Loved to Hate

A couple thousand years ago a man entered the scene of a clannish group of elites who had the market on the know-it-all.  I mean; they knew the law inside and out.  They lived it.  Breathed it.  Talked it.  Commanded it.  To veer one iota of it was to break all of it.  The religious elitists pompous attitudes were not attracting those searching for a better life; rather, they were hindering those searching. 

Jesus comes on to the scene with a new kind of message.  An attractive message.  A grace-filled message.  A hopeful message.  Jesus was Kind.  Compassionate.  Patient.  Jesus sees the searchers as an opportunity to steer them toward God.  He made them feel better about themselves and about the future.  Jesus was an optimist.  A Can-doer.  A mercy man.  Jesus was the light in the darkest of moments.  Jesus was the open-door for those who were being hindered by rejection from the religious elite who prevented them from seeing God as one who was a provider, a comforter, a caregiver, a protector, and a lover. 

Jesus’ messages put the religious elites on the defensive.  The elites came out swinging at him and looked for every opportunity to take him out…permanently.  However, No matter the attempts, Jesus still stayed focused on the plan, God’s plan.  The plan was to help people like the Samaritan woman whose life was in chaos in John 4.  She had five husbands in her life and now she is living with a guy.  Jesus saw passed her past and gave her hope.  Not just hope for her, but others as well.  Because of Jesus’ compassion to a woman who needed it the most, the people of the town said, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!” John 4:42 (The Message)

The Samaritan revival was just one of many life-changing events that happened because of Jesus.  His desire to build relationships and point people to God was the hallmark of his ministry.  His desire to teach and model what he taught made way for countless people to become Jesus followers.  Jesus was a change-maker, a storyteller, and a salvation giver.  However, Jesus’ goodness ultimately became part of the reason many of the “religious” people hated him with a vengeance.   Their hatred grew to murderous thoughts and to eventually killing him in front of a slanderous mob whose only purpose was to make a spectacle out of him. 

The murder of Jesus seemed hopeless to those who loved him.  The days to follow were filled with sorrow and grief.  Dismayed.  Hurt.  Disappointment.  Defeat.  Depression.  Lost.  Could it be that Jesus is really gone for good?  His life’s work all for naught? 

Any hope?  Is this it? 

Could it be that the one who claimed to be the bridge-builder, the better life inventor, the Holy Son of God was taken down by those who loved to hate him without a fight? 

Is this really it?

Not a chance!  Something extraordinary is about to happen.  It will blow your mind!  Get ready!

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

Life is About What is and What Can Be

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” William James

There is a story told of identical twins: “One was a hope-filled optimist. “Everything is coming up roses!” He would say. The other was a sad and hopeless pessimist. He thought that Murphy, as in Murphy’s Law, was an optimist. The worried parents of the boys brought them to the local Psychologist.

He suggested to the parents a plan to balance the twins’ personalities. “On their next birthday, put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. Give the pessimist the best toys you can afford, and give the optimist a box of manure.” The parents followed these instructions and carefully observed the results.

When they peeked in on the pessimist, they heard him audibly complaining, “I don’t like the color of the computer…I’ll bet the calculator will break…I don’t like this game…I know someone who’s got a bigger toy car than this…”

Tiptoeing across the corridor, the parents peeked in and saw their little optimist gleefully throwing the manure up in the air. He was giggling. “You can’t fool me! Where there’s this much manure, there’s gotta be a pony!” (Excerpt from Chicken Soup for the Soul)

There are two kinds of people: Optimists and pessimists. Some will see the wonderful works that are being done everyday, while others are always looking to find the bad.

Christian living isn’t about what isn’t, but rather, what is and what can be.  We are so blessed with brothers and sisters who see us for who we really are, but they also stick with us for they have an eye for who we can be. Jesus is the perfect model of taking a bad situation and making something good out of it. There was no joy in suffering, separation, or sin being splatter all over Him. However, Jesus took our suffering and our separation, and our sin and created the most spectacular opportunity ever! Jesus healed us spiritually by His wounded flesh. By His bloody body, and by taking the sin bullet for us!

Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was not a prayer of pessimism, but rather, a prayer of humility and service opportunity for mankind. Jesus didn’t see the last days of His life as doom and gloom. Jesus saw the last days as an opportunity to show case His Father’s limitless and unquenchable love for mankind. Romans 5:8 say, “God demonstrated his own love for us….”

The Jesus walk isn’t about whether we have all the latest gadgets, but rather, do we really have a joy for Jesus living? Do you love people for who they are? And, do we see people as an opportunity to show case God by the way that we live our life everyday?

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

Worship is NOT just on Sunday!

