Roots

What holds you to your values? What keeps you going on when you feel you can no longer go on? I would have to say it is our roots. Each of are grounded to something that keeps up connected as well as helps us to hold on when the storms of life come upon us. Psalm 1 reminds us...

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

What keeps us grounded? According to the psalmist the word of God. There we find hope, counsel, wisdom and examples on how to live out our faith in a world that is far from grounded. Over the last few days, I have been reading through the book of Jeremiah and have discovered this young prophet was facing some troubling times both for himself and for the nation he was trying to lead. While his ministry and personal life were trying, he found strength in God's promise found in Jeremiah 9:23-24...

This is what the LORD says: 
      "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
       or the strong man boast of his strength
       or the rich man boast of his riches,
         but let him who boasts boast about this:
       that he understands and knows me,
       that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
       justice and righteousness on earth,
       for in these I delight,"        declares the LORD. 


I personally love the first part of verse 24; but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me.


Let me encourage you to make a point of knowing God, this is only possible when we read his word and make it habit to apply it to our lives. If you will do this you will find yourself being grounded and being a well planted tree. 

Perspective

From today's Bible Reading...

A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. Psalm 84:10

This psalm was written by the descendants of Korah. Korah and his descendants served Israel as the worship leaders in the temple. Their lives were marked by privilege and honor. As a worship leader, they had the best seats in the house. They saw the king and Israel at their best. Celebrations and worship were an essential part of their lives. Yet with all the privileges of being a worship leader, Korah's descendants stated there was something better. To spend one day in the house of the Lord was better than anything this earth has to offer. But they go on... they would choose to be a gatekeeper (aka a butler) than enjoy the carnal pleasures of the world.

How is it possible to choose to be a butler in God's house over everything this world has to offer? How is it possible to choose to spend 1 day with God than a lifetime without him? Simply put perspective. Perspective gives one clarity. Perspective helps us make the right decision and gives us the proper world view. 

Question; how do you see things today? Do you have the right perspective on things? I have to admit there are times we lose our perspective, there are times we spend time, resources and energy on things that really do not matter. Yet if we have the right perspective we will find ourselves more focused and more sensitive to what God desires for us. 

My hope is we all will be descendants of Korah and have the right perspective on this life and the life to come.  

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an amazing Day...

• Worship and Sound Teams really stretched themselves today! Thanks guys, your servant heart's do not go unnoticed.
• The "unplugged" worship really sounded great even though it was not planned.
• The power outage was a great reminder it is not by our might or our strength, but by the power of God we are able to what we do!
• Remember our calling as followers of Christ is to love God completely, love self correctly and love others compassionately.
• While it is good to see people conquer a physical infirmity, it is better to help people find the cure for their spiritual infirmity - sin. Sin makes us all spiritual sick, yet we have the cure the spiritually sick; a relationship with Christ.
• I hope we will all be willing to touch the untouchable for Christ.
• Yes, I did say "Cooties" in this morning's message.
• If you have not read Max Lucado's "Just Like Jesus" you are really missing a good book that will help you know Jesus a little better. 
• This is a challenging question; Are you living is such a way people are asking if you are Jesus?
• I am really getting excited about SHINE.
• Mark 1 is complete - 6 sermons down, how many more ????,  now we move to Mark 2 next week.

Lifting one another up

Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. Ephesians 6:21-22

One of the great unsung heroes of the New Testament has to be Tychicus. He is mentioned 5 times in the NT; he is called a beloved brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant of the Lord. It seems he was a  close companion of Paul as he spread the gospel throughout Europe. What makes Tychicus a hero is not his titles but what he did for the churches in the area. Paul said to the church at Ephesus, I am sending him to you for this very purpose... . that he may encourage you. 

We do not have one word from Tychicus, we do not read one prayer he said or one sermon he preached, but we do know he was an encourager. Paul thought enough of his coworker to send him to the church in Ephesus, so the church could be encouraged. In the first century, church work was hard. Often times people found themselves isolated from other believers or misunderstood by the pagan culture. That is why Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus, to encourage the believers when times got tough.

Things have not changed much in 2,000 years. We can still find ourselves isolated or misunderstood by others. When this happens the temptation can be to throw up our arms in surrender. However just as Paul sent Tychicus to encourage the church God has a way of sending us a Tychicus type person to encourage us. The challenge for each of us is to listen to the Tychicus in our life. Their words may be just the the thing we need to hear so we can continue the work God has called us to complete. 

If you area Tychicus type person, here are some words to ponder as you think about encouraging someone today...

• “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”
• “Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth.”
• “People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what you nag them to be.”
• “You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins.”

Sunday Night Reflections

A few thoughts from an amazing day...

• Another baptism today - it is always exciting to see children claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
• Wrapped up our outflow series today, I am really looking forward to our "SHINE" project.
• Yes, OMG  and Gosh diminishes the Holiness of God.
• Moving toward spiritual maturity is never an option for a growing Christian; it is a decision that must be made every day in our Christian walk.
• I hope you are always ready to answer the divine question Who shall I send, who will speak for us?
• When I realize what Isaiah went through to be used by God I am amazed by his faith and boldness. I hope I will have the same type of faith and boldness as well.  
• I hope many of our preteen students will take advantage of "superstart" I believe they will be blessed through the experience.
• Wonderful weekend at Florida Christian College. We celebrated the inauguration of the fifth president. I believe the future is bright at FCC.
• Today I was reminded how fragile life can be as there was a shooting at one of our Christian Colleges today. Please pray for the entire MACU family today as they deal with this horrific situation.  

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day...

• Two more people joined the PBCC family today; Welcome Tom and Sharon.
• Today's worship was very moving. 
• I continue to be amazed at the number of people praying for their lost family and friends.
• Remember, fishing is the primary function of the church.
• When we consider the fact that Jesus is sending us out like lambs before wolves, we had better be sure we are praying for spiritual protection.
• I wonder what would happen if we really focused on fishing 
• Who are you training right now to insure your ministry continues?
• There should be no doubt that eternal life and death hang in the balance when it comes to Jesus.
• Churches that understand this fact, are alive and vibrant and growing. Churches that do not see the need to extend the invitation are churches that are dead, fussing and faithless.  

Our God

Just finished ready the daily Bible reading when I came across this nugget from Isaiah 40...


      Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
      Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
      Who else knows the weight of the earth
      or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
      Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
      Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
      Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
      Does he need instruction about what is good?
      Did someone teach him what is right
      or show him the path of justice?

Who has held oceans, measured the heavens, weighed the earth? When I consider what God is able to do, and I must confess I cannot comprehend all He is able to do. I am amazed that he desires a relationship with us. In fact, if you continue in the today's reading from the book of Ephesians you discover this truth...

Praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

Paul says, because He loved us He has...

• Blessed us with every spiritual blessing
• Chosen us
• Adopted us

Now catch this; This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

This weekend as you worship, I hope you remember that God takes great pleasure in having a relationship with you. Just thinking about God in this way should truly transform you as you worship Him