The Big Four

Happy Thanksgiving! This week, our entire nation is celebrating Thanksgiving. The irony of it is with so much cooking, traveling, entertaining, football, and shopping the biggest sales of the year, very little thanks will get done. For the most part, just a single prayer gets said on Thanksgiving day – possibly before the meal, and usually by one person. We miss that the whole point of the holiday season is to give thanks to God for what He’s done in our lives.

So I just want to share with you a way I think we can make this thanksgiving season different and carry it right into Christmas the season and into every day in 2010. It begins with realizing that everything you own and everything you are comes from God. Without God there would be nothing in your life. In the Old Testament,1 Chronicles 29 reads, “Everything has come from You [God] and everything belongs to You [God].”

If we did not have God in our lives, if God had not created us, we would have nothing. So it all starts with God. When we start to think, “What we can be thankful for?” we really have to thank God for everything. If you are a Christ follower, you have reason to thank God for what I call the “BIG FOUR.” If we get these down, our priorities will be healthy.

1. I AM THANKFUL TO GOD FOR THE GRACE HE HAS SHOWN ME.

2. I AM THANKFUL TO GOD FOR THE PLAN HE HAS FOR ME.

3. I AM THANKFUL TO GOD FOR THE ETERNAL LIFE HE HAS GIVEN ME.

4. I AM THANKFUL TO GOD FOR THE CHANGES HE’S MAKING IN ME.

More than just saying thanks, let’s live thanks! How? By singing, by serving, by giving, and by sharing. I hope your thanksgiving week is filled with lifelong memories and that, for you, thanksgiving is lived out every day of the year.

Don't Forget Joy...

Have you ever realized you don’t really enjoy your life, but you just seem to endure it? You think that if life is not perfect, it is hard to be happy. If you could just change your situation… get rid of your problems, then life would be free. If we are looking to be happy in life, we must learn to be joyful in the situations, problems, and in the experiences of life.

You see, happiness often centers around circumstances. In fact, the word “happiness” comes from the word “happenstance” from which we get another word, “circumstance.” We have a happy time at Disney World, Sea World, or a sporting event (especially if your team wins). You leave the place or event and, eventually, you lose your happiness. Yet joy is constant. So how do you have happiness in spite of what is going on in life?

In Galatians 5:22 Paul writes that “joy” is who we are because we are Christ followers and His Spirit lives in us. Knowing that God is the overseer of our lives, we are joyful because of who God is and who we are. We reveal that “joy” through thankfulness, thanksgiving, and through our attitude of gratitude. Paul goes on to write that in spite of all situations, “I rejoice and I will continue to rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18). What was Paul’s secret to being content when situations and circumstances were at times good and at times not so good?

SECRETS TO JOYFUL LIVING…

• A healthy perspective makes a difference.
  ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him.
• Always distinguish the trivial from the significant.
  Focus on what really counts.
• Tap into your fresh power supply when life drains you.
  With God's power nothing can devastate me.
• Never forget the purpose you live for.
  The secret of joy -- Jesus first, Others second, Yourself third.

You're not here by accident or to simply take up space. When you discover your purpose and get right in the center of it, it fits! And then you will feel fulfilled and realize that is why you're here! It’s not about religion; it’s about relationship. Paul did not say, "For me to live it’s about religion or church or Bible study or ministry.” No, he said, “The only thing worth living for is a relationship with the one who made me.”

COMMUNITY...

Call it community… team… family… I want to encourage you to see belonging to a spiritual family as what God has provided for us to make it through life successfully. God surrounds our life with people. Even in the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” We were made to live in community.

God has given us the privilege of being born again, so we are now members of God’s own family. When we were born physically, we joined the human family, the human race. When we’re born spiritually, we joined God’s family.

What is God’s family? When I read the Bible, I see the Apostle Paul teaching us how to live in the family of God (1 Timothy 3:15). The family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of pure, absolute truth. The church is not an institution, not a religious denomination, not a society club, not an organization, nor a business. God’s Word says, “The church is a family.” That’s how we are to relate to it. We who know the Lord are all a part of it.

The church is our family; it is our support and foundation. What would happen to a building or a house that doesn’t have a solid foundation? It would collapse. God says to all of us, you will struggle through life without a church family. It will be hard to be all God wants us to be without a church family. It is that important.

Saying, “I want to be a Christian but not part of any church family” is like saying, “I want to play football in the NFL, but I don't want to be a part of any team.” It's like saying, “I want to join the US Army, but I don't want to be in any platoon.”

We belong in God's family. There's a difference between attending a church service and belonging to a church family. God doesn't want church to be something that you go to. He wants church to be a family that you're a part of.

HEARING GOD...

I hope this blog serves as encouragement to you. For those of us who want to become all God designed us to become, we must hear God. There are a number of topics God wants us to hear from Him if we are going to be effective representatives of Him.

In the Old Testament, Habakkuk saw the unrighteous or unhealthy overtaking the righteous and those wanting to obey God. Habakkuk was curious why God would allow this. I find myself not understanding the hand of God at times, but because I know the heart of God, it helps me in my journey. What about those of us who don’t understand the hand as well as the heart of God?

Here are a few encouraging steps from Habakkuk 2 that we can take when it comes to hearing God...

• Verse 1 - We see Habakkuk pulling back to a secluded place where the noise of the world is silenced by the vision of God. Sometimes the world is so loud you can’t hear God. Pull back; take time to retreat.

• Verse 1 can tell us one more thing as we look a little deeper into this verse: WAIT. God speaks. He can be heard when we take our foot off the gas pedal, let the engine of busyness slow down, and WAIT. Habakkuk waited to see what God was saying.

• Verse 1 again shows us that Habakkuk pulled back, slowed down, and then God was able to give Him a mental picture. It is amazing what God will show us when we pull back, slow down, and watch.

• JOURNAL. I am big into journaling. If God shows it, a thought comes, an observation is made, then journal it, write it down. If you have to write it on something temporary, go back later and rewrite it on something permanent. Journaling is a great discipline by the way.

• THANK GOD, worship Him...to that He responds.

I hope these thoughts from Habakkuk 2 create a whole new dimension when it comes to our faith journey in Christ.

Mission Possible...

This may show my baby boomer age, but do you remember the show “Mission Impossible”? The leader of the Mission Impossible task would get a message and then the tape would fizzle and disappear. The next message, toward the end of the tape, would say “Your mission, if you choose to accept…”

God has given you a mission. But He does not force it on you. He has a mission for your life. God has designed a ministry in the church and a mission in the world for every Christ follower -- your ministry to the believer and your mission to the unbeliever. You were designed and created for both.

Our mission: Jesus tells us in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” A witness is just somebody who shares personal experiences. God doesn't expect us to be His salesmen. He doesn't need any salesmen. We don't have to pressure anybody into heaven. We don't have to argue them into heaven. We don’t need to be a salesman for God, just a witness. God does not need a defense, and You don't have to debate. That's not our mission. Just be a witness. A witness just tells what they've seen, what they've experienced. And that makes us an authority. Nobody is a better witness on your life, nobody is a better witness on what God has done in your life, than you.

The moment you became a believer, God gave you a mission. That mission is to tell other people about your personal encounter with Jesus Christ. You wouldn't be here today if somebody hadn't told you. If somebody hadn't told you about Christ, you wouldn't be a believer. Now, the moment you become a believer, it's your job to tell other people.

We have the greatest news in the world, so let’s go share it.

Optimal Vision

Recently I purchased a pair of reading glasses. Words just are not as clear as they used to be. Not sure, but maybe that’s a sign of age. The salesperson at Sunglass Hut began to tell me, in detail, how to take care of the glasses. Because the glasses are wire frames, she told me how to hold them, and she convinced me of the need for cleaner and a cloth. Finally, I was on my way with these brand new glasses. Why did she go through all of this? Because she explained to me that, for optimal vision, you have to regularly care for and clean your lenses. Glasses have a way of picking up dirt, grime, and tiny particles which can obscure vision.

I hope the following thoughts will encourage you and challenge you to see what God wants you to do as a valuable part of His family: Cleaning your personal lenses is accomplished by answering questions like, “Why on earth am I here?… Why do I do what I do when it comes to my faith?… Where was I before I met Christ?… Where am I now with Christ?… Where am I going in Christ?… These questions need to be asked all the time because they help us clean our life lenses; they challenge us in our faithfulness to God.

You are not just a church goer or religious person. You are not Baptist, Methodist, Assembly of God -- you get the picture. YOU ARE A CHRIST FOLLOWER. God wants you to have optimal vision about why you are here, who you are, and what your life is all about. This blog could go on and on, so let me wrap it up with this: You are here to love God. You are here to grow a dynamic relationship with God. You are here on a mission to go tell others about a great God.

You may have had committed plans for God that did not work out like you planned. Let me encourage you to clean your lenses so you can regain optimal vision and be faithful to His design for you.

Step Out of the Boat

There is a really encouraging and challenging book out there called "If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat." Wow, what a truth!

We’re in this F-word (Faith) series of messages on Saturdays and Sundays. Have you ever wished you could just start your life over or get a fresh start? Maybe just go back and do it again? Do you feel like for the first time in life you are growing spiritually, and it feels good? You are starting each day with a daily devotional and memorizing God’s Word. Maybe you joined a life group, Bible study, or other small group, and you sense that God is strengthening your faith. Have you ever said to yourself, "I wish I would have done these things sooner"? You wasted so many years doing other things and neglecting a growing dynamic relationship with God. But then something clicked. The light went on and now you see that a lot of problems, pain, and worry could have been avoided if you’d done what you are doing now. I am with you in wishing that I could rewind the tape and start my life over.

The problem is you can’t rewind the tape. It’s behind you. But you can step out and start over. God is a God of fresh starts. That’s what I want to encourage you to discover this week. Psalm 145:14 says, “God gives a fresh start to those who are ready to quit.” If you’ve ever felt like quitting, it's a good thing you are reading this blog. I want to challenge you to discover in God’s Word, the Bible, His truths and principles of making a fresh start and having the courage to step out and exercise your faith and trust in God. Make it a priority to hide the truths of God's Word deep in your heart. It will help you regardless of your background and regardless of your past. Regardless of how you’ve really messed up, you CAN make a fresh start and take a new step. Yay God!!!!