In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they are nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.” “What channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?”
A church body that is organized is not as administratively powerful as a church as a people powerful church. The administration of a church body is always done through the love for the people.
"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
As we grow as a church and desire to remain administratively strong it is so important to remember that church is about people. People are to used as a means to an end, they are the end (in Christ). Jesus said that He came to save the lost.
Our hearts must be open to work with people that are not always thinking like we are in every situation. We must learn to love and place people in the body of Christ where the greatest use of their passion we be required. Where they will come to their full potential in Christ.
I thank the Lord for His church as it grows in number and depth. Royal Heights is a great church because it is filled up with a diversity of people who desire to live their lives before the King.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
But I HATE him/her!
Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
The Lord teaches us to not be like those who have no God; who have no Father in heaven. We are to be different from the world in our heart and behaviours of others. This can be a real test of our trust in Christ. Are we willing to come to understand what He was teaching His disciples in this few verses?
What makes it "okay" for us to begin to hate another person? What happens to our thinking?
We normally first get some reasons for our hate:
1. I have a right to hate, I was wronged.
2. The offense was too great.
3. They are not truly sorry.
4. They'll do it again.
5. They did it again.
6. I'll be a hypocrite if I forgive, because I don't feel like forgiving.
7. I'll forgive, but I won't ever forget.
What are the results of this hate build up?
1. Stress
2. Self-inflicted re injuring
3. No more sense of love
4. Bitterness
5. Walls that keep others out
Eph 4:32 "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you."
Our do you experience the act of Forgiveness?
You MUST choose...
Choosing to forgive another by remembering the complete forgiveness you have in Christ. By first looking at your own life and the ways YOU DISOBEY God and how you experienced His forgiveness. Wat areas have we sinned against our Lord?
To experience the forgiveness of others I must...
1. Remember the cross
2. Choose to forgive them
Many people refuse this SIMPLE way to come back into balance with others and the Lord. Pride, self-righteousness, blindness and fear keep us from experiencing this divine gift of forgiveness. We do not have to extract every once of justice from every wrong inflicted. God will make it right one day.
Trust Him!
The Lord teaches us to not be like those who have no God; who have no Father in heaven. We are to be different from the world in our heart and behaviours of others. This can be a real test of our trust in Christ. Are we willing to come to understand what He was teaching His disciples in this few verses?
What makes it "okay" for us to begin to hate another person? What happens to our thinking?
We normally first get some reasons for our hate:
1. I have a right to hate, I was wronged.
2. The offense was too great.
3. They are not truly sorry.
4. They'll do it again.
5. They did it again.
6. I'll be a hypocrite if I forgive, because I don't feel like forgiving.
7. I'll forgive, but I won't ever forget.
What are the results of this hate build up?
1. Stress
2. Self-inflicted re injuring
3. No more sense of love
4. Bitterness
5. Walls that keep others out
Eph 4:32 "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you."
Our do you experience the act of Forgiveness?
You MUST choose...
Choosing to forgive another by remembering the complete forgiveness you have in Christ. By first looking at your own life and the ways YOU DISOBEY God and how you experienced His forgiveness. Wat areas have we sinned against our Lord?
To experience the forgiveness of others I must...
1. Remember the cross
2. Choose to forgive them
Many people refuse this SIMPLE way to come back into balance with others and the Lord. Pride, self-righteousness, blindness and fear keep us from experiencing this divine gift of forgiveness. We do not have to extract every once of justice from every wrong inflicted. God will make it right one day.
Trust Him!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
How Do You Know You've Been Born Again?
You must have a heart-felt response to God.
This response includes repentance for sin (Mk 1:15; Acts 26:20)
Trust that Christ died for you and your sins (Heb 10:10; Rom 3:24 - 26)
A desire for Christ to come into your heart - become Lord of your life. (John 1:12; Rom 10:9)
You may not understand all doctrine but by the Holy Spirit you know that you have encountered the holy and living God and you need a proper relationship with Him.
