Salt and Light, Pt 2: True Influence

Matt 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth;
Matt 5:14  You are the light of the world.
Have you ever noticed that when we talk about being salt and light in the world, it usually centers around us taking stands against practices we see as wrong and even evil? We have ministries to make us aware of laws that we can support or those we must oppose.We seem to think that participating in those ministries meets the requirements of this scripture. Now, do not misunderstand me, I am all for those things. We have that kind of ministry at my church and I praise God for it and participate in it.
In America, we the people, are responsible for the laws that are passed or rejected so we, as believers in Christ, should participate in the process. God has allowed us the privilege of electing people to represent us in government. We need to use that privilege to affect our culture as much as possible for good.
BUT, if we limit our understanding of these verses to just doing that, I think we are missing the boat and our influence may not be what it should be. So let’s take a closer look and see what these verses are telling us.
First, notice Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world.” Not ,“you should try to become” but you are. It is not something you do or say, it is who and what you are.
The word are in Greek is eimi and it means to exist. By virtue of your faith in Christ you exist as salt of the earth and light of the world! There is nothing that you can do to change that. You don’t make yourself saltier or brighter, but Jesus warns us that salt can become  useless. We can lose our flavor.In other words, we will have no effect or influence on the world around us.

Jesus also warned us about hiding our light. He did not say that we could extinguish the light but that we could cover it up. We are light but we need to let our light shine so that people can see our good works and glorify God, not us. The good works are not the light, we are the light. The good  works are only a demonstration that God is at work in us.
If the good works come out of living a life of faith in Christ, then our light is shining for all to see and God is glorified. If instead, we are like the Pharisees, doing it for show, God is not glorified and those works are wood, hay and stubble which will be thrown into the fire and burned.
So how is it that we lose our saltiness? How is it that our light can be hidden?
To understand that we need to look back at the context of this statement, starting in verse 3 of Matthew 5. Jesus was beginning the sermon on the mount and in verses 3-11 he describes a salty person, a born again believer who has the Spirit of God in them. (Get your Bible open!)
Note the qualities that we will see in that person
1 Poor in Spirit: knowing their sin and need for a savior
2 Mourner: one who mourns over their spiritual condition before faith and over those who are in lost condition
3 Gentle or meek: as opposed to proud and confident in themselves
4 Hungry and thirsty for righteousness: wanting to do the right things in God’s eyes
5 Merciful: demonstrating God’s mercy by extending it to others
6 Pure in heart: having been cleansed from sin by faith and recognizing the need for continual cleansing of sin.
7 Peacemakers: desire to bring peace to others by bringing them to the Prince of Peace, the only one who can give them real peace
8 The persecuted: those who are willing to acknowledge their faith in Christ and live according to His will no matter what the consequences
If we have lost our flavor, it is because we are not demonstrating these characteristics in our lives.
If we are not influencing the world for God, it is not because we are not speaking out on issues, it is because we are not living out our faith. We need to ask ourselves some important questions.
 Are we demonstrating the beatitudes? Have we lost our hunger and thirst for righteousness? Do we care more about the lost condition of the sinner than we do about their sin?
Are we still broken over our own sin or do we just pharisaically point out the sin of others? Do we extend mercy or only judgement.
Do we really want to see sinners saved or would we rather see them punished for their sin? Do we want people to know the peace that we have known in our Christian life?
Are we still willing to proclaim the love and hope there is in Jesus or are we too timid and afraid of persecution. Have we compromised and let the world influence us rather than us influencing the world.
I submit to you that if we are ineffective in our influence, it is not because of our failure to speak or act on issues, but instead, our failure to be that which Jesus called us to be. The point is that we need to understand that our influence in the world does not come from our trying to convince people that we are right on issues, but instead our influence comes from living a Godly life.
Think of the believers in the early church.How was it that they influenced the world that they lived in. We read in many of the New Testament letters that they suffered tremendous persecution but returned love. They lived out the beatitudes and the course of mankind was changed. I think about when I first read the sermon on the mount and how it seemed impossible to live out, but yet I had a burning desire to be that kind of person.
It took me many years before I understood that in my own power I could never be that person and that I needed the Holy Spirit to do that work in me. I learned that I could ask Him to accomplish it in me and that He would do it.
But I think that sometimes, after years of walking with the Lord, we can harden our hearts. We stop asking The Lord to make us more like Him. When we do that, we don’t continue to demonstrate those Christ like traits in our lives and so we lose our flavor, we hide our light and the world does not care to listen to us.
I really believe that rather than spending so much of our time trying to “fix” non believers thinking, we would do better to check our own lives to see if we have allowed our salt to become flavorless or have hidden our light under a bushel. If we really want to have that influence on the world we need to live in such a way that non believers want what we have. Then we have the opportunity to lead them to Christ. It is then that God opens their eyes to the things of the Spirit just as He did for us. That, I believe is how we can really see change, as God transforms each individual into the image of His own dear Son.
May God bless you as you let your light shine forJesus Christ,
Coach

Salt and Light? Part 1

Does it seem to you that we as Christians are having much success influencing our world for the better today? We look at what is going on in this country; abortion on demand, homosexual marriage, out of wedlock children, unimaginable violence and on and on and we must ask ourselves, “Are we having any influence at all?”

Why is it that we don’t seem to have the effect that we desire on our society? As we look at this subject with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I hope to shed some light and encourage and challenge us to do a better job.

We need to start by apprehending a couple of basic truths:

1.     There are really only two types of people in the world. Those who are born again and have the Spirit of the Living God in them and those who do not.

2.     If they do not have the Spirit of God, then their world view will be opposing yours and they cannot understand why you think so differently from them.

Don’t agree? Look at what Paul says in 1 Cor 2:14.  “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

You see a non believer is going to reason according to their world view, which is the polar opposite of a Christian world view.  Take a look at this side by side comparison and see if you can get an idea of what I mean:

God =accountability                                              No God=no accountability

Creation                                                                                Evolution/Humanism

Absolute Truth                                                                    No absolute truth

Moral certainty (Biblically)                                              Moral relativity, situational ethics

Jesus=Savior, Lord, God                                      Jesus= good moral teacher if he

                                                                                      existed at all

 You can see why the non believer, with this world view, can justify all kinds of behavior that we would call ungodly or sin. After all, if there is no God to be accountable to, then I only have to worry about man and his ideas of right and wrong. If we are just a cosmic accident and evolved from some lower life form, then we could not have any real purpose in life. If that is the case, we might as well indulge in every physical pleasure there is.

The narrative usually then goes something like this, “sex, it’s just filling a biological urge so what does it matter who or what you engage with and why should it just be reserved for marriage. No one can actually tell me what I can or can’t do because what may be right or wrong for you is not necessarily right or wrong for me. Lying, stealing, and cheating? Sometimes those are wrong but in other cases it might be right. What about people that are hungry? Isn’t it ok if they steal some food? Why should I tell my wife that I had an affair, wouldn’t that just hurt her? Why shouldn’t I have an abortion, after all we don’t want more unloved and unwanted children in the world, right?”

I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. This type of world view, one that eliminates God and the Bible is bound to come up with answers and solutions to life that make no sense to us.

1 Cor 3: says,   “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God.”

But, if you are going to have some influence in the world, you must understand the worldly point of view and why non believers think the way they do. If you don’t then you will find it impossible to communicate with them. This is what Paul meant when he said in 1 Cor 9:22, “ To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. “

You might be asking right now, “Why does all this even matter to me? I just want to go about my business and leave others alone.”

Well, maybe you have noticed that this world view, which has been perpetuated in public education and institutions of “higher learning” for over 40 years has not exactly led us to the highly evolved utopia that its’ endorsers have promised. Let’s look at a comparison that might put this in perspective. This list was posted in Readers digest a few years ago.

Top ten lists of discipline issues in school (I extracted only seven, couldn’t take much more)

1940

1. Talking out of turn

2. Chewing gum

3. Making noise.

4. Running in the halls.

5. Cutting in line

6.Dressing code infractions.

7. Littering.


1990

1. Drug abuse

2. Alcohol abuse                       

3. Pregnancy                            

4. Suicide.                                

5. Rape.                                   

6. Robbery                                

7. Assault                                 

It would be funny if it were not so tragic. And what solutions does the wisdom of man have for these issues? The pat answer for these problems is always the same. We need to spend more government money on education and solving poverty because that is why these problems exist.

And please, let’s not make any moral judgments concerning these issues. After all, we could not possibly look at the fact that in the 1960’s we took God out of the classroom, threw out any restraint on sexual behavior, tossed the idea that marriage between a man and a woman before having children was a good idea, gave up on respect for authority and accountability of parents or having to take personal responsibility for one’s actions.  None of these things could possibly have anything to do with this out of control behavior, right?

About two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul wrote concerning the state of the society he lived in.

Rom 1:18-32

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Sound familiar? Sure seems to describe the world we live in today, does it not? We need to understand that those without the Spirit of God will not agree with us about these issues and trying to convince them that our value system is better can be pretty fruitless. Just as in Paul’s day, there are many people whom God has “given over” to their depraved minds.

“But, you ask, didn’t Jesus tell us to be salt and light in this world? So don’t we have to keep trying to convince them that they are wrong?”

I am glad you asked that because that is our text for the rest of this message which will be continued in part 2.

Thank you for reading and God bless you,

Coach

Practical Apps From the Book of Acts, Pt 3: Give Whatcha Got

Acts 3:1-10

1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer — at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man, who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

I want us to look at three particular aspects of this event and see what the Lord would teach us.

1. Peter and John did not have what was requested of them

Look in verses 2 and 3. Money is what the lame man thought that he needed most. Seems natural, doesn’t it since he was not capable of earning his provision? In this case, the apostles could not meet his request. They had no money to give. Have you ever found yourself in this place, where you would like to help someone, but do not have the means to meet there request? I know I have. Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”(Matt 5:42 NIV)

If you take His word seriously, then when you face a situation where you can’t give what the person thinks they need, you kind of go through an emotional turmoil. You know that you can’t meet the requested need but you don’t want to just say “sorry, can’t help” and leave it at that. So, what do we do? Maybe we need to ask ourselves this question: Is it possible that the Lord purposely put a person in our path that had a need we were not able to meet, so that person could have a deeper need met? And maybe it is a need that God could use us to meet? That brings us to point number two.

2. What the apostles did have, was given to them by the Holy Spirit. The result was that they could give something that was better than what was requested.

Have you ever read this account and wondered what would have happened, had Peter and John actually had some money to give this man? Would they just have given it to him and been on their way to prayer? That certainly could have been a good thing. I am sure that the man would have been happy just to receive some money. That would have helped him for a time. The apostles could also feel good about it. After all, they would have given what had been asked for and still made it to prayer on time. It would have all been very spiritual, right?

I know that I have done that many times. Doing only that which would meet the requested need, but not taking the time to see if the Holy Spirit was directing me to do something more, something that makes an eternal difference in someone’s life, not just temporal. It is obvious that what Peter did completely changed this man’s earthly life, but this event affected His eternal soul as well. In verse 8 we see that the man gave praise to God, not Peter, so apparently he knew where the healing came from. Look at verse 16

(Acts 3:16 NIV) By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

Since Peter was being led by the Spirit, not only did the lame man benefit, but so did others who were watching. It gave Peter a chance to preach a gospel message and it says in Acts 4:4 that many who heard the message believed. By the way, isn’t this a great example of Romans 8: 28? Again, what they received was not something temporal, but eternal. They received the gift of salvation. What could be better or more valuable than that? Now, on to point number three

3. We are only called to give that which we have already received.

It is important to realize that God does not ask us to give something that we have not received. For example, when it comes to financial giving, we are only asked to give a portion of what He has already blessed us with. Since this is not a treatise on financial giving, let me just briefly point out that in the OT they were asked to give from the first fruits of their labor. (Dt 18:4, 26:2) In the NT we are told to give with a cheerful heart (2 Co 9:7) and in proportion to what God has given us. (9:10) Nowhere does the Bible teach that we are to financially give something that we have not been given. I believe this principle holds true for all things that we are to give out. After all, how could we give out something we have not received? It is not like have a spritual credit card, where we can give it out now and receive it later. We give out grace to others as we have received it already.

In Mt 10:8 Jesus sent out the disciples to the lost sheep of Israel. He told them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and drive out demons. They were only able to do this because they had been given this power by the Lord Himself. Jesus said to them, “Freely you have received, freely give.” But, you say, “Jesus doesn’t give us that same power, does He?” That has been a matter of some debate but there are things that we know that He has given all of us. What are they?

Well, if you are a Christian, then you have received:

1. Salvation by Faith – (Eph 2:8) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

2. So, if you have been saved, it is through the gift of faith that God has given you. You have been given a measure of faith.

3. You have received the Holy Spirit – (1 Cor 6:19-20 NIV) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

So then, all of us have the Holy Spirit and He gives us gifts. In Romans 12:6 Paul states we have these gifts, “according to the grace given us” Lists of these gifts can be found in Romans 12 and 1Cor 12. Everything we have been given can be considered a part of the measure of grace we have been given, including spiritual gifts and talents.

A few examples of these gifts are wisdom, counsel, guidance, supernatural knowledge, discernment, exhortation, mercy, serving and yes healing,. Paul tells us that these gifts are meant to be used for the building up of the body of Christ. (Ro12:12) He also tells us that we all have different gifts given to us. We are only expected to use the ones we have received. I will tell you though, that when you open yourself up to be used by the Holy Spirit, He may give you a gift that you have never before had, in order to meet the need presented to you.

Then Paul goes on in Ro 12:9-21 to give you a bunch of ways that we give of ourselves in obedience and service to God. You see, what God really wants is for us to give our entire being back to Him, Body, Soul and Spirit. (please read them) Then in Rom 12:1-2, he says this, 2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Do you sometimes wish God would use you more than you are being used? Do you look at the example of the apostles and think, “Gee, I wish that God would use me in that way?” Well, a big part of receiving from the Lord is our asking Him. We should ask Him to pour out His grace abundantly and give us all that He desires for us to have. James says we have not because we ask not, but we also need to put some effort into the receiving and be ready and willing to give out what He gives us. Let me give you an example:

Acts 8:26-35 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road — the desert road — that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." 34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

You see here that Philip was prepared. He was led by the Spirit, he knew the Scriptures and was willing and available to be used. Part of offering ourselves as a living sacrifice is that we spend time in bible study and prayer, receiving from the Lord so that we will be ready to give it away. When you do, you will truly understand what Jesus meant when He said that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20) When we do that, He will give us all that we need, in order to use us to “give” to others. So, let’s review these points

1. WE MAY NOT HAVE WHAT SOMEONE IS REQUESTING OF US

2. WHEN WE ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT, WHAT WE GIVE OUT WILL BE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT

3. WE ARE NEVER REQUIRED TO GIVE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED

But let’s remember, it is our job to put ourselves in a place where we are ready to receive all that God wants to give us. And as we give it away, may God get all the glory!

God bless, Coach

Practical Apps from the Book of Acts: The Church

Did you ever wonder what a true, “Christian” church should be like? We seem to have lots of different ideas today on “how to do church.” (By the way, I really hate that phrase but it seems to be used a lot.) As usual, I don’t want to seek out the opinions of man, but would rather look to the Bible for my answer to this particular question. There are many passages in various books of the New Testament that teach us about how the church should operate and I don’t think most of it was cultural or only for a certain time period. I think that they were given for all of the body of Christ, for the entire church age, to help keep us on track. If you look ahead, to the book of Revelation, you will see what seven local churches got commended for and what they were rebuked for. I truly believe, that following the examples and instruction given to us in God’s Word, will bring the commendation of the Lord, but straying from that will bring His rebuke. So let’s look at our earliest example of “the church” of Jesus Christ.

