THE REASON
We might wonder how the religious leaders of Jesus' day could be so heartless as to take Him and put Him to such an agonizing death. Where was their compassion? Even if they didn't accept Him as the Messiah, what was behind this hatred toward Him?
We could take the same question and apply it to the broader one of why people reject Jesus Christ without ever taking time to consider His claims. Why is it that people refuse to give at least a fair hearing to the message of the gospel? Jesus said, "Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil" (John 3:19).
Someone may say, "The reason I am not a Christian is because I disagree with this or I have problems with that." According to Jesus, the real reason is that their deeds are evil. They don't want to come into the light, where their deeds will be exposed. Everything else is nothing more than an excuse people hide behind.
I am not saying that people do not have legitimate questions to ask. I am not saying people do not grapple with some of these truths. What I am saying is that when people are true seekers of God and they are presented with the answers to their questions, they will believe.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
REAL VALUE
I went to the doctor’s office this week. Turns out I have shingles—pretty painful but not life-threatening. I’ll survive.
While I was waiting in the office, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between two mothers of small children. They were discussing new methodologies for raising the esteem level in their kids. It sounded like a combination of the cookie-cutter philosophy of Dr. Phil and Oprah—a mile wide and not even an inch deep.
It caused me to think, is low self-esteem really the problem with people today? I don’t believe so. In fact, I think we need to have a proper understanding of the way things really are. Apart from Jesus Christ, we have no value whatsoever. But when Christ comes into our lives, He places His value within us. And now with a new confidence and boldness we have something to offer, because He has made us persons of value.
A great writer can write on an ordinary piece of paper and suddenly it is valuable. A great artist can take a canvas and make a beautiful painting on it that is priceless. It isn't the paper that's valuable, or the canvas. It's what is written on the paper or painted on the canvas.
The Apostle Paul knew that the value of the work he was doing for the Lord was not due to his own ability, but due to the power of God at work in him. He wrote to the church in Corinth, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).
God wrote His name on you when you gave your life to Christ. He invested Himself in you. That's why you can make a difference. God wants to use you, and He has a place for you—a part for you to play, a call for you to answer.
This Sunday at Gatetree
I will continue in our Easter message series this week with "The Seven Last Sayings of Jesus." I hope you will be able to join with us on Sunday at 10:45 AM. You'll be glad you did.
I went to the doctor’s office this week. Turns out I have shingles—pretty painful but not life-threatening. I’ll survive.
While I was waiting in the office, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between two mothers of small children. They were discussing new methodologies for raising the esteem level in their kids. It sounded like a combination of the cookie-cutter philosophy of Dr. Phil and Oprah—a mile wide and not even an inch deep.
It caused me to think, is low self-esteem really the problem with people today? I don’t believe so. In fact, I think we need to have a proper understanding of the way things really are. Apart from Jesus Christ, we have no value whatsoever. But when Christ comes into our lives, He places His value within us. And now with a new confidence and boldness we have something to offer, because He has made us persons of value.
A great writer can write on an ordinary piece of paper and suddenly it is valuable. A great artist can take a canvas and make a beautiful painting on it that is priceless. It isn't the paper that's valuable, or the canvas. It's what is written on the paper or painted on the canvas.
The Apostle Paul knew that the value of the work he was doing for the Lord was not due to his own ability, but due to the power of God at work in him. He wrote to the church in Corinth, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).
God wrote His name on you when you gave your life to Christ. He invested Himself in you. That's why you can make a difference. God wants to use you, and He has a place for you—a part for you to play, a call for you to answer.
This Sunday at Gatetree
I will continue in our Easter message series this week with "The Seven Last Sayings of Jesus." I hope you will be able to join with us on Sunday at 10:45 AM. You'll be glad you did.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
THE DRAWBRIDGE
I heard a true story about a man who operated a drawbridge. At a certain time every afternoon, he raised the bridge for a ferryboat to go by, and then lowered it in time for a passenger train to cross over. He performed this task precisely, according to the clock.