Now new birth is relational in nature - involving two people beginning a new relationship.
It is not just God's action or yours alone. John 1:12 - 13
Holy Spirit will say to you that you are truly God's child - Rom 8:9, 14 - 16
Regeneration (Born again; new birth, Accepting Christ) does not change your "flesh" - body & soul
Your "flesh" will still look for fulfillment outside of Christ.
You will love the Lord, your King and Saviour.
This response includes repentance for sin (Mk 1:15; Acts 26:20)
Trust that Christ died for you and your sins (Heb 10:10; Rom 3:24 - 26)
A desire for Christ to come into your heart - become Lord of your life. (John 1:12; Rom 10:9)
You may not understand all doctrine but by the Holy Spirit you know that you have encountered the holy and living God and you need a proper relationship with Him.
Now new birth is relational in nature - involving two people beginning a new relationship.
It is not just God's action or yours alone. John 1:12 - 13
Holy Spirit will say to you that you are truly God's child - Rom 8:9, 14 - 16
Regeneration (Born again; new birth, Accepting Christ) does not change your "flesh" - body & soul
Your "flesh" will still look for fulfillment outside of Christ.
You will love the Lord, your King and Saviour.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A Depressed Prophet
1 Kings 19:1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
Elijah’s mind was focused on Jezebel instead of the LORD. He was overwhelmed with her threat. "He was afraid and arose and ran for his life" (v. 3). It is ironic but Elijah had just killed all the false prophets of Baal to whom Jezebel swears. She swears to do to Elijah what he has done to them! They are no more. They are powerless. They don’t exist. Instead of trusting in God as he had done in the past years, he ran for his life. He left God out of the picture. He wasn’t thinking rationally.
A depressed person will have some of the following characteristics. These have been adapted from a number of professional sources including Norman Wright, Gary Collins, Larry Crabb, Aaron Beck, Frank Minirth, Paul Meyer and others.
· A depressed person has feelings of hopelessness, despair, sadness and apathy. It is a feeling of overall gloom. A paralysis of the will sets in, and there is a movement toward personal deadness.
· The depressed person loses perspective on life, work, family and friends.
· The depressed person experiences changes in physical activities––appetite, sleeping and sex. The lessening of sexual interest should always raise the question of depression. Some lose interest in food while others attempt to set a world eating record. Some sleep constantly; others cannot get to sleep easily, or wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep.
· The depressive has a general loss of self-esteem. He feels less and less positive about himself and questions his own personal worth. His self–confidence is very low.
· There is a withdrawal from others because of a groundless fear of being rejected. The depressed person’s withdrawal brings on some rejection by others. They cancel favorite activities, fail to return phone calls, and seek ways to avoid talking with or seeing other people.
· The depressed person seeks to escape from problems and even from life itself. Thoughts of leaving home, running away or avoidance of others is common. They feel life is hopeless and worthless. Therefore, suicidal thoughts are common.
· The depressed person is overly sensitive to what others say and do. He may misinterpret actions and comments in a negative way and become upset because of those mistaken perceptions. The person cries often and is sad.
· The depressed person has difficulty handling his feelings, especially anger. Anger is particularly difficult since it can be misdirected toward self and others. A sense of worthlessness and lack of knowing how to deal with a situation produces anger at oneself. This can be directed outward at others.
· There is usually an underlying feeling of guilt that may be real or imagined. Frequently he feels overly responsible for other people’s feelings.
· Often depression leads to a dependency state upon other people. This further reinforces a feeling of helplessness. The depressed person then becomes angry at his own helplessness.
Depression is real but it can be overcome. Read the rest of 1 Kings 19 and see how the Lord encourages His depressed prophet.
Elijah’s mind was focused on Jezebel instead of the LORD. He was overwhelmed with her threat. "He was afraid and arose and ran for his life" (v. 3). It is ironic but Elijah had just killed all the false prophets of Baal to whom Jezebel swears. She swears to do to Elijah what he has done to them! They are no more. They are powerless. They don’t exist. Instead of trusting in God as he had done in the past years, he ran for his life. He left God out of the picture. He wasn’t thinking rationally.
