Quiet Time: The Annual Exam

The Annual Exam

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. - Galatians 2:20

Easter is a good time for an annual exam (2 Cor. 13:5).

Galatians 2:20 is a great guide in helping us consider where we are in our walk with Christ.

A Christ follower :

• dies to self daily (Luke 9:23)
• realizes that he/she is not good without God (Romans 3:10)
• lives to please the Son of God (Hebrews 11:6)
• knows that he is loved by Jesus (John 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:16)
• knows he owes the One who loves him everything (Philippians 3:8)

Exams are good; they cover all a pupil has learned up to a specific point in time.and help him to seriously consider where he is as opposed to where he needs to be.

Sometimes, after a thorough exam, one may even realize that he was never actually part of the class.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Are you a Christ follower?

Quiet Time: Hope Springs Eternal

Hope Springs Eternal

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,…     - 1 Peter 1:3-4

Every human hope can be deferred, but one.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the imperishable inheritance of heaven are the Christian’s hope. This hope renews itself daily without the need of perishable proof.

Jesus resurrection is historically well documented and attested to by many first century eye witnesses.  And, this fact gives the Christian confidence that there is a future beyond what he knows and experiences here on earth; therefore, the believer’s hope is unaffected by time space, and matter and supernaturally grows within him the closer He walks with God (1 Peter 1:8).

The bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).

Hope springs eternal with Jesus.

Quiet Time: A Walk With God

A Walk With God
 
Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. – Genesis 5:24
 
Imagine being so close to God that instead of everyone seeing you grow old and die, God just showed up one day and took you home to be with him. That’s exactly what happened to Enoch.

As a boy, I would read this passage in awe of Enoch. It seems that by sheer faith Enoch skipped the process of dying all together. We also understand that Enoch was known by those around him as a man with whom God found pleasure. That’s how we know that Enoch had great faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God.

A reasonable question then is, “In what exactly did Enoch believe?”

Enoch believed that anyone who wants to get close to God must believe not only that He exists but also that God actually desires to get involved in the lives of those who are looking for Him (Hebrews 11:5-6).  

I think that Enoch was a man who saw God intimately involved in every aspect of His life. So much so, that he walked with Him from earth right into eternity.

That’s how I want to know God, don’t you? Intimately.

Song Series: All Because of Jesus

All Because of Jesus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uui-jUS8a4A


Read: Romans 6:8-14

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. – Romans 6:11

“While the goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God.” Dr. David Platt, Radical. The first time I read the book “Radical” I thought to myself, “This guy’s a mega church pastor?” I guess I questioned Platt’s position based on what I’ve seen over the years. It seems to me, that most of us American believers are content to live life in what I call the Goldilocks continuum. You know what I mean not too bad and not too good, just right. Kind of lukewarm, hmmmm.

Paul shatters this lifestyle in Romans chapter 6. He says that as Christ followers, we no longer have to listen to sin tell us what to do and that we can discover the joy of listening to God tell us what to do. Before Christ, we used to live our lives oblivious to God’s grace and walk according to our own will and way. However, now that the Holy Spirit lives within our hearts we have a growing desire to please God. We look back on our former way of living as fruitless, meaningless, and containing memories of nothing for which we are proud.

I want to live in newness of the life Christ offers. I want to follow the goal of the gospel. I want to make much of God, because it is “All Because of Jesus” I’m alive. (2 Corinthians 5:15)



And it’s all because of Jesus I’m alive

And it’s all because the blood of Jesus Christ

That covers me and raised this dead man’s life

And it’s all because of Jesus I’m alive

Song Series: Rooftops (Be a Conspicuous Christian)

Rooftops - Be a Conspicuous Christian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU3mOzEgfB8


Matthew 10:26-28

What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops - Matthew 10:27

Roof tops are conspicuous places. In my old neighborhood where my wife, Deseri, and I had our first house, many of the housetops were metal. About every other year these roofs needed to be painted with reflective aluminum coating or they’d begin to rust. I remember driving past a house where an absent minded home owner carelessly walked backward off the side of the roof he was painting falling several feet to the ground. A small crowd quickly gathered to make sure he was alright, and yes, he was, but I thought, “How embarrassing!” I don’t think this kind of attention is what Jesus had in mind when He told His disciples to proclaim from housetops.

What I tell you in darkness: Jesus taught His disciples one on one; privately. Do I give Jesus a chance to talk privately with me?

Speak in the light: Jesus taught His disciples to be open, honest, and clear about the gospel. Do I use clear common words when sharing about Jesus, or do I try to impress with a bombastic rhetorical superfluous loquaciousness that serves only to confuse.

