July 26, 2010 Monday Message:
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on things of heaven.” Col. 3:1a
After Jesus conquered death, i.e. was raised from the grave, he did a number of things. Since we have similarly been “raised to new life” through Jesus, it’s appropriate that we also should do those things that Jesus modeled.
Jesus walked away from the tomb and never looked back. We should do the same. Our old sin-lives died when Jesus came to live inside of us, and we should be OK with letting our old-self die. It’s a new day, with a new agenda.
After the resurrection, Jesus spent His remaining earthly time ministering to others, not worrying about all he had just endured. It’s no longer about you. You can tell a new Christian really “gets it” when you catch him serving others. We were made to love one another and serve one another; put it into action.
Just as when He humanly walked the earth, the resurrected Jesus called down supernatural power to do impossible things. We call this power the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised this power to his followers, and told them to not only expect it, but specifically to not begin ministry without it. Then, as promised, the fire of heaven came down and filled the disciples of Jesus. We call this Pentecost.
People to this day speak, sing, prophesy, heal and live out their lives in the Spirit. Of course the Cessationists will tell you that gifts of the Spirit are no longer applicable, but I’ve seen miracles, healings and lives transformed in ways that can only be attributed to God, Jesus, angels, or the Holy Spirit.
Is your church Spirit-filled? Do your Pastors or prayer teams ever call down the power of the Holy Spirit? Or does your church seem kind of subdued? Many churches don’t know the Holy Spirit. They keep Him locked up in the creeds, only mentioning Him at a Baptism or on Pentecost Sunday. Maybe it’s time to let Him loose!
“Send the fire!” (William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army)
Norton Lawellin
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
July 19, 2010 Monday Message:
In Luke 11, after teaching what we call The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus shared a little more commentary: “So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Our God is a God of abundance, and He has a lot in store for you. He delights in relationships with his children. God would love it if you’d take some time to talk with Him. Therefore this requires action on our part. We can’t sit in one place, wondering why God doesn’t take better care of us. We need to call down help from heaven. Get busy and ask, seek, knock!
Just so you know, this isn’t just a one-time offer. The verbs in the text imply a continuous nature. Therefore keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Be persistent. Get caught-up in this God-thing. Do it over and over. Pray like a small child, who looks to his parents for all substance. Pray expecting an answer. Pray expecting it to be so. Remember, Paul said to pray continually.
Does God respond when you pray? Do you hear back from the creator? Remember that God’s answer could be “Yes,” “No,” or “Not yet.” Personally, even when I pray for something good, I seldom get the timing right. God’s timing is always right. If we don’t hear from God, the problem is in our receiving, not in God’s desire to give.
For what do you pray? God created you in His image and loves all of you, the good parts and the bad parts. He cares about your health, your marriage, your children, your financial condition, and your spiritual condition. Bring it ALL before the Lord.
Have you prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit? God especially delights in giving the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. We should never doubt God’s desire to pour out His Spirit.
God is way bigger than we can even imagine. If you could compare our asking to God’s giving, God would win every time. God is awesome!
for Him!
Norton Lawellin
In Luke 11, after teaching what we call The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus shared a little more commentary: “So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Our God is a God of abundance, and He has a lot in store for you. He delights in relationships with his children. God would love it if you’d take some time to talk with Him. Therefore this requires action on our part. We can’t sit in one place, wondering why God doesn’t take better care of us. We need to call down help from heaven. Get busy and ask, seek, knock!
Just so you know, this isn’t just a one-time offer. The verbs in the text imply a continuous nature. Therefore keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Be persistent. Get caught-up in this God-thing. Do it over and over. Pray like a small child, who looks to his parents for all substance. Pray expecting an answer. Pray expecting it to be so. Remember, Paul said to pray continually.
Does God respond when you pray? Do you hear back from the creator? Remember that God’s answer could be “Yes,” “No,” or “Not yet.” Personally, even when I pray for something good, I seldom get the timing right. God’s timing is always right. If we don’t hear from God, the problem is in our receiving, not in God’s desire to give.
For what do you pray? God created you in His image and loves all of you, the good parts and the bad parts. He cares about your health, your marriage, your children, your financial condition, and your spiritual condition. Bring it ALL before the Lord.
Have you prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit? God especially delights in giving the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. We should never doubt God’s desire to pour out His Spirit.
God is way bigger than we can even imagine. If you could compare our asking to God’s giving, God would win every time. God is awesome!
for Him!
Norton Lawellin
Monday, July 12, 2010
July 12, 2010 Monday Message:
When Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary (and Lazarus), they all showed love for him, and yet they did different things. Are you more like Martha, more like Mary, or perhaps more like someone completely different, someone not in our story? What about your church? Is it more like Martha, more like Mary, or does it have a completely different agenda? Unfortunately, some churches do. Let’s take a look.
