Call louder than before!

Matthew 20:29 - 34 talks about two blind men receiving their sight through Jesus. These verses do more than simply recount one of Jesus' miracles. In verse 30 the two blind men hear that Jesus is coming and begin to call out to Him, asking for mercy. They wanted to be healed by Jesus and called out loudly so that He would hear them. But in verse 31 the crowd around them warns them to stay quiet. However they aren't silenced by the crowd, rather they call out louder than ever to Jesus. There is a lesson to be learned here. We must be like the two blind men who called out loudly to Jesus and who rejected the crowds warnings to be silent, but rather called out all the more! In our world today many will tell us to be quiet and stop calling out for God, it makes them uncomfortable, they don't like it, they just don't want to hear it. We have to remember that when the world tells us to be silent, we must be even louder! Never stop proclaiming the name of Jesus! Never back down and sit quietly just because those around you told you to be quiet! Keep calling out to Jesus louder and louder! Don't let anyone stop you from proclaiming His name!

I am second

I was struck today by the words of a song entitled "I am second" by Newsboys. It says, "I am second to One, He is second to none." I know that I am second to God and that He is second to none, but I began to wonder if I really live that way. I had to stop and ask myself, do I truly live my life by putting God first, or do I put Him second to some things in my life? It is hard to admit to my failure, but I believe that I put God second in some things in my life. I don't want to admit to it, I want to live with God as first. But just like any other sinner I am going to fail. And this is one of those areas in which I fail. I need to remember to put God first in everything. He IS second to NONE! No one can take a place above Him. It reminds me of Satan's fall at the very beginning. He wanted to be above God, he forgot that NO ONE can be above God. That is why he was thrown out of heaven. We cannot forget that God is second to none, He is first in everything! We have to live in that truth! We must put God first in everything! I pray that God will help me in this! Lord, I want you to be first in my life, I pray that You would help me! Help me to remember that I am second to One, and He is second to none! Thank You, Lord! Amen. 

I am second 

By Newsboys

There's a me that I don't really like
 A me that says I'm 
In control till the day that I die
 And I don't know why 
I push I pull I fight I fall
 I end up crawling back to
That place where I figure it out
 That I, that I, that I
I'm second to One
Redeemer, the Way, the Light 
I'm second to One
The Saviour, No compromise 
I'm laying everything
 At the foot of the cross 
My pride, my life, my all 
I am second to One 
And He is second to none And He is second to none Second to none
There's a change when I swallow my pride
 And I surrender
 There's a peace When I open my eyes
 So I remember 
To live's to die
 To fall's to rise
 To kneel's to find the Savior
 Here I am and I've figured it out
 Tonight tonight tonight…
I'm second to One 
Redeemer, the Way, the Light
 I'm second to One 
The Saviour, No compromise 
I'm laying everything 
At the foot of the cross 
My pride, my life, my all
I am second to One 
And He is second to none
Second to none
He said "You come alive
 When you lose your life"
 So I lay it down
 Yeah I surrender all
I surrender all
I'm second to One 
Redeemer, the Way, the Light 
I'm second to One 
The Saviour, No compromise 
I'm laying everything 
At the foot of the cross 
My pride, my life, my all 
I am second to One
I'm second to One
 Redeemer, the Way, the Light 
I 'm second to One
 The Saviour, No compromise 
I'm laying everything 
At the foot of the cross 
My pride, my life, my all 
I am second to One
He is second to none...

Our Great Calling

           In Mark 16:15 Jesus says to His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel; to every creature.” He says the same thing in Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:47, and Acts 1:8. This is our great commission. God has called us to preach His word to the world. He never told us it would be easy to preach His word, He simply told us to do it in His strength. While still here on earth Jesus sent out His disciples out, He is sending us out in the same way. We are supposed to leave all we have to go. He is the one who gives us strength to preach His word.

