Good Morning Church

RSS Feed

April 4, 2023

John 16:33  In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

We call the first professional football games preseason games. These games are played in August when they don;t count in the standings. Coaches use these games to evaluate newly signed players. Veteran players hardly play at all.

We call the first Major League Baseball games spring training games. These games are played in late February and March in Florida and Arizona. They don't count in the standings either. Coaches use these games to evaluate newly signed players, while veterans don't play that much.

In preseason and spring training games, even when you win, you really don't win. When you beat your opponent, you really don't beat your opponent. When you gain the victory, you really don't gain the victory. None of these games count.

Have you ever felt as though your life is like a preseason football game or spring training baseball game? that what you're doing really doesn't count? that even when you win, it really doesn't matter? that even when you work hard, at the end of the day, it feels pointless? Are you looking for a victory that lasts, that has substance? Are you looking for real victory?

Then I have good news for you - really good news! Although we make evil decisions, say evil words, and think some really evil thoughts, Christ has won the great battle through His shed blood and empty tomb. The victory is ours. This is a settled fact, never to be altered.
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

April 3, 2023

John 16:30  We believe that You came from God.

Imagine you're hiking and you come to a narrow, rickety-looking footbridge - one hundred feet above a river. The only way to get to the other side is that bridge, but you're not sure it will hold. You slowly begin to make your way across, testing each step before moving on. You've got to believe in that bridge to get you to the other side. But, it's not your belief in the bridge that keeps you from falling - it's the bridge.

I can have just a little belief in a good bridge and slowly creep to the other side. Or I can have a lot of belief in a bad bridge, only to have it give way under my feet.

Belief is only as good as the object of our belief. Jesus is the object of our belief. That's what the disciples say in John 16:30. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is God the Son. Jesus is God's promised Messiah, the Root and Offspring of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the Bright Morning Star. Our belief is not in belief. Our belief is in Jesus.

At Jesus' Baptism, the Father declared Him the Son of God. At Jesus' crucifixion, a Roman soldier declared Him the Son of God. Paul says in Romans 1:$ that, at Jesus' resurrection, He is declared the Son of God. Baptized. Crucified. Risen from the dead. Jesus, the Son of God! We believe!
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

March 30, 2023

The twelve apostles included "Andrew" (Matt. 10:2). 

Andrew was Peter's brother and a native of Bethsaida of Galilee. From the very start we see him leading people to Christ—beginning with his own brother. 

The Gospel of John records his first encounter with Jesus: "John [the Baptist] was standing, and two of his disciples [Andrew and John], and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.... One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus" (John 1:35-37, 40-42). Later Jesus called both Andrew and Peter to become His disciples, and they immediately left their fishing nets to follow Him (Matt 4:20). 

Our next glimpse of Andrew is in John 6:8-9. It was late in the day, and thousands of people who were following Jesus were beginning to get hungry, but there wasn't enough food to feed them. Then Andrew brought to Jesus a young boy with five barley loaves and two fish. From that small lunch Jesus created enough food to feed the entire crowd! 

Andrew also appears in John 12:20-22, which tells of some Greeks who were traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover feast. They came to Philip and requested to see Jesus. Philip took them to Andrew, who apparently took them to Jesus. 

Andrew didn't always know how Jesus would deal with a particular person or situation, but he kept right on bringing them to Him anyway. That’s a characteristic every believer should have. Your spiritual gifts might differ from others, but your common goal is to make disciples (Matt 28:19-20), and that begins with leading sinners to Christ. Make that your priority today! 
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

March 29, 2023

The twelve apostles included "Simon, who is called Peter (Matt. 10:2). 

God makes leaders by taking people with the right raw material, putting them through the right experiences, and teaching them the right lessons. That’s how He trained Peter, and the results were astonishing. In the first twelve chapters of Acts we see Peter initiating the move to replace Judas with Matthias, preaching powerfully on the Day of Pentecost, healing a lame man, standing up to the Jewish authorities, confronting Ananias and Sapphira, dealing with Simon the magician, healing Aeneas, raising Dorcas from the dead, and taking the gospel to the Gentiles. In addition, he wrote two epistles that pass on to us all the lessons he learned from Jesus. What a leader! 

Peter was as much a model of spiritual leadership in death as he was in life. Jesus told him he would be crucified for God's glory, and early church tradition tells us that Peter was in fact crucified. But before putting him to death, his executioners forced him to watch the crucifixion of his wife. As he stood at the foot of her cross, he encouraging her by saying over and over, "Remember the Lord, remember the Lord." When it was time for his own crucifixion, he requested that he be crucified upside-down because he felt unworthy to die as his Lord had died. His request was granted. 

