n-courage.us

News Worth Reading

2011-06-27T10:03:29Z

Fame spreads far and wide for newsworthies. Check your splash screens on any browser conduit to Internet content. Facts, figures and images scroll by, but much of the so-called news of people lifts up some of the silliest trivia, whetting the appetites of sold out fanatics and casual fans alike. Entertainer gossip demands its time as does empty diatribe from posturing politicians.

Frankly, I want to do likewise, but with news that makes Him famous. Almost eleven hundred children attended Vacation Bible School at a local church last week. 145 of the squiggly youngsters grasped enough truth to stand and say, “I want Jesus, living in my heart and leading my life.”

One young mother, a preacher’s wife and mother of 6, logged into an online chat during a worship service streamed live over the Internet. The early morning dialog described her despondency from the incessant attacks targeting her pastor husband, his practical theology, and his ministry. Immediately, virile support lifted her to see how importantly the contrast stands to bring attention to our Lord. What great news! A warrior, with effective refreshment re-enters the battle to fight on.

The teaching discussion for the day centers on one promise that targets our hearts and minds with good news. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” You can experience joy!

The promise plainly states that no matter what the circumstances, you can rejoice. Joy, a seemingly elusive mindset, proves its availability anytime and anywhere. The God of the universe, creator and sustainer of all, has written the prescription for each person to apply liberally to life. “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9 NSAB)

You choose. Do you really care to know which Hollywood starlet will have the next famous illegitimate child? Would your soul like to bask in the beauty of God’s promise to rescue you from the darkness and turmoil of life we all experience?

News worth reading a second time says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, NASB)

And just why does God bless us? Psalm 67 tags it this way, “God blesses us,
That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.” What a headline for news you can use. Enjoy His fame! Enjoy!

Live in the Zone

2011-06-01T09:22:00Z

Each of us has a ZAP Zone. Resonance with nature, people, circumstances, God’s Word, and opportunities brought to us through the Holy Spirit gives us clues to the boundaries of what’s in the zone.

Stop. Look. Listen for what rings true down to your core. We’re not speaking here of the typical comfort zone where most of us try to live. Comfort has little to do with excelling in pursuits. Applied skills make it easier to achieve some results, traveling in the zone, but God’s gifts of insight, inspiration, and an "I’ve gotta’ get this done" motivation make good things happen.

So what are you doing on the periphery? You can sit back and wait for the obvious to come get you, and with God’s determination to thoroughly love each of us, that does happen. What about the other edge, being too busy? On the other end of the spectrum, we run so fast to perceived objectives that we outrun the Holy Spirit and wind up making it our way, which leads to more and different trouble.

Get in the zone, the ZAP Zone. Follow the Holy Spirit’s call in the recesses of your soul. Whatever it takes, He will provide. Wherever the call leads, He will direct by one step at a time.

You can’t live in someone else’s ZAP zone no matter how much it seems shared. No doubt, fellowship and fellow-traveling make the journey smoother, but our internal locus brings our determination to bear.

The Bible says, "Study to show thyself approved." We also say, study the Word to understand the Rhema of God, His personal direction to you. Understand your own ZAP Zone. Where do you fit and what becomes the THING worth doing?

We all have a place in Reaching Up, Reaching Out, and Reaching In. What are you drawn to? Which of those makes your heart sing? What evidence do you have from this week that you really are not sitting on the sidelines, but you’re really in the game? Comfort or no, what just feels right to you?

That’s where you begin to feel the boundaries of your ZAP Zone and sense the opportunities that God brings. Bible teacher and Evangelist Luis Palau says, "We need opportunities, not answers." In the ZAP Zone they are one and the same.

Are you open to it? Be ready. Get ZAPPED today.