            Often times we read these verses about Jesus sending us to preach the gospel and we try to make ourselves believe that He is calling others, not us. We think that we are too weak to talk the gospel to every nation. We avoid Jesus’ great commission by hoping that others will do it for us. Every nation seems too great an amount for us to reach, it’s too hard for us, and we ignore the calling.

            But, God called all His children to shine their lights in the darkness. His great commission is for all of us, not one of us can avoid the calling and then stand before God. It will be hard, but God’s strength is shown in our weakness. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Preaching the gospel to every creature may seem a daunting task, but with God all things are possible, and we are not working alone, He will always be there working through us.

            This does not mean that every Christian is called to go overseas, but that God has a special place for everyone to serve Him. There are 2500 tribal group which have never heard the good news and God has called each one of us to help change that. There are three areas in tribal missions and God has called each one of us to serve Him in one of these areas, all we must do is ask Him to show us where He wants us to serve. The three areas are tribal missionaries, support missionaries, and church missionaries. Each area is equally important in the furthering of the gospel among those who have never heard the name of Jesus.

            Tribal missionaries are those who go into a tribe which has never heard the gospel before or who don’t understand the gospel. These missionaries leave their families, homes, and comforts behind and go into an isolated area in order to preach the gospel. It isn’t always easy for these missionaries; they have to deal with sickness, discouragement, and hostility. But these people are hurting, they need Christ to save them, they need missionaries to tell them of an eternal hope. While I was in Papua New Guinea one of the tribes we stopped at asked us to send them a missionary. Their desire to have a missionary made me realize just how great the need for missionaries is.

            Support missionaries don’t go into the tribes; rather they help tribal missionaries stay where they are. Support missionaries either live overseas on the mission bases, serving as school teachers, pilots, mechanics, doctors or nurses, technicians, etc. or they serve from home in the mission offices as travel coordinators, accountants, etc. Without these support workers tribal missionaries would not be able to stay on the field and help reach people with the gospel. These workers allow the tribal missionaries to continue their work without being hindered.

            The last area of tribal missions is those at home in the church. Those at home in the church are advocates for the missionaries overseas. They have three main responsibilities, to pray for those overseas, to financially support those overseas, and to encourage those overseas. Prayer is essential for preaching the gospel, Colossians 4:3 says, “…praying also for us, that God would open a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ…” Missionaries need prayer to continue in their work, we need to ask that God would be with them, protect them, encourage them, and open the door for them to preach the gospel. In our world nothing is free, and this is very true for mission work. Missionaries need financial support; they need enough support to stay on the field to continue to do what they are doing. Last, missionaries need encouragement. While I was in Papua New Guinea one of the missionaries told us that at the time when everyone thought that he would be the most encouraged by the work going on in his tribe, he was the most discouraged. Missionaries easily get discouraged, they are away from home and not everything works out. They need encouragement through e-mails, letters, and prayer.

            We have all been called to one of these areas of mission work. God has called me to be a support missionary and help preach the gospel through aviation. I would like to challenge you today to ask God to show you where He is calling you to serve Him. We are all called to preach the gospel; all that we have to do is ask God to show us where He is calling us to serve Him.

Immanuel – God with Us

          In Isaiah 7:14 it says “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” The name Immanuel means “God with us”, and that name holds more significance than we will ever understand. During the Christmas season we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. But His birthday is not the important part. Sometimes we miss the true significance of His coming to earth. Immanuel, God with us. He was with us here on earth, He walked among us, He gave us an example to follow, and then He died for us so that we might have eternal life with Him. What other god would have done what Jesus did? Who else would have humbled himself to that extent? No one is like our God. When we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are simply scrapping the top of a much deeper spiritual well.

