Is Your Trust in The Almighty?

John 14:1 (New International Version)

 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

June 8, 1783 will always be remembered in Iceland. On that fateful day a 26 kilometer (16 mile) fissure cracked open in the volcano called Laki, and over 37 cubic meters (9 cubic miles) of lava erupted over the southern region of the island. This eruption, which lasted for nearly eight months, would have repercussions all over world.

One humble pastor faced this adversity with dignity. Though given the opportunity to leave, Jón Steingrímsson remained behind with his parishioners, dispensing food and money, even though thick ash clouds created perpetual darkness and winter-like conditions that lasted nearly a year. Even though he lost his beloved wife and many close friends to the ravages of this eruption, he continued to put his trust in the One who he called his friend: Jesus Christ Himself.

One day a huge wall of lava was heading straight to 

Kirkjubæjarklaustur, his hometown. It didn't stop him from conducting a church service, however. He preached with passion that day, and his discourse, which is now called the "Fire Mass", will never be forgotten. He concluded the service by saying, "Let us pray to God in correct piety, that He in His grace will not want destroy us in haste. Each and every one pray without fear. Each and every one be ready to die if it pleases Him. Not in ours, but Your name do we praise glory."

As the members left their humble congregation, they were amazed to see that the lava had changed its course, thus sparing the town. Jón's prayers had been answered.

We may wonder if this was pure coincidence. Maybe the lava flow would have changed its course no matter what. Jón had no doubt, however, that his prayer of faith had been answered by God Himself.

Faith without doubting can truly stop anything, even the unstoppable!

When the Son of Man comes back, will He find us filled with faith and trusting in His providence? Or will He instead find us with troubled hearts, worrying about things He has already promised to take care of?

The huge wall of lava was stopped, not by coincidence, but by faith. Our perspective on worldly matters will either build up our trust in the Almighty or leave us troubled to the core.

Dear Lord we pray today that our faith in You would be strong. We pray that we wouldn’t doubt that You are in control. IN Jesus’ name, Amen.

When the Grass Looks Greener Outside of the Church

Hebrews 12:2-3 (New International Version)

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Sam was fourteen. He had just accepted Jesus in his heart and he wanted to make a difference in life. He decided to attend a Christian boarding school for the remainder of his high school years. He carefully chose one that was supported by a seminary, because after graduation, he hoped to study theology and become an effective and dedicated pastor.

He entered the boys' dormitory on that very first day wearing his best suit of clothes. His tie was perfectly straight, and from the genuine way he spoke as he introduced himself, one would have thought that he was already a pastor: "I'm Sam. I want to become a pastor once I finish high school." He was so caring and always eager to help that no one doubted he would achieve his goal and everyone welcomed his friendship.

Unfortunately, this included his not-so-desirable classmates. Before long, his manner of dress changed. The tie was out first, and then jeans with holes replaced his suit. This was followed by changes in his ambitions. No longer did he want to become a pastor, and his kind deeds were replaced with foul language. In fact, he soon became a specialist in the worst kind of swear words.

What had gone wrong?

The grass started to look greener outside of the church!

Jesus addressed this problem early on in His ministry. In fact, He gave a very poignant illustration of this very problem: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matt 13:3-9 NIV)

Let's take a closer look at each of these examples:

1. INCOMPREHENSION: "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and DOES NOT UNDERSTAND IT, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path." (Matt 13:19 NIV)

This first example isn't talking about someone who is in the church. Instead it is referring to those who never accept the word they hear. Notice why the evil one is able to snatch it away before it can take root in their hearts: They don't UNDERSTAND it!

In the last three examples, Jesus is referring specifically to people who ARE in the church, for in each of these examples, the Good News was accepted with eagerness. Let's look at Jesus' explanation of the first two to see what Jesus has to say about "greener grass"-about why people fall away from the church:

2. AFFLICTIONS, TROUBLES AND PERSECUTION: "The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away." (Matt 13:20-21 NIV)

3. WORRIES OF THIS WORLD: GLAMOROUS DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES: "The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful." (Matt 13:22 NIV)

In our day and age, it is easy to make someone feel dissatisfied, to make them long for something better. Just point out inconsistency and claim it to be a global truth. For example: the church edifice gives the opportunity for many to come and worship God together. However not everyone who comes there is saved. In fact some fake being a Christian so well that they end up having an important function in the church! How easy it is to point out their hypocrisy and then generalize it to: "They are all hypocrites!" This kind of reasoning easily leads at noticing the deceitful greener grass outside of the church.

What can happen to those who fall for the "greener grass" deception? Let's look at the life of Judas. He betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins (see Matthew 26:15). The silver coins looked so attractive at the time Judas went for them. However soon he realized the deception, but while attempting to amend his error, he ended up committing suicide. (see Mathew 27: 3-5).

There is one group of people in Jesus' parable, however, who persevere to the end. It is the last group: "But the one sown on the good ground-this is one who hears and UNDERSTANDS the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown." (Matt. 13:23) Why does this group succeed when the others fail? The difference between them lies in the word "understand". They understood the true message, not just the frills! And the resulting crop was proof of this.

The only way to avoid the "greener grass" pitfall is by consistently keeping our eyes on Jesus.

Dear Lord We want to keep our eyes on You. We pray today that we would always focus on You and not let our eyes wander. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

My Superbowl Thoughts

Matthew 23:11-12  (New International Version)\

11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 

This is the devotion that I shared at our Superbowl party tonight. I pray that it challenges you to do your very best in everything you do for our Lord.

As we take a break from the action on the field I want to look at a man that made a real difference this football season. He didn’t get his team to the Super bowl but he got his Lord and Savior talked about every week.

Every week, Tebow would pick out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flew these people and their families to the Broncos game, rented them a car, put them up in a nice hotel, bought them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gave them and their families pregame passes, visited with them just before kickoff , gave them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visited with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), then would walk with them to their car, and sent them off with a basket of gifts.

He did this Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.

After Tebow stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs  and Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second.  When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?

Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.

Even though John 3:16 the Bible verse that Tim Tebow once painted in tiny script onto his eye black until the National Football League barred all such personal messages. John 3:16 showed up in a mighty way. 

On that day Tim Tebow nonetheless delivered that Biblical message to the masses Sunday during an overtime victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The score was 29-23. But the game was significant for other game-time numbers: He passed for 316 yards, and set an NFL playoff record with 31.6 yards per completion. Time of Possession 31 Minutes 6 Seconds… And the Broncos-Steelers OT Scored a 31.6 Television Rating. 

As Christians, John 3:16, is our single most important verse in the Bible. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." 

Immediately following the win in Pittsburgh, John 3:16 was the most Googled searched term for much of Sunday evening and into Monday morning.

Oddly enough, Tebow himself did not seem to make a connection between his game stats and the Bible verse that he used to paint in white under his eye. But sports fans and non-sports fans alike tried to make sense of the statistical coincidences and took time to brush up on the Bible. 

But he did praise the Lord, just as he has done throughout his career, a practice that has gained him plenty of fans and critics. "First and foremost I just want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He’s done so much in my life," Tebow said to the media after the game. 

Although he can no longer paint John 3:16 on his game face, he did open the door for Focus on the Family to run a TV ad the very next week featuring children explaining John 3:16. Because Tim Tebow is consistent with his faith over 50 million people saw John 3:16 on National Television. As much as Tim wants to win football games Im sure that he was smiling knowing that God’s love was be proclaimed on TV for all to see. 

Tim Tebow is a thankful person. From the time of his birth, a birth doctors suggested should have never happened due to medical concerns for his mother, to his amazing “odds” defying the critics that said he could never make it in the NFL, Tim Tebow has seen firsthand what faith in Jesus Christ combined with his own hard work and dedication can do. His heart is filled with gratitude to the One who has been with his family every step of the way. Out of his gratitude to God, he gives thanks.

The challenge tonight is to work hard and do your very best in everything you do and always give God the glory for all He does for you. 

Dear Lord we pray that today we would make it our goal to always do our very best, give it our all and Always give You the glory and honor no matter the results.

God's Rain from the Ground

Galatians 6:9 (New International Version)

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

John Patton, missionary in the New Hebrides in the mid-nineteenth century, concentrated all of his efforts on demonstrating God's love to the natives. His initial efforts weren't overly successful, however. The islanders had their own gods. They didn't think they needed another one, and as a result, John was often ridiculed.

While ministering to the people on the Island of Aniwa, John noticed that several of its inhabitants suffered from a form of elephantiasis. Wondering why, he began to realize that the climate on this particular island was different from the others. Aniwa didn't have the tall hills of the other, more mountainous islands, and without the hills, there was nothing to attract clouds during the non-rainy season. During the rainy season, from December to April, rain was abundant enough, but the rain water quickly disappeared into the porous soil. Because of this, there were no rivers and no lakes on Aniwa, and when the rainy season was over, freshwater was in short supply.

As time went on, God began speaking to John about digging a well. When he approached chief Namakei and one of his friends about the plans, the chiefs looked at him with bewilderment. Then they started to laugh. "Freshwater only comes from the sky!" was their credulous response. "Dirt cannot produce water!" They then requested that John NOT spread such foolish ideas among their people. They claimed that if he did, the people would stop believing anything he said.

Despite the opposition, John started to dig a well near his mission house. Some locals helped him at first, but when one wall of the well collapsed at just twelve feet, they all abandoned the project.

This didn't deter John however, and he continued to dig by himself. He designed a creative block-and-pulley system that would allow him to raise a bucket filled with dirt out of the hole, where one of the native teachers could then dump it on the ground outside.

John worked feverishly for weeks on this project, until he finally reached a depth of about thirty feet. Here he noticed that the earth was a bit damp. That evening, filled with the confidence that can only come from the Holy Spirit, John approached the chiefs. "Tomorrow God will give us water from that hole," he declared. It didn't matter to him that the chiefs dismissed his comment.

The next morning, as he was preparing to continue the dig, John sank about two feet through a narrow hole in the center of the well. Immediately, water began gurgling up to fill the hole. John tasted the water. It was brackish, but it was definitely drinkable! "Come see the rain that God has provided us through the earth!" he called out excitedly.

The natives were skeptical, but when John let them taste the earth-given water, they couldn't believe their eyes. "Wonderful are the works of your God!" exclaimed Chief Namakei. "No gods of Aniwa have ever helped us in any way. Since you came to our island, the world has turned upside down!"

But the chief suddenly had a new concern: What if John kept the water for himself? "Will you share that water with us or is it all for you and your family?" he asked.

John laughed: "This water is available to anyone," he answered. "Come and take as much as you want. I believe there will always be plenty for us, and the more we use it, the fresher it will become. This is the way with many of the God-given gifts, and for this we praise His name!"

Shortly after that, chief Namakie forsook all of his gods and declared himself a follower of Jehovah. He then encouraged all of his people to do the same. In the weeks that followed, many islanders came to the Lord. They brought their idols and piled them up on a heap just outside of John's house, and from that point on, meetings to worship God attracted large crowds. Families in Aniwa began to have morning and evening worship, and eventually, every islander became a worshipper of the only true God. Is it any wonder that crime became a thing of minor concern on the island?

What started out as a crazy idea became the catalyst for the conversion of all the Aniwans. John depended on God's Spirit for guidance, and when he received instruction, he acted upon it. We have the same choice to make. Sometimes we wonder how we can witness to our family. We may have been burned several times trying to do so and may have decided to not bother them with this any longer. John could have decided to do the same, but he didn't. Instead he began to rely more and more on divine guidance.

Only God can bring about a miracle of repentance. Will you give up, or, like John Patton, will you persevere?

Dear Lord we pray for perseverance as we strive to show Your love. Help us not get discouraged when those around us don’t follow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Being Grateful for Those Around You.

Ephesians 1:16 (New International Version)

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

In his book, "Stories for Sermons," Arthur Tonne, tells how a famous organist was giving a recital in an eastern church. The instrument was not supplied air electrically; it had to be pumped by hand. A young boy was engaged to do this for the occasion.

Everything was going along fine until the lad put his head around the side of the organ and whispered, "We are doing pretty good, aren't we?"

"What do you mean by 'we'?" objected the organist. A few minutes later, in the midst of a beautiful strain, the organ suddenly stopped giving out any music. Desperately the organist tried all the stops. No use.

Then again he saw the head of the boy bob around the corner, a broad smile on his face. He said, "Now do you know who I mean by 'we'?"

Dear Lord, please help us always remember that I cannot live a meaningful life alone and I cannot do your work alone. Help us show appreciation for the things others do. in Jesus' name. Amen."

Giving of Your Time, Talents and Money.

Acts 20:35 (New International Version)

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Wallace E. Johnson was born in 1902 into a poor farm family in Edinburg, Mississippi. He learned carpentry as a teenager and later worked in a sawmill, lumber yard and as a building supply salesman. He went into the home-building business in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 38, with a $250 loan. Within a few years his business was the largest and most successful in the South. In 1952, he joined with Kemmons Wilson to form the motel chain Holiday Inn. Together, they built Holiday Inn into one of the largest motel chains in the world.

In 1966, Johnson and Kemmons built Medicenters of America, Inc.

Wallace Johnson was also a Christian who insisted there be a Bible in each Holiday Inn room.

He said: "The one reason why we've always had an open Bible in every room in the Holiday Inn motels is to help people find Jesus and the solution to their problems, no matter who they are."

Johnson and his wife Alma were deeply involved in their church in Memphis, Tennessee and he also gave liberally to Christian causes.

He once said: "I am totally dependent on God for help in everything I do. Otherwise I honestly believe I would start to fall apart in months."

How's your giving to the Lord?  Do you give your time? Your Talents? Your money?

Dear Lord we ask today for wisdom as we give of our time and our money. We pray that we would give freely just as You have given to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

F.R.O.G.

2 Corinthians 8:3-4 (New International Version)

3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.

In the 1920s and 1930s many Chinese Christians broke away from the traditional denominations and formed their own groupings. The most successful of these was the "Jesus Family" begun by Jing Tianying in Shandong in 1927.

Shandong is China's third most populous province with approximately 100-120 million people. The Jesus Family originated in the village of Mazhuang when Shandong was racked by poverty and war. A man by the name of Jing Dianying organized the villagers and established a cooperative silk factory in 1927 that became known as the "Jesus Family". Although, it is estimated that this movement had no more than 12,000 total believers involved in it throughout China, several believe that this group had significant impact on the "House Church" movement in China.

In 1942 there was a tremendous drought in northern China. Aid began to pour in from the outside to help those people who were starving. The "Jesus Family" refused to take the aid. They continued to feed their people--not only that, but to give away the harvest. They worked up from 10 percent to 20 percent, and finally they worked up to where they gave away 90 percent of what they harvested. They supplied the food for five hundred people from forty-three acres of land. The Communists could supply less than half that amount per acre.

Somebody asked the "Jesus Family" leader: "Why would you refuse aid when others were starving?" He replied: "Those foreign churches would have robbed us of our anchor. It is our financial needs that drive us to our knees and force us to cry to Him."

Are you wholly dependent on the Lord for your resources?

Dear Lord we pray today that we would wholly lean on You for all of our needs. We pray that we would use what You give us to help others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.