At the end of chapter 2 (starting in verse 42) in the book of Acts, we get a good look at this first body of believers. Remember, this was immediately after a huge harvest of souls. Three thousand believers were added to this church in Jerusalem after Peter preached the gospel, accompanied by signs and wonders. The author of the book, Dr Luke, then goes on to tell us what these believers did.

In verse 42 we are told that they devoted themselves to four things; the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer. The words “devoted themselves” (NIV, ESV), are translated “continued steadfastly” in the KJV and NKJV Let’s take these one at a time.

1.    The apostles’ teaching: A good question then, is what did they teach? Well, each in their own way, inspired by the Holy Spirit, taught the gospel (good news) of salvation by grace, through faith, by the completed work and shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. They could do this because they were handpicked by Jesus for this calling.  By inspiration of the Spirit, they were able to show how the Old Testament scriptures foretold the coming of Messiah and pointed solely to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of those prophecies. We find this as we read the rest of the book of Acts. This, along with the letters directed to the churches, became the New Testament Scriptures.

2.    Fellowship: The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. The construction literally is translated “fellow participant.”  These believers were participating with each other in their Christian lives. That demonstrates to us that Christianity is not a solitary experience but must be shared with others. The next two points, I believe, give us some of the ways they experienced that fellowship

3.    Breaking of Bread: This was an expression of eating together, but it may also have meant sharing of communion, which Jesus had instituted on His last night with the disciples. The act of eating together in this culture was huge. It represented a close bond with the person or persons you shared that meal with. That is why the Pharisees were so upset at Jesus, who would eat meals with anyone, including “tax collectors and sinners.” To them, it meant that he was one of them (Mt 9:10-13), which was abhorrent to a devout Jew. This shows how important the sharing of meals was in this culture.

4.    Prayer: Now prayer would not be a new thing for these early Jewish believers. In following the law, they would most likely pray often. How they prayed though, surely changed. Jesus had given the disciples a model for prayer so that they would not speak out the vain repetitions that they were used to (See Mt 6:5-13), but in a meaningful, relational way with their Heavenly Father. In the rest of the New Testament, we can see how the apostles had constant and intimate prayer lives.

It is interesting that one more thing is mentioned about what these early believers did. Look at verses 44 and 45. It says that the believers were together and had everything in common, even to the point that they would sell their possessions and goods, giving to those who had need.

Now this practice, I believe, has been misinterpreted and led to some people believing that Christians should sell all their worldly possessions and live in communes. In fact during the Jesus People movement of the 1960’s and 70’s, many young Christians did just that. Though well intentioned, most of these turned out to be, well, let’s be generous and say, problematic.

If you look closely at what the early believers really did, it was quite different. First of all, they did not all live together. Verse 46 shows us that they were together in the temple courts. It then says that they broke bread together in their homes. When it talks about selling their goods, it was voluntary and the money was not distributed evenly to everyone, it was given to those who had need. It certainly does show a willingness to give sacrificially to the needy among the believers; however, we do not see this practice continued for a long period of time, like we do the other four practices. It may be that the first believers were anticipating the soon return of Jesus and so were not very materially oriented.

Either way, we can see what the early church thought was important and it gives us a wonderful picture of what should be important in the “Body of Christ” today. I don’t think that it is an accident that the first practice mentioned is the study of the Word of God. If we do not have one single basis for doctrine, we will certainly go astray. We see that clearly by what is happening in many so called evangelical churches today. If the Bible does not contain infallible, absolute truth, what should we base our beliefs in?  We can make up any type of religion we want and call it Christianity. No, we need to follow the lead of the early church and continue steadfastly in the study of God’s Word.

It is also essential for us as Christians, to maintain the practices of fellowship. Breaking bread together has such an impact on our relationships. It is hard to not get along with folks that you share meals with. Remember that Jesus said that they (the world), would know that we are His disciples by our love one for another. (Jn 13:34) I believe that this also included communion. The Lord’s Supper brings us together to remember the sacrifice the Lord made for each one of us and together we proclaim His death until He comes. (1Co 11:2)

Now, whether or not Luke was speaking of individual prayer or corporate prayer, we need to be involved with both. Praying together will help bring us together, because we put aside our own will and seek the Lord’s will in prayer. That is why Jesus, in teaching the disciples how to pray, included, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” The chief objective of prayer is get our will aligned with His will, not the other way around.

Notice also in verses 46 and 47, that they were glad, had sincere hearts, and praised God. The result was that the Lord added daily to their number. You see, the Body of Christ, when following this pattern will result in fruits of evangelism. People are naturally attracted to others who have joy and sincerity in their lives.

 We seem to want to make this idea of what “church” should be very complicated. I would very humbly like to suggest that it is not. We have a beautiful model of the effective church. I say, “Let’s follow that.”

Game plan: Read the scripture references listed above. Ask the Lord to reveal to you where you fit into this picture and if you are not currently in fellowship with other Bible believing Christians, seek one out immediately and get involved.