Stamp Out Unbelief

2010-08-27T08:28:00Z

"Let not your hearts be troubled," Jesus’ prescription for your past, your present, and your future, gushes out of John 14 like water from an open hydrant. And again, near the end of this 14th chapter, He says "Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

We all have issues, some ongoing, and those that pop up to scream for attention in the everyday of life. Jesus offers answers to us just as He did for the Disciples in these passages. He calls us to trust, to have an active belief; to make the choice that belief in His promises makes a difference in our issues of life.

Read the entire context, John 13 through John 17. In this story, Jesus lays out His creed as guidance for His closest followers. This discourse happens over a relaxed dinner on the most important Jewish ceremonial day of the year, Passover. This sets the scene for His arrest later in the same evening. Read all of the chapter at your leisure. In particular, in John 14, look for the promises. 1) "I go to prepare a place for you. 2) He is the Way to get there. 3) He promises answers on the Way. 4) He gives us the Comforter 5) He leaves us with His peace.

You will find even more than that. You will discover a rich relationship with Jesus that will carry you to a breakthrough in the issues you are facing today. Remember, He went to prepare a place for you and he is preparing you for that place. Stamp out your unbelief and come into His peace.

Plan B for You and Me

2010-05-18T08:07:00Z

In a perfect world everything would be perfect, and it would stay that way. God made a Plan

A, but thank God, He also made a Plan B. God created the paradise we call the Garden of Eden

and He manned it with Adam, and then came Eve. You might think she was the best looking

creature in the Garden, but no, the comely attraction of the serpent outshone her.

Now, that sounds a bit weird, to describe a slithering snake as beautiful, but let’s look

closer. Serpent is the term used to describe “The Tempter” we know as Satan. To get a clear

picture of the fallen angel, read 2 Corinthians 11:14 where Paul writes, “And no wonder, for

even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

No wonder, the dude caught Eve’s attention and led us into the lesson to understand the

difference between temptation and sin. Satan says, “Think about it,” to cast doubt on the

reality of the righteousness of God. Cool - - - temptation is not the problem. The appeal of

the illicit is part of the battle between good and evil. Temptation comes to build our

character when we learn to say NO.

Eve stepped across the line and Adam stayed on the couch not saying a word. Both sinned.

Does that feel familiar?

We all need Plan B. God poured His grace through the shedding of blood to cover their faux

pas. The foreshadowing of the forgiveness that comes through the blood of Christ brought a

happy conclusion to the tragedy of the Fall of Man. Covered with the skins of animals, Adam

and Eve learned of forgiveness and how to be totally reliant on God. That’s what we call

redemption.

That’s a good plan. That’s God’s Plan B for you and me.

This Promise is for You

2009-09-15T08:55:00Z

The promise comes right out of ancient writings “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;” The words, spoken by Jesus, come to you and me now just as truly as they were spoken then to His close friends. Among other things, the words mean your life will never be the same again!

If you’re like me, that can be a good thing. I have seen, done, and said things, I would rather not have. Too late now. I did.

The good news is that I don’t have to experience any of that ever again. New life in Jesus Christ, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, frees me. That freedom comes in two directions. I’m freed from all those things that have been bugging me about me and life, and I am free to get on with it His way!

Saying yes to Jesus will take you to a place in life you’ve never been, a way of thinking that’s fresh and clean, and once you get there, you’ll never want to go back. That’s the real-life way of saying the same thing - - - “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” You won’t wonder what hit you, but you will wonder why it didn’t come before now. You may kick yourself for not paying attention and saying yes earlier.

You’ll feel feelings you never felt, or at least not in a long time. You’ll find real.

When you do, the excitement of it will come bubbling out of you. You’re going to love it! So, what does the promise mean for you? Focus on the promise Test God to see what He has for you. Now’s a good time to have that conversation with Him. Just be open to it. He’s listening for you right now. Here comes the promise. Are you ready?

Not Your Typical Ghost Story

2009-09-02T09:20:00Z

Jesus willingly walked to Jerusalem to face the Great Accuser in the form of governors of the known world and even elders within His own community of faith. Jesus expected betrayal, welcomed man’s judgment, and embraced death on a Roman cross, not a pretty picture.