For this discussion, let’s draw two columns on our yellow pad, and write Christian Life Agenda at the top. We’ll title the columns:
1. Things of God, and
2. Things of the World.
Into column #1, “Things of God,” put those principles of God’s unchanging character. The Bible and God’s teachings go here. The words of Jesus and his teachings belong here too. Write in things that truly matter to God, things of eternal significance, things where the Bible refers to God as the beginning and the end, the creator. Truth belongs here. These things are sometimes called substance, the prefix sub- pointing to the solid rock on which we stand, the foundation God provides. By the way, this is the only column that really matters! You should spend a lot of time here.
Column #2, “Things of the World,” contains all the things happening around you: your job, your family, friends and co-workers, appointments and meetings, these challenging economic times, where you live, what you drive, your hobby, what sports you play, what’s on TV/radio/facebook, email – you get the idea – all the “stuff” going on all around you. I’ve heard this referred to as your circumstances, and the prefix circa- means circle, as in things around you. If there were 3 rings, it would be a circus, and sometimes life feels like that! A lot of column #2 stuff is necessary to get by in this world, but most has no real eternal significance. You’ll need to spend a little time here, but concentrate on column #1.
From our Bible story, Mary fits column #1. There’s all manner of commotion as the household prepares for dinner guests, but Mary keeps her attention on the thing with eternal significance, Jesus himself. Martha, the consummate hostess, wants everything to be perfect, and gets caught up in circumstances. As a practical matter, preparing the dinner was important too, for that day. It just doesn’t have eternal ramifications. Dinner tonight isn’t as important as focusing on Jesus during his short time on earth. Always choose “Things of God” over “Things of this World.”
Some people might make a third column. A lot goes on in the world that’s made-up, fictitious or misguided, and God doesn’t like most of it. Our Lord detests false teaching. There are plenty of other religions, and they all have their agendas. But they’re all very “busy” doing “stuff” with no eternal meaning. It’s hollow. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 Therefore everything else is false.
Even more deceptive are those who worship nature or the earth, worshipping the created things rather than the creator. On the surface, it seems that appreciating what God made would be a good thing, but God’s creations are not to be the object of our worship – God Himself is. See Romans 1:25
But the most deceptive of all are those who call themselves Christians and claim to teach the Bible, but instead have twisted the facts. They speak untruths with their mouths while standing in front of a cross and carrying a Bible. Unfortunately, mainline denominations are stepping into this column more and more often. So you don’t just need to know the name on your church building – you need to know what your pastor believes. All false teaching and deception go in column #3, and frankly, I hope your column #3 is empty. We are advised to disassociate ourselves from column #3 – quickly – for the sake of our spiritual well being, and for the spiritual well being of our children and grandchildren.
Solus Christus!
Norton Lawellin
When Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary (and Lazarus), they all showed love for him, and yet they did different things. Are you more like Martha, more like Mary, or perhaps more like someone completely different, someone not in our story? What about your church? Is it more like Martha, more like Mary, or does it have a completely different agenda? Unfortunately, some churches do. Let’s take a look.
For this discussion, let’s draw two columns on our yellow pad, and write Christian Life Agenda at the top. We’ll title the columns:
1. Things of God, and
2. Things of the World.
Into column #1, “Things of God,” put those principles of God’s unchanging character. The Bible and God’s teachings go here. The words of Jesus and his teachings belong here too. Write in things that truly matter to God, things of eternal significance, things where the Bible refers to God as the beginning and the end, the creator. Truth belongs here. These things are sometimes called substance, the prefix sub- pointing to the solid rock on which we stand, the foundation God provides. By the way, this is the only column that really matters! You should spend a lot of time here.
Column #2, “Things of the World,” contains all the things happening around you: your job, your family, friends and co-workers, appointments and meetings, these challenging economic times, where you live, what you drive, your hobby, what sports you play, what’s on TV/radio/facebook, email – you get the idea – all the “stuff” going on all around you. I’ve heard this referred to as your circumstances, and the prefix circa- means circle, as in things around you. If there were 3 rings, it would be a circus, and sometimes life feels like that! A lot of column #2 stuff is necessary to get by in this world, but most has no real eternal significance. You’ll need to spend a little time here, but concentrate on column #1.
From our Bible story, Mary fits column #1. There’s all manner of commotion as the household prepares for dinner guests, but Mary keeps her attention on the thing with eternal significance, Jesus himself. Martha, the consummate hostess, wants everything to be perfect, and gets caught up in circumstances. As a practical matter, preparing the dinner was important too, for that day. It just doesn’t have eternal ramifications. Dinner tonight isn’t as important as focusing on Jesus during his short time on earth. Always choose “Things of God” over “Things of this World.”
Some people might make a third column. A lot goes on in the world that’s made-up, fictitious or misguided, and God doesn’t like most of it. Our Lord detests false teaching. There are plenty of other religions, and they all have their agendas. But they’re all very “busy” doing “stuff” with no eternal meaning. It’s hollow. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 Therefore everything else is false.
