Don’t Look Back

Luke 9:62  Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Sometimes in this life, we must go through trials. Sometimes those trials seem unfair.  Trials come in many forms; the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, financial problems, betrayal, arguments and strife.  The Lord never promised us that everything would be easy.  Actually James tells us “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” 

Your loved ones will not be brought back to life, you may not get your job back, you will always have to deal with betrayal, arguments and strife, but one thing we are assured of: He will go with us through it all.  These things will hurt, but will not kill us. We will come through because of His grace. Actually, even though your physical body will not be killed, you will die to some things that you need to die to. If you examine your life, you may find that there was something that was keeping you from serving God fully.  Every trial deepens our faith and develops a deeper understanding of our Lord and how He operates. 

I was reading an article by Chip Brogden about this subject, and he had some wonderful insight.  “In the wilderness you don’t follow your feelings. It says the children of Israel were led by a column of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the cloud moved then they moved. When the cloud stayed still then they stayed still. I mean it’s really as simple as that; walk in the Spirit. If you begin to be led by your feelings then you’ll make the wrong decision every time. Most of the time, the right decision doesn’t feel good. Doing the right thing is usually difficult. The easiest thing to do is to quit, to give up, to go back to Egypt. But I’m telling you, get to a place where going back is no longer an option – then going back is no longer a temptation.

When the Spanish explorer Cortez landed in South America he was looking for a way to make sure his men would not be tempted to quit and go back to Spain when times got hard. So as soon as they landed on shore and unloaded their supplies, he ordered them to burn their ships. There would be no going back. Either they would overcome or they would die trying.

I just wish we who are Christians, we who claim to know the Lord, would have as much faith in the Lord Jesus as those men had in Cortez. They burned their ships and followed him into the jungle and Cortez didn’t have a clue where he was going or what he would find. How much more can we trust the Lord Jesus to not only lead us out of Egypt, but to lead us through the desert and into the Promised Land?”

Wow, I love that.  If we keep our eyes forward as we “plow” on in service to our Lord, we will not be tempted to go back.  Remember the lessons you have learned from the past and take those with you as you serve the Lord will all of your heart!  

Know the Whole Story

What if you received a text message from a friend that said …"I have some bad news. My husband is at the Emergency Room, I don’t think he is going to make it.”  You would automatically assume that he was dying, right?  You would frantically call everyone and start a prayer chain.  Maybe you would even rush to the hospital to be with your friend.  But what if this message was part of a conversation that she was having with someone else, but she texted you accidentally?  Maybe the WHOLE conversation went something like this:  Your Friend:  I think my husband is supposed to be at your house at 6:00 to help you move.  Other Friend:  Yes that is what he told me.  Your Friend: I have some bad news. My husband is at the Emergency Room, I don’t think he is going to make it.  Your Friend:  He dropped something on his foot and we think it might be broken.        

Can you see where it is so important to know the whole story before you can understand it correctly?  This is true in life, but it is crucial with God’s word.  So many things are taken out of context.  One sentence can form a whole new religion!  What we have to remember is that God’s word will never contradict itself.  If one passage seems to be the opposite of another, that is when you have to dig deeper to understand the full meaning. 

As Christians, we get so caught up in the doctrine of our particular religion, that we lose sight of the BIG picture.  Understandably, we need to know what we believe so that we can preach it, teach it and share it with others.  Also, like-minded believers need to work together…you cannot have the preacher teaching one thing and another leader in the church teaching something totally different.  That causes confusion and God is NOT the author of confusion. (1 Corinthians 14:33)  But the big picture is SALVATION through Jesus Christ.  There is only one way to get to Heaven.

Different interpretations of subjects like baptism, security of the believer, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, missions, and even music have caused different churches to form.  This is how I look at it.  Our goal is eternal life in Heaven.  Jesus is the door that we must go through to get there. In John 14:6 Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”   John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Jesus bought our ticket; we just have to accept it.  There is nothing we can do to earn it.  He wants to give it to us as a gift.        

Never just accept what someone tells you to be true about the bible.  Don't just say you believe it...read it and study it for yourself.  Know the WHOLE story.

