Getting ready for Sunday - We are his witnesses.

Two weeks in a row as we leave church on Wednesday night my kids have asked: "Dad, what's a witness?"  As I do, I like to turn it around on them, "What do you think it means?"  It always leads into a great conversation about what a witness sees and what a witness does.

It starts with seeing something with their own eyes.  They've seen what happened.  They can speak from personal experience. This isn't something "they heard about" this is something they saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears.  This was not their version of the telephone game.

It continues with saying what they have seen and heard.  It continues with their testimony.  And not as a "he said" or "she said," but as an I saw and I heard.

They see it.  They talk about it.  The apostles saw.  They heard.  And they talked about it as they said in their own words, "For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20.

As we get ready for Sunday, think about and meditate on those things that you've seen and heard.  How did God work before you were born to save you from your sins? How did God work and rule in your life to save you from your sins? Where did God put you? Whom did God put in your life so that you'd know him? Where has God put you now so that you'd be in him and know him? Where has God put you now so that you could witness and testify about him?

This Sunday we're looking at the early Christian church in Acts chapter 8 (v1-13) and we get to see our God at work, ruling the church, always for the good, always for the spread of the Gospel.  This Sunday we'll get to see how God rules; how he ruled in the past for the spread of the Gospel; yes, even how he rules today for the spread of the Gospel.

God has a plan and we get to be a part of it!

Beyond Sunday - "the bystander effect"

"What would you do?" I don't watch the show much but it is always interesting to see the scenarios they create and the way that total strangers react.  Sometimes the scenario is the need of an individual.  Sometimes the scenario is the outlandish and sometimes even offensive behavior of a person.  It's always interesting to see how people respond to a given situation.

Psychologytoday.com describes bystander effect like this: "The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others hinders an individual from intervening in an emergency situation. Social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley popularized the concept following the infamous 1964 Kitty Genovese murder in Kew Gardens, New York. Genovese was stabbed to death outside her apartment three times, while bystanders who reportedly observed the crime did not step in to assist or call the police. Latane and Darley attributed the bystander effect to the diffusion of responsibility (onlookers are more likely to intervene if there are few or no other witnesses) and social influence (individuals in a group monitor the behavior of those around them to determine how to act). In Genovese's case, each onlooker concluded from their neighbors' inaction that their own help was not needed."

Dear Christians - what will you do?

We live in a world that whether they know it or not, whether they agree with us or not, whether they feel like it or not, is largely on their way to the greatest disaster, ever. As horrendous the Genovese case was, it is an even greater tragedy when we see people walking toward the end of a cliff, an eternity in hell.  What will you do?

We have just the Savior for them.

We have just the message to share with them.

We have a message that speaks for itself.  Share it and let that message loose on 'em.  Charles Spurgeon once said that we didn't need to defend the Bible because it was like a lion.  Nobody has to do defend a lion.  We just let it loose to defend itself.  So let the message loose and it will do its work.

Don't just stand there.  Stand up and tell them.

Who will you tell? Pray for them. Pray for opportunities to tell them.  Pray for the words to tell them.

Then, get up and tell them as God gives you the opportunity.

Getting ready for Sunday: Witness - Cross Examined.

If you were put on a witness stand in a courtroom and had to testify to your faith, salvation, forgiveness, and who Jesus Christ is, what would you say? If you’re friend, your neighbor, your co-workers asked you to share your faith, what would you say?  How would you say it?  God will give us opportunities to share our faith - we want to be ready to witness and testify about him.  God urges us to take opportunities to share our faith - we want to be prepared to take advantage of those opportunities.

The amazing and gracious truth is this: We are a part of God’s plan of salvation to get his Gospel out to the ends of the earth.  We get to be his light in the world; we get to be the salt of the earth. We get to be God’s mouthpiece, God’s messengers, God’s fellow-workers!  We get to be part of the way in which God saves people!  How awesome!  How gracious!  God has shown us such grace!  He saved us by his Son.  He calls us to share that witness with all the world.

In this series, we will take a look at what the Bible says about being a witness for Jesus in our neighborhood, community, and world.

So, as you come to church this week, ask this: Why is witnessing hard for me? What is the thing that makes me most afraid to witness and share my faith?  This week, Jesus calms our fears even as he sends us out into battle.  We'll be studying Matthew 10:26-34

Getting ready for Sunday - SHIFT in my role models.

There are 168 hours in a week.  If we sleep 7 hours a day (49 hours a week), then we're awake for 149 hours.  If we're in worship, growth groups (Bible studies), and in our private devotions then perhaps we setting aside another 10 hours or so on time specifically set aside for God, for his Word, and for prayer.  That leaves us with 139 hours in our week.  Who are you listening to during that time?

Paul Tripp writes: “No one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you more than you do. You're in an unending conversation with yourself. You're talking to yourself all the time, interpreting, organizing, and analyzing what's going on inside you and around you.”

Kind of a scary thought, isn't it?  More than anyone else in my life, I'm preaching to myself.  I'm preaching to myself in my private devotions.  I'm preaching to myself when I'm at work.  I'm preaching to myself wherever I go and whatever I do.

Whose word are you preaching to yourself?  What message are you preaching?  What are you telling yourself?  Who influences the sermons you preach to your heart?

More than a little scary, isn't it?

That makes my time in God's Word all the more important.  It needs to go with me even when I'm not devoting all of my energies to meditating on it and praying about it.  God's Word needs to flow from my heart into my ears all day long.  It needs to be the thing I chew on all day long. The time we spend in God's Word on Sunday, in growth groups (Bible studies), and in our private, personal devotions are so important.  We want our Father's voice, which is loud and clear in the Bible, to be the voice ringing in our hears through our days.

