Equip

Ephesians 4:12 "Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ"

Paul is talking about some of the different gifts given to the church. He mentions "prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers." He says their work is to "equip God's people to do his work." Their job is not to do the work, but to equip God's people (the church) to do the work.

My job is to equip others. This involves teaching, coaching, motivating, training and prayer. If I am doing all of the work, I am not doing my job. I need to be replicating myself and training others to advance the kingdom. I have a large youth group but I feel I am not being intentional enough in training and equipping them to do the work. Who can I invest in this year? Catalyst? My leaders? A small group? I need to do my job so others can do theirs.

Dear Jesus, help me equip the right people. Amen.

The Biggest Loser

Romans 12:1 "...I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable..."

Paul is urging the Roman Christians to give their entire lives to Christ as a "living and holy sacrifice." This to Paul, even includes their very physical bodies.

Most of the time we separate our lives into different "selves." We have our mental self, emotional self, physical self, spiritual self... I don't believe God sees things this way. He created and is concerned about me-my whole life and he sees it not as separate parts but as a whole. If my emotional life is struggling, I am struggling. If my physical life is unhealthy, I am unhealthy. Right now I am in a weight loss challenge with some buddies and this passage is a great motivator right before the holidays. My body belongs to God and needs to be healthy. In fact, my whole life belongs to God and needs to be healthy.

Dear Jesus, help my entire life be pleasing to you. Amen.

Masterpiece

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

Paul is talking about our faith and how our salvation is a gift from him. He created us and redeemed us. Another way to put it according to Paul..."we are God's masterpiece."

There are so many things to say about this verse! I am God's masterpiece. That may sound a bit conceited but it's not. I am not my masterpiece, I am God's masterpiece. I am his work, his creation. He gets all glory and praise for the artwork, not the artwork itself. I must thank God today for seeing the potential in me. He took a dirty, ugly, piece of clay and is creating something beautiful with my life. If only we could truly fathom what this means!? Oh how would our lives be different?

Dear Jesus, thank you, the great artist for creating me anew. Amen.

Two Gifts from John

1 John 1:9 "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."

John mentions that we are all sinful, but if we confess our sins, Jesus will forgive us.

I remember memorizing this verse as a boy. It gave me, and still gives me great confidence, that yes, I am sinful and will continue to sin, but Jesus is faithful and will forgive me. This verse does two great things for me. John allows me to be sinful. Sin is never OK, but John allows me to be real and honest-yep, I am sinful. This verse lets me be me. It also brings forgiveness. Jesus is faithful-he will forgive me if I confess. He is always there, waiting for me to say the two hardest words to pronounce, "I'm sorry." Today, I will confess and be forgive. Thanks John.

Dear Jesus, thank you for your justice, faithfulness, and forgiveness. Amen.

Put the Guns Down

1 Peter 3:15, 16 "And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way..."

Peter is encouraging believers to do good and let our actions speak for themselves. He also mentions that we should be ready to share our faith at all times and we must do so in a "gentle and respectful way."

Christians are all too often their own worst enemy. We speak and show hate more than we speak and show love. We have rally's and boycotts and bumper stickers that are rarely gentle or respectful. Too often we are known for what we hate and what we are against. When hot button issues come up we are quick to fire both barrels and "tell 'em what's good for 'em!" Peter says we need to be gentle. We need to be respectful. Our speech and our lives should exhibit love, grace, gentleness, and respect even when we disagree. I need to be gentle and respectful today.

Dear Jesus, help me have your grace. Amen.

Lessons Learned

Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way."

The writer of Hebrews is explaining how God disciplines us as a father disciplines a child. He does this because we belong to him, he loves us, and it is for our own good. The author also recognizes that discipline is not fun, but if we endure it, a future of "peaceful harvest" awaits us.

My kids don't like to be disciplined. They don't like to go to timeout or have toys taken away. And they will not realize the value of this discipline until they are adults. I look back on my life and thank God I had parents who disciplined me. And if I see the value in my earthly father disciplining me, how much more valuable is my heavenly father's discipline? The lessons I learn from Him will have eternal significance! And yes it may suck,discipline is not a fun word, but I need to stay the course and learn my lessons.

Dear Jesus, help me learn and grow as I follow you. Amen.

Two Parts Stephen One Part Moses

Hebrews 11:39 "All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised."

