Not Mine, But Yours

Advertising slogans and motivational speakers we've heard over the past few years have bombarded us with ideas like: "Have it your way", "You deserve it", "If it is to be, it is up to me", "Take the bull by the horns", "You can do it", and so on. Notice a theme here? The message is: It's all about me! Yet probably the biggest key to spiritual growth, which is essential if we are to be men of God, is the notion of submitting to God's will. This goes against our natural, human inclination to want things our way. It also reveals our level of trust in God that He will work all things for our good according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

In the model prayer that Jesus gave to his disciples--the one we call the Lord's prayer--we find these words, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:10)" Our Lord very clearly teaches us that above all else, our desire should be that God's will be done, not our own personal wishes. When we wonder why our prayers appear to go unanswered, often James 4:3 provides the answer: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Obedience to God's will always brings blessing, but it's not always easy. Notice the confidence of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they faced the extreme difficulty of following God's will: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18). Our Savior himself, knowing the agony of the cross that He was about to face to pay for our sins, lifted up this prayer: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)

Indigenous Sustainability

A core ministry value that I've adopted (courtesy of my old friend Rick Gray) is to encourage "Indigenous Sustainability". These are pretty big words that convey a rather simple and important concept. Indigenous is defined as "innate; inherent; natural", usually referring to characteristics that are native to a particular area. Sustainability is defined as "the ability to keep from give way as under trial or affliction" (source dictionary.com). Indigenous sustainability means having natural ability to move forward in spite of difficulties or obstacles. Or to borrow an old slogan, it means "Keep on keeping on."

We all know how the fallen world we live in makes it hard to keep on keeping on. Yet as servant leaders in our homes, we must strive towards indigenous sustainability because too much is riding on it. Our wives, our children, our friends and our co-workers depend on us. How much more do we reflect God's glory when we push on through difficulties; all the while praising Him for his mercy and goodness. Never forget the importance of encouraging a fellow brother in Christ to continue to press on to win the prize which God has called for us.

Remember this awesome promise from the source of our strength: "The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31)

The Apostle Paul endured great persecution and difficulty in spreading the Gospel, yet notice his words in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

Keep on keeping on!

The Truth About Temptation

Temptation is one of the key battlegrounds in spiritual warfare because it always offers a choice between good and evil, an occasion to do right or do wrong and offers either a stepping stone or a stumbling block in our spiritual growth. God certainly isn't the author of temptation, but if He allows it to enter into our lives, it's important for us to understand His purpose behind it.

Rick Warren has a great explanation of His purpose: "God develops the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control) in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you are tempted to express the exact opposite quality." Simply stated, God allows temptation to help transform us into the image of His Son and grow in Christ likeness. The Bible tells us to have great joy in this process that Our Heavenly Father uses to strengthen and complete us (James 1:2-4). He promises to reward our perseverance (James 1:12) and not allow temptation beyond what we can handle and provide escape if needed (1 Corinthians 10:13).

When an opportunity to shade the truth to our own advantage comes along, we have a choice to make. When we're on the computer and a sexually-suggestive website link comes up, we have a choice to make. When an opportunity to serve God or stay within our comfort zone comes up, we have a choice to make. When a chance to put our wife's or our children's needs before our own, we have a choice to make. Let's remember James 1:4 and let perseverance finish it's work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Star of a Great Story

This week's Men of Integrity devotionals had a great story about a film executive named Micheal Flaherty. Driven by the Columbine tragedy of 1999 where the killers were drawn to dark movies, he and his old college roommate got together and founded Walden Media. Their hope was to provide teachers, parents and pastors with resources to teach children positive, Biblical values. In an industry driven by sex, violence and disturbing imagery, their company has produced great films such as The Chronicles of Narnia and Amazing Grace. "We're after great stories," said Flaherty, "and a key element of a great story is faith."

Flaherty is absolutely right---Faith is a great story. There are some of us who may have overcome drug or alcohol addiction or abuse and neglect that would make a great movie. Yet some of us may have accepted Christ in Sunday School as a child and have a story of lifelong faithfulness and resisting destructive choices all around them. It should be no surprise that Luke 15:10 tells us, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Regardless of how you've come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, one thing is certain---It is a great story and you are the star--thanks to God's everlasting mercy and grace. And great stories need to be told.

Remember the "Is Nots"

At nearly every wedding, you'll undoubtedly hear the "Love Chapter" (from 1 Corinthians 13) read at some point during the ceremony. Everyone can remember the beginning of it---"Love is patient, love is kind.."---but then the rest of it sort of fades into oblivion. And that's a shame because the rest of this passage tells us a lot about love and more importantly, what love is not.

