Monthly Archives: November 2012

Don’t Let the Rocks Steal from You

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God will be worshiped.

God will bring honor and glory to His name. He will be worshiped.

The heavenly hosts were created to worship Him. The angels sing His praise all the day long.

One day, in heaven, we will join that unending chorus, singing Holy, Holy, Holy to the Lamb.

God will be worshiped. He will be given His honor. It’s all about Him. In life. In death. In everything.

We have been given this great calling; this great task. As the church, as Christians, we have been given this mission to cry out, to sing, to worship, to give glory to God.

But, what if we refuse. What if we say that we will not? Listen to what Jesus says will happen if we don’t worship in Luke 19:37-40:

As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.

If we don’t worship, the rocks will cry out. He will raise up the rocks to give voice.

God will be worshiped. That’s our job. That’s our calling.

And here’s the thing. When we do that, we find the life that we need, the life that we seek, the life that we want.

We find what we were created for.

Worship, glorifying God, giving Him praise, it’s what we were made for. You were made for that, to glorify God.

Don’t let the rocks steal that joy from you. Live into God made you to be. Life for that calling.

And in that, you’ll find the life that you seek!

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.

Charging Hell with a Water Pistol

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There’s some days when I’m reading the bible and it just says to me – Boom!

One of my professors used to talk about that sometimes when we really believe, I mean, really believe what we can do, or better said, what God can do through us, we will be so fired up that we will want to charge hell with a water pistol.

The odds may look long, but we know that with God on our side, me, you, a super-soaker, and God can defeat the power of Hell.

Today’s passage did that for me.

Look at what happens in Act 17:6-7 today:

And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.

They dragged the disciples before the leaders and said – these are the ones that have turned the world upside down.

Come on now. That’s it right there.

Don’t you want them to say about us, those are the ones that have turned the world upside down. They have this King Jesus, that they follow and the change the world.

They help heal broken families. They love the unloveable. They help the poor. They feed the hungry. They proclaim the freedom that is found in no other name but Jesus.

They are crazy enough to think that they can change the world. They have turned the world upside down.

Through following Jesus, through His power and life, through proclaiming the gospel, so can we!

It doesn’t have to be the same. It can change. We can change. The world can change. Through Christ and His power, we can turn this world upside down.

We can do it. Today. Through His power. Let’s turn the world upside down. Jesus told us that the gates of will not triumph against His church. Let’s charge hell with a water pistol today. Today, through Christ, we can do it!

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.

Return Home

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Jesus tells us that we are to go into all the world telling the good news. That can be both exciting and scary.

Exciting because we know that we have a mission. Exciting because we know that God has entrusted us with something for His kingdom.

Exciting because we can change the world!

But, it can be scary, because of the what if. . . .

What if we fail. . . .

What if we do it wrong. . . .

What if say or do the wrong thing. . . .

What if.

Today, Jesus tells someone to go, but it’s to a different place. Look at what happens in Luke 8:38-39 today:

The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you. And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

He told the man to return home and tell others about how much that God has done for you. Return home.

Tell your family. Your friends. Your neighbors. Your loved ones. The folks that you know.

Return home and tell.

I think one of the things that scares us about our mission to “go” is the where. Today, God may (or may not) be calling you to Africa, or Asia, or some far-flung place.

If He is, that’s awesome. Because they need to hear the Gospel there. If He is, go.

But, no matter what, I know this. God is calling all of us to return home. To tell others about Him today in our work.

In our family.

In our neighborhood.

All around us.

Today, return home and tell. Let your light shine before all men. Share the good news of the Gospel today with your lives, where you are.

Today, take the good news with you. Return home. Share His story where ever you go.

Be faithful. And let His light shine!

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.

Who Do We Write Off?

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It can be easy to miss what God is doing. It can be very easy.

We can be distracted by the circumstances of life. We can be distracted by sin. We can be distracted by the stuff in our lives. We can be distracted by the stuff in others.

We can judge others too quickly. We can judge ourselves too quickly.

