How Big is your Vision?

I once asked a professor if a vision can actually be too big?  He answered by saying that we are called to win the world, if your vision is bigger than that THEN it may be too big.  Isn’t that truth.  Isn’t it also true that churches think way to small?  I believe that the responsibility of every church is not only to win their neighborhoods, but to evangelize their state, their nation, and the world.  Jesus’ last words for his disciples were to win their Jerusalem, Samaria (surrounding area), Judea (the rest of the nation) and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

I believe that God is going to do great things with our church.  I believe that God has a vision for our church to evangelize the world with the gospel of Christ.  By the way, you may not know this, but our church is located in Pegram, TN and currently we average around 25 people.  One may wonder why I am still so optomistic, the reason, we are going to continue to follow God and it is in His heart to win the world.  God empowers those who follow Him. 

God told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and he didn’t have one kid.  People may have questioned Abraham, whose very name means “Father of many nations,” as to why his name was changed.  God told me to he would respond.  By the way, I don’t even have one child of my own.  However, God came through and fulfilled His promises and now Abraham’s descedents are as the sand of the shore.  I believe that He will do the same for us.

Who do you believe?

Last year at about this time a major documentary was done (which included James Cameron, “Titanic”) and they claimed that they found the tomb and body of Jesus including his entire family.  Admittedly, I was totally drawn in as the cornerstone of my faith is in the fact that Jesus rose from the grave.  The documentary made the viewer believe that this was more than just an Indiana Jones adventure, they had mathetical certainties and scientific evidence including DNA to back their claims!  When all was said and done they made you feel that if you disagreed with their findings then you probably also still thought that the world was still flat as well.

However, you do have more than one option.  You can believe the claims of a film maker and his collegues made 2,000 years after the fact.  They certainly had a lot to gain; money, noteriety, and the ability to sir up controversy within the church (that is always fun).  Or you can choose to believe more than 500 men and women who actually saw Jesus ascend into heaven.  These men and women had nothing to gain and each one of them died not simply for a belief, but for what they saw.  They were tortured, lost everything they had all because they would not deny what they saw.

So whose story will you choose to believe?

Judas: A Display of God’s Love

At True Life I have been going through a series on the 12 Apostles.  This week I have been studying about Judas.  As I began to study Judas and his life I kind of felt like I was going through the “trap” that so many others have fell into.  The story of Judas is less a story about him and more of a story about the love that Jesus had for him.  From day one Jesus knew the choices that Judas was going to make and yet He still chose him.  Even to the very end as we read the story of the events that occurred at the Last Supper we see that Judas (not Peter or some other great disciple) is there sitting at the right hand of Jesus, the honored place at a table!  Till the very end Jesus loved Judas, what a beautiful picture of God’s love for us.  Romans 5:8 says that God showed His love for us even while we were still sinners.  Even when we hated him, rejected Him, and turned our backs on Him, He still loved us and died for us. 

The other major point that I find from the life of Judas is very simple.  If you could put yourself in his place for a moment and imagine all of the events that he saw in his life.  He saw Jesus walk on water, heal the blind and lame, feed more than 5,000 with 2 loafs and fishes and don’t forget about the messages that he heard the best sermons that this world has ever heard and yet his life ended in suicide.  What I realize is that the conversions of people don’t depend on miracles or even more information Judas had seen it all, but real conversion is a matter of the heart.  If you are looking at Christianity and you are on the “edge” of believing or not and you think if you knew just a little bit more about this whole “Christian” thing then you would believe then you can think again.  Christianity isn’t about knowing more it is a matter of the heart.  There are brilliant people in the world who think the claims of Christ are foolish and there are brilliant people who are totally sold out to Christ.  There are uneducated people who feel the same ways.  It isn’t a matter of what you know, it is a matter of the heart.  Today open your heart to Him and see what He will do.

A New Reason to Obey

I believe that it is a hard concept for most of us to understand and that is this that we are to be obedient to the King regardless.  Sounds like a simple concept, however, over and over I find myself being obedient when it is convenient and most of all when there is something in it for me.  I have even heard (and used myself) the ole “well my heart isn’t in it so I’ll do what I want to because I don’t want to be a hypocrite”.  You have to admit that is a good one.

The truth is that God demands absolute obedience from us whether our heart is in it or not.  Regardless of our circumstances and regardless of whether the outcome is what we hoped for or not we are called to be obedient to Him because He is our God, He is our Creator and we are responsible and accountable to Him whether we like it or not.  The good news is found in the fact that we can trust that God has our best interest at heart.  He is a trustworthy God and would never ask us to do something that would harm us.  Some have misunderstood the laws of God as an “almighty thumb” to keep us from something fun.  The enemy has deceived so many to believe that God’s laws are there to keep us from freedom.  The reality is that God’s laws are there for our protection to help us to be free.

However it is true, God does give tremendous blessings for those who are obedient to Him.  “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart…and He will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6)  “Delight in the Lord and He will give the desires of your heart.” (Psalms 37:4)  Hopefully we don’t obey simply because of these blessings to us, but that we obey because of our love for Him.  If you need just one more reason to obey then do so because He is the Mighty God and we are accountable and responsible to Him as the creation.