Living a 220 life

Impacting your world for Christ 3

“Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them–walking, leaping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:6-8)

In the first 2 lessons from the “Impacting your world for Christ” series, I explained that the true power in a believers life comes from the Lord alone. I believe the first two lessons addressed this topic quite well so I will mearly mention it again here; the true power in a believers life comes from the Lord alone. However, Peter offers us a couple more hidden nuggets of gold through his interaction with this man outside the temple.

The first lesson we can learn from Peter is that he knew the power of the Lord and was willing to use it. He quickly and openly identified that he had nothing aside from the Lord. I don’t believe this was Peters confession of being broke. No, quite the contrary. I believe Peter was identifying the immense value of a relationship with the risen Jesus. Peter was telling the man that he was asking for mud pies when he could be asking for a beautiful life at the beach. Peter was saying that in light of Jesus’ love in his life he had nothing of value. Friends, if we are to completely rely on Jesus’ power in our lives in order to impact our world we must come to the deep inner belief that our relationship with Him is, in fact, the most valuable thing we have.

The second lesson we can take from Peter is that he knew God’s plan and his role in that plan. In verse 19 we read, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord“. Peter understood that when the Lord moves and reveals His power we must bring people to Him in repentance. Our role is to help people understand their depravity and then to see the glory of Jesus in their lives. Peter knew this and practiced it.

The final lesson I’ll bring out here is that Peter constantly placed the glory where it belonged. This miracle was a great opportunity for Peter to build himself up and gain recognition as a prophet. Yet, Peter continually offers statements like verse 16, “And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” Peter understands the power comes only through Jesus and ensures everyone else understands this as well.

Friends, if we wish to truely impact our world for Christ we must allow more of Jesus in it. We must believe in our inner being that Jesus alone has power to impact peoples lives for eternity. Once we believe this we will naturally rely upon Him. We must help others to understand our own inability to need for Him. Finally, we must constantly give Him the glory for the things He does. Don’t fall for the trap of plagerising His miracle. Don’t take credit for things you’ve not done. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s all about Him! AMEN!

Impacting your world for Christ 2

The eighth and ninth chapters of Nehemiah offer us another look at how we can impact our world for Christ. As laborers for the kingdom of God we desire others to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. The first and sometimes toughest step for many people is repentance from sin. Repentance is tough because it means a person admits they are wrong and openly expresses a desire to completely change their way of life. Let me walk you through Nehemiah and give you another example of the power of the Lord for impacting your world.

8:3 “Then he read from it (book of the Law) in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.” Ezra didn’t offer a spectacular service, he simply read the Bible to the people. He understood the power of the Word from the Lord and didn’t feel the need to add to it.

8:9b & 8:12 “For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.” “And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.“

9:2b-9:3 “and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.“

My friends, Ezra did nothing more than read the Bible to the people. It was the power of the Lord that transformed the entire city and moved all the people to true repentence. Let me ask you what role God’s Word plays in your ministry and life? Is it simply a supporting text or is it the power that drives all you do? Are you relying on God’s Word to transform your own life and that of those you’re working with?

Let me challenge you with the end of Nehemiah 9:3, “read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God“. When was the last time you spent half your day seeking the Lord? I challenge you to spend half a day on a regular basis seeking the Lord; not as a ministry event but as a personal interaction with Jesus. Do it when no one else knows you’re doing it and seek the Lord for nothing more than to find Him. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, this is how we can impact our world for Christ: By humby stepping out of the way and allowing His power to reign in our lives! AMEN!

Impacting your world for Christ

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)

Many a young and fervant missionary has set out to impact the world for Christ. If every missionary or young believer impacted the world for Christ as they desired, the world would be completely won for Jesus. The question then becomes, ‘Why are so many fervant believers less fruitful than they wish to be for Christ?’ I know I’ve fallen into this category at times. I’m sure many of you reading this have also been frustrated by the fruits of your labor not matching your desire and zeal. Peter offers us an explanation for this.

In Acts chapter 2 Peter addresses the Jews and tells them the story of Jesus. Peter lays out the ‘nuts and bolts’ of what Jesus did to secure salvation for all who believe. Peter doesn’t sugur coat things, he simple lays out the raw doctrine of salvation through belief in Jesus Christ. Peter addresses the Jews in a way they understand and offers them the Gospel. The result is that they were cut to the heart and wanted to know what to do next.

