Sell Everything

Luke 18:18-29

BY: Darrell Anderson, Associate Pastor

This ruler would fit in well in today’s society. He knew who Jesus was (v.18); he was interested in spiritual things (v.18); he was a good moral person (v.21); he was wealthy (v.23); and he had knowledge of scripture (v.20). This description could apply to many churchgoers.

However, Jesus was not impressed with these qualities. So, Jesus tells the man to sell everything he has and give it to the poor. The man left sad. Why? Because he could not give up the most important thing in his life – his possessions.

Is Jesus asking you to sell everything you have? Probably not? However, He is asking you to give up whatever is most important in your life. What is Jesus asking you to give up today? Your pride, your popularity, your money, sports, TV, a person? Jesus goes at what is the most important thing in your life and says, “Give it up!”

Why? First, only Jesus satisfies. Nothing else in life can satisfy your deepest longings other than Jesus. Second, Christ is all you need. If you were to lose everything but Jesus, you would discover that He is all you need. Third, Jesus wants you to be totally dependent on Him. No crutches and not security blanket.

The young ruler knew what it took to follow Jesus. He was not willing to do it. Are you? The commitment is hard but well worth it. God promises to reward you in this life and in the life to come (v.30). I do not know exactly how God will choose to bless you as you leave all to follow Him (v.28). However, those blessings will last forever. That is a pretty good trade – my stuff for His!

2012 Summer Olympics-2

BY: Dr. Gil Lain, Lead Pastor

Concerning the Olympic Games in London, be sure of this. Every athlete who competes wants to win. When and if, they are interviewed all of them will say something like, “Oh, I’m just glad to be here.” Of course, they are. But the fact is they are there to win. They have sacrificed and worked hard for years to be the best in their respective events.

1 Corinthians 9:24 says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win.”

I am praying that the athletes in these Olympic Games will remind you of how to run the Christian race (Hebrews 12:1 says “… let us run with endurance the race set before us”). To do well in it (i.e. to win), you and I need to sacrifice some of our own pleasures for what pleases God. We need to discipline ourselves in prayer, reading God’s Word, serving, and worshipping. Instead of half-hearted efforts, we should love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. (Mark 12:30).

When I see the athletes compete in London, I am reminded of this concerning my walk with Christ: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:23)

2012 Summer Olympics 1

BY: Dr. Gil Lain, Lead Pastor

The 2012 Olympics Games begin in London today! I don’t know about you, but I get excited every two years when the summer Olympics roll around (even though I also like the winter Olympics) The Olympic Games are considered to be the world’s foremost sports competition. Not only do I enjoy watching the athletes compete, but I am intrigued at how the Olympics bring the world together. Our world is so plagued with disease and hunger and war. The Olympics Games, seems to bring out the best in people and offer us hope for a better world.

The only real hope for a better world, though, is Jesus Christ. As you watch the games, would you pray for each country you hear mentioned? Would you pray for the gospel to be shared by those who know Christ and heard by those who don’t?

I hope you will. I hope I will. I hope people will come to Christ as we look to a better world.

1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (italics mine)

P.S. Please read the prayer requests again and the Scripture verse as well.

 

T H E M O U N T A I N T O P

Mark 9:2-8

BY: Darrell Anderson, Associate Pastor

Have you ever had an experience with God that simply overwhelmed you? Reflect on that experience. The experience is so incredible that you wish the experience would never end.

At a retreat, we had a tremendous move of God. At the close of the service time, we had a prayer time. We were praying that God would give us a clear vision for a ministry to students. God enveloped us during that prayer time. The room was filled with an unexplainable presence. We stood in a circle, holding hands praying. Students began to call out to God on behalf of their lost friends. Confession and repentance poured from the hearts and lips of many. Finally, I closed in prayer. After the prayer time no one moved. No one spoke. No one looked around. No one knew what to do. Everyone was frozen by the power and presence of God.

Peter, James and John are in a similar experience. They see a sight that overwhelms them to the point that they want to stay there. But the experience ends (v. 8). I pray you have had and continue to have these kinds of mountaintop experiences. However, ask yourself these two questions.

1. Do I have to have spiritual highs to walk faithfully and to live the Christian life?
2. Am I dependent on Jesus or on spiritual highs? Experience for experience sake is useless. God allows us to experience Him in unique ways so that we may be more devoted followers of Him. Walk with Him faithfully and joyfully whether you are on the mountain top or in a valley.

Bad to Good

By:  Dr. Gil Lain, Lead Pastor

Jesus said in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” Reading this reminds me that the problems we face are a part of life. The phrase that’s really hard for me is the “be of good cheer part.

You see, I don’t like problems – at all. How can I “be of good cheer” when things go wrong? Well, that’s where the third phrase comes in – where I read about Jesus – about His work in the world.

Here’ the deal. He can turn the bad into good – like in Romans 8:28 where it says “We know all things work together for good…”

How about an example? In the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, a vendor named Charles Menches sold ice cream out of bowls. Nearby, Ernest Hamwi was selling a Middle Eastern treat called Zalabia, a crispy wafer that was served with syrup. Menches thought of rolling up the wafers while they were still hot into the shape of a cone and, once they were cool, putting scoops of ice cream into the cone.

The next morning Menches sold all of his ice cream before noon, inside the rolled up wafers. Out of a problem encountered, the ice cream cone was born!