Jesus Christ walked among us. He lived the life of a human man, becoming one of His creations. The Bible tells us that He was fully God and yet fully man. John 1:14 says “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word, as we can see from John 1:1 was Jesus Christ, and He became flesh and dwelt among us. We saw the glory of the Father, His grace, His mercy, and His love. He was here with us. These realities should bring us to our knees, knowing that the One who created us came down to earth to live with us. He humbled Himself to such an extent that He was born in a stable full of animals. He was born in that stable so that the shepherds, dirty, low, and ignored, could see Him. It was probably the only time they had a chance to see Jesus, the King of the world. He gave them that chance, first by coming, and then by choosing a stable for His birth. He wanted a relationship with all his creations, from the lowest of the low, to the highest of the high. He loved us so much that He wanted to be with us and to have a personal relationship with each of us. He walked the roads with us, getting dirty, hot, and tired. He walked with us. The immeasurable power that Jesus left behind so that He could walk among us cannot be comprehended.

While He walked among us He gave us an example to follow. Jesus didn’t just give us rules and commandments to live by; He showed us how to live and told us to follow His example. As it says in John 13:15, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” He didn’t just tell us what to do, He showed us what to do. He showed us how to humble ourselves.  First, He left His throne on high and became a man with human desires, temptations and limitations. If that isn’t humbling, what is? He also showed us how to serve others by humbling ourselves. At the last meal Jesus spent with His disciples before He was led away to be crucified, He washed His disciple’s feet. After washing their feet, the job reserved for the lowest servant, he told them to do likewise. Jesus never tells us to do anything that He didn’t do while He was with us on earth. He loved the outcasts, gave to the needy, and served the undeserving. The bible says that Jesus went around doing good and then it says that we must do good. He walked among us and showed us how to live our lives in obedience to the Father’s will, and He showed us how by being obedient to His Father’s will. He was an example for us to follow.

The ultimate example Jesus showed us while on earth was His death on the cross. When Jesus Christ was born in the stable in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary, He knew He would give His life for the world and yet He came. He knew that He would go through an agonizing torture for us. His death was not only physical suffering but also spiritual suffering. While on the cross Jesus cries out in agony and says, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He did that for us. He came to earth so that we might have life. He took the form of a man and lived in human flesh so that He might became the perfect sacrifice and take away the veil between us and God forever. He died once and for all. Jesus Christ told us that He came to earth to do His Father’s will and His Father’s will was that He die for all humanity. Knowing that, Jesus came to earth to die for those who didn’t deserve it. We are sinners saved by grace, and that grace is in the truth that Jesus came to earth as a baby, and then died for us on the cross at Calvary. That is why He came to earth, and that is why we praise His name. He died that we might live.

This Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, let us not stop at His birth, but at His life, death, and resurrection. What other god ever invented even came close to coming down to earth in order to have a personal relationship with his creation? Only our God is great and worthy of praise, because only our God came to earth and lived among His creation in order to give them the ultimate gift. Our salvation rests on the reality that Jesus came to earth as a baby, lived among us, and then died for us on the cross. But the truth only gets better, Jesus is coming to earth again, and when He does it won’t be as a humble carpenter from Nazareth, but as the King of glory. All creation will bow down before Him and worship Him. Then and only then will we realize the full significance of the name Immanuel. God was, is, and will forever be with us.

In context

I have always known that it is important to read verses in context. (reading the Bible in context means to read the verses before and after the verse you are reading in order to get a clear idea of what the verse is saying.) Today while I was reading Matthew, I again realized just how important it is to read in context! Without the verses before and after we would have a pretty screwed up message! For example, Matthew 5:28 says, "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." That doesn't sound to much like something God would say, it doesn't sound like a Biblical principle in the least. But you have to read further! The next verse says, "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." with both verses together we can see that Jesus is saying that although we have always been told to take revenge, we should turn the other cheek and forget about revenge. This happens again in Matthew 5 when Jesus is talking about how we should treat our enemies, in the first verse (43) it says, "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’" This sounds like Jesus is telling us to hate our enemies, but in verse 44 He says, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" Now we see the whole picture: we have been told to hate our enemies, but God wants us to love our enemies and do good to them!  Make sure you know what God is saying in the verse you read! Reading the bible in context is very important! Without context we would be lost and confused! Never read just one verse, always read it in context!

