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September 30, 2014

Do Something Extraordinary

God wants ordinary people like you and me to do extraordinary things for His glory. Extraordinary incidents testify God is working through us. Our steps of faith show the people around us how great HE is. It really is not about us. Our attitude needs to match John the Baptist who declared about Christ, “He must increase; I must decrease.” Stay humble and let God do His thing.

“The people who KNOW THEIR GOD shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].” (Daniel 11:32b AMP)

Relationship with God opens the door for exploits – not in your own might, but in His power. When you know your God, you display great STRENGTH. When you know your God, you take quick ACTION. When you know your God, you act valiantly. When you know your God, you STAND FIRM. When you know your God, you prosper. When you know your God, you battle against kingdom of darkness. When you know your God, you DO EXPLOITS.

If you are thinking “I can’t do that”, you are the exact one to whom God is calling today. God works through ordinary people. God doesn’t quit on His projects until the job is completed, and He isn’t finished making you into what He wants. The worst thing you could do is disqualify yourself by giving up.

You are qualified to do something – simply because you are a believer. God has a plan and purpose for you. The enemy desires to stop or steal what God wants to give to you. Don’t let the devil steal it! Accept the reality Christ’s forgiveness. You blew it in the past, okay, but the blood of Jesus cleanses. God forgives. You can do exploits, not because you are perfect, but because you are in Christ. Don’t worry if its messy, you can do something significant.

God saved you to serve. Saved people serve people. Find a need and fill it; find a hurt and heal it. The bigger the need you fill the bigger the glory God receives. Do something extraordinary for the Lord. Serve Him by serving others at work, at home, at church.

God works through ordinary people. Let Him work through you. Do something extraordinary for His glory.

September 8, 2013

Together

Amazing things happen when Christ-followers pull together to accomplish God’s purposes in the world. “Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 1978, p. 30)

Coming together is beginning.

Together we receive a sense that God is also with us (2 or 3 gathered Matthew 18:20). Coming together affirms us and fills us with hope. God is good! “God richly gives us everything to enjoy.” (1 Tim 6:17b) The best way to enjoy a good thing is to share it with others.

We must open our hearts and lives to come together beyond social-economic backgrounds, racial stereotypes, political opinions, even favorite teams. Hey, I live in Alabama and understand a little of the grace needed for an Alabama Roll-Tide-r to reach across in love to an Auburn War-Eagle-r.

  • “I speak to you as I would speak to my own children. Please make room in your hearts for us.”  (2 Corinthians 6:13 CEV)
  • “Make room for us in your hearts.” (2 Corinthians 7:2a NIV)
  •  “May the Lord make your love grow. May it be like a rising flood. May your love for one another increase. May it also increase for everyone else. May it be just like our love for you.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIRV)

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Staying together is growth.

Small group settings are a great place for growth. Within the context of a group, we get to know each other on a deeper level and do life together. “We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 3:8 HCSB) Authentic, healthy relationships not only provide connection into church life, they are a source of strength, encouragement, and joy throughout life’s seasons.

Paul praised the household of Onesiphorus for showing “kindness and ministered to my needs, comforting and reviving and bracing me like fresh air”. (2 Timothy 1:16 AMP) We need to cultivate a life in common with other believers. “I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.”  (1 Corinthians 1:10 MSG)

Together we allow spiritual gifts to be released. “Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.” (1 Corinthians 14:26 NLT)

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.” (Hebrews 13:1 NLT)

Laboring together is advancement.

Service and community small groups provide a place to serve, a place to shoulder Kingdom responsibilities, a place to see lives changed. Great things happen when people have “a heart and mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6 AMP).

  •  “I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.” (Philippians 4:14 MSG)
  • You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it’s a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it’s only right that we give thanks. We’re so proud of you; you’re so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches all about you. (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 MSG)

Worshipping together is success.

Several times, Scripture calls us to worship. The Psalmist cried out, “Praise the Lord’s greatness with me. Let us highly honor his name together.” (Psalm 34:3 GW) I would say that getting to heaven is the ultimate mark of success. Have you consider what the Book of Revelation reveals about the activity going on in heaven? Worship is a huge part of heaven. When we live such good lives before men and women, that they are inspired to glorify our Father in heaven – we are sharing in a measure of success. We release heaven’s worship on earth.

“We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ. What does this mean? It means, first, that a Christians needs others because of Jesus Christ. It means second, that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. It means, third, that in Jesus Christ we have been chosen from eternity, accepted in time, and united for eternity.” (Bonhoeffer, Life Together, p. 21)

April 7, 2013

Get Over Yourself & Love Like Jesus Loves

Sometimes the best way to avoid quarreling with your wife is to let her go her way and you go HERS. Okay, I am teasing a bit, but there is a measure of truth in that statement. Happy days ensue when husbands and wives don’t insist upon their own way every time.

