Leaders & Coaches & Mentors – Oh my!

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson for 9.8.12

I have a set of dishes that I brought back from Germany with me that I only use on very special occasions.  The dishes were pretty expensive and, I think, beautiful, but I use them maybe three times a year. Most of the time they sit in a cabinet and collect dust. When I do bring them out, I worry about breaking a piece. Now, the dishes my family uses everyday aren’t nearly as pretty or expensive, but they can take the everyday knocking around of being used and washed and such. Which set of dishes are the most useful? Are they any less useful if they get chipped or dinged? No, not really, they just keep doing what they were made to do, dings and chips and all.

God’s not looking for fancy, fragile dishes that He can only use once in a while, “He's looking for rough-and-tumble clay pots—the kind that can be used everyday. He's looking for the kind of pots that don't need to be tucked away in a china closet, but can be sent out into a crash-bang world, carrying within them the life of Christ. The church was never meant to be a china cabinet, where precious pieces could be safely stowed out of harm's way. The church was meant to be a working kitchen, where well-worn pots are filled again and again to dispense their life-giving contents to a thirsty world.”[1]

Being a Christian isn’t a spectator sport; there aren’t even any bench-warmers. We may not realize it, but even within our own church families, we all have things to do.

“And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

Now, I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a mom or dad giving her or his kids of list of things to remember to do while she (or he) is away, doesn’t it? This is Paul’s list of reminders to his little church in Thessalonica – the one with which he only got to spend three weeks. He’s not talking to them about spreading the gospel; he’s reminding them how they should treat each other, inside the church.

I think sometimes, we forget that we have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters in the church and because of that, our ultimate mission of telling the world the truth about Jesus suffers.

So, the first thing that Paul reminds us to do is to appreciate our leadership. (Ah, no eye-rolling!) Paul didn’t say we were exempt from “esteem[ing] them very highly in love” only if we thought they were doing a good job, if we agree with them, or if we liked them as individuals. He said “for their work’s sake” – just because they are our leaders.

What do you think that means? Well, I think it certainly means that we pray for our leaders, but I also think it means that we don’t complain about them to each other. That can be hard sometimes, can’t it?

Paul’s not done yet. He reminds us to “warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.”

So, is this the time to sit with our friends and “discuss” those folks who seem to be struggling? “Did you see those kids running up and down the hallways during potluck? Disgraceful!” Is this the time to tell those folks just how they should be doing things?

I think we’ve all had the experience of having someone come up to us in the middle of our difficult moment and tell us just how we should be doing things. It wasn’t very helpful was it? And, it didn’t bring us any closer to the person who was giving the instructions, did it? In fact, we probably still have a little hard place in our hearts for that person and his (or her) lack of empathy.

Our job isn’t to get mad at, gossip about, or give a piece of our minds to baby or struggling Christians. Paul tells us to gently educate the folks who seem to be out of line and to help the people who are “weak” or “fainthearted” to be stronger so they can eventually stand on their own.

Some might call that being a mentor or a coach, but it might be just being brothers and sisters in Jesus – just treating each other like Jesus treated people when He was here.

Now, even if we’re not actively involved in leading or mentoring or coaching at the moment, we still have instructions from Paul to follow: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;”

I love those verses! Have you ever noticed how just doing those three things can turn your whole day around? I remember when I flew home from Germany for the last time. I had a sixteen month old and I was eight months pregnant. We were moving back to Texas, but I had to fly home a couple of months ahead of time, so I was by myself. The morning I flew out of Germany, in June, there was frost on the ground. When I got off the plane in Dallas, it was 102 degrees. It had been a 12 hour flight. My mom and my aunt met me in Dallas and then drove me home to San Antonio (Yes, I could have flown, but I refused to get on another plane – I was eight months pregnant, give me a break!).

Anyway, we piled everything in my aunt’s van and headed for home…another six hours away. I was exhausted; my son was way past exhausted and tired of being contained in a car-seat. I thought we’d never make it. And then something amazing happened. My mom and aunt began to sing hymns – every hymn they knew. Pretty soon I was singing along and we were home before we knew it. The trip wasn’t a burden anymore. It was a wonderful time of praise to our Savior. Rejoicing, praying and giving thanks are a powerful mix.

“[As a child] Jesus carried into His labor cheerfulness and tact. … Often He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God. He held communion with heaven in song; and as His companions complained of weariness from labor, they were cheered by the sweet melody from His lips. His praise seemed to banish the evil angels, and, like incense, fill the place with fragrance. The minds of His hearers were carried away from their earthly exile, to the heavenly home.” (Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 73.)

I want to be like Jesus and be a blessing to others, don’t you?

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[1] Bryan Wilkerson, "Unbreakable?" PreachingToday.com

Fishbowl Christians

Whether we like it or not, someone is always watching us. Have you ever thought about that? Even when you think you’re completely on your own, in a place where you think you don’t know anybody and nobody knows you, people are watching. Being a Christian only increases the number of people watching.

Why do people watch Christians so intently? Some folks would say it’s because they’re waiting for us to mess up. In a way they are. What they want to know is, “Why do we approach the world like we do?” “Why are we Christians?” and “Why do we stay Christians?” Often the answers to those questions are more obvious to others than they are to us.

There are just a few things that motivate everybody. Paul describes some of them in 1Thessalonians 2:3-6.

“For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.”

In other words, Paul and Silas wanted the Thessalonians to know that they were not sincerely deluded – completely sucked into an elaborate lie. They weren’t Christians because of all the opportunities for affairs with women, and Paul and Silas weren’t scamming anybody to get something for themselves. And, lastly, they weren’t preaching the Gospel to make people like them better. Today we might say, that Paul and Silas were not motivated by money, sex, and power nor even the approval/admiration of the people around them.

What was the one thing that motivated Paul and Silas? In everything they did, they wanted to please Jesus.

Sometimes I think that this last motivation is so clear and other, times, it’s so subtle we may not even recognize it for what it is.

To begin with, no matter what your motivation, you’re going to look the same to the folks around you…for a little while. But then life intrudes and those folks, who are motivated by anything other than pleasing Jesus, are going to fall away. When those who have believed a lie find out the truth, they will become disillusioned and fall away. If a person is motivated by getting more power, when the power doesn’t come to them they decide to find the power through another avenue.

People who are willing to trick or deceive people to benefit themselves will move on as soon as those benefits quit coming in…or when they are caught in their lies.

Now I have to admit that I can’t think of anybody I know who is a Christian because of any one of those three motives. I know there are Christians out there, who are. I just don’t happen to know anyone whose motives fit any of those three categories.

The last category is a different story, though. Do we follow Jesus because we want to please Jesus? or because we want the approval and admiration of the people around us. That takes some real introspection. Would we still be Christians if our family and friends stopped having anything to do with us because we follow Jesus?

The answer to that question is what makes being a Christian sometimes a dangerous proposition. The disciples learned the hard way that they were not always going to gain the admiration of the people around them. In fact, we know that just saying that they believed that Jesus was the Messiah cost all but one of them their lives.

At this moment, American Christians are free to express their belief in Jesus openly, without fear of persecution, but what if …

What if you were the only person on your block who was a Christian? What if, instead of encouraging you to be a Christian like they are, your parents forbade you to become a Christian? What if you lost your job because of your Christian beliefs?

At some point, you would have to decide what is more important to you, the approval of the people around you, or the approval of God.

Why is all this important? Because people are watching. People are watching us Christians to see why we are Christians. Are we deluded? power hungry? scam artists? Will we change our allegiances as soon as things get uncomfortable? People are watching us to see what kind of God we serve and are we serious about our service.

“Author and educator, Howard Hendricks, sat in a plane that was delayed for take off. After a long wait, the passengers became more and more irritated. Hendricks noticed how gracious one of the flight attendants was as she spoke with them. After the plane finally took off, he told the flight attendant how amazed he was at her poise and self-control, and said he wanted to write a letter of commendation for her to the airline. The stewardess replied that she didn't work for the airline company, but for Jesus Christ. She said that just before going to work she and her husband prayed together that she would be a good representative of Christ.
“Doing it for Christ's sake adds another dimension to submission. You are submitting not just to your employer or husband or parent, but to the Lord, because of your love and gratitude for him.”[1. Lorne Sanny, "The Right Way to Respond to Authority," Discipleship Journal (March/April 1982)]

Not Ashamed

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson for 7.6.12

Yesterday I was so mad at my father! He took this beautiful little lamb out behind the house and he killed it. Can you believe that? He said this guy, Moses, told him to, for some dumb reason. Dad tried to explain it to me, but I didn’t want to hear it. Especially when I heard that mom was going to cook up the cute little critter and we were supposed to eat it this last night.
Believe me, supper last night was definitely the strangest meal I’ve ever eaten. We stood around and ate all dressed like we were going on a trip. And while mom was getting the meal ready, my dad did something really weird, and kind of gross. He took a branch from a bush and a bowl with the lamb’s blood in it and painted it all around our front door. I just could not wrap my mind around the explanation he gave me. It was from that Moses guy again, something about some kind of plague thing that was going to happen to all the firstborns and whatever. It all sounded like some kind of superstitious mumbo jumbo to me, and I was pretty embarrassed to think that my father had been one of the ones taken in by it.

But then, somewhere after midnight my dad woke me up and told me we were leaving Egypt right then. We gathered all of our things, met up with all our neighbors and started walking. There were so many people and animals, all walking together.
As we walked along I heard other people talking to each other about what had happened to the Egyptians at midnight. Every firstborn had died – every single one. I even heard people say that some Jewish families had lost firstborns. Apparently those families hadn’t listened to Moses when he was telling them about putting the lamb’s blood around the door, or they thought it was just some kind of superstitious mumbo jumbo.
My heart started beating faster and my head felt like it was filled with bees. I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead as the realization hit me – I am a firstborn! What if my father had not done the necessary things yesterday? I tried to think of what he’d said. “Without this blood, no one can be saved.”

Have you ever been embarrassed to admit that you are a Christian? When someone characterizes all Christians as uneducated and superstitious, do you try to shrink into the background? Are you ever afraid that someone will ask you if you’re a Christian? Many of us are.

Have you ever been in a situation in which your survival depended completely and totally on someone else? I have a friend whose kidneys have stopped working. She needs a new kidney – that is her only chance to get well. A couple of weeks ago, an old friend of hers offered to donate one of her kidneys.  My friend is overwhelmed at the thought of someone she knows being willing to give her such an incredible gift. “How do you thank someone for saving your life?”

Do you think my friend is embarrassed to talk about what this other friend has done for her? Absolutely not! She is awed by the gift, but never embarrassed.

“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:12

Sometimes we like to think that those of us who are alive right now have a harder time than people who worshipped Jesus a long time ago. Maybe that’s true, but God’s people have always been at risk for being portrayed as less intelligent than those who don’t believe.

“In a piece of ancient graffiti discovered in Rome that dates back to about the time of Paul, we can get a glimpse of the type of razzing and contempt that Christians must have experienced as a result of their faith. … It depicts a crucifixion scene where the individual on the cross has the head of a donkey but the body of a man. Beside the cross a young man can be seen kneeling in worship. Scratched below the cross is the statement: ‘Alexander worships [his] god.’ The point is obvious—Christians were seen as stupid for believing in Jesus.”[1]

Clearly, some things never change. Many people think now as people did then, that Jesus Christ failed at His mission because He died. We know that’s just not true and that His death was valuable and necessary to pay for our sins.

