Do People See Jesus In You?

Do People See Jesus In You?

We were watching the movie; Blue Like Jazz. It was a wonderful movie with an clear message. We do not take who we represent (Jesus) seriously and we are damaging people for the rest of their lives. I would recommend reading the book Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller first, than see the movie. The book is so much richer than the movie.

The main driving point that I took away from the book is that we may be the only time a stranger, friend, co-worker, or family member experiences God. You may only have once chance to show these people who Jesus really is. Once you became a Christian, like it or not you now have a label that goes with you where ever you go. People may never pick up the Bible, go to church, or attend a religious gathering, but they will come in contact with you. My question is; what are you going to do with that encounter? Now I am not saying that we have to be perfect, because no-one is perfect except Jesus. But what I am saying is that I know we can do better..... we must do better.

One example in the movie was this guy who was a senior at Reed College. When he was a young boy he was abused by a priest. That Priest represented God and His character. To this guy, God was a mean god who allowed him to be sexually abused. He did not have love for God, only hate. He lived to destroy God, his followers, and taint what we stand for.

Donald was listening to this guy who had been abused by the priest and he realized what he needed was for someone who represented Jesus to say they were sorry on behalf of Jesus. Explain to him that we are imperfect and while we try very hard to represent the Bible and Jesus Christ, we fall very short. The guy who was abused was very touched and you could see that he began to open his heart to this "Jesus thing." We need to have the same attitude, let go of your pride and forget who is right and who is wrong, this is all about Jesus. 

To all of those that I have come in contact with and I have fallen short of being a Christian, I am sorry. While I try very hard to be a Christian and live for this Jesus person I do fall short. While he is patient, I am not. While He is loving, at times I am not. I get mad, yell and scream. While Jesus is truly forgiving, at times I an not. I hold a grudge and do things for the wrong reasons, Jesus does not. So to all those that I have come in contact with and have gone away with a twisted view of who Jesus really is, please forgive me. If you want to know who Jesus is, look to the Bible, and open your heart and ask Jesus to show up and reveal Himself to you. I know that if you are serious, He will and it will feel amazing!

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Your Life Is A Sandwich

Your Life Is A Sandwich

Right now Subway has $5.00 footlong Subway sandwiches. I do not know about you, but there is nothing like a Subway sandwich. You know the kind I am talking about,one that has the meats and all the fixins piled on. YUMMY!

Picture in your mind that sandwich, just loaded with all the meat and fixins. Now, try to imagine the same sandwich with just one measly slice of meat, with maybe a little lettuce. If you were to look at that sandwich all you would see where the two peices of bread. I can imagine that it would taste very plain and bland. I donot know about you, but the first sandwich sounds much better.

Our Christian lives are the same way. Let me explain. There are three words that for me were hard to understand, but the analogy of the sandwich helped me to makesense of it. Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. In this devotional I want to take a look at the meat; your sanctification. But, to understand the sandwichyou need to know what the other two words mean.

Justification is when you became a Christian, it is an instant act where GOD viewsour sins as being forgiven and Jesus righteousness belongs to us, in other words,because of what Jesus did on the cross, GOD declares us righteous in His sight.Glorification is the final step of the redemption process. When Christ returns, raises the bodies of all the believers that have died and reunites them with theirsouls, and changes all the bodies of the believers that are still alive. We all will have perfect, glorified bodies like Christ.

These are big words, but we should all understand what they mean, because they havea huge effect on us. The justification and glorification make up the bread of oursandwich. Sanctification makes up the meat, the fixins, the good stuff. The firsttwo are already done, if you are a believer in Jesus and accepted Him as you savior,there is nothing you can to do to improve on them, they are yours..... but anctificationis different.

Sanctification is the daily process that frees us from sin and makes us more likeChrist in our daily life. It is HARD word. Let me give you an example of what happened in my life.

I have been praying to GOD to show me the areas of my life that I need to improve. The Holy Spirit laid something on my heart. I always strive to be a good spiritualleader of our house. I try and raise our son that would please GOD. Our son has become very busy with sports, we sometimes eat dinner at different times as he comeshome late. Kim and I would eat earlier, and Tyler would eat later..... yes, in front of the TV. Soon we found all of ourselves in front of the TV eating dinner and not talking.

The Holy Spirit laid on my heart to have dinner around the table as a family again, and for me to talk about Jesus, even have a devotional afterwards. Here is the hardwork. It is much easier to eat in front of the TV. I do not have to put forth any effort, do not have to talk, just eat. But, I knew that it came from Jesus, so itwas going to happen. The night that I said to the family lets eat at the table, my son looked at me like I had a third eye. It was easier for him to watch TV andnot engage us either. Plus, right before our first night that we would gathered together at the table, satan was throwing everything he could at me. My flesh did not want too. I can identify with Jesus when he told Peter, the spirit is willing,but the flesh is weak.