We can just not pay attention to the stuff of God sometimes.

And when we aren’t attuned to God, it can be so easy to miss what He wanting to do.

Listen to what happened in John 1: 45-49:

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit! Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!

We see here that Nathanael almost missed Jesus Christ, even after Phillip pointed Jesus out to him. Why?

Because Nathanael, he just knew that nothing good could come out of Nazareth. Nothing. Nothing good could come from that.

So, he almost wrote off Jesus. He almost missed what God was going to do with his life, because surly nothing good could come from Nazareth.

Nothing.

He almost wrote Jesus off, because he already had him mind made up.

Today, be careful. Who do we write off? Who do we prejudge?

How can miss what God wants to do in our lives?

Today, be attuned to the stuff of God. Pray. Listen. Watch. Be gracious. Love.

Look for Jesus in the small things. Look for Jesus in the big things.

Today, if we look, we will see God in our midst. May we not quickly write off what God wants to do.

And may we be faithful in all things!

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.

Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy thanksgiving to everyone!  I hope that reading these thoughts has been a blessing to you throughout the year.  As I tell folks, I’m always amazed when God uses them to speak to someone, they started off simply as a means to keep myself accountable. If I had do send out a daily devotional, it make sure that I spent some time each day reading the Word.

So, thanks for reading.

And may each of you have a Happy Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for you each.

Today, two quick thoughts on Thanksgiving.  First, one from our favorite writer CS Lewis –

We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is “good,” because is it good, if “bad” because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.

May, in each of our circumstances today, we give thanks.  For the good and the bad, as difficult as it may be. For in all things God is at work for our good and His glory (Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28)

And from the book of Lamentations 3:22-24:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Morning by morning, new mercies I see.  Great is God’s faithfulness.  Today, God really is faithful to us.  May we remember that, may we see that, and may we be thankful, today, and each day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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.

Forgiveness is Freedom

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Forgiveness is hard. It is not easy. We don’t always like it. We don’t always want to do it.

Some folks have wronged us in some big and bad ways. They have hurt us, angered us, cause harm to us.

We don’t want to forgive.

It’s never easy. And, even the most devout saint, they never enjoy it.

But, we must forgive. Listen to what Jesus says today in Luke 17:3-4:

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” you must forgive him.

Forgiveness. It doesn’t free “them.” It frees “us.” When we don’t forgive. When we hold on. When we keep grudges, when we keep old hate, old wounds, old hurts, when we hold onto them for years and years and years, the only person it hurts is us.

We forgive. Because that forgiveness is freedom. Forgiving them doesn’t release them. It releases us. It frees us. It set us loose.

If you haven’t forgiven them, you are captive to them.

Know it’s hard. It’s not fun. And it’s not done magically with one simple word or wish.

It’s done over and over and over again. Daily. Day after day after day. We take it to the cross and we give it.

Today, forgiveness is freedom. When we forgive, we set ourselves free.

Today, may we know that freedom. Today, may we forgive.

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.

Simple, Childlike Faith

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Today, we read about Jesus and the children. Listen to what happens in Luke 18:15-17:

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

Ever wonder why the disciples didn’t want the children around Jesus? I mean, really? What was about the kids that made the disciples fuss at folks?

I mean, we love kids, right? Everyone of us, particularly those of us in families, we value our kids above, well, most everyone and everything.

That’s the lives that we lead today.

That wasn’t the case in Jesus’ day. Back then, children were little more than property. Children weren’t that important.
In the mind of the disciples, Jesus literally had a million things more important to fool with than children.

But, that’s not what Jesus believed.

For Him, thought the children may not have mattered to the crowd. Or the disciples. Or even to society. They matter to Him. For He loved them. He valued them. He came for them.

And, instead of rebuking the children, he rebuked the adults. He said it’s not the children are unworthy. But if we want to see the kingdom of heaven, we must become like that child.

We must have simple faith. Simple trust. Simple belief.

Childlike.

