I have ask my son many times over the last few years what his mother and I did that helped him to establish his relationship with God. I know that we took him to church. We read the Bible at home. We prayed together as a family. The answer that he keeps giving me had nothing to do with any of those things not that those things were ineffective. The answer he keeps giving us is that we made Jesus real. I was not sure for the longest time what he meant until recently. I am reading a book called The Way of the Wild Heart by John Eldridge. It is a book about the masculine journey. In the book he talks about that boys need to see something as epic to really get excited about it and committed to it. When I looked up epic it means bigger than life. Boys, actually people need something bigger than life, bigger than their lives to give themselves to. I realize that by surrendering my life to Jesus and living out that surrender with passion I without knowing it showed my son that Jesus was real. He was epic. I know that I will never be famous. They will never make a movie of my life or write a book about my life. I will never have a street or school named after me. I will never pastor a "mega" church. But by surrendering me life to Jesus as my King and attempting to live that surrender out wih passion I have touched the life of my son. He in turn is touching the lives of young men and women as a student pastor and with his own kids.
The word most used in the New Testament for life is zoe. It means a life that is full, abundat. A life full of real living not just existing. That life comes through and in Jesus. That is the kind of life God created us for. That is the kind of life that Jesus showed us in His earthly life. That is the kind of life Jesus died to give us. That is the kind of life I want to past on to my son and my grandchildren.
Life doesn't have to be full of material wealth, high human position, or great popularity to be epic. Life has to be filled with Jesus to be epic.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Friday, May 31, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Jesus Loves Sinners
Jesus loves sinners. That is the basic message of the Bible.
John 3:16: For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Jesus loves sinners. Jesus lived showing His love for sinners. Jesus died for sinners. Jesus rose from the dead to win the victory for sinners.
Matthew 11:19: The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, "He's a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!" But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.
Jesus is a friend of sinners.
Why is Jesus a friend of sinners? Because if Jesus had not befriended sinners He would have no friends. This is not because that good people would not be His friend, but because there are no "good" people. We are all sinners. Romans 3:23 says, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." If Jesus would not have reached out in friendship to sinners He would have had no friends. Sinners are not immoral people, not mean people, not unloving people. Sinners are rebels. People who have rebelled against the authority of God in their lives. All of us have at one time told God that we not He is in control of how we live.
What motivated Jesus to be a friend to sinners? He chose to be a friend because Jesus loves sinners. He loved:
Tax collector
Lepers
Sick People
Prostitutes
Religious People
Nonreligious People
Outwardly Good People
Immoral People
All People.
He loves us not because of who were are, but because what He has done; not because of what we have done, but because of Who He is.
How did Jesus show He is a friend of sinners? He became one of us. He gave up all the glory of heaven to take on all our limitations , all our temptations, and all our struggles. He lived to show us how to live and be victorious over all our struggles and temptations. He then died for our sins and rose again to share His victory over dead, sin, and Satan with us.
God is not some super critical fault find God. He is Jesus friend of sinners!
John 3:16: For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Jesus loves sinners. Jesus lived showing His love for sinners. Jesus died for sinners. Jesus rose from the dead to win the victory for sinners.
Matthew 11:19: The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, "He's a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!" But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.
Jesus is a friend of sinners.
Why is Jesus a friend of sinners? Because if Jesus had not befriended sinners He would have no friends. This is not because that good people would not be His friend, but because there are no "good" people. We are all sinners. Romans 3:23 says, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." If Jesus would not have reached out in friendship to sinners He would have had no friends. Sinners are not immoral people, not mean people, not unloving people. Sinners are rebels. People who have rebelled against the authority of God in their lives. All of us have at one time told God that we not He is in control of how we live.
What motivated Jesus to be a friend to sinners? He chose to be a friend because Jesus loves sinners. He loved:
Tax collector
Lepers
Sick People
Prostitutes
Religious People
Nonreligious People
Outwardly Good People
Immoral People
All People.
He loves us not because of who were are, but because what He has done; not because of what we have done, but because of Who He is.
How did Jesus show He is a friend of sinners? He became one of us. He gave up all the glory of heaven to take on all our limitations , all our temptations, and all our struggles. He lived to show us how to live and be victorious over all our struggles and temptations. He then died for our sins and rose again to share His victory over dead, sin, and Satan with us.
God is not some super critical fault find God. He is Jesus friend of sinners!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Prayer and Celebration
I want us as followers of Jesus to do two things:
- Pray
- Celebrate
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul tells us to pray continually. I truly believe that without prayer nothing works. Prayer however, is not about rolling out our wish list and asking God to make it all happen. Prayer is about seeking God, seeking God's will, allowing God to speak truth to us, and letting God transform us into the image of Jesus.
I hear followers of Jesus complaining more than praying. I don't find anywhere in God's Word where we are told to complain. I do find hundreds of times where God's people are command to pray.
In Ephesians 6:18 Paul says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." We are to pray about everything, all the time, with all kinds of prayers. That seems very inclusive to me. Bottom line: We as God's people need to pray!
If any people in the world have reason to celebrate it is us as followers of Jesus. We have the Creator of the whole earth on our side. God became flesh and lived and died for our sins and then rose from the dead. And as His followers who have surrender our lives to Him, we have eternal life. That is reason to celebrate.
We as followers of Jesus are more angry than joyful.
We as followers of Jesus are more negative than positive.
We as followers of Jesus are more discouraged than hopeful.
We as followers of Jesus are in mourning more than in celebration.
I get that the world is fallen, perverted and broken.
However, Jesus is perfect, holy, and whole.
I don't celebrate the fallen, perverted, or broken. I celebrate the perfect, holy, whole Jesus.
I invite you to pray and than celebrate the One you pray to.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
- Pray
- Celebrate
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul tells us to pray continually. I truly believe that without prayer nothing works. Prayer however, is not about rolling out our wish list and asking God to make it all happen. Prayer is about seeking God, seeking God's will, allowing God to speak truth to us, and letting God transform us into the image of Jesus.
I hear followers of Jesus complaining more than praying. I don't find anywhere in God's Word where we are told to complain. I do find hundreds of times where God's people are command to pray.
In Ephesians 6:18 Paul says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." We are to pray about everything, all the time, with all kinds of prayers. That seems very inclusive to me. Bottom line: We as God's people need to pray!
If any people in the world have reason to celebrate it is us as followers of Jesus. We have the Creator of the whole earth on our side. God became flesh and lived and died for our sins and then rose from the dead. And as His followers who have surrender our lives to Him, we have eternal life. That is reason to celebrate.
We as followers of Jesus are more angry than joyful.
We as followers of Jesus are more negative than positive.
We as followers of Jesus are more discouraged than hopeful.
We as followers of Jesus are in mourning more than in celebration.
I get that the world is fallen, perverted and broken.
However, Jesus is perfect, holy, and whole.
I don't celebrate the fallen, perverted, or broken. I celebrate the perfect, holy, whole Jesus.
I invite you to pray and than celebrate the One you pray to.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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