God Chose You!

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you." John 15:16

"American Idol" has been for some time now the leading talent show in thew country. The TV Reality show's concept is to have the American people choose who they believe to be the best singer in America. The winner actually carries the title and name of American Idol!

My point is not to tear down the show, music or gifted and talented artists. Being one who has grown up in a musical family, I have a love and respect for musicianship. Having said that, I do have a problem with the self absorbed, fleshly focus that the term "Idol" communicates to young kids who can be mislead. What is an Idol?

"The Webster Dictionary defines an idol as
1: a representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly : a false god.
2: a likeness of something, pretender, impostor
3: a form or appearance visible but without substance ; also : ideal 2
5: a false conception : fallacy

Sure, one can argue that the title of "Idol" is harmless and simply denotes the cleaver labeling and selling/marketing genius of TV producers. On the other hand, according to this definition, it can communicate a subtle message of adoration and praise toward the one who is looked at like a god to be idolized by all. 

I find it encouraging that the Bible says that God, the uncreated Creator, actually appointed and chose us. His criteria, unlike the judges on the American idol show, does not include being the best, polished, most good-looking and gifted person in the bunch.

Did you know that Father’s activity determined the Son’s direction and motivation. We get to see what God is doing, then decide to join Him.  John 5:19-20 "....the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing...."

Our approach is to realize that it does not matter what capacities or abilities we possess, or what we think we can do for God. God said that He “chose the weak things of the world… and the base things of the world and the things that are despised…. and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. 

God is not looking for the next American Idol, He is simply looking for you, just like you are. It doesn't depend on numbers, status, looks, skills, talent or even resources. The future will be shaped by God through His people! He will do amazing things in and through His people as we learn to rest in Him and enjoy an intimate relationship with Him. 

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Living His Secret Ambition!

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow Me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process. Is anything worth more than your soul?"

Matthew 16:24-26

As I read this passage I was quickly reminded by Father that the world is filled with sefishly ambitious people. Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes have fame, fortune, respect and better opportunities for now. The successful business man or woman has power, prestige and perks for now. The problem is not ambition or the success of these careers, but people driven by selfish ambition with little or no regard for God.

Did you know that God can move us from selfish ambition to Christ Centered ambition? We can live a life that has greater purpose and is more fulfilling because we live our lives in relationship with the living God. How can we experience this radical change from selfish ambition to Christ centered ambition?

Jesus tells us to be willing to shoulder our cross. The cross signifies death. We can learn to live with His best in the forefront of our minds and hearts. This means that we can identify with Christ in His rejection, shame, suffering, death and resurrection.

In the next verse we learn that trying to hold onto our life and dreams, for our own selfish gain, can lead to losing everything in the end that really matters.

As Christians we learn that life is not to be ultimately about us and our agendas, but about God and His agenda. We actually live and work to leave this world not live and work to stay. We, like our Lord, can live being about our Father's business. We get to give up our selfish ambitions, which are hollow and short-lived, for the glory of the Living God who reigns forever and ever.

Finally, the climax of this passage. Jesus says, what does it matter if you are the greatest, richest, most well known and admired person at your job, your ministry, in your community or on the planet and yet lose your soul at the same time? In other words, you have been duped and end up with nothing of eternal value!

Imagine wasting all of your life building your personal empire, collecting, climbing, and achieving only to die poor in spirit while taking nothing with you into eternity with Father. Jesus ends this passage by asking a thought provoking, staggering rhetorical question. Is anything worth more than your soul? The answer is absolutely not!

I think our Lord is graciously offering us an eternal perspective so that we might seriously consider who we are living from (His Life) and what are we living for (His Purposes). We can actually live His secret ambition today and every day!

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Taking The Worry Out of Your Life!

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Have you ever gone through a trial or situation where you have felt completely out of control and powerless regarding the outcome? If so you probably are no stranger to that scary nervous feeling in the pit of your gut. Isn't it so easy to worry and think the worst during those times? We start rehearsing in our minds all the things that could go wrong.

Soon doubt and fear come crashing in like a whirlwind . We tend to doubt Father's goodness, we doubt that we'll ever see the light at the end of the tunnel. From these times we learn and relearn that life is not always fair, but God is always good.

I remember a time in my life when my family and I were neck deep in dealing with our health care provider regarding the loss of our medical coverage.

As I sought Father and His wisdom to know His heart regarding this matter, He spoke these words of comfort over and over to my spirit. "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Doing this allows us to experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

In this passage Paul reminds us not to worry about anything. In the Greek, the word worry or anxious means "To be pulled in different directions." The Old English root from which we get our word "worry" means to strangle. Paul knew that the enemy would use worry to pull our minds and hearts in different directions while strangling the life out of us.

Paul encourages us instead to pray to Father. Talking to Father with a heart of adoration, devotion and worship will allow us to experience intimacy with Him. Soon we will find ourselves thanking Him for who He is and all that He has done. Talking to Father turns our focus from our problem to our awesome God and Father and His power.

