Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But Balaam responded to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great.” Numbers 22:18 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Great men and women of God are men and women of sincerity and integrity.”

 

I’ve always found the story of Balaam a little confusing. It’s found in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapters twenty-two and twenty-three. It took place during the Exodus while Moses was leading the nation of Israel through the wilderness towards the Promised Land. They needed to pass through the land of Midian but King Balak was afraid of them and would not grant them passage. He summoned the well-known Soothsayer Balaam to pronounce a curse upon the Israelites and hopefully turn them away.

 

What’s confusing in this story is that when the messengers of Balak presented the King’s request to Balaam he made a series of statements, like the one in Numbers 22:18 above, which give the impression of a godly man who was truly seeking guidance from the One True God. As the story unfolds we find Balaam praying, giving reports about what God had said to him in the times of prayer, and rejecting the request of the king to curse the Israelites – and doing it all in the name of God.

 

Any yet, we also find that God was unhappy with Balaam and He even sent an angel to confront him (22:33). Fortunately for Balaam he had a donkey that was smarter than he was and it was through the donkey that Balaam was saved.

 

By the time the story is over we realize that Balaam was not really a good and godly man, even though he did give the appearance of being one. So what was that all about? What was happening there and what should we learn from it?

 

The lesson is that Balaam lacked sincerity and integrity. His actions were mostly a religious show. He used a lot of God-talk, and he went through the motions of seeking God and professing to speak for Him, but it wasn’t real. Balaam was a poser. He was only pretending to be a man of God.

 

A man or women of integrity must actually be on the inside what they appear to be on the outside. Balaam was not. A person’s words must accurately represent their true character or else they’re just putting on a show. God-talk doesn’t make us godly and a religious show doesn’t mean we are acting for God.

 

A truly great man or woman of God has a heart that is genuinely and fully devoted to Him. When that is the case, then honesty, integrity, and sincerity will be natural outcomes and they won’t have to be faked.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” Numbers 14:30 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God honors faithfulness and obedience.”

 

Thirteen men were selected by Moses to go scout the Promised Land. Their mission was to get a feel for the lay of the land and to bring back a report to the rest of the people.

 

There was no question that the land would be good, God had already told them that. There was also no question that it would be theirs, God had already told them that too. And there was no question that they were to go, God had commanded it. Now it was simply a matter of moving forward and claiming what the Lord had granted to them.

 

That’s not to say there weren’t obstacles, there were. And that also isn’t saying it would be easy, because it wouldn’t be. But taking possession of the Promised Land was the future God had determined for them and therefore they should have simply marched forward in faith and obedience. But they didn’t.

 

Eleven of the thirteen spies were intimated by what they saw on their scouting mission. The people were big and strong. The cities were fortified. The challenge before them was frightening. And so they came back to the people with woeful forecasts of impending disaster should they attempt to do what the Lord was telling them to do.

 

Interestingly, Caleb and Joshua saw exactly the same things that the other eleven did, but their response was different. Despite the obvious obstacles and challenges, Caleb and Joshua had faith in God and were determined to simply march forward and do what He had commanded them to do.

 

You know the rest of the story. The people listened to the eleven frightened and timid men rather than to the two bold and courageous ones; and they ended up spending forty years wandering in the wilderness rather than enjoying the good life the Lord had ordained for them.

 

As you continue to read the Bible from that point forward, you discover that the names of the eleven are never mentioned again. They fade into history and are forgotten. Joshua however, went on to have a great life as the successor to Moses and he is one of the truly admirable men in Biblical history. Caleb likewise appears numerous times in the Bible he is always portrayed in a positive and complimentary way.

 

The lesson for us? Don’t be afraid to do what God has told you to do. Don’t doubt Him. Don’t be intimidated by the apparent obstacles and challenges. And don’t disobey God’s clear command to you.