“Christ was the one who consented to meet the conditions necessary for man’s salvation. No angel, no man, was sufficient for the great work to be wrought. The Son of man alone must be lifted up; for only an infinite nature could undertake the redemptive process. Christ consented to connect himself with the disloyal and sinful, to partake of the nature of man, to give his own blood, and to make his soul an offering for sin.”(E.G. White, Signs of the Times, March 5, 1896

Jesus did what had to be done. In fact, He and God worked out all the details before They ever created Earth. He knew that we would fail and had His plan ready when we did. Jesus was not ashamed to leave His place of King of the Universe to become a lowly human on Earth. Jesus was not ashamed to be the Son of an unwed mother who lived in a town with a bad reputation. Jesus was not ashamed to work as a carpenter. Jesus was not ashamed to be found in the company of prostitutes and tax collectors.

Jesus knew what He had to do to ensure all of us a chance to live with Him forever and He was not ashamed to do it.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:1-4

Read it again, it says, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame …” Not only was Jesus not ashamed to become one of us, He did everything He did “for the joy that was set before Him.” What was that joy that caused Him to willingly do the terrible things that needed to be done?

You and I are that joy.

I am not ashamed to be the joy of Jesus. What about you?

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” John 3:16 AMP

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[1] Carl P. Cosaert , The Lesson in Brief and Learning Cycle, Lessons 1–13, Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide – Teachers’  Edition

Potato Chip Christians

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson for 4.14.12

“The heart must receive the divine current, and let it flow out in rich streams of mercy and grace to other hearts. All who would win souls to Christ must be winsome.”[1]               

“Winsome,” that’s an old fashioned word, isn’t it? It’s certainly not one we use very often. Here are some synonyms for the word, “winsome:”  absorbing, alluring, appealing, attractive, captivating, charismatic, delightful, desirable, enamoring, engaging, enthralling, fascinating, inviting, irresistible, lovable, pleasant, pleasing, sweet, tantalizing, winning.”[2]

When was the last time you heard someone refer to his or her contact with a Christian in any of those terms?

One pastor uses a bag of potato chips to illustrate an effective way to make contact with people so that they will begin to want to get to know Jesus better. This pastor opens a bag of potato chips and then steps out into the congregation.  This is how he describes the object lesson:

“Turn to one person: ‘Want one? Help yourself!’“Then say: ‘I've learned that one of the simplest acts of grace in meeting someone is to simply be interested in them. Just ask them a question about something they care about in life. It's like turning to them with a bag of chips and saying, “Want one?”’“As you offer chips to more people in the audience, ask questions to serve as examples of what you mean: ‘Is that a good book you're reading? Want one?’ ‘What's it like to deal with people in your job? Want one?’ ‘Did you grow up around here? Want one?’“As you prepare to offer a chip to another person in the audience, say, ‘Or perhaps you can find a way to ask gently or discretely about deeper heart issues.’ Offer an example of what you mean: ‘How do you keep your balance with all this turmoil in your life? Want one?’“As you prepare to offer a chip to another person in the audience, say, ‘You know, there's a wonderful verse in the Bible that might encourage you. Want one?’ To another person: ‘Let me tell you a story about a Father whose son broke his heart. Want one?’ To another person: ‘You know what? I'm going to be praying for you. Want one?’“Then, return to the pulpit and offer a conclusion to the illustration: ‘Grace-accented conversations give people more than they deserve or expect. They are conversations rich in love and sincere interest, in unexpected sympathy and empathy, in undeserved hope and forgiveness. They are conversations which, by the Holy Spirit's miraculous help, touch something soul-deep—words that go where no one else has. Words like that are salty, tasty. They make a person want more. Though people may not realize it, you're grace-accented words are giving them a thirst for Jesus.’”[3]

Paul said something very similar in his letter to the Colossians. “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Colossians 4:6

Remember the old potato chip ad: “Nobody can eat just one?” How often in our everyday lives do we come in contact with a person who doesn’t have an active, positive relationship with God, and, through our interaction with him or her, caused that person to want to know more about Jesus? Or has our contact caused the opposite reaction – leaving him with less interest than before in getting to know Jesus better?

A long time ago I worked as a waitress in a Mexican food restaurant in San Antonio. The restaurant was close to several churches and so on Sundays, what we called the “church crowd” would fill up the restaurant for their Sunday dinner. Unfortunately, this was not a group that the other waiters and waitresses looked forward to, in fact, it was usually a focal point of dread and did little to increase anyone’s desire to become more involved in Christianity.

Now, I know that on a person-by-person basis, some of the Christian customers were very nice, but the overall impression left by the church crowd was overwhelmingly negative.

Isn’t that sad? Most of my fellow waiters and waitresses were not church goers and the church crowd didn’t inspire them to become more involved in any church. As a Christian myself, I was often embarrassed by the behavior of these fellow Christians.

I haven’t heard the phrase in the last couple of years, but there used to be this image of American tourists that some folks called the ugly American. Do you remember that? It was portrayed with absolute cringe-inducing accuracy by Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s European Vacation. Chevy Chase’s character in that movie left a bad taste for Americans, so that the next American that came along had a much more difficult time.

In the Christian world, the same thing can happen. If, in our dealings with people we are rude, abrasive, demanding, vindictive, or pushy, we are going to leave a bad taste for Christians after us. How can we show people how much Jesus loves them if they dread seeing us coming?

“Watchman Nee tells about a Chinese Christian who owned a rice paddy next to one owned by a communist man. The Christian irrigated his paddy by pumping water out of a canal, using one of those leg-operated pumps that make the user appear to be seated on a bicycle. Every day, after the Christian had pumped enough water to fill his field, the communist would come out, remove some boards that kept the water in the Christian's field and let all the water flow down into his own field. That way, he didn't have to pump.This continued day after day. Finally, the Christian prayed, ‘Lord, if this keeps up, I'm going to lose all my rice, maybe even my field. I've got a family to care for. What can I do?’ In answer to his request, the Lord put a thought in his mind. So, the next morning he arose much earlier, in the predawn hours of darkness, and started pumping water into the field of his communist neighbor. Then he replaced the boards and pumped water into his own rice paddy. In a few weeks both fields of rice were doing well—and the communist was converted.”[4]

So, let’s decide, today, to be potato chip Christians! Always leave folks wanting to know more about Jesus.

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[1] E.G. White, That I May Know Him,” p. 218

[2] winsome. (n.d.). Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition. Retrieved April 06, 2012, from Thesaurus.com website: http://thesaurus.com/browse/winsome

[3] Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois

[4] Making Things Right When Things Go Wrong (Howard, 1996)

Fishers of Men

Did you know that, at first, the name Christian was a derogatory name for the people who believed in the Risen Jesus?  Neither did I.  Apparently the word Christian means “little anointed one” and was generally used by non-believers to make fun of those who did believe.  It's hard to believe that we gladly call ourselves by that same name...do you think that will ever work for words like “nerd” or “geek”?  Hmm.

Anyway, for the most part, we consider ourselves Christians, but can you think of yourself as a “fisher of men”?  Or did that line only apply to the first four apostles?  I mean, Jesus doesn't really want us to go out there and grab people we may or may not know and bring them to church, does He?  Does that mean that I should be standing on the street corner preaching?  Just in case the words of Matthew 4:19 ARE meant for you and me, how do we go about fishing for people?

Now, I could be wrong, but I don't believe that gathering people is our first concern.  The first step in Matthew 4:19 is not to gather people, but to follow Jesus.

According to C.H. Spurgeon, following Jesus has three distinct meaning.  The first is to 

“be separate unto Christ”, to come away from worldly things.  Instead of thinking, “What can I get away with?”; think, “What would Jesus have me do?” 

The second meaning of Jesus' statement, “Follow me”, Spurgeon explains as, “Abide with Christ.”  When Jesus called His disciples, they spent every day with Him.  They ate with Him, slept wherever He did, They became His best friends and biggest helpers.  They heard Him speak to the multitudes, but then they got “bonus material” when He explained things just to them.  They saw Him perform miracles.  And they watched Him die for their sins.  Imagine how well we would know Jesus if we spent that kind of time in the Bible and in prayer. 

Finally, Spurgeon restates Jesus' “Follow me” as “Obey me”.  As Spurgeon puts it, “If we desire to be largely used by God, we must copy our Lord Jesus Christ in everything, and obey Him in every point.  Failure in obedience may mean failure in success.” 

“Follow me” is the extent of our part of that bargain.  The next part is completely Jesus' part, and it's a promise.  We don't have to fret and stew about how to become fishers of men.  Jesus tells us that if we will follow Him, HE will take care of the rest!  Wow!  What a great promise!  You know, I have spent a lot of time worrying about witnessing and all that that entails...but Jesus says our responsibility is not planning, but following...I can do that!  This is how Spurgeon puts it:

“The Lord's directions make Himself our leader and example. It is 'Follow me. Follow me. Preach my gospel. Preach what I preached. Teach what I taught and keep to that.'  With that blessed servility which becomes one whose ambition is to be a copyist, and never to be an original, copy Christ even in jots and tittles.  Do this, and He will make you fishers of men, but if you do not do this, you shall fish in vain.”

Another author says it this way: “Jesus calls us to a ministry – He assumes the responsibility to teach us everything we need to learn in order to fulfill that calling.  As we yield to Him – let go of all our accessories and follow Him – He will equip us – what makes us uniquely us – to fulfill His calling.”  Stephen Muncherian, “Fishers of Men”.

Pastor Muncherian has in his statement a phrase that I find extremely comforting; “what makes us uniquely us”.  Why do I find that phrase comforting?  Some of you have already guessed, maybe because you feel the same way.  I especially like that phrase because, for a long time, when I thought of being a fisher of men, I thought of >gasp< preaching or giving individual Bible studies.  And I really have never felt very comfortable doing either of those, so for a long time, I felt like I didn't have a gift that would be helpful to God.  As Muncherian says, “Peter and Andrew were casting their nets into the sea – that's what they knew how to do and what their abilities were.  Jesus teaches them to cast nets for men.  We read in the Gospel of Matthew that Andrew becomes the disciple who brings people to Jesus – even as he's brought his brother Peter to Christ.  In Acts chapter 2 – Peter becomes the great evangelist – on the day of Pentecost he preaches the Gospel to three thousand people.

“James and John were doing something else – they were mending their nets.  That was their skill and ability.  The Greek word for 'mending' has the idea of equipping – preparing.  Just as James and John were equipping their nets when Jesus called them – Jesus teaches them to men nets as fishers of men.  Later they would become teachers – equipping – mending – the saints.

In our kitchen we have a toaster oven and a waffle iron – we plug them into the wall sockets.  They draw power from the same source but they do different things.  

That's the way it is with God and us.

Whew!!!!  What a relief!!!!!  The way God uses me to reach people might not be the same way that He uses you.  Fishing for men is a group effort and we don't all have to do the same job.  The preacher or the evangelist is only part of what is going on.  He (or she) may cast the net, reaching a large number of people, but he couldn't do it alone.  If there hadn't been for faithful folk who handed/mailed our advertising flyers, made calls, visited and invited friends, family members to come to/watch the meeting.  Then there are the jobs during the meeting: ministering to the children, so that the adults can hear the Gospel without worrying or being interrupted.  Not to mention the jobs that come after of making friends, teaching and shepherding the newcomers, and helping them to become disciples themselves.  That all takes very different skills that may not be the gift of the pastor or evangelist.  And I know that I haven't even begun to name all the different jobs that are just as important but less visible than the pastor/evangelist.

