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Are you to BUSY?? Then PEACE OUT!!

READ: "Be silent, and know that I am God!" (Pslam 46:10)

THINK: Ever find yourself saying to people: "My schedule is crazy right now"? How about: "Man, I am so tired these days from all the stuff I have to do".

I hear that all the time, in fact I've said it myself. What a shame, because that's not the way God intended life to be lived. In reality, a lot of times it's Satan who tempts us to push our schedule to the brink. If he can't get us sinning, he can at least keep us busy.

It doesn't have to be that way, you know? Somewhere in between the time of your aggravating alarm in the morning and when you crash, you should take a spiritual breather.

But I don't have time! I have way too much to do already!

Are you sure? Maybe you've just piled up a heaping helping of hectic hullabaloo.

Here's a story that illustrates the point:

                          As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me."

But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it-and I won't take it away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)

Martha had a palm-pilot. Martha had a cell-phone. Martha defined herself by her diligent diversions. Martha was so busy 'doing' for God that she forgot where God was- in her own living room!

People in our day would look down on Mary.

"What have you been doing all day Mary?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, are you sick? Is there something wrong? Why aren't you being productive?"

Notice what Jesus said: "There is really only one thing worth being concerned about..."

I suggest that each and every day you schedule a "peace out" time where you do nothing but sit at Jesus' feet. I must warn you, though; it will come at a price. You might fall behind on the flow of "Dawson's Creek", or even miss out on the latest half-baked serving of 'reality' T.V.

The important thing to keep in mind is that every precious second invested in your relationship with Christ can never be taken away.

 What does a "peace out" time look like?

I get alone, in a quiet room or in a park. I clear my thoughts of all worries, knowing that God is in control. I listen intently to all that is going on, and I turn my eyes upon Jesus in worship, praise, adoration, and love. I remember His blessings, I confess my sins, I plead for grace, and most importantly: I am silent so I can know that He is God.

Peace out!

Questions:

1. Am I too busy?      What does God think?
2. When could I find a time to sit at the feet of Jesus?
3. Will the things I'm accomplishing right now matter in 1000 years to anyone?

          

Are you flat as a Pancake?

READ: "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first." (Matthew 19:30)

THINK: A mother was preparing pancakes for her 5-year-old son Kevin and 3-year-old son Ryan. When the boys started arguing over who would get the first tasty pancake, she saw a great opportunity to teach them a Biblical lesson.

"Boys" she said, "if Jesus were sitting here this morning, He would say 'let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'"

Kevin turned to his brother and said, "Ryan, today you get to be Jesus!"

I'm afraid there are far too many 'Kevin Christians' in the church today...sitting at the table of life letting others be Jesus because it might cost them something personally.

We can have the fish on the car, the WWJD bracelet on our wrists, and the Bible on the coffee table, but it's what's inside that counts!

So what are the 'pancakes' in your life that make it difficult to be Christlike? Here are a few that the Bible lists:

"Don't team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?" (II Corinthians 6:14)

Some people are happy to follow Jesus until they fall in love with the wrong person or get hooked up with the wrong group of friends. Friends are such a HUGE influence in your life. Choose wisely 

"And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me." (Luke 14:27)

This one pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? Carrying your own cross means you take a intense look at your life to find the things that come between you and your Lord, then nail them to the cross with brutal force...daily!

"The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is the hand over your whole self--all your wishes and precautions--to Christ."

- C.S. Lewis--Mere Christianity

Trust me on this one: the second pancake is worth the wait!!

Questions:

1. Can you relate more to Kevin or Ryan? Why?
2. When is it more convenient to be like Christ?
3. What is one area which God is speaking to you about?

EXCUSES, EXCUSES

READ:   Exodus 3  Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”  ⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

 And Moses said, “Here I am.” ⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

"God said to Moses, "I AM who I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14)

THINK:  Moses was terrified. First he had spent forty years in Egypt- the most powerful nation on earth- as a prince. Popular, revered, and held in the highest esteem. Add to his resume forty years in the desert as a shepherd working for his father-in-law. Lonely, unappreciated, and punching the clock at smelly job central.

Now he kneels trembling before Jesus in the burning bush being commissioned for a holy cause. He was being sent by God Himself to set the Israelites free from the Egyptians. Promotion? Sure. Chance to be restored to greatness? Absolutely!

Only - he didn't want to go.

He fired excuse after excuse at the blazing King. Christ had an answer for every one of them. One of Moses' excuses was "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"

Jesus had an answer... "I AM who I AM."

In the same way Moses was a master of excuses when it came to delivering the Jews, aren't we the excuse experts when it comes to delivering the gospel? God Himself has commissioned us (Matthew 28) to "go and make disciples of all nations..."