Thinking Like Jesus

I am sure you have all heard the phrase, WWJD: What Would Jesus Do. It’s one of the most widely used Christian phrases in the world. We have even adapted this phrase to fit different situations. These adaptions go from What Would Jesus Say to Who Would Jesus Date. This phrase shows up often in Children’s books and on arm bracelets, but it has lost its importance. We need to bring it back to what it really means, What Would Jesus Do? What would He say, what would He think, and how would He act? As a Christian this phrase should go way beyond itself. Philippians 4:8 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” God has instructed us to follow Jesus’ example. We must change our entire mind and replace it with the mind of Christ Jesus. God desires us to be so closely connected in our relationship with Jesus Christ that our entire life reflects Him. By doing this we will be able to know What Jesus would do, What He would say, and even Who He would date.

            It may seem a daunting task to replace our mind with the mind of Christ. How are we to think like Jesus? How do we know what Jesus thought so that we can imitate Him? The Bible answers these questions for us.  Today I would like to talk about three characteristics of Jesus which we should be following. These three characteristics are humility, servanthood, and obedience. In order to think like Jesus we need to look at His life and the example he left for us to follow. Jesus was humble, He served others and, most importantly, He obeyed His Father. We also have people who, throughout history, have shown these characteristics in their lives, demonstrating how we can follow Jesus’ example.

            Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” It’s hard sometimes to be humble; it’s hard to think of others more highly than ourselves. Often we display false modesty and think we are being humble. Sometimes we tend to ‘think’ we are being humble, but instead we are trying to look humble so we can look good in the eyes of others. I know I am guilty of trying to build myself up in the eyes of others by outwardly showing humility. We do it without even noticing. We should rather be so committed to being like Jesus that we display humility without even noticing.  When we look at Jesus’ example we can see true humility. Jesus’ whole life was a picture of humbleness. He came to this earth as a man. He became the creation He Himself had created. He lived among us, touching the untouchables and healing the sick and hurting people. He took none of the credit for Himself, but rather gave it all to God.

            Then at the end of His life He gave Himself up to be crucified on the cross for the sins that we ourselves had committed. He took that punishment in our place on the cross, which was the most humiliating way to die. He had no selfish thoughts, only lowliness of mind. Even when he looked down at the people who had placed Him on the cross, He asked God to forgive them for what they had done. At a time when He was experiencing such suffering He only thought of others. He looked at what He had created above Himself. 

            We can look back in history and see people who followed Jesus’ example of humility. Amy Carmichael went as a missionary to India and saved hundreds of girls from slavery, pain, and poverty. She dedicated her life to helping these girls and at the end of her life,  she asked that there would be no marker for her grave. She didn’t want to receive the praise for her work because she saw it as God’s work, not her own. She was humble about her own achievements, giving the glory to God. 

            Jesus was also a servant to others. Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” The Bible also says that He didn’t come into the world to be served, which was what He deserved, but rather He came to serve us.  Jesus showed us what it means to be a servant throughout His life on earth. One event in particular in which He demonstrated His servant like attitude was during the last meal He had with His disciples. Instead of letting them serve Him, He got down from his own seat, to wash their feet. Washing the feet of others was the lowliest job anyone could have; it was left for the lowest servants to do. But Jesus lowered Himself into the place of a servant and washed their feet for them. Throughout His time here on earth He showed us what it means to be a servant, how we should put others above ourselves.

            Gladys Alward demonstrated how we can take on Jesus’ example of being a servant to others. She was a missionary in China and served the Chinese people, opening up an orphanage for hundreds of children. When World War II broke out and the Japanese army invaded China, Gladys Alward was caught in the middle of the fighting and had a choice, she could either escape with the other foreigners and go back to her home in safety, or she could stay and protect the children in her care. She chose to stay with the children in peril of her own life. She then led a hundred children over the mountains to safety, often going hungry so that they could have food and giving up comfort for their sakes. Gladys Alward is just one example of a woman with a servant’s heart who chose to think of others above herself. She was someone who took Christ’s example and lived her life by that example.