Just remember, there are those who “cast the nets” but they can't finish (or even start) the job.  You and I need to be willing to be the partners to those who cast the nets.  All it takes on our part is to be willing.  Be willing to be available—to come and help.  Be willing to make new friends.  One pastor reminds us, 

“The Great Commission is a continuum.  And you are part of it, somewhere on that continuum.  Some cast the net, some row the boat.  All contribute to the catch.”

Are you ready to find your place on the fishers of men continuum?  How do we know which job Jesus wants us to do?  Does He want us out their preaching if that's not what He has given us the talent to do?  I don't think so.  I believe that sometimes we pick for ourselves the jobs we want to do that are not the jobs that Jesus has given us.  I'm not completely sure why we feel we know better than God about these things, but I have done it myself.  We try to force ourselves into the mold WE have made of what we think a fisher of men looks like.  We might think it's a Billy Graham type, or a Sandi Patti (singer) type.  And those are important parts of ministry, but they're not the ONLY parts.  There are also the folks who clean the place, who make sure the air conditioners/ heaters are on in plenty of time to make the area inhabitable.  There are the folk who hand out literature and others who give Bible studies and others who invite visitors home for lunch.  Some folk are gifted in the areas of praying.  Not one of us can do it alone.  Which part are you willing to do? 

"We are laborers together with God." It is God that gives success to human endeavor. Without his presence with us, our efforts would amount to nothing. We are simply channels through which his blessings flow to our fellow beings. From every one in whose heart Christ is an abiding presence, will go forth a power that will influence others to accept the Saviour as their Redeemer. E.G. White, Article Title: "Follow Me, and I Will Make You Fishers of Men"[SERMONDELIVERED IN THE CHURCH AT HEALDSBURG, CAL., AT THE CLOSEOF THE HEALDSBURG COLLEGE SCHOOL YEAR, MAY 30, 1903.]

By His Stripes

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson for 1.21.12

Marilyn Sewell, a Unitarian minister, made the following statement while interviewing Christopher Hitchens, a well known atheist:  

“The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I'm a liberal Christian, and I don't take the stories from the Scripture literally. I don't believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example).”[1]

Wait!  What?  How is that possible?  I mean, either you believe that Jesus died for your sins and you’re a Christian, or you don’t believe it and you’re not.  Right?  That’s what I always thought.

Anyway, Ms Sewell finishes with a question for Mr. Hitchens:  

“Do you make any distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?”[2]

And then things really get weird!  Why? Because Mr. Hitchens’, the atheist’s answer makes more sense to me than the minister’s question.  Mr. Hitchens says, 

“I would say that if you don't believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you're really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.”[3]

This from a man who wrote a book called, Why Religion Poisons Everything.  Interesting.

Maybe it’s easier, on some level, to believe in a Jesus who doesn’t ruffle any feathers, just a really great Guy, who said some really nice things about loving everybody.  It’s easier to keep everything neat and tidy, I guess.

The problem is, that molded plastic Jesus can’t save you or me.  He wouldn’t take the punishment for my sins.   He’s more like what Max Lucado calls “The Rabbit’s Foot Redeemer. 

“For some, Jesus is a good luck charm. The ‘Rabbit's Foot Redeemer.’ Pocket-sized. Handy. Easily packaged. Easily understood. Easily diagrammed. You can put his picture on your wall or you can stick it in your wallet as insurance. You can frame him. Dangle him from your rear view mirror or glue him to your dashboard.
“His specialty? Getting you out of a jam. Need a parking place? Rub the redeemer. Need help on a quiz? Pull out the rabbit's foot. No need to have a relationship with him. No need to love him. Just keep him in your pocket next to your four-leaf clover.
“For many he's an ‘Aladdin's Lamp Redeemer.’ New jobs. Pink Cadillacs. New and improved spouses. Your wish is his command. And what's more, he conveniently reenters the lamp when you don't want him around.
“For others, Jesus is a ‘Monty Hall Redeemer.’ ‘All right, Jesus, let's make a deal. For 52 Sundays a year, I'll put on a costume coat and tie, hat and hose and I'll endure any sermon you throw at me. In exchange, you give me the grace behind pearly gate number three.’
“The Rabbit's Food Redeemer. The Aladdin's Lamp Redeemer. The Monty Hall Redeemer. Few demands, no challenges. No need for sacrifice. No need for commitment.
“Sightless and heartless redeemers. Redeemers without power. That's not the Redeemer of the New Testament.”[4]

Or anywhere else in the Bible, for that matter.

Isaiah describes a very different Redeemer.  

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Isaiah 53:4-6

There’s nothing tidy or polite about the Jesus that Isaiah describes – a Redeemer who loves me so much that He took my place in Hell so that I could stand with Him in Heaven.

 

Ellen White says it so beautifully in The Desire of Ages. 

“Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.’”[5]

Jesus isn’t a polite, pinky out, only when it’s convenient kind of Redeemer.  He’s a wade in up to His waist, reach down and haul us out of the mud kind of Redeemer.  He’s messy and controversial, and He loves each one of us, personally and individually.