The story gets better. Scriptural bread crumbs give us clues to what Jesus did for three days while His body lay in the tomb, but what counts is that after those three days, He took His body back. The resurrected Jesus met with His followers, over five thousand of them in the next forty days.

He gathered those closest to Him on a hillside outside Jerusalem, including the eleven disciples, His mother, and Mary. Jesus gave some instructions before he disappeared, ascending into the clouds, lifted up by an unseen hand.

He says, “- - - wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” (Acts 1:4b-5) By your invitation, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, comes to live in you and begins to influence your life from the inside out.

Don’t try to understand Christianity through the physiology and psychology of the human body and mind. Get to know God through the Holy Spirit, the power that radically transforms each believer, draws followers together, and forms the nucleus around which the church impacts the community.

If you have not felt the thrill of meeting Jesus for yourself, look at this, http://www.biltmorebaptist.org/about-bbc/about-bbc--knowing-christ/

How many times have you said, “Man, I wish my life could be different!” Here’s your ticket. For the first time, or once again, stop what you’re doing, allow God to fill your thoughts, and His Spirit will bring transformation that wells up from the inside of you. Count on it. It’s His promise.

He says, “but ye shall receive power at the coming of the Holy Spirit upon you,” In time, you will grow in your understanding. Right now, just turn loose. Let Him catch you. Your life will be different and others will notice. Can I get a witness?

We’d love to hear your story!

One Belief, One Body, One Church

2009-08-25T09:32:00Z

Occasionally a question falls into our conversation and rocks our small world. Take your friends down to the lake, sit around a bonfire on a pleasant summer evening, and see where the conversation goes as the flames fade to flickering embers. Someone will softly blast into your circle with a profound inquiry, the kind that perennially pops into mind for thinking people.

“Who am I - - - really?” Why am I here?” What’s my purpose?” “What is the real meaning of life?”

On the north side of the Sea of Galilee one evening about 2000 years ago a small band of followers, enjoying a campfire, heard Jesus ask, “Who do men say that I the Son of Man am?” Picture yourself there as a part of that conversation. What do you say? Who is this Jesus?

Man-on-the-street interviews commonly glean uncertain attitudes about Jesus, who He was historically, and the role He plays in life today. At the time, some compared Him to the great prophets, Elijah, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist. In a contemporary interview, we might hear the words, great teacher, prophet, or even kook. Sometime in life, each of us must answer the questions, who is Jesus and what does that mean to me?

On that Galilean evening long ago, one of His followers, a man named Simon, says, “You are the predicted one stepping out from our Jewish Prophecies to take your place as the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!” In essence, Jesus answers, “Simon, son of Jonah, you rock! You get it! I have come here to go to Jerusalem, entertain death on a Roman cross that makes me look like a martyr, but come out of it resurrected and alive, ready to live inside your life for eternity, so that you can be reconciled to the God of Creation.”

So, who is Jesus? As you answer that question, you either run from the transcendent truth that God exists and loves you just as you are, or you accept the mystery of faith in this One who died for you and embrace the personal love that God has for you.

Who Jesus is and what God did through Him transcend time and circumstances. Believers band together. The small, or large, groups of faith-filled followers are what we call the Church. Jesus says to the man He calls Peter, “Man has not revealed this truth to you, but God in heaven has given you the intuition and insight to know that this is real. This truth will form the foundation of the community of believers that will be called the Church and even death itself will not be able to hold it back in this world or the next.”

The church remains the unstoppable force in this world, the movement of God in individual’s lives and in the lives of all people. The church may be a small band of Believers, or it may be the collection of souls that make up the Church universal, those who follow after Jesus in all pursuits and all places in the world.

The church may be represented by one, or by many, who show their willingness to scale the heights of arrogance in human and humanistic leadership that sets ideas, men, and societies one against another. The Church is called to stand for God and His truth.

