Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Bigger than MNF

Mark 6:7-12    Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. 8 He sent them off with these instructions: “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple. 9 10 “And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. 11 “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” 12 Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different.(The Message)

‘They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different”; the power of the Gospel in a life transformed by the hearing of it, by the hearts response to it, by the work of Christ in and through it. Jesus was giving his disciples their marching orders; it was time to put feet on their faith and go out into the streets and share the hope that lied within them. The were to go and make disciples. They were to go and spread the hope found in the Gospel that Jesus Christ was bringing to the world that was lost in sin. Our world today is just as far as lost in depravity as the day the disciples went out; we are not in-errantly good, we are at our core evil. In the New King James version of this text, listen to the words of Christ in regard to those that will not hear the Good News. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. Most of us know that those cities were destroyed by God by reigning fire down from heaven on them as condemnation of great sins.

On my only mission trip I spent about 10 minutes with our evangelist with us. He really poured into me this urgency of the Gospel, and it was a key point I took home from our trip. How can we talk about the Panthers win for a week, and not about the Gospel for eternity? How can we talk about the weather, and not who controls it? How can we stand before God and account for all those lost opportunities that we missed, that may have been those that stood before us last opportunity? My prayer is that God would stir your heart with excitement and urgency for the Gospel. My prayer is that you seek to share your faith today with someone new. What if you did not see them tomorrow, and you and they missed that eternal opportunity?

In all of it

2 Corinthians 4:7-8    But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed

Lord you have me here
Where you want me to be;
A new place in life
To pour yourself through me.

My enemy comes at me
In so many different ways;
All sorts of busyness
Taking time from my days.

I want to submerge
In your Word only be;
But that is not your plan
You love to challenge me.

Tasks, tests, & trials
That is how I will grow;
Closer to You in all of them
Out of them You will flow.

As I lay there this morning
Contemplation on my mind;
I come to open my Bible
And this was the verse I find.

It is a verse full of struggle
It is a verse showing the pain;
It is surrounded by the proofs
Of in You we shall we remain.

You are the Light within us
Your Light will shine through;
Your evidences pour from us
In all that we do.

5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Do the demons know you?

Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

Is there a Most Wanted poster with your picture on it at the Gates of Hell? Has Satan assigned an army of angels to torment you; is there a spiritual war raging inside your head? Do the demons know you by name, or have they even heard of you? Comfortable Christianity will likely allow you to meet them at a later date. Your life should be so zealous for Christ that it is a constant pain in Satan’s side. You should possess the evidence of Christ, the power of Christ, and the security of Christ that threatens him. That light inside of you should be so bright it dis-spells the kingdom of darkness. It is of a place of honor to see those spiritual wars that rage; it is a place of honor when things in life get rough; it is a place of honor when all that God designs or allows in your life points you to the evidence of your need for him alone. The trials, these temptations, these pains that you endure, all are there to draw you closer. When you draw closer, and the world expects you to fall away in your faith, you become a witness for the power of God in your life. Your life becomes your testimony, and your testimony is to your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul had been baptizing in the name of Christ, and anointing with the Holy Spirit in Ephesus and all of Asia. He had baptized 12 disciples, and spent two years with them in Tyrannus teaching, witnessing, and performing miracles in the name of Christ. The news of Christ, and the power of Christ, began to raise “copycats”. The Jewish so called magicians were claiming the name of Christ in their magic acts. With the seven sons of Sceva, it backfired, and the demon drove out the exorcist. Acts 19:13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. The demon was not threatened by those he knew were not Christians; he was not threatened by those claiming the power, without living the life. The demon called them out, and drove them out, naked and embarrassed.

So much of my life, I thought, and somewhat claimed to be a Christian. I thought that if I believed in Christ, that was all I had to do. I had lived my life in sin, but could somehow justify my sinful lifestyle in my own mind. I could have the pleasure of sin for a season, or even sin repeatedly as long as I repented, and still remain ok on God’s scales of life. Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. Paul states it very clearly there, we are not to continue in lifestyles of sin when we claim Christ. We are not to rest on Grace, and live in sin. We are to let God work out sanctification in us, and through us, fleeing the sins he reveals to us. We are to live as Paul says, 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.