All posts tagged: God

Pitching to Jesus—and Refusing to Take His Signals

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I’ve imagined this scene in my head: I’m playing baseball with Jesus. The stands are full of fans, but out there on the field it’s just him and me. I’m the pitcher. Jesus is the catcher, behind home plate. He settles into his crouch, ready to play, and I look for his signals—simple commands. What pitch will he want me to throw? I wait in anticipation, but also with one eye on the crowd. What will they think of me? He signals a fastball. I think for a moment and shake my head—no, not a fastball. Next he signals a slider. This time I look toward my teammates in the dugout for guidance. Then I glance up at the fans. No, I’m not comfortable with that one either. He gives me yet a third signal. No, not today, thank you! Then I imagine Jesus silently and slowly withdrawing his signaling hand back into his mitt. There’s a deep disappointment in his eyes. He’s decided to let me throw whatever I want. So I do—and then …

Discover the Seven-fold activity of God in Psalm 23

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God is perfect and everything he does is perfect. Take a fresh look a this timeless psalm again today… It’s the seven-fold perfection of God in our imperfect lives. he satisfies our hunger… There is a promised reward for all those who hunger after God and His righteousness – They shall be filled. he leads us by the still waters; There is a promised reward for those who would allow God to take them to still waters – They shall find rest he restores us when we have fallen away There is a promised reward for those who repent and turn from their wicked ways – They shall be restored. he guides us in the way of righteousness There is a promised reward for those who would look to God and His word for what they want to do – They shall find guidance. he abides `with us’ even through death There is a promised reward for who do not fear when life is hard, dangerous and even tragic – They will never be alone in …

John 1:4, 5

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Light in Dark Places Life, what is it, where did it come from, how is it sustained? Contrary to popular thinking, life has its origin in God. He is the maker of everything – the giver of life. When He made man, “He breathed into him and man became a living soul.” If we want to talk about life, its origin and how it is sustained, Jesus should be at the center of that discussion. The scripture says, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Everything, this world, human life, depends on Jesus for survival. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Though most men do not recognize this, it still is the truth. Jesus is not only the sustainer of physical life he is also the giver and sustainer of spiritual life. When he stepped out of eternity into time, into this dark and evil world, he was on a mission to lay …

How to Excel in Pleasing God

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In this first letter to the Thessalonians Paul begins in chapter 1:4 by recounting how the gospel – preached with the Holy Spirit’s power and full conviction – had touched and transformed the lives of many. This transformation was so plain to Paul that he declared in 1 Thess. 2:1 that “our coming to you was not in vain” and how in 1 Thess. 1:9, “they had turned from idols to the living God.” He calls them imitators of God in 1 Thess. 1:6, and boasted about how their testimony had gone forth not only in their immediate surroundings, but also to far away places (1 Thess. 1:8). Paul also called them his hope and joy, the crown of exultation, and glory (1 Thess. 2:19, 20),  and broke out in ecstatic praise when he got news that they were doing great in their walk with the Lord even though he had not visited to impart what he thought they were lacking in their walk with the Lord. Even after hearing how great they were doing – Paul still continued to pray for them to increase and abound in their walk with the Lord. He admonished …

How do I get to the post office?

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In the book, The Leadership secrets of Billy Graham, W. Clement Stone writes a story about Billy Graham trying to find his way to the post office in a small town. Upon asking a boy how to get to the post office in this small town and upon getting directions he needed, Billy invited the boy to come to his meeting that evening, saying, “you will hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.” The boy’s response was hilarious – he said, “I don’t think I will be there, you don’t even know your way to the post office.” Myra, Harold and Shelley, Marshall. The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham. (Zondervan, 2005), page 49.

The Tale of Four cities

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It had finally reached the ears of all the nobles of the people of the ends of the earth. The word on the street was not very different, but the official version was short and sweet: “Across the great waters is a land of great learning and enlightenment. Anyone with enough courage to brave the great waters would find the secrets of life, depth of knowledge and heavenly wisdom that only comes from the Wisdom God.” The decision was final, the nobles had decided, Yakobo will be the first one to take the Journey. Unfortunately, an important piece of the information did not reach the ears of the nobles of the people of the ends of the earth. Across the great waters there were three other cities competing for the allegiance of anyone brave enough to travel over the great waters. In each of these cities there was a powerful force strong enough to captivate the allegiance of anyone. The name of the city where the Wisdom God dwelled was ILLUMINOS The name of the first …

1 Reason Nations come to ruin

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They cast off all restraints… One of the most dangerous things any people, society, culture or nation can do to itself is to cast off all restraint and do whatever seems right in their own eyes. We find this phrase in the dark days of Israel’s history. A period when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6 In our day and time, the absence of restraint is celebrated and applauded. In the words of a song writer, “we exult our rights over and above the one who makes us righteous,” and we use that to justify our behavior or lifestyle. Unfortunately, we fail to realize that this kind of moral, spiritual, and social anarchy brings nothing but destruction. Israel cast off all restraints and they were brought to ruin. Sodom and Gomorrah cast off all restraints and they were brought to ruin. The Roman Empire cast off all restraints and they were brought to ruin. Ephesus, the city where the church was warned to return to its first love, cast off all restraints and they too …

5 Ways to use your tax return

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About a week ago we got our tax return in the mail. And every day for the past week, my wife has told me, “Walter we got to talk.” Well, she is right, last year we didn’t talk and the money vanished into thin air. In other words, we spent it carelessly. So, this year, we are considering five options. We are complete in accord with the first one – which for us, is non-negotiable. But the other four, we are still talking about. Please allow me to use these five suggestion to get you thinking about how you are going to use your tax return. Use the 10 percent and over and above principle. If you’ve been faithful paying your tithe throughout the year, you don’t have to give 10 percent this time around on your tax return. If you have paid your tithe correctly, on the gross and not the net, than you really don’t have to give 10 percent, you’re covered. However, there is the over and above principle. That means, you …

Holy Worldliness

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The church has a double calling: on the one hand to live in the world, and on the other not to conform to the world. The first is a call to worldliness, as opposed to other worldliness—getting involved in the life of the world around us. The second calling is the call to holiness. We have no liberty to respond to one call without the other. Indeed, we may neither preserve our holiness by escaping from the world, nor may we sacrifice our holiness by conforming to the world. Escapism, on the one hand, and conformism, on the other, are equally forbidden to Christian men and women. Instead we are to combine both callings to involvement and to separation. We are to develop what Dr. Alec Vidler, an Anglican scholar of the former generation, in his book “Essays in Liberality called “holy worldliness.” Ezekiel 11:12? “You have not followed my decrees. You have not kept my laws. But you have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.” 2 Kings 17:15: “They imitated the …

Beyond Information to Transformation

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Let me begin with a status update from my spiritual father’s Facebook page. He wrote: Reading through Jeremiah and Lamentations in the One Year Bible [really gasping for air].  GOD’s tolerance for dirty living was at “0.”  And my “take away?” 1.  Clean living is valuable. 2.  Clean living’s got to be “on our radar.” 3.  Clean living has to be a from the “inside–out” deal. GOD — please — take GT beyond information to transformation. In this Facebook status update I would like for you to notice just one phrase. Forrest says, “Take GT beyond information to transformation.” For those of you who do not know Pastor Beiser, he is my spiritual father. And he leads a thriving church in San Francisco. This phrase, “beyond information to transformation,” has been one of the driving forces of his life and ministry, at least since I’ve known him. Making disciples  is what he lives for. So, how do you lead people beyond information to transformation? Here are a few suggestions: 1. Pioneer a yearning lifestyle Let your people see your devotion. Don’t …