Starving

     Some very tragic news has come out of Philadelphia this week as a 3 year old girl has died.  What makes the news so sad is the way that she died, which was by starvation.  At the time of her death, she weighed in at only 11lbs, approximately one third of a normal three year old.  There have been a few cases just like this one that have come out recently, and it blows my mind to think that someone can do this to a child that is under their care.
     But it also reminds me of many homes and churches where people are starving spiritually.  We provide people with entertainment instead of the nutrition that they need from God's Word.  Jesus, Himself, said,  "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  It is important as leaders in our homes and churches that we give the Word of God out to those who are under our authority.  All over this nation there are people who are starving spiritually.  And just as this little girl's parents had a responsibility to provide for her needs, we too have a responsibility to provide for the spiritual needs of those around us.  Just as this girl's parents will be held accountable for how they took care of her, or in this case failed to take care of her, we will be held accountable by God for how we have fed His people that He placed within our care.  We have been commanded to "feed the flock", are we being obedient to this command?
     We need to feed our families by having family devotions, and prayer time together.  We feed our families by teaching them songs that have a Biblical emphasis.  We need to feed the people in our church by preaching the Word of God instead of our own opinions.  By proclaiming the truth of Scripture instead of merely telling stories.  By having Bible classes that dig down deep into the text, instead of dishing out a shallow faith.  Don't let those who are under your care starve to death spiritually.  Let's do what Jesus commands us to do, and that is feed His people.

Getting Past Your Past

     We have all made mistakes in our lives.  Getting over those mistakes can be difficult, but it is possible.  We should learn the lesson from those mistakes, but not let the mistake itself dominate our lives.  The Bible is full of accounts of men and women who failed and got up again to serve the Lord.  One such person was Peter.  On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He let Peter know that he would deny Him.  Peter quickly blurted out, "Though I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee."  A little while later Jesus is taken captive and Peter runs away and out of fear he watches the events unfold from a distance.

     While Peter was watching, a maid came unto him and said, "Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee."  Peter in fear denies Jesus before all of them.  To get away from them, he moves out onto the porch where another maid recognizes him and says, "This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth."  Peter tells them that he doesn't even know who Jesus is.  Some time later others came to Peter and said that you must have been with Jesus because you don't talk like a Galilean fisherman.  Immediately Peter begins to curse and to swear denying that he knew Jesus.  At that point the rooster crowed and he remembered what Jesus had said, and he went out and wept.  Peter was overcome by guilt.

     After Jesus' resurrection, Peter is having a hard time getting over the mistake that he had made in denying Christ and he quits the ministry.  He decides that he is going to go back to his old lifestyle and be a fisherman again.  He allows his past mistakes to keep him down.  Rather than being who God wanted him to be, he allowed his past mistakes to dictate who he was going to be.  He spends some time with Jesus and is confronted on his love for the Savior.  At that point Peter decides to get over his mistakes and moves on to serve Christ.  Just a few months later, Peter stands up and preaches and 3,000 people get saved.  All because he chose to get over his past.  Once Jesus has forgiven us of our mistakes, we need to forgive ourselves and move on.  Learn the lessons from your mistakes, and get past your past.

Are You Playing For The Wrong Team?

     This week, Trey Johnson wrote his name in the high school basketball history books.  For years to come people will remember his name and be telling his story.  But not for the right reason.  Trey Johnson plays for Hugo High in Hugo, Oklahoma.  His team is the underdog against Millwood High in the Oklahoma High School state playoffs.  It was a closely contested game, and with just 3.7 seconds left in the game Hugo High was in-bounding the ball with a 37-36 lead.  All they have to do is get the ball in-bounds and dribble out the clock.  Millwood was guarding well on the in-bounds pass when Trey Johnson broke away from the pack.  His teammate threw him the ball and with time expiring from the clock, he scored a basket in the wrong hoop to give Millwood, the opposing team, the winning basket.
     Romans chapter 13 paints a very similar picture.  Verse 11 begins, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.  Let us walk honestly, as in the day;  not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."
     If we know Christ as our Savior, we have been put on His "team".  And yet so many of us live as though we haven't been saved.  Like Trey Johnson, we get caught up in the things that are going on around us and aren't paying attention to which direction we are going.  Paul tells the Roman Christians to WAKE UP!!!!  Look around you.  What direction are you heading in?  Are you going the right way, following the Lord's steps and directions?  Or are you going the wrong way?  If only someone could have gotten Trey's attention a blunder could have been avoided.  I can't imagine the difficulties that Trey will go through in his town and high school, because of one mistake that he made.  The mistakes that we make by playing for the wrong team can cost us a lot more.  Are you playing for the wrong team?  Look at what jersey you are wearing.  Does it say, "World", "Flesh", or even "Devil" on it?  Or does it read "Lord Jesus Christ"?  Play like it today!!