Stories like this remind me to look a little closer at what God might be wanting to do. Hopefully, it will help you too. You might want to go get an ice cream cone in order to make sure you remember that good can come from bad! 🙂

 

 

Good Advice

BY: Dr. Gil Lain, Lead Pastor

Several years before his death, Bill Bright wrote of an experience in World War II where a seasoned veteran gave counsel to a younger, frightened soldier. In the throes of war with bloody carnage all around them, the young man became paralyzed with fear. The older soldier saw the panic and sternly spoke these words: “Accept the fact that you are already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to function as a soldier’s supposed to function. All war depends upon it.”

What the veteran passed along that day also applies to Christianity. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

Certainly, “take up your cross” means you’re willing to die. Paul put it this way in Galatians 2:20 “For I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. But not I. It’s Christ who lives in me.”

The best way to live as a Christian is to “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

For if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I am dead. Christ is alive in me. I need to ask Him to live through me. Remember the veteran’s words. “The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to function as you’re supposed to…”

CLOSENESS = CHANGE

Mark 5:24-34

BY: Darrell Anderson, Associate Pastor

Have you ever felt desperate? So desperate that you no longer cared what people thought of you or what might happen to you?

In this passage, we see a woman who is desperate. She has been sick for so long. She realizes she has one last hope. Jesus! She knew Jesus was her only hope. She had spent all her money on doctors and remedies only to find them lacking the power to heal her. Now, she is not only sick but she is also broke (v26).

So, she risks being humiliated. She fights through the crowd so she can touch Jesus. She was determined to get as close to Jesus as possible. She was not satisfied with seeing Him from a distance. She wanted close enough to touch Him because she knew if she got that close that she would be healed.

Do you desire to be close to Jesus with that kind of passion? Are you making every effort to be as close to Jesus as possible? Do you spend time with Him daily? Do you confess sin in your life? Do you take advantage of the times you have to worship Him corporately as well as privately?

In verse 34, we see that this woman was the only person healed that day. Many people were hanging around Jesus. Only one experienced His power. Let Jesus change you. Don’t be content to just hang around the church. Be a person who passionately seeks to be as close to Jesus as possible. His touch can change your life!

Image Is Everything

Matthew 23:1-7 & Matthew 23:25-28

By: Darrell Anderson, Associate Pastor

Read each of the following descriptions and picture in your mind the image of what each description represents:

• Pin-striped suit, dress shirt, cell phone, BMW
• Male, long hair, nose ring, sagging pants, T-shirt, multiple tattoos
• Letter jacket, buff/cut body, jeans, “Rocky” voice (Yo, Adrian!)

We tend to judge and categorize people based on their outward image. For this reason, many of us spend much time being sure we portray a certain image. After all, image is everything.

The Pharisees probably coined the phrase “image is everything.” Their phylacteries, the leather cases worn on the forehand and left arm containing portions of Exodus and Deuteronomy, were bigger than most. Their tassels, hanging from the four corners of their prayer shawl, were longer than most. The reason for these exaggerations was to display how much “holier” they were than everyone else. They tried to prove their superiority by sitting in the seats reserved for the most prominent people.

What did Jesus say about the Pharisees? He called them whitewashed tombs; beautiful on the outside, dead on the inside. They were like the movie sets in Hollywood – facades; nothing beyond the exterior.

1 Samuel 16:7 says God looks at the heart. Romans 8:29 says we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Image is everything. We are to bear the image of Christ. Do not neglect your inner person. What you are on the inside is more important that what you appear to be on the outside. Don’t try to look holy. Be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16).

Radical Christianity

By: Dr. Gil Lain, Lead Pastor

On September 5, 2008 Kathy Cox of Peachtree City, Georgia became the first $1 million winner on the television show, Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader? Guess what she did with her winnings? She gave the entire amount to three special-needs schools for deaf and blind students in Georgia where she is the state schools superintendent. Here was her explanation: “We’re just like other American families. We’ve got credit card debt, car payments and a mortgage. This was for the students.” Even her husband and two teenage boys were in favor of her decision.

Wow! Could it be that some people take God’s Word that seriously? 1 John 3:16-18 says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

Think for a moment. “Is there something I might do today to tell the Lord that I am serious about His Word and that will make a difference in someone’s life?”

Now…go do it!

Snow White

By: Dr. Gil Lain, Lead Pastor

Have you noticed that the story of Snow White is making a comeback? I’m aware of two movies about Snow White that came out this year – – Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror Mirror. I’ve also watched on television, the series, Once Upon A Time. I’m not sure why all the attention – – maybe people feel like they just need to escape for a while. Entering into a fairy tale may be one way to do that.

Anyway, back to Snow White. Let me pass along an observation Dan Piette made from the storyline of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I think it says a lot about human nature. He noted that, statistically speaking, six out of seven dwarfs are not “Happy.” (Houston Chronicle, 6/24/12, p. G12).

As you probably know, happiness is based on what happens. So, sometimes we’re happy. Sometimes we’re not. Joy, on the other hand, is not based on circumstances, but on faith. Really, it is the end result of the Lord loving us and being with us. Psalm 16:11 says…”in Thy presence is fullness of joy.”

I’d suggest that when you know that and trust Christ, you’ll come a lot closer to living “happily ever after.”