 

God honors faithfulness and obedience. He honored it in the lives of Joshua and Caleb and he will honor it in your life too. Great men and women of God faithfully trust God and obey Him, regardless of the obstacles or challenges.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today – to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul – then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.” Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “God never overlooks faithfulness”

 

This morning I was thinking about the Old Testament book of Leviticus.  Leviticus is twenty-seven long tedious chapters of detailed rules and regulations that the Old Testaments Jews were required to follow. Those rules and regulations governed all aspects of worship, and stewardship, and daily life in general.

 

I found myself thanking God that Jesus did away with all of that and therefore I don’t have to live under the burden of that law. But I also found myself thinking about why it was that God required such things of them. There are many answers to that question but one of them is that God is pleased by and honors faithfulness. That’s the point Moses was making in Deuteronomy 11:13-15.

 

When the Old Testament Jews faithfully applied themselves to obeying all that God had commanded and required of them, it was a measure of how serious they were about honoring and pleasing Him. It was a matter of faithfulness.

 

As I noted, the commands of Leviticus don’t apply to us in the New Testament age. But there are other commands of God that do apply and like those in Leviticus, they too can be a measure of our faithfulness. One of those commands is found in Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.”

 

Meeting together, regularly and consistently, is a vital part of the practice of the Christian faith. God expects it of us, and in fact, He requires it. And yes, it is a measure of our faithfulness.

 

I remember a man by the name of Bob who was a member of the first church I was the Pastor of. Bob was in the advanced stages of emphysema and was close to dying. He was on oxygen 24/7, needed help to get out of bed, and had to be transported everywhere in a wheelchair. But he was in church every Sunday until just a couple of weeks before he died. In my view (and I believe in God’s view too), Bob’s great faithfulness made him a great man of God.

 

I think of Mary Rose Kemmer –a dear saint and a wonderful woman of God. Her entire adult life she was an active and faithful member of our church. If the doors of the church were open you could count on Mary Rose being there. Even in her old age, when she was weak and sick, when it required a major effort on her part to go anywhere or to do anything, if she could get someone to come for her and help her, then she would be in church on Sunday. You couldn’t keep her away. Her faithfulness was a sign of her greatness.

 

Mary E. Henry was another example of faithfulness that was greatness. I could name others but you get the point.

 

What about you? Will you be gathering with your church family this Sunday? If not, why not? This is an issue some of us need to be thinking and praying about. Faithfulness is a direct measure of where we’re at in our relationship with God. I encourage you to think about it, pray about it, and then make it a point to gather with your church family this Sunday.

 

God never overlooks faithfulness. Nor is He blind to the lack of it.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So Pilate decided to grant their demand and released the one they were asking for, who had been thrown into prison for rebellion and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.” Luke 23:25 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t be like Pilate.”

 

You’ve probably heard it said that we can learn from bad examples as well as from good examples. It’s true. Sometimes lessons are learned best by means of negative examples rather than positive ones. Pontius Pilate is a case in point.

 

Pilate was the governor in Jerusalem to whom the Jewish leaders brought Jesus after they arrested Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. After questioning Jesus to try to determine what the ruckus was all about, Pilate quickly realized that Jesus was innocent and should be released. He even said as much – more than once.

 

But the people and the leaders had already decided that they wanted Jesus to be crucified by the Romans and the more Pilate resisted them, the angrier the crowd became. Soon Pilate realized he had a potential riot on his hands and his thoughts turned from “What’s the right thing to do?” to “How can I get out of this?”

 

You know the story. Pilate gave into their demands. Even though he knew what was true and right, he didn’t have the strength of character or the integrity or the courage, to stand his ground and do the right thing. So he turned Jesus, whom he knew to be innocent, over to the Jews to be executed in a horrible fashion.

 

So, is Pilate remembered in history as a great man? No he isn’t. Even though he was a powerful Roman official in his day, and even though he did have the power of life and death over those under his authority, his legacy is that of having been a weakling.

