Monthly Archives: February 2012

What is a Worthy Life?

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One of the most powerful scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie was near the end of Saving Private Ryan. Many of you have seen the movie, but for those of you that haven’t, the movie is about a unit of soliders in World War 2 that is sent to save Private Ryan, the only remaining brother of a family that has lost all the other children in war.

Ryan is saved, and in the end of the movie he is standing before the graves of the fallen men that saved him, and he stands up crying. He turns to his wife and says – tell me I’ve been a good man.

That scene always gives me a lump in my throat every time I see it. What a powerful moment, to realize all that he had been given and that desire to life a worthy life.

Listen to what Paul writes in Philippians 1:27-28:

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

We ask Christians have the same burden in lives. We are called to live a worthy life.  So much has been given for our sake. Christ was betrayed, suffered, and died for our sake. He endured the shame, the agony, and the pain of the cross for us.

For me.

For you.

So much has been given for us. Let us remember that.

So, then, what is a worthy life? What does that look like?

I’ll sum it up in one word – grace. Christ suffered to give us grace, mercy, and forgiveness. He desires to see us give that same grace, mercy, and forgiveness to each other.

A worthy life is not a perfect life. A worthy life is a life of grace. Today, and each day, with the grace given to us, may we seek to live a life worthy of the gospel!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

How God Uses our Defeats

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Just a reminder, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

1 Kings 19 is a great chapter of the Bible. We could spend a to time talking about so many things here.

I mean, in this chapter, you have Elijah, the brave prophet of God, running from Jezebel when she threatens his life. So, even after a great victory, he doesn’t trust God like he should.

Then we have the Lord providing food and drink from him when he is at his lowest and most tire. The Lord took care of him.

And then we have the Lord speaking to him not in the loud and in the powerful, but in the still small whisper. There are so many amazing things here.

But today, I wanted to talk about verses 19-21. Listen to what happens:

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

In this passage, Elijah is returning home from all this. He had every right to be defeated. When he was faced with a challenge, he ran. He doubted God. He doubted God’s protect and provision. He didn’t trust God as he should have trusted. He literally had given into fear and doubt.

That’s something that we all know that we shouldn’t do. But, it’s something that we all do, and have done. So, at this point he was defeated. He had messed up. And that was that.

Yet, on the way home from this failure, the Lord directs him to meet a young man by the name of Elisha. And this young man would become his follower and become a great prophet just like Elijah.

From the moment of his failure, a moment of victory. Elijah had this great and embarrassing defeat, as he ran like a scared dog from Jezabel. And God used that. God used that defeat to bring out something good.

God literally brought victory from the jaws of defeat.

That’s what He did for Elijah, and that’s what He will do for us today. Today, God will use and failure, our defeats, our mistakes, for good. He will bring good out of everything. Everything that happens, God will bring good out of.

God doesn’t always stop bad things from happening. But God bring good out of everything.

Today, God will use your defeat. He will use your failures. He will use all of you for something great. Let Him guide and direct your path. He will do it.

First Things First

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Just a reminder, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Jesus must be first in our lives. There is no other way that life works. Jesus must be first. Only when He is first, does everything else fall into place.

Listen to what happens in Luke 9:57-62:

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

We see in today’s text that different people respond to Jesus’ call to follow Him. One says, I’ll follow, but Jesus warns, it will be tough. You will have no place to lay your head. Scripture doesn’t say, but it implies that He does not follow.

Jesus is saying – I must come first.

Next, Jesus gives the call and the other says, I must bury my father. Jesus response sounds cold, uncaring for family. That’s not who Jesus is, through. If you remember at the cross, one of the last things that He did was that He made sure His mother Mary was taken care of.

Jesus is not uncaring for family. He is just saying – I must come first.

Finally one says let me go and say good by to my friends and family, and Jesus responds – no. I must be first!

Jesus does not desire to separate us from those that love us. He does nto desire to separate us from those that we love. What is saying is this – first things first. I must come first.

In every relationship, in every moment, in every thought, in everything in our lives, He must come first.

That’s where life is found. And when He is first, everything else makes sense. When He is not, when something or someone else is first things don’t make sense. But, when He is first, life is as it should be.

Today, in all your life, keep first things first. Keep Jesus first. And everything else will make sense.

Why I Love the Bible

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Before today’s devotional – a quick note. This week, Asbury released a mobile app for smartphones. You can download this app and listen to my weekly sermons, read this devotional, and find out all that’s happening here at Asbury. To download the app for iPhones/iPads, click here. To download the app for Androids, click here.

Now, onto today’s reflection!

