from the heart

Day 10 - He Calls

“…He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: “’I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Matthew 9:12-13

Many years ago, my wife and I were building a relationship with the couple who lived across the street, intending to share Christ with them. One night we decided to go out to eat together, and when we picked them up, the woman was dressed in a very revealing blouse that created quite a stir in that restaurant. On one hand, I knew we were to be with this couple to share our testimony, but on the other hand, I was really, really worried what anyone who saw us with them might say. Of course, everyone we knew was there that night.

I shouldn’t have been so worried. Jesus faced the same issue. The story tells us that many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus at Matthew’s house. The word was that the Pharisees saw this as highly inappropriate behavior. Having no concern for the sinners, they had every concern about appearances.

Jesus told them to go get a heart. “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,” He told them. “I came for this very reason – to call sinners to repentance.”
We have a problem today. We like saints better than we like sinners. We love food, fellowship and good, clean Christian fun. But Jesus loves sinners.

It is so easy to forget that before Jesus Christ intervened in our lives, we were sick and lost. I’m glad Jesus loves sinners, because if He did not, you and I wouldn’t have much to look forward to!

I’m not suggesting that you give up your Christian friends. I’m suggesting that you and I need to have as many lost friends as saved ones. Both lost AND found. And since we don’t tend to do the same things, we must build bridges to them so that we, too, can call sinners to repentance.

In order to do this, I must remember one important thing. Those “sick sinners” Jesus refers to are not the enemy. They are simply people who have yet to hear and respond to Jesus – just like we once were. It is not our responsibility to judge them, but rather we are to call them to experience Jesus.

This week, maybe you ought to take up the neighbor’s invitation to go out to eat with them, regardless of what they might wear. You could bring a sweater along, just in case. Or perhaps you should make that party you’ve always avoided, just so there’d be some light shining in those parts. Matthew, the tax collector in whose house Jesus partied, makes a pretty convincing argument that the party strategy can work. It certainly did on him.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You so much for loving sinners. It is amazing grace that has such a sweet sound for a sinner such as I. Help me to join you in calling sinners to repentance.

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?
What am I being asked to do?
How do I need to begin obeying Him today?

Day 9 - He Forgives

“Then behold they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you.'” Matthew 9:2

As we pray for those God has given us to reach out to, this story comes along. Two things cannot escape our attention today.

First, the paralytic’s friends brought him to Jesus. I could stop right there and coin a phrase: “Friends bring friends to Jesus.” That’s what it looks like here. A paralytic cannot walk for himself. He cannot transport himself to be healed. He is unable to go anywhere without help, but apparently this paralytic was fortunate enough to have some real friends – the kind who are willing to take him straight to Jesus. You’ve got to love friends like that.

But notice this: “When Jesus saw THEIR faith…” There is no way around this phrase. Jesus honored the faith of the friends and worked in this man’s life. What about your faith? When you bring your friends to hear about Jesus, do you expect God to work? You should!

The second thing is really worth noting. Jesus did something far better than making this man able to walk. He forgave him of his sins. Walking is good, but walking is temporary. Forgiveness is forever. And so is unforgiveness.

You see, when we bring people to Jesus we give them the opportunity to escape an eternity of separation and condemnation because of sin. We lead them to the One who can set them free. And if they choose to accept that forgiveness, we have also led them to a place of absolute acceptance before a Holy and Merciful God.

The paralytic in Matthew 9 is a picture of the lame and broken people God has placed in our lives who either cannot or will not come to experience the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. The men who brought this paralytic are a picture of Christ-followers who know that the only escape from a life of hopelessness is Jesus.

We should be praying. We should also plan on bringing people to meet Jesus. Who will we bring today?

Prayer:
Lord, I am reminded today of the incredible forgiveness you’ve given me, and that there are many people in my life that I call friends who have never tasted forgiveness. I’ve never brought them to You! But I’m willing to! As I pray for them, help me also plan for them to hear – one way or another – about Your merciful ways through Jesus Christ.

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?

What am I being asked to do?

How do I need to begin obeying Him today?

Day 8 - He Crosses Over

“So He got into a boat and crossed over, and came to His own city.” Matthew 9:1

There is a chapter in the Bible that gives us one incredible picture after another of how Jesus lived out His purpose to “seek and save that which was lost.” This week, as we focus on praying for those people who are spiritually needy and whom God has placed in our lives, we’ll watch the Master touch lives in Matthew 9.