May God bless you as you continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ

Coach

Practical Apps from the Book of Acts: Worth the Wait

Ahhh, the Book of Acts. It seems that over the years this book has become controversial. I find that very interesting. It begs the question, why? I think it is because so much of Acts has to do with the miraculous works of the Holy Spirit. Let’s face it; many people today just don't want to believe in a supernatural power that is still working in today's world. As usual, I could be wrong.

Unfortunately, because of that perception, many people overlook or completely ignore the book of Acts. Some even say that it is only history and should not be used to teach theology. What? Look at what it says in 2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)

So let's put that debate to rest once and for all!

I believe that the book of Acts, though it certainly does tell of the mighty and miraculous works of the Holy Spirit, has a plethora (if I might use a word borrowed from El Jefe in the Three Amigos) of practical application for us. I hope you will join me for the next few weeks and soak up the amazing amount of insight and application that the book of Acts has to offer.

OK, but you titled this one “Worth the Wait?” What is worth the wait? I don't have time to wait. I have too much to do. Got to get the kids to practice, stop off at Taco Bell to grab some food, get my dry cleaning(does anybody do that anymore?), and check my facebook posts. I can't wait! Sound familiar?

We live in a fast moving society today and waiting does not seem practical and sometimes it is even frowned upon and looked at as non productive.

But, God says that sometimes we should wait on Him.*

In Acts 1, Jesus had appeared to the disciples after His resurrection. Before He ascended into heaven, He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem. What were they to wait for? Let's read the verses. Acts 1:4-5
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." (NIV)

If you follow the narrative, the disciples seem to ignore what Jesus says. They don’t ask Him anything about what the baptism of the Spirit is all about. Instead, they ask Him the question that has continually been on their minds, even before His death and resurrection. They want to know if that means He will then restore the kingdom of Israel. They still don’t understand the purpose of His life, death and resurrection. Why?

Because they have not yet received the very promise Jesus is making to them now, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without that, they cannot understand the nature and purpose of Jesus’ mission.

So, what happened? Well, the disciples did return to Jerusalem and waited as they were instructed, but I can’t help but think they still got a little ahead of themselves. Before they received the promised Holy Spirit, they decided to choose one to take the place of Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed the Lord and then committed suicide. They used a traditional method of praying and asking the Lord to show them who to choose by casting lots. The interesting thing about this is that you never hear of that method being used again. It was the Old Testament way, under the Old Covenant. Jesus had told them in the upper room that they were to live under a New Covenant. They would no longer rely on the old methods, but instead on the guidance of the Holy Spirit that they were supposed to be waiting for.

The result of this is that they chose a believer named Matthias. It is interesting that you never hear about him again in scripture. As we will find our later, God had someone else in mind.

So where does the “worth the wait” come in. Just read Acts, chapter 2, verses 1-13. In those verses, you will see the beginning of the miraculous works of the promised Holy Spirit of God. On the day of Pentecost (feast of harvest or day of first fruits), the Holy Spirit descended upon them and they began to speak in languages that they themselves did not know, but that people from different nations understood. Wow, would that be worth waiting for? Well there is more to the story.

Peter began to preach the gospel, explaining what was taking place and three thousand people became believers in Jesus Christ! The church, that Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against, had begun in earnest. I think you would agree that would be worth the wait! From this point on, the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of the disciples, who would now be called apostles, to the message of the gospel. It was not just about the restoration of Israel to its’ former glory. It was about bringing salvation to all who would trust in Jesus Christ for that salvation.

The application is simple. We should not be afraid to wait for the moving of the Holy Spirit. For us, in the fast paced society we live in, it can be difficult but it can surely be worth it. Often times, we move before the Holy Spirit has directed us to. That can lead to failure and discouragement. I know, because I have done that many times in my own life. When we follow His timing, it leads to victory and joy. I admit, sometimes it is hard to know when to wait and when to move. I can only say that this is something you learn by walking closely with the Lord and continually seeking His will and His timing.

But, I can say this with great confidence. When you do wait on the Lord and seek His perfect timing, it is always worth it!


Ps 27:14, 33:20, 37:7, 37:34, 38:15, 119:166, 130:5. Isa 8:17, 40:31. Lam 3:26. Zep 3:8, Ro 8:23, 25. 1 Co 1:7, 4:5. 1Th 1:10. Tit 2:13. Jude 21


Game Plan: Read the above verses as well as the passages in Acts. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your reading and teach you about what it means to wait on the Lord


God bless you as you continue to study His word and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ

Coach

Time for a Sabbath

Coach is taking a short break. Look for new posts coming in August.
God bless,
Coach

A Servant's Heart, Pt 2

In the last post, we began looking at some characteristics of a person who displays the heart of a servant. We left off looking at instructions that Jesus gave to those who would follow Him, contained in Matthew 16:24.
Probably the most misunderstood portion of that passage is, “take up your cross.” I admit it can be difficult to know exactly what that expression might mean to us. In order to discern what any passage of scripture means to us, we first have to know the context and what it meant to those to whom it was originally addressed.

In this particular case, Jesus was speaking to his twelve disciples. Peter had just received a revelation from God about who Jesus really was. Jesus had first asked them, “Who do men say that I am?” Then he asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the son of the Living God!” Jesus then explains that Peter’s answer came from his Heavenly Father.

