Continue reading »]]> It is the weekend of Thanksgiving…how thankful am I? I just read the account of the suffering servant found in Isaiah 53, which gives me ample reason to be thankful. I would encourage you to read the whole chapter, but here is just one verse:

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. (Isaiah 53:11 NLT)

To say thank you seems so inadequate Jesus! Your anguish granted me atonement. Your grief granted me eternal life. Someday I will see you face to face, along with countless other believers for whom you died. Someday, the true magnitude of what you did will be evident to me. Until then, it seems I am left only with my inadequate imagination to try to picture the scene in heaven with millions of your followers. Lord, grant me a vivid imagination until that day! Until then, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Continue reading »]]> The Israelites were a frustrating people.  Psalm 106 recounts the story of all that God had done for His people.  Healing, deliverance, power…they had it all.  They were being tenderly and obviously cared for by the Creator of all things.  And they traded it all in.  For what? 

They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull. Psalm 106:20 (NLT)

I would encourage to read all of Psalm 106, but look at verse 20 again.  Really?  They traded their glorious, magnificent God for a statue of one of God’s creations?  What kind of idiots were they?

They same kind of idiots that we are today.

This past weekend at Grace Point, the focus was on the person of Jesus Christ.  We talked about who He was, what He did, and what He will do.  The name of Jesus Christ is a glorious one.  He was the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed Son of God.  He didn’t come here looking for admirers, but followers…people who would forsake everything to follow Him.  We talked about the need for Him to suffer and die on behalf of all humankind, and the results of Him being raised from the dead.  Because of what He did, we are white as snow, saints and not sinners, friends of God and not His enemies.  We are alive and not dead!

Maybe most importantly, we talked about the fact that He is coming again!  When He comes again, He will make all things new.  It will be a glorious day, the first of an eternity of glorious days! 

Jesus Christ is glorious!  He is magnificent!  Living this life with that perspective is not discouraging, or nice, or interesting.  Living life with an eternal perspective sees Jesus as magnificent.  He is the One that we can live for, now and forever!

So why do we trade Him in for a cheaper model so quickly?  Why are we content trading Him in for a cheaper, easier model?  Why do we trade in the majestic for the mundane? 

My prayer for us today is that we would elevate Jesus to the position He deserves in our life.  I pray he would be magnificent to us, and that we would live our lives with Him at the very center of every thought, conversation, meeting, test and purchase. 

May we refuse to trade Him for anything!

Continue reading »]]> Have you ever made a promise you didn’t keep?  If you are like me, you’ve broken promises more times than you can count, but you know what is amazing?  God never, ever, ever has broken even one of His promises…and He has made quite a few over the years.  I just ran into this promise from Jeremiah this morning.

“My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”

“Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God.  Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the Lord our God will Israel ever find salvation. Jeremiah 3:22-23 (NLT)

God’s people were stuck in a pattern of sin.  Their hearts were controlled by their behavior, and they began to depend on their idol worship and religious orgies, even though reality proved that to be foolish.  And in the midst of all this, God promised to ‘heal their wayward hearts’ if they would just come back to Him. 

He promised it then and still promises it today:  If we come back to Him, He will heal our hearts.  Perhaps that is what we need reminded of this Christmas season.  Jesus came to give us peace with God (Acts 10:26).  He came to save us from our sin and its consequences (John 3:16-17).  He came to heal our hearts.

My prayer is that our response to God’s promises will be exactly the same as the people in Jeremiah’s day:

“Yes, we’re coming!” 

How is your heart been wayward?  How do you need Him to heal it?  Come to Him!  Take Him at His word…He promises to heal you if you truly come back to Him!

Continue reading »]]> I posted a song by Matthew West a few posts ago.  Here is another one…very, very powerful!

But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:1-4

Continue reading »]]> This is a simple post with a simple reminder.  As I have been reading the book of John lately, I have been reminded over and over again of the Gospel.  There is one way to eternal life.  There is one way to have your sins forgiven and your future secured.  There is one way to live a life that is far, far beyond yourself.

There is one way.  There is one, narrow way.  Jesus.

so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. John 3:15

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. John 3:18

And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” John 3:36

That last verse (John 3:36) is perhaps the most clear.  If we believe and follow Jesus, we already have eternal life.  If we don’t believe in and follow Jesus, we will “never experience eternal life”.  Never. 

Two things to consider:

1. Where do you stand?  Do you believe?  Are you obeying/following Him?  If not, what are you going to do about it?
2. Where do your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers stand?  Do they believe?  Are they following Him?  If not, what are you going to do about it?

I would encourage you to read these verses over and over again, asking God to bring to mind the names and faces of those that may not be on that road…starting with you!

Continue reading »]]> Usually we ask people to pray for very specific things.  Often, these things are related to health, work and relationships.  Those aren’t bad things to pray about, and I pray about these sort of things for myself and for many others.  But I don’t think they are necessarily the most important things to pray about.

When I pray for myself, my family, my small group members, my neighbors, my friends, and people from church my prayers are often focused on God changing minds, lives and hearts:

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. – Colossians 1:9-10

So, please ask me to pray for you about anything at all…and I will.  But I will also pray for the Holy Spirit to totally, completely change the way you think, the way you live and the way you are!

Have you prayed this way for yourself lately?  How about for your spouse or your kids or your parents?  How about your friends, neighbors, bosses or teachers?  Do it!

Continue reading »]]> The day is coming!

The day is coming when our money will not matter.  The day is coming when the government will not matter.  The day is coming when rock stars, athletes and movie stars will no longer be idols.  The day is coming when our relationships will be pure and our tears will dry up.  The day is coming when there will be no more worship of Buddha or Allah.  The day is coming when we will truly worship God with all that we have and all that we do.

And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped. Zechariah 14:9 (NLT)

The day is coming, and on that day He will rejoice over His children and we will rejoice in Him!  We will praise His Holy name and experience the fullness of Him!  We will be filled with unimaginable joy and be free of pain!  He will rule over all there is and every single knee will bow to Him.

The day is coming!  It is drawing near!  Thank You Father!  Help me to live today as if it were that day, with great expectation and urgency!  Help me to be prepared for that day!