If you are a believer, sanctification should be a daily process. You might be asking, how do I start this process? It is a good question. The best thing you can do is to pray and ask GOD to show you the areas that He would like to see you work on.If you are sincere, the Holy Spirit will convict you. But, her lies the hard work,Jesus does not wave a magic wand and make you better in that area. He is going togive you an opportunity to improve in that area. This is what I mean by hard work.Be ready for resistance from enemy, he does not want to see you improve or becomemore Christ like. Ask Jesus for strength.

I can tell you that as you succeed, you will be blessed. Even though that first family dinner was rough, our son has been more open with us. In fact he even commentedthat he enjoyed talking with us about the Bible. I hope that the "Sandwich" analogy helped make more sense of those big words. I know it did for me.

So, what does your sandwich look like? Is it a wimpy looking sandwich with littlemeat? Or is it a yummy sandwich bursting with meat and all the fixins? This is really making me hungry. :) 

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Life Did Not Turn Out Like You Expected

Life Did Not Turn Out Like You Expected?

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Have you ever stopped for one moment and thought about where your life is right now? Maybe you look at your current place and the event that got you here, and you think; "WOW! This is not where I thought that I would be by this age." 

If you have every thought this, I am sure this story will give you encouragement. 

When you are reading the Bible and the stories that are in the Bible, you must always put yourself into the story, and into it's characters. When I first started reading the Bible, I used to skim over sections like the above text. But, now I really try and understand what these people were feeling.

Look at John the Baptist. John knew that this great Messiah was coming. In fact John was the one that baptized Jesus to start His ministry (3:13-17). The heavens opened up, GOD spoke, and the Spirit of GOD descended upon Him. So, John must of known that this was the Messiah. I know that if I saw this sign, I would.

Related Blog: Are You Walking With God

So why then, did John ask in verse 11:3: "Are you the one, or should we expect someone else?" To give you a little background John was in Jail. I believe that John was saying in a round about way. Jesus, remember me, I am the one that baptized you, ahhhhh did you know that I am in jail? Bust me out and lets change the world! I want to help, and I am not doing much here in jail!Did you like Jesus' response? Jesus did not say yes or no. But, tells John what you have seen with your own eyes. I do believe that Jesus gave John some words of encouragement in verse 11:6. Jesus was saying hang in there, trust me even if this does not make sense.

Put Yourself In John's Shoes.

I would guess that he imagined that when the Messiah came, he would be a part of the plan in some way. I would guess that John was excited for the great things he would see and experience. I would guess that John wanted and dreamed about being apart of this. I would bet the last place that John expected to be was in JAIL.

If you know the end of the story; John was beheaded. I wonder if all the way to his death, in the back of his mind John was thinking: Surely Jesus is going to rescue me. Like John, your plans are not always going to line up with Jesus'. In fact there may be sometimes you may be angry or saddened by them.

Go to Jesus, tell Him your honest feelings (Like King David) Jesus honors this. Once you have shared your heart, "Do not fall" V6 if it still does not fit into your plans, trust Jesus. Someday (Maybe in heaven) it will make sense.

"Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, leper sare cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

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My Life Is Out Of Control

My Life Is Out Of Control

My Life Is Out Of Control

As I was reading the verses below, I could not help to think how "In Control" GOD was. HE used Nebuchadnezzar, who was king of Babylon to capture HIS chosen people. I bet that Nebuchadnezzar had no idea that he was carrying out GOD's plan, it was most likely a desire that he had to capture Jerusalem.

GOD had even planned out how long Jerusalem would be under capture; 70 years. Then GOD would punish the Babylonians, the ones who HE put the desire to concur HIS people, for their guilt. GOD was controlling every step for as long as HE needed.

We need to remember that even when our lives feel out of control, and there is no way that GOD could know what we are going through; GOD does. GOD is in control every step of our lives, HE knows what we are going through. The trials that we are going through are preparing us for future events and helping us to grow in our faith. So, remember that everything, good or bad that happens in your life GOD knows and HE is in control.

Related Blog: Is God Really In Control of Your Life?

Jeremiah 25:8-14

Therefore the LORD Almighty says this:"Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the northand my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the LORD, "and I will bring themagainst this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them anobject of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy

years. "But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,  for their guilt," declares the LORD, "and will make it desolate forever. I will bring upon that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands."