From Peter’s example we can see the true power to impact our world for Christ. The power rests in the sacrifice Jesus made over 2000 years ago. We all too often feel that we need to ’spice’ things up with flashy messages or entertaining light show services, but the fact of the matter is that Jesus already laid the foundation for impacting our world. We don’t need to recreate the wheel; we need to use the wheel Jesus already developed. My fellow laborers, rest on Jesus and the work He’s already done. Don’t try to impact the world through your strength. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s all about Him! AMEN!

A true heart for God

“Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so provoking him to anger.” (Deuteronomy 9:18)

Beth and I rented a movie the other night and were appalled by the blatant use of vulgar language…within the first 60 seconds of the movie. I work around military men with foul mouths and hear poor language day in and day out and yet, this movie made me cringe and jump for the eject button. Though I was looking forward to a good movie I was not about to allow the immoral values presented in the film to permeate my mind and heart. The point I’d like to make is not that Christians must stand up to Hollywood or throw out all movies or any other form of Puritan righteousness (though this may need to be done); no, the point I’d like to make is that for some reason sin has become distasteful to me.

Please don’t hear self righteousness in this claim. I still struggle with sin as any other human being struggles. What I’ve found is that some things I used to enjoy, I no longer enjoy because I know they don’t honor the Lord. Deuteronomy 9 reveals how this characteristic becomes a part of a person’s moral fiber. When Moses was confronted with the sin of the people he fell on his face and didn’t eat or drink for 40 days. Can you not see that Moses was truly hurt to the core of his being by this sin? It’s difficult to fake such a reaction as this. So how was Moses’ moral fiber built to so vehemently reject anything that was not God honoring?

Moses reacted in such a way because he had just been in the presence of God. Moses had just received the 10 Commandments and had spoken directly with the Lord. The key to building a moral fiber that seeks to honor God is to spend time in His presence. You see, our God is so good, so perfect, that when we spend time in His presence we will naturally be permeated by His Glory. He is completely void of sin and when in His presence we experience life without sin (to a degree while on earth and perfectly when in heaven). It’s much like allowing someone to spend time in the most amazing mansion with all the perks luxury living has to offer and then trying to move them into a cardboard shack. Someone who’s grown up in the shack may have come to really enjoy it, however, the more time spent in the mansion makes the shack less palatable.

My friends, if you’d like a true heart for God then spend time in His presence. He has created the most amazing mansion for you to enjoy. All you need to do is walk away from the cardboard shack and walk towards your new residence. He loves you and will rework the fiber of your moral life to match His pleasures. Spend time with Him and you’ll hate sin with a true heart from God. AMEN!

Building a miraculous faith

“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.” (Deuteronomy 7:17-19)

The first time I rode a rollercoaster I was told to keep my hands up all the way down the big drop. I was a huge scaredy cat and couldn’t even keep my hands up as we were being pulled up the hill let alone as we were plummeting to our deaths. Eventually I was able to put my hands up and now I’ll keep my hands up throughout the entire ride. So what’s different? What changed that made me able to keep my hands up? The answer: I had experiences on the rides and learned that I would be OK even with my hands up.

Beth and I recently came through some pretty rough trials. These were the kind of trials that make your heart just sink into your stomach when you hear about them. The Lord was taking me on a spiritual rollercoaster and I was terrified of putting my hands up. Each time the heat was turned up through these trials I would become disheartened all over again and need to spend time with the Lord in order to be reassured. Just as soon as I trusted the Lord for my safety through the trial, something new would arise and I would worry and stress all over again. In essence, I would come screeching down a huge rollercoaster hill only to go right back up a bigger one on the other side. Just as I gained the confidence to put my hands up at the bottom of the hill I was on my way back up and desperately grabbing for the handle to hold onto.

The Lord tells us in Deuteronomy 7 how to build a faith that doesn’t waiver even when confronting the impossible. He tells us to remember. Remember the things He has done for us in the past. Remember that He didn’t allow us to crash the last time we came down the huge rollercoaster hill. Faith is remembering what God has done for us in the past and believing that it was God who did it. Based on this faith you can step forward in hope; hope (this hope has an assurance rather than the typical hope in the English language that implies a sense of uncertainty) that He will continue to care for you as He has in the past.

My friends, building faith therefore implies spending time with God. You must spend time with Him as you walk through life if you’re to recognize His interaction in your day to day. Without spending time in the presence of the Lord your likely to attribute circumstances to mere chance rather than the true orchestrator of events. Start spending time with Him and get ready for the ride. Remember, keep your hands up! AMEN!