Who Do You Serve?

Over the past few years, I've developed a much better concept of what hymnists, poets and song writers have meant when they wrote words to the effect that "This world is not my home" or "I'm just a pilgrim in a foreign land." As my walk has become closer to Christ's (granted I'm still way off), it has become more and more evident that I don't fit in here. This world is not rooting for me, and my welcome has long worn thin. Things of this world make less and less sense to me because my perspective on life has become more Kingdom focused and less world focused. Thus, the world perspective just does not make a whole lot of sense to me. (And when it does make sense, it usually indicates that I wandering the wrong direction.)
Once again, I am referencing Alistair Begg's daily devotional. Today, he discussed citizenship and Ephesians 2:19.
This devotional struck with me with the thought that the Christian Walk is not just something that is "a good idea", "nice to do" or merely morally correct. If you view your citizenship as being of heaven and your ruler as being God, then you're at risk of treason if you are bowing down to or serving someone or something else.
Who are you serving today? Personally, I can only say, "Thank God for Jesus."

"Pray For Us."

Allistair Begg's daily devotion today reminds us to pray for our pastors. In doing so, he cites I Thes 5:25 where Paul states "Brothers, pray for us." Begg goes on to relate how pastors/ministers are under amazing strains and pressures emotionally, spiritually, and often physically. Thus, our prayers are greatly coveted by them.
Additionally, it was pointed out at last years Prayer Conference that The Church of Satan teaches its members to bring their petitions against pastors, the government and pastors families. So, when you are praying for your pastor, remember his family as well.

Full Throttle?

Time for more confession. Another accurate description of me is "full throttle." No, I'm not a bundle of energy, but whatever I'm doing, I'm usually doing with laser beam focus with total disregard for what's going on in the rest of the world.
When I am geared up and serving the Lord, I am sold out for him. When I am geared up and working on a work related project, I am foaming at the mouth until it's done. When I am playing, I play hard. And when I am being a self-indulgent sloth, I do that with amazing zeal and with superhuman endurance.
Alistair Begg's daily devotion smacked me between the eyes today.

Long Distance Race

Much of my life has been spent in a sprint. Spiritually, I've either been in a huge hurry to be God's servant or racing to please my flesh. Ultimately, I've fatigued of one or the other and then ran the race of it's counterpart. EXHAUSTING!!!! Especially for those in my life trying to keep up with me during it all.

Hebrews 12:1-13 describes the discipline that it takes to run a long race, which life is. In Alistair Begg's daily devotional today, he explores He explores Hebrews 12:2, and relates that the Holy Spirit's role is to turn our eyes from self and onto Jesus. Whereas, Satan is fully intent on us focusing on self, self, and more self.

Excerpt from the devotion: He (Satan) insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you do not have the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold on Jesus."
During my sprints, Satan has been pleased with my rapid fatigue and the wavering and self-doubt that went along with it. The end result was fractured relationship between my heart and the Father.

But, check this out, there's good news. Here is some more from the devotion: Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you--it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you--it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, although that is the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits.

So, whether you are riding a spiritual high sprinting hard for Jesus' sake or riding a spiritual low feeling separation from Christ and The Father, keep your eyes off of self and onto Jesus. Pray that.

If you want to read more of the devotion, here it is: Looking To Jesus

Cozy With Sin

I have heard it said a multitude of ways: Your prayers are a reflection of what is in your heart. So, it can be said, if you are praying about selfish needs, you posses a selfish heart; if you are praying about fearful needs, you posses fear in your heart; and if you are praying about the Kingdom needs of others, you posses a selfless heart that is Kingdom focused.
I am definitely capable of being selfish and being fearful, but I would have to say that the obstacle that hinders my prayer-life on a most frequent basis and to the greatest degree is unconfessed sin. I'm not necessarily talking about any majorly thrilling sins that would be tabloid fodder, but just minor things that I allow to fester and thrive unchecked for a period of time. At times, it seems that we humans enjoy allowing certain little sins into our lives with an almost entitlement-type attitude. "I have worked hard, or I have been so good for so long, or this or that has happened to me, so I deserve to........." fill in the blank. And then, instead of recognizing our sinful nature, we just bask in that sin despite how miserable it may be making us.
It reminds me of a college dorm mate of mine who came to my room one night and announced, "I need to find me a bad habit; I just can't decide which one to choose."
Psalms 66:18-20 is a good example of the relationship of sin with an effective prayer life:
If I had been cozy with evil, the Lord would never have listened. But he most surely did listen, he came on the double when he heard my prayer. Blessed be God: he didn't turn a deaf ear, he stayed with me, loyal in his love.
Alistair Begg's daily devotional also hit on this topic reflecting on Psalms 97:10. He explores how cozying up with sin has the ability to wreck your life in so many ways. Here is a small excerpt:
You have good reason to "hate evil," for just consider what harm it has already caused you. What a world of mischief sin has brought into your heart! Sin blinded you so that you could not see the beauty of the Savior; it made you deaf so that you could not hear the Redeemer's tender invitations. Sin turned your feet into the way of death and poured poison into the very fountain of your being; it tainted your heart and made it "deceitful above all things, and desperately sick."

Debt Free

My wife and I are currently undertaking a major overhaul of our financial habits by implementing lessons learned from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace seminar. One of the keys to accomplishing financial peace is removing debt and the tremendous burdens that debt can cause.
In this world today, it is very rare to find an adult that does not have debt. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to find adults that are absolutely overwhelmed by debt. I have been there, too. It is a desperate feeling to see the bills come in every month and having the realization that I am not in control of my finances. What a nauseating feeling to see the pile of debt and recognizing that your monthly income is greatly smaller than your monthly expenses. It is no wonder that finances are cited as the primary reason for most divorces and in the top 3 of reasons for suicide. WHY? Because, when you are faced with such an ugly monster that you yourself have created, there often appears to be no answer.
If this is where you are today financially, I highly recommend that you take a look at what Dave Ramsey has to offer in terms of regaining control of spending and reduction of debt.

NOW, imagine if someone would come to you and offer to accept all of your debt, and pay it all for you with no strings attached, no IOU. Imagine the relief. Imagine how it would impact you the rest of your life. Imagine how it would radically impact your family. Imagine the absolute freedom that it would give you to be the person that you would like to be and to do things for the ones that you love. Imagine how you would respond to that person that gave you such a remarkable gift. Imagine the joy!

Jesus Christ has done this for you!
The ugly debt of sin that we ourselves have created, that has no answer, that is corrupting the peace of our lives, that is interfering with our ability to give of ourselves to our loved ones, that is so amazingly overwhelming, and that appears to have no end in sight, HAS been paid in full upon the cross.
So NOW, imagine the relief. Imagine how it would impact you the rest of your life. Imagine how it would radically impact your family. Imagine the absolute freedom that it would give you to be the person that you would like to be and to do things for the ones that you love. Imagine how you would respond to that person that gave you such a remarkable gift. Imagine the joy!
Here is an excerpt from Alistair Begg's daily devotion for today:
We are now--even now--pardoned; even now are our sins put away; even now we stand in the sight of God accepted, as though we had never been guilty. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."(Romans 8:1)

The World is Not Your Friend

Yet another daily devotional from Alistair Begg. As you walk further and further following Christ, it would seem that the walk would somehow get easier. I haven't found that to be the case thus far. Based upon the writings of some the Christian "greats", I reckon an easier walk is just wishful thinking. I don't recall reading anywhere in Paul's writings where he states, "Everything is going just great now. The Lord has blessed me with vacation, sunshine and plenty of relaxation. Yep. Everything is great."
This daily devotional explores the concept that "the world is not your friend." So, when the world is not treating hunky and dory, don't be shocked. It's not really your friend.

Expect trouble, then, Christian, when you look beneath you. Then look around you. Where are you? You are in enemy country, a stranger and an alien. The world is not your friend. If it is, then you are not God's friend, for whoever is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be certain that you will find enemies everywhere. When you sleep, remember that you are resting on the battlefield; when you travel, suspect an ambush in every hedge.

Take a look at the entirety of this daily devotional. If you get half way through it and start feeling discouraged, overwhelmed and scared, take heart. The ending is good. The victory has already been decided.

Please Don't Give Me What I Deserve

As a teenager, I wrote a poem in which the subject is crying out to God, complaining about how miserable his life has become and how unfair God has been to him so far. He then yells out, "God! Give me what I deserve!" Well, God hears that prayer, and rewards him with Job type tribulation, and each possession and relationship that he was given to him by God is taken away. The final line has God telling him, "You do not even deserve your life."
This morning, I was reminded of this poem by Alistair Begg's daily devotional, "AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL GRUMBLED." In this devotional, Alistair discusses the grumblings of Christians today and throughout history. Within the devotional, he asks the question, "Are you punished as severely as your sins deserve?"
That is a sobering question to ponder when you feel that you need to grumble to God about how unfair he has been to you.

Why Pray When I Can Worry?

One of the speakers at the Great Commission Prayer Conference summed up a lot of prayer lives as being like a relationship with a vending machine. In essence, utilizing prayer only when a need arises.
Unfortunately, the reality is that at times many of us don't have a praying relationship that meets that meager standard. I will be the first to confess that I often seek God's help regarding issues only after I've already exhausted every other possible solution. I was just beating myself up regarding that very issue yesterday, and lo and behold, look what Alistair Begg's daily devotional discusses:
It is strange how little use we make of the spiritual blessings that God gives us, but it is even stranger that we make such little use of God Himself. Though He is "our God," we scarcely give ourselves to Him, and we ask so little of Him. How seldom do we seek counsel at the hands of the Lord! How often do we go about our business without seeking His guidance! In our troubles how we constantly struggle to bear our burdens ourselves instead of casting them upon the Lord, that He may sustain us!
Take a look at the entire article and the related scripture. And, seek Him today in faith with your cares, worries, stresses, pains, decisions and needs. Daily Devotion

Alistair Begg's Daily Devotional

The following is today's daily devotion presented by truthforlife.org which is the website for Parkside Church in Cleveland, OH. The pastor there is Alistair Begg. He is a dynamic speaker with a keen sense of humor and a firey Scotish disposition. I discovered him on channel 170 on XM-Radio. You may hear him for free by going to his website and selecting ListenNow. He is worth hearing.

I thought this devotional was overwhelmingly appropriate today for multiple reasons. In particular, the following lines capture much of what was discussed at the recent Prayer Conference: "Notice, Christian, that Jesus does not suffer so as to prevent your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer."

April 5, 2007
“. . . LAID ON HIM THE CROSS, TO CARRY IT BEHIND JESUS.”Luke 23:26 We see in Simon's carrying the cross a picture of the work of the church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Notice, Christian, that Jesus does not suffer so as to prevent your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer. But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in Simon's, it is not our cross but Christ's cross that we carry. When you are persecuted for your piety, when your faith is the occasion of cruel jokes, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ's cross; and what a privilege it is to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!You carry the cross after Him. You have blessed company; your path is marked with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of His blood-red shoulder is upon that heavy burden. It is His cross, and He goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and follow Him. Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. It is the opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not the whole of it. That is very possible. Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon may have borne the lighter end. Certainly that is the case with you; you only carry the light end of the cross Christ bore the heavier end. And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for only a short while, it gave him lasting honor. Even so, the cross we carry is only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross and, instead of shrinking from it, count it very dear, for it works out for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.