I Am the Church

How many people actually think that the church is located inside a building?  Most people get dressed up once a week and think they are “going to church”.  But guess what?  If you are a child of God, you can’t GO to church.  You ARE the church…wherever you go, that is where the church is.  This does not mean that we should not assemble together. Hebrews 10:24-25 says “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  We are the body of Christ, and each of has a part in His ministry.  Romans 12:4-5 “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

But, we tend to get so caught up in claiming a place and calling it OUR church.  We say silly things like, “they aren’t going to run me out of MY church” or “MY family built this church”.  Or we become so loyal to a person or leader in the church that we take our eyes off of the real reason we are there.  1 Corinthians 3:1-9 puts it pretty plainly,  “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. “

The building we meet in is a place of worship and a place to serve and to grow, but it is only a building.  We must remember that WE are the church.  May we not get so attached to a building that we forget that Christ lives in US.  We take Him with us everywhere we go.  We are to be His workers every day, wherever we are…not just in the building we call “church”.      

Got Fruit?

Ever wondered how to tell a Christian from a non-Christian?  In this day and time, it’s becoming harder and harder to do.  There’s a funny quote that I have on my wall that really is quite true, “Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more that standing in your garage makes you a car.” Sadly, the person in the pew next to you, serving on the committee beside you or teaching you may or may not be a Christian.  So what instruction does God’s word give us about how to tell whose heart is right?  Matthew 7:15-20 says ““Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” 

So what is this “fruit” that we are supposed to look for?   Well it’s not apples and bananas!!  Galatians 5:22-23 tell us “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  Will all Christians have all of these qualities? Of course not.  Should all Christians strive to produce these qualities? Absolutely.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and He deposits the Holy Spirit into us, we do not automatically start bursting with “fruit”.  But as we relinquish ourselves and let Him take more control, these fruits just start appearing.   The best way to grow our fruit is to fertilize it with the word of God and water it with prayer.

If the people around you (or maybe even you yourself) aren’t even a little “fruity”, you need to get concerned and start praying.  It could be that they just aren’t fertilizing and watering, but it could also be that they don’t have the Spirit, which is the seed that the fruit comes from.  Why do we need to be concerned about this?  Because of what Matthew 7 says.  There are false prophets that will try to lead us and our children astray.  We need to know how to recognize them.     

What is Your Assignment?

“Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.”1Corinthians 7:17 NIV

Saturday morning I sat eating my toast and watching a preacher on TV.  I didn’t even know his name; I was just watching to see what he had to say because there was nothing else on.  As I sat listening, I heard something so profound, I immediately started crying.  He was talking about how everything was created with a purpose or “assignment”.  Your eyes were created so that you can see, your mouth so that you can talk, and your feet so that you can walk.  Cups were made to drink out of; eye glasses were made to help with sight…you get the picture.  And likewise, each of us was created with an assignment.

Every person has a purpose in this life…as assignment from God.   We are either assigned to a group of people, or to one person. For example, Moses was assigned to the Israelites, but Aaron was assigned to Moses.  We are also assigned to a specific geographical location.  Isn’t it a load off to realize we are not assigned to the whole world, just one place?  Just like a fish out of water, if we are not WHERE we are supposed to be, we will not be able to flourish or fulfill our assignment.    

And the most important part of this message that really hit me…HOW do you know to whom you are assigned? Ask yourself these questions. Whose pain do you feel?  Whose enemies are you willing to fight?  Who do you want to see succeed?  Just think for a minute.  There are certain people that you just feel responsible for...you feel as if it is your job to watch over them and take care of them.  Of course, as a parent you feel this way for your children…but outside of your family, is there any certain person or group of people that you have a heart for?

Some people are drawn to the homeless, some to the elderly, some to teens or children, and others to the mission field.  Certain people just feel the need to go to Africa or China or other certain geographic locations. Maybe you know that God is calling you to a certain church or ministry in your church…or maybe your assignment is to just minister to your spouse.   

I have been asking God to show me exactly where He wants me.  As I sat there thinking about the people in my life, I knew exactly where my heart was.  I know whose pain I feel and whose enemies I am willing to fight.  That is why the tears came. I felt like God was speaking directly to me!  Now it is up to me to take on my assignment.