Caesar’s palace
Philippians 4:22, "And all the other Christians send their greetings, especially those who work in Caesar's palace."
This thought hit me when I read this verse: We need more and more Christians in Caesar's palace. It's a good thing to desire that those in leadership and positions of influence be Christ-followers, but it seems that God more often uses the ordinary person - the person who works in the palace - to bring Kingdom influence.
The current term for palace workers is marketplace ministers. So, wherever you work, that is your ministry platform. We need more palace workers who work for The King.
I love you
Jeremiah 2:25, “I have fallen in love with these foreign gods, and I can’t stop loving them now!”
There’s a common philosophy that if you love someone, or something, then your love makes it OK. That is, love becomes the highest good. In the verse above, Judah justified turning away from God because of her love for other gods.
Practically, this philosophy is often seen in sexual relationships, both hetero- and homo-. People will justify going outside of God’s parameters for healthy sexual relationships based on the love they feel for the other person. “I love him/her, so it must be OK.”
GOD IS LOVE AND HE WANTS ME TO BE HAPPY
You will often hear people say that God is love, therefore, he wants me to be happy. In other words, Why would a loving God deny (forbid) the love I have for the other person, regardless of what his word says? “I know the Bible forbids adultery, but I love him so much, he makes me happy, and he “completes” me, so it must be OK to divorce my husband and leave my kids.”
This kind of thinking makes our love the ultimate measure of morality. And since love is subjective, that measuring line will move with each person. What’s important to remember is that GOD is love. His love is perfect, our love is imperfect. In fact, our hearts our deceived, darkened, and easily led astray.
God’s ultimate goal is not our happiness, it’s our salvation. Yes, salvation from sin, but more specifically salvation from looking to people and things for our salvation, which is idolatry. Love is a good thing, but when we turn it into an ultimate thing, it becomes an idol.
When we truly begin to realize what God did for us through Jesus, the direction of our love begins to shift off of ourselves and what we want, and begins to shift more and more to God. That God did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves in offering salvation through Christ alone, by his grace alone, through faith alone, begins to fill us with love for God which shows itself in obedience.
In the end, it’s not about my love, it’s about HIS love.
3 purgings
Nehemiah 13 - Three Purgings
1. The temple: the body, what you put into yourself through the eyes, the ears, and the mouth (food).
2. The Sabbath: rest, abstain from work. Trust in God for provision. Keeps perspective on life and what's important.
3. Relationships: do my relationships detract from my relationship with God? what do I need to fix? Purge anger, jealousy, offense.
Reflections from EN 2010 world conference
I spent last week in Manila at the Every Nation 2010 world conference that hosted 18,000+ delegates from 50 countries. (Every Nation is the family of churches and ministries that GBCK belongs to.)
Here are some reflections in no particular order:
• The Gospel is growing and bearing fruit around the world, especially in closed countries where Christianity is illegal.
• Our #1 mission is to make disciples whether you are in the U.S., Asia, Europe, Africa, or wherever; this is our mandate.
• God uses the ordinary person to do the extra-ordinary work of the Gospel. All it takes is humility and reliance on God.
• We must learn how to put down and let go of offenses if we are to pick up and carry the cross of Jesus and fulfill His mission.
• Every Nation, Every Campus: Reaching the next generation is imperative.
• The Philippines is hot!
• The Gospel shows us what's broken, and shows us the solution to our brokenness. We must never stop preaching the Gospel.
• Each one reach one: who am I reaching and believing to come to faith in Jesus?
• The local church is God's chosen tool for reaching the world with the Gospel; it's through disciples not organizations that people are reached for Jesus.
• Put away my excuses, my pettiness, and my hang ups, and get about the Kingdom business of making disciples by leading them to develop their faith, deepen their connections, and to devote their lives to God's mission.
The “ageless” gospel
With so much pressure to be new and innovative in ministry, let's not forget that the message of the gospel is not new or an innovation. In fact it's ageless. Romans 1:1, 2 says the gospel was promised beforehand. OK, can we get some clarity on "beforehand"? Sure. Titus 1:2 says the gospel was promised before the ages, and 2 Timothy 1:9 says the gospel existed before the ages began. What Paul is saying in Romans is that the gospel is ageless.
So what does this mean?
• It means salvation originates and begins with God. That is, the gospel is not man-made.
• It means the gospel is eternal. Created, finite beings cannot devise a plan for eternal salvation. (Although mankind has always tried to make his own plan for salvation apart from Jesus.)
• It means the gospel it beyond space and time; it transcends it. In other words, the gospel is relevant to any culture in any age. We don't have to make the gospel relevant.
I think the last point is important. The gospel doesn't need to be made cool, hip, or relevant. It doesn't need to be dressed up and packaged. The gospel cannot be bent to fit the culture, nor should it "emerge" into something "better".
The gospel is the same yesterday, today, and forever - it's ageless. Let's preach the gospel for it's God's power for salvation. Let's trust the gospel and not innovation to save.
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