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Are You A Toxic Christian?

Are You A Toxic Christian?

Are You TOXIC?

Kim and I were out running errands a couple of days ago. While we were driving we passed a church, with a large sign on the front of it. I looked at it quickly, then I had to do a double take to actually read the sign. When I actually saw what the sign said, my heart was broken and angered at the same time. Here is what this LARGE sign said that was smack in the front of the church.

NO SKATEBOARDING

NO ROLLERBLADES

NO BICYCLES

I do now know why they did not say:

NO KIDS

NO FUN

GO AWAY

This is a subject that GOD has laid dear to my heart; Toxic Christianity & Toxic Churches. Do you know that it has been said that 8 out of 10 churches are dead or dying? How sad is that? There used to be a time that Christianity was the religion of choice. When a person wanted to search for GOD, they would have tried a Christian Church. But that is not the case today. Christianity is just a choice among many religions and gods.

We had one of our good friends prove this. Her daughter went through a shooting at a shopping mall, as you could imagine she was very shaken up. So she went searching for something....... she had a Buddhist saying tattooed on her back. The comment of her parents is that they were glad she found some god and religion. With the statement like the one above, no wonder she found accepting Buddhists.

Some of our churches have become toxic. They are so focused on them and looking inward, that they have totally missed Jesus' last command. They are more concerned with looking good, what type of music fits ME, and not accepting people that are not like them or that would fit into their church mold. What our culture is boiling down to is our Christian Churches do not carry the weight it used to, WE have to carry that weight. We have to be shinning examples of Jesus love and acceptance. Who did Jesus hang out with? The pretty, religious people? Or the lost, hurting, ugly, prostitutes?

You might be saying "What can I do"? Hopefully you are involved in a church that is carrying out Acts 29. One good gauge is to look at your baptisms, do you have them regularly? If not can you remember the last one you had? WE have to be the example of Christianity, church or no church, we need to reach out to the lost, the kids, and hurting of our culture. OK, OK, OK.... I could go on and on.

I believe that you are going to see a shift in our churches in the future. I think that you will see more mini missions going out into the people, instead of waiting for the people to come to them. One good example is a link that Donna sent me yesterday. It is Skate Disciples. A father and son mission to reach the young skateboarders. This is an awesome example of reaching out to a certain group of people that are lost and mislead, showing Christs' love and acceptance. Awesome job guys! So, where are you on the toxic meter? 

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Judges 20-21

Insight into Scripture

In today's story they refer to "Left handed slingers" (20:16) for battle. This may have been a special group of ambidextrous warriors.Today, we finish with Judges. The last verse of Judges states that "Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." Thus explaining the violence and death through the book. There was a cry for hope for peace in the land.

Good Morning

This picture is the pass that was close to Gibeah, the town that the Isralites camped near. (20:19) Click in the picture to see more photos. The picture was taken from Bibleplaces.comSunday starts Christs' last week on earth. I pray that you prepare your hearts to journey with Christ on His last week.

Scripture Reading

18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?"The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first."

19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22 But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.

23 The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?"The LORD answered, "Go up against them."

24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.

26 Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [b] to the LORD. 27 And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. They asked, "Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?"The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."

Think n Grow

As I finished this story I was confused. The men of Israel decided to go against the Benjamites, they asked YAHWEH who should go first; YAHWEH responded, then they proceeded and lost. They went through the process again, and lost again. Then on the third time YAHWEH said "Now I am going to hand them over to you." Why did YAHWEH allow them to lose badly 2 times, when HE gave them an answer to the questions they asked?

I went back and read the story a few more times, then two principles became evident. During the entire period of Judges, the Israelites had no king, they did as they wanted. (21:25) They were not living a Holy Life before YAHWEH. Something bad would happen, they would cry out to HIM, HE would save them, then they would go back to the same behavior.

The other principle I saw, they gathered before YAHWEH, but they never asked YAHWEH IF they should attack. The Israelites made up their minds of action, THEN asked YAHWEH. Totally backwards, they should of prayed, fasted, and waited for YAHWEH's decision, then asked how to complete the task. Maybe YAHWEH would of given them victory the first time.

Our Christian life is a 24/7 process. It is not a life where we do as we see fit, then when we have a problem, ask GOD and expect HIM to solve all our problems. What kind of a Christian life are you living? 24/3 or maybe 12/7?

Closing Prayer

Father thank you for the rays of sunshine and warmth. I pray Father that I will always seek You first, let You lead the way, not me. I pray Father that I am strong in trusting You and knowing that Your way is always the best.

I love You, and I pray in Your great Name,

Amen

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