Strident voices say the church creates problems for our world today. In the halls of government labor many who believe in the perfectibility of man. They attempt to hammer a form of man-made equality and utopian compliance into constructs of governance, restricting the free will of individuals hot on the pursuit of happiness in life.

All the busy-ness of man cannot dissuade Believers from their calling, knowing Jesus and making Jesus known. We are the Church. Let’s be the Church. Who is Jesus to you?

Your Promised Land

2009-08-18T09:40:00Z

“You and I, we’re on this journey, see?” His no-smile stare shows his serious side. “We’re wandering in this wilderness between captivity and the Promised Land, just like the Children of Israel in the Bible. We find ourselves in our own Battle of Jericho, patiently following God, so He wins the battles for us.” A shoulder shrug suggests maybe that feels too easy or something.

“We win the victory. We take no prisoners, just like He says.” Suddenly, he turns and looks straight through me. “That’s when the temptations slam us!”

“There I was, feeling like the conqueror, tired, but happy. And then, I looked around at all the nice stuff I could have. I got me some spoils. I like my trinkets and goods and money and stuff.” He stops, leans against a handy tree, and starts to cry softly.

“I just didn’t listen when God said, ‘In this battle, take no spoils.’ I took ‘em anyway. I feel like dying!”

“It’s no fun to not please God. I feel like that guy Achan in the story in Joshua, except he faced his judgment right then and there.” We start to walk again. “Why is it so hard to just listen to God, and then do what he says? Why does it seem so easy to want to do it my way?”

He falls silent for a ways.

A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “God’s grace is all we have to fall back on, always. Jesus, dying for me means I don’t have to get burned out like Achan did. He didn’t make it to the Promised Land, but God says I will. It’s all because of Jesus!” He jumps a little jig in the air. “I can shake it off and just keep walkin’. Praise God!”

He chuckles. “Promised Land, here I come!”

Josh's MeetUp in Jericho

2009-08-11T09:14:00Z

Josh’s MeetUp in Jericho

You have a Promised Land in your life, a God-given purpose and a place to pursue His best. That’s a promise that comes with your creation by our all-powerful God. Wait! Don’t argue with me. Just think about the most sincere cry of your heart right now.

You see a better way to live. You feel a sense of hope that your troubles can be handled, if you only get some help. Can anyone or anything ever help?

There’s a Jericho between you and your Promised Land. God gives us a promise of a great life, but He also knows that life has its challenges. That’s why He wants us to put Him in charge, to let Him be our help in overcoming the obstacles that stand between us and being OK.
Joshua was the leader of a large group of people moving from Egypt to Israel about 3500 years ago (in round figures). Here’s the way we pick up the story line. “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.”
You can read the whole story anytime. The story holds fascinating parallels to the way you and I travel through life. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua;&version=9;

On the map, you cross the Jordan River to the Plains of Jericho. Outside the thick walls of the ancient riverside city, you camp out and wait for God’s direction. He doesn’t always do things the way we would, have you ever noticed? We get His direction because He speaks to us in the quietness of a moment. I guess that means that sometimes we have to calm down and pay attention to what He has for us.

He comes to us through the words of the Bible, through other caring people, and sometimes through a miracle that only He can do. So, when you have a Jericho standing between you and your Promised Land, do as Josh and the Children of Israel did.

First, stop and praise God. As we worship Him, we let Him and everybody else know that He is God and He’s in charge. Next, listen for His instruction. He will give you the inner knowledge and strength to take the next step. And, finally, as you begin to take the next step, watch what He does to bring all the details together to help you overcome your obstacle. You will see the victory.

Read through the story. It’s an example of the way life is and the way He wants to lead us to our breakthroughs. You have hope ahead. You will see your own Promised Land. You will win this battle.

Once you get beyond this hump in life, share the way God worked it out for you with others. We promise, you will have your own story to tell. You’ll see. And then, we can brag on God together.

I can’t wait to hear your story. Will you share it with me?

Say, "Hello!"

2009-07-20T09:37:00Z

"Hello?"

Moses, wandering the back side of the mountain, keeping his father-in-law's sheep, answered when God called.

"Hello. Who's there?"

The answer came back, "I AM."

"Really?"

"Yes, and I have something for you to do."

"Really?"

"Yes, Go set my people free."

Amazingly, God is still making calls with that message. This time, the call is coming to you and me. Many struggle with the WHY of life. Stop wrestling with the details and get on top of your purpose here. Just know that God calls with the same message for you and me, "Set my people free."

You and I echo Moses. "I can't do that. I'm so inadequate. I've got my own problems. I can't help someone else."

In essence, God answers, "Don't worry. I've got your back. Let's get started, and I will lead you every step of the way."

Be N-couraged. When God calls, he initiates a covenant relationship, a contract that cannot be broken. He can't break the covenant and neither can you. He sets the conditions of the relationship and demands a response.

Be hungry for His way. Say, "Yes."

Say with the Psalmist, "As the deer pants for water, may my soul thirst for God!" The promise comes, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

Now, there's something worthwhile. Fulfillment. What a feeling, when we sense everything is going to be OK.

Be focused. Answer when He calls.

Oh, listen. He's calling now. Just say, "Hello!"

Where Credit is Due

2009-07-14T09:19:00Z

Honor Ed Freeman.

You’re a 19 year old kid. You’re critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray , Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 to 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You’re lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you’re not getting out. Your family is half way around the world - 12,000 miles away, and you’ll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He’s not Medi-Vac, so it’s not his job, but he’s flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He’s coming anyway.

And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the doctors and nurses.

And, he kept coming back,13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.

Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at the age of 80, in Boise, ID?

THANKS AGAIN ED FOR WHAT YOU DID FOR OUR COUNTRY.

R.I.P.

This tribute wandered into my In Box. It's a keeper. Maybe it will be for you as well. Pass it along.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Freeman

Yep, It's Worth It!

2009-06-04T09:14:00Z

Your habits have you where they want you!

You have your habits. I have mine. How is it working for you? On a scale of 1 to 10, how fulfilling would you say your life is?

Every morning, I take the same 22 steps from the bedroom to the kitchen for the overnight-fast-breaking drink of refreshing water. I don’t think about it. I just do it.

Unfortunately, all too often, we treat the people around us the same way. Perfunctory hugs and kisses punctuate the routine for even those we are closest to. Is it just habit?

Live life for fulfillment. Shift the paradigm. Let’s become proactive in the habit life. Decide what you will do and how you will do it.

Let me make friends with my dental hygienist to use an analogy. Do you hurriedly brush your teeth, or do you treat each tooth as an important individual member of your mouth? Do you take the time to lovingly caress each tooth and the gum tissue around it with floss and brush, treating each one as special? Do you show each tooth you love it, or are you just flying through another habit?

The people around you deserve something better than your minimal habit. Smile like you mean it! Hug like you want to hang on! Put passion where it belongs, between you and the people around you. If you’re not a people person, so much the better. Make it a point to love them all, one at a time. Make a new habit!

The Psalmist says we’re the same with God. His work is the talk of the town, and well it should be. Say thanks! Praise God for who He is and enjoy what He does. Live that new habit and watch your life change. Feel the exhilaration of seeing your fulfillment move up the scale.

Turn your life upside down. Instead of your habits having you under control, make your habits what you want them to be. Yes, you can!

“Everyone sees it. God's work is the talk of the town. Be glad. Fly to God! Good-hearted people, make praise your habit.” Ps 64:10 (The Message)“Everyone sees it. God's work is the talk of the town. Be glad. Fly to God! Good-hearted people, make praise your habit.” Ps 64:10 (The Message)

Jesus says, “Bring it on!”

