Category: Purpose

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A Healthy Tree

There is a single verse in the Psalm 40 that I want us to look at this morning.

“O Lord my God, many are the great works You have done, and Your thoughts toward us. No one can compare with You! If I were to speak and tell of them, there would be too many to number.” Psalm 40:5 NLV

Now look at this phrase “many are the great works which You have done”.

Think about that for a moment – what great works do you see that God has done? Was it last night’s sunset or this morning’s sunrise? Was it the love and compassion you felt for a stranger who was in need? Or was it the unpretentious love and acceptance of a child? What did you experience just yesterday that you can see was a wonderful work of God in your life?

“Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:8 NJKV

“He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” Psalm 111:4 NJKV

“O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.” Isaiah 25:1 NLT

Our Father is a planner; He plans good things. The things that are “wonder full” are the things that have the character of God woven through them. Things like faithfulness, truth, love, forgiveness, peace, gentleness, patience, joy…

Oh wait, did I just list the fruit of the Spirit? When God’s love fills us, we begin to produce fruit.

In the natural fruit a tree produces fruit for the kind of tree it is. Apples, oranges, bananas, and so on – you know what I’m saying. Nothing tastes as good a peach picked fresh from the branch. When we grow in Christ we will begin to produce fruit that is consistent with the vine we are growing on – we will begin to produce godly character.

Our lives should be producing Father-fruit. Do you know that He is wanting to use us to do wonderful things in the lives of those around us? And don’t think that everyone will be happy that we are an example of the Father – they won’t be. Jesus faced that opposition.

“God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 ERV

The love of the Lord will grow in our lives as we stay connected to Him. Just as a fruit tree first breaks forth with buds in Spring and those buds ripen into mature fruit we will produce the fruit of God’s character.

May the trees in our yards and neighborhoods be a reminder that we were made to produce the fruit of godly character.

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Making Priorities

The start of a new week.

What’s on your schedule? Do you have a calendar on the wall with a To-Do list or maybe it’s all in your smart phone or on your I-pad? You may be old fashioned like me and just have a list on a sheet of paper on the desk. Whatever it is, does it give you a sense of accomplishment to check things off when they are done?

This morning I was reading about the Apostle Paul. He had a checklist.

“I don’t know what will happen to me in Jerusalem, but I must obey God’s Spirit and go there. 23 In every city I visit, I am told by the Holy Spirit that I will be put in jail and will be in trouble in Jerusalem. 24 But I don’t care what happens to me, as long as I finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do. And that work is to tell the good news about God’s great kindness.” Acts 20:22-24 CEV

Paul had been out preaching all over Asia. He told everyone, everywhere he went about Jesus. That was all he had on his list.

One thing!

One very important thing. I’m sure he had other things he could have done. After all, as he would go into new towns he needed to find a place to stay, acquire provisions, and locate new Christians but the one thing at the top of his list was his relationship with God, the Father, through Jesus Christ. He had been commissioned to tell the non-Jewish world about God’s great love and the good news of Jesus.

“I do not say that I have received this or have already become perfect. But I keep going on to make that life my own as Christ Jesus made me His own. 13 No, Christian brothers, I do not have that life yet. But I do one thing. I forget everything that is behind me and look forward to that which is ahead of me. 14 My eyes are on the crown. I want to win the race and get the crown of God’s call from heaven through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14 NLV

I have a list of things I want to accomplish today. But I will leave room at the top so that I can be ready to tell others about the Father’s goodness, mercy, kindness and grace.

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A Full Life

Years ago I realized that the Lord had given me an ability to teach and share His word. From then till now, it has been my passion to share His unconditional love, His mercy, His grace and His gift of sonship to us who believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried and is risen as our living Savior.

I saw so many Christians who were like I was; reading the Bible but not really applying it to their everyday lives. We had grown up hearing of God’s retribution, “ God’s going to get you for that” or His surprise tactics, “you never know what God’s going to do”. We were fearing God and His retribution rather than living in His love.

I accepted my calling to proclaim the good news of the gospel to Christians. It is and was my desire to see fellow Christians grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. It was my desire to see Christians walk in the full power of relationship with Christ and to receive fully from His blessings. When we live in this way, the way God intended, we truly are examples of Jesus.

Jesus said: “A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.” John 10:10 CEV

The Apostle Paul tells us it is the goodness of God that draws men to repent, not the condemning of man. There is nothing I find more fulfilling than to share God’s word – through written communication, one on one personal interaction or teaching to a gathering. It’s my heart passion.

“You, Lord God, have done  many wonderful things, and you have planned marvelous things for us.  No one is like you! I would never be able to tell all you have done. 6 Sacrifices and offerings are not what please you; gifts and payment for sin are not what you demand. But you made me willing to listen and obey. 7 And so, I said, “I am here  to do what is written about me in the book, where it says, 8 ’I enjoy pleasing you. Your Law is in my heart.’” 9 When your people worshiped, you know I told them, “Our Lord always helps!” 10 When all your people met, I did not keep silent. I said, “Our Lord is kind. He is faithful and caring,  and he saves us.” 11 You, Lord, never fail to have pity on me; your love and faithfulness always keep me secure.” Psalm 40:5-11 CEV

Look particularly at verses 8-10, “’I enjoy pleasing you. Your Law is in my heart.’” 9 When your people worshiped, you know I told them, “Our Lord always helps!” 10 When all your people met, I did not keep silent. I said, “Our Lord is kind. He is faithful and caring,  and he saves us.”.

On this Sunday morning let me take the opportunity to declare again today – God is faithful, He is righteousness, He is my salvation and His lovingkindness endures forever!

My life is full and running over.

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Comparisons Are Dangerous

Have you ever been guilty of making comparisons? You know the kind I’m talking about – this is better because of its qualities or this is inferior because of its size. It’s one thing when comparisons are made about products but something completely different when they are made about people.

I heard the strangest conversation the other day in my laundry room. There they were, the two of them talking. The conversation went something like this.

“You’ll never be as bright as I am. I get selected for all the BIG jobs. You’re just a little dim wit.”

“Oh yes, I see that you are the biggest and the brightest but I’m the one they want in the middle of the night to keep them from stumbling.”

In case you haven’t guessed, that was the imaginary conversation I heard between the 100w and the 4w light bulbs. Silly I know, but sitting there in a box in my laundry room neither one of them was doing any good because they weren’t connected to the socket.

“We do not compare ourselves with those who think they are good. They compare themselves with themselves. They decide what they think is good or bad and compare themselves with those ideas. They are foolish. 13 But we will not talk with pride more than God allows us to. We will follow the plan of the work He has given us to do and you are a part of that work.” II Corinthians 10:12-14 NLV

God has a purpose and a plan for each of our lives and every purpose is important because it was specifically designed by Almighty God. There are no insignificant or unnecessary members in the kingdom of God.

How often are we like those two bulbs? Proclaiming how big and how great we are but we are of no use until we make contact with the source of all Power.

“‘The Scriptures say, “God commanded light to shine in the dark.’ Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ. 7 We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us. 8 We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. 9 In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again.” II Corinthians 4:6-9 CEV

Our job is a simple one – stayed connected to our source of power, Jesus Christ. Don’t give up, don’t give in. There is no power shortage when we are in Christ Jesus!

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Every Step Counts

I was thinking about the errands we ran yesterday. Only a few stores but there were a lot of back and forth steps. I went with my list but never took it out of my pocket. I forgot a few things and had to go back for them.

This morning an old Family Circus cartoon came to mind. For those who are younger, Family Circus was a cartoon that appeared in the Sunday newspapers. If Billy, the one of the characters, would have had a FitBit he would have logged 10,000 steps each day by noon.

Here, there and everywhere.

My prayer when I have a day of running errands is that every step counts. Not that I want to record steps on my fitness tracker but instead I want every step to count for His glory.

Was I kind to the sales associate? Were my words helpful? Did I offer a helping hand or an encouraging smile? Was I encouraging to Dave as we drove from place to place? I hope I wasn’t just centered on my list and my needs but that I also looked to provide for someone else’s.

Jesus was like that.

He often traveled along the roads with his disciples, teaching as they went but He always had time for an interruption. He was drawn aside, not off course, by someone in need. There were the blind beggars, the woman with an issue of blood, Zacchaeus, the children and the woman at the well.

He was reachable. Touchable. His whole purpose was to change lives for the better.

Today is Palm Sunday. The day we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He rode in on the back of a colt as the people waved palm branches and shouted His praises. He connected with them.

“The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him. They shouted,

‘Hosanna! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the king of Israel!’

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 Don’t be afraid, Daughter Zion. Look! Your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.

16 His disciples didn’t understand these things at first. After he was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.” John 12:12-16 CEB

Jesus was never detoured. He was always about His Father’s business. Since He is no longer here physically, we have been tasked with sharing His love and compassion.

It’s important that we are more concerned with making our steps count than we are with counting our steps.

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I Love My Job

Years ago I heard a story and it goes something like this:

“One morning a man got up and told his wife ‘I’m not going to work today. I just want to stay home’. To which she replied ‘You have to go, everyone’s counting on you’. The man muttered and said ‘No one there likes me, they criticize everything I say and do’. The wife tried to be encouraging ‘You have to learn to turn the other cheek. You really have to go, you’re the pastor.'”

I think we all have days like that. We get up and just don’t want to go to work and we need to find motivation to help us have a good attitude about what we do and who we work with. I have enjoyed most of the positions I have worked at but there was one that was a real struggle.

