ve been called crazy a number of times.

I’ve also been called some things, that can’t be repeated.

One thing I do know, is when God called me to do something crazy, I was never afraid to respond.

At the end of time, everything will be laid bare before every single soul, and then some people are going to have some egg on their faces.

There are those who have verbally called out God’s men, for being crazy.

Once the doors of the ark were shut closed tight by God, I’ll bet there were people who wished they had listened to the crazy man.

And even in modern times, only men of courage respond to the voice of God.

They are the small minority, who have the faith to move mountains.

The rest…well let’s just say they probably wished they had that kind of faith…

Be Strategic!

Hebrews 1: 1 - 2

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

One of my favorite silly sports movies of all time, was… “Angels in the Outfield”.

The kid in the movie asks his dad… “When are we going to be a family?”

And the dad’s response is… “When the angels win the pennant…”

The angels in this movie, actually do help the California Angels win the pennant.

But something funny strikes me about that concept.

Why would any angel, want to give up his Heavenly home, for a baseball team?

But honestly, don’t we do that all the time?

Adam & Eve had the perfect set up with God, but they were willing to give it all up, on the chance that serpent might be telling them the truth.

Judas had the perfect gig too, but he gave it all up for 30 pieces of silver.

What have you given Jesus up for lately, that ended up being counterfeit?

Common sense would tell us not to give up the best, for something that in the end, wouldn’t measure up.

So why do we allow those things to come in, that never come close to measuring up to Jesus?

Be strategic in your walk with Christ today.

Nothing you will ever meet or see, will ever be able to measure up to the still small voice, of the Son.

For one day very soon, some of us are going to be just one big happy family…and I for one, can hardly wait…

It's not about you!

Numbers 14: 3 - 4

³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey.

Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

 

People leaving churches is nothing new anymore.

What would be a switch, is if Shepherds left churches they were in, because the people didn’t do or respond like they should have.

 

That would be a change in action, but then that might explain why 1,500 Pastors leave their churches each month in the U.S.

So when we dump and run, what are we telling the people without any hope at all?

 

Have we lost the flavor of commitment?

Have we made this whole thing about us, and not about God?

 

Do we hit the trail hot foot, just because something doesn’t go our own way?

Unfortunately, that’s the game that some play.

 

There are those though, that will press on when trouble comes to the church.

There are those who will press on, no matter what. Which one are you?

 

I think those who press the Pastor for perfection, should actually look in the mirror.

Maybe if we’re going to fight the good fight of the faith, we should actually stay in the fight.

 

Actually, I’d rather fight, than switch!!

Strike!

Numbers 14: 11 - 12

¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?

¹² I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them…

God had given Moses a charge to lead His people out of bondage.

It wasn’t far into the journey though, that the Hebrew people started to rebel against God’s man.

That’s a dangerous place to be, and yet that’s where the modern church often times finds itself.

People begin to question God, and His appointed lead person, and the people are inclined to rebel.

God shows Himself clearly in the church, and He does signs and wonders among the congregation.

Then the interest wanes, and we begin listen to people who aren’t in places of leadership positions.

Those people then sway a group, and before long, their headed out for parts unknown.

This places rebellious people, within striking distance of God.

Either they don’t know better, or they’re too prideful to consider their waywardness.

We might think we know better than all the rest, but maybe not so fast.

When people can’t submit to the appointed authority, it puts them in harm’s way.

Maybe the ones who think they know it all, spiritually, don’t really know what their getting themselves into… 

National Day of Prayer!

1 Peter 4: 7

⁷ The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Today is the National Day of Prayer

How will you pray today for our country? Will you pray today for our country?

Someone a long time ago, showed me the ACTS way to petition our Heavenly Father.

Adoration…Confession…Thanksgiving…Supplication

It’s amazing to consider, how many people don’t pray.

What’s also amazing is the men who don’t lead their wives and children in prayer.

Maybe that’s the reason that things seem so out of control in our country.

I’ll bet we could change that, if we made prayer more of a priority than it currently is.

Someone once told me, that if I ever decided to write a daily devotional, that it should be less than 100 words.

I think that should show us, that maybe we’re not as sober minded as we should be.

Would you join me in praying this prayer today? And yes, it’s probably more than 100 words…

Heavenly Father, We come to You in the Name that is above every name—Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Our hearts cry out to You.

Knowing that You are a prayer-answering, faithful God—the One we trust in times like these—we ask that You renew our spirits, revive our churches, and heal our land.

We repent of our sins and ask for Your grace and power to save us. Hear our cry, oh God, and pour out Your Spirit upon us that we may walk in obedience to Your Word.

We are desperate for Your tender mercies. We are broken and humbled before You. Forgive us, and in the power of Your great love, lift us up to live in Your righteousness.

We pray for our beloved nation. May we repent and return to You and be a light to the nations. And we pray for our leaders and ask that You give them wisdom and faith to follow You.

Preserve and protect us, for You are our refuge and only hope. Deliver us from all fears except to fear You, and may we courageously stand in the Truth that sets us free.

We pray with expectant faith and grateful hearts. In Jesus’ name, our Savior. Amen.

100 % Pure Fruit!

Galatians 5: 22 - 23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control…

I wonder how many follower of Jesus, forget to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit?

When I look at the list above, I see a challenging, yet glorious way to walk with Jesus.

These fruits are exhibited when we walk consistently in the Spirit.

These fruits are natural for the person that flows in the power of the Holy Ghost.

Now let’s consider the person who exhibits yet another Spiritual skill set.

These are also found in Galatians 5: 19 - 20…

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity,

strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies…

Now most people would probably be disqualified for drunkenness and orgies, but what about envy?

Fits of anger, perhaps? Do I hear dissensions or divisions?

There are counterfeit fruits, and they are also counterproductive as well.

So how can you tell if you’re producing counterfeit fruit?

Maybe we should trust forever in the righteousness of Christ?

Maybe it might be a good idea, to inspect the true kind of fruit we’re producing…

One Body

Romans 12: 4 - 5

⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,

⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

As senseless as the shooting was in Menasha on Sunday night, something good did come of it.

People gathered at a local church at 1pm yesterday to come and pray.

Not just people from Calvary Bible Church came and prayed, but even people from WCF came to pray, and other churches too.

That’s what the Body of Christ does, when another body hurts.

One can’t argue that some churches have differences within.

Some churches are almost competitive with other churches, but that doesn’t seem right.

I met other church Pastors and leaders from other churches, and something beautiful was happening.

Although we all don’t have the same function, we are one body, and the body gathered for prayer, and for counsel offered to those who were hurting.

Maybe it’s times like these, that get us focused on the one true church again, and not individualism.

One day when we all get to glory, I think when we realize what we disagreed on in principal on earth, won’t make a whole lot of difference, in a place of perfection.

Could it be possible, that God can work something good, out of something so tragic?

That sure seems to have been the case in Neenah, with a church that’s really hurting.

What area of your life needs to get refocused on the body of Christ, since we’re all members of one another anyway?

Lay down and die!

1 John 3: 16

¹⁶ By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

This verse is the standard for all followers of Christ.

We should be willing to lay it all on the line for our brothers & sisters in the faith.

Marriage is like that too.

Someone shared something with me recently, that said… “Marriage is one wedding, and two funerals.”

Paul instructs men, that if we really love our wives, we should be willing to lay our lives down for them. (Ephesians 5: 25)

The whole scope of our relationship with Jesus, is a death experience.

That’s the whole premise of our relationship within the body of Christ.

We shouldn’t wish death upon those in our intimate church family, we should be willing to die for them.

Is that how you see your relationship in the church?

As you willing to die for the person you worship with?

Maybe that should be the picture of the church.

One marriage, and two funerals.

That seems to be one of the best definitions of love, that I’ve ever heard…