Giving God Your Best: Abel Hall of Faith

   "No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving something behind" (George Washington Carver).
   Abel was the second son of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had learned their lesson in the Garden. They taught their sons to love God and obey him. 
   Abel loved the Lord with all his heart. He loved God so much that he was willing to give God his very best. He trusted that God would provide why he needed to survive. 
But, Abel's story seems to end in sadness. His brother, Cain, was jealous because God seemed to love Abel more than him. In anger Cain killed his brother. It seems like Abel's story ends there. If your dead you can't do much more on earth right?
   Wrong, Abel's story is a testament to us. In Hebrew 11:4 it says: "By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead." Did you catch that? Abel still speaks even though he is dead. He followed Mr. Carver's quote: he left something behind. He taught us to love God and always give your best. 
   This is the lesson for us... even in the darkest times we need to give our best. God speaks through our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Even though his life was cut short we still learn a lesson from his life. God is at work even when it seems hopeless. Trust in his plan.
   So, will you choose to give God your best? Will you trust in God's plan?
   Genesis 4, Colossians 3:23-24, 2 Timothy 2:15
   Image from here. 

Hall of Faith Series

   “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe” (Saint Augustine).

   One part of scripture that has interested me was the Hall of Faith. The Hall of Faith is found in Hebrews 11. There are many different people mentioned in that passage and some of them are surprising. That is one reason why I am beginning this series.

   Another reason I am starting this series is because faith is not easy to have. In today’s world we have many people fighting against us. We are called so many names like hypocrites, lunatics, etc. Some of us in other countries are even persecuted for our faith.

   How can Christians trust in God when we have so much against us? How did these people end up in the Hall of Faith when they faced so many difficulties? Stay tuned for the series to find out what we can learn from those in the Hall of Faith.

   P.S. As an introduction to this series check out this Youtube video for Casting Crowns Song Voice of Truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcuiuIwtpa4

   Hebrews 11

   Image from here.

Are You Humble?

   When I was in middle school I was going though a book for Sunday School. Each week we had to answer questions for the lesson. One of the questions was: "Are you humble?" Answer that question for yourself before you go on.
   If you answered no, then you may actually be humble. If you answered yes, then you probably are not humble. This is a trick question. If you answer yes that means you have pride, which is the opposite of humble.
   Luke 14:11 says: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." If you puff yourself up like a puffer fish all the time you may seem good to others and yourself on earth. But, that's not what God looks for. God looks for those who are humble. Look at the bible. God uses many humble people in his plan: Abraham, Gideon, David, Mary, Peter, and many more.
   God even tells us in the greatest commandments to be humble. Wait, isn't the greatest commandments to love God and love others? Yes, and if you love God you will love others and put them first. That's being humble. It's called having humility. Which leads me to Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
   If you have humility then you look to other's interests first. You may be hungry but instead of feeding yourself first you feed your friend. You may be hot and tired but you let your co-worker take a break first. That's what being humble and having humility is. You show God's love to others by putting them first, without looking for recognition.
   So, are you humble? How can you show God's love today?

   Image from here.

Choosing Sides

   So many times we feel like we need to fight against each other. I'll give you some examples:  men vs. women, street smart vs. book smart, pro-life vs. pro-abortion, Christian vs. Atheist, etc.

   You get my point. Many times we think we need to choose a side. We fight against each other in many ways. My question is why? 

   John 13:34 says "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." We are to love others like Jesus loved others. Did Jesus go around fighting his brothers and sisters? Yes, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees. He calmly told them the word of God and left it at that.  

   You may be saying: "I'm not Jesus. I'm not perfect. I lose my temper." Yes, we lose our temper, but our goal is to emulate Jesus. We will never be perfect and Jesus still loves us. However, we are to try to grow to be more like him each day. 

   Does that mean we are to be tolerant of sins? No, at least not in the way the world thinks tolerance means. We are not to just sit back and say "your truth is your truth. My truth is my truth." We are to spread the Gospel as Matthew 28:19 says "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." That doesn't mean we should get out our bibles and thump people over the head with them. It means we should spread the Gospel in love as Jesus did. We serve others as Jesus did. 

   Sometimes I think we forget that Jesus came because he loves us. He came to defeat sin so he could be with us. I have been saying, in some of my blogs, that we are at war today. Our battle is not with each other. Our battle is against sin and Satan. The bad news is that some people try to fight this battle on their own. The worst news is that some people embrace sin and Christians try to fight against those people. Yes, we should not accept when others sin. But, many times we tend to judge those who sin. We are not the judge, God is. We can hold one another accountable but we are to do that in love. If we don't do it in love how are we to spread the Gospel? People will not want to be a part of something where they feel judged. We can say, "I don't approve of what you are doing, here's why (show bible verses). But, I still love you because Jesus loves you.  

   Now, lest you think there is only bad news, I will tell you there is good news. The good news is we don't need to fight against each other; and we don't need to fight the battle against sin on our own. The great news is that Jesus has already won the battle. We don't need to fight against sinners. We don't even need to fight against Satan on our own. Jesus fights with us and he already won for us. We can choose to rest in that and use his word, as he did, to fight battles we face. Because, we still have our own battles to face.  

   That's why I'm saying I think it's time for us to stop picking sides. We are all human. We all mess up. We all sin. We don't need to fight against each other to make that worse. What we can do is lovingly keep one another accountable. What we can do is encourage one another. What we can do is spread the Gospel through his love. 

   So, are you fighting against your brothers and sisters? Do you lovingly keep others accountable? Are you spreading the Gospel in love?

   Image from here.

Helping the Lost Get Home

   “See, that’s where I belong. That’s home. That’s why I came back, ‘cause you don’t have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.” This is a quote said by Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Through this whole movie Bilbo is battling with his own emotions. He has to decide what he will do. He has to decide if he will join the dwarfs in their quest, or if he will stay at home in his comfort zone.

   It is an interesting tale because Bilbo has not been outside the Shire, his home, ever. And that is why I find a particular scene from the movie so profound. It is the scene where Bilbo says that quote from above. Check out the scene here.

   At the beginning of this scene Bilbo has a choice. He could have easily run away. The dwarves always doubted him and he would just be proving them right. He has not been much help up until this point on the quest. In fact, he has been more of a hindrance than anything. But, Bilbo does not run away. He wants to prove to the dwarves that they were wrong about him. And, he does. He comes back in order to help the dwarves get back home.

   I have written about the concept of home before (link here). It is difficult for some people to feel like they have a home. But, for Christians, no matter where we go we can have confidence that our home is heaven. Home is where the heart is and our hearts belong to Christ. Non-Christians do not have a home.

   In the clip Bilbo said that he has a home but the dwarves do not. Bilbo is like a Christian. He is always willing to help others no matter the cost (at least toward the end of the movie). Bilbo wants to help the dwarves get home. That is how Christians should be.

   We need to be willing to help others no matter the cost. We have a home, and we know that home is in heaven. But there are lost souls out there who do not know Christ. Christians need to follow the Great Commission. We need to come alongside unbelievers and show them that they do have a home. They can have a home in Christ.

   Also, throughout the movie, Bilbo is an example for the dwarves. All the dwarves know is how to fight and pillage in order to get what they need. Bilbo is innocent and always tries to do good by people. He becomes the dwarves’ friend and is able to influence the dwarves in a good way.

   Christians too need to become friends with unbelievers. That way we can influence them in a good way. I’m not saying that we need to do the things that our unbelieving friends do. I am saying that we can talk with them, get to know them, and show them the light of Christ by leading by example.

   So, are you following the Great Commission? Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone in order to reach others? Are you being a role model for non-believers?

   Joshua 1:9, Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:8

Don't Doubt

   As a soccer coach I have the experience of not only dealing with my emotions but also the emotions of my players. After a game I may be feeling happy, sad, or angry. But, I have to push aside my feelings and help the girls with their feelings.
   One time my team had just lost a tough game 6-0. All of my girls were down but there was one who just wasn't acting like herself, let's call her Kathy. Kathy came over to get one of the coolers to put on the bus. I asked her, "are you okay?"  She said she was "fine."
   Now, my players know that when I ask that question I expect an honest answer and I will help them if I can. I knew this girl wasn't telling me the whole truth. I pulled her aside and I said, "you know what fine means right? Freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional." She laughed. 

   Then I asked her again, "what's wrong?" She started to cry as she told me about how she felt she didn't play that well and that the team started to yell at each other. I encouraged her and said, "yes we have a lot to work on but give it some time." Then I encouraged her and told her not to doubt her abilities.
   We went back to school and she came over to me. She hugged me and said "thanks for being a great coach." I gave her a look and she said, "what?" I said, "I'm not sure I'm such a great coach." She said "don't doubt yourself."
   I have had a lot of experiences like this. I like to encourage others and make them laugh. But, I have insecurities as well. I doubt my abilities because I listen to the voices in my head that tell me, "you are not good at this. You should have done it this way. You are a failure." I'm sure you've had this happen to you at some point as well.
   That's when I need to look at God's word. He tells me I am beautiful, worthy, and loved. If he knows this and tells me it, why can't I believe it? I think the issue isn't that I don't believe it. It's that I remember at times and forget at times. During the God high times, I am able to help others more and feel confident. Then I begin to slack in my time with God or go through a hard time and I forget who I am to him.
   If God loves us enough to die so he can have a personal relationship with us, why do we doubt the abilities and talents he's given us? It's because the devil reminds us of our shortcomings. It's because we are still sinners and imperfect. But if we stand on the promises of God, then we will remember who we are in God.
   So, do you doubt your abilities? Do you believe God loves you? Will you choose to believe in yourself in God?

   James 1:6 and Matthew 21:21

   Image from here.

I Want That Kind of Joy

   Imagine you are walking down the street. You are minding your own business, enjoying the sunshine. You see people pass you by. Two in particular catch your attention. One person is walking down the street wearing bright colors. She is singing a song and bopping up and down to the song. She smiles at you as you walk by. She makes you feel warm inside and you wave back.

   The other person who caught your attention had headphones in. He was looking at the ground and was frowning. You wave to him but he either ignores you or did not see you.

   Which person do you think had more joy? Well, if we were talking about the way the world thinks of joy it would be the first person. However, when the world says “that person is joyful” they are thinking more about happiness. Joy actually encompasses a lot more.

   Joy is more than a feeling. Joy is something that is inside you. Christians have joy because of a person. That person is Jesus. Jesus had joy. He didn’t walk around with a smile on all the time (I mean he cried when Lazarus died and he was in pain on the cross). However, Jesus had joy in the Lord. He had peace, trusted in God’s plan, had a good attitude, and reflected God’s glory.

   We are to emulate Jesus, which means we are to have joy too. How can we have joy all the time? Check out the sermon I preached at Maytown Church of God to find out.

   Proverbs 17:22, James 1:2-3, and Philippians 4:8

   Scroll down to sermons and click on “I Want That Kind of Joy.” Make sure the volume is not muted. Link to sermon here.

   Image from here.