But God - what if I don't I know what to say? What if they reject me? What if they ask me a question I don't have the answer to?" Blah. Blah. Blah.
The bottom line is this... the great "I AM" has sent us. Excuses fade into oblivion when it comes to Christ. When we realize who God is- excuses fall flat.

So who is God? Who is this "I AM"?

First - we know that He is "one God". Deuteronomy 6:4 reminds us, "The LORD our God, the LORD is one." Christianity is a monothesitic faith. "Mono" means one. "Theo" means "God." We believe in one God.

Second - we believe in one God who is comprised of three persons... the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each is fully God. Each is fully unique. Three persons: one essence.

The title some have given this truth is "The Trinity." One God (unity)- comprised of three persons (Trinity)

Get it? Neither do I. Neither does anyone, except God. God is infinite. We are finite. As one expert said, "For us to try to comprehend God is like a gnat trying to drink in the ocean."

But get this. This triune God is sending you on a mission. This holy mission is to spread the Gospel to a dying world. Just like Moses, our excuses fail. Why? Because the "I AM" has sent us. We are on a mission from God- let's get busy!

Further study- Read all of Exodus 3, 1 Peter 3:15, Daniel 3, Hebrews 11, Matthew 28:16, 

Despicable me

Intro:  So during Christmas I saw this movie for the first time, And laughed so hard the whole time. In fact I loved it so much that I bought a copy myself.

But I begin to think about the words Despicable me..... and the first thing that came to mind was the Apostle Paul in the bible.

Read: Romans 7:24  What a wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Despicable Definition- deserving to be despised : so worthless.

Now with that in mind, if Paul (who wrote the majority of the new testament and died for his faith in Christ, Who gives the first churches instruction and guidance through God.) If he says this about himself then what does that mean for us? 

Are you good? How do you measure good? Does it take being a "good person" to go to heaven? How good do you have to be? 

The biggest question that I will be presenting during the message on Despicable me is; Why do we want sin? 

Think: I have asked so many people and seen so many online polls that ask people weather they are going to heaven or hell? The answer doesn't surprise me anymore. #1. The majority will say yes they are. And when asked why the response is because they are a "good person". #2. The majority of people polled will say they are going to heaven without considering how or why? 

I though I might share one of these polls with you in this case and point; 

What is the key to getting into heaven?

• Living a good life. 65.5%
• being religious.  26.7%
• Helping old ladies cross the street. 2.7%
• Slipping St. Peter $20.00 at heavens gates. 1.9%
• Having a strong letter of reference. 0.5%
• Making a deal with the devil. 1.2%

Total votes 121,836

Are you going to heaven?

• Yes. 89.8%
• No. 10.2%

Total votes 143,309

(Source: www.aol.com)

Notice how many more people responded to the second question (are you going to heaven?) as opposed to the first? 21,473 more folks opted to answer that simple question as opposed to taking time to think about the first one. Apparently, nearly 9 out of 10 people believe they are going to heaven, but many of them don't know and/or don't care why. But I want you to consider what God's word says about this topic.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)

There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them. (Acts 4:12)

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

Despicable me

Intro:  So during Christmas I saw this movie for the first time, And laughed so hard the whole time. In fact I loved it so much that I bought a copy myself.

But I begin to think about the words Despicable me..... and the first thing that came to mind was the Apostle Paul in the bible.

Read: Romans 7:24  What a wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?


Despicable Definition- deserving to be despised : so worthless.

Now with that in mind, if Paul (who wrote the majority of the new testament and died for his faith in Christ, Who gives the first churches instruction and guidance through God.) If he says this about himself then what does that mean for us? 

Are you good? How do you measure good? Does it take being a "good person" to go to heaven? How good do you have to be? 

The biggest question that I will be presenting during the message on Despicable me is; Why do we want sin? 

Think: I have asked so many people and seen so many online polls that ask people weather they are going to heaven or hell? The answer doesn't surprise me anymore. #1. The majority will say yes they are. And when asked why the response is because they are a "good person". #2. The majority of people polled will say they are going to heaven without considering how or why? 

I though I might share one of these polls with you in this case and point; 

What is the key to getting into heaven?

• Living a good life. 65.5%
• being religious.  26.7%
• Helping old ladies cross the street. 2.7%
• Slipping St. Peter $20.00 at heavens gates. 1.9%
• Having a strong letter of reference. 0.5%
• Making a deal with the devil. 1.2%

Total votes 121,836

Are you going to heaven?

• Yes. 89.8%
• No. 10.2%

Total votes 143,309

(Source: www.aol.com)

Notice how many more people responded to the second question (are you going to heaven?) as opposed to the first? 21,473 more folks opted to answer that simple question as opposed to taking time to think about the first one. Apparently, nearly 9 out of 10 people believe they are going to heaven, but many of them don't know and/or don't care why. But I want you to consider what God's word says about this topic.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)

There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them. (Acts 4:12)

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)