4 REASON'S WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD KEEP OUT OF WORLDLY PURSUITS!

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As fully devoted followers of Christ we need to give careful attention to what things we pursue in life! Why? Because they can either help us grow in our devotion to Christ or hinder us. A Godly goal is a good thing but a worldly pursuit is not.

In this post I want to share with you 4 reasons why God’s people should at all cost avoid pursuing worldly goals and in particular keep themselves from getting entangled in the love of money. The Love of Money, by the way, according to the Bible is one particular way Christian quite often get caught up in the things of the world.

To accomplish I will be sharing 3 Pitfalls that come with choosing worldly goals and what happens to those who stumble into those pitfalls. These pitfall’s are found in 1 Timothy 6:9-10:

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires. , which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” ((CSB)

These pitfalls are:

PITFALL #1:

It Makes You susceptible To Temptation: When our heart longs for the things of this world we become more vulnerable to the wiles and schemes of the devil. Temptations in and of themselves are not sins but they are the doorway that leads a person to sin. The primary reason a person commits a sin is because they have some kind of worldly desire they are trying to satisfy. And that unmet satisfaction cause people to look for its fulfillment in ways that God says is sinful. Therefore, the cure is not to continually fight off the temptation but to root out the evil and sinful desires and replace them with God honoring desires. So, if your sincere desire is to live a life that pleases God then you need to make sure that your hearts desires are on the things of Heaven and off the things of this world.

PITFALL #2:

It’s a trap that will ensnare you. Traps have been used throughout the ages by hunters who are want to catch unsuspecting animals. They are usually camouflage so the animal will not see it and step into it. And this is the way it is with the goals of this world and especially the love of money. The true intent of these longings are hidden and dressed up to look like things that are good. After all, what could be wrong with being rich if it allows me to give more money to help the poor? What’s wrong with having a nicer and bigger home for my family to live in? Shouldn’t they be able to live in a nice place? You see the issue isn’t what you can do with the money but what you are willing to do to get the money or your true motivation for getting the money.

PITFALL #3:

It Ignites Feelings That You Shouldn’t Have: The problem with the love of money or the desire to have the things of the world is that it doesn’t stay satisfied with the fulfillment of those desires. As a result of pursing them newer and more harmful desires start to grow. There are some feelings that we were never intended to have or experience. The “Love of Money” is described as a “root”. If temptation is the seed then the love of money (materialism) is the root that is form from that seed and it in turns grows into a blooming plant of all kinds of other evil and more harmful desires. If you think that you can control your love for money and keep it contained then you are only fooling yourself. The only way to keep yourself from growth of all kinds of evil in your life is to uproot the love of the world and replace it with a root that exclusively loves God.

Now let me share a little bit about what the end result will be if you fall into one or all of these pitfalls and fail to uproot and guard agains the love of this world and the pursuit of worldly goals. Quite simple it is exactly what the Bible says,

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (CSB)

2 End Results:

#1: Wandering From The Faith:

In Luke chapter 8 Jesus tells a parable about a person who went sowing seed on different types of ground and then He explains the spiritual significance for each group. Here’s how Jesus describes the seed that feel on the ground filled with thorns and thistles.

“As for the seed that fell among the thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life and produce no mature fruit.” Luke 8:14 (CSB)

This is quite a visible picture, from Jesus, on what happens to people who have their hearts set on the things of this world and not on Christ. The riches and pleasures of life of life choke out or we could also, are more valuable to people than Christ is, and as a result they walk away. Another way of saying it is that people who hear the Gospel of Christ and are excited with the forgiveness of sins that come from following Christ but once they hear that they need to leave everything (including their riches) in order to follow Christ, they walk away sad because they love their money more than they do Jesus.

#2: They Stab Themselves With Lots of Grief:

Notice that verse 10 uses the word pierce and not prick. Why? Because the word pierce suggest a knife or sword stabbing. It is a life threatening wound. It’s not a little poke that might draw some blood but a wound that in most cases lead to death.

Also, notice that this is a self-inflicted wound. This is something you caused yourself and not something someone did to you. You’re the one who sets you life goal, you are the one who decides who your heart will be devoted to. To choose the world over Christ is your chose and the result is a harm that you brought on yourself. It is avoidable if you choose wisely but it is also unavoidable if you don’t choose wisely.

So many people suffer horribly simply because they have chosen to go after the things of this world, to give their heart over to what this world says is important. The pain is real but the pain was and is avoidable.

By simply choosing to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength you will avoid all three of these pitfalls and the consequences that follow. So who will you give your heart to? Will it be God through Jesus Christ or will it be the world.

Challenging Quotes For Joining Christ On His Mission (Part 2)

These quotes are from the God motivated Evangelist George Muller. May they serves to encourage, challenge and maybe even provoke you to living a life fully devoted to our Lord Jesus Christ. George Muller was such a man!

“George Müller (born Johann Georg Ferdinand Müller, 27 September 1805 – 10 March 1898) was a Christian evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He was one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren movement. Later during the split his group was labelled as the Open Brethren.

He cared for 10,024 orphans during his lifetime,[1][2] and provided educational opportunities for the orphans to the point that he was even accused by some of raising the poor above their natural station in British life. He established 117 schools which offered Christian education to more than 120,000.” Wikipedia

1. “A servant of God has but one Master. It ill becomes the servant to seek to be rich, and great, and honored in that world where his Lord was poor, and mean, and despised.”

2. “Trials, obstacles, difficulties and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith.”

3. “There is an intimate connection between the life of the Christian here and the enjoyment and the glory in the day of Christ's appearing.”

4. “Often the work of the Lord itself may be a temptation to keep us from that communion with Him which is so essential to the benefit of our own souls”

5. “Where faith begins, anxiety ends; where anxiety begins, faith end.”

6. “The greater the trial, the sweeter the victory.”

7. “Laying up treasures in heaven will draw the heart heavenward.”

8. “God is pleased continually to vary His mode of dealing with us, in order that we may not be tempted to trust in donors, or in circumstances, but in Him alone, and to keep our eye fixed upon Him.”

9. “I desire many things concerning myself; but I desire nothing so much, as to have a heart filled with love to the Lord. I long for a warm personal attachment to Him”

10. “God judges what we give by what we keep.”

11. “If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried, and therefore, through trial, be strengthened.”

12. “Every instance of obedience, from right motives, strengthens us spiritually, whilst every act of disobedience weakens us.”

13. “I believe God has heard my prayers. He will make it manifest in His own good time that He has heard me. I have recorded my petitions that when God has answered them, His name will be glorified.”

14. “When the day of recompense comes, our only regret will be that we have done so little for Him, not that we have done too much.”

15. “When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own”

As we start this new year may we find the strength, encouragement and determination that we find in our brothers in Christ go before us as our guide on living a life fully devoted to our King, Jesus Christ!

1 Reassuring Characteristic Of Jesus That Should Give You Hope!

In Matthew 8:1-4 we read a story about Jesus being approached by a many who had leprosy and from this encounter we learn sometime very tender and true about Jesus.  It is something that we all should remember when we are faced with difficult times and hardships. 

“When he (Jesus) came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.  ‘I am willing,’ he said.  ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.  Then Jesus said to him, ‘See that you don’t tell anyone.  But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Because of this mans disease he was assigned a place in society where he was to have very little contact with people.  Leprosy is very contagious.  Most of the time people with leprosy lived in colonies specifically for them.  For a person with this horrible disease, there was very little human contact and as a result very little intimacy.  People in this condition lived very lonely lives that were filled with desperation.

Jesus’ growing reputation of being able to heal the sick had obviously reached this man and for which provided him with hope.  Out of this hope and after hearing that Jesus was back in his area, this man took a chance and left the life of isolation that he had been assigned to in order to come and see Jesus. 

When the man finally gets to where Jesus was at we see him intentionally but with humility kneel down before Jesus to ask the unthinkable!  The question this man asked Jesus wasn’t:

1. Are you able to heal me? 
2. Or, am I worthy of your healing?

This man already knew that Jesus was more than capable of healing of him.  He had no doubts about that! He had heard the reports of how Jesus had healed others over and over again.  HE KNEW JESUS COULD HEAL HIM!

This man already knew that Jesus’ healing would not be based on whether he was worthy of being healed. I think the man already knew HE WASN’T WORTHY OF BEING HEALED!

The question this man was asking was:

Jesus Are You Willing To Heal Me?

It is as if this man was saying to Jesus, “Lord I already know you more than able to heal me and I know that I am not worthy of being healed but Lord would you still be willing to heal me?”

This man’s doubt was rested in the bed of Jesus’ willingness! 

But isn’t that where most of our doubts rest when it comes to experiencing God’s help in our lives?  We know God can! But is God willing to help us?  We know God was willing to help Aunt Jackie but is He willing to help me?  We know he was willing to help Uncle Bob but will He help me?

Then Jesus’ tender response is giving that not only should give us reassurance but teach us something new about the nature and character of God.  How Jesus responds this man, should serve to let us know how he would also respond to us.   Jesus says to this man with leprosy.   After reaching out and touching this man, which is an amazing thing in and of itself, Jesus says,

“I’m Wiling!”

And immediately the mans leprosy was gone!  First, Jesus answers the mans question and then He gives the man what his heart desired and need most.

Here’s what we can learn from this true story from the Word of God about Jesus:

Jesus is far more willing to do amazing things in our lives than we are willing to ask Him to do.

That’s right, the reason why we don’t experience more of God’s amazing power in our lives to meet our deepest needs isn’t because Christ is unwilling - it's because we don't believe He is willing and therefore, won't ask Him for help!

Please Leave A Comment & Share Your Thoughts About This Post!

One World Event That Definitely Wasn't An April Fools Joke!

Did you know that this year, 2018, the world will be celebrating both April Fools Day and The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (Easter)!  That's right they both fall on the same day this year.

The irony of these two events falling on the same date cannot be overstated! On the one hand you have a world that says death cannot be cheated, cannot be avoided and is final. While on the other hand you have the Christians Biblical belief that Jesus Christ did die on the cross, was buried in a tomb and on the third day came back to life again.  April 1, 2018 is a date where these two completely world views will collide and are in total opposition to each other.  

One world view says that to be raised from the dead, after being dead for three days, is totally impossible, while the other says it is not only possible but actually did happen and has tremendous ramifications for all the rest of us who have ever been born throughout world history. 

The world believes it is totally impossible because that's all the world has ever known.  Every single person who has ever lived has died and every single person who has died for 3 days or longer has stayed dead, accept for those crazy claims of the Bible of Jesus and those he supposedly raised from the dead.  All of life's experiences demands, for those in the world, that the claims of Christ's resurrection is a fairy tale and cannot be trusted.  They believe that Christians hold to a "Blind Faith" which is unreason or irrational.

But for those of us who are Followers of Christ and do believe in Christ's Resurrection from the dead our faith is far from that "Blind Faith"!  No! Instead, it is a faith based upon "Evidence Beyond Reasonable Doubt".  

Yes, the belief in Jesus death, burial and resurrection is based upon eye witness evidence that's reasonable.  There are people, who lived during the time of Christ's resurrection, who have claim and gone on record to have seen Jesus after his crucification alive and well.   They made it very clear their experience wasn't some kind of hallucination. They claimed to have walked with him, talked him, ate with him and touched him.  They claimed it to be a life altering experience that took them from fear, including the fear of death, to a life filled with boldness regardless of the life circumstance that was confronting them.

Who were these eye witness? The Bible clearly shares the identity of those eye witnesses.  They weren't trying to stay in the shadows.  They were open and upfront for everyone to hear.  1 Corinthians 15:3-8 reveals who they are:

"3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, [b]and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."

Who were these eye witnesses? 

First, there is the 500 who saw him!  He doesn't specifically list their names because there are just to many to list.  But he does say that most were still alive to the very date of the writing.  Why indicate that most were still alive? Because, Paul was challenging them to go to Palestine and check it out for themselves. They could go around and ask if anyone had seen Christ resurrected and the chances were that they'd still find many who would say, "I did"!  

But among those 500 we know that they would have included the women who gone to the tomb and found it empty and then saw Jesus alive.  In Luke 24:10 we read,

"Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, .."

Here we see 3 specific names of women identified who saw the resurrection of Christ. They were Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James but there were also other women there as well.

Second, Jesus showed himself to the apostles and James, Jesus' half brother.  Many in the world believe that the Apostle would have lied about Jesus resurrection.  They believe that the apostles knew that Jesus was dead but wanted to keep the movement alive and therefore fabricated the story of His resurrection.  

But is that really logical.  Would someone really lie about something they knew to be a lie?  Yes, if they had something to gain like: power, prestige or money.  But the apostle got none of those things. As a matter of fact they lived like poor people and eventually were beaten and killed for their testimony of seeing Jesus alive.  They gained nothing if it was a lie.  

Surely at least one of them upon the sentence of death would have recanted their testimony if it had been a lie!  But not one ever recanted or changed their story but instead every apostle lived and died in the most horrible way because of their refusal to recant their story. They were to die for their testimony of Christ's resurrection.  Why would anybody do that unless they knew it to be the truth!

Next, there was the eye witness account of the Apostle Paul.  Paul wasn't part of the original apostles as a matter of fact he was a Christian hater who wanted nothing more than to arrest and kill all who claimed to be a Follower of Christ and testified of His resurrection.  For awhile there, that was his total life's mission.

But something happened that changed Paul!  He went from being a Christian hater and killer to the greatest Christian missionary ever!  He ended up with a new life's mission! Instead of putting Christians into prison, he made it his life's ambition to make as many people Christians as possible by believing in Christ's death, burial and resurrection.

What made the change? How did Paul go from being a Christian hater to a Christian maker?  Paul's very own testimony gives us the answer. We find Paul's answer in Acts 26 where he states clearly why he is now a follower of Christ. He says it is because while on the road to Damascus that Jesus appeared to him and spoke to him.  It was the resurrected Jesus speaking to him that changed him. That was his life changing experience.

Now as I contemplate these eye witnesses I am forced to evaluate how credible they are about what they confess.  And I have come to the following conclusion!  They are ALL extremely reliable!  Why:

1. Because the original apostles gained nothing in this world and lost everything including their lives for their testimony that they saw the resurrected Christ.  It is unreasonable to believe that someone would maintain a lie when all they got was pain, suffering and death.  It is even more harder to believe all the apostle would maintain that lie under such circumstances. And yet, that's exactly what happened: every single one of them maintained their testimony and never recanted.  They all died for their testimony for seeing Christ resurrected.  That makes them very compelling and credible witnesses.
2. Because Paul himself said that his life change was a direct result of his encounter with the resurrected Christ. He stopped being a Christian hater and killer to become a Christian maker because he encounter the living Christ.  THAT'S WHAT PAUL SAID!  This changed of heart only brought pain and suffering and eventually was beheaded for his testimony of seeing the resurrected Christ.  He gained nothing from this change in life but lost everything he was working for because of it.  This makes Paul one of the greatest and most credible eye witnesses.
3. The sheer number of eye witnesses, over 500, make the resurrection of Christ irrefutable.

Yes, this Sunday, April 1st, 2018 is both the day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ (Easter) and April Fools Day.  But don't be the fool by believing that Jesus is still dead.  He's not! He's Alive!  And by placing your faith in the resurrect Jesus you can be saved from your sins and receive the gift of eternal life.  Will you do it today?

3 Indispensable Biblical Parts To Answered Prayers

Confidence In Offering A Prayer Of Faith

When it comes to living a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in our part of this dark world prayer is essential.  But not just any kind of prayer but prayers where there is confidence that God will hear and answer it. 

So much of our prayers is what I like to call, "I hope God will answer my prayers!" but there's no confidence that God will actually do it.  We are praying with uncertainty that God will actually do what we are asking Him to do.  On top of this lack of confidence there is just a lot of "BAD" teaching going on in the name of "PRAYING IN FAITH".  To many people out there like to take just one passage of scripture and emphasis it to the exclusion of other essential and indispensable verses on topic.  This is a very bad practice to develop!  In learning to praying in faith we need to understand the full council of God.  Failure to do so can lead a person into a practice that's not only unbiblical but potentially destructive to their faith. 

There are 3 Indispensable Biblical parts for having confidence that God will answer your prayers the way you have asked him to.  

Let me emphasis that they are essential and indispensable!

Why?  Because they are like 3 legs on a stool!  If you remove any of legs from the stool, leaving only 2 legs, the stool will fall down!  ALL THREE LEGS ARE INDISPENSABLE!  The ability to pray and know that your  prayers will be answered requires us to have all three of these indispensable parts in place. Remove one of the parts and you no longer can have confidence and certainty that your prayers will be answered the way you are asking!   But if you have all three parts in place you can pray with confidence and know you have what you ask for.  So, what are they?

PART #1:  Hearts That Don't Condemn Us

"Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight." 1 John 3:21,22

This is the part that makes sure that you the one praying is in a proper spiritual condition to come before God and ask Him to do something.   Knowing that we are in a spiritual condition that allows us to come into God's presence and be accepted is a vital part to knowing that your prayers will be answered.  

In order to know if we are in a proper spiritual condition to come before God with our petitions we need to do a spiritual inventory of our life. We need to see if there are any unconfessed sins that still need God's forgiveness.  If their is sin then the activity that is needed is a prayer of honest confession from true repentance.  In 1 John 1:9 God gives us assurance that our sins can be forgiven with this simple act.  Read what it says, 

"If we confess our sin that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Why should we think that we can receive anything from the Lord if our hearts are not right with the Lord.  To have confidence that our prayers will be heard by God depends first and foremost if we are prepared to even ask for it.

Question To Ask Yourself:  

Is There Any Unconfessed Sin In Your Life That Needs To Be Dealt With And Made Right With God?

PART #2:  Knowing & Praying According To God's Will

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." 1 John 5:14,15

This part deals with the actual request being made.  Is what we are asking for according to God's will or not.  This passage of scripture makes it perfectly clear that when our requests are inline with God's will we know God hears us and we know He will give us what we ask for.  

If you are asking for something that is not according to God's will it doesn't matter how much, how often or even how passionately you ask God for it, it you will not receive it.  Why?  Because it wasn't part of God's will.  In order to pray in faith with confidence you must know what God's will is! If you are uncertain what God's will is on a particular matter then before you can pray in faith about it you must first pray for God to reveal His will to you about it. Listen to what James 1:5 says,

 "If anyone lacks wisdom you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him."

What a wonderful assurance this verse provides us. If we ask God to reveal His will to us by giving us wisdom He promises to do it.  NOW THAT'S POWERFUL!  Once God reveals to you His will concerning the matter then you can begin to pray in accordance to God's will with confidence that God will answer it.

Question To Ask Yourself:

Do You Know What God's Will Is Concerning The Matter You're Praying About?

PART #3:  Praying In Faith With No Doubt 

Once you know that you are able to go into God's presence to make your request and once you know what God's will is concerning the issue you are praying about, then you can make your request to God but you have to make it in faith and without any doubt that God will do exactly what you are asking Him to do.  NO DOUBT!

"Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 'Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:22-23

Praying in faith and without doubt is essential to answered prayers. However, this kind of faith that I am talking about is not a faith that controls God and makes Him do whatever we want.  That kind of faith reduces God to be like genie in a bottle. Our God is not a genie that has to give us our three wishes.  No! Our God is the Sovereign Lord of all creation.  God doesn't do our will - we are to do His will!  Biblical faith is not some kind of force that makes God do what we want.  

Biblical faith is surrender to God's will and joining God in accomplishing His will!  This prayer of faith is because you already know what God is going to accomplish, you have discovered His will on the matter, and through faith you are surrendering your will over to God's will and fully trusting that God will, not maybe, accomplish exactly what He said He would do.   In other words when you pray a prayer of faith you have no doubt that what you are asking is going to happen because you know that God already has willed it to happen!  

Question To Ask Yourself:

Once God Has Revealed To You What His Will Is Do You Have The Faith To Pray That It Will Happen Without Doubt?

When you are certain that all three of this parts are in place then you can have confidence that God not only hears your prayers but that you will also receive for what you have asked.  Remove one of these three part or legs and the stool will fall.  All three are essential and indispensable if you are to receive in prayer what you have asked God to do. 

Please share this important post on prayer to your friends and connections on Facebook & Twitter!  And then take a few moments and leave a comment sharing your thoughts about this topic!  Thanks! 

3 Important Choices That Lead To Powerful Missional Living

A powerful missional life just doesn't happen by chance.  It comes about because Christians make choices that lead them into that kind of lifestyle.  These choices are not always easy to make and if the truth be told they are often extremely difficult.

As we look at Moses we can see 3 choices that he had to make that allow him to powerfully join God on His mission.  These same 3 choices still face Christians today!   To make the choice the way God would have you will lead to greater effectiveness in shining the Light of Christ but to make the choice contrary to God will cause you to become impotent and ineffective in missional living.  

To choice God's way is not easy and will require you to have faith in God.  The outcome of your choices may not always be clear but your conviction to follow Christ is not only clear but firm and your trust that God will work all things out for good is steady.  Without faith you cannot please God - you cannot make the choices the way God would have you to make.  

The Bible verse to help us navigate in understanding these choice is found in Hebrews 11:24-26.

"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." (NIV)

Let us take a look at the 3 choices:

Choice #1:  Choose To Identify With God & Not The People Of The World

"By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter" (Vs. 24 NIV)

We all know the story of Moses of how Pharaoh, out of fear of having the Hebrew slaves grow so large in numbers that they might overthrow him, ordered that all the male children under a certain age be killed.  We remember how Moses' mother hid Moses until he was to big to hide any longer but then out of faith put baby Moses in a basket and floated him downstream. We've heard about how Pharaoh's daughter found the basket and fell in love with baby Moses and decided to raise him herself thereby making him a Prince of Egypt.  And in the palace of Pharaoh Moses was raised in the wealthiest country in the world.  He had pleasure, prestige, power and property.  He was living in the lap of luxury.  

That was until he was all grown up and decided to no longer live in the lap of luxury while his people were living as slaves.  He wanted to help his people. He wanted to find a way to ease their suffering.  MOSES GAVE UP THAT IDENTITY OF BEING A PRINCE OF EGYPT TO BE KNOWN AS A HEBREW SLAVE. 

As we intentionally set out to live a life on mission with Christ we too will be asked by God to exercise our faith to abandon our identity with the world and instead, be known as a Child of God.  We will be asked by God to stop considering ourselves as a member of this world but instead to consider ourselves as ambassador for the Kingdom of God.

When we make this choice most of the people in the world will not understand why we would do that.  Many people will ridicule us - make fun of us - and even malign our character for choosing it.  They will consider us foolish and even traitors.  

But we also need to keep in mind that how we view our identity will have a powerful effect on how we go about God's mission and how effective we will be in accomplishing His will. 

Choice #2:  Choose To Embrace Suffering Rather Than Pleasure

"He chose to be mistreated along with people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time."  (v.25 NIV)

Did you see that?  Moses chose to be mistreated!  That's amazing!  Instead, of living in the lap of luxury with everything your heart could ever want.  Moses gave it all up just to follow God and be obedient to him.  That requires a growing faith to make that kind of Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

.And it's not just about giving up the pleasures of the world (Egypt) but more importantly to give them up in favor to being mistreated by others who don't believe in God.  Moses could have enjoyed all the sinful pleasures that a wealthy life as a Prince of Egypt could offer.  But he chose not to.  Why? Partly because Moses realized that sin, though pleasurable, is only temporary but in like fashion he also realized that that the mistreatment he would experience was also only temporary.

In missional living we will experience the mistreatment from the people of this world.  By choosing Christ and obedience to His mission we become an enemy to the world and the rulers of this world. We could experience all the pleasures of the sinful lifestyle this world has to offer.  We could easily drown ourselves in debauchery and party until to our hearts content.  But we are willing to give it up!  Why? Because we know that with Christ's return comes the end of all of the pleasure of sin. 

But it's going to require faith for you to make that choice!  We can see sin and the pleasures that people get from their participation in it but we don't see Christ and all that he has offer yet.  We have to believe and trust that Christ will be true to his word.  THAT'S FAITH.

Choice #3:  Choose The World's Disgrace Over Getting Their  Approval.

"He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward."  (v. 26)

This is a choice of what's of most value to you!  Moses felt that being disgraced and dishonored by those of the world was of more value than all the riches in Egypt.  All the hate, all the name calling, all the beatings and even death was of worth more than all the treasures the world could gather together.  

Jesus express the same sentiments on the Sermon On The Mount in what we call the Beatitudes.  Read what he says:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:11,12 (NIV)

According to Jesus we are "BLESSED" when we are insulted, persecuted and lied about all because Jesus.  We are to rejoice when these things happen because our reward in Heaven because of it. 

I'm not sure what you think but Jesus believed that our reward in Heaven is going to be far more valuable than all of the treasures of earth.  

You know, when suffer for Christ we are in really company. Moses suffered, all of the prophets of the Old Testament suffered and even Jesus' own disciples died because of their choice to follow Christ. and not submit to the opinions and attitudes of the world. 

3 Choices!  Making these 3 choices will greatly enhance your missional living.  It will help shine the Light of Christ brighter than you ever thought possible. 

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What The Faith Of Moses Can Teach Us About Living A Powerful Missional Life

"By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.  By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned." Hebrews 11:27-29 (NIV)

Moses Faith Teaches Us:

I.  That Our Faith Will Help Us Stay Focused On God Who Will Help Us Overcome Our Fears!

"By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger he persevered because he saw him who is invisible ..."  

Pursuing God's mission will always bring opposition.  That thought can be a very frightening proposition.  There will always be people that oppose God and His will and they will come to attack God's servants in order to stop the success of God's plan.

Faith allows you to see past the opposition to focus on the God who delivers.

II.  That Our Faith In God Will Help Us Live Obedient Lives To God!

"By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel ..."

Moses had heard how God was going to send the death Angel and kill all of the first born sons that lived in Egypt.  He also heard about how God provided a way for His people to escape the judgement coming from the Death Angel.

Because Moses' faith allowed Him to believe that God would be true to His word and everything would happen just as He said - that faith propelled Moses to obey God by getting the Children of Israel to put the blood of the lamb on their door post and thereby making it possible for the Death Angel to pass by those homes.

Obedience is always necessary for experiencing God's blessings.  Obedience always come before the blessings flow.

Part of missional living, as taught by Christ at the Great Commission, is to teach new disciples to not only understand all that Christ commanded but to also obey all that Christ commanded. 

Missional Living doesn't teach God's word just for knowledge but to lead Christ's followers to obey.  Missional Living is an obedience driven discipleship venture.

III.  That Our Faith In God Will Help Us Overcome All Obstacles!

"... By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned." 

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A BIG OBSTACLE!

Moses and the Children of Israel would never have made it to the Promise Land if they didn't exercise their faith in God and start walking through the Red Sea on dry land with a wall of water on both sides of them.  They had to trust God that they could get across safely.  

Unresolved obstacles hinders God's people from moving forward to accomplishing God's plan and mission!

In missional living there will always be obstacles standing in the way of accomplishing the work of God but faith allows us to trust God to overcome those obstacles by providing away.  

Faith compels us to move forward trusting that as we step forward God will prepare the way. 

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2 Essential Characteristics For Developing A Missional Living Reputation

Listen to what it was that caught the attention of the Apostle Paul and others around the known world at that time that caused him to thank God for them every time he thought of them.  These two things were the characteristics that built a powerful missional living reputation for that church.

Do you have those characteristics?  Watch and find out.  

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The Portrait Of A Person With Great Faith

"Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.'  Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, 'Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.'  He answered,  'I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.' The woman came and knelt before him. 'Lord, help me!' she said.  He replied, 'It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.' 'Yes it is, Lord,' she said. 'Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.' And her daughter was healed at that moment."  Matthew 15: 21-28 (NIV)

Everyday Christian living requires Followers of Christ to have faith but to living a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world will require GREAT FAITH! We all know this but what does great faith look like in the lives of real ordinary Christians.  Is it even possible to be a average - ordinary Christian and have GREAT FAITH?  

Today, we are going to look at the life of one woman - an average woman - whom Jesus described as a woman of great faith.  We are going to examine her, look at what she did and how she did it that would lead Jesus to ascribe to her as a woman of great faith.  This woman is the portrait of what a person of great faith looks like.

I.  3 Obstacles This Woman's Faith Had To Overcome

#1:  Jesus Wouldn't Respond Back To Her

Did you notice in that story as the woman is crying out and begging Jesus to heal her daughter that Jesus literally ignored her?  Jesus was unwilling to stop and even have a conversation with the woman. He just kept on walking.

#2:  The Disciples Rejected Her

Then the disciples are getting annoyed by the woman's persistence asked Jesus to send her away because she was unwilling to leave them alone and kept on asking for Jesus to heal her daughter. There's no hint of compassion or care from any of the disciples! They just wanted Jesus to send her away.

#3:  She Wasn't Part Of The Targeted Group

Finally when Jesus was willing to start talking to her he told her that he wouldn't help her because she belonged to the wrong group of people.  He basically told her that He wouldn't help her because she didn't belong to the right "Target Group".  She had 3 strikes against her: She wasn't Jewish, he was a Gentile and she was a woman. 

II.  5 Characteristics Of Great Faith

So, what was it that stood out about this woman to Jesus that allowed him to ascribe to her as being a woman of great faith?  What did Jesus see or what stood out to him?

1.  Her Concern About Another

This woman wasn't crying out for help for herself! She was begging Jesus to help her daughter.  This woman had so much concern and care about her daughter that she was willing to risk the ridicule and rejection that she knew would probably come because of her being a Gentile woman asking help from a Jewish man.  But she was willing to endure the ridicule and shame because of the concern for her daughter.

Does our faith propel us to risk being made fun of or being endangered all because we care and are concerned about another?  Does your faith push you to take risks in order to help another?

2. Her Persistence

Did you notice that even though Jesus ignored her and his disciples rejected her she didn't give up and she stayed persistent in crying out over and over again to Jesus for help.  Can you picture the scene?  Envision Jesus walking down the road with his disciples and here is this woman following you, not going away or giving up, but keeps on crying out for Jesus to help her daughter. It probably wasn't a quite crying out but a loud one that was gaining the attention of everyone around.

3.  Her Respectfulness

Did you notice in verse 25 that the woman even knelt before Jesus in complete submission to him and his authority.  The woman in all her crying out wasn't rude at all.  This woman showed tremendous about of respect and submission to Jesus in her request for help.

4.  Her Passion

And then after she knelt down before Jesus she begs him once again passionately, "Lord, help me."  You could probably see her heart full of passion to get help for her daughter written all over her face and in her eyes.  Her face was probably drenched with tears and her eyes bloodshot from all the crying. 

5.  Her Humility

And then after Jesus basically calls this woman a "dog" when he explained to her that the reason why he could not help her was because it was not proper for the food that belongs to the children to be given to the dogs that this woman, through her faith, demonstrated true humility as she once again made her plea of faith.  Listen to the words of this woman,

"Yes it is, Lord,' she said. 'Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table."

This woman's response back to Jesus was simple this: "I am not asking you to give me anything that belongs to the children; I'm just asking for the scraps that fall onto the floor from the masters table".  In other words she was saying, "I maybe a dog but I'm at least entitled to eat the food that hits the floor."

This woman had so much faith in Christ that she knew that even the scraps that fall from his table is enough to heal her daughter. 

III.  Jesus' Evaluation Of The Woman

When Jesus say those things that expressed her faith He was absolutely blown away! He stopped, he looked her straight into her face and say, "You have great faith and your request is granted."  

This was an ordinary woman with nothing going in her favor except that she knew Jesus could heal her daughter if he just gave the word for it to happen and her faith wouldn't allow her to stop asking, crying out and begging Jesus with all humility.  

This could be you and me! You don't have to be born in a family with great wealth - you don't keep to graduate from some fancy school - you may have even been born on the wrong side of the tracks. None of that matters.  The only thing that matters is you FAITH IN CHRIST. 

Stop Waiting For Perfect Conditions Before Joining Christ On His Mission

Missional Living always happens when we hear the call of Christ to come join Him however, that invitations doesn't always come when conditions are perfect. As a matter of fact Followers of Christ often hear the call of Christ during some of the most difficult of times.  

1. How will you respond to Christ when you hear his invitation to join Him on his mission where he's at?
2. Will you be ready to leave the safety of your surroundings and join Him?  
3. Or, will you hide from what you perceive to be the dangers of where Christ is at?

Take a few moments and watch this Missional Living Devotional and be empowered to join Christ where he's at work when Christ calls you to join Him.

Do you know of other Followers of Christ who have put off joining Christ on His mission because they don't feel the conditions are right? Do you feel this devotional could encourage them to drop whatever it is that's holding them back and join Christ where He's at? If so, take a few moments and share this post on Facebook, Twitter, and your other social media venues.

Also, I'd like to hear your thoughts and insights. Please leave a comment at the bottom of the page and let's get a conversation started.  Let's get that conversation started by you answering this question in the "Comment" section.  Here's the question:

What Are Some Of The Storms That Have Kept You From Joining Christ On His Mission?

Ok, now leave your answer as a comment!

6 Descriptions For Biblical Missional Living Faith

1.   Faith Is Stretching Your Imagination To Match God’s Plan!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us ..” Eph 3:20 (NIV)

More often than not God is going to call you to join Him in His work that will absolutely blow your mind away! You will see no possible way for you to do it, so you will need to believe that God can accomplish His plan through you even though you know you can’t do it by yourself.

2.   Faith Is Believing What Christ Says He Will Do!

 “While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?”  But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”  Mark 5: 35,36 (NIV) 

Like Jairus there will come time in your life when you will have to choose whom to believe. Will you believe all the people who are telling you that hope is dead so just stop bothering God with your prayers or will you hear and believe the voice of Christ who says, “… only believe.”?

3.   Faith Is Risking Failure To Be Obedient To Christ!

“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”  2 Cor. 5:6-8 (NIV) 

So many times Christ tells His people things that He is going to do and accomplish but there is no evidence of it at all except for what He has said and God is also telling you to drop everything you have going on to join Him in that work.  For those who look at life without the lens of faith to join God looks like failure. But faith knows that God will accomplish all that He says He will do even though the circumstances look different.

4.   Faith Is Waiting For God's Answer To Our Need!

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Ps. 40:1 (NIV)

Faith knows that God is going to answer your prayers but He is going to answer it according to His timing and not ours.  Faith is often a process of waiting and waiting and waiting. But according to this verse it’s not just waiting but waiting patiently! That patient waiting is the full assurance that God’s timing is always the best timing and not just for us but for all who is concerned.

5. Faith Is Following Instructions Even When It Doesn't Make Sense!

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later received as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”

Hebrews 11:8 (NIV)

Let me ask you a question! Are you willing to obey God even when the instructions don’t make a bit of sense to you?  That’s exactly what Abraham did! He was told to get up and start walking to a new home that God was giving Him but God didn’t give any map. God just said “Go” and Abraham “Went” believing that when he arrived God would say “Stop”.  He obeyed the only instruction that God gave him, which was to go. 

6.   Faith Is Being Persistent And Never Quitting!

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Gal 6:7-9

Faith says, “I will not quit, I will not stop and I will keep pressing on until God accomplishes what he has promised to do.  I love this verse because it’s telling us not to stop the work that God has given us, to keep plowing that field, to keep being faithful to the work God has given us knowing that the harvest is coming. But we can’t give up!

So, do you have Biblical faith? Are you persistently following God’s instructions, as he stretches your imagination while patiently waiting for God to answer your cry’s and willing to risk failure as you believe in what Christ has told you?  Where does you faith need to grow?