"If you will not worship God seven days a week, you will not worship Him on one day a week"  A.W. Tozer

"To worship is to experience Reality, to touch life.  It is to know, to feel to experience the resurrected Christ in the midst of the gathered community."  Richard Foster,

Foster also wrote, "Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father." The Scriptures says in Romans 12:1: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your act of spiritual worship."

Worship is the way we show our love and respect to God for who He is and what He has done for us.  Disciplining ourselves to studying the Word of God, praying to the Father on a daily basis, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit,  will lead to the desire to worship Him daily, not just on Sunday morning.

Worship is a lifestyle!  We don't start and stop worship to God; we live it daily.  24/7.  365 days a year for a lifetime.  The newest Jesus followers in Acts 2 disciplined themselves to a daily worshipful lifestyle:  (42)"They devoted themselves to: Teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer."  (46-47) "Every day they continued to meet together...praising God...."  Worship to God for the earliest Christians was a daily lifestyle.  No short cuts.  No time limits.  No restraints.

Worship is spiritual focus.  Colossians 3:2 says to "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."  Right thinking will lead to right focus.  When the Words of Christ dwells in our lives, we are able to focus our minds upon God.  We put to death all the things that rob our relationship and worship to God.  When we focus on being spiritual, it will give attention to good works and worship to God – Matthew 5:16

God is worthy of all of our adoration, praise, and attention.  Each day, he provides us with all the resources that will sustain us in life.  He opens up doors for us to walk through so we can experience joy and feel the presence of hope.  He gave up his son so that we could have a relationship with him, personally.  God is creative.  God is generous.  God is trustworthy.  God is dependable.  God is loyal. 

If we only make a Sunday morning church gatherings the totality of our worship, we will set ourselves up to fail Monday through Saturday.  God made each day, not just Sunday.  Give all your attention to the inspiring artist who paints the most beautiful sceneries and provides for us all the resources we need to get us through each day.  Praise him.  Honor him.  Respect him.  Revere him.  Bow before him.  Live for him.

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian

Acting up in Worship

Worship gatherings are a wonderful place to fellowship, celebrate, and be edified.  I love to attend them and listen to laughter and music being made from the hearts of each attendee as they lift Jesus up, and to cheer on those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus and to joyfully sit around the supper table and eat the bread and drink the wine that represents Christ sacrifice.  Each gathering gives us hope and encouragement and gives us a boost.

I’ve often heard it said that there are five acts of worship in the gathering:  Giving.  Singing.  Preaching.  Lord’s Supper.  And, Praying.  I have searched the Scriptures to find it, but am not able to.  What I have found in Scripture that are acts of worship pertain to our daily lives. 

When I was a kid, we all attended our church gatherings.  When we were younger, we all had to sit with our parents.  For a while, six kids lined the hard wooded pews.  My dad was the lead and then my mother and then we followed from youngest to oldest.  We did not dare “act up in worship.”  If we did, somehow, my father’s arm got pretty long and we felt a pinch on our leg.  We had to stay still.  Listen.  No sleeping. No eating snacks.  No! No! No!  It was a time of strict silence.  Oh, we could sing when we were supposed to and we could give our quarter when the basket was passed and if we were baptized, we could take the Lord’s Supper.  Other than those activities, we didn’t dare make a sound or movement that was distracting. 

Years later, I have found that worshiping God is so much more than sitting idle in a building and going through “acts” of worship.  Worshiping God isn’t confined to a facility once a week and then it is over until the next week; rather, it is a daily opportunity to demonstrate to our God that all we have and all that we are is appreciated.  I love what Romans 16:1 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”  (NLT) Whatever each of us do on a daily basis, whether it is working, sleeping, or simply walk about in life, give it as an offering to God first.  Once we give it to him, there is no taking it back.  This is worship!

While praying and singing and giving and preaching and taking the Lord’s Supper are all beneficial, they do not solely capture the essence of daily worship.  If on one particular Sunday I could not sing, does that mean I did not completely worship God?  Or, if I left before the sermon started, was my worship cut short, therefore, I did not fully worship?  If that were the case we would have a lot of people who do not fully worship God.  On the other hand, if worship is viewed as Ephesians 5:15 describes, “Be careful, then, how you live your life…” (NIV) our entire life would change.  Our music to God would be everyday, not just confined on Sunday.  Our giving would be everyday, not confined to Sunday.  Get the point?  Plus we would live Hebrews 10:24 out, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds.” (NIV)

Let’s act up in worship…EVERY DAY!  When worship is our life, then it will be much easier to gather with our people to celebrate and fellowship and be edified on a Sunday!

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian