Check your Change

The lesson in Circle this week was a perfect reality check for this sermon series.
Many folks have waxed eloquent about the wonderful devotions (truly, they were - Thanks Martha, Kev and Garry!!), the challenging sermons, and of course, the convicting power of the Good Friday service.

The lesson challenged us to put up or shut up, basically. OK, you've heard, you've seen, you've been convicted... Now, where's your change?

Awesome Holy Season

WOW!

What an awesome Holy Season! The process of "Solemn Assembly, the Devotions, the sermons...
These all led us to the foot of the Cross on Good Friday evening. We reliquished our sins and shortcomings and let them be buried with Christ. The wonderful music and introspective format really made this a moving and change-effective Celebration!

What are you Building?

This past week I shared about how we get distracted and do not focus our energy and time on the things that would draw us closer to God. We are often focused on pursuits that will only benefit us, but does not develop our relationship with God and often in kind our relationships with others. We get focused on good things and miss the best things because we do not pull together with the focus that will open the floodgates of blessings.

Abraham was promised a great nation would come from him. He was told things by God, but was tested to see if he would follow God who had promised. He was told to sacrifice the VERY son he was promised. He was challenged to be completely focused on obedience and the priorities that he was to have to make it through. Of course, in the end, God gave him an acceptable sacrifice in place of his son, but he had to show his willingness and trust.Aaron Adams shares the following regarding the story of Abraham from his study of Matt Redman’s “Undivided Worshiper:”

“Abraham´s dedication to his Lord would not be divided, even when those questions, those ´distractions´ were good, noble, even Godly. God had spoken and Abraham must obey. “The Undivided Worshipper is a person of simplicity. A person of simple devotion to God. The ringing of a mobile phone. The beeping of a Blackberry. The pain of life´s trials. The agony of sacrifice. None of these - nothing - will deter them from that first commandment: ´And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.´ Their love is undivided because they have been washed over by the ultimate expression of a love undivided- God´s own Son, sacrificed on a hill outside Jerusalem. ´Obedient to death. Even death on a cross´. (Phil 2:8). Simple, undivided obedience.”

Haggai shares how the nation of Israel after returning from exile got distracted from building the house of God and instead focused on their desires for fine things and ignored their spiritual needs a they became focused on their own stuff. In the passage it becomes obvious that God is displeased as he intentionally thwarts their drive to do these things. He makes their efforts frustrating until they finally decide that they need to refocus their energy and complete the task from which they had been distracted. They come to their senses and finally complete the construction because they realize that God will continue to frustrate them until they do what they have been tasked to do.

This week are you getting frustrated because you seem to be distracted from the priorities that you follow? Are you not getting ahead in life but working your life to death? Perhaps today is the day to see if you need to reorder your priorities so that you can experience the fullest of blessing that you can. This week I invite you to refocus on building God’s house in your life.

Mighter than a Sword

Romans 2:1-2 (NIV): You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

Paul never did beat around the bush when he was trying to make a point to the people he wrote his letters to. This letter was no different.

The tongue can be one of the most deadly weapons we can possess. We can use our tongues to breathe life or take life away. When we use our tongues to pass judgment on others, we have a tendency to take life away. We tear people down with negative words instead of building them up with encouraging words.

There is a difference in knowing the truth and following what God wants and judging others based on what we think God wants. God will reveal His own judgment on people, this includes all of us. We need to realize that God did not send us to be His judge and jury.

Something we need to remember, however we judge others, is the same way we will be judged.

Prayer:
“God, I know there is no excuse for the fact that I judge others. Please help me as I strive daily to live more for You and not for myself. Amen”

Powerful Pride

We often think that the original sin was Eve and Adam biting into an apple. That may be humanities first sin, but that is not the first sin that had been committed. The one that is called The Devil, Satan, The Evil One and other names that indicate that he is an enemy committed that first sin. His sin was his Pride in himself.

We often think of Pride as being overly confident about our accomplishments or that we are the best thing since sliced bread. Yet, that is not the essence of Pride. Pride at it’s deepest root is about being SELF-CENTERED. You do not have to be vain, or think of yourself as the anointed to be in that boat.

Self-centeredness is our self-absorption and unwillingness to see that we are just one of many people in the world and that we are not as great as we think we are and neither are we as bad as we think we are. We all at some level fall in the middle and are in fact people who excel in some areas and need help in others.

In our self-absorption we begin to think that we are either great at everything and see ourselves as almost God-Like or we see ourselves as the worst beast of a human that was ever born. We begin to think far different of ourselves than the actuality of what exists. We have need of a deep attitude adjustment. We have need of a refocusing of our vision on more than just the things in our life and what we think we are.

Most of us have heard Carly Simon’s hit “You’re So Vain.” In the song she talks about a man looking in the mirror as he walked by. He is so self-absorbed that he sees only himself and nothing else. He sees himself as beautiful, when they song implies that he is a horrible person inside. As they say – “Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.”

Our self-absorption distracts from the great things that God does for us. Everything from creating us to be beautiful to forgiving our shortcomings. We really do in many ways get so self-focused that we miss the greater point of honoring the creator and begin worshiping the creature instead. That is just one of the ways that Pride rears it’s ugly head in lives.

This week, I invite you to experience a new way of thinking. One where you will focus all of your energies and time on honoring God and others. A way of thinking where you will be seen as a servant of the Most High. Where you will find purpose and importance when you focus on things appropriately.

Blessings,
Pastor Greg

Judge the way you want to be judged

Romans 2:1-2 (NIV): You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

Paul never did beat around the bush when he was trying to make a point to the people he wrote his letters to. This letter was no different.

The tongue can be one of the most deadly weapons we can possess. We can use our tongues to breathe life or take life away. When we use our tongues to pass judgment on others, we have a tendency to take life away. We tear people down with negative words instead of building them up with encouraging words.

There is a difference in knowing the truth and following what God wants and judging others based on what we think God wants. God will reveal His own judgment on people, this includes all of us. We need to realize that God did not send us to be His judge and jury.

Something we need to remember, however we judge others, is the same way we will be judged.

Prayer:
“God, I know there is no excuse for the fact that I judge others. Please help me as I strive daily to live more for You and not for myself. Amen”

Stop That!

John 7:24 (NIV): Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

This is short, sweet, and to the point. Jesus was teaching and many were wondering how He was able to know so much with so little (or no) teaching. He said the knowledge was not His own, but the One who sent Him. The crowd thought he was mad. This is where Jesus said to stop judging by only what something may appear to be.

All too often, we have a tendency to judge a situation or even a person by only what we have heard second hand or pick up bits and pieces of someone’s personality. This can be detrimental to a person’s spirit if what we have heard is wrong. Even if it is correct, it can be hurtful to the person if trying to make a change.

Making judgments without knowing all of the information can be very hurtful. We need to make sure that we know the situation before we judge a person.

Next time you decide to make a judgment about someone, remember God has a tendency of bringing to light those who are less than righteous.

Prayer:
“God, I know I have judged people based on things that were less than righteous. I know how it feels to be judged by only what people perceive. Please help me to become more righteous. Amen.”

You Associate with who?!

Matthew 9:10-13 (NIV): While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house; many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this; they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Back in the day of Jesus, your job defined who you were. The tax collectors were thought of as traitors to the Jewish nation, even Roman sympathizers.

In today’s society, there is often a class system. We judge where we live by its location. Many pick and choose those we hang out with by how much money individuals have or how they look or dress. Some even choose those we go out with by age, and physical appearance.

Where are you in your relationships? Do you judge people based on appearance and financial status? Do you talk to or not talk to people because you are afraid that you will be looked down upon if you interact with people who are in a lower financial class than you?

Next time you pass someone, just remember you could be that tax collector.

Prayer:
“God, thank you for not judging me the way I judge others. I know there are many times when I’m seen as that tax collector. Thank you for Your love and forgiveness. Amen.”

Finding a Miracle.

As an african-american woman new to Nashville it was important for me and my family to find a church that we felt we could fit into that had diversity, in teaching, preaching, worship and people. We didnt want to attend a church that was predominantly afro-american nor a church t

that was predominantly caucasion. And to add to the challenge we wanted a church that was also affirming. I know what your're thinking. You wanted a miracle. Well your right we did and believe it a not, a miracle was what we got. Every since i committed my life to Jesus Christ i was always disturbed by the fact that as far as this country as come to over come the challenges of racism and segregation through the heroic efforts of people such as Martin Luther King and John Kennedy, Malcolm X and

Judge Yourself First

Luke 6:41-42 (NIV) "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

As we begin this week’s devotionals, we start off with something that is very close to us all: judging others.

We like to point out the faults of others but are totally oblivious to our own. It seems to make us feel better when we can point out the faults of others. It gives a feeling that we are better than someone else.

As we begin this week, we need to put our minds and hearts in a place that is pleasing to God. We need to remember that it was Jesus who made himself mortal and died in a very humiliating way. So, when we want to point out the speck in someone’s eye, just remember we have one in our eye as well.

Prayer
“Dear God, thank you for all you do in my life. Please help me this week to understand that we all have faults. In order to help my brother, I must raise him up with praise, and not cut him down with words of hatred. Amen”

Are We Too Greedy?

Matthew 19:21-22 (NIV) Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. "

The entire story goes from verses16-28. A young wealthy man asked Jesus what it took to get into heaven. Jesus answered him and gave him a list of the commandments to follow. When the young man said he kept these, Jesus replied by telling him to sell all of your possessions and follow me. In verse 23 the young man went away sad because he would have to give up his wealth.

Greed is not something that is new. As you see in this story, and even within Jesus’ close circle, his disciples. James and John wanted to be seated on His right and left side, and Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

As we end this week, let us be reminded that no matter who we are, we can become possessed by greed. We need to constantly watch and know that God should always be our ultimate goal, not a new house, a new car, or that dream vacation home. If we keep our eyes and hearts on God, HE will provide the things we need in life to be prosperous.

Prayer:
“God, thank you for your unfailing love and redemption, because I know without it, I would be lost. Thank you for always being there for me even when I disappoint you and become selfish and greedy. Help me as I go through my days to keep my eyes on you and never lose sight of the true prize; YOU. Amen”