Two years ago, my wife and I visited Israel. There were so many souvenir options, but I was looking for that special one. I decided on this olive wood carving of Joshua and Caleb bringing fruit back in when they were spies and went to spy out the Promise Land. Joshua is one of those leaders in the Bible who we all can draw inspiration from when it comes to stepping into and possessing our future.
Joshua and the children of Israel were on the verge of crossing into the Promise Land. The previous 40 years were filled with wandering in the wilderness, but it was time for Joshua to possess his future. In chapter one in the Book of Joshua, God said, “Joshua, you got a tremendous future ahead. God is going to do great things in your life. But there are going to be challenges, battles, but I [God] will be with you. Be encouraged, be strong, be bold.” These were God’s promises to Joshua that His future would be secure because God promised it. Yet it was up to him to step into it and possess it.
What does 2010 and beyond hold for you? The answer is a mixture of blessings and battles. God says to you, “I have great things I want to do in your life. I have thoughts you haven’t even thought of. How I want to bless your life!” God says the best days of life are ahead of you. There are going to be challenges, and there are going to be battles, but God promises to be on your side when it comes to your future.
In order to take hold of and possess your future, let’s do what Joshua did. Joshua’s strategy came directly from God. God knows each of us will encounter battles when stepping into and possessing our God-promised future. So He wants to empower us and encourage us. Like Joshua, God says to you and I if you do this it will make an impact on your life and bring you “success.” The strategy from God is simple yet profound.
Here it is:
* SET UP A PLAN
* STAY IN HIS WORD
* STEP OUT IN FAITH
You can find out more about this God strategy in the Bible in the book of Joshua. Take a moment to read it.
As your pastor, I pray you and your family have a God-blessed 2010.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
God & Me...
What would you like to change in your life? I have discovered everyone of us desires to change. As I was growing up, I heard people say, "Jesus changed my life." How does Jesus change your life? Does He do surgery or brainwash you? Does He zap you with something and all of a sudden you're changed? There's a lot of confusing advice coming out nowadays on how God changes us. Some people say, "Just wait on the Lord," which is a passive approach. Other people say, "If it's to be, it's up to me," which is an activist viewpoint. What am I supposed to do in order to grow? Is it all me, or is it all God, or is it a combination?
The Bible gives us a clear answer regarding this issue of spiritual growth. When it comes to our spiritual growth, the fact is that God has a part and you have a part. Paul uses two phrases to explain this cooperation:
"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." Notice "work out" and "work in". Work out is your part. Work in is God's part. We are to work out what God is working in.
This doesn't say "work for" your salvation. It says "work out." He is saying you need to develop what you already have. Work out the implications. If you're born again, start growing. Work it out. What do you do in a physical workout? You do a workout not to get a body but to develop the body you already have. When you work out a puzzle, you already have all the pieces. You've just got to put it together.
Our part is that we work out the implications. Here is God’s part: God is the energizer for change in your life. He says, "I will give you the power to do what you want to do, need to do, and know what is right to do. I will empower you, energize you." God is the energizer to will and to act. He will give you the will power and the ability. He'll give you the desire and the capability to change.
You are a part of His family. Take your salvation seriously; it has eternal implications. Nothing is more important than your own spiritual growth. Take it seriously.
The Bible gives us a clear answer regarding this issue of spiritual growth. When it comes to our spiritual growth, the fact is that God has a part and you have a part. Paul uses two phrases to explain this cooperation:
"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." Notice "work out" and "work in". Work out is your part. Work in is God's part. We are to work out what God is working in.
This doesn't say "work for" your salvation. It says "work out." He is saying you need to develop what you already have. Work out the implications. If you're born again, start growing. Work it out. What do you do in a physical workout? You do a workout not to get a body but to develop the body you already have. When you work out a puzzle, you already have all the pieces. You've just got to put it together.
Our part is that we work out the implications. Here is God’s part: God is the energizer for change in your life. He says, "I will give you the power to do what you want to do, need to do, and know what is right to do. I will empower you, energize you." God is the energizer to will and to act. He will give you the will power and the ability. He'll give you the desire and the capability to change.
You are a part of His family. Take your salvation seriously; it has eternal implications. Nothing is more important than your own spiritual growth. Take it seriously.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Time is Flying
Can you believe 2009 is almost over? Is it me or are our calendars speeding up? The Bible says life is “like a vapor… a blink,” and with the days flying by, I can see the truth in this passage.
The point is, whatever we are going to do with our lives, we’d better get on it because time is running out. The other point is, if we are not doing something with our lives, it really doesn’t matter how many days we’ve got left anyway.
So how can we finish 2009 well and be ready for 2010? How can the year ahead be different than the year we are leaving? How many of us find ourselves saying, “I would like 2010 to be better than 2009? Last year was a year of challenges, a year of choices, a year of changes, a year of some crises. The fact is ’09 has been a year of disappointments or underachieved expectations. It’s been a year of loss -- maybe it was the loss of a loved one. And maybe for some, it was a year of failure.
The good news… You CAN finish 2009 well and be ready for 2010! How can 2010 be better? Take the rest of 2009 and ask yourself some questions and have a plan of action ready for 2010.
Here are the questions to ask yourself in 2009 to help you establish a personal development plan:
1. What do I want to learn in 2010? (Intellectual Goal) Proverbs 19:8
2. What will improve my health? (Physical Goal) Proverbs 17:22
3. What will deepen my relationship with God? (Spiritual Goal) 2 Peter 3:18
4. What will be my ministry to others? (Social Goal) 1 Peter 4:10
Take these few days remaining in 2009 and answer those questions. I have included Bible passages that communicate the importance of each of those questions to the full development of our life.
Now, as we enter 2010, IF it is going to be different:
1. I need to assume responsibility for my life. [Galatians 6:5]
2. I need to believe I can change. [Philippians 4:13]
3. I need to clarify what is important. [1 Corinthians 10:23]
4. I need to begin immediately. [Ecclesiastes 11:4]
We’ve just got to have a plan if it is going to be better.
The point is, whatever we are going to do with our lives, we’d better get on it because time is running out. The other point is, if we are not doing something with our lives, it really doesn’t matter how many days we’ve got left anyway.
So how can we finish 2009 well and be ready for 2010? How can the year ahead be different than the year we are leaving? How many of us find ourselves saying, “I would like 2010 to be better than 2009? Last year was a year of challenges, a year of choices, a year of changes, a year of some crises. The fact is ’09 has been a year of disappointments or underachieved expectations. It’s been a year of loss -- maybe it was the loss of a loved one. And maybe for some, it was a year of failure.
The good news… You CAN finish 2009 well and be ready for 2010! How can 2010 be better? Take the rest of 2009 and ask yourself some questions and have a plan of action ready for 2010.
Here are the questions to ask yourself in 2009 to help you establish a personal development plan:
1. What do I want to learn in 2010? (Intellectual Goal) Proverbs 19:8
2. What will improve my health? (Physical Goal) Proverbs 17:22
3. What will deepen my relationship with God? (Spiritual Goal) 2 Peter 3:18
4. What will be my ministry to others? (Social Goal) 1 Peter 4:10
Take these few days remaining in 2009 and answer those questions. I have included Bible passages that communicate the importance of each of those questions to the full development of our life.
Now, as we enter 2010, IF it is going to be different:
1. I need to assume responsibility for my life. [Galatians 6:5]
2. I need to believe I can change. [Philippians 4:13]
3. I need to clarify what is important. [1 Corinthians 10:23]
4. I need to begin immediately. [Ecclesiastes 11:4]
We’ve just got to have a plan if it is going to be better.
Friday, December 11, 2009
CELEBRATE...
All month, churches and communities all over the globe are focused on one event – Christmas. It only makes sense. Two thousand years later, Christmas can still create traffic jams, long lines, crowded stores, and packed out churches. It is the most significant event in the history of mankind.
Think about it, Christmas should be the greatest celebration, the greatest party we have all year. All of us attend tons of parties during this holiday season. Sometimes we have said, “Not another party.” In fact, with the majority of our parties, the most important one we honor is not even talked about. You see, Christmas is a birthday party for Jesus. It’s the reason we celebrate Christmas.
Did you know that God wants us to celebrate Jesus? Despite the busyness and chaos that often characterizes our Christmas season, God wants it be a time of celebration centered around His son.
What news did the angel say to shepherds? I bring you good news of great joy, and it’s for everybody. What is that great news?
1st – God loves you – His love for us is based on His character, not our performance.
2nd – God is with you – Emmanuel means God is with us. You may have been abandoned in the past, but not anymore.
3rd – God is for you – God’s on our side; He wants us to win.
We need to celebrate this Christmas. Jesus’ birth was – and is – good news of great joy for everybody.
Think about it, Christmas should be the greatest celebration, the greatest party we have all year. All of us attend tons of parties during this holiday season. Sometimes we have said, “Not another party.” In fact, with the majority of our parties, the most important one we honor is not even talked about. You see, Christmas is a birthday party for Jesus. It’s the reason we celebrate Christmas.
Did you know that God wants us to celebrate Jesus? Despite the busyness and chaos that often characterizes our Christmas season, God wants it be a time of celebration centered around His son.
What news did the angel say to shepherds? I bring you good news of great joy, and it’s for everybody. What is that great news?
1st – God loves you – His love for us is based on His character, not our performance.
2nd – God is with you – Emmanuel means God is with us. You may have been abandoned in the past, but not anymore.
3rd – God is for you – God’s on our side; He wants us to win.
We need to celebrate this Christmas. Jesus’ birth was – and is – good news of great joy for everybody.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Why Me?
Do you ever find yourself asking, “Why me?” When things seem to be going wrong, you ask, “Why me?” When things are going to good for others, you ask, “Why them?”
Try this one: The God of the entire universe descends and is born as a baby to live among the people He created. When you contemplate the fact that God had a whole world of women to choose from, you have to wonder why He would choose a poor, peasant, Jewish girl named Mary. Why Mary? Why did God choose to use this girl? If we can discover why God chose Mary, maybe God can use us in ways we never thought possible.
God was the sovereign initiator in this choosing. The Bible says in Luke that “Mary found favor with God.” When looking at the life profile of Mary beyond the basic information of being a poor, single teenager, we go on to read that she was humble, willing, and excited when it came to God. She realized she needed God in her life. She made a statement, “I am willing to do whatever He wants me to do.” She was passionate about her life bringing praise to God.
Think about the fears that become hurdles to us. Those are the same fears Mary had to confront. The fear of change: God is about to alter life for Mary. The fear of criticism: What will my family, friends and community say? The fear of the supernatural: Why would God want to connect with me? The fear of inadequacy: I am not qualified.
Today we have found favor with God. He loved us so much that He ambushed us with love through His only son Jesus Christ. Will you humble yourself and let God lead your life? Will you be willing to say with passion, “I will serve and do whatever He wants me to do”? Will your life exhibit enthusiasm of praise for your God?
Of all the thousands of people in the world, why you? Your life is more than a space and time filler; it is a life with divine design.
Try this one: The God of the entire universe descends and is born as a baby to live among the people He created. When you contemplate the fact that God had a whole world of women to choose from, you have to wonder why He would choose a poor, peasant, Jewish girl named Mary. Why Mary? Why did God choose to use this girl? If we can discover why God chose Mary, maybe God can use us in ways we never thought possible.
God was the sovereign initiator in this choosing. The Bible says in Luke that “Mary found favor with God.” When looking at the life profile of Mary beyond the basic information of being a poor, single teenager, we go on to read that she was humble, willing, and excited when it came to God. She realized she needed God in her life. She made a statement, “I am willing to do whatever He wants me to do.” She was passionate about her life bringing praise to God.
Think about the fears that become hurdles to us. Those are the same fears Mary had to confront. The fear of change: God is about to alter life for Mary. The fear of criticism: What will my family, friends and community say? The fear of the supernatural: Why would God want to connect with me? The fear of inadequacy: I am not qualified.
Today we have found favor with God. He loved us so much that He ambushed us with love through His only son Jesus Christ. Will you humble yourself and let God lead your life? Will you be willing to say with passion, “I will serve and do whatever He wants me to do”? Will your life exhibit enthusiasm of praise for your God?
Of all the thousands of people in the world, why you? Your life is more than a space and time filler; it is a life with divine design.
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