My year end/beginning wish for you...

To my fellow Christians...

Dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.
(Jude 1:20-25)

To those who have never believed, or have believed, but have walked away...

Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end.
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him.
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.
Let him sit alone and be silent, for God has disciplined him.
Let him put his mouth in the dust— perhaps there is still hope.
Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with shame.
For the Lord will not reject us forever.
Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to His abundant, faithful love.
For He does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind.
(Believe it or not, that comes from a book called Lamentations 3:22-33)

There is hope, and it has a name... Jesus.

Happy 2015!
Happy 2016!

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]
 
Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.
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[This is a repost of my most viewed devotional of 2015]

I was raised in a pastor’s home. I have pastored at various levels, and some would say I still do. I have also been a parishioner/congregant. In all of these phases of church life I have learned a few things that I think are beneficial to experiencing the best God has to offer in the Church. Some of these lessons are primarily for leadership. I share these with other pastors and leaders in conversations where I am also learning from them. But some of the things I have learned are things that many pastors would like to say to their people, but perhaps don’t because they don’t want to sound self-serving. 

So, this week, our devotionals will focus on what it means to be a God-honoring, pastor-supporting, and believer-edifying parishioner. How can I be a better part of my church? Today is Sunday… so we will look at what it means to be a better church member on Sunday.

It has been joked about that Sunday is the only day a preacher works… and for only an hour at that. We may chuckle, and a few people may even believe that. But anyone who is familiar with pastoral work knows that this is not the case if a pastor is ‘worth his salt.’ While a good pastor is basically on call 24-7 and serving over 60 hours a week, Sunday morning is the most obvious work he will do, and it is at times the most physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining. The preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is literally heart-to-heart combat with the forced of darkness. The enemy doesn’t want the Gospel to be preached because he knows how powerful it is. So he fights all week, and especially on Sunday.

Here are some things you can do and avoid to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem on Sundays.

DO NOT – (Here are some things to avoid on Sunday mornings at church.)

FIND FAULT WITH THE SERMON – A pastor will often say thousands of words in a given sermon. He will probably misspeak from time to time. He may end a sentence in a preposition. He may ask you to turn to the wrong passage (“Turn with me to John 6:13” when he meant John 3:16). Some people hear these mistakes and can’t wait for the sermon to be done in order to correct him. In fact, they won’t hear anything else he says because they are caught up in the mistake. Then they pounce on him before he even makes it off of the platform. This is not good practice. Pointing out inconsequential errors in a sermon shows that you are focused more on mistakes than the message. The fact that you can find fault with someone’s words does not make you awesome, even if you believe fault-finding to be your spiritual gift.

FIND FAULT WITH THE CHURCH – This goes beyond the sermon. Do not approach you pastor and tell him how difficult it was finding a parking spot. Don’t tell him that one of the ushers didn’t smile at you. Don’t point out the grammatical mistakes in the bulletin. Don’t tell him that the soap dispenser is empty in the bathroom, or a light bulb is flickering in the closet. These things may need to be addressed… but not on Sunday morning. Again…you don’t get any extra crowns in Heaven for recognizing flaws. If the soap is out… here’s a thought… go get some more soap. If the usher did not meet your expectations, give the pastor a call on Tuesday… or… maybe ask the usher how he is doing and if you can pray with him. 

SMOTHER THE PASTOR – Usually, in most churches there is a time after the worship service to shake hands with the pastor. Some people hit the door so they can hit the buffet. Others give a wave and smile as they go by him. And then there are those who settle into a conversation with the preacher about everything going on in their life. Sometimes it even turns into a counseling session. This is not good practice. Most preachers are glad to say, “Hello”, thank you for being a part of the service, and wish you God’s blessing. But you may not realize how draining it is to deliver the eternal truth of God. If done right, it is a battle. So when you are done, you aren’t prepared to give someone advice on how to handle a mother-in-law who is overbearing at family events. It’s not to say it isn’t important. But it doesn’t have to be fixed in that moment. Again… set up a time later in the week to talk with him, and let the other 20 brothers and sisters get a chance to thank the pastor for being faithful to the Word.

DO (Here are some things you can do on Sunday morning to make Church a better experience.)

COMMUNICATE – Let someone know if you won’t be at church. This is sort of expected for leadership, though it doesn’t always happen. But even if you aren’t on the church staff, it is good to advise others when you will be absent. It is part of being a family. If I won’t be eating at home, it is important to let my wife know. It is disrespectful to not do so. The same is true in the church. Communicating when you will be out of town is a way of saying, “This is my home. I value our relationship. I will miss being here, and you deserve to know why I will be gone.” It incorporates both accountability and appreciation. 

ARRIVE EARLY – It is Sunday. Most people have a very loose schedule on Sunday, so there is rarely a good reason to constantly be 5-10 minutes late. You may say, “I’m not on the worship team. They can start without me. Why should I get to church early?” Well, if you are going to worship, you are on the worship team. They can start without you being there, but you can’t start with them without you being there. Music, prayers, testimonies, etc. are not just preliminaries leading up to the preaching. They are an integral part of the whole worship experience. Here’s something to think about… The amount of worship time you miss leading up to the sermon will determine how much of the sermon you miss. It is also disrespectful to constantly be late. The people who have prayed over and planned the music don’t deserve to have to compete with people climbing over people, settling in, putting their keys and purses away, and greeting others while everyone is trying to focus on God. When you arrive early, you send the message that you are excited about joining with the family, and anticipate great things from God.