“Jesus does not excuse [our] sins, but shows [our] penitence and faith, and, claiming for [us] forgiveness, He lifts His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels, saying: I know them by name. I have graven them on the palms of My hands.”[6] 

“Author Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family he knew in Paraguay. The father, a doctor, spoke out against the military regime there and its human rights abuses. Local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son and torturing him to death. Enraged townsfolk wanted to turn the boy's funeral into a huge protest march, but the doctor chose another means of protest. At the funeral, the father displayed his son's body as he had found it in the jail—naked, scarred from electric shocks and cigarette burns, and beatings. All the villagers filed past the corpse, which lay not in a coffin but on the blood-soaked mattress from the prison. It was the strongest protest imaginable, for it put injustice on grotesque display.
“Isn't that what God did at Calvary? … The cross that held Jesus' body, naked and marked with scars, exposed all the violence and injustice of this world. At once, the cross revealed what kind of world we have and what kind of God we have: a world of gross unfairness, a God of sacrificial love.”[7]

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.  For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.”  John 3:16,17 (Amplified Bible

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[1]Dr. Ray Pritchard, "Christopher Hitchens Gets it Exactly Right," KeepBelieving.com (2-1-10)

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Max Lucado, Six Hours One Friday (W. Publishing, 2004), pp. 89-90

[5] E.G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 25

[6] E.G. White, The Great Controversy, page 484  

[7] Philip Yancey, Disappointment with God (Zondervan, 1997), pp. 185-186

Good News?

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”  1Peter 2:21

Think of it, because Jesus suffered, we are called to suffer as well.  Do you know that there were organizations way back then that considered themselves “Christian-esque” but they didn’t believe that Christ actually suffered?  They claimed that He only seemed to suffer, that He could not experience pain or death, in fact, that Jesus just seemed to be at all.  That’s interesting when you read 1Peter 2:21 where we’re asked to suffer like Jesus did.  If He didn’t suffer, does that mean we don’t have to?

There are several other groups of people who would have us believe that suffering is not, or should not, be a part of the Christian, or even the human experience. 

Christian Science is one of those organizations. In an article by an individual who was raised as a Christian Scientist, I read that 

“members of the church hide their illnesses from one another…no one ever acknowledged the obvious illnesses or infirmities of any other member.” Caroline Fraser,“Suffering Children and the Christian Science Church”, Atlantic Monthly, April 1995.  

According to Fraser, the theory is that “their illness is not real and that the pain they feel is not a part of the real world—God’s world.”  So, suffering is not something that can be experienced.  Again, how does that fit with the text from First Peter?

Other modern Christians also seem to argue that suffering is not in God’s plan for us.  Those folk who teach prosperity doctrine would argue that God’s legacy involves only health and wealth.  Suffering and pain only happen to people who lack the faith to claim God’s prosperity for themselves.

Non-Christians also jump into the discussion with the assumption that “the ultimate good is served by a lack or absence of suffering.”  J.David Hoke, Romans: By His Grace – For His Glory, “Don’t Waste Your Sorrows”, June 30, 1996.  And with that tidy definition are able to open the door to all kinds of things like euthanasia, abortion and genetic engineering, because they will supposedly eliminate pain and suffering.

Other unbelievers use the reality of suffering as an argument against God.  Their logic, according to C.S. Lewis, in his book, The Problem of Pain goes this way: “If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures happy, and if God were almighty He would be able to do what He wished.  But His creatures are not happy.  Therefore God lacks either goodness or power or both.” Ouch.

That’s disturbing enough, but Rabbi Harold S. Kushner’s, in his book When Bad Things Happen To Good People, deals with the problem of human suffering by doing away with God’s omnipotence and then encouraging us to go ahead and love God and “forgive Him despite His limitations.”

Excuse me? My God does not have any limitation…HE’S GOD!

I think that’s pretty sad, when even a Rabbi feels like he has to diminish God to make a reasonable explanation of why suffering exists.  Those approaches don’t leave the people who believe them with many options of how to handle suffering in their own lives when it comes.

One way to deal with pain and suffering is despair.  You’ve met those folks, right?  Their motto could be: “Life stinks and then you die.”  Not only is life bad for them now, they keep waiting for the other shoe to drop because things can always get worse.

Another coping mechanism that some people use in the face of suffering is what the Greeks called Epicureanism.  This guy, Epicurus taught that bad stuff was going to happen to everybody, but the individual’s job was to make sure that he (or she) experienced more pleasure than pain.  The person who lives by this philosophy spends his life trying to balance the scale.  Their motto might be:  “Life’s hard; party harder.”

Another way that many people deal with life’s unpleasantness is with another Greek hand-me-down, stoicism.  A stoic’s motto might be, “Life’s hard; what’s your point?”

I’m really glad to say that as a Christian, I have something better.  Check it out:  

“…,but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:3-8

God has promised over and over again, that we don’t have to worry about the why of earthly suffering; we just have to hang onto Him.  He knows how weak we are.  He knows the people He wants us to become.  And He won’t ever leave us to suffer alone.  In fact, He promised that the hard stuff would make us stronger and better.  As weird as it sounds, suffering isn’t a waste of time.  It actually does us good.  In fact, Romans 5:3-5 tells us three very specific things we can gain from following “our calling” from God to suffering.

Suffering produces perseverance – patience, endurance, doggedness, steadfastness, tenacity and persistent determination.  Those are all things we desperately need for the spiritual and earthly battles we have to fight every single day.  Remember the old poster with the picture of the kitten hanging on a rope?  It said, “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”

 

That’s perseverance which produces character.  Character is not an easy concept to define.  But think about the people that have made a real difference in your life – people you deeply respect.  People like that are usually individuals who have had lots of different kinds of experiences in their lives: both joy and sorrow. They’ve responded appropriately and emerged stronger, wiser and closer to God.  They have learned that they can trust God no matter what is happening around them.  Those folks are the ones who can truly say,

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”  Psalm 23:4

And the third benefit that grows out of suffering according to Paul?  Hope.  “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”  If you grew up here in San Antonio, you probably went on the little train at Brackenridge Park at some point.  On that train ride there is a man-made tunnel that is just long enough, with just enough of a curve in it that for a few seconds you are in complete darkness.  It never failed; my heart would pound, and I would breath faster.  I would grab my father’s hand and hang on.  I know I was a fraidy-cat, but that tunnel scared me to death, because it was completely dark just a little longer than I could stand.  When I could finally see that light from the end of the tunnel, I was so relieved.  The light at the end of the tunnel was my hope that the dark would end soon and everything would be okay.  The hope that God is with us and things will get better is sometimes the only thing that helps us through the day.