Only a few moments later, as Jesus was telling the men how he must suffer, die and then be raised from the dead, Peter began to rebuke Jesus, saying, “ Never Lord.” Think about that for a second. First you acknowledge that Jesus is God, and then you rebuke Him? Well, Peter often had “foot in mouth” disease. I guess that is why many of us relate to him so well, right?

The point is, that this is the context of Jesus’ statement concerning picking up your cross. In Peter’s case, he literally did take up his cross. It is believed that Peter was crucified for his obedience to Christ.
In the Roman culture, those who were going to be crucified were made to carry their own cross. It was a form of suffering. At that time, a Christian could be crucified for calling Christ their king rather than Caesar, so the believers suffered great persecution for the cause of Christ
When we follow Jesus and truly become His servant, we are willing to deny our desire for safety and comfort, and are willing to suffer for a time, knowing that we await an eternal reward. That is how we can “pick up” our cross.

The Desire to Serve
The third characteristic I see in one who truly has the heart of a servant, is closely related to the first two. Throughout the epistles of the New Testament, we find a recurring theme. It is summed up well by Paul in Phil 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” You see, when we have surrendered our hearts to the Lord Jesus, we will have the desire to serve others. Why? Because that is exactly what Jesus did while He was here on earth. He is still doing that today.
Romans 8:34 says that He is at the right hand of God (the Father) interceding for us. He is still healing, still teaching and still ministering to our needs through the Holy Spirit. He puts that same desire in our hearts. I am sure that many of you have felt that desire. Why is it though that we often have the desire to put others first, but then don’t do it? It’s because we still have a sin nature, at war with our spirit, telling us “Take care of ME, ME, ME!” It is not an easy thing to put others’ needs above our own, but that is what having a servant’s heart is all about.

I spent thirty five years of my life as a football coach, sixteen of them as a Head Coach at the high school level. I must admit, that for many of those years, even though I was a born again Christian; I did not always have the heart of a servant.

The first part of that verse in Philippians says, “Do nothing of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” Although I cared deeply for my players and wanted to see all of them come into a relationship with the Lord, my desire to win games and championships was just as important to me. Don’t get me wrong, it is not sinful to want to win, but if that becomes more important than being a servant to those God has put in your path, then it becomes selfish ambition and vain conceit.

All this is easier said than done. It is hard not to want to receive accolades for being a winning coach. It means you are good at your profession and we should all strive to be the best we can at what God has called us to do.

You know it’s interesting, that as a Head Coach, my greatest success came after I finally figured out that it was about serving my players, not my ego. When I began to really focus in on truly putting their needs above my own, I found much more joy and satisfaction in coaching. The bonus was that we won lots of games and some championships as well!

So, to all of you that are reading this that are believers in Christ, I would like you to ask yourself these questions.
1. Do I have humility or do I exalt myself?
2. Am I willing to deny myself, pick up my cross and follow Jesus?
3. Do I desire to put the needs of others above my own?

In essence, you are asking, “Do I have a “Servant’s Heart?”

It’s not really an option for a true Christian. Jesus said to his disciples after washing their feet, “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:13-15)
When our Lord tells us we should do something, we should do it! But look at how He follows that up in verse 17. “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” Amen and Amen! There is no greater blessing in this life than following Jesus and being His servant! I pray that you will commit yourself to that end and receive the blessings God has in store for you!

God bless and keep you,
Coach

A Servant’s Heart

I was thinking (a very dangerous prospect for me); if I had just one topic I could write about to believers, that I might only get one chance at, what would that topic be? What aspect of the Christian walk do I believe is of utmost importance to the Body of Christ right now? It actually didn't take that long to decide. Though I am certain that there are many topics that are of utmost importance, I picked the one that the Lord has been teaching me about for a period of years. I know what you're thinking. He must really be a slow learner if it takes years. What can I say? You are right. Hope you learn faster than me!

Obviously, you already know the topic since you read the title, brilliant observers that you are. This message is based on Matthew 23:11, " But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant." Now Jesus actually made this statement to the Pharisees of Israel while rebuking them. Their idea of greatness was having the appearance of righteousness. They were always concerned about how things looked on the outside, but as Jesus said, inside they were full of dead men's bones, corrupt and decaying. I am pretty sure that they had no idea what Jesus was talking about. So what did Jesus mean by this statement?

I titled the message, "A Servants Heart," because all through the gospels we see that it is our heart that Jesus is really after. Not what we appear to be on the outside but we are on the inside. In the Jewish mind, the term heart is used to describe the very center of our being. Today, we might tend to think of this as the combination of our mind and emotions, that which controls our actions.

So, what would a servant's heart look like, when seen in the life of a Christian? I would like to bring out three major characteristics that I believe a person who has the heart of a true servant will demonstrate. I am not saying that these are the full measure of characteristics in a servant, but they are certainly way up there on the list.

Humility

Jesus demonstrated His humility to us so often that we have a perfect example of what it means to be humble. From His birth, in the most humble surroundings imaginable to His death on the cross, He always demonstrated humility. Remember how He humbled Himself and was baptized by John? Jesus had no need to be baptized. John's baptism was a declaration that one had repented for his sin (Matt 3:11). Jesus had committed no sin. He said that it was to "fulfill all righteousness," and so allowed a mere human being to baptize Him.