One day, he brought his son to work so he could watch. As his father raised the bridge, the boy got excited and wanted to take a closer look. His father realized his son was missing and began looking for him. To his horror, his son had come dangerously close to the bridge's gears. Frantic, he wanted to go rescue him, but if he left the controls, he would not be back in time to lower the bridge for the approaching passenger train.
He faced a dilemma. If he lowered the bridge, his son would be killed. If he left it raised, hundreds of others would die. He knew what he had to do. With tears streaming down his face, he watched the passenger train roll by. On board, two women chatted over tea. Others were reading newspapers. All were totally unaware of what had just transpired. The man cried out, "Don't you realize that I just gave my son for you?" But they just continued on their way.
This story is a picture of what happened at the Cross. God gave up His beloved Son so that we might live. But most people don't give it a second thought. How about you? Are you conscious of the ultimate sacrifice God made on your behalf? Will you be sure to thank Him?
This Week at Gatetree
We have started our Easter message series “The Final Solution” and this week I will share a message titled, “The Day Jesus Died.” Our Sunday service is at 10:45 AM and the people of Gatetree would be delighted to meet you. I hope you can join with us.
I heard a true story about a man who operated a drawbridge. At a certain time every afternoon, he raised the bridge for a ferryboat to go by, and then lowered it in time for a passenger train to cross over. He performed this task precisely, according to the clock.
One day, he brought his son to work so he could watch. As his father raised the bridge, the boy got excited and wanted to take a closer look. His father realized his son was missing and began looking for him. To his horror, his son had come dangerously close to the bridge's gears. Frantic, he wanted to go rescue him, but if he left the controls, he would not be back in time to lower the bridge for the approaching passenger train.
He faced a dilemma. If he lowered the bridge, his son would be killed. If he left it raised, hundreds of others would die. He knew what he had to do. With tears streaming down his face, he watched the passenger train roll by. On board, two women chatted over tea. Others were reading newspapers. All were totally unaware of what had just transpired. The man cried out, "Don't you realize that I just gave my son for you?" But they just continued on their way.
This story is a picture of what happened at the Cross. God gave up His beloved Son so that we might live. But most people don't give it a second thought. How about you? Are you conscious of the ultimate sacrifice God made on your behalf? Will you be sure to thank Him?
This Week at Gatetree
We have started our Easter message series “The Final Solution” and this week I will share a message titled, “The Day Jesus Died.” Our Sunday service is at 10:45 AM and the people of Gatetree would be delighted to meet you. I hope you can join with us.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
IT'S NOT ABOUT FEELINGS
Last week a recent poll was released stating that almost 15% of Americans say they either have no religion or have left behind organized religion. You know what? I think those numbers are soft and it has been that way for a long time.
Another poll was released this week that I find even more disturbing. There is an alarming ignorance of who God is and what He is like, even among professing Christians. This was shown in recent poll conducted by Barna.
According to the poll, half of Americans who call themselves “Christian” don’t believe that Satan exists and fully one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while on Earth. Further, 25% dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.”
The pollster concluded, “Growing numbers of people now serve as their own ‘theologian-in-residence.’ One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs.”
So it’s time to help people change the way they “think.”
God wants us to think and not just feel. The Lord entreats us in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together” (NKJV), or another translation puts it, “Sit down, let’s argue this out!” (THE MESSAGE)
When you become a follower of Jesus, you do not have to “check your brains at the door.” Christianity is a reasonable, even logical, faith.
That is not to say we don’t need to have great faith to follow Christ, but it is to say the teachings of the Bible quite simply make sense!
What you feel is not the issue
Far too many people, when stating their opinion, will say, “I think,” ”I feel,” ”I believe,” or “My God would never do thus and so.”
We need more “The Bible says,” because then we will learn to think, feel, and believe the right things. This is called theology, and we neglect it at our own peril.
Experience is never to be the basis for theology. Sound theology, however, is the basis for experience.
C.S. Lewis gave this warning years ago: “If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones!”
We ought, also, to be a people of sound theology without apology. Because what we believe about God will affect the way that we live. As 1 Timothy 4:16 says, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (NIV).