A depressed person will have some of the following characteristics. These have been adapted from a number of professional sources including Norman Wright, Gary Collins, Larry Crabb, Aaron Beck, Frank Minirth, Paul Meyer and others.
· A depressed person has feelings of hopelessness, despair, sadness and apathy. It is a feeling of overall gloom. A paralysis of the will sets in, and there is a movement toward personal deadness.
· The depressed person loses perspective on life, work, family and friends.
· The depressed person experiences changes in physical activities––appetite, sleeping and sex. The lessening of sexual interest should always raise the question of depression. Some lose interest in food while others attempt to set a world eating record. Some sleep constantly; others cannot get to sleep easily, or wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep.
· The depressive has a general loss of self-esteem. He feels less and less positive about himself and questions his own personal worth. His self–confidence is very low.
· There is a withdrawal from others because of a groundless fear of being rejected. The depressed person’s withdrawal brings on some rejection by others. They cancel favorite activities, fail to return phone calls, and seek ways to avoid talking with or seeing other people.
· The depressed person seeks to escape from problems and even from life itself. Thoughts of leaving home, running away or avoidance of others is common. They feel life is hopeless and worthless. Therefore, suicidal thoughts are common.
· The depressed person is overly sensitive to what others say and do. He may misinterpret actions and comments in a negative way and become upset because of those mistaken perceptions. The person cries often and is sad.
· The depressed person has difficulty handling his feelings, especially anger. Anger is particularly difficult since it can be misdirected toward self and others. A sense of worthlessness and lack of knowing how to deal with a situation produces anger at oneself. This can be directed outward at others.
· There is usually an underlying feeling of guilt that may be real or imagined. Frequently he feels overly responsible for other people’s feelings.
· Often depression leads to a dependency state upon other people. This further reinforces a feeling of helplessness. The depressed person then becomes angry at his own helplessness.
Depression is real but it can be overcome. Read the rest of 1 Kings 19 and see how the Lord encourages His depressed prophet.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Practical Love - Real Love
Love is a strange concept to figure out. How does a person live out the reality of unconditional love?
God is Love! Since we believe this statement to be true than it stands to reason that we MUST be connected to this Being of Love. Your expression of unconditional love will be in direct proportion to your relationship with the Lord. This is NOT just talk this is critical.
When we, as believers, put ourselves in the Love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 we can see the power that love brings to the lives we live. The power of real love!
This is the Apostle Paul's description of love.
Use your own name in the blanks:
"________ is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. _______ does not demand... (his/her) own way. _______ is not irritable or touchy.
_______ does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do... (him/her) wrong. _______ is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out."
Now rewrite the rest of the passage, using your mate's name in the blanks:
"If you love _________ you will be loyal to him (or her) no matter what the cost. You will always believe in ________, always expect the best of ____________, and always stand your ground in defending ____________."
(1 Corinthians 13:4 - 7)
God is Love! Since we believe this statement to be true than it stands to reason that we MUST be connected to this Being of Love. Your expression of unconditional love will be in direct proportion to your relationship with the Lord. This is NOT just talk this is critical.
When we, as believers, put ourselves in the Love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 we can see the power that love brings to the lives we live. The power of real love!
This is the Apostle Paul's description of love.
Use your own name in the blanks:
"________ is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. _______ does not demand... (his/her) own way. _______ is not irritable or touchy.
_______ does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do... (him/her) wrong. _______ is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out."
Now rewrite the rest of the passage, using your mate's name in the blanks:
"If you love _________ you will be loyal to him (or her) no matter what the cost. You will always believe in ________, always expect the best of ____________, and always stand your ground in defending ____________."
(1 Corinthians 13:4 - 7)
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Lessons on Integrity
What does it take to be a person of integrity?
Integrity:
1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.
3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.
What does a Christian person with integrity look like:
Be a person of prayer.