Remember what Paul said in Romans 8:28-32?  

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
 Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”  

Amen.

Flavored or Filled?

Thoughts on the Sabbath School Lesson dated 11.26.11

“[The label on the bottle said:] 'Blueberry Pomegranate, 100 percent juice, all natural.'  [There was also a picture of] a ripe pomegranate [spilling] its exotic, glistening seeds onto mounds of fat, perfect blueberries. …
“And then I read the ingredients list: ‘Filtered water, pear juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, grape juice concentrate.’ Where was the blueberry? Where was the pomegranate? Finally I found them, fifth and seventh on a list of nine ingredients, after mysteriously unspecified ‘natural flavors.’
“By law, food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. That means a product contains the greatest proportion of the first ingredient on the list and successively less of those farther down. So according to this list, the jug in my hand held mostly water and other juices, with just enough blueberry and pomegranate for flavor and color.
“In the bottom corner of the front label, in small, easy-to-miss type, were the tell-tale words: ‘Flavored juice blend with other natural ingredients.’ The enticing pictures and clever labeling were decoys to sell a diluted, blueberry-pomegranate flavored product, convincingly disguised to look like something it wasn't. I put the juice back on the shelf.
“I left the store empty-handed and wondering, What if I had an ingredients list printed on me? Would Jesus be the main ingredient? If not, how far down the list would he be? Would my ‘label’ accurately represent my contents? Or would I falsely project a misleading outward appearance that cleverly masked diluted ingredients? My packaging may be convincing. I may look and sound like the real thing. But what if someone came to me looking for Jesus beneath my ‘Christian’ label and found something else? Something Jesus-flavored, but not Jesus-filled? …”[1]

When Paul wrote to the Galatians, he begged them to be Christ-filled. Being Christ-filled is the antidote for being led into legalism by false teachers.  Legalism is being Christ-flavored: looking, smelling and maybe even tasting like Christ, but lacking that One Essential Ingredient – Jesus.

It’s interesting that if you ask a bunch of people if they are Christians, chances are good that they’ll say yes, but in some cases, they haven’t really made a full commitment to Jesus.  They want to be associated with Christianity but don’t really want to change their lives.

Steve Sample, president of the University of Southern California, offers this illustration:

“In the spring of 1970, when I was 29, I learned I had won a fellowship from the American Council on Education, which would allow me to serve an administrative internship with Purdue University President Fred Hovde for the 1970–71 academic year. I was elated by the opportunity. Despite having only recently been awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor of electrical engineering at Purdue, I was already leaning toward a career in administration….
“Soon after the award was announced, I happened to bump into a colleague, Vern Newhouse, who was a highly respected senior member of the electrical engineering faculty. ‘So, Sample,’ Newhouse said, ‘I see you've won some sort of administrative fellowship in the president's office.
“‘Yes, that's true,’ I said.
“‘And you'll be learning how to become an administrator?’
“‘I suppose so.’
“‘And then you'll probably want to be president of a university somewhere down the road?’
“‘Well, I don't know. I guess I've thought about it now and then,’ I said, somewhat disingenuously.
“He smiled and said: ‘Personally, I've never had any ambition whatsoever to be an administrator. I am totally inept at managing things…. But I've been a careful observer of ambitious men all my life. And here, for what it's worth, is what I've learned: many men want to be president, but very few want to do president.’ And with that he wished me well and walked away.”[2]

It’s so easy to slip away, isn’t it?  We want to be Christian, but we don’t necessarily want to do Christian.  It’s a moment by moment commitment, and if someone comes along and tells us there’s an easier way, our instinct is to jump at it.

 We want the benefits without the hard work so we listen to the folks who say that following Jesus is as easy as checking off the boxes on a list of do’s and don’ts.  That’s what the false teachers were telling the Galatians – that relationship was nothing, following the rules was the way to go.  Paul is using every argument to convince them of the truth.

“Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.”  Galatians 4:21-23

In other words, “Come on people, you know better!  Where are you getting your information?”

Can you imagine how frustrating it must have been for Paul? This group of people that he felt like he practically had given birth to, had started placing greater value on their behavior than on their identity in Christ.  And that was because of where they were getting their information.

“My eight-year-old embraces some interesting sources of truth. We were coming home from the grocery store recently when he asked, ‘Dad, do you believe in the Bermuda Triangle?’
“‘Jack,’ I replied, ‘if you're asking me if I believe that this place exists, my answer is yes. If you're asking me if I believe all the mysterious stories about ships and planes disappearing, no: I think that's all baloney.’
“‘Well, Dad,’ Jack said with a note of defensiveness, ‘I believe in it. And I bet you want to know why.’
“‘Yes, Jack. I do.’
“‘Well, I was watching Scooby Doo …’”[3]

Where are we getting our information?  Someone who wants to convince us of the easy way?  or someone who tells us the truth?  Someone who agonizes over our salvation as though it were his own – Christ-flavored or Christ-filled?

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[1] Erin Bunting, "Jesus Flavored, or Jesus Filled?" Kyria.com (10-7-09)

[2] Steve Sample, The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2002), pp. 159-160

[3] David Slagle, Atlanta, Georgia

Oh, Grow Up!

I was remembering this week a foster kid we had while I was growing up.  Some of you will remember that my family took lots of foster kids over the years.  Eddie is the one who popped into my mind.

Eddie was four years old when he came to live with us.  I think I was in middle school.  When the folks dropped him off they told us what they told us about almost every child we ever took – “This child is severely mentally retarded.  He will never be able to learn or function in any normal way.”  We also learned that Eddie (the name we gave him because he didn’t have one) had been in a different foster home since he’d been born.  At the age of four, Eddie had never been out of a crib; he couldn’t crawl or walk; he had never had a hair cut; he wasn’t potty trained, he didn’t talk; and he had never had anything for nourishment except baby formula from a bottle.  (I think I’ve told you about Eddie before.  I’m making a different point this time…I hope) 

Anyway, Eddie had lived four years with baby formula only and minimal human contact.  He was still living life as a newborn.  He had made almost no progress emotionally, intellectually or physically since the day his was born.  Sure, his body itself was four years old…but nothing else had changed at all.

Do you know any Christians like that?  Have you been a Christian like that?  Newborn Christians are as exciting and miraculous as newborn babies…full of hopes and promise.   And we have to be just a careful and tender with newborn Christians as with babies.  Babies don’t start right out eating (veggie)steak and fri-chick; they start out with something they can digest.  But if you never feed a growing child anything but milk, his body may grow, but he won’t have the energy to learn how to sit-up, crawl, or walk.  And if nobody ever interacts with the baby, he doesn’t learn to talk or respond to humans in anyway.  That’s what happened to Eddie.

The good news is that Eddie learned to eat good food, to talk, walk, and seemed on track to being a regular kid by the time he was adopted.  What about you and me?  Are we on the way to becoming mature Christians?

As Adventists, we probably made our initial commitment to Christ because we were convinced, intellectually.  Adventist preachers and evangelists work very hard, for the most part, to play down the emotional aspects of conversion.  Mrs. White urges us to not be swayed by emotional appeals.  I understand the need for caution.  You’ve probably seen TV evangelists who work their audiences into emotional frenzy and then makes his appeal for Christ.  We might feel uncomfortable with that approach, but it can be quite effective.  Either way, the baby Christian has made a choice to follow Jesus, and that’s a good thing.  The problem is, that, in both cases, the conversion is one-sided.

Someone who has come to Christ based on their conviction that what they have learned is the truth may continue to come to church for the rest of his (or her) life and never take the next step – falling in love with Jesus.  On the other hand, the person who responded to the emotional appeal, will keep coming to church, as long as the church continues to provide emotionally charged services every week.  Both converts are, like newborn babies, completely reliant on what the church feeds them for their continued commitment to Jesus.

Have you ever noticed a baby who is about four or five months old who is just ready to graduate from milk only to food?  Does anybody have to convince them that they are ready for food?  If that baby is sitting where he (or she) can see people eating, he’s probably “looking the food right out of their mouths”, as my father used to say.  He knows he’s ready to take the next step, and he’s eager to start.  Now, he may not like everything you try to give him, and (based on my own experience) if you start with the wrong food, you may have problems, but, for the most part, whatever you offer him, he’s going to take. 

Or, we could look back at Eddie.  I’m sure there was a time for him, when he was four or five months old, that he would have been interested in trying food, if someone had offered it to him.  But when no one did, he lost interest. 

That can happen with baby Christians too.  At some point, we have to move beyond depending on the pastor and/or church for our spiritual food.  The pastor’s (church’s) job is not to keep feeding formula to baby Christians, but to inspire them learn how to spiritually feed themselves.  Church is the appetizer or the dessert, not the meal.

So, how do we get from newborn to born again?  By being hungry to learn more about Jesus.  By getting to know Jesus as a friend.  Everything I read this week brought it down to this:  communication.  Communication is what builds all relationships.

Jesus communicates with us through the Bible, right? He teaches us about Himself, about what He has done for us and what He wants to do.  By reading the Bible we learn who Jesus is.

We communicate with God by praying.  Now, I know that Jesus doesn’t really need for us to pray.  He knows what we’re thinking, what we need, what we want, and what we’re feeling.  But when we pray, we are using our free will to choose to open the door of communication between ourselves and God.  He could just take control of everything so that we didn’t need to pray…but then our free will would be gone.  Plus, talking to people we have relationships with is something we enjoy doing, right?  It’s part of being in the relationship.  Haven’t you had friends that you could talk to for hours and hours?  You looked forward to the opportunity to sit with them and do just that.

A lot of people stop right there.  They read their Bible and pray.  Those are the folks who say that they don’t need to come to church because God can be with them everywhere.  They’re right, but they’re also missing a huge opportunity for growing up as a Christian.  Meeting together with other Christians is huge!  

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25

God created us to enjoy—need, interaction with other people, and when most of our time during the week is spent with folks who don’t share our love for Jesus, it is really wonderful to come together with others who believe the way we do on Sabbath.  In fact, I’ve know folks who enjoy coming to church just because of the social opportunities, not so much for the spiritual ones. 

Anyway, the last component of growing in Jesus, for me, is the hardest one.  We need to communicate with people who don’t know Jesus personally.  We all have different strengths and gifts for telling others about our love for Jesus.  I don’t have the same gifts you have, but we all need to share what Jesus has done for us with someone who needs to hear it.  Do you want to be a grown up Christian?  I do.  There are really just four steps:  read the Bible, pray, spend time with people who love Jesus, and tell people who don’t know Jesus about Him.

That sounds easy, doesn’t it – on paper.  In real life there are so many things that get in the way; Satan makes sure of that.  But, I believe, that when we ask God to make Him our “one, consuming passion” He will answer that prayer by giving us exactly what we need.

“ If the follower of Christ would grow up ‘unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13), he must eat of the bread of life and drink of the water of salvation.  He must watch and pray and work, in all things giving heed to the instructions of God in His words.”  Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles,  pp. 284-285.