Sunday at Gatetree
Easter is a month away and we begin a new message series this Sunday that I’m calling “The Final Solution.” This series will focus our attention on the events surrounding the cross and the resurrection. The messages will be on our website, but if you’re in the Danville area, you ought to drop in for worship at 10:45 AM. I look forward to meeting you.
Last week a recent poll was released stating that almost 15% of Americans say they either have no religion or have left behind organized religion. You know what? I think those numbers are soft and it has been that way for a long time.
Another poll was released this week that I find even more disturbing. There is an alarming ignorance of who God is and what He is like, even among professing Christians. This was shown in recent poll conducted by Barna.
According to the poll, half of Americans who call themselves “Christian” don’t believe that Satan exists and fully one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while on Earth. Further, 25% dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.”
The pollster concluded, “Growing numbers of people now serve as their own ‘theologian-in-residence.’ One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs.”
So it’s time to help people change the way they “think.”
God wants us to think and not just feel. The Lord entreats us in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together” (NKJV), or another translation puts it, “Sit down, let’s argue this out!” (THE MESSAGE)
When you become a follower of Jesus, you do not have to “check your brains at the door.” Christianity is a reasonable, even logical, faith.
That is not to say we don’t need to have great faith to follow Christ, but it is to say the teachings of the Bible quite simply make sense!
What you feel is not the issue
Far too many people, when stating their opinion, will say, “I think,” ”I feel,” ”I believe,” or “My God would never do thus and so.”
We need more “The Bible says,” because then we will learn to think, feel, and believe the right things. This is called theology, and we neglect it at our own peril.
Experience is never to be the basis for theology. Sound theology, however, is the basis for experience.
C.S. Lewis gave this warning years ago: “If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones!”
We ought, also, to be a people of sound theology without apology. Because what we believe about God will affect the way that we live. As 1 Timothy 4:16 says, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (NIV).
Sunday at Gatetree
Easter is a month away and we begin a new message series this Sunday that I’m calling “The Final Solution.” This series will focus our attention on the events surrounding the cross and the resurrection. The messages will be on our website, but if you’re in the Danville area, you ought to drop in for worship at 10:45 AM. I look forward to meeting you.
Monday, March 09, 2009
HOLES IN THE ROAD
I used to have a blue Volkswagen. One night while driving in a heavy rainstorm, I drove into a hole (25’ x 12’) in the roadway. It was dark and the hole was filled with water—I didn’t see it until I was resting in water 2 ½ feet deep. There was no driving out. I opened my car door, stepped into knee-deep water to discover that my front two tires had blown in addition to significant damage to the suspension. As I walked to the hole’s edge and attempted to climb out—I slipped and found myself sitting in water up to my neck. I felt really stupid and the tow truck guy didn’t help when he asked the obvious, “Hey man, how come you drove in the hole?”
Fact is—life is a lot like that. We’re driving on what seems to be a safe road when “BAM!” Life has opened up a Grand Canyon-sized man hole and we find ourselves in it, unable to drive out without any damage to our car. Truthfully, life does that a lot more than we want to admit. Question is—how do you deal with holes in the road?
Most believers are shocked when the road opens up—we live under the allusion that this shouldn’t be happening to us. We love the Lord, do our best to serve Him faithfully, and it only seems reasonable that He would “steer” us down another road. But no less than the apostle Paul had his share of holes in the road as he followed hard after Christ.
“I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jews gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the stormy seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians but are not. I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food. Often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27 NLT).
So how did he climb out of the hole? Three ways; (1) God was with him; (2) He belonged to God; (3) and the third way was the fact that he was doing the will of God.
Essentially, he was “on the job for God.”
God told Paul that he was to testify of Him in Rome (Acts 27), so Paul could keep going with the assurance that God was with him.
We can know this–as long as God has a work for us to do, we will be here to do it. God will preserve us to do it.
Monday, March 02, 2009
P.B.P.G.I.N.T.W.M.Y.
