In the Game (with audio)

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...I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you…
(Romans 1:8 – ESV)

I have a word for men in the ministry right now. You know we should be grateful that people volunteer to do anything at our churches at all. The Bible talks about fruit bearing in terms of 30, 60, and 100 fold. Not everyone is going to be as fruitful as everyone or anyone else, and not all harvests happen at the same time. The biggest trees often take the longest time to grow. Be glad they are doing anything at all, at least they are in the game, not that it is recreational, but that they are on the right playing field, on the right team, on the winning side. They may not be the star player, but they are cheering and playing for the right ones.

Be glad preacher, for every opportunity that you get. We should be abundantly grateful that as ministers we get to be paid to study the Bible, we are allowed to spend the extra time others don’t have in order to mine the depths of God’s Word. Yes every believer needs to read the Word, pray, etc., but not everybody is going to be moving forward as fast as you, they don’t have the time to put in the time, and you are supposed to be moving ahead. That is what leadership is all about. You give them motivation to keep on using their time as wisely as they can, not try and get them to work 80 hours a week. How about you taking up a shovel for 40 hours and then studying for 40 more?

We are not called to wear them out but to lift them up, and for some people all the commitment they can afford right now is just to make it to church. Yes they should want to do more, but being a good steward is about doing the most with your time, not sacrificing sleep and your marriage and your relationship with your kids so that you can be there at every event and so forth. Just be sure that you give them what they need from you, help them learn about what is and what isn’t a good use of their time, show them the beauty of Christ, and show them what serving God is like. Then they will figure out for themselves how they can make opportunities to serve without having to use more time.

When you are living it, even if they aren’t seeing it, they will learn what it means to treasure Christ above all else, and then they will become as fruitful as God intends them to be. It is up to you, preacher man, to equip them and cover them in the spiritual war, and to steer them onto the right playing field. It is your job to go full tilt, full time. They may not play all four quarters at full tilt intensity, but at least they are in the game.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Transfer to Transform (with audio)

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He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
(Colossians 1:13 – ESV)

In looking at this verse and the verses surrounding it, Paul is saying how God has qualified us for the inheritance of the saints in light (Ephesians 1:18) and is laying out reasons to be thankful to the Father (vs.12). If you are strengthened with all might (vs.11), then you will give thanks (vs.12), and you will give thanks by acting in accordance with what God has done with endurance, patience, and joy (vs.11).

Giving thanks to God through Jesus Christ is more than putting “in Jesus name” on the end of our prayers. It is both word and deed (Hebrews 13:15-16 / Colossians 3:17, 23-24 / 1 John 3:18). Imagine you gave two children each a bicycle. Which child would truly be giving thanks for that item you gave to them: the one who did it with just words, and never rode or took care of the bike, or the one who put it to use? It is the same with that wisdom you imparted to them, or the wisdom God imparts to you. Because of Christ, you are a member of the kingdom of God. In heaven, where God’s kingdom is made most manifest, there is no sin, no rebellion, and no darkness (1 John 1:5). To give thanks is to reflect the light that you have been given.

Think about it like this. In the world, if you have been transferred to a different job or different department, you begin to work for a new boss, under the rules of the new department, and according to the particular company standards. You have to learn the new system, and you have to grow in your knowledge of the job in order to be effective. What Paul is saying is that if you have been strengthened with might, you will have endurance, patience and joy, and by doing this you will be giving thanks, proving that you have been qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints and proving that you have been delivered from darkness and transferred into the kingdom of the beloved.

He has delivered us as to eternal status, but also as to temporal character, from the dark power having its claim on us, and also from the darkness having power over us now (Romans 6:14-23 / Ephesians 2:1-6, 10, 6:12). Being delivered from sin’s penalty also carries with it being delivered from its power (1 John 1:6). We are transferred but we must act in accordance with that truth to realize we are transformed (Romans 12:1-2 / Ephesians 4:22-24 / Colossians 3). You focus on the indicative of who you are in Christ, and the imperative of acting like it follows.

There is no middle ground; there are only two kingdoms (if you think you can ride the fence realize the devil owns that). You cannot be delivered from one without being transferred to the other, when you are rescued from something you are rescued to something. You cannot be transferred without being transformed. We are not talking about a degree we are talking about whose domain are we in and whose dominion are we under. Who is your king; if it is still yourself, you are still in the kingdom of darkness (Philippians 3:18-21).

To act in accordance with this doesn’t mean that we are sinless, but it means we sin-less. We are striving towards the light, and not retreating again into the darkness, we realize (we make real) the fact that we are free. This means we act like it, we act like we are free from our sins. When we let a little darkness get in, or however it gets in, we see it for what it is, and we rush to get back to God. If your destination is heaven your destiny is holiness.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

They Mean Something (with audio)

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…And Arphaxad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber…
(1 Chronicles 1:18)

When we are committed to reading our Bibles through, all the way through, not skipping a word, we are tempted to wonder why God saw fit to include some things. Like the genealogies, and the details of travels, why are these in the Bible at all?

Well, you can be sure they are there for a reason, and perhaps we won’t know all of the richness of why in this life, but let me give you some things to think about. When we study we find out certain things have their rightful place in being included. For instance, notice that the two different genealogies in Matthew and Luke point to the two different lines of Jesus through Mary and Joseph, but both have roots in David. So these seem a necessity, in a sense.

What about those seemingly endless genealogies in the OT books, what are they there for? Well, when we see those endless names, think about the fact that God cared enough to put them there. Then think about this. When you are nothing but a name to everyone else, you are still important to God, important enough to be included even if no one else thinks you are worth the time. When you see where the Bible talks about the travels of the old timers and said they pitched a tent here or there, and then here or there again, and so on, think about the fact that when no one else cares where you are God knows exactly where you are, and He does care, every step of the way. God is interested in individuals.

When we see the personal greetings of Paul to certain individuals, think about the fact that although we don’t have much more information than their name, they were important to Paul, and they got their names in the Bible; don’t you wish that were you! Beside the Book of Life, that Bible is the one book I would want to get a recommendation in, it is better and more prestigious than any who’s who list you will ever get on this earth!

When someone takes an interest in you and your details, whether they know it or not, they are acting like Jesus. He has your hairs numbered, and even if you're bald, He counted each one as it fell off your head. Use your head, and realize that those words in the Bible, they mean something. You may not care but God does. I may not ever know what all those names mean, but I know this, God wanted them included, and He wants you included, so be glad that God wants your name included when no one else thinks you're worth the time. That means something to me.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©