Monthly Archives: June 2013

This World

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What are we do with those that doubt? What are we to with those that cause divisions? That cause trouble? That cause all manner of problems?

What are we, as Christians, as believers, as Christ followers, what are we to do with them? How should we feel?

How should we act?

What should we do?

Jude is one of my favorite books in the bible. It’s a book that is written to Christians in a time where they feel under attack. A book written to Christians to encourage them to stand strong, to hold onto their faith, but to be aware that the world will try to attack, destroy and mock their faith.

What does Jude tell Christian to do with “them” when we are under attack.

Listen to what it says in 17-23:

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

top_photoFirst – know “they” are coming. They will come causing division. It will happen. Jesus promised it will happen (John 15:18). Paul tells us it will happen. And here Jude shares with us that it will happen.

Be aware. Don’t be shocked. Don’t be stunned.

We were not promised a rose garden. In fact, just the opposite. We were promised trouble.

Second – build yourself up. If it’s going to be tough, we need to be strong. If we will face troubles, then we had better be ready for it.

Are you doing the things that will allow you to have strength in times of trouble? Are you praying? Are you reading your Bible? Are you going to Church? Are you building yourself up for these things?

And last – have mercy on those who doubt. Those who attack you, those who persecute you, those that mock you, those that despise you, you know what God wants to happen to them?

He wants them to get saved. He wants them as part of His kingdom. He wants them to be your brother or sister.

So, as Christians, our job is to have mercy. Even when it’s hard.

But, if we aren’t ready and aren’t prepared, we can’t.

This is the world we live in. That is what we can expect. Let’s not be surprised, let’s be ready, and let’s let His grace make all the difference.

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.

When the World Spins Out of Control

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Habakkuk is one of the neater books in the Bible. In this book, the author talks about his list of problems and worries. He talks about all things that worry him, that concern him, that overwhelm him.

Many things. Many legitimate things, many things that caused him worry, pain and confusion. Many things that deeply bothered his soul. Many things that made him doubt, have struggles and have worries.

He talks about them.

And then at the end of chapter 2 he says this:

But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

worshipGod is in His temple. God is on the throne. God is at work. God is still alive. God is still working.

God is in control. When the world spins out of control. When life seems going way to fast, going in ways that you don’t like, you don’t understand, you can’t control, remember this.

The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. He is God. He is Lord. He is at work.

Stay calm. Trust. Even in the dark. Even in the fear. Breathe. Know this.

The Lord is in His temple.

He is in control. Even when life seems to be out of control.

God is in control.

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.

Boasting

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Paul lived an amazing life. If you can see it, do it, or experience it, he pretty much did.

Both in terms that are pretty awesome – seeing Jesus, preaching across the world, starting churches, writing a good portion of the bible.

And things that were not so good – persecuting the church. Helping in the stoning of Stephen. Various kinds of trials and persecutions.

He has seen a lot. He had done a lot. He had a lot things to be proud of and a lot of things to hang in head in shame over. And today in 2 Corinthians 11:28-30, he talks about what it is that he will boast in. Listen to what he says.

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

boasting_296He says that he will boast not in his strengths and accomplishments, which he had just listed a few verses before, but says that he will boast in the things that make him weak.

Who in the world does that? And if so, why in the world would they do it?

To show that their strength comes not from themselves, but from God. Paul says that he will boast in his weakness, because his weakness shows the power of God at work in his life.

So today, in that area of weakness in your life, that area of hurt and pain, in that area, you can boast. Why? Because that area can show the strength of God within you. Because it’s not you that does it or is faithful in that area. It’s God.

Today, don’t boast in your strength. Boast in your weakness. Because in your weakness, God’s strength is show.

Today, if we boast, may we boast in Him!

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.

Be a Barnabas

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Today, we read in the Bible about one of my favorite people. We read a little bit about Barnabas. Barnabas was a believer in Jerusalem and he had one of the greatest gifts anyone could have.

He had the one of the gifts that every family, every church needs to have.

He was an encourager. He believed in others. He didn’t just see folks mistakes, he saw what, through God, they could be.

Listen today to what he did in Acts 9:26-27:

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Quote-of-the-Week-EncouragementWhat he did was huge. He believed in Paul. Paul had just received been saved. He had gone from persecuting the church and trying to destroy it, to now being a believer and trying to preach about the grace of God.

And people were very, very hesitant to believe him. Why? Because literally a few days before he was trying to kill and imprison Christians. He literally was their sworn enemy, sent by the leaders of Jerusalem to destroy them.

And now, he’s one of them? Yeah, right. No way.

No one believed him.

Except Barnabas. Barnabas believe in him. Barnabas encouraged him. Barnabas saw Paul not for what he was, but for what he could be.

Today, remember that God sees you for what you could be. Not for your mistakes, but for your potential. You can do amazing things for God today.

And second, believe in someone today. Don’t see them just for what they’ve done wrong or their failures or their mistakes.

Believe in them. Be an encouragement.

In this, you can change their life. It’s a small thing. But it has a huge impact.

Barnabas did it for Paul. And look what happened. Today, you can be that for someone else!

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’s Your Heart

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One of the things that I love about the Christian faith is this. Actions start with the heart. What is on the outside starts with what is on the inside.

Our hearts shape our actions.

If you want to “act” right, you need to “get” right. For what is done/thought/believed in the heart will show it’s self in our actions.

Listen what is said this morning in Deuteronomy 30:4-6:

If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

heart_circumcisionIn Deuteronomy God is giving the law for the second time. In this book, He is giving the law to the children of Israelites that left Egypt. The parents had disobeyed God, and because of that, they were not allowed into the promised land.

Now, the children are getting ready to cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land. But before, God gives them the Law. And tells them that there will come a time when God will not just mark them outwardly, but He will circumcise their hearts.

He will change their hearts. And when their hearts are changed, it will change their actions, it will change their lives. It will start from the inside. And what starts on the inside will change the outside.

We are an inside out religion. What happens on the inside changes the outside.

So, if your actions are not what you’d like them to be, or what God would like them to be, let me ask you a question. How’s your heart?

If He has your heart, He will have your actions. That’s the way that it works.

Today, for our lives, our families, our everything, how is your heart. Your heart will determine your actions. In that, that’s the way it flows.

Today, may God make our hearts in new. And in that, may we live the life of grace that He wants us to live!

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.

The Confessions of an Extrovert

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I’m an extrovert. Anyone that’s know me for any length of time knows that about me. I love to talk, to laugh, to make sure that everyone feels connected and a part.

I love to work a room. Some folks pick at me for “brown nosing” or “politicking” but I really do love to shake hands, tell stories, and meet folks. As an extrovert, that energizes me and empowers me.

But you know what?  I’m jealous of introverts sometimes.

I know a lot of people. And a lot of people know me.  I’m good with that.  But, from what I hear of my introvert friends, they don’t have a lot of friends, they have a few very close friends. Dear friends that they know that are there, through thick and thin.

And, you know what?  I’m jealous of that.  Part of it is being a preacher, no one is really friends with the preacher.  At Asbury, I’m lucky, I have some good friends, but even there, I’m pretty sure they don’t want me around all the time.

And at Annual Conference, I look around, slap a lot back, shake a lot of hands, have a lot of friends, but in the end, I ate lunch by myself today.

Mind you, I’m not complaining.  I’m not upset.  I’m just observing my life. And, frankly, it’s always been like that, except for a few years in college.

Now, a good bit of it is my fault.  I don’t make enough effort.  I don’t put in the time. I get too busy.  I am always moving, going, doing, and not spending that quality time with people. And maybe as an only child, I never learned that skill.

I don’t know. It’s just odd.

So, anyway, I love my life. I love my family.  I LOVE my wife (who is my best friend).  And I love my calling. And I love my friends.  And I love my personality. I think it makes me a more effective pastor and leader.

But, I will confess. There are times when I’m jealous of my introvert friends.

I Just Love This Passage

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Today’s reading is one of my favorite readings. I say that a lot about a lot of different passages, but this is really one of my favorites.

Listen to what it says in Luke 18:2-7:

He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?

widow2Man, what a great passage. First, I just love the description of the judge in this passage. It says he feared neither God, nor respected man. That’s a pretty bad dude. I mean, he didn’t like God or people.

But being a judge, he had the power to grant requests and make judgements.

So, this widow comes to him over and over and over and over and over, and eventually she wore him down and he gave her the request she sought.

And Jesus said – let your prayers be like that! Just wear God out. Keep praying and praying and praying and praying.

Because He is not an unjust judge. It’s not that He is just. It’s that He IS just. Justice is God. God is the perfect holy and just God.

He will take care of His people. So, if even an unjust wicked judge will grant the persistent requests of someone, how much more will a perfect God grant ours.

Today, don’t give up. Keep praying. Keep praying. Keep praying. And pray some more. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Give it to Him.

And He will answer your prayer in the way that it needs to be answered.

Don’t give up today. Jesus has told us to keep at it.

I just love this passage. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Keep at it.

And God will hear it. And He will honor it. He has promised.

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.

Conviction

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shamehandsYou ever felt really convicted by God for something that you’ve done wrong? That’s called conviction. Conviction is when God’s spirit lays hold to our hearts and says – that is wrong.

Sometimes we feel conviction in a message that is preached.

Sometimes we feel it when we are reading the scripture or praying.

Sometimes we feel it after and action that we have done that is wrong.

Sometimes we just feel it. We just know that there’s an area of our life that we’ve got to change, that we’ve got to give to God, that we’ve got to make right.

And you know what? That’s as good thing. Listen to what Paul says today in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11:

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

He says Godly grief (or conviction) produces repentance, which leads to salvation. This conviction is actually God’s way of drawing us closer to Himself. This Godly grief of conviction is God’s way of showing us the right path, showing us the way that we should walk, showing us what we should or should not do.

We need to, in our lives, feel that conviction, when we are wrong. Because that steers us right. That makes us right. That turns us right.

Today, in your life, where is that area that God has convicted of you? Where do you feel like is an area that God has pointed out that you need to give to Him?

That feeling of conviction? It is truly one of God’s greatest gifts to you. It is truly one of the ways that God draws you back to Himself.

Today, if you feel, thank Him for it. And all it to help you become more faithful!

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.

Give Thanks

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172Today, you’ve been forgiven.

Now, you have to accept that forgiveness. For it to make a difference in your life, you’ve got to accept it, internalize it, believe it for yourself.

Allow it make a difference in your life and in your soul.

But, you’ve been forgiven. The work is done. The price is paid. The effort is fulfilled.

Will you give thanks today? Listen to the story we see today in Luke 17:15-19:

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Jesus heals 10 lepers. He tells them to go and present themselves, for in that day to be fully “cleansed” you had to present yourself to the priests.

So, all 10 do that.

And only 1 returns to give thanks. Only 1 returns to Jesus to thank Him for their healing and their new life. Only one returns to show a thankful heart for what God has done.

Today, you’ve been forgiven. Today, grace is available and ready for you. Today, mercy and hope and new life are there for you.

And if you’ve received it, have you returned to God to say thank you?

He loves you. He heals our brokenness. He gives us love.

And out of thankful hearts we should stop. Pause. And say thank you.

Of the 10 folks healed, only 1 returned. Today, will we be 9? Or will we be the 1?

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.

Loved to Love Others

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God is in the business of making all things right. God is in the business of bringing restoration and hope and peace to lives, their lives, and lives.

God is the business of making all things right.

Listen to what Paul writes today in 2 Corinthians 5: 18:21:

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

love-God-love-others-titlePaul says that God, through Christ, has reconciled us to Himself. In other words through what Jesus has done for us on the cross and in the empty grave, God has, and is making all things right for us with Him.

There is grace. There is mercy. There is forgiveness for us in Christ. Today, there is the chance to start over, begin again, wake up to a fresh and new start.

Today, this is a new day.

But, then, look what he says – God has reconciled us, so that we can be God’s ambassadors. Today, it isn’t just that God want you to know mercy and freedom and grace and power.

It’s that God wants to use you to so that others can know His mercy and grace and power.

He loves us so that we can know love, and love others.

He forgives us so that we can know forgiveness, and forgive others.

He gives us life, so that we can help others know life.

Today, He is calling you into Himself, into love and life. And He calls us to live in church a way, full of grace and mercy, that others will want to know the God that we know!

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.