 

Rejecting the moral high ground never produces good results over the long term. It may provide temporary relief from a difficult situation, but in the long run it will always do more harm than good. In Pilate’s case he lost what little respect the Jews and the other Roman authorities had for him, and within just a couple of years he ended up being removed from office and sent into exile anyway.

 

Truly great men and women of God consistently do what they know to be right, even if doing so isn’t easy and even if it isn’t popular. I want to encourage you today to make it a point to not to be like Pilate. Don’t give-in and take the path of least resistance just because it’s the easy thing to do. Have the strength of character, the integrity, the confidence, and the courage to do what you know to be right. Because that’s what great men and women of God do.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Humility is a mark of true greatness.”

 

I will admit to being a football fan. I don’t watch very much television but I do watch football games. Like most fans, I have my favorite teams and my favorite players. Typically I have great respect for the players who are quiet and humble and who simply strive to be good athletes, good sportsmen, and good examples. Peyton Manning comes to mind. So does Aaron Rodgers. I’m also a baseball fan and have great admiration for players like Lou Gehrig and Tony Gwynn, and for the same reason – they were great but they were also humble.

 

I have little tolerance for the loud-mouthed hot dogs who think way too highly of themselves, who are convinced of their own greatness and are constantly tooting their own horns. That’s true whether we’re talking about football players, baseball players, or candidates for President.

 

In the Bible God commends a humble spirit and He condemns those who exalt themselves. That was Jesus’ point in Matthew 23:11 and it is a point God makes repeatedly throughout scripture. Proverbs 16:18 warns that “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” Religious pride was the primary sin of the Pharisees (Matthew 6:5). An argument among Jesus’ disciples about who among them would be the greatest earned them all a stern rebuke from Jesus (Luke 9:46-48).

 

One of the keys to the greatness of Moses was his humility (Numbers 12:3). Jesus described Himself as “humble and gentle in heart” (Matthew 11:29). The Apostle Paul tells us to be completely humble and gentle (Ephesians 4:2). James tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord (James 4:10). Likewise Peter writes that we must humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:6).

 

The problem with humility is that it is so elusive. If we try to force it, it becomes false humility. When practiced to excess, it becomes groveling. And once we’re sure we are humble, we obviously are not. I had a friend who once informed me (tongue in cheek) that he was very humble, and that he was proud of it!”

 

Godly humility, as seen in Moses and Jesus, and as called for by Paul, James, and Peter, is a virtue that comes from within and works its way out. It’s a matter of the heart and it is developed by the Holy Spirit in us. The more spiritually mature a person becomes, the more true humility will be a part of who they are.

 

 

Humility is a mark of true greatness, but it’s a work of the Holy Spirit in your heart as He slowly and progressively transforms you into the person God wants you to be.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Perseverance in the face of adversity is a mark of true greatness.”

 

“Nobody said this was going to be easy!” said Tony Horton, the creator and coach of the popular extreme video workout program P90X. “But if you just stick with it, if you just keep showing up and you just keep pushing the “play” button on your DVD, overtime you will get the results you seek.”

 

What’s true for P90X is also true for the Christian life. Nobody said it was going to be easy! In fact, Jesus promised exactly the opposite. He told us it would be hard. In John 16:33 He said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

Yes, Jesus has overcome the world and so, as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews told us, we are to just keep our eyes on Him and keep moving forward, determined to successfully complete the race marked out for us. In P90X we all keep our eyes on Tony. He leads us in the exercises, calling out words of encouragement, and coaching us through it to a successful completion. In the Christian life we are to keep our eyes on Jesus.

 

Someone once said, “Nothing is over until you give-up.” In other words, as long as you continue to persevere, you still have a chance of succeeding. You haven’t failed until you have quit. That’s true of life in general but it’s also a key to living the Christian life well. We have to persevere.