PARTICIPATE – If you went through a whole church service and didn’t sense the move of God, and this happened time after time, you would probably find somewhere else to attend. I imagine God feels the same way when you don’t move. When it is time to sing, sing. When it is time to pray, pray. When it is time to read the Word, open your Bible. Worship service is not a spectator sport, it is a participatory experience. It isn’t something to consume, it is something to offer. You can sing in your car for an hour on your way home from work. But you can’t sing three songs at church? You can pray like crazy when you want to pass that test or get that promotion. But you can’t close your eyes and agree in prayer with the body of believers at church? You can read your latest favorite author late into the night. But you can’t open the written Word of God to learn more about abundant life? God doesn’t want a family of consumers, but a family of contributors. Church isn’t where we go to be part of a sing-along, but where we sing praises from our hearts using our voices. The pastor isn’t just praying for you, but also with you. Reading the Bible in church can help you read it at home.

So there are six simple things you can do (or not do) in order to have a better experience at church. What we are talking about is the difference between ‘going to church’ and ‘being the church’. If you are only going to church, you can leave church. But if you are being the church, you will continue to be that church when you leave the gathering and the building. The apostle Paul put it this way when telling the early Christians how to act and interact…

“Be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-21)

Today and every Sunday we should seek to be the best part of the body of Christ we can be.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

One question for you today as we head into the new year...

"What would you do for Jesus if you knew you couldn't fail?" 

That question is not original with me. And you can replace the word "Jesus" with words like "Spouse", "Family", "Church", "Co-workers", "Neighbor", "Stranger", etc.

Have fun answering the question... and living it out.

​[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]
 
Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

A new year is almost here. New years usually arrive with great expectation. This is especially true among Christians. We have this belief that God is constantly up to something new. He created everything brand new in the beginning. He makes us a new creation in Christ. He will one day make all things new as He restores the creation. So when we come up on a new year, we anticipate that God is going to do some more new things.

The new year is a reset of sorts. It is as much about leaving a year as it is beginning a new one. Now, this past year may have been great for you, filled with successes. It may have been so good that you don't really want to leave it, but you hope that the new year will be a continuation of it. For some, this year may have been painted with failures or valleys so deep that you do not want to remember them ever again.

But time is not static. It is dynamic. Moving toward one year or leaving another is not like leaving a fencepost. It is like leaving the wind. Your past is not dead... it is alive. 

The enemy is going to use your past, because it is all he actually has to work with that is real. He will use your failures to discourage and trip you up. He will even manipulate your successes to get you off track. Satan does not see your past as dead. Neither should you.

God is willing to use your past as part of your testimony. This past year is already part of your story. Christ makes it part of your story of transformation.

This year is not something to escape as you enter a new year. It is something to surrender to God. I would encourage you to put this past year under the blood of Christ. Let Him purify and rule over it. It is part of your story. He is the Redeemer, the Restorer. If you will stop trying to bury your life, He will raise it up. The blood of Christ not only covers sin, it gives life to that which is dead. You may think things are in the past, but remember, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

We believe He is the God of today, right now. We believe God is the God of tomorrow, right now. We must get to the point where we believe God wasn't just the God of yesterday, yesterday... He is still the God of yesterday, today.

Today... right now, pray to God and give Him this year. Just as you trust Him with the year to come, trust Him with the year that is past... strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, wins and losses. Ask for forgiveness and repent of those things you messed up. Ask for grace to survive those bad things done to you. Ask for wisdom to learn from the struggles. Ask for help to build upon the victories.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]
 
Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

It is not uncommon for most nativity sets to include shepherds and magi (wise men) along with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in the manger. But most scholars agree that the magi didn’t reach Jesus until possibly 16-20 months after his birth.

On their way to deliver the wonderful and expensive gifts to the young family, they met king Herod to get specific directions to Joseph’s house. Herod was unaware and angered that there was a new king in his kingdom. He sneakily asked the wise men to find and inform him of the whereabouts of the Christ child… so he could kill Him.

After visiting with Jesus’ family, the wise men were warned by God in a vision to not report back to king Herod. Matthew 2:12 says of the magi, “They returned to their own country by another route.”

In our lives we meet Jesus in different scenarios. Some seem to be more casual, as if we are going along with a friend. At other times, it is much more profound. Sometimes there is much effort, as well as personal cost involved in finding the Savior. I think about our own church expression. God is faithful to draw us into His presence, and there is a constant expectation that God will meet with us in this place… this gathering. We enter in offering our gifts and then experience life-changing worship.

But just as it is fair to expect God to move in us with transformational power, it is just as reasonable to expect the enemy to ambush us as we go back to our ‘normal’ life away from the spiritual sanctuary we find on Sunday morning. Frankly, the Devil doesn’t care how much we see of God during a holy hour of worship if it does not impact our daily walk.
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Just as the magi were sent out a different way than the way they came, so also we are to leave differently after encountering Jesus. How will you enter 2016 differently than you entered 2015?

​[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]
 
Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.