Several years ago I bought a black t-shirt with two simple words written in white across the front of the shirt. The two words said……”be God’s”. I purchased the shirt for different reasons, but mostly because it looked cool. And, it would make people take a second look at what it said. Over the years I haven’t thought too much about the shirt. I still will get it out and wear it from time to time. But, recently (as in yesterday) this simple phrase has resurfaced in my mind; not because it is cool, but because it tells us all something we need to remember and know.
I was reading in Ephesians the other day and I came across this passage in 2:8-10. As I read Ephesians 2:8-10, I saw a short phrase that defined the entire passage for me. That phrase is “For we are God’s”. This passage means that we have always been His. He has had a plan for us from the very beginning of time. His plan was to first, save us; and to save us by His grace …His Son …His sacrifice …His plan. This would have nothing to do with our abilities or skills, because if it had, we would brag about it. Pride would cause us to make something of ourselves, and not who God created us to be; His. This grace, this love that Christ has for us, was given freely; it is a gift. What allows us to receive this free gift is our faith; our faith that Christ has shown His grace to save us because we are God’s. We belong to Him and have always belonged to Him.
God has placed great value on us by saying that we are His workmanship, handiwork; masterpiece. He has created us to pattern the life of His Son. He has been preparing for us to do for others what His Son also did; to show grace, love, and mercy to everyone we meet and to tell them about our God who loves us so much. What better to know than the realization that God has always considered us valuable to Him; so valuable that He bought us with the sacrifice of His Son? He has prepared us by giving us the examples set by His Son to help us live for Him. And, we can do all that He has planned for us to do, “for we are God’s”.
So, as we walk out of the comforts of feeling safe and secure inside the church walls, and venture into the world that God has prepared us for; remember, that in all of our circumstances, whether good or bad, God is in control. He values us. He has plans for us. We are His own; sons and daughters. I believe that it is time we acted like His children. All we need to do is....
……be God’s.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
wash her feet
Are you familiar with the account in the scriptures where Jesus begins washing the feet of the disciples? Peter is appalled that Jesus would stoop to such a lowly position and he refuses to allow Jesus to wash his feet, until Jesus explains to him that unless he lets Jesus wash his feet, then he can have no part in following Jesus.
I've heard a lot of messages over the years on this event in the life of Jesus and his disciples. But, I would have to say that the one speaker that brought this into reality for me was Rev. Larry Jackson. You may not know that name, and neither did I until he spoke at a Promise Keeper's event in Knoxville, TN several years ago. What I learned that afternoon, along with 40,000 other men was, that to wash someone's feet.....you needed a servant heart much like the heat of Jesus. And as a husband, that servant heart would cause you to out serve your wife. Rev. Jackson challenged every man in attendance to ask God for His servant heart; to return home as a new man, and to out serve his wife. The first step would be to wash her feet.
I had made the trip to TN with several men from church, and we had a good time going and coming back from there, but you could sense that each one of us was anxious about what was going to happen when we got home. We had been instructed by Rev. Jackson not to tell our wives what we were doing. But, to sit her in a nice chair...... get a bowl of water and a towel.... then return and wash her feet. Only after washing her feet could we explain what we had done, and why.
The closer I got to the house, the more anxious I became. Could I do this? Would Karen understand? Will this really make me the man I need to be in her life and in the life of my kids? I had it all planned out. I walked her toward the living room to sit her in a nice chair, but she stopped me. She told me that she had listened to the entire event on the radio while I was away. Then she told me the most humbling thing that I have ever heard.
I didn't need to wash her feet............again.
I've heard a lot of messages over the years on this event in the life of Jesus and his disciples. But, I would have to say that the one speaker that brought this into reality for me was Rev. Larry Jackson. You may not know that name, and neither did I until he spoke at a Promise Keeper's event in Knoxville, TN several years ago. What I learned that afternoon, along with 40,000 other men was, that to wash someone's feet.....you needed a servant heart much like the heat of Jesus. And as a husband, that servant heart would cause you to out serve your wife. Rev. Jackson challenged every man in attendance to ask God for His servant heart; to return home as a new man, and to out serve his wife. The first step would be to wash her feet.
I had made the trip to TN with several men from church, and we had a good time going and coming back from there, but you could sense that each one of us was anxious about what was going to happen when we got home. We had been instructed by Rev. Jackson not to tell our wives what we were doing. But, to sit her in a nice chair...... get a bowl of water and a towel.... then return and wash her feet. Only after washing her feet could we explain what we had done, and why.
The closer I got to the house, the more anxious I became. Could I do this? Would Karen understand? Will this really make me the man I need to be in her life and in the life of my kids? I had it all planned out. I walked her toward the living room to sit her in a nice chair, but she stopped me. She told me that she had listened to the entire event on the radio while I was away. Then she told me the most humbling thing that I have ever heard.
I didn't need to wash her feet............again.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
"connect the dots"
Do you remember "connect the dots"? I use to love playing that game in puzzle books. You would look at all these dots on the page and just know that if you connect them all in the right order, you have a finished picture. But, not until they are all connected.
I believe that in our churches we are challenged to connect the dots when we serve in a ministry. We look at what we feel God is leading us to do, but we can't fully make out what will be the end result. We ask ourselves over and over if what we decide to do will make any difference in any one's life. Then, we begin the journey. We usually start with some simple pictures that aren't too hard to figure out, and once we get comfortable with those, we step up to the more challenging "connect the dot" pictures. These take a little more time to finish....with a little more concentration.
We have all been called into a ministry of service for the Lord, and we are all at different levels of competence when it comes to connecting the dots. The more we try to follow the example of Jesus and His ministry of serving, the more the ministry requires of us. We are asked to turn the page to the hard picture puzzles; to step out of our comfort zones and step into a ministry that requires a servant-heart ability to connect the dots. When we do this we will see that we are being challenged to step outside the ordinary and seek to do the extra-ordinary that will require much of us.
Those dots will take us to the hurting, the lost, and the dying with a servant-heart filled with compassion and love to feed the hungry, care for the sick, and love the overlooked. We will begin to see a completed picture of what the church is suppose to be; a reflection of Christ.
I believe that in our churches we are challenged to connect the dots when we serve in a ministry. We look at what we feel God is leading us to do, but we can't fully make out what will be the end result. We ask ourselves over and over if what we decide to do will make any difference in any one's life. Then, we begin the journey. We usually start with some simple pictures that aren't too hard to figure out, and once we get comfortable with those, we step up to the more challenging "connect the dot" pictures. These take a little more time to finish....with a little more concentration.
We have all been called into a ministry of service for the Lord, and we are all at different levels of competence when it comes to connecting the dots. The more we try to follow the example of Jesus and His ministry of serving, the more the ministry requires of us. We are asked to turn the page to the hard picture puzzles; to step out of our comfort zones and step into a ministry that requires a servant-heart ability to connect the dots. When we do this we will see that we are being challenged to step outside the ordinary and seek to do the extra-ordinary that will require much of us.
Those dots will take us to the hurting, the lost, and the dying with a servant-heart filled with compassion and love to feed the hungry, care for the sick, and love the overlooked. We will begin to see a completed picture of what the church is suppose to be; a reflection of Christ.
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