 

Perseverance is one of the characteristics of truly great men and women of God. They face adversity with courage, confidence, and patience, and they just don’t give-up. We see such greatness in the spouse who refuses to give-up on a difficult marriage. We see it in parents who never stop loving their wayward child. We see it in the chronically sick person who refuses to be defined by their illness and instead lives life to the best of their ability (and we see it in the family members who care for them).

 

Comparing the Christian life to an extreme exercise program is actually not a bad analogy. In many ways the similarities are striking. “Nobody said this was going to be easy!” And usually, it isn’t. Therefore the key to success is found in never giving up.

 

Perseverance in the face of adversity is a mark of true greatness.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7… “He has also set eternity in the human heart.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

Our thought for today: “We can learn to walk in ski boots.”

 

As human beings we’ve been designed by God for eternity, but at the moment we must exist in the material world as physical beings. This presents a challenge for us because as we walk through this world – spiritual beings with a physical body – it can sometimes be a bit awkward.

 

In his book “Tranquility” author David Henderson used a great analogy to help make this point which I can easily relate to. Earlier in life I enjoyed snow skiing. Every winter I would head for Big Bear Mountain in Southern California. 8500 feet above sea level, I would stand on the top of the mountain on my skis, looking down at the valley far below. Big Bear Lake looked small from that height; in a single glance I could see the entire town of Big Bear.

 

Then I would set out down the slope. Gently swaying back and forth, gliding through the soft powder, picking up speed, the cold air against my skin, the adrenaline building, I would have a smile on my face from ear-to-ear and I would be thinking, “This is great. I was made for this.”

 

However when I got to the bottom of the slope, took off my skis, and went into the lodge, I would discover that walking through the lodge in ski boots was difficult. Up on the slopes those ski boots connected me to my skis and made it possible for me to glide effortlessly and smoothly down the slopes. Walking in the lodge (for which the boots were not designed), was a slow, clunky, awkward process. Some skiers were much better at this than I was, and for them it didn’t seem to be as much of a struggle as it was for me. But personally I never did get comfortable with it. I would always find myself eager to be done with the lodge so I could get back up on the slopes.

 

Great men and women of God have learned how to walk through this world comfortably while wearing their spiritual ski boots. As I said, we’re not really designed for life in this world. We were created for the ski slopes of eternity. And although with practice we can learn to live well in this physical world, for many of us it continues to be a slow, clunky, and often awkward trek. However with practice, we can get better at it.

 

One characteristic great men and women of God seem to share is that they have developed the ability to walk through this life gracefully and with confidence. Spiritually they seem to be less clunky and less awkward than the rest of us. What they have learned and experienced spiritually makes them more graceful, more composed, and more effective in the physical world.

 

I find myself admiring their agility and I want to be more like that myself. With practice I can be. And so can you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi (Matthew) sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” So, leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow Him.” Luke 5:27-28 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Truly great men and women of God willingly make sacrifices for the cause of Christ on earth.”

 

In a previous devotional this month I told you the story of author Eugene Peterson and how, despite his increasing fame and the multiple offers he received to become the Pastor of some very large churches, he chose instead to stay for twenty-nine years at the same little church in Maryland. Eugene was more interested in faithful service than a high-profile position, even though it would have paid him much more.

 

Some of you know my friend Bud Lenz. Early in life he was a golf course architect in the Houston area, and he made a nice living. But he and his wife Laura sensed God calling them to serve in international missions. At that time they didn’t understand the full scope of the call, but they did obediently sell everything they owned and moved to the Andes Mountains in Peru. They have now spent more than twenty years in that land, raising their own nine children and running a Christian orphanage where they take care of and raise anywhere for forty to fifty Peruvian children at any one time.

 

In Luke 5:27-28 we read of Jesus calling the tax collector Matthew to leave his profession and become a disciple and key assistant to the Messiah. Without hesitation Matthew closed-up shop, walked away from that career, and never looked back.