As we move on through verses 4 through 7, notice all of the things that love is not. Love is not jealous. Love is not proud. Love is not rude. Love is not self-seeking. Love is not easily angered. Love does not keep record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil. Could it be that so many marriages struggle and even fail because we've forgotten the "Is Nots"? How much better would our marriages be if we remembered these words from our wedding day? How great would a marriage be that rejoiced in our wife's well-being, that demonstrated humility, that sought to meet her needs first, that didn't keep score or bring up mistakes from the past and that continually sought the righteousness of God?

The first three verses of the love chapter remind us that we are nothing without love and the chapter ends by reminding us that of faith, hope and love--the greatest is love. As servant leaders in our homes, if we make it a priority to focus on and remember the "Is Nots", then we can truly experience love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres and never fails (v.6-7).

The Good Thing About Sin

Now that's a title that will get your attention. You might be thinking, Rick is crazy--there is nothing good about sin. God hates sin. Satan tempted Adam and Eve; allowing sin to enter the world and it's been broken ever since. Sin is what damaged the perfect fellowship between God and man.

There really is one good thing about sin and no, I'm not talking about the temporary pleasure we may get from accepting Satan's substitute for God's best. The one good thing about sin is that it reminds us of how great and powerful God is and how fallen and weak we are. Sin reminds us of how much we need God's mercy and grace. Sin reminds us that God spared not even His own Son to save us from our miserable state.

The ten commandments (also referred to in Scripture as the Law) are the best measuring stick we could have to show us how much we can't possibly measure up without Christ. Let the truth of Romans 5:20-21 sink in deeply: "The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

By accepting Christ's sacrificial death, burial and resurrection from the grave as payment for our sin debt, we are no longer bound by sin and can boldly claim what the apostle Paul did in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

A Title Worth Having

By all accounts, the apostle Paul was a man of wealth, upbringing and influence during his time as a Pharisee. He had all of the intellectual knowledge of Scripture and he zealously persecuted the early church until his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 8). Yet, in spite of impressive credentials, this is how he viewed himself after coming to the saving knowledge of Christ---"Although I am less than the least of all of God's people, this grace was given to me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8)."

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:12-16 that God's love, mercy and grace was poured out on him in spite of the way he violently opposed the early church. He recognized that in spite of all of his scriptural knowledge, his unbelief caused him to be ignorant of the truth. He thanks Christ for the strength he was given to serve Him--in the same passionate way that he had earlier opposed Him. He acknowledges that he is a living example of how Jesus shows unlimited patience to those who would call on Him and receive eternal life. He boldly declares that Christ "came in to the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst (v.15)."

In a world where so many are defined by their job title, position or economic status, let us not forget that the greatest evangelist ever known gave himself the title "less than the least". Then, we can boldly declare as he did in 2 Corinthians 12:9---"Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Open Gym Night at Ogletown

Tomorrow night is Open Gym Night at the OEX from 6-9 p.m. We will have dinner starting at 6 (prepared by our chef extraordinaire Ray Raneri) including a brief devotional by our associate pastor Stan Gibson (now a sleep-deprived father of six!!). Then it's a night of fellowship and fun including basketball, volleyball, ping-pong and a three-on-three basketball tournament.

There are some guys that have actually tried to recruit me for their three-on-three teams (which is probably the height of desperation!). There were some rather interesting trios being formed after first service on Sunday, so don't miss out on a good time with the guys!

And as always, I thank the wives of the guys for letting us get together for fun and I promise they won't get in trouble--injured maybe--but not in trouble!

See you there!!

Stay Out of the Dark

There are few things that cause fear more than being in the dark. Statistics show that most crimes are committed at night under the cover of darkness. If someone is said to have "a dark side" that means there is something unpleasant about them. Most of us would also admit that we don't want to wander around alone at night in the dark because that is when we are most vulnerable.

Pastor Curtis had a great quote in today's message--"Sin grows in darkness". Our thoughts and actions can quickly turn away from God if we remain isolated in the dark. If we fail to stay in God's Word and allow it to penetrate our hearts and our minds, we can allow darkness to creep in. And just like a criminal can hide in the dark, we too can hide behind our sins under the cover of darkness. This is why accountability and being connected to other Christian men is critical to our spiritual well being.

As believers, we have no reason to stay in the dark. Ephesians 5:8 tells us "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." God has delivered us from darkness through the sacrifice of His Son (Colossians 1:13). Because of His rescue, we have an eternal home that can never be taken from us--"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9)."