Then, on the night before He died, the disciples gathered at the Last Supper. Jesus, who was God in human form, the creator of earth and all that is in it, knelt down and washed the dirty feet of His disciples. This was a job that was usually performed by slaves, but Jesus did it willingly and lovingly as an example to them and us of humility.

Humility really means that we don't exalt our self! The bible warns us many times about exalting ourselves. Matt 23:12 says, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." He repeats this almost word for word in Lk 14:11 and 18:14. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:6, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time… OK, but how do we keep from exalting ourselves? The apostle Paul answers that question in Phil 1:20. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

You see, when the goal of our life is to exalt Christ instead of ourselves, then we allow Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish that goal. We continually give God the credit for what He is doing through us, rather than taking credit ourselves. That is humility.

Denial of Self

The second characteristic I see in a servant's heart is found in Matt 16:24, " Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." To be a servant of God, we must first deny ourselves. That can be a loaded statement, meaning different things to different people so we better take a close look to discover what Jesus was talking about

The Greek word used here for deny- is arneomai. The basic meaning according to the Greek scholar, Kittle is "to say no" in answer to a question or to "refuse" in relation to a claim or demand. I love that! It means, when our own desires begin to place their demands on us and we know that it may keep us from serving Christ, we say NO! We refuse to give in to our flesh, which is demanding us to put self above Christ

What I don't believe that it means, is to hide away somewhere, like some of the monastic believers did, trying to avoid any temptation to sin. That is fruitless. You can't hide from temptation anyway. When did Jesus face His greatest temptation? It was when He was alone in the desert. Satan showed up and gave it his best shot, trying to get Jesus to bow down before him. So hiding out is not the answer.

Besides, look at the last part of the verse. He says "follow me" Jesus certainly did not hide away, but instead went out teaching, healing and ministering to all he came in contact with. If you follow Him, you too will be out in the world, not hiding from it! I believe that Jesus is simply saying that in order to follow Him, we are going to have to give Him control of our lives. He makes that clear in the next verse Matt 16:25, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

We tend to think that our plan for our lives is what will bring us happiness and we want to hang on to that plan.
Jesus is telling us that if we give up our plan to follow Him, we not only have eternal life, but abundant life.
A life full of peace, love and joy.
Not that we don't face hardships, we are guaranteed that we will.
But we face them, knowing that the God of the universe is on our side.

Well, I hope you are learning a little about the heart of a servant. In the next post, we will find out what Jesus meant by "pick up your cross," as well as looking at the third characteristic of a person with a servant's heart.

May God bless you as you seek His face and surrender your life to Him.

Coach

Is the Church Emergent or in an Emergency?

I am sure that most of you by now have heard or read about the so called Emergent Church. I really didn't want to write about this subject, but my heart is grieved whenever false doctrine is taught in the body of Christ. The hardest part of dealing with this particular movement is that it has reached churches in various degrees and forms. There are some who seem to represent the movement, but many who don't want to acknowledge that what they are teaching is "emergent doctrine." It may be hard to pin down exactly what this movement stands for.

It is not my purpose here to write a treatise on this subject. There are many places where you can go to get more detailed information about it. But I do have some thoughts concerning their views. The basic tenet for existence of this movement is the belief that the church must change in order to be relevant to the modern age and culture and thus we must have a "new way" of looking at Christianity.

Hmm, seems to me that a man named Joseph Smith had a similar view. The church had been wrong for centuries, but he would straighten it out. I am always a little suspicious of "new ways" that man comes up with.

Their leaders try to convince us that because our pre-conceived theology, we have not been asking the difficult questions that arise about sin and salvation and especially about how a loving God could send anyone to hell.

Really, you mean because we believe what Jesus said about sin, salvation and hell, we haven't really thought about it much? I am sure that Martin Luther, Francis Schaeffer and Billy Graham would beg to differ.

They say that they don't challenge the authority of scripture but they are not sure about its inerrancy.

If I thought the Bible was full of errors, I think I might have a problem with its authority. How about you?

Some have espoused universalism, which basically says that all are saved by the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, regardless of whether or not they have surrendered their life to Him

I have a question. What then did Jesus mean when he said to those who had even done miracles in His name, "depart from me, you workers of lawlessness (Mt 7:23). Also in the parable of Matt 25:41, He says to depart you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Sounds to me like maybe not everyone is going to live in eternity with Christ.

One of the most recognizable statements you will hear is that Christianity is a "conversation." This is to keep anyone from being dogmatic about any theological construct. They say we cannot truly understand the Bible

I wonder, who is this conversation between? Man and man? So if we converse enough with each other about God, we will be able to come to the knowledge of the truth? I think that I would rather study the book that claims to be inspired by God and has the convincing proof of fulfilled prophecy to see if there is some absolute truth I can depend upon. If I thought that the Bible could not be understood, why would I bother reading it at all? Why would it have any relevance in my life?

As far as man's wisdom is concerned, let's see what the Bible says.

1 Cor 1:22-25

22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

1 Cor 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; NIV

Personally, if I were going to church to hear man's opinions instead God's word, I would go play golf instead!

