Abortion Part 1

Read Psalm 139

I am going to be over the next several blog entries talking about abortion. As you know abortion in our country is legal. However what does God think about it, what does God’s Word say about it? This is what we want to deal with this month. This week we are going to look at the beauty of God’s design. Today I would like us to focus on verse 13 however do not miss the surrounding verses because they are vital to understanding how great a value God places on His design. In this verse we see that it is God who forms us who creates us as we are in our mother’s womb. It is interesting to note that those who are for abortion would tell us that the baby inside the mothers womb is nothing more than a blob of tissue. Notice that God formed (my), He covered (me). David makes it clear that to God we are someone not something. That means that even in the mothers womb that God sees each person as a incredible creation not a blob of tissue. How incredible is it to know that you are someone to God that He formed you and values you even in the most smallest of form. Wow that just blows me away that God is that awesome.

Father help us to the see the beauty of your creation.

Your Life: Sharp or Dull?

Read Proverbs 27:17

We have been talking all week about intentionally winning our friends to Christ and helping them to grow in their love relationship with God. This is our responsibility, our privilege and should be our heart beat in living out the Christian walk. As you look at this verse you may ask what does this have to do with being intentional. I say it has everything to do with it. In order to sharpen iron you have to use iron to sharpen it, something of a lesser metal or different material will not cut it, iron sharpens iron. Here is the point of this verse and the key to being able to make a difference in your friend’s lives. Are you living a life that would sharpen someone else’s spiritual life, another words are you iron or some other type of material. What would your lifestyle say, what would your friends say? Do they see in you something different, do they know that you follow Christ? If not then you are not really following Christ. A hidden faith is no faith at all. Our faith in Jesus Christ is to be “Lived out Loud.” When we intentionally lead our friends to Christ and then tell them they need to be growing in that relationship, we better back it up by doing it ourselves. There is a song that says, “Don’t tell them Jesus loves them, till your ready to love them to.” Please I beg you don’t try to help your friends grow in Christ when you’re the one that needs the help. Now before you go and get all discouraged please understand that I am not talking about if you struggle and yet are striving to live for Christ. Struggle is a reality that will always be there. I am talking about not striving at all, or living in a way that would point your friends away from Christ. To be intentional about helping others means we are intentional with our own walk. Intentional “Live Out Loud” and you will not help but impact the lives of others.

Father help us to “Live Out Loud” everyday of our lives so that others might see Christ in us.

Please Help Me Grow

Read Hebrews 10:23-25

We have been looking at intentionally caring for our friends enough to first tell them about Christ and second help them grow in their relationship with Christ. As you look at this passage the call is for us to be intentional. Being intentional means I make a point to do something. When thinking about our friends it is not enough to just pray and hope they grow we must be intentional about seeing them grow. We must make it a point to encourage them, to get them a Bible if needs be, teach them to pray or whatever else it takes to help them grow. The key is verse 24 (let us consider how we can spur one another on to love and good deeds). The spur is the word that gives us the challenge to be intentional. Our friends need us to be intentional about helping them grow, just as a baby needs his/her parents to be intentional about feeding or taking care of him/her, so your friends spiritual growth need you to be intentional.

Father help us to be intentional about helping our friends to grow in their relationship with you. Give us the determination to do whatever it takes to help them grow.

Friends Help Friends Take The Next Step

Read 2 Peter 1:5-11

Live Out Loud by intentionally caring for your friends by leading them to Christ and then helping them to grow in their relationship with Christ. But what does the new believer need in order to grow in that relationship? Let’s look at eight things that come from this passage. The first is faith which is the ability to see what cannot be seen and to believe in what seems unbelievable. The second is moral excellence which is the desire for one to live outwardly what they know to be true inwardly. The third is knowledge which is a right understanding of truth which comes by studying and applying God’s Word to our lives. The fourth is self-control which is to control the fleshly, natural desires and passions rather than be controlled by them. The fifth is perseverance which is patience in doing what is right and not giving in to temptation and sin. Sixth is godliness is to live reverently, faithfully and obediently toward God. Seventh is brotherly love which is a love for other believers and a desire to put others needs before their own. Last but not least is love which refers to God’s love for us, agape love which is unconditional and is the way that we ought to love God and love others. The key is found in verses 8-9 and the call is that we should abound in these things. How? By practicing them, by learning about them and by living them out in everyday life moment by moment. These things will only come as one pursues a relationship with God and thus is the reason we must be intentional about helping our friends take the next level.

Father help us to be intentional about helping our friends to take the next step.

The Everyday Commission

Read Matthew 28:18-20

The first step in discipling our friends is evangelism. We must be intentional about winning our friends to Christ. But that is only the beginning of a lifelong process in each of their lives. The second part is to be intentional about helping them to grow. Just as a mom and dad bring a newborn into the world they don’t just stop there because that would mean certain doom for that baby. They must intentionally help the baby to grow by giving nourishment and love. So we also must do the same for our friends. That is the overwhelming theme of this passage. This passage is called the Great Commission, however like Dan Spader I like to call it the Everyday Commission. Again the first step in fulfilling the everyday commission is to win a person to Christ. Then the second is the help them go public with that decision (baptizing them). It is imperative to help your friend understand that making a commitment to follow Christ is not to be a private matter. If it were then no one would share Christ and thus no one would come to know Christ. Baptism is the first step in making our relationship with Christ public. Encourage your friend to get baptized. Next is the most vital part, (teaching them to observe all things). All what things? The Word of God. It is not enough just to win your friends to Christ you must help them to grow in their relationship with Christ. That means that you must help them to take steps of faith. One way to do that is to encourage them to come to church and join a d-group. Another is to do a Bible study with them or just to read the Word of God together. Pray together as this will teach them to talk to God. These are just a few things that you can practically do with your friend. Understand though it is imperative that you are intentional about helping them grow in their relationship with God or they like a baby without nourishment will die.

Father help us to be intentional about reaching our friends for Christ and helping them to follow after you.

Jesus On Compassion

Read The book of John

Lazarus a good of friend of Jesus had become very sick and was dying. Mary and Martha send Jesus a message to come. However Jesus was not able to and Lazarus died. A few days later Jesus comes and find many friends and Mary and Martha weeping and grieving for Lazarus, look at verse 33-35. Jesus sees them weeping and then is moved in His spirit and He himself weeps. Jesus here gives us an example of mourning. He then goes on to raise Lazarus from the dead. I believe no matter if Jesus had raised Lazarus or not He would have mourned and then comforted all those who were there. I realize that the mourning in the beatitude is talking about mourning over sin, but understand that death is the result of sin. Also I realize that this comfort is the comfort we receive from salvation and forgiveness, but remember when a believer dies they are ushered into the presence of God. So as Jesus weeps, He weeps because His friend has died but also because this is the result of sin. Jesus was moved with compassion and mourning because of His friend but also because of the reality of sins payment. The practice of mourning in our lives should cause us to tell everyone we can about Christ so that they can experience the freedom of salvation.

Father help us to see you more clearly today. Give us strength to see the need that so many have in knowing you and help us to tell them about your wonderful gift of salvation.

Jesus On Humility

Read the Book of Luke

Look at chapter 5:29-32. Here I believe we see Jesus displaying what it means to be poor in spirit. The idea of being poor in spirit is an act of humility realizing apart from God we are nothing. Jesus is eating with sinners or pagans. The Pharisees and Scribes would never have done this because they were above eating with sinners. They felt that if they did they would taint there self-righteousness. Jesus by example shows to them that everyone is in need of Christ spiritual healing. Jesus in this act of evangelism shows to us that fellowshipping with unbelievers is an act of humility. Here is a thought, what is the difference between you and someone who is unsaved? One thing, you know Christ as your savior and they do not, otherwise in God’s sight there is no difference. Now understand that even though Jesus ate with sinners, He did not allow sinners to influence Him. To often this is the problem and we have friends who are unsaved in need of a savior and we never tell them about Him. At that point you have allowed your unsaved friends to influence your life. That is not an act of humility but rather pride. Pride will keep you from telling your friends about Christ. Pride will keep you from living for Christ in front of them. So if your life marked by humility or pride.

Father Jesus was the ultimate example of humility. To often I struggle with pride and that keeps me from doing the things that I know I ought to do. Give me strength to overcome the pride in my life and live for you.

Jesus On Mercy

Read the Book of Mark

We turn our attention to the gospel of Mark. In chapter 8 verse 1 through 10 Jesus and His disciples feed the four thousand. Here Jesus is demonstrating showing mercy. The people did not deserve to have lunch given to them but Jesus had compassion on them (verse 2) and decided to perform a miracle and feed the people. Through this act Christ demonstrates the beatitude of showing mercy. Are you a mercy shower? Do you give people what they don’t deserve or would you rather just ignore a need or want. Jesus had compassion on the people this is where mercy begins is through compassion. Compassion is putting yourself in someone elses shoes. Are there those around you who you could so mercy toward? Maybe you need to put yourself in their shoes and see life from their perspective.

Father help us to be like Christ and have compassion on others. As that compassion grows give us a heart that shows mercy.