I didn’t handle it well. I complained alot; in fact, I did more complaining about my job than I did praying about it. Just being honest here. And then the Lord reminded me of these words.

“Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.” Colossians 3:22-25 MSG

I needed to do my job as if the Lord was my boss. My responsibility was to please Him and to be an encouragement to those around me. I was to use the talents and skills I had to be the best employee I could be. Less complaining, more praying. It was hard!!

Eventually the Lord opened the door to another position and I was able to quit. I learned a couple things during that time, 1) Pray before taking any position no matter how good it seems, 2) Each day seek to serve the Lord and you can be at peace anywhere and 3)Always, always do your best.

When I think of people who had tough work conditions I think of Joseph. His working conditions were far from perfect. In his first position he went from house servant to overseer of the whole operation but was falsely accused of rape and ended up going to prison. In prison he was the model prisoner and excelled in all he did. He served there for a number of years before he was brought before the pharoah to serve in his court. All along the way Joseph kept his heart free from bitterness and served each master with a pure heart.

“So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has shown you all this, there is no one as understanding and wise as you are. 40 My house will be put in your care. And all my people will do as you say. Only on the throne will I be greater than you.” Genesis 41:39-40 NLV

The Lord exalted Joseph. He went from slave boy to the highest ranking official in the pharaoh’s kingdom.

Wherever we are and whatever we do we need to stay focused on serving the Lord. He can be trusted to change circumstances for our good.

Learn to love the job the Lord has given you. Afterall, we’re working for Him!

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Be Focused & Aim High

On a number of occasions Dave and I have gone out to the desert to do some target practice. He is the skilled marksman, I am not. I have heard him say, on several occasions, “Kris, you need to focus and aim higher”.

That’s always good advice!

“You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. 3 Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 ERV

Focus. Aim High.

When we follow Christ we are given a new life. This life is higher than anything we could acheive on our own. We are empowered by the Spirit of God who lives within us. Our goal is not to look down on ourselves or others; it is to look up to the One who is our example.

In yesterday’s blog we looked at some of the man-made rules of religion, those that are always telling us the things we can’t do. But when we look to Christ, when we raise our aim and focus on Him, we gain a greater perspective.

  • Jesus loved the Father and His neighbor.
  • Jesus was forgiving and kind.
  • Jesus helped those who were in need.
  • Jesus elevated the outcasts and downtrodden.
  • Jesus sacrficed His own comfort to minister to others.
  • Jesus always spoke the truth.
  • Jesus always saw the best in others.

Who better to focus on than the One who gave His all for us!

Do I miss the mark? Absolutely!

There are days when my thoughts, and my actions, are self-serving. Sometimes I repent immediately and there are other times I wallow in my selfishness for a while. It’s then I hear that still small voice in my heart telling me “lift your gaze, look up, you’re missing the mark”.

“But now put these things out of your life: anger, losing your temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and saying shameful things. 9 Don’t lie to each other. You have taken off those old clothes—the person you once were and the bad things you did then. 10 Now you are wearing a new life, a life that is new every day. You are growing in your understanding of the one who made you. You are becoming more and more like him. 11 In this new life it doesn’t matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, circumcised or not. It doesn’t matter if you speak a different language or even if you are a Scythian. It doesn’t matter if you are a slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he is in all of you.” Colossians 3:8-11 ERV

Focus. Aim High.

We’ve been given a new life; every day we should become more like Him. Christ is all that matters and He lives in us!

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Too Many Don’ts

When I grew up there were a lot of don’ts. Don’t do this and don’t do that. Some were for my own protection, i.e. don’t touch the stove, it’s hot, while other’s were rules set up by religion, i.e. we don’t go to dances or movies.

There was a whole list of them and they outnumbered the things that we could do. The emphasis was more on the negative aspects than it was on the positive.

The college I went too was very strict. As in-coming students we had a list of things we could and couldn’t do.

But this list of what was acceptable and unacceptable behavior wasn’t just limited to the religious world in the United States. I was shocked to learn that at one time in the Middle European countries it was considered shameful for Christians to drink coffee but perfectly acceptable for them to drink beer and wine.

No wonderful so many people think if you claim to be a Christian you can’t have any fun!

There are God-given instructions for our well being and then there are those that men have added on because of religious piety. The Bible has something to say about these add-ons.

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you must eat or drink. Don’t let them say that you must celebrate the New Moon festival, the Sabbath, or any other festival. 17 These things are only a shadow of what was to come. But Christ is real…20 You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don’t have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, 21 “Don’t handle this. Don’t taste that. Don’t touch this.”? 22 After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? 23 Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don’t really have any power over our desires.” Colossians 2:16-23 CEV

The list of man-made don’ts cause us to focus on ourselves. We develop a type of tunnel vision. “I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I can go here or there”. We become Rule-Centered instead of being Christ-Centered. As the verses above point out, we should be looking at Christ and the reality He brings to our lives.

It was life-changing when I realized there was a different list for my life in the Bible – it is a list of “do’s”. We’ll cover some of those tomorrow. It’s time to evaluate our actions or, in some cases, lack of action to man-made rules.

Our relationship with the Lord sets us free to do good works. Let’s get started!

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Run the Race

This morning I am dedicating this blog to my children. They are amazing people.

A few months ago our son-in-law ran his first marathon. It had been cancelled but he traveled to the race site with our daughter and grandson and ran the course anyway. He had trained for it and he ran his race.

This encouraged our youngest daughter who, today, will run her first half marathon. She has been training for months and her race was also cancelled but today she will be running through the streets of her neighborhood to accomplish her goal.

Our children have overcome physical injury and disease and they continue to press on to achieve the goals and dreams in their heart. Their roads haven’t been easy but that’s what makes the accomplishment so rewarding.

“You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one runner gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! 25 All who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a prize—one that doesn’t last. But our prize is one that will last forever.” I Corinthians 9:24-25 ERV

Each of us has been given a race to run, that race is life! Our courses differ. God has given each of us a purpose. Our race is to bring Him honor and glory and He will run every step of it with us, if we ask Him too.

Remember yesterday’s verse – “I will not, I will not, I will not leave you alone or abandon you”. That’s the Father’s promise to us. We are not in this race of life alone. He is with us to protect and strengthen us. We also have a cheering section to encourage us along the journey.

“All these many people who have had faith in God are around us like a cloud. Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us.” Hebrews 12:1 NLV

When we commit our lives to the Lord, when we receive God’s gift of eternal life, we are given a plan personalized for our strengths and talents. Jesus know the hardships we will face in life and He is here to help us all along the way.

“So Jesus had to become like His brothers in every way. He had to be one of us to be our Religious Leader to go between God and us. He had loving-pity on us and He was faithful. He gave Himself as a gift to die on a cross for our sins so that God would not hold these sins against us any longer. 18 Because Jesus was tempted as we are and suffered as we do, He understands us and He is able to help us when we are tempted.” Hebrews 2:17-18 NLV

Whatever we face in our race of life we aren’t alone. Run with confidence. Jesus is running with us. We will finish the race and receive the prize of life eternal with our Father.

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Winners!

Yesterday a lot of people watched two teams of athletes compete in a football game. To be honest, I only watched a little bit. I’m not a fan but I do know the rules of the game. I also know the rules to the game of life.

“Athletes in a race must obey all the rules to win. ” II Timothy 2:5 CEV

The Apostle Paul compared an athlete to the Christians he instructed. They were familiar with the Olympic games. They had been schooled in athletic achievements in the same way that they had learned the writings of Homer, Socrates, and Aristotle. These converts were unfamiliar with the writings of Moses, King David, Isaiah and the prophets so the Apostle Paul needed to reach them in a relatable way. Athletics was a good choice.

Like the soldier from yesterday’s blog, an athlete also had to be thoroughly trained and disciplined.

Our family has some runners. Their dedication amazes me. They begin training months in advance of a competition. Their conditioning is progressive. They start with short training runs and gradually increase their distance. This builds muscle and develops stamina.

They are also conscious of what they eat and drink. Plenty of water and foods that the body can use to build muscle and burn fat. Days off are few and far between when they are training. In one word, they are dedicated…

I remember when our oldest daughter was competing in her first Ironman 70.3. We were there to cheer her on. The competition started with a 2.2-mile open water swim, followed by a 55-mile bike ride in the hills of her community and ended with a 13.1-mile run. When she passed us at one checkpoint during the bike portion, we could tell she was struggling. Her Dad called to her “We don’t quit. Keep going. You have got this”. She said those were the words she heard in her head for the next 30 miles as she peddled along. She had mechanical problems and some physical issues that she had to battle through but battle through she did. We were all there as she crossed the finish line. She was exhausted but exhilarated. She had finished the race!

We are also surrounded by a great cheering squad, it’s those who have died and are waiting in heaven. They cheer us on as we run this race called the Christian life.

“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we are in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” Hebrews 12:1-3 MSG

Our example is Jesus.

He experienced all the temptations and trials that we do. He did this so He could identify with us and show us that with God’s help we can be victorious like He was. He ran the race He was called to run. He was able to endure life’s hardships because He could see the finish line and the celebration there.

His life is our example and inspiration. The Holy Spirit is our trainer and coach. The heavenly Father is waiting to award us the Crown of Life and we will hear Him say “Well done” when we cross the finish line.

We are winners! Don’t Quit!

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