Are You Refusing To Save A Life?

     This week I read a news article that absolutely horrified me.  How a person could be so heartless as to stand by and just watch a person die without even trying to help.  Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield, California is an independent living home.  An 87 year old woman named Lorraine Bayless collapsed in the dining room, and needed assistance.  A woman who identified herself as a nurse, called 911.  During the call she was instructed to perform CPR on Lorraine who lay dying near her to which she refused.  Reading through the phone conversation sends chills up my spine.  To think that someone who is supposed to help could be so cold to a person who needs help.
     Sadly, this nurse reminds me of many Christians.  Just like that nurse, our duty is to give people the help that they need.  People all around us are one breath away from death.  Eternal death.  Let that sink in.  They are just one breath away from eternity in the lake of fire.  They need our help.  Yet many of us are like that nurse that refuses to help.  That nurse knew what Lorraine needed.  She knew what could possibly save her life, and yet she just stood back and watched her die.  Even worse is the Christian who knows what his family needs.  They know what it is that their neighbor needs.  They understand what it is that their coworker needs.  And yet they stand by and do nothing.  They never bother to share eternal life with them.
     Before Jesus went back into heaven, he put His people on duty.  He gave us the responsibility to save lives all around us.  Christian, look around you.  Everyday, everywhere you go people are crying our for help.  They are searching for anyone who can give them what they truly need.  Are you refusing to save a life?  Who is it that Jesus would have you reach today?

Surprise!!!!

     While in Florida this last week I noticed a lizard on the door adjacent to our room.  Thinking my girls would like to see it, I tried to catch it.  When I did, the lizard jumped to the ground and ran underneath my shoe.  I crouched down and got into position to catch the lizard.  When I moved my foot the lizard was gone.  It had disappeared.  I checked the bush near me, and the grass in the area, but the lizard was nowhere to be found.  Two and a half hours later, I was sitting in Pastor Ryan Livingston's living room when I felt  something crawling on my knee, underneath my slacks.  I grabbed whatever it was as fast as I could and stood up.  When I got to my feet, a lizard tail hit the floor and began to wiggle all over.  Mystery solved!  And what a surprise it was!  After a lot of work, I managed to get the lizard off of my leg and outside where it belonged.
     This surprise reminded me of Matthew 24.  Jesus was telling His disciples about the end times.  He did not want them to be surprised at the things that would unfold.  In verse 42 He said, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come."  Two verses later He said, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."  Jesus wants us to be ready for His coming.  He would challenge His disciples to be busy doing what their Master had told them to do.  Imagine the terrible surprise to have the Lord return and find us doing all sorts of things but the main thing He told us to do.  There on the couch I was surprised by the lizard crawling up my leg.  Not really a surprise I enjoyed.  But an even worse thing, would be for Jesus to surprise me at His return and find me not obeying His command to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.  Let's heed his warning to watch and be ready!

What About Life?

     Our country was founded upon three basic rights for all Americans: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  What about life?  Today marks the 40th anniversary of the decision in the Roe vs Wade case.  As of last year, according to lifesitenews, 54, 559, 615 babies had been denied the right to life.  That number may be well over 55 million at this point.
     Psalm 139 makes it clear that God knows us even in our mother's womb.  Verse 13 states, "For Thou hast possessed my reigns: Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb."  Even in the earliest stages of development, God sees us and cares about us.  Verse 16 is an amazing verse that tells us that God knows every detail of our being even before we have fully developed.  "Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."  God cares about every child, even those that are still in their mother's womb.
     How sad it must make Him to see our nation murdering the innocent, and calling it choice.  And the double standard based upon the choice is so hypocritical.  If a woman wants her baby, and someone is responsible for killing it in her womb, they are tried for the murder of a human being.  And they should be!  But if she doesn't want the child, then it is not a human being, it is merely a group of cells.  Man sees tissue, while Psalm 139 tells us that God sees a person.
     What about life?  I am reminded of a portion of Scripture in Deuteronomy chapter 30.  Moses stands before the people and says, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:".
   