           From Philippians 2:8 we can see that Jesus was obedient, the verse says, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”  Jesus was obedient to His heavenly Father. As this verse says, He was obedient even to the point of death on the cross for us. He brought everything to God in prayer and then said, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” And then, even if His will wasn’t God’s will, He followed God’s will. Not many of us will bother to ask for something we really want and then say to God, not my will, but Yours be done. We are too selfish to say that. But Jesus wasn’t. He was perfect and obeyed. When He was with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, He knew He was about to give up His life for us in the most painful and lowly way. He knew what He would have to endure for us. And He went out by Himself to pray to God. He asked that God would take the cup of suffering away from Him. He asked that He wouldn’t have to die in this way. But after He finished asking God, He said, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” And when God said it was His will that Jesus die for the world, Jesus said, “Okay, then I will die for them.” And He took that cup of suffering for us. He was obedient to His Father to the point of death on the cross. Are we obedient even to our earthly fathers? What about our Heavenly Father?

            There have been countless people who have shown us what it is to be obedient to our heavenly Father. Missionaries have felt God calling them to the mission field and have answered the call in obedience to Him, giving up everything, leaving their home and family, and following God. Nate Saint had a bright future ahead of Him, He was very intelligent and could have gotten a good job at any airport as either a pilot or a mechanic. But he chose to obey God’s calling and went to the mission field in Ecuador to serve God by flying. God laid a desire on his heart to bring the good news of the gospel to the Auca Indians, an isolated people group who had never heard of Christ Jesus. Knowing of the danger involved in entering Auca territory, Nate still obeyed God and went in. After he went in, the Auca Indians killed him and his four fellow missionaries. He had known that death might be the outcome of obeying God’s calling, and yet he still went in. We also have to obey God no matter the circumstances.  

            As you can see, these three characteristics are intertwined. When we are humble, we become servants, when we are humble servants, we become obedient. Jesus added these three together and they became the basis for His ministry on earth. His whole life on earth was devoted to showing these three characteristics in everything He did and said. 

            Jesus says in John 13:10, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” In order to think like Jesus, we have to know how He thought, and in order to know how He thought we have to look at his perfect example and follow in His footsteps. Jesus left us an example that we should follow in it. So how do we think like Jesus? We see how He thought, how He lived out His life, and we take His example of how we ought to walk.

            Remember that Jesus wants us to shine His light, He wants us to be like Him, He wants us to replace our mind with the mind of Christ. We need to read the Bible, recognize the example Christ left for us, and emulate Him. When we live out Jesus’ example we will unconsciously live a life worthy of Him. We will be able to know the answer to the question What Would Jesus Do.

Stop and Think

I found this video by Francis Chan today. What a great video! Everyone should watch this and share it with the world! People need to hear about Gods indescribable love! God is awesome! And God has given us people like Francis Chan, who we can learn from. In Philippians 3:17 Paul says, "join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern." There are people God has placed in our lives to help us grow in Him and in His word! Listen to those people and learn from what they have to say!
 

Master of the Universe

Our God is the Master of the universe! He created it all and He is in control of it all! Psalm 104 tells us of all God does for us. He provides for us, He gives us life, He appointed the moon and the sun to give us day and night, He laid the foundation of the earth. He is a great God and greatly to be praised! It gives me a sense of peace when I think about His hand in control of the world. We don't have to worry about any of it because He has everything in His hand! My favorite verse from this psalm is verse 29 where it says, "You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust." God is in control of our lives. He gives us life, He gives us breath, but when our time is over He takes our breath away and causes us to return to dust. He created us our of dust and breathed life into us. It says in Genesis that "the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." He gave us the life we have, in return for our life we must serve Him in all we do! He has the power to take away our breath at any moment, just as He had the power to create man out of dust! Praise Him and bless His name! He deserves our worship! We can rest secure in the knowledge that He is in control of our lives!