2009-05-27T10:35:00Z

Jesus says, “Bring it on!”

The interplay of politics and public opinion form the foundation of man’s power to act on society. It all pales in comparison to God’s plan for man. Jesus shows that in the way He lived—and died. Jesus proves that consensus in the midst of confusion results in more confusion. He came to clarify for all men of all times the plan and purpose of God.

The confrontation between evil and love made politicians the pawns in the play. They brought Jesus through the court of public opinion under the government of Rome, which served His purpose in walking willingly to Jerusalem to complete the plan for His life.

On that day in Jerusalem, the supernatural showed itself in the natural world. Jesus stood convicted and withstood the sentence of torture by His will. He gathered to Himself all the sin of all times and carried it to the cross. Darkness descended in the middle of that day. The power play showed one single, solitary suffering servant standing up against evil by taking it all on, willing Himself to give up His spirit to overcome it.

Like it or not, He put the priests in the unemployment line at 3:00 o’clock that afternoon. The light came back on, revealing the purpose of God and preparing the final step in the plan to set men free. Three days later, Jesus got up and out of the grave to be the Gospel of Good news to all mankind.

To put it into today’s terms, no matter what you think you’re going through right now, take all the physical pain, the emotional hurt, the spiritual confusion, the social separation, the politics, and every opinion to lay down in your prayer. Jesus has the power, the plan, and the purpose to tell you like it is. “Been there. Done that, and you can wear the T-shirt, because I’ve got your back! UR BFF.”

Failure Has a Future

2009-05-19T09:41:00Z

“You will fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.’” He quoted a passage from Zechariah as he prepared the disciples for the disappointment they would experience going through the events of His arrest and trial. As you might expect brash young Peter says, “No way, Jose.” He even insisted emphatically in Mark 14:32, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”

Most of us have a similar confidence. We hear of someone else’s failure and say, “How on earth could someone do that?” or, “You’d never catch me doing so-and-so!” Wrong!

We all fail to live up to our own standards. How we handle our denials and shortcomings can easily reflect Peter’s adventure. He said he wouldn’t deny knowing Jesus, but he did. But then, he felt horrible when he realized what he had done. Sound familiar?

This story brings hope to all of us who don’t quite get it right the first time. Recognize the problem, repent, and accept the reconciliation that Jesus offers. Now’s a good time. Turn loose of those areas in your life where you haven’t been obedient.

Here’s your real challenge. Take what you know about forgiveness and reconciliation and share it with your family, friends, and neighbors. Talk about sharing the gospel - - - wow - - - what a way to go. When you relate your excitement about what it’s like to be released from guilt and condemnation, they’re going to want some of that for themselves. That puts you in the perfect position to clue them in. After that, watch the Holy Spirit do His work.

It’s amazing, but just as Peter came back stronger from his failure, you will bounce back too. Expect God to use your stories to encourage you and others. Embrace your failures and see what happens.

Sighs Matter

2009-04-06T09:42:00Z

Sighs Matter

We find a curious use of a form of the word sigh appearing two times in the Gospel of Mark. "Jesus sighed." Let that thought catch hold for a moment. What’s a sigh? Is that a sign of contentment? Relinquishment? Resignation?

In one instance, Jesus pauses in the process of providing a healing touch in the life of the stuttering mute, a story related in the seventh chapter of the book. "and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh," leads off the 34th verse. In Mark 8:12 we read, "and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh," which is a description of Jesus’ response to criticism of a few Pharisees.

On the surface, I always thought in the first instance, the sigh came as a sort of resignation that seems to say, "Here’s one more that needs to be healed." And, in the second instance, my quick-read interpretation left me with a picture of Jesus’ disgust with the legalists who just didn’t get it.

