Whose Kingdom Are You Building?

God has blessed us here in the United States extremely abundantly. Why? Is it so that we can have more "stuff"? Or have we been guilty of misusing the wealth that he has entrusted to us?

I believe that we in the United States need to change the way that we view our resources. It won't be easy but since when is denying one's self and daily carry a cross supposed to be easy?

Just by living more simply, we will be able to impact the world. For example, purchasing a Toyota Corolla instead of a Camry might save you thousands of dollars that you might use to help a poor person in Mexico build a house. Or maybe limiting the number of times that you eat out so that you can sponsor a needy child. The possibilities are endless.

The Apostle Paul believes that our resources should be used to glorify God. He says in 2 Corinthians 9:11, "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

Who in the world is giving thanks to God due to your generosity today?

Let us repent of our selfishness and use God's resources to build his kingdom, not our own.

Cutting Corners

It was not all work and no play in Alaska. One of the members of my crew nicknamed, "Hot Sizzle!" needed to perform 25 pushups because he was not being encouraging to other crew members. I enlisted 7 year old Emma to count and make sure he did all 25. The results were pretty funny!

Last Sunday I preached about Jesus' requirement of denying ourselves and carrying our crosses daily in order to follow Him. But like Hot Sizzle in the video, we often have to battle our desire to cut corners on the path of discipleship.

But there are no shortcuts to following after Jesus. He did not call it the narrow path for nothing! Make no mistake, the Bible is explicit in its declaration of God's people living for Jesus.

From today's "Read the Bible through in a Year" reading: 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:15

Do not fool yourself and think that you can live the way you want and still be Jesus' disciple. Jesus himself did not leave room for that and neither should you.

27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27 (Emphasis mine)

Lessons from Alaskan Sled Dogs

The Scripture that was the foundation for our week in Alaska was taken from Isaiah 6:1-8. In verse 8, God asks, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"

Isaiah's response was, "Here I am. Send me!"

Driving back from North Pole to Anchorage on the last day of our mission trip, our group stopped at the Denali National Park. For me the highlight of the park was the dogsled demonstration. And during this demonstration, it was as if God were reconfirming the message of the trip.

On the video, you can hear all of the 32 dogs in their kennels barking as the ranger chooses dogs to be hitched up to the sled for the demonstration. What you don't see, is that prior to this, all the dogs were lethargic, most were sleeping.

But when the time came for some of them to be hitched up to the sled, they all seemed to wake up and started barking! It was as if all of them were yelling, "Pick me! Pick me!" The dogs were excited because they wanted an opportunity to do the thing which they have been bred.

(For the animal lovers, prior to retrieving the dogs, the ranger explained that the dogs' necks are really strong and being pulled in this manner does no harm to the dog. The dogs get so excited to be put on a sled that they might inadvertantly pull the ranger off her feet and cause injury.)

For some reason, we humans are different. We don't want God to pick us. And what that ultimately means is that we don't want to do the things for which God made us. We want to do our own thing and we agonize over why our lives don't go the way we think it should go.

Only when we completely surrender our lives to God and allow him to use us for the task for which we were created will we truly experience the joy that God has for us.

What will it take for you to learn the lesson that these sled dogs have already learned?

Make Your Summer Count

I came across an article today that gave 8 tips to make this summer count. The first two are:

1. Look at people with eternity in mind. Everyone has an eternity in front of them. We need to see them as God does and care for them like it counts.
2. Show some hospitality. Believers should be the people everyone else wants to be around. So be the person who invites everyone over for a cookout or a game night. Remember, you’re the ambassador for Christ so get into the lives of people living outside the Kingdom.

Read the rest of the article here.

You only have one life to live, better make it count!

In the Hands of God

Sometimes it is difficult to to submit one's self to God but there is no safer place to be than in his hands. As Dr. O.S. Hawkins once said during a sermon at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, "You should not fear that God would put his hands on you. Rather you should fear that God would take his hands off you."

Don't be afraid to fall in the hands of God.

God's Way IS the Best Way!

Last week I found a news article put out by livescience.com that talks about factors that bring true happiness. I was going to include it in my sermon on Sunday but time constraints prevented it.

The article's author Robert Goodier writes: Wealth, fame and good looks may be a formula for anxiety rather than happiness, a new study suggests. You can read the entire article here.

It is interesting that the findings of the study of what actually does bring happiness correspond with the teachings of the Bible.

Really, God is all about having meaningful personal relationships; with Him and others. He is also committed to helping us grow as people, conforming us into the image of His Son.

Do what God says and you'll find that maybe God does actually know a thing or two about how to get an abundant life after all.

Fan or Follower?

Last week I heard a news report about a pastor of a church who started a website called "Not a Fan." Its purpose is for Christians to be able to discern whether or not they are truly a follower of Christ, or just a fan of his.

You can get more information here at his website: http://www.notafan.com/

Although the packaging of the concept is fresh, the concept itself comes from Jesus himself. He wants us to not just be converts, but disciples who will follow him even to the ends of the earth. That was the goal when he said to his disciples, "Follow me."

Don't just read this blog entry and forget about it. Take time to ask yourself: Am I just an enthusiastic admirer of Jesus, or do I truly follow him? What is one thing that you can do this week to help you be a better follower of Jesus?