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If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful . . . —2 Peter 1:8 God seems to enjoy surprising us. We should never expect the expected. Rose and I have been looking forward to these days in New Orleans. She came down with a virus the first night and has not been able to leave the room. This has not been what we expected. It is not always easy to make “the best” out of what does come or to be as flexible as God apparently wants us to be.  We are certainly creatures of habit. We are comfortable with the expected. The unexpected throws us off our rhythm. We need to learn to love the excitement of the unexpected. It’s really a matter of our sense of control. We have habits because we like to be in control of our schedule as much as we like control of everything else.   Your god may be your little Christian habit— the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We […]

. . . add to your . . . brotherly kindness love —2 Peter 1:5, 7 I have love on the mind this morning. I awake in New Orleans with my wife celebrating our 40th anniversary by spending a couple of days in our favorite hotel. It is instructive to compare our love now, after 40 years, to our love back then. New love is clearly blind. Our euphoria over being in love overcomes our good sense. We can see only the positives and imagine that the feelings will last “forever.” Somehow I think that is all part of God’s wonderful plan. If we didn’t have those feelings and enthusiasm, if we weren’t blinded by “love” and naive in thinking things will stay the same forever, we would probably never commit to a lifetime with another. But as those “feelings” mature over the years, they become more permanent and, indeed, more wonderful. Our love grows deeper and becomes based less on physical things and more on the entire person, the wonder of the whole gift our partner is to us. Added to that are the wonderful generations of children, grand children and greats. It is as if the newness of […]

There is a division of labor in the Kingdom of Heaven. We cannot do what God does, and God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves— God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not force us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. Guess what: God always does His part. Us… not so much. We say we will “pray about it” or “do it when the time is right.” God’s instructions to us are clear enough. We need to make a move.  We had a great session of Fearless last night. Many of us who struggle with forgiveness were blessed. Many who struggle with it were not, because when God told them to be there, they were not.  God is prepared to totally equip us to be all that He would have us to be, for us to do all that He would have us do. If it’s not happening, it’s not Him.  There is always something God is telling us to do. There is always a next step in our walk with Him. Stop hesitating and take that […]

Today OC discusses the difference between being principled and having vision. It’s an incredible difference and one with which I am very familiar. Forty years ago I would say I was principled. I was a believer. I had attended seminary in high school. But I believed faith was a private thing, something between a man and his God. Then I met a little Baptist girl who over the last 40 years has taught me that the very nature of our faith is sharing and doing.   “People who are totally consumed with idealistic principles rarely do anything.” Every time Jesus always address His church in terms of action. “Go.” “Baptize.” “Make disciples.” The modern church has converted the faith into something you turn to in time of trouble, a institutionalized counselor. We go to church to gather and praise, not because He is worthy of praise but because doing it makes us feel better and gathering with “the saints” gives us increased security. We think people will just “show up” to learn about Him without being shown a different way or invited to come. What a strange notion of church.   “A person’s own idea of God and His […]

Because you have kept My command to persevere . . . —Revelation 3:10   At times OC can be a bit difficult to follow. On some days, I feel blessed if I can pull one thought from the reading. On other days, like today, the we should just read him exactly as written. “Perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” ( Job 13:15  ).Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but is strong and vigorous confidence built […]

Most of us at some time struggle with the thought that some sin of ours is not forgiven. It maybe some long ago sin, committed before we were disciples of Christ, which seems so horrible that it is beyond forgiveness. It maybe that since we are His, there is some habit which besets us. We fall into this sinat times and it causes us to question our State of Grace. Often these problems occur because we have never really taken our sins to the cross. Looked hard at them and completely turned from them. These actions are a necessary part of become a disciple, but are frequently minimized when we are introduced to the faith. We need to make sure we don’t try to take a short cut to salvation. If we do, we may find we don’t know Him at all.  Sunday night we will be looking at the Fear of Disappointing God at our 6 p.m. Fearless session. I know it’s Mother’s Day and perhaps you haven’t attended the first couple of sessions. But I strongly urge you to decide now you will be there Sunday night. These thoughts that can plague us are an unnecessary block […]

Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it . . . —Luke 14:28 OC has a view of this verse which I had never considered. He says Christ is not referring to our counting of costs but His. He came to earth knowing what it would take: becoming a man, being hated, suffering unfathomable agony. The amazing thing is that we are part of His plans. Before undertaking all that he faced, He was willing to go forward with a plan that included counting on us to spread his Word.  No wonder He expects commitment from us as His disciples.. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple ” (Luke 14:26  ). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion— those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions […]

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free . . . —Galatians 5:1 I had a lot of computer work to do today and needed a change of scenery. I decided to spend the morning at CC’s. The change of environment helps my concentration. It worked to a point. I have to admit I was a bit distracted by the people who moved through the café during the morning. There were many folks who passed by and I caught snatches of conversation. We certainly live a variety of life styles fueled by a variety of beliefs.  OC’s words today seemed right: “Go . . . and make disciples. . .” ( Matthew 28:19  ), not, “Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.” We are far too prone to  make faith an intellectual exercise, judged by the correctness of what is believed. It is, in fact, our actions that will be judged and not by anyone but Christ.  My concerns for the people who flowed through the cafe’ needed to be less for what they believed and more for their need to meet Jesus and to be challenged by his standard of Action. Always measure […]