Today, do we have that? Do we have that simple childlike faith? Even though it may seem naive. Even though it may be looked down upon by the world. Even though it may simple.

It’s what the Lord wants us to have.

And remember that they looked down on these simple children. And the Lord welcomed them in.

Just like, when we have that simple childlike faith, He will welcome us in.

Today, may we have that childlike faith. May we trust. And in that trust, may we glorify God with all that we are!

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.

Religion vs Relationship

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Paul went many places sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In his time, he literally traveled across the world, telling folks about the good news of Jesus.

But, one of the more interesting places that he went was went he went to Athens. Athens was a place that was defined by religion. There were literally places to worship everywhere across the city.

Athens didn’t have too little religion. It had too much religion.

What it was missing was not religion, it was the truth that is found in Jesus Christ.
Listen to what happens to Paul today in Acts 17:22-25:

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, “To the unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Paul says – you don’t need religion. You need relationship. Relationship is what matters. Relationship is the key.

God is not wanting you to be “religious” today. He wants you to fall in love with His son, Jesus Christ. And if you fall in love with Jesus, feel His life and His grace within you today, the religion question will take care of itself.

Don’t worry about religion today. Focus on Jesus. His life. His grace. His power. Focus on that. And the rest will take care of its self.

God doesn’t need more religious folks out there. He needs more folks that love Jesus, and want to love others like Jesus.

If we, as the church, and as Christians do that, we will have the religion that God really wants us to have.

Chasing after Jesus. Everything starts there.

Today, may we chase after Him, and after that relationship with Him with every moment of our lives!

And in that, may we find true life!

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.

Testing

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No one likes being tested. We didn’t enjoy the tests we were given in school. And we enjoy the tests that we are given in life even less.

We all face tests in our lives, that are difficult to go through. We faces tests at work. In our family. In our lives. In our health. In many, many areas of our lives.

And when we face these tests, it’s easy to give up. Or to grow bitter. Or to be angry with God.

We’ve all been there. We all understand and know the emotion. It’s something that every human faces.

We have to, though, resist that feeling.

Because, even if we don’t believe it right now, the test we are going through may be one of the biggest blessings in our life.
Listen to what Peter tells us today in 1 Peter 1:6-7:

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

When we are tested, our faith is refined. It is purified. It goes through the fire. And it comes out stronger. It comes out better. It comes out more alive.

Today, this test that you are facing, that you don’t like, that you wish you weren’t having to deal with?

It will make you better.

It will make you stronger.

It will draw you closer to Christ.

I read a quote once about trials, and it said that when we face trials and troubles, double down on our efforts to be holy, pray more, read your bible more, worship more. For, if the devil see that his attempts to destroy us only make us chase after God, he will leave us alone.

Today, this test may be big. You may not know how you will get through it. You may not know what you will do. You may not understand the way through.

But God does. He is with you. He will not leave you. And this time of testing may pull you close and, in time, be blessing.

Today, even in your test. Even in your worry. Even in your fear. Trust in Him. And your faith will grow.

And you will be stronger.

And you will know better and true life.

That’s what His word tell us. And we can trust in that.

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.

Different

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I have a joke that I like to make at Asbury, that is more than a joke – it’s true.

I tell my people, if you tell folks that you are a Christian, and they are surprised, that’s probably not a good sign.

Our lives should be different. Our lives should be different from the world and the culture around us. Our lives have a different purpose, a different goal, a different plan, a different hope.

We are supposed to be different.

Why?

Jesus makes us that way. Look at what happens today in Luke 10:5-8:

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

Zacchaeus was a man who was a tax collector, meaning that took up taxes for the Roman government. He was also able to skim as much from the top as he could through that.

In other words, he was a thief. And when he met Jesus, he changed.

He was different. Jesus made him different. Jesus changed him.

That’s what He does for us as well. He wants to make you different today.

Not a bad different, a good different. Give you hope, peace, joy, life.

Give you something worth having.

Today, be different. Jesus has life laid out for us today that is amazing.

Today, be different. Today, know His life.

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.