When you are alone, you may consider only yourself, but marriage is more than one person. The man and woman may unite to become one in marriage, but two distinct personalities are still there.

Healthy compromises are part of healthy marriages. Giving up some individual gain for the gain of the relationship yields tremendous dividends. There is truth in the title of the old Rolling Stones’ hit, “You can’t always get what you want!” With maturity comes understanding sometimes concessions must be made.

Every disagreement doesn’t have to start a world war! Be willing to make some trade-offs or take turns in getting your way. “Flipping a coin can end arguments; it settles disputes between powerful opponents.” (Proverbs 18:18 NLT) Decide today to disagree agreeably.

Problems inevitably result when people pursue self-centered or selfish goals. Battles begin from opposing needs, drives, wishes, or demands.

Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

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Communication problems can usually be traced to a failure to show love, a failure to show respect, or a failure to fulfill the ministry required of a spouse. You are called to minister to your partner.

In discussion of Matthew chapter twelve, commentator Michael Wilkins offers a definition for love that is well-suited for marriage. He writes,“Love is an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person in which we give ourselves to bring the relationship to God’s intended purpose.” (Matthew, p. 463). Married people must love as Jesus loved – expressing love especially to the imperfect person who shares your bed. Disagreements, difficulties, and hurts happen in married relationships, but the command to love like Jesus loves remains.

Wilkins goes on to give practical suggestions for showing love toward even a person that has hurt you. Your marriage will benefit from adopting this one:

Reverse the dynamic of the relationship from taking to giving. When we follow Jesus’ example of ministry, we find that He came to give, not take, as was the Father’s entire purpose in sending His Son (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8). He came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for His people (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45). Such an attitude of giving should also characterize our closest relationships.

Ask most people why they want to get married, and they will usually describe their reasons in terms of getting: “I will become more fulfilled in marriage”; “I have always wanted to have a husband and children and a home of my own.” These motivations are not necessarily bad, but marriage as God intended it is a relationship of giving ourselves to another for their enrichment. Spouses who are so consumed with having their own needs met by their partner often cannot get their eyes off their own needs long enough to care for another’s needs, and the relationship becomes parasitic. The tug-of-war of needs between people demands that we continually take in order to have our needs met. (Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew, p. 463-464).

“Let us therefore stop turning critical eyes on one another. If we must be critical, let us be critical of our own conduct and see that we do nothing to make a brother stumble or fall.” (Romans 14:13 PHILLIPS) Let’s choose to love like Jesus loves.

April 1, 2013

Death of “Someone Else”

You should have two testimonies – one of how God saved you and one of how God is using you. Where are you volunteering? Are you helping to expand God’s kingdom? Are you actively involved in the life and ministry of your church?

“Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” (Philippians 2:4 MSG) If you aren’t actively serving others, you are missing out on an important component of why you exist.

Locally and globally, members of Valley Fellowship Church (#ilovemychurch!) glorify Jesus Christ as they express love in practical ways. In 2011, we partnered with George Gonzalez and Amazon Xpeditions to provide clean water for a village off the Amazon River. I honor the men who built that water system in Atalaia, Brazil. They cared enough to give their time, their strength, their sweat to serve. What a team! That’s my father-in-law in the middle. They discovered that serving is rewarding.

Never forget that when you serve others you are actually serving Jesus Christ! “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV)

When you leave this world, what legacy will you leave?

We were all saddened to learn this week of the death of one our church’s most valuable members – Someone Else. Someone’s passing created a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years, and for every one of those years Someone did far more than the normal person’s share of the work.

Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. “Someone Else can work with that group.”

Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, one name was on everyone’s lips, Someone Else! “Let Someone Else do it” was a common refrain heard throughout the church.

It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the largest givers in the church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed that Someone Else would make up the difference.

Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing super-human; but a person can only do so much. Were the truth known, everyone expected too much of Someone Else.

Now Someone Else is gone! We wonder what we are going to do. Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? Who is going to do the things that Someone Else did?

Remember, we can’t depend on Someone Else anymore. (Mark Stibbe and Darren Harvey-Regan, Basket of Gems, p. 29)

March 27, 2013

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, Nobody

What makes you say, “Why doesn’t someone do something about this?” Ask God what to do about it. Real ministry happens when you get your hands dirty and practically serve people where they live.

“This is a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it. But Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job.

Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done!” (Mark Stibbe and Darren Harvey-Regan, Basket of Gems, p. 29)

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13 NLT)

Thanks Barry, Daniel, Brock, and Jerry. These guys came to SERVE at the Valley Fellowship 2013 Egg Hunt. They were NOT alone because Valley Fellowship Church loves God and loves people. Praise the Lord for my church family! #ilovemychurch

March 25, 2013

How to Exercise Authority Without Being Authoritarian

Authority can be found but not the way most of the world goes after it. You don’t push others  down for the Lord to lift you up. Jesus Christ models servant leadership; He turns worldly power systems and values upside-down. Christ-followers are not to adopt the “king-of-the-mountain” mentality of worldly leadership.