 

Truly great men and women of God make sacrifices for the cause of Christ on earth. Sometimes those sacrifices are big, like those of Matthew, Eugene Peterson, and Bud and Laura Lenz. But more often they’re smaller more routine day-to-day things like sitting in the Emergency Room at two o’clock in the morning with a friend; or making a sacrificial financial gift to a worthy cause even though their own budget is tight; or stepping in to fill an important ministry position at church that no one else is willing to do.

 

A common character trait of the truly great men and women of God is that they willingly and eagerly make sacrifices, big ones and small ones, for the cause of Christ. Our willingness to make those sacrifices is a measure of our greatness in God’s eyes.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “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.” Romans 12:2 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “True greatness comes from the inside out, not from the outside in.”

 

When we think about the truly great men and women of God whom we have known, and we consider the examples they have set for us, what we’re really looking at is their outward behaviors. We observe how they conduct themselves and we conclude that if we can conduct ourselves in a like manner, then we will be more like them.

 

The problem with that perspective though is that it focuses on behavior rather than character. We observe their behavior, admire it, and then attempt to modify our own behavior to conform more to what we’re seeing them model for us. That approach is superficial and temporary at best because conduct is determined by character, not the other way around. By means of discipline and willpower we might be able to force a change in our behavior and then maintain it for a while, but lasting change only comes from a change of heart.

 

That’s what Paul was writing about in Romans 12:2. Paul was describing an inward transformation that shows itself in outward behaviors. What we were really seeing in those godly men and women who we admire so much is not good behavior controlled by discipline and willpower, but character traits such as humility, love, kindness, compassion, mercy, and sacrificial service – all of which come from a heart that has been transformed and shaped by the Holy Spirit of God.

 

The transformation and spiritual growth that Paul was writing about is something that develops over years and years of faithful attention to the basic spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith – things like daily prayer and Bible study, frequent participation in the life of a good church family, serving in ministry, etc. The more of those practices we incorporate into our lives, over an extended period of time, the more transformation there is.

 

True greatness comes from the inside out, not from the outside in. I encourage you to develop the daily habit of placing yourself in a position before God whereby He can mold you and shape you into the truly great man or woman He wants you to be.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “True Greatness shows itself in acts of service.”

 

I have always like President George H.W. Bush. He has always impressed me as a kind and humble man who genuinely cares about people and who has sincerely strived to do his best for our nation.

 

He was born into a family that had great wealth and political influence. He was sent to all the best schools and was prepared by his family to assume positions of leadership within the family business. The path laid out for him was one of affluence and comfort in the highest reaches of society and business. But George would have none of it. He refused to live his life trading on his family name and on the success of others.

 

Instead, at the age of 18 he volunteered for military service during World War II and became a pilot at a very young age, eventually getting shot down and having to parachute to safety. After that he launched business ventures of his own and had significant success. But soon he became dissatisfied with that life too and decided that true fulfillment would be found only in the service to others. Therefore he established a career in public service, serving first as a Congressman, then in various levels of appointed government positions, and then finally as Vice-President of the United States and then as President.

 

Mr. Bush was a committed Christian who felt strongly about Jesus’ example of true greatness, which is found in service to others. George didn’t go into politics seeking money, fame, or power. He already had all of those things available to him if he wanted them, and in a much kinder environment than politics. He went into public service because he believed that investing his life in the service of others was the highest and noblest thing he could do.

 

That’s exactly the point Jesus was making. His disciples, James and John, wanted to be seen as great in the eyes of others. So they sent their Mommy to talk to Jesus about appointing them to important high profile positions. Jesus essentially said, “You want to be seen as great? No problem. Commit your lives to serving others and you will be seen as “great” in the eyes of God.”

 

The same goes for us. As far as God is concerned, true greatness comes from a commitment to serve others in the name of Jesus. “The greatest among you, will be the servant of all.”

 

In what ways and how often do you serve others? According to Jesus, your willingness to serve others, and the frequency with which you do it, is a measure of your stature in the kingdom of God.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim