Monthly Archives: October 2013

One Team

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One of the simple mistakes that we can make in our life and in our faith is to expect everyone to be the same.  We can expect everyone to have the same likes and dislikes as we do, the same desire, the same passion, the same calling.

It’s very easy for us to think that everyone and everything should be just like us. And if it’s not, than it’s wrong.

That’s not the case in life, and it’s not what the Bible teaches.  Listen to how Paul describes how it all should work in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

ButtonPaul says this.  We are all on one team.  We are all on the same team.  Now, we will all be different. We will have different likes, different dislikes. We’ll have different purposes, different callings, different desires, different strengths, different weakness.

We are all different.  And thats ok.

For the body to be the body and the kingdom to be the kingdom, I need to be me and you need to be you. We need to be the people that God has created us to be.

And if you are you and I am me, and we all do it for God’s glory, great things will happen.

We are all on one team. We are all on the same team. Let’s remember that. Let’s work in that way, work with that goal.  Today, we can do great things for kingdom.

God has made us as we are.  May we be faithful to the calling.  And be who we are called to be. And love each other, even if we are different.

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.

Covenant

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cor44God is all-powerful and all mighty. There is nothing in all the universe that is strong than God.  He is the ultimate force and power in all the world.

And He loves us.  And He values us. And we matter.

Which is just amazing. It is truly amazing that we matter to God.  Because He doesn’t “need” us.  He’s the God of everything, the creator of everything.  All of space, time, and eternity lay open before Him. He is God.  He is almighty.  He is Lord.

And, yet, this amazing, powerful God really does desire to know us and be in relationship with us.  Listen to what happens today in 2 Kings 23: 1-3:

Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

Josiah, who was a good king, after many years of bad kings, comes and restores everything, takes away the idols and sets the people of God back on the right path.

And the people of God make a covenant with God.  And God makes a covenant with them.  God doesn’t have to that, through.  God doesn’t have to make an agreement with the people.  He’s bigger than them. Stronger than them.  More mighty than them.  He doesn’t “need” them.

He wants them.  He wants relationship.  He wants worship.  He wants our heart.  He wants us.

He doesn’t need us.  He wants us.

Today, we get to have that amazing relationship with a God that desires us.  Today, know just how blessed that we are.  God desires us.

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.

Friends

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I tell folks that one of the reason that church matters is that in our live, we’ve got to know that there is someone who is on our side. That there is someone in our life that cares for us, is pulling for us, and will be there for us.

There’s got to be someone in our life that is on our side.

We all need friends.  We all do.  You do. I do. We each do. We need a friend.

Listen to this story of friendship that we find in Matthew 9:1-2:

And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

FriendsThese guys so their friend in need, and they knew that only Jesus could fix it. So, what did they do? They took their friend to Jesus. They did everything in their power to make sure that their friend met Jesus.

Man, don’t we want those kind of friends in our lives?  I think that we all do.  Someone that will be there for us and do all that they can do for us.

How do we find those type of friends?  We become those kind of friends.  We be that person.  We be that friend.

So, today, do you have those type of friends in your life?

Our we being those type of friends for others?

Today, may we be the friends to others that God is calling us to be.

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.

An Arrow

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In our life we don’t live for others, right?  We don’t worry about the approval of other people.  We live only for God’s approval.  We all know that, we that God’s approval is all that matters.

So, don’t live your life with your eye to “them.”  Their approval doesn’t matter.

That is truth and we should live by it.

But, here’s the rub.  How we live does matter, through. And how we carry ourselves does matter.  The things we do, the impact we have, the difference we make, it does matter.  It really does.  The way we live matters. Listen to what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31-33:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

fv-cross-art-gbg829ep-1fvcross-crr3Paul hear is talking about things “don’t matter.”  The are stuff won’t saved you or condemn you.  They aren’t salvation matters.  So, they don’t matter for our eternity.  But, they do matter.

And what others think does matter.

Why?

It reflections upon Jesus.  Our lives, the way that we live, the choices we make, they really do reflect upon Jesus. And we want to make sure that what we do, how we live, the choices of our lives, they give God the glory that He deserves. That they draw people to God, not push people away from God.

We want to make sure that our lives reflect the grace of our Lord.

And that our lives point to Him.  Today, you are an arrow.  Pointing to heaven.

Today, may our lives point others to the goodness and grace of God.

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.

Shine Bright

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Today you have a chance to make a difference.  Today, you have a chance to shine bright the love of Christ.  Today, with His spirit within you, you have the chance, the moment, the ability to make a huge difference for the kingdom.

Today, you can shine bright the light of Christ with all that you do.

Listen to what it says today in Luke 8: 16-18:

“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

6568967-bright-light-bulb-standing-isolated-over-a-black-backgroundIt says here, no one, when they have this light, will hide it. They won’t put in a jar or under the bed, but they will put it out for everyone to see.  The will place this light in a place where everyone can see it and live into it.

So is it with the light of Christ within us.  If we know His grace, have tasted His mercy, felt His power, experienced His love in our souls, we can’t hide it.  We can’t ignore it. We can’t pretend like it’s not there.  We can’t.

Don’t hide that light.  Let it shine in your hearts and let it shine in your lives.

Let His light shine today in our words.  In our actions.  In our relationships.  In all that we are, all that we do.  Let it shine.

For His life in our lives, it will make all difference in our life, and in the life of others.

Today, you’ve been give life, been given light.  Let it 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.

Pray Hard

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You ever feel like you both God with your prayers?  Ever feel like you are praying for the same thing, over and over again?  Ever feel like God must be getting sick and tired of your prayers?  We probably all, at some point, have felt that way.

Today, in one on of my favorite stories in all the Bible, Jesus talks about that.  Listen to what happens in Luke 18: 3-7:

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?

prayerI love this story because it’s the story of  judge that is not just.  Not fair.  And this widow just wears him out by always going, asking, demanding justice.  And this judge didn’t respect God, no man, but finally he grants her wish, because she wouldn’t leave him alone.

Jesus said, pray in the same way. Wear God out.  Pray hard.

Seriously.  Pray hard about things. Take things to God over and over and over again.  Take it to Him repeatedly. And if this wicked judge, who didn’t care for people or for God, will grant this, how much more will your loving God, who loves you dearly and care for Him, how much more will He grant your requests.

Pray hard.  Today.  Pray hard.  Don’t give up.  Don’t quit.  Don’t give up hope.  Pray hard. God hears.  God cares.  God knows.  Don’t give up.

Keep praying.  Don’t quit.  Pray hard. God is there.  He will hear. And He will answer.

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.

Rules

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the-rule-bookMany of us may not like rules, but here’s the thing.  At least rules help us know what to do or not to do.  Rules keep things simple, let us know where we stand, let us know how things should go.

Rules aren’t bad.  They really aren’t.

But, rules aren’t the end all, either.  They don’t exist for their own good, but for the great good.  They exist for order, for purpose, for benefit.

Not just because.

Jesus makes this point today in Matthew 12:5-8:

Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Keeping the Sabbath isn’t a bad thing.  It’s a very good thing.  In fact, it’s one of the top ten things that God wants us to do. It’s very important. But what was happening here was that the people loved the rule more than they loved the reason for the rule.

The reason for the rule is that God wants us to have some time that is set aside for rest, and to have some time set aside for worship. The Sabbath is so important for that. God wants us to honor it and keep it holy.  Follow it.  Live it.  Honor it.

But, the people here weren’t worry about the reason. They were only focused on the rule.  And so when Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath, they go angry. Because the rule said no.

Jesus said focus on me.  Not the rule. When you focus on Him, you will follow the rule.  When you focus only on the rule, you may miss Him.

Today, let us focus radically, wholly, totally on Him. And in that, we will follow the rules that He has for us to live by. Let us never go so focused on keeping the rules that we miss the point.  Let us never get so focused on the rules that we miss Him.

Rules are good.  But a true rule will point us to Jesus.  Let’s make sure we are follow Him. And He’ll take care of the rest.

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.

Jumping into the Deep

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Man, I love to talk about things that I don’t understand. I love the mysteries. I love talking about the complicated things, the things that we can argue about, fuss about, come to strong and different opinions about.

We all enjoy that.

But, it’s also frustrating, because there are just some things, that as much as we want to, we’ll never know. We’ll never understand, we’ll never get, they will will just never figure out. And, I don’t, by nature, like that.

But, you know what?  I’ve come to be ok with it. Really.  Listen to what Jesus says today in Matthew 11: 25-27:

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Jake-Jumping-Off-Diving-BoardJesus says this, some stuff is just hidden from the wise and understanding. There are some things that are just beyond us.  Some things that we could just debate and ponder and argue and fuss about for years.

And we are never going to know and never figure out.

It just is.

So, he tell us, there ‘s stuff that God has literally hidden from the wise and the understanding.  But, if we come as a little child, in simple, honest faith, we’ll understand.

Yes, there’s stuff that we don’t know. There’s stuff that we don’t understand. But, there comes a point when we’ve got to just jump off into the deep and trust.  God knows. He understands.  He sees.  He has it all figured out.

And we’ve got to trust.  Yes, there’s some stuff I don’t understand. And you know what?  I’m ok with that.  Because I know God.  And I know salvation. And I know to trust Him.  And you what?

That’s enough.

Today, jump into the deep.  Today, trust.  And today, you’ll find 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.