Just as God transformed Peter from a brash and impulsive fisherman into a powerful instrument for His glory, so He can transform everyone who is yielded to Him. 

You will never be an apostle, but you can have the same depth of character and can know the same joy of serving Christ that Peter knew. There's no higher calling in the world than to be an instrument of God's grace. Peter was faithful to that calling. May you be a faithful tool!
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

March 28, 2023

The twelve apostles included "Simon, who is called Peter" (Matt. 10:2). 

We have seen that God uses our experiences to mold us into more effective Christians and leaders. Using Peter as our example, let's briefly look at five lessons we can learn from our experiences—submission, restraint, humility, sacrifice, and love. 

 Leaders tend to be confident and aggressive, so they must learn to submit to authority. Jesus illustrated that by telling Peter to go fishing and to look for a coin in the mouth of the first fish he caught (Matt 17:24-27). He was to use that coin to pay their taxes. Peter was a citizen of God's Kingdom, but he needed an object lesson in submitting to governmental authorities. 

When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter grabbed a sword and would have fought the entire group if Jesus hadn't restrained him. Peter needed to learn to entrust His life to the Father, just as Christ was doing. 

Peter bragged that he would never leave or forsake Christ—but he did. Perhaps humility was the most painful lesson he had to learn. Jesus told Peter that he would die as a martyr (John 21:18-19). From that day forward Peter knew his life was on the line, and yet he was willing to make the necessary sacrifice and minister anyway. 

 Leaders tend to be task-oriented and often are insensitive to people. Peter was that way, so Jesus demonstrated love by washing his feet and by instructing him to do loving deeds for others (John 13:6-9,34). 

Submission, restraint, humility, sacrifice, and love should be characteristic of every believer—no matter what role he or she has within the Body of Christ. I pray they are characteristic of your life, and that you will constantly seek to grow in those graces as God continues His work in you.  
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

March 27, 2023

The twelve apostles included "Simon, who is called Peter" (Matt 10:2). 

Stan is a dear brother in Christ and a fellow pastor. Before coming to Grace Lutheran Church pastored a church in Montana. While there, he was riding one night in a truck that was involved in a very serious accident. Stan suffered a broken neck and other major injuries. As a result he underwent months of arduous and painful therapy. 

That was one of the most difficult periods in Stan's life, and yet God used it for a specific purpose. Today, as pastor of special-ministries department, Stan ministers to more than five hundred physically and mentally handicapped people. God needed a man with unique qualifications to show love to a group of very special people. He chose Stan and allowed him the necessary experiences to fit him for the task. 

God doesn't always permit such serious situations, but He does lead each of us into life changing experiences that heighten our effectiveness in ministry. 

Peter had many such experiences. In Matthew 16:15-16, for example, God gave him special revelation about the deity of Christ. In Acts 10 God sent him to preach the gospel to Gentiles—something unheard of at the time because Jewish people resisted any interaction with Gentiles. Perhaps the most tragic experience of Peter’s life was his denial of Christ. But even that only increased his love for Christ and his appreciation of God's grace. After His resurrection, Christ forgave him and restored him to ministry (John 21:15-19). 

Peter's many experiences helped prepare him for the key role he was to play in the early church. Similarly, your experiences help prepare you for future ministry. So seek to discern God's hand in your circumstances, and rejoice at the prospect of becoming a more effective Christian. 
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

March 23, 2023

The twelve apostles included "Simon, who is called Peter" (Matt.10:2). 

Peter is a good illustration of how God builds a spiritual leader. He begins with a person's natural traits and works from mere. Natural traits alone don't make a spiritual leader; the person must also be gifted and called by the Holy Spirit to lead in the church and to be a model of spiritual virtue. But often God endows future leaders with natural abilities that constitute the raw materials from which He builds spiritual ministries. That was certainly the case with Peter, who demonstrated the leadership qualities of inquisitiveness, initiative, and involvement. 

Peter was always asking questions. In fact, the Gospel records show that he asked more questions than all the other disciples combined! People who aren't inquisitive don’t make good leaders because they're not concerned about problems and solutions. Initiative was another indicator of Peter's leadership potential. He not only asked questions, but also he was often the first to respond when Jesus asked questions (e.g., Matt 16:15-16; Luke 8:45). 

Also, Peter loved to be in the middle of the action, even when it got him into trouble. For example, we might criticize his lack of faith when he sank after walking on water, but remember, the rest of the disciples never even got out of the boat. 

Peter was inquisitive, showed initiative, and sought to be involved. How about you? Are you inquisitive about God's truth? Do you take the initiative to learn about Him? Do you want to be involved in what He is doing? If so, you have the raw material for spiritual leadership. Continue to cultivate those qualities, allowing the Spirit to use you for God's glory. 
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Posts