30 years ago, a popular conference leader coined the letters “PBPGINTWMY.” It stood for the phrase, “please be patient; God is not through with me yet.” Incorrect grammar aside, the theology is right on.
That is what God is doing with us: Paul tells us, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). God has a purpose for us to fulfill. He has a task for each of us to accomplish.
Although there has never been a person who, through human effort, has achieved salvation, if someone has really found salvation, there should be visible results of that fact.
There are a lot of people today who claim to be Christians, but there is absolutely no evidence in their lives to confirm it. Works don't save a person, but they are good evidence that he or she is saved.
God has created you as His work of art for good works. He has a work for you to do. He has a plan for your life. Are you finding it? Are you moving in that direction? Or, are you wandering through life saying, "I have salvation, so that takes care of that. Now, back to doing what I want to do"?
The wording of Philippians 2:10 is very important. We were "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
As Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate—the man who was judging Him—Jesus said, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above" (John 19:11 NKJV).
In other words, "I am moving toward the goal that I have set, and you are just doing what you are doing because this is what you are supposed to do. My Father has prepared the way for Me."
Your Father has prepared the way for you too. Maybe you are facing a setback right now. Maybe there is a crisis in your life. Maybe it seems as though nothing is ever going to change.
Remember, you are a work in progress. You are under construction.God sees what you can become. You may look at yourself and say, "I don't get it. I don't look like a perfect person. My life doesn't look like a work of beauty."
But God would say, "Just hang on. I’m not through with you yet. You need to be patient, because you are a work in progress. It doesn't happen overnight. In fact, it will take all of your life on this earth and won't be completely finished until you get to heaven."
Then you will see that you indeed are a perfect work of art—God's masterpiece.
This Sunday at Gatetree
Our message series "iTruths for an iPod Generation" has been a success. Lives have been changed and committed to Jesus Christ and His church. I will preach the final message in this series this Sunday (March 8) and I'm calling it "iTell." I hope you will be able to join with us. There's always a friendly welcome at Gatetree. Come and get in on it.
30 years ago, a popular conference leader coined the letters “PBPGINTWMY.” It stood for the phrase, “please be patient; God is not through with me yet.” Incorrect grammar aside, the theology is right on.
That is what God is doing with us: Paul tells us, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). God has a purpose for us to fulfill. He has a task for each of us to accomplish.
Although there has never been a person who, through human effort, has achieved salvation, if someone has really found salvation, there should be visible results of that fact.
There are a lot of people today who claim to be Christians, but there is absolutely no evidence in their lives to confirm it. Works don't save a person, but they are good evidence that he or she is saved.
God has created you as His work of art for good works. He has a work for you to do. He has a plan for your life. Are you finding it? Are you moving in that direction? Or, are you wandering through life saying, "I have salvation, so that takes care of that. Now, back to doing what I want to do"?
The wording of Philippians 2:10 is very important. We were "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
As Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate—the man who was judging Him—Jesus said, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above" (John 19:11 NKJV).
In other words, "I am moving toward the goal that I have set, and you are just doing what you are doing because this is what you are supposed to do. My Father has prepared the way for Me."
Your Father has prepared the way for you too. Maybe you are facing a setback right now. Maybe there is a crisis in your life. Maybe it seems as though nothing is ever going to change.
Remember, you are a work in progress. You are under construction.God sees what you can become. You may look at yourself and say, "I don't get it. I don't look like a perfect person. My life doesn't look like a work of beauty."
But God would say, "Just hang on. I’m not through with you yet. You need to be patient, because you are a work in progress. It doesn't happen overnight. In fact, it will take all of your life on this earth and won't be completely finished until you get to heaven."
Then you will see that you indeed are a perfect work of art—God's masterpiece.
This Sunday at Gatetree
Our message series "iTruths for an iPod Generation" has been a success. Lives have been changed and committed to Jesus Christ and His church. I will preach the final message in this series this Sunday (March 8) and I'm calling it "iTell." I hope you will be able to join with us. There's always a friendly welcome at Gatetree. Come and get in on it.
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