Wrong! Looking closer at the text, and checking the word picture of the original Greek, the sighs give a different insight into the heart of Jesus. In each case the root word is stenazo, meaning to murmur or pray inaudibly. Re-thinking these two passages with that thought in mind, we see a clearer picture of our Lord’s compassion.

Before the healing, Jesus sighs. Before leaving the Pharisees, Jesus sighs. The extended meaning in the Greek shows Him praying briefly in His spirit with grief, a groan, or a grudge, according to the interpretation. That pause for prayer shows us that sighs matter.

His prayer comes before the healing. Use the description as a model. Jesus leads us to pray a deep sigh for each person, situation, or circumstance on our prayer list. The spiritual connection of the prayer unleashes God’s power!

All too often we’re quick to offer advice and ideas to those who have problems or questions without first taking that brief prayer pause, the deep sigh toward heaven. We are eager to respond on the fly, sometimes flippantly, with whatever thought or emotional response comes to mind. Do your friends a favor. Pause and pray that quick prayer. Remember, sighs matter.

Saddle Up! Let's Go!

2009-03-24T09:37:00Z

"Saddle up your horses,

We’ve got a trail to blaze

Through the wild, blue yonder

Of God’s amazing grace.

Let’s follow our Leader

Into the great unknown" --- the Steven Curtis Chapman song comes to mind with our reading of the Gospel of Mark.

By recounting his eyewitness account of what life was like for the band of disciples following Jesus, John Mark powerfully depicts three stages that we as leaders would do well to follow. In the context of being a Christian, you are a leader. You set the example for those around you. You become the true servant, and there is no finer leadership.

Take a look at Mark 3 through 6. First, notice the picture that Mark paints, just as Jesus did with His parables. Story-telling makes ideas stick. Whether you grasp the full meaning or not, it’s easy to remember the Parable of the Sower and the Light under the Bushel Basket. So we have the PICTURE.

Next comes the PROTOTYPE. Jesus proves the Kingdom of God through teaching, healing, and even forgiving. Deliverance from demons, portrayed graphically, tops the list of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus’ ministry. He came to set the captives free!

Jesus points you in the direction to love your neighbors. He sends you out, just as He did the disciples. Two by two, He sent them out to PRACTICE what they were preaching.

Jesus-style leadership makes a huge impact on you and those around you. First, cast the vision, paint the picture, let them see what life can, and even should, look like. Next, live the example by the power of God in you. Finally, encourage them to take up the habits and practice the lifestyle of full deliverance.

Turn loose and embrace it. Turn away from the boring, mundane life and just do those things that Jesus did in the sphere of influence where you are right now. You’ll see glimpses of the Kingdom, experience God’s greatness, and live in His amazing grace. What an amazing adventure!

What is Normal Anyway?

2009-03-17T08:47:00Z

Jesus turns life upside down or inside out. As you read through the Gospel of Mark, you see Jesus walking into people’s circumstances, showing God’s perspective, and making miraculous transformations in their lives. He still does!

Read through the parable again in the fourth chapter of Mark. Personalize it and become the Believer that He wants you to be.

Let His Word turn you inside out too.

"Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Mark 4: 4 - 9

So, Jesus used stories, parables, to show us what the Kingdom of God is like and to invite us into that perspective. He "sowed the Word" in ways that we can understand if "we have ears to hear."

He compares the Kingdom to sowing seeds. Let the Gospel seeds put roots down deeply in your life. Nurture the Word in your life and let God grow good things. That’s when you will see your miracles happen.

Be open to what Jesus has for you, even if it does turn you inside out or upside down. He loves you. It’s worth it. It’s what brings us closer to Him. That should be how we measure what is normal.

Thank God for the difference Jesus makes in life. See it in action. The Gospel of Mark in the Bible is the book of action. It’s better than any novel, because it’s real.

See Mark’s word pictures of pure POWER unleashed in the neighborhoods of the Middle East. Over the next three chapters we study through, four through six, Jesus is the dynamo, whipping through the populace to deliver healing and forgiveness to the multitudes. Wow! Drink it in for the inspiration of it.