Keep your word and tell the truth
Put your family before your work.
Learn to love others, even when they seem unlovable.
If you must offer a critical comment to someone, do so alone.
Do not put yourself in places of temptation.
Be willing to admit your mistakes.
These 7 things by Dr. Draper are a good understanding of integrity. Love is the key. For if we give our body to be burned and have not love it profits us nothing.
May we be people of integrity.
Integrity:
1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.
3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.
What does a Christian person with integrity look like:
Be a person of prayer.
Keep your word and tell the truth
Put your family before your work.
Learn to love others, even when they seem unlovable.
If you must offer a critical comment to someone, do so alone.
Do not put yourself in places of temptation.
Be willing to admit your mistakes.
These 7 things by Dr. Draper are a good understanding of integrity. Love is the key. For if we give our body to be burned and have not love it profits us nothing.
May we be people of integrity.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Twelve Step Church
Thomas F. Fischer writes some great insightful articles. Here's one of the Twelve Step church.
This "Twelve Step" program will almost certainly guarantee that you will be pastoring a declining ministry in only a few short years...or sooner (that is, if you or the church lasts that long!)
The Twelve Steps
1. Blame someone else for your problems...and expect others to take care of them for you. After all, they are supposed to bear my burden, aren’t they? Besides, how is this church ever to get anywhere as long as this church has any problems? We’ll just have to wait until the problems are all taken care of. Then we can start to move ahead.
2. Be a victim, act like a victim, lead like a victim, and respond like a victim. After all, doesn’t God help victims? Just sit and wait for God. Someday He’ll fix your problem for you and make it all better. Then you can have a happy ministry.
3. Resist change regularly, religiously, and righteously. Avoid seeking new challenges and pursuing new initiatives. Divert initiatives which might prove uncomfortable, refreshingly different, or those things which "just won’t work here." Be sure to structure a "sound" Biblical argument for your "pious" position. After all, you are the pastor. Isn’t that your job?
4. Keep on doing more of the same. As they always say, "The old way always works better if you work harder." And didn’t God, the Bible or some religious person say, "God helps those who help themselves?" If you’re really dedicated, you’ll work really hard...for Jesus of course. Now get to work...harder!
5. Make your organization as peaceful as you possibly can. Make for a peaceful today even if you have to mortgage the organization’s future. After all, if we can make today peaceful, we can certainly make our future peaceful too, can’t we?
6. Control everything you possibly can. Intervene whenever possible. After all, everyone loves a "hero"...especially religious ones. Grab for control at every opportunity. It is for their own good, right? If necessary, go down fighting for this control if you need it. Isn’t that what "faithfulness" is all about?
7. Hang on to the expendable, the inefficient, the unimportant, the habitual, the comfortable, and the familiar. After all, God loves the simple things, doesn’t He?
8. Pull back, take your time, minimize the risk, delay every decision possible and, above all, play it safe. After all, there’s really no need to have members involved in visionary discussions which will only require pain, sacrifice, and growth to implement...is there? Besides, God wants His money used for more important things.
9. Fight as many battles as you can, defend the undependable, and take your eye off that which is important and essential for "winning the war." After all, who has time to look at the big picture when they’re so pre-occupied with hustles and bustle of the the day-to-day and moment-by-moment tasks of ministry?
10. Attend to your own, your members’, your leaders’, your staff’s, and your church’s survival needs. After you have completely taken care of all their needs, then devote all of whatever energy remains for the unchurched. After all, the unchurched probably don’t really care anyway. If they did, they’d be in your church, right?
11. Motivate others by guilt, manipulation, fear and other mind-games as much as possible. Watch over their every move. Intervene to "fix" what they did wrong every single time they fail. After all, it is their church. You wouldn’t want them to be making mistakes now, would you? And, if it isn’t just so, can you imagine how many people would be upset? We can’t have that! After all, this is a church. It’s God’s house!