The writer of Hebrews (maybe Paul) is commenting on some of the great heroes of the faith. He mentions Abraham and Moses and how their lives exemplified faith and how God blessed them. The writer then moves onto some lesser known examples who never gained fame but were instead beaten, tortured, and killed. He says these men and women too were people of faith even though they did not receive all that God had promised.

Often times we are called to suffer. A life of obedience to God does not always involve "heavenly blessings" and a "cattle on a thousand hills." Sometimes a life of faith does have it's high moments as with Moses and Abraham. But many times, it looks more like Stephen and martyrs who give their lives in places like modern day Somalia. I must be aware that my faith does not depend upon sunshine or rain, but rather it depends on my Jesus. I need to ground my faith not on my experiences or circumstances, but on the person.

Dear Jesus, help my eyes see you today. Amen.

Jacob's Family Then and Now

Genesis 30:42-43 "But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. As a result, Jacob became very wealthy..."

Jacob works out a deal with his uncle Laban to split up Laban's flock. Jacob is going to get some of the lambs but when Laban isn't looking, Jacob manipulates the flock so he gets the stronger lambs.

The entire thirtieth chapter of Genesis shows how very dysfunctional Jacob's family is. And while reading this I have to be very thankful for my family. We're all weird to a certain degree and we have our moments, but compared to the original Jacob (and other families I know) mine is pretty normal. I am truly blessed with great parents, sister, and in-laws, not to mention wife and kids! During this holiday season, I should tell them and show them I love them and how thankful I am for them-even the weird ones! I won't mention any names...

Dear Jesus, thank you for my family. Amen.

Think the Best About Others

Titus 3:2 "They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone."

Paul is writing to Titus and tells him that Christians should not slander one another and cause divisions and quarrels. If they do this, they should be warned and eventually if the behavior does not stop, they should have nothing to do with them. Bickering, gossip and slander should not have any part of the Christian life.

Why is it so easy to talk about others? Why do we spend so much time judging others? Why do prayer chains help me gossip more than pray? I love how Paul says we must "show true humility to everyone." These words are important-true, humility, everyone. No matter what I hear or see or read, I must show true humility to everyone. I must put others ahead of myself and not talk about them. Good truth from Paul today!

Dear Jesus, help me think the best about others today. Amen.

Broadcast My Purpose

2 Timothy 3:10 "But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is."

Paul is writing to Timothy encouraging him to live a faithful life. Paul is reminding Timothy of his own story and how he has been used by God.

It appears that Paul knew what his purpose in life was and in addition, Timothy knew what Paul's purpose in life was. Do people know what my purpose is? Do I know it? How strong must Paul's mission and vision have been that other people even knew his calling and purpose. I would love to have that focus, and intention in my life so that other people know what I am all about. First, I need to know my purpose and calling and secondly, I must live, eat, and breathe that calling. I believe my calling is to point students to Jesus. Does anyone even know this?

Dear Jesus, help me know my calling so well, others see it in me every day. Amen.

Eye of the Tiger

1 Timothy 4:16 "Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you."

Paul is writing to his young apprentice Timothy and he tells him to be careful how he lives and how he leads. He instructs Timothy to "keep a close watch" on his life, his teaching, and his ministry.

This past week, Tiger Woods got caught. His wife found out he had been cheating on her for quite some time, probably with several women. Tiger did not keep a close watch on his life and his morals. His eyes drifted from his values and wandered to other women. Temptation got him and now his marriage, family, career, and reputation have been destroyed. Certainly, I will not ever be in Tiger's shoes or let anything like that happen to me, but am I keeping a close watch on my entire life? I need to do a better job of examining my heart and my life on a daily basis.

Dear Jesus, help me keep my eyes focused on my life and my teachings. Amen.

Shut Up and Yell

1 Thess. 4:11 "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you..."

Paul tells the Thessalonian Christians to lead a quiet, humble life. If they do this, than they will win the respect of others and not be dependent on anyone. This sounds great but does not sound like Paul's life. Paul traveled the world getting involved in other peoples business preaching and speaking with his mouth, and often times was dependent on others.

I agree that oftentimes it's best to be quiet, keep to ourselves, and let our actions do the speaking. But I do believe there are times when we have to speak up. Sometimes, we have to dive into the messiness of our culture and raise a little Cain. I guess I am just torn. Part of me wants to live the quiet life, and part of me wants to dive in and change the world! This is the tension of being human. I'm sure Paul would say there is a time for each.

Dear Jesus, help me be quiet and yell at the right times. Amen.