Spiritual Syndrome X

     This past week, i read a story about 20 year old Brooke Greenberg.  Like most 20 year-old women, Brooke loves to go clothes shopping.  But unlike other 20 year-old women, she does her shopping in the infant department with her mother.  She weighs in around 16 pounds.  At the age of 4 or 5, Brooke just stopped growing, physically and mentally.  Medical professionals aren't exactly sure what is wrong with her, so they just call it Syndrome X.  Here she is shown at around 16 years old, sitting in her swing.
     As I read this story, I began to think of many Christians who are plagued with a Spiritual Syndrome X.  Some Christians have been saved for years, and yet they have never grown in their walk with the Lord.  In Hebrews, the audience was criticized for suffering from Spiritual Syndrome X.  Verse 12 if chapter 5 says, "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat."  He lets them know that spiritually they ought to be to the point where they are the teachers, but they hadn't grown.  They were still babies who had to learn their ABC's.  They suffered from Spiritual Syndrome X.  Just as Brooke didn't grow up physically, they hadn't grown up spiritually.
     Peter closes out his second epistle by telling Christians, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  He encourages them to grow in their walk with Him.  Earlier in the same letter he told them that spiritual growth was to be a priority in their lives.  2 Peter 1:5, "And beside all this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue;", and he continues on with more things they are to add or grow into.  But you notice that phrase, "giving all diligence".  It was to be a constant effort to work on their spiritual growth.  Jesus, our ultimate example, grew spiritually as well.  Luke 2:52 says, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."  Jesus grew mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.
     How about you?  Have you grown in your walk with the Lord since the day that you accepted HIm as your Savior?  Or do you suffer from Spiritual Syndrome X?  Spiritually, unlike physically, if we are not growing we are shrinking.  I give you the same encouragement that Peter did, grow!

For more information on Brooke Greenberg, visit: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/16/girl-who-doesnt-grow-continues-to-baffle-doctors/?test=latestnews#ixzz2IGZSR2s7

What A Difference 3 Days Make

     We have all heard the saying, "What a difference a day makes".  It refers to our perspective during difficult times.  While we are in the middle of hard times, things look so dark and sometimes impossible.  We begin to feel as if there is no hope, and no way out.  But as time begins to pass, we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

     Joshua chapter 2 gives us a wonderful illustration of this, and points to something even greater that would happen almost 1,500 years later.  Joshua sends two men to go in to Jericho and search out the city.  They make their way to Rahab's house.  She was a prostitute, and most likely, noone would think twice that two strange men were staying with her.  Plus, very few people would know what was going on in the city better than a harlot.  But someone does notice the two Hebrew men that had made their way into town, and they report it to the king.  He then begins a search for the two spies, and that search leads straight to Rahab's house.  Rahab hides the spies, and for her faith, she will be saved from the destruction that is to come.  She then lets the men down by a cord to escape the city.  And it would be that cord that would hang from the window that would be a sign that they would be safe.

     Joshua uses two different Hebrew words to refer to this cord.  Joshua 2:15, "Then she let them down by a cord through the window".  The word for cord here is "chebel", which means "cord", but it can also mean "pain, sorrow, travail".  In verse sixteen she tells them to hide for three days before going back to camp.  After those three days, the word for cord is changed.  Joshua 2:18, "Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by".  The word for line here is "tiqvah" which means "cord", but it can also mean "hope".  So after three days, the pain, sorrow, and travail is turned into hope.

     What a wonderful reminder of what Jesus did for us.  He died on a cross in our place.  Taking upon Himself our pain, sorrow, and travail.  "He became sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."  He suffered God's judgment upon Himself for us.  He died, was buried, and three days later He became our hope when He rose from the dead.  It is amazing what a difference three days can make!

It Ends With ONE

     It starts with ONE, Jesus.  It continues with ONE, you.  It ends with ONE, that ONE that needs Christ.  John 3:16 makes it very clear, that “God so loved the world”.   Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus looked out across the masses and was “moved with compassion”.  He has a heart for all people.  But He is not just interested in the crowds, He is also deeply concerned for the individual.  Jesus has the very hairs of your head numbered.  He cares deeply about the trials and struggles you face in your everyday life.  His desire is not just with the multitudes, but with the ONE as well.  

     He took time to go see a woman in Samaria who was looking for someone to love her, because He was the ONE who loved her more than any man ever could.  He made time to go see a man of the Gadarenes who was enslaved, because He was the ONE who could set him free.  He made it a priority to stop underneath a tree to see a man who was longing for some type of self-worth, because He was the ONE who could make his life worth living.  Jesus made it a point to go to certain places to make specific people, all because He was concerned for ONE.  