12. Take God off the "shelf" only when you want to bring Him to worship or when you need Him to get you out of trouble. After all, what more could He be doing in the church that you aren’t already doing? Besides, if He gets the idea to do something miraculous and exciting, can you imagine how it would hurt this church? Do you know how many people would get upset? It would simply be downright ungodly, now, wouldn’t it?
This "Twelve Step" program will almost certainly guarantee that you will be pastoring a declining ministry in only a few short years...or sooner (that is, if you or the church lasts that long!)
The Twelve Steps
1. Blame someone else for your problems...and expect others to take care of them for you. After all, they are supposed to bear my burden, aren’t they? Besides, how is this church ever to get anywhere as long as this church has any problems? We’ll just have to wait until the problems are all taken care of. Then we can start to move ahead.
2. Be a victim, act like a victim, lead like a victim, and respond like a victim. After all, doesn’t God help victims? Just sit and wait for God. Someday He’ll fix your problem for you and make it all better. Then you can have a happy ministry.
3. Resist change regularly, religiously, and righteously. Avoid seeking new challenges and pursuing new initiatives. Divert initiatives which might prove uncomfortable, refreshingly different, or those things which "just won’t work here." Be sure to structure a "sound" Biblical argument for your "pious" position. After all, you are the pastor. Isn’t that your job?
4. Keep on doing more of the same. As they always say, "The old way always works better if you work harder." And didn’t God, the Bible or some religious person say, "God helps those who help themselves?" If you’re really dedicated, you’ll work really hard...for Jesus of course. Now get to work...harder!
5. Make your organization as peaceful as you possibly can. Make for a peaceful today even if you have to mortgage the organization’s future. After all, if we can make today peaceful, we can certainly make our future peaceful too, can’t we?
6. Control everything you possibly can. Intervene whenever possible. After all, everyone loves a "hero"...especially religious ones. Grab for control at every opportunity. It is for their own good, right? If necessary, go down fighting for this control if you need it. Isn’t that what "faithfulness" is all about?
7. Hang on to the expendable, the inefficient, the unimportant, the habitual, the comfortable, and the familiar. After all, God loves the simple things, doesn’t He?
8. Pull back, take your time, minimize the risk, delay every decision possible and, above all, play it safe. After all, there’s really no need to have members involved in visionary discussions which will only require pain, sacrifice, and growth to implement...is there? Besides, God wants His money used for more important things.
9. Fight as many battles as you can, defend the undependable, and take your eye off that which is important and essential for "winning the war." After all, who has time to look at the big picture when they’re so pre-occupied with hustles and bustle of the the day-to-day and moment-by-moment tasks of ministry?
10. Attend to your own, your members’, your leaders’, your staff’s, and your church’s survival needs. After you have completely taken care of all their needs, then devote all of whatever energy remains for the unchurched. After all, the unchurched probably don’t really care anyway. If they did, they’d be in your church, right?
11. Motivate others by guilt, manipulation, fear and other mind-games as much as possible. Watch over their every move. Intervene to "fix" what they did wrong every single time they fail. After all, it is their church. You wouldn’t want them to be making mistakes now, would you? And, if it isn’t just so, can you imagine how many people would be upset? We can’t have that! After all, this is a church. It’s God’s house!
12. Take God off the "shelf" only when you want to bring Him to worship or when you need Him to get you out of trouble. After all, what more could He be doing in the church that you aren’t already doing? Besides, if He gets the idea to do something miraculous and exciting, can you imagine how it would hurt this church? Do you know how many people would get upset? It would simply be downright ungodly, now, wouldn’t it?
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Law of the Garbage Truck
My friend Sheila, sent me these words of wisdom...
'The Law of the Garbage Truck'
How often do you let other people change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back onyour heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly she/he can get back her/his focus on what's important.
Five years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a taxi cab in Indianapolis. Here's what happened:
I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head
around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so . . . Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.
How often do you let other people change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back onyour heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly she/he can get back her/his focus on what's important.
Five years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a taxi cab in Indianapolis. Here's what happened:
I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head
around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so . . . Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.
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