What you hear whispered in your ear: Jesus taught His disciples that they should share what He the Great Physician spoke to them. (Back in the day doctors used to whisper doctrine or instructions to an interpreter who would then tell the listener what he said) This also speaks to me of how the Holy Spirit sometimes nudges me or speaks to my heart. Also, when someone whispers, I have to listen carefully. Do I make time to simply listen?

Proclaim upon rooftops: Preach. Be fearless and courageous when sharing the Word. But people will think I’m simple and closed minded! But, God will think you faithful. Besides what the worst anyone can do to me? Kill me? That’s where their power ends and eternity begins.

I don’t think God wants us to be conspicuous by acting weird in our walk with Him or silly in our talk, but I do think he wants us to be fearless and forthright; even if that means standing boldly for the truth when others want us to sit down and shut up.

There is no such thing as a covert Christian, so I’d better get better at being a barefaced believer.

(check out the link under the title above if you'd like to hear the song - Rooftops)

Song Series: ADONAI - JEHOVAH - YAHWEH He Is LORD

ADONAI – JEHOVAH – YAHWEH
He Is LORD

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai--'God Almighty'--but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh (ADONAI) LORD, to them. - Exodus 6:3

I crack up when I listen to the smack talk on the basketball courts at my neighborhood park. One particular phrase that often gives me pause though is when a player thinks he’s doing better than the guy who’s guarding him and says, “I own you, man!” In a comical way, he wants the guys he’s playing with to know that he is in control of his part of the game; he is lord over his opponent.

God showed Moses who He was, ADONAI, which refers to God as Lord and owner of all. We all have heard the story of how He delivered His people from the greatest world power of the time. He took dominion over Egypt’s false gods, natural wonders, and human genius and laid them all low under His feet. You might say, “He owned them.”  So, we see God revealed Himself to the patriarchs as The God Who has the power to do what He wants to do - El - Shaddai; yet, to Moses He said, "Call Me, Adonai", The God Who does it. Subtle difference - huge difference! This is the same God in Whom we place our trust and confess as LORD: kurios – koo'-ree-os: he to whom a person or thing belongs (Romans 10:9-10).

Jesus was known as LORD before the cross (John 8:58). He manifested Himself as LORD by taking our sins as His own, dying our death, but then rising again showing His Lordship over sin, death, and the grave (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

God the Father has revealed Jesus for Who He is, ADONAI. Just as Moses and the Hebrew slaves could trust Yahweh to use His power to rescue them from their miserable predicament, we can trust Jesus to save us from our slavery to sin; past, present, and future.

Jesus is LORD. Don’t be afraid to trust Him. He will do it!

Yahweh

 (YouTube link at the bottom)

Ancient One so amazing unfailing You are

Holy One overwhelming my heart with Your love

Yahweh Yahweh

Faithful God You're here to stay

Yahweh Yahweh

Forever and always the same

Quiet Time: Side By Side: the Way and the world

Wheat n tares
Linwood Berry

Side By Side: the Way and the world
Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” – Matthew 13:30

I love the parables of Jesus. But when I see the deeper meaning, especially when He explains it straight up like He does for the story of the wheat and tares, I shutter at the fact.

For example, a few things I understand from this one illustration is that just because you’re growing doesn’t mean you’re wheat. Both wheat and tares, those who accept and those who reject Jesus, are growing, and they’re growing side by side, as if they have everything in common; that is, until the wheat begins to mature. That’s when the differences become evident. Wheat produces fruit but tares produce nothing but fuel for the fire.

We are faced with a choice: choose Jesus or choose the evil one; there is no middle ground. It is a black and white; right or wrong decision. Furthermore, Jesus reminds us that true disciples-those who follow the kingdom message-must be prepared to pay the ultimate price for doing so (Matthew 13:20-22, 44-46).

Jesus will return to gather up His followers; the wheat. This is a sobering thought. I don’t know who the tares are around me, but I know that I don’t want anyone to be cast into the fire. I pray that God will bring those around me to Jesus real soon and that the fruit He produces in me will remind them of who He’s called them to be.

Song Series: Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Grace Greater Than Our Sin
Julia H. Johnston, 1849-1919

"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." (Romans 5:20-21)

God's grace is not merely a sufficient grace; it is an abounding grace--"that you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). His grace provides our eternal salvation as well as the enablement to know life more abundantly. It is available for our every problem and need.

Sometimes the argument is advanced that since God's grace covers all our sins, then we are free to live as we please. God's grace does provide for our freedom, but it is meant to free us from a slavery to our selfish, sinful nature in order that we might pursue "every good work"--to become all that God intends us to be.

Julia Johnston was for many years involved in the work of Sunday schools at the First Presbyterian Church of Peoria, Illinois, and as a writer of lesson materials for primary age children for the David C. Cook Publishing Company. She also wrote approximately 500 hymn texts. The composer of this hymn, Daniel B. Towner, was for many years the director of the music department at Moody Bible Institute. "Grace Greater Than Our Sin" first appeared in Towner's compilation, Hymns Tried and True, 1911.

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Julia H. Johnston, 1849-1919

"Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured--there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

"Sin and despair, like the seawaves cold, threaten the soul with infinite loss; grace that is greater--yes, grace untold--points to the Refuge, the mighty Cross.

"Dark is the stain that we cannot hide; what can avail to wash it away? Look! there is flowing a crimson tide--whiter than snow you may be today.

"Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe! You that are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive?

"Chorus: Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within; grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin!"

What does the term "grace" mean to your life? Try to define it in your own words. Discuss your insights with another. (Osbeck)

Quiet Time: Raise Sounds of Joy

Raise Sounds of Joy

1 Chronicles 15:15-17

Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives the singers, with instruments of music, harps, lyres, loud-sounding cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. -    1 Chronicles 15:16

When people want to celebrate, music is invariably involved. We use bands at ruckus football games and somber graduations. Orchestras fill the air with stringed music at weddings, as well as, coronations. And, if we can’t afford a full band or orchestra we hire DJs to mix soundtracks of music to fill the silence. Most of the secular gigs I’ve played have been in celebration of one event or another. Joy and music just seem to go hand in hand.

David knew how to celebrate. He put together the first traveling troubadours. Ok, ok, I know these guys were more than folk singers, but one thing’s certain, they were the best musicians in the kingdom. I mean look at the list of artist: Heman, Asaph, Ethan, basically first chair musicians, not to mention Zechariah, Ben (only three letters, are you kidding), Jaaziel, and all of their buddies including Chenaniah, the top notch director over the vocalists. We get the impression that David wanted everyone everywhere to know that something BIG was taking place; something no one wanted to miss, and it would be a time of incomparable joy and celebration of the presence and power of the living God.

Sometimes I think the church has lost its sense of celebration. Ernest thoughtful songs can help us contemplate the reverence and awesome holiness of God, but loud, festive, upbeat praise can really add a feeling of victory and power to our corporate worship time as well. Worship leaders can have a direct impact on whether or not a congregation is jubilant or dull, and of all the people everywhere, Christians have the most to get excited about.

So, break out the tambourines and high sounding cymbals. Celebrate the joy of your salvation!



Quiet Time: He Crossed the Line

He Crossed the Line

Read: John 3:1-21

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. - John 3:18

A friend of mine crossed the line last night. He is now born again. And it wasn't because his life was a mess. It isn't. As things go, he's actually doing pretty well for himself. But, when God began to draw him to His Son, my buddy became aware that peace was lacking in his life. After a long while he came to the wrong conclusion that the only way he'd experience true peace was death. (No, he wasn't suicidal, just realistic; knowing that stuff doesn't satisfy) Eventually, though, after listening carefully to what God said about peace, he came to a point where he wanted, no, he needed Jesus, and needed Him more than anything he had or could possibly get here on earth.

Now, this guy's no dummy. He's an intelligent well rounded man who likes to think things through before making a decision. And, he's been thinking Jesus' story through for several months now. Finally, he, like Nicodemus, came to the point in his life where he knew a decision must be made. The line had been drawn in the sand by Jesus, and he now asked himself quite simply:

• Am I a sinner? (Romans 3:23)
• Do I want forgiveness for my sins? (1 John 1:9)
• Do I believe that Christ died for my sins, was buried, and rose again the third day overcoming both my sin and the grave? (1 Corinthians 15:2-4; 1 Peter 3:18)
• Am I willing to confess Him as my Lord and Savior and live for Him as He leads me for the rest of my life? (Romans 10:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:15)
• Then, I need to pray and ask God to come into my heart.(Romans 10:13)

Too simple, you say. For you may-be, but not for Jesus. It cost Him everything. Come think of it, it will cost you everything too. But then again, as my pastor might say, "It's like trading a rotten bologna sandwich for a juicy steak hoagie." It's a no brainer; the choice is yours to make of course, but you weren't created to eat rotten meat. You certainly weren't created to live a rotten life either. (John 10:10)

So, are you ready to cross the line?