As I said before, I really am not anxious to berate anyone but this movement is extremely dangerous. Some of these churches have grown in large numbers and its leaders tout that as evidence that their message is resonating with the postmodern culture. That is true, it is and that is the scary part. Look what Paul has to say about this in 2 Tim 4:3-4:

3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. NIV

This is a warning to all of us. My biggest heartache is over the many people who have never been taught the true gospel because they are in a church that looks good on the outside. The church may be involved in many in good works. It will appear wonderfully tolerant and politically
correct. After all, if God does not punish anyone for sin and no one goes to Hell, then there is no offense to anyone. Go ahead and live your life any way you choose because there are no eternal consequences

Now I am sure that someone will think this an oversimplification of this issue and it may be. I said at the beginning that it was not going to be a treatise. But, my purpose here is to make my readers aware of the danger in any teaching that does not give the highest view of the Bible as the inerrant, inspired Word of God. When you pick and choose which parts of the Bible you will believe and which ones you won't, you put yourself in the place of designing a god of your own choosing. You will end up making God in your image, instead of the other way around.

The most damaging effect of this whole movement is that it says your questions about sin, salvation and eternal life cannot be answered adequately, so let's just keep an open mind about it all. That premise is not true. The Bible speaks very clearly about these subjects. Leaving questions unanswered leads to the doubt of God's word. Remember Satan's words to Eve in the garden? "Has God really said?" What follows is the rejection of His word, "Surely you will not die."

It does take some time and study to find out what God does say about these subjects, but the answers are there. Historical Christianity has been able to agree on these basic tenets for centuries. Instead of looking for "new" ways of looking at Christianity, I suggest we look back to the faith of the first century believers, who were willing to go to their death for Christ. They were certain that the debt for their sin had been paid in full at the cross and that they would be with the Lord Jesus Christ for eternity!

Let me close with the words of Paul in Gal 1:8-9 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (ESV) This is a serious warning to all who claim to be teachers of the gospel of Christ. I pray for any that have fallen into this category, that they will repent and turn back to the true gospel of Christ and Him Crucified.

Coach    

PS: if you would like more detailed information on this subject, there are many good websites to go to. Here are a couple

1. www.understandthetimes.org
   
2. www.equip.org
   

Fear Not!

Earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific, revolts and unrest in the Middle East, talk of economic collapse here in the U.S. Even as this is being written, we wait for a nuclear plume to make its way over Southern California. It seems as though every morning when we wake up, a new crisis awaits. Fear is gripping people everywhere and why not? Does anybody seem to have a good answer for solving these problems or are we destined to succumb to these events, living our lives in anxious desperation about what will happen next?

There is no doubt that we are living in precarious times. The problems we face in the world today are significant. There are no easy solutions to the issues before us. As believers, we have to ask ourselves a question. Will we face these days with fear or with faith? All right, all right. I know that you all immediately responded, "With faith of course!" I am always glad that I write to such super spiritual people out thereJ

The thing is, I can't help but remember a guy named Peter, who basically said the same thing, right before he bailed out on Jesus. I know we have good intentions, but will we be found faithful in the eye of the storm or will we be fearful when it hits.

The past few posts have been about putting our faith into practical situations. It is going to take a great deal of that faith to handle what is coming in our future. As we see society drift further and further away from the Lord, do you realize that we Christians will be tolerated less and less? Many people already think that we are the cause of most of their problems. Christians are being persecuted for their faith all over the world today. Here in America, we see our faith being attacked on multiple fronts. Our public education system, the media and many in our government attack Christianity relentlessly. As we face the future, how do we cope without being fearful and is that would God expects from us?

To be accurate, the people of God have faced hard times from the beginning. The children of Israel have been persecuted for a very long time. A great example of how God wants us to deal with persecution is found in Isaiah, chapter 8. Even though nations were rising up against Judah, the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said, "Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary;" (Isa 8:12-14 NIV) Look at some of the other things the Lord spoke through Isaiah:

Isa 35:4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."

Isa 41:10-13 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. "All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you."

Isa 51:7-8 "Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations."

Jeremiah adds this: Jer 30:10 "so do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel,' declares the Lord.'I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. "

There is more:

Lam 3:55-57 "I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief." You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear."

Zeph 3:16-17 on that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Hag 2:5 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'

Are you seeing a pattern here? "Wait a minute," you say. "These are Old Testament verses pertaining to the Jewish people. How do we know they apply to us as well?" Good question. Though these verses do apply specifically to the nation of Israel, I think that the New Testament shows us that God has His church in mind as well. The real idea here is that we should fear God, not man. Jesus said, "Matt 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

The Lord does not guarantee us that we won't suffer trials and tribulations, in fact He says we will. The recurring theme is that He will help us through the trials and ultimately save us so therefore, FEAR NOT! You see, if we are like Paul and consider our lives as already dead to the flesh and alive to the Spirit; we don't need to fear whatever comes our way. God is in control of our lives. Nothing happens to us that He does not allow. He knows the number of our days. The only thing we should fear is being out of relationship with Him, but if you have truly surrendered your life to Him, that cannot happen. Remember what Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:27-29 NKJV)

Paul reinforced this in Rom 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NIV)

On the night before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples, who were often afraid, how they would be able to live life unafraid. John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

So, brothers and sisters in the Lord, I say to you, FEAR NOT! Let the peace of God rule your heart and mind as you live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

May God bless you as you trust in Him and live in His marvelous peace, not fear,

Coach