Even more deceptive are those who worship nature or the earth, worshipping the created things rather than the creator. On the surface, it seems that appreciating what God made would be a good thing, but God’s creations are not to be the object of our worship – God Himself is. See Romans 1:25
But the most deceptive of all are those who call themselves Christians and claim to teach the Bible, but instead have twisted the facts. They speak untruths with their mouths while standing in front of a cross and carrying a Bible. Unfortunately, mainline denominations are stepping into this column more and more often. So you don’t just need to know the name on your church building – you need to know what your pastor believes. All false teaching and deception go in column #3, and frankly, I hope your column #3 is empty. We are advised to disassociate ourselves from column #3 – quickly – for the sake of our spiritual well being, and for the spiritual well being of our children and grandchildren.
Solus Christus!
Norton Lawellin
Monday, July 5, 2010
The World is Your Neighbor
July 05, 2010 Monday Message:
If your church follows the Common Lectionary, you’ll hear about the Good Samaritan next Sunday. Luke 10:25-37 You know that this scenario never actually happened; rather, Jesus is using a parable or story to illustrate how the kingdom principle, ”love your neighbor,” ought to work. But to whom is the teaching directed? Let’s dig inside the story.
When studying the Bible, you should always consider context. In other words, where was Jesus along his ministry timeline? With whom was he speaking? What happened right before this?
The Good Samaritan parable is a response to a question from an “expert in the law.” 2000 years ago, civil law and religious law were intertwined, so the lawyer asking the question was perhaps a Pharisee or a Rabbi, maybe a judge. At that time, the religious establishment thought they knew all there was to know about God, and they sure didn’t welcome the intervention of this itinerant carpenter. In a way, asking Jesus what is required to inherit eternal life was a trick question. They were hoping that Jesus would give an incorrect answer.
Instead, Jesus answered their question with a question of his own: "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"
The lawyer’s answer was what we now refer to as the Summary of the Law: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength – and love your neighbor as yourself.” The trick hadn’t worked.
As the narrative unfolds, our lawyer digs a little deeper. Still hoping Jesus might slip-up, he queries, "And just who is my neighbor?"
And that’s when Jesus unpacks the parable of the Good Samaritan. While it’s a good lesson about loving your neighbor, the diatribe is more a chastisement of the Pharisees, a dressing-down of those keepers of the law, the ones who knew the letter of the law but had no love for their fellows. You see, Samaritans were considered “unclean” by the Jews, although they claim common ancestors. They probably were “brothers” in a way, but the Pharisees had no time for them, or for any others not in their sect. But Jesus says we need to intentionally cross social, economic and religious barriers to serve our neighbors who may look, dress and speak differently than we do. Remember that Jesus wants us to share the Good News with the world!
Jesus concludes by asking the lawyer which neighbor showed more love. It’s almost a rhetorical question, the answer is so obvious: “The one who showed mercy.”
And Jesus sends him off with the admonishment, “go and do likewise.” The character of God is unchanging. And like Paul Harvey used to say, “That’s the rrrrest of the story!”
For Him!
Norton Lawellin
If your church follows the Common Lectionary, you’ll hear about the Good Samaritan next Sunday. Luke 10:25-37 You know that this scenario never actually happened; rather, Jesus is using a parable or story to illustrate how the kingdom principle, ”love your neighbor,” ought to work. But to whom is the teaching directed? Let’s dig inside the story.
When studying the Bible, you should always consider context. In other words, where was Jesus along his ministry timeline? With whom was he speaking? What happened right before this?
The Good Samaritan parable is a response to a question from an “expert in the law.” 2000 years ago, civil law and religious law were intertwined, so the lawyer asking the question was perhaps a Pharisee or a Rabbi, maybe a judge. At that time, the religious establishment thought they knew all there was to know about God, and they sure didn’t welcome the intervention of this itinerant carpenter. In a way, asking Jesus what is required to inherit eternal life was a trick question. They were hoping that Jesus would give an incorrect answer.
Instead, Jesus answered their question with a question of his own: "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"
The lawyer’s answer was what we now refer to as the Summary of the Law: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength – and love your neighbor as yourself.” The trick hadn’t worked.
As the narrative unfolds, our lawyer digs a little deeper. Still hoping Jesus might slip-up, he queries, "And just who is my neighbor?"
And that’s when Jesus unpacks the parable of the Good Samaritan. While it’s a good lesson about loving your neighbor, the diatribe is more a chastisement of the Pharisees, a dressing-down of those keepers of the law, the ones who knew the letter of the law but had no love for their fellows. You see, Samaritans were considered “unclean” by the Jews, although they claim common ancestors. They probably were “brothers” in a way, but the Pharisees had no time for them, or for any others not in their sect. But Jesus says we need to intentionally cross social, economic and religious barriers to serve our neighbors who may look, dress and speak differently than we do. Remember that Jesus wants us to share the Good News with the world!
Jesus concludes by asking the lawyer which neighbor showed more love. It’s almost a rhetorical question, the answer is so obvious: “The one who showed mercy.”
And Jesus sends him off with the admonishment, “go and do likewise.” The character of God is unchanging. And like Paul Harvey used to say, “That’s the rrrrest of the story!”
For Him!
Norton Lawellin
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