It's in prayer, (talking to Him) that we are reminded how much He loves and cares for us. Soon we find that resting in Him is better than knowing the outcome of our problem. In this passage Father promises His presence which brings a peace that satisfies us in ways that we cannot began to understand. The peace of God will actually guard, protect and empower our hearts and our minds, in Christ Jesus.

Our peace is In Christ, our hope is In Christ, our joy is In Christ, our power is In Christ, our battles are won In Christ. Jesus brings perfect peace in the midst of persecution, trials or troubles. How? By giving us Himself! Jesus offers us Himself in exchange for our uncertain future caused by unwanted trials and troubles. What a beautiful friend and savior we have in Jesus.

Then the passage encourages us to thank Him for all that He has done. Let me share one practical way to do this. When you are being tempted to worry and fret about your circumstances, trials and life, take a sheet of paper and pen and walk through your house writng down everything you have.

Why write it down? Because when we write it down we can label it, and what we can label we can iteract with intentionally. I have found that things get much more clear and precise when we write them down. In other words, nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific!

Then you can recount the faithfullness of God while being reminded of the many prayers that were answered that we tend to forget during the business of our lives.

So how are you doing this week? Are you tempted to worry because you are facing a crises or a problem that threatens your hope, your joy, your future or maybe your very life? Paul would remind you that Jesus offers you Himself in exchange for those awful feelings of being strangled and pulled in different directions.

Father's promise to you is that He, Himself, will guard your heart and your mind as you live in Christ Jesus

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God Has No Second Class Children!

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1Peter 2:9

We live in a world that promotes different classes and categories of people. For example, the polished vs the unpolished or even the best vs the best of the best. This kind of thinking can lead one to conclude, if you are highly gifted, successful and wealthy, you are especially blessed and a cut above the rest.

The origin of this type of thinking can be traced back to distorted beliefs that are deeply rooted in lies that we may have been believing for so long, that they can actually feel true to us.

To name a couple of these lies; your self worth equals your net worth, or God loves you because you are valuable. I would like to propose for consideration, that this way of thinking does not originate from our God's mind or heart at all.

In fact, the scripture clearly states that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons,

James 2:1-9. The bible also tells us that our identity in Christ is where we derive our worth and that we are valuable because God loves us! In other words, our worth and value is from God, not from us, nor is it dependant upon our deserving it.

Why? Because believers in the Church Age are under grace and are called a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Peter called Christians “a holy priesthood” 1Peter 2:5 and “a royal priesthood” 2:9; Rev. 1:6.

Christians are a special people because God has preserved them for Himself. One of God’s purposes in choosing believers for Himself is so that they may declare the praises of Him before others. “Praises” could also be translated “eminent qualities,” “excellencies,” or “virtues”.

Phil. 4:8; 1Peter 2:9; 2Peter 1:3,5.

We as Believer-priests are able to live so that our heavenly Father’s qualities are evident in our lives. We are privileged to serve as witnesses of the glory and grace of God, who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. We have the amazing opportunity to experience Father living His life in and through us for the whole world to see, in hope that many would come to know Jesus as their life!

In 1Peter 2:10, he explained this with a quote from Hosea 2:23. “Darkness” refers to the time when his readers were pagans, ignorant of God’s provision of salvation Col. 1:13, when they were not a people, when they had not received mercy. His “wonderful light” now illumines the people of God because they have received mercy.

So no matter what the world, the devil or the flesh may entice you to believe, you are not and never will be a second-class child of God!

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light!"

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Who Is God Anyway?

Did you know that our beliefs about God can affect the way we relate to Him and therefore affects the quality of our life? Our experiences with our earthly fathers and other authority figures have influenced our concept of God as Father.

The more negative or painful our earthly relationships, the more distorted our view of our heavenly Father is likely to be. Thankfully, we can know our heavenly Father as He really is through Jesus and by renewing our mind with scripture. The more we know God as He really is the more we trust Him and can love Him. With this in mind, it is important that we clearly understand where and how our concept of God originated.

Remember, what was behind you can define you and then confine you. This is one of the reasons we can take comfort in God's name being I AM. He told Moses tell them I AM sent you. My name is I AM, not I was, not I will be but, I AM! I Am everything you need at any given moment in your life.

Remember in Ex. 34: 5-9 God comes to Moses to show what He is really like. He connects His glory to His own character. God begins to share with Moses the DNA of God. Let's go over these six characteristics of God together.

(I credit Graham Cook for these 6 points of the DNA of God)

Compassionate - Empathy. God knows everything you are going through and He is with you and for you. He has compassion for you. It's used 111 times in scripture. When God repeats Himself that many times He really wants us to get it. Compassion is love and sorrow mixed in our hearts for another. Compassion is an action that takes the weight off another person. In other words God our Father stands with us in our pain.

Gracious - Grace means to release favor to another person when they least deserve it. To act kindly, be friendly, be courteous. To impart unmerited blessing. God loves to be compassionate toward you. God will never change the way He feels about you, thinks about you and cares about you. God loves being your God. He loves loving you, He adores adoring you.

Slow to anger - He has a long fuse. He is easily able to patiently bear with us. It takes a lot to make Him mad. He is slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness.

Full of mercy - Mercy treats the offender better than they deserve. Father is abundant with mercy. Rich, overflowing, generous, super abundant, God loves being merciful to you. God loves being kind to people who don't deserve it. God is amazing, astounding and eye opening with His mercy towards you.

Faithful - He will never ever leave us or forsake us, no matter what we do. We are wonderfully and beautifully stuck with Jesus Christ. God will keep His word to complete the work He is doing in you.

Forgiving - When Jesus died for our sins on the cross all of our sins were future. How exciting to know that you are forever deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted, absolutely complete in Christ.

May we cry out with Paul in Phillipians 3:10 that are deepest desire will be"that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformd to His death."

(adapted from Graham Cooke's talk on Uncommon Love)

It's Never too Late With God!

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Have you ever thought that because you made a really bad choice, that you would forever be stuck with God's second best for your life, always wondering what might have been?

If you have, you are not alone. This deception from the enemy has been used to keep believers from experiencing deep intimacy with God for centuries. When we've made choices that we believed really messed things up, it's difficult to believe that God wants to still give us His very best.

Sure there may be unpleasant consequences because of our bad decisions, that might require His loving discipline, but God's love for you and giving you His best, is never at stake for you. This is called grace. No, not greasy grace or a license to sin. If you think about it we can sin under law and under grace. Besides, God's grace never leads us to sin more.

In fact, Titus 2:11-12 tells us just the opposite. ....The grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.

Maybe you're thinking, sure He might bless me, but my life will never be as good as it could have been? I have some good news that can set you free from this damaging, distorted belief, that is rooted in a wrong concept of God.

The good news is that God's love is greater than your bad choices! There is nothing you can do, no matter how big or small, no matter how ugly it was, that will make your life less than God's best for you.  Why? Because you belong to the living God, and it is His responsibility to ensure that your life stays on track. The bible says that He has promised to complete the work He has begun in you. Romans 8:28

In Colossians 1:16 we read, "By Him all things were create, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him."

This means that the world does not exist in a cosmic setting where everything occurs by happenstance. Instead the bible tells us that everything is functioning by the all powerful, mighty hand of God. Do the stars that He created hang up in the sky on their own? No!

God holds them up there, and knows each star by name. Isaiah 40:26 Does the earth keep spinning on its axis by it's own power? No! God designed it that way.

Proverbs 5:21 says, that God ponders or knows your every move. How intimate and meticulous is our God. The word has the idea of somebody walking alongside you with His face inches away from yours, lovingly examining and scrutinizing your every move.

Satan, the great deceiver, wants you and I to believe that because of our bad choices, God will forever look at us a little differently than He used to before we "blew it", and certainly cannot use us as He once could have or would have.

If you want to experience the depths of intimacy with God through Jesus His Son, it is important to know and believe that God is in full control of your life. In fact, if you cannot believe that God is in control of all of your life, than you cannot be sure that He is in control of any of your life!

Yes, but what about....? What about what? We all would do well to repent of the sin of unbelief! Satan is a liar and the father of lies. No longer allow him the ground to crawl on.

So be encouraged today my dear friends. Nothing ever catches God off guard or by surprise. He knew it all when He was lovingly and intimately creating you in your mother's womb. God is in the business of turning crucifixions into resurrections.

Nothing you've done, no matter how wrong or stupid it was, will limit your God and Father from working in your life, or stop Him from intimately loving you. It's never to late with God and His love is greater than all of our bad choices.

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Finding Hope When You Feel Hopeless!

"The Righteous face many troubles, but the Lord rescues them from each and every one. For the Lord protects them from harm-not one of their bones will be broken". Psalm 34:19-20

Have you ever felt like you've had the hope kicked out of you? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your pain, hurts, circumstances and/or your trials in life? Do you find it easy at times to doubt whether God will answer your cry's for help?

If you can relate to any of these feelings you are not alone my dear friends. In fact, many of God's people today and over the centuries have felt the same feelings from time to time.

Would you allow the loving words of our God and Father to comfort you, and remind you of who He is and what He promises?

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death. The scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep". Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord!!"  Romans 8:35-39 (NLT)

I don't know how bad it has been and/or how deeply you have been hurt at times in your life. Maybe you've had days or nights when you thought that you would not make it through another day.  May I remind you and encourage you, that you did make it? You did not fail and you were and are not alone. Our God was and is faithful in your life.

So feel free to rest in God's love for you. Soon you will discover that the hope you are looking for is found in an intimate relationship with Jesus.

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