You have witnessed a boss, a coach, a politician, a policeman, or a parent “throw their weight around” and  you understand the reality “when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads” (Mark 10:42 MSG). Perhaps, your heart cried out like the writer of Ecclesiastes 4:1 (NIRV), “I looked and saw how much people were suffering on this earth. I saw the tears of those who are suffering . . . Power is on the side of those who beat them down. Those who are suffering don’t have anyone to comfort them.”

But Christ’s call to leadership is counter-cultural. You ARE to be a leader – one who exercises authority without becoming authoritarian.

You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.  (Mark 10:42-45 NLT)

God’s Word warns, “Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds.” (Proverbs 28:16a MSG) God expects His delegated authority to be exercised with wisdom, not abuse. In 10 Choices: A Proven Plan to Change Your Life Forever, Chicago pastor James MacDonald offers tips for evaluating how we are handling the authority entrusted to us:

I know I’m abusing my authority when I keep reminding people of my title and my position.
I know I’m abusing my authority when I expect or demand privilege.
I know I’m abusing my authority when I become comfortable with personal praise.
I know I’m abusing my authority when I resent, react, or am threatened by challenges to my authority.
I know I’m abusing my authority when I’m unmoved by an individual. (p. 227-230)

Cherish the nature of the authority entrusted to you. As you esteem God’s leadership and respect your co-laborers in God’s House, a dimension of authority is entrusted to you. You must exercise this empowerment with Godly wisdom. With recognition of God’s call, you seriously and humbly undertake service with appreciation of Christ as the head of the body.

How do you exercise authority without becoming authoritarian?

#1  Serve – Don’t Decree.

You aren’t called to dominate and dictate.“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35 NIV)

Leadership is not getting above others in prestige and power.  It is servantship – getting down under the load of human need to bear it sacrificially and redemptively.  According to this standard, the measure of greatness is not prominence but humility, not excellence but faithfulness, not authority but obedience, not being served but service… leadership is servantship.  (Gaines S. Dobbins, Learning to Lead, 1968, p. 31)

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Don’t look down on others.“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12:3 NIV)

Even though we had some standing as Christ’s apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. (1 Thessalonians 2:6-7 MSG)

#3  Model – Don’t Dominate.

“Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.” (1 Peter 5:3 NLT) Great leadership is not lording-over or striving for superiority, for leadership involves sacrifice and service. Paul lived this, “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” (Philippians 3:17 NIV)

#4  Associate – Don’t Strut.

Don’t be stuck-up or toffee-nosed. “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:10 NLT) We are equal in Christ. One is not superior to another. Male, female, young, old, whatever race or background – we share communion and fellowship in ONE Body.

#5  Mutually Submit – Don’t Intimidate.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21 NIV) Coercive bullying is not a spiritual gift, even if at times it looks as if something is accomplished. Strong-arming does not pay heavenly dividends and intimidation will not yield lasting results.

Living under authority necessitates accountability to those who have placed you in your position – your leaders and your Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord! Respect the distinction between Lordship and leadership!

Are you leading and influencing others in a direction which furthers God’s Kingdom purposes?

February 27, 2013

You are saved by grace but you serve by choice.

I appreciate the staff at Valley Fellowship Church! Pastor Will Umbarger is an anointed minister and a great pastor for young adults at Valley Fellowship, but this afternoon, I caught Pastor Will installing a lock in a VFCA classroom. Why? He understands service!

Valley Fellowship Christian Academy Open House is Saturday afternoon, and Will is doing what was needed to have this classroom ready for guests. You are welcome to join us on Saturday, March 2, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Please, drop by! You can get more information at http://valleyfellowship.com/academy_home.php. The teachers and staff are BIG reasons why VFCA is the best school in Huntsville, Alabama (and beyond!). They understand that service is required of a servant of God.

Are you willing to do what’s necessary to serve in God’s kingdom?

If everyone in your local church was just like you, what kind of church would your church be?

All-out surrender is demanded of a servant. The “serve me” mentality of modern culture goes against what Jesus says in Mark 10:35-45. Jesus talks of being a servant. “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (v. 43 NIV); For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (v. 45 NIV).”

For the Greek the highest ideal was self-determination expressed in freedom. Thus the Greek looked upon the slave as an inferior kind of person. It would have been contradictory to the Greek ideal to speak of becoming a servant to another, even to God. Christianity stood this ideal upon its head. (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, Harper & Row, 1985)

Hebrew slaves were to be freed after a period of time, but someone who had been a slave, then set free, could by choice commit to serve the master for life. I think that is the imagery that Paul (Rom 1:1), James (James 1:1), Simon Peter (2 Peter 1:1), and Jude (Jude 1)  highlighted.

You are saved by grace but you serve by choice. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

You must choose to submit to God’s control. Are you ready to serve God by serving others?

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