“Serving Others Is Natural For A Christian”

The title of today’s blog pretty much sums up the entire blog. Our good works do not grant us Salvation but instead are a result of Salvation. Works alone will not save you; your belief in Jesus Christ is the means in which one is saved. I want to post a passage of scripture that I read last night that I believe is a great place to park for today.

Matthew 25:31-46

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? He will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

We see here that Jesus is showing us what it looks like to be a Christian. That is by caring for those who are in need. Once you receive Christ into your heart, this behavior should be second nature. Galatians 5:22-23 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”. If you noticed in this parable, the sheep (believers) said Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, or in prison, and helped you? What amazes me is that they didn’t even know that they did these things. That’s because serving others is not forced for a believer its natural. They weren’t doing them to earn salvation but they where doing them because they had salvation. Christ response was “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”

We also must be careful how we treat others that we don’t know. You never know who you could be helping. Hebrews 13:2 “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it”. Paul makes it pretty clear that serving others is a way of serving Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

I thought it would be great to end today’s blog with a prayer for use all. If we are not careful we all could fall into the category of not exemplifying Christ in our actions.

Father we ask that you would make us more sensitive to the opportunities we have to help others. Help us not to be selfish in our serving. For you gave your son willingly to come and die for our sins. We ask that his life would be a light for us as servants. As your son said in Matthew 20:28 “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. So we ask that you would help us to give of ourselves to help those in need. We thank you for providing all that we need, and we ask that you put in our hearts the willingness to want to help people. We ask this in your Sons name Jesus Christ Amen.

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“Hope in Heaven”

So many unbelievers have questions about Heaven. Questions such as, where is Heaven? Is Heaven a real place? What is Heaven like? My question to the believer is, are you prepared to help an unbeliever understand this place we call Heaven.

Heaven is a place that we as believers put all of our hope. But if you were to ask some Christian to take you in the Bible where it speaks about this place they would have no clue where to go. I believe it’s important for use to know what the Word says about this place we will spend eternity, after all we will be there a very long time :-). In this short but much needed blog concerning Heaven, it is my hope to help us understand Heaven a little bit better.

There are tons of scriptures that can help us to understand Heaven. In the New Testament alone, the word “Heaven” is found 276 times.

Most of us know heaven as the place of “No Mores”. Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." But there is so much more to Heaven then what he will do for us. Let’s see what we will do for Him. Revelation 22:3 “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him”. Isn’t that a great thought, we will be able to Worship God without the curse of sin! There won’t be anything to cloud our vision, we will for the first time be able to see God face to face. 1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Anyone that tells you they have seen Gods face is not telling the truth. Not even Moses was granted access to see Gods face, only his back. Exodus 33:20 "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" So I find great joy in knowing that one day I will see God face to face.

Not only will we be able to see God face to face, we will also be able to behold this beautiful place that he dwells. I can’t even imagine how beautiful Heaven will be. Revelation Chapter 21 does a great job explaining what heaven will look like, but even after reading it I can’t imagine its beauty. I mean seriously there will be no sun or the moon to shine on it, God will give off its light. And there is no temple in Heaven because God the father and his Son Jesus Christ are its temples. There will also be twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates, I hope Archangel Michael is at my gate I will be starstruck :-).

So I ask you, have you secured the hottest ticket in town? As Toby Mac said do you have your ticket to ride to the other side? Well there is only one way to get a ticket, and that is by believing in Christ Jesus. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. I want to see all of you in Heaven, there is still room! So I beg you, give your life to Christ, if you haven’t all ready!

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"Idolatry, Idolatry, Idolatry"

Last week we spent a few minutes talking about the sin of pride. This week I really want to spend some time talking about another sin that goes unnoticed and that is idolatry. The definition of Idolatry is the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing.

The scriptures are adamantly against idolatry, and the reason is because it simply puts something else in the place of our God. Since the beginning, God’s covenant with Israel was based on worshiping Him and Him Alone. Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me”. God’s holiness is so powerful that he doesn’t even want us saying the names of false gods. Exodus 23:13 “Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips”. We must be careful that we respect and reverence our Holy God at all times. Unfortunately the Old Testament shows us time after time of how the Israelites went back worshipping false gods. They were stuck in a pattern of idol worship, punishment, restoration and forgiveness, followed by a return to idolatry, and the cycle would start back over.

The most prevalent form of idolatry in Bible times was the worship of images and statues. We must ask ourselves how idolatry plays out in modern times. Well most people do not bow physically before a statue. It is my experience that idolatry is a matter of the heart. It’s shown when we succumb to Pride, self-centeredness, greed, materialism, gluttony, and dependence on a man or woman (Boo Lovin).

We could spend hours on this topic but because of time I want to focus on two of these forms of idolatry. “Materialism” and “Gluttony”!

Worshiping materialistic stuff is a very common form of idolatry. People want the newest items, clothes, gadget, cars, homes, and not to mention all of the stuff that goes in a home. My wife and I just purchased our first house and in purchasing the house we realized that we needed stuff to go in the house. So we bought a flat screen and a few pieces of furniture and quickly realized that our rush to fill the house could become a form of idolatry. My wife said to me one night going to bed we have spent a lot of money on stuff but have we helped anyone else? This question rung in my spirit for the whole week. When you worship materials it keeps the focus on you and not God. Indulging in our materialistic desires is Satan’s trap to keep our focus on ourselves.

Now let us talk about a less noticeable form of idolatry called Gluttony. This is a form of idolatry that I struggle with. Anyone that knows me knows I love to EAT, but if we are going to line ourselves up with the Word of God, then gluttony is not acceptable. Gluttony is simply a desire to consume more than that which one requires. Gluttony is one of those sins that I have ignored for years and I’m sure many others have also. We are often quick to label smoking and drinking as sins, but for some reason gluttony is accepted or at least tolerated. We must view gluttony as a habit that must be broken. If we are unable to control our eating habits, we are probably also unable to control other habits. Did you know Proverbs 23:2 says “Put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony?” That’s one of those scriptures that makes you scratch your head. I heard someone say the other day that people that give in to gluttony dig them selves a grave with there teeth. The bottom line is nothing should control us but our Father in Heaven.

So as we are ending today’s blog I encourage you to pray that God would reveal the areas where other things are before God. Our hearts and minds must be centered on God and on others. This is why when asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” Matt 22:7. When we love the Lord and others with everything that is in us, there will be no room in our hearts for idolatry.

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"Pride, Pride, Pride"

Pride is one of those sins that gets overlooked by Christians. But we can not overlook something that the scriptures are so strongly against. In today’s blog I want to point out how God feels about pride. Throughout Scripture we are told about the consequences of pride. Proverbs 16:18–19 says “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud”.

Pride is giving ourselves the credit for something that God has accomplished. It’s important to know that anything we accomplished would not have been possible had it not been for God enabling us to do it. Pride normally says look at me and not God. Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God”. Pride has no room for God only self-glorification.

Pride separates us from our Father; let’s remember Satan was cast out of heaven because of pride. (Check Out Isaiah 14:12–15). Pride is something I try my best to be aware of. There are times when I have to rebuke myself for thinking I have done things on my own. Unfortunately I am not alone in this battle against pride, many Christian have some form of pride and don't know it. My hope is that you become aware of the areas where you have taking the credit for what only God can do.

Pride is a false reality that makes us think we are good people, and because we are so good we deserve God to bless us. When the truth is God is not pleased with our lack of humility. Thomas Merton said Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.

There are four things I do to keep pride from entering my heart again.

1. I pray for forgiveness of the sin of Pride: This is something I must pray on a continual basis. I know some of you have this area under control but if you’re like me you have to ask everyday for forgiveness. (Pride is sneaky and constantly wants to creep in)

2. Say to yourself everyday “It’s not about me”: This is a great way to get the focus off of YOU. Unfortunately we live in a society that promotes us to think of ourselves and not others, we must fight against the plague of selfishness.

3. Memorize Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

4. Ask God for a spirit of Humility & Gratitude: This one is simple, pray that you are humble and grateful. The book of James has a great scripture on humility. James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”

So as we closed today’s blog my hope is that we replace Pride with Humility. Gods loves every one of us the exact same. He doesn’t love me anymore then he loves the crack head on the corner. Its time for us to do away with our pride and watch how our relationship with God takes off.

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"God Isn’t Fair"

The title may seem a bit much, but unfortunately I have heard many people say this. The truth of the matter is God is NOT fair, and we should be so grateful that he isn’t. Fairness would mean that everyone got exactly as he or she deserved. I want you to think about some of the trifling things you have done in your life. Are you thinking? Now think what would happen if God gave you what you deserved?

If God were completely fair, we would all spend eternity in hell paying for our sin, which is exactly what we deserve. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and are therefore worthy of eternal death. Romans 6:23” For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Fairness would mean we would end up in the lake of fire according to Revelation 20.

So fortunately for us, God is not fair, instead He is merciful and good, so He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross in our place, taking the punishment that we deserve. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” All we have to do is believe in Him (Jesus) and we will be saved, forgiven, and receive eternal life.

The only people that will receive the punishment they deserve are the people that don’t believe in who God sent, which is Christ Jesus. John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” So as you see those who believe are receiving far more, and much better, than what they deserve.

So the next time someone debates with you over whether or not God is fair, let them know that he is absolutely not fair. But he is gracious, merciful, and forgiving by sending his Son Jesus Christ and that is better then him being fair any day!

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“Daddy Can I Drive?”

This is the question my 7 year old son asked me this morning on our way to school. My reply to him was “One day just not today”. The truth is I hate driving and would love for him to drive, and it’s my hope that one day he will be able to drive.

Its amazing how something as natural as driving can be so dangerous if you’re prematurely pushed into it. One day I expect him to get his license and prayerfully a car and then on the road he will go. But at 7, if he is put behind the wheel he would probably crash the car.

This is the same way our Father in heaven works. There are things that he wants for his children but we may not be spiritually ready for it. Our job is to have patience and grow in the area God wills for us. Hebrews 10:36 says “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

In 1 Samuel 16, David is anointed to be King. After David was anointed, he went back to tending the sheep for his father. What do you think kept David from running ahead and going to the palace and demanding to be king now? He was willing to wait on God’s timing. David knew that things were in God’s hands, and he knew that God’s timing is always right. We have seen in this story that David was obedient in trusting God even when he didn’t know how God would work out the details.

If God was to put some of us behind the wheel right now we would probably be like my 7 year old son and crash, potentially hurting ourselves. In many cases, people are just like my son and have a strong desire to want to mature too quickly, but as Christian we have to learn how to wait on Gods timing. Just because we have a strong desire doesn't change Gods will or his timing. Everything he does is perfect! Eccl 3:11 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time”. You will never be able to appreciate things that come quickly. But things that take time and effort you will appreciate that and be grateful for.

It is my hope that as we close today’s blog you will examine the areas you may be rushing God in and then slow down. Instead of rushing God we should find ourselves continually praying and seeking him for patience. Romans 12:12, “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer”.

“Fruitful”

If I were to ask you what makes a person fruitful most people would say having homes, cars, jobs, and money in the bank. Having things of this nature is definitely a way to look at being fruitful. However, in today’s blog I want to look at fruitful people through a different lens. The word fruit, or a variation of it is used fifty-five times in the New Testament and refers to a variation of results. I want to talk about one of these variations, and that is by gauging fruitfulness by how many people you bring to Christ.

Fruit for a believer should be the gaining or converting of another believer. In 1 Corinthians 16:15, Paul refers to the first converts in Achaia as the “First fruits of Achaia”. Although this way of thinking about fruit is uncommon it is still biblical. Jesus said in John 15:8 “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Being a fruitful disciple is contingent on how many souls accept Christ as their personal Saviour. This passage of scripture has nothing to do with money but all to do with connecting people to the “True Vine” which is Jesus Christ.

When we bear fruit it pleases God. Colossians 1:10 says, “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work”. If you are a person that looks to honor God in every area of your life, converting unbelievers is a major way to honor our Father.

As Christians we should have such urgency within us to tell all we know about Christ, Why?Because he is the only way to Heaven according to John 14:6. That urgency should burn within us every time we walk in a Mall, down the street or in a gym. If you want to learn more about witnessing to unbelievers there is plenty of material out there, but the best material to read is the Bible. The book of Acts is a great place to start reading about unbelievers becoming believers.

As I was studying some of the conversions in the Bible I begin to ask myself this question. Am I being fruitful? And I must be 100% honest, I'm not feeling very fruitful. As Christians we have a lot of work to do. There are so many people that don’t know about Christ. I pray that you will read this blog and begin to look at your own life. I will leave you with this simple question. How many people have you told about Jesus just this year alone? If your answer is none, LET’S GET TO WORK!