In this passage Peter is sharing with the people about Jesus. He is telling how God, through Jesus, longs to give salvation to all that would believe. Jesus lived, preached, taught, was betrayed and rose from the dead. He was the offering for us all, and through Him, all of us can know the power of salvation and grace and peace.

Today listen to part of Peter’s sermon in Acts 10:39-43:

And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

I love what Peter says in that last verse – all the prophets bear witness to Him. In other words, all the scriptures point to Jesus. All of it.

That’s why I love the Bible. It is God’s love note to us. Are there things there are hard to understand? Yep. Are there things there that can be a little confusing? Yep. Can Leviticus be a book that’s a challenge to read? Yep.

But all of it, from Genesis to Revelation, paints a picture of God’s love for us and a picture of God’s plan of salvation for us through Jesus Christ.

So, as we said, there may be things that we don’t understand, John 3:16 shows that love. Romans 10:9 shows that love. Today’s passage shows that love. Jesus Christ came so that all who believe in Him will receive forgiveness.

All of the scripture, all of it, points to this. Jesus. His love. His life. His forgiveness. God is working all of it out for this point. To show us, me, and all the world, that we are loved, forgiven, and accepted.

Today’s passages points to this truth. All the bible points to this this truth. And that’s why I love the bible.

2011 Asbury Year End Report

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In the church, we have a tension about numbers.  On one hand, numbers aren’t all that matters. We are a kingdom organization, not a numbers organization.  Having “more” doesn’t make you “better,” “deeper,” or more “spiritual.”

Numbers are not the totality of what we are about as a church.

But, that said, numbers do matter. Numbers are important.  Numbers matter in that they can be a measure of faithfulness. They are not the only measure, but they are a measure.

Attendance, membership, and other measures are important, for ever number represents a person. And every person is a person that Christ died for.

Numbers matter because people matter.

So, ministry is summarized in our numbers. But they do matter.  That said, I want to share with you some numbers from Asbury Church in 2011. And God is to be praised for this. He deserves all the praise, all the glory, everything for what is happening at Asbury.

In 2011, Asbury gained 80 new members (82 joined, 2 transferred membership to a church in Jackson), an increase of 15.2%.

In 2011, our average worship attendance rose from 325 to 405, an increase of 24.6%, and in two years (2009 – 2011) it has increased 125%!

In 2011 we had 33 adult baptisms resulting from first time professions of faith (i.e. folks getting saved!) 2 infant baptisms, and an additional 6 reaffirmation of baptisms.

And even in a tough economic climate the people of Asbury were not just faithful in terms of worship and service, but they were faithful in giving to the Kingdom financially through Asbury. The people of Asbury gave an addition $100,000 to our ministries, an increase of 23.9%.

In every measurable way, God has blessed our church in this past year, and the people of Asbury have been incredibly faithful.

These numbers aren’t all that matters. But they are record of faithfulness.  In Acts, story after story of faithfulness and fruitfulness is told. The Word says daily more were added to their number. So, these things do matter.

And the people of Asbury have and are being faithful and Kingdom mined.  May He get all the praise and glory for what we see happening here!

God Has a Plan

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Before today’s reflection – a quick note. This week, Asbury released a mobile app for smartphones. You can download this app and listen to my weekly sermons, read this devotional, and find out all that’s happening here at Asbury. To download the app for iPhones/iPads, click here. To download the app for Andorids, click here.

Now, on to today’s reflection!

God had a plan for Paul. God had big things for Paul. Paul was going to go to Rome and preach the gospel before Caesar. God was going to use Paul to literally change the world. God was going to use Paul to make sure that the Good News of Jesus Christ was heard all around the world.

God has a plan for Paul.

Listen today what happens in Acts 27:23-24:

For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’

In the text today, it looks like the plan may be in trouble. Paul and his companions on the ship they were sailing in have now been shipwrecked. It doesn’t look good. It looks like they will be stranded. It looks like the plan won’t happen. The story looks over.

Paul says no – an angel appeared to him and said that he WILL preach in Rome. It will happen. Don’t worry. Don’t fret. God had a plan.

The same is true for us today. God has a plan. God has a plan for our lives. God has a plan for what He wants to do. Now, it may look like we stranded on an island. It may look like the plan won’t happen.

Don’t worry. God has a plan. God has this. God has a plan.

We don’t have to spend our lives worried about everything. We don’t have to spend our lives terrified of everything; of every mistake. God has a plan.

Even if we are stuck on an island. Even if we feel along. Even if we think that it’s over. God has a plan. Don’t worry. Trust. Hope. Keep going.

God has a plan. Today, and each day, we can trust in that.