September 1, 2014
Who has been given this message of reconciliation? Everyone who has been reconciled in Christ. The reconciled no longer evaluate others from a human point of view, based on outward differences of gender, ethnicity, or status. Those reconciled see only people of two spiritual conditions: those who have received the message, and those who have not. The reconciled have the most wonderful good news to tell those who are far from God. They feel called to organize their lives around obeying Christ’s command to bear witness of this message of reconciliation to the ends of the earth.
August 31, 2014
“We know.” This faith we have is based on the historical resurrection of Jesus. We look at this fact, believing it, and this faith becomes like confident knowledge. Believing that God raised Jesus in the past, we also believe that He will raise us with Jesus in the future. Our future hope is anchored in this already-fulfilled past. Ours is not blind faith or empty hope. “We know” that the same God who raised Christ, will raise us too.
August 30, 2014
Our message is not about us, but about our Lord. For we are like clay pots containing a great treasure. Our weakness only serves to emphasize the greatness of Christ within us. When we want people to see us, to applaud our efforts, we forget that our purpose is to cause others to give glory to God, not to us. For people to see the Treasure, we must decrease, so that He might increase. We are to live in such a manner that there is no other explanation for our existence than God’s power within us.
August 28, 2014
Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas (In modern Turkey, near the ancient ruins of Troy). What is this “door of opportunity?” It is when the Lord causes a certain people in a certain place at a certain time to be receptive to the gospel. We cannot open this door. But we can knock. If no one answers, we go to the next. Our calling is to let the gospel knock on as many doors as we can reach. And when the Lord opens a door, we enter and stay for as long as we’re welcome. Are you looking for open doors where the Lord is already at work causing gospel-receptivity?
August 26, 2014
We are often called to minister to others out of the very place that we ourselves have once suffered. The fatherless find comfort in the Father and grow up to care for the widow and orphan. The cancer survivor visits the chemo patient. The addict whom Christ has set free declares the good news to those still in bondage. This ministry would not be possible were it offered from our brokenness. It is possible because it comes from the overflow of comfort that we ourselves have received from God. Have you received this excess of comfort that flows first to you and then through you to others?
September 11, 2012
We are always tempted to lean on our own strength, thinking, bank account… But stripped of these, we learn to depend on Christ. Some of us are slow learners and need continual reminders. God is teaching us to rely on Him. Are you learning where to lean?
September 7, 2012
Practice the art of flow: One hand open to God to receive blessing and the other hand open to others to give. If we close either hand, we dam-up the flow of blessing. God wants you to be a channel of His blessing.
September 5, 2012
Paul told the church at Corinth that they excelled in every area of ministry except in giving. He encouraged them to excellence there too. Giving is a habit that needs to be practiced. Like any other ministry, we grow in it as we do it. It is a sorely needed art in this culture of consumerism. It acts as a antidote to greed. Do you excel in the act of giving? Are you a great-giver?
September 1, 2012
My prayer as WCC’s pastor is not that our members would brag about our preaching, our band, or our building, but that they would boast of how the Lord is moving in our midst and changing hearts. We want to make Jesus famous, not ourselves.
August 30, 2012
This “light” is the glory of the abiding Christ in us. As we walk by faith through this world our bodies become increasingly fragile, yet the glory revealed in us increases. We learn to preach Christ, and not ourselves. We learn to lean on Christ, not our own strength.