Think UP!

Hang On. You'll Make It.

2008-12-02T10:21:00Z

Twenty-five years of coaching set the practice routine that laid the foundation for the unprecedented ten championships in twelve years that the UCLA basketball team achieved. The practice routine, the underlying habits and attitudes, the decision to live by a philosophy—that’s where you and I are today. What routine shall we follow? Some people call this discipline. And, indeed, some days it’s the simple perseverance that carries us through what we’re going through. Sticking to what we believe regardless of the evidence around us is what we call faith.

You gotta’ believe! Under Coach John Wooden those basketball teams stuck to a view of what real success brings. He says it this way in the forward to Brian Biro’s book, Beyond Success, “We held firm to the belief that success is not determined by the scoreboard, or even by the won/lost record. Instead we saw success as an internal feeling resulting from the self-satisfaction of knowing we had given our best to become the best of which we were capable.”

Think about that for today. The twenty-five years prior to the string of championships gave Coach Wooden and his players the practice to develop the winning habit. Your challenge, regardless of the tasks you face, or even the lack of things to do during your current dry, desert wanderings, is really you. Commit to doing the best you can at what faces you today. You will stumble at times. You may fall. But, if you do your best, as a habit, you will find success. It will feel like peace of mind.

The Next Generation Has a Hunger

2008-08-08T09:19:00Z

This Link wandered onto my screen and got my attention. Why would anyone in any conversation, especially in the context of ministry not come across as real? Are we so enamored with the unreal and phony parts of life that our conversations resonate with the mixed up world?

See what Maragret has to say.

http://legacy.pastors.com/RWMT/default.asp?id=357&artid=11315&expand=1

How's it going? What are your latest thoughts about the people you are reaching? Does Margaret's short article on the Five Best Practices of Reaching the Next Generation ring a bell with you? What do you think? Are you real?

Who Do You Think I Am?

2008-04-03T09:29:00Z

Opinions tickle the ears of man incessantly. Some take life in our imagination and work
their way into our core beliefs. We then live what we believe.

We take our identity from the opinions of those around us. We live for what a parent
might think, or what they might have thought, if they were still among the living. We
bend our will to the pleasant feedback from others, signifying that we’re okay. But, we
know the truth of our flaws, imagined or real. In the shadows of night, we confess the
fears that it just isn’t enough. It’s never enough. We can’t measure up to the expectations
we have for ourselves. We know that life is not what it was meant to be.

Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” John Lennon said, “I love, and that makes life
real.” Many others have offered a handy philosophy.

In this cauldron of confusion we call life, order comes from chaos when we find a
platform of reality to stand on. The quest, usually subconscious in its process, can take us
into dark valleys and up to fleeting moments of grandeur. Relief comes only when we
grasp what God says about God.

Some innate sense of destiny draws us ever onward in search of truth, the solid
foundation. When we seek truth, it is not elusive. Truth wants to be found, and we want
to find it. The resonance that sounds in the soul sings of a savior. We need that.

When Jesus Christ walked the earth, he asked His friends what they thought about Him.
One answer stands out. “You are the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, come to save the
world from its sin!” In paraphrase, Jesus said, “You couldn’t know that unless my father
in heaven revealed it to you.

Hope, like the beacon in the storm, shines through to any sincere seeker. ‘In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in
the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing
was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light
shines in the darkness…”

These words, written by a man named John, stand as a witness to what he saw when he
spent time with Jesus. Here’s the exciting thing. When you spend time with Jesus, you
will find your own witness to the Truth, your own light in the darkness, your own answer
to what life is all about.

That’s a promise. It’s a challenge worth taking. Start with the words above, and then
continue. The words come from the Gospel of John, the fourth book of the New
Testament, the Bible.

Just click to http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201%20;&version=9;

Let us know how it goes. We’ll be eager to hear about what you find.