That makes our friends so important, especially our closest friends and our advisors, especially our role models.  We need them to be speaking God's Word to us and redirecting us to the one thing needful, one thing true and certain, the one thing powerful and saving.  Our friends, our role models, our advisors and counselors, are so important.

This Sunday we will consider Hebrews 10:19-25 and remember why it's so important for us to keep showing up.

Beyond Sunday - SHIFT in my involvement.

Yesterday turned into an interesting but an awesome day. But it didn't go as planned.  Sunday morning was great! I always love the chance to share God's Word.  Lunch was awesome.  Got to visit with so many people.  Add to that the joy of seeing God's people connecting to each other - and not wanting to leave.  Then I got teach the basics of the faith.  All part of the plan, so far.

Then I came out to the car and had a flat.  Not exactly how I wanted to spend the next part of my Sunday.  But it turned out well.  I got home from getting the flat fixed and enjoyed a great evening with my family.  God gave me some down time that I hadn't planned on and it was just what I needed so that I could come home refreshed to be with family.

We're all busy.  I haven't met anyone in this world who isn't busy.  In fact, that is the common reason that something can't get done, someone can't meet... I can't do that because I'm busy.  Take a look at your day, take a look at your calendar and what do you see? You're busy. We're all busy.

We're all busy.  But don't be too busy for God.

Take just a moment today and thank God for the life that he's given you.

Take just a moment today and thank God for the grace that he's given you, the forgiveness that he's given you.

Take just a moment today and thank God for the way he is ruling your life and taking care of you, even if you don't agree with his plan.

Take just a moment and ask God to help you through whatever it is that is on your plate.

It's so easy for us to substitute our action and activity for trust in God's action and activity.  It's so easy to think, "I'm too busy to pray.  I'm too busy to read my devotions."  But take note at what we're doing... We're thinking that our work is more important than God's.  We're thinking that our will is more important than God's.  And we all know that that just isn't true.

Slow down and ponder God's will and work.

Slow down and ponder God's mission and ministry.

Slow down and pray.

Slow down and see how God get's involved in your life.

Slow down and see the opportunities that God gives you to be involved in the lives of the people around you.

Then, get off the bench and get into the game.

Getting ready for Sunday!

We live with people.  We live around with people.  We work for people.  We work with people.  We work next to people.  We interact with people more than ever before either in person or through some other medium.  We get phone calls, text messages, Facebook alerts, maybe even Voxer. Unless you are a hermit living on a mountaintop you interact with people all day long. What's that experience like?  Some people enjoy a tech free day off, a quiet day away from it all.  Many people would benefit from just a few moments unplugging.

That's what Jesus is doing with his disciples in the text we'll look at this Sunday (Matthew 14:13-21). They were going away by themselves to unplug.  The disciples had come off of a missionary trip.  Jesus had just received the news that John the Baptist had been beheaded.  They were worn out and tired and need a chance to unplug and to refuel in prayer and meditation on God's Word.  BUT THE CROWDS CHASED THEM THERE TOO!

Yet, what do we see in Jesus?  Pay close attention.  Jesus may have been worn out, but he was never too exhausted to give his love and care to that crowd that interrupted his quiet time.  He saw that they were harassed and helpless.

As you get ready for Sunday, learn this about Jesus - our Father in heaven is never too busy, never to exhausted, never empty to hear our prayers.  We are his children and he doesn't brush us off or view our prayers as too small a thing for him to be concerned about.  Jesus is the very same way.  He looked at this crowd and he was overflowing with compassion for them.

How do you look at the people in your life that enter it through a purposeful plan of yours or through God's purposeful plan (that you didn't know about!)? How do you see their intrusion into your day?

Jesus wanted to teach his disciples something that day.  He teaches us something too.  This Sunday we learn from Jesus about a SHIFT in our involvement in the lives of the people around us and learn to impact them in the same way that we have been impacted by Jesus himself.

Read Matthew 14:13-21 (for a fuller picture you can also read: Matthew 14:1-36; Mark 6:1-56; and/or John 6:1-70).

See you Sunday!

Beyond Sunday - SOAP journal entry

What joy God gave Sarah and Abraham in their old age. After a life of waiting, a life of pilgrimage (that wasn't done yet), God gave them a great joy - a son. This was nothing short of a miraculous gift of God. Their bodies were as good as dead, the apostle writes, yet God gave life in those bodies that were as good as dead.

Reminds me of Ecclesiastes 9: 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Life is a struggle.  Sins curse makes work toil, the sweat if the brow.  Sins curse troubles relationships wherever we turn.  Sins curse makes our life a steady march to the grave.  Life then becomes pointless.  So, I can learn from Sarah to laugh in thanks to God for the gifts of  Ruth and our children, truly amazing gifts of God.

Lord, help me to laugh in thanks to you for your grace to me in my family. They are an amazing and gracious gift to me from you.  Thank you for this grace. Fill me with joy in this grace today and don't let me get bogged down with the other struggles that sin brings.  Let me laugh and play and enjoy the gifts that they are to me. Thank you especially for the faith that you've planted in them. That is your greatest gift it them and to me.  I pray you then, defend this house, our family, from the attacks of the evil one that nothing would cause them to stumble and trip up, so that they lose their faith.  Nothing would bring me more sadness.  Keep them in the faith! Thank you for hearing me Father and for walking with me today in all that I think, say, and do.