     When Andrew found the Messiah, he knew that there was ONE person that needed to know Him too.  He made it a priority to go and find his brother and bring him to Jesus.  Who is the ONE that you love that needs Jesus?  Make it enough of a priority to go out of your way to reach them.  Love them enough to make a sacrifice to reach them.  Each ONE Reach ONE.

It Continues With ONE

     It all starts with ONE, that ONE being Jesus.  But it continues with ONE, that ONE being someone who has come to know Christ as their Savior.  Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist.  One day John sees Jesus and declares, "Behold, the Lamb of God!".  At that point Andrew left John the Baptist, and began to follow Jesus.  As Jesus is going on His way, He looks and sees Andrew following Him so He asks Andrew in John 1:38, "What seek ye?".  What exactly are you looking for, Andrew?  Andrew lets Jesus know that He wants to spend more time with Him, to get to know Him better, and so Jesus invites Him to come over to where He is staying.
     Throughout Scripture, you find that if someone wants to spend time with Jesus, He invites them to come.  If someone wants to get to know Jesus better, He invites theme to come.  All throughout the Bible, we find the invitation to come unto Him.  I am reminded of Revelation of the great invitation of Revelation 22:17 which says, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.  And let him that heareth say, Come.  And let him that is athirst come.  And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  He said in Mark 10:14, "Suffer the the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  Andrew told Jesus that he wanted to come, so Jesus invited him to come.
     Before Andrew ever went to find ONE to reach for Christ, he first spent time getting to know Him.  the same will be true of us.  When we love someone, we want to spend time with them.  We want to find out all about them.  We begin to see what is important to them, and that starts to become important to us.  The most important thing to Jesus is reaching those who are lost in their sin.  Jesus makes that very clear in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."  He told His disciples that the reason that He came was "not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." The salvation of the lost was and is important to Jesus.  The more time we spend with Him, the more important it will be to us.
     Once Andrew spent time with Jesus, he realized that there was ONE that he needed to reach.  And that was his brother Peter.  John 1:41-42a, "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.  And he brought him to Jesus."  What ONE has God brought into your life, that you might reach them with the Gospel?  And how will you bring them to Jesus?  It starts with ONE, Jesus.  It continues with ONE, you.

It starts with ONE

     It all starts with ONE.  In John 1:26, John the Baptist told the Pharisees, "there standeth ONE among you, whom ye know not".  They had questioned John on whether he was the Christ or not, to which he refused.  He let them know that he was not the ONE, but that the ONE was among them.  John 1:1-2 tells us about that ONE, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God."  It all starts with the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the Word of John 1:1.  Verse 14 says, "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,".  Jesus was the ONE that John told the Pharisees about.
     "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."  He goes on to tell those who were there that day, that Jesus was the ONE that he had told them about.  John declared that he was not the ONE, but that Christ was the ONE.  Jesus is the ONE that can save you from your sins.  Jesus is the ONE that can wash you and make you whole.  He is the ONE that can heal the hurt, and comfort the brokenhearted.  The very next day, John again sees Jesus and repeats the phrase that he has said the day before, "Behold, the Lamb of God."  John spent his life pointing people not to himself or his own ministry, but to the ONE, Jesus Christ.
     Wherever you find yourself in life, I want you to know that it all starts with Jesus.  He is the ONE that you need.  If you have never had your sins forgiven, He is the ONE that can forgive you.  If you have walked away from the Lord, He is the ONE that can restore you.  If you are discouraged, He is the ONE that can lift you up.  It all starts with ONE.  And His name is Jesus.  "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

Each ONE Reach ONE

     A new year is upon us, with a new theme for the year.  We spent 2012 concentrating on “Looking unto Jesus”, and when we begin to draw close to Him, the things that He sees as important, we will see as important.  Jesus’ main concern while here on this earth, was the salvation of the lost, and that ought to be our main concern.

     This year our theme is “Each One Reach One”, based upon Christ’s love for the lost.  John chapter 1, gives us an account of one man who reached another man for Christ.  Andrew loved his brother enough, to tell him that he had found the Messiah.  Isn't there someone that you love enough to share with them the salvation that you have found?  Verse 42 tells us, “And he brought him to Jesus.”  My goal for you this year, is not to reach the whole world, or even your entire town, but to reach one person you know with the Gospel of Christ.  It might be a neighbor, friend, or coworker.  For Andrew, it was his brother.

     I want you to think of one person that you can reach this year.  Write their name down, and pray for them every day this year.  Make an effort to spend extra time with them this year.  Build the relationship that you already have with them, and look for opportunities to share the love of Christ with them.  We can’t personally win the world, but we can have an impact on one life.  Each One Reach One in 2013, who will you reach?