The first verse is a good place to start and it tells us where to start – in our own city. Now, Jesus was heading back to His own city because He’d just been run out of the city He’d come from. In fact, the whole city begged Him to leave because He was casting demons out of a man and into a herd of pigs who then rushed headlong into the waters and drowned. Never mind that the man was set free. No, the pigs were dead so Jesus had to leave. Funny how that works.

So He goes back to His own city and the people begin to come to Him. One after another they come and His ministry of healing, teaching and mentoring began moving forward.

Two years later, when Jesus gave His followers their marching orders, He told them to first go to their own city. For some of us, that is hard. Home is where everyone knows us. In our own city, we are just so familiar to everyone that, well, we just can’t get the same results.

Many are the people who cherish a mission trip to the ends of the earth, but fail to first go to their own city. Every church wants a powerful missions emphasis but it is difficult to plant and reap in our own city. Jesus said to go to our own city; and He Himself went, so that is where we begin.

Where is your own city? What is your “Jerusalem?” Where is your neighborhood? Who are your family members? This is our home city. One of my old seminary professors wrote a book called, “Concentric Circles of Concern,” in which he very clearly argued that the closest people in our circle are the people we have the greatest influence over. It is there, he said, that we should be focusing. He must be right. He agrees with Jesus.

Sometimes it is hard to get to your own city. Jesus had to get in a boat and cross over to get there, but when He did, the ministry times were especially powerful. What will it take for you and I to “cross over?”

Perhaps we need to cross over the street and meet our neighbors, as I had the opportunity to do last week. Maybe we need to cross over the hallway and talk to a co-worker. It could be that we should cross over family tradition and just get real with a lost relative. Increasingly, crossing over means to get over the race, language and cultural barriers, but cross over we must!

In Matthew 9, if Jesus had not crossed over, the paralytic would have died paralyzed, the tax collector would never have followed Him, and the synagogue official’s little girl would never have gotten up off her deathbed. So, cross over today.

Prayer:
Dear God, help me to be bold and courageous enough to cross over for the sake of the gospel. Show me my home turf and let me take ownership over it for their souls sake!

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?

What am I being asked to do?

How do I need to begin obeying Him today?

Day 7 - He Weeps

“Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, 'See how He loved him.'” John 11:35-36

The shortest verse in the Bible says a whole lot more than you’d think two words could say. Read the whole story and you find more. Jesus was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” He was “deeply moved within.”

What does it say about someone when they weep, deeply moved, because of the death of a friend, and the anguish of his loved ones? It says that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. It says he felt their pain and heartbreak.

In that one moment, we get a glimpse of a God who cries. It is not the crying of anger and rage. It is also not the crying of frustration over people who just won’t cooperate. No, these are the tears of compassion and love. They are the tears of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, as He experiences the separation of death and decay of body by his friend, Lazarus. He cries because Lazarus is gone, and because His sisters have a void in their hearts. He weeps over the human condition of sin and the resulting death.

But He does not only weep. He also prays. He asks the Father to give Lazarus new life, and of course, God does just that. Lazarus comes out of the grave alive. Can you imagine the pandemonium that broke out over a man dead four days and now alive?

Great things happen when we weep. Greater things happen when we pray.

Who do we weep over? Who do we pray for?

Part of following Jesus and serving Him is this part of weeping and praying. To know that our friends, co-workers and family will one day face death and stand before a Holy God is enough to make us “be moved in spirit and troubled.” It should be enough to make us weep for them.

And it must be enough to make us pray for them. In this week of prayer, will you commit yourself to praying for those God has put in your life like never before?

Years ago, a brother of my friend was lost and totally out of touch spiritually. His marriage was coming apart and he was dealing with deep depression. This friend wept for his brother and encouraged me to join in prayer for his salvation. In a few short weeks, in a church service, I watched this man make a decision for Christ. In my mind, the connection between our praying with tears and his decision for Christ were intertwined. God had answered.

Who has God led to you to be moved by, to be concerned about and to pray for? Are you asking God to prepare their hearts, and to open their spiritual eyes? Are you building a relationship to them so that God can use you as a channel of His love?
As you pray, listen for God to show you what to do next. Expect Him to do great things!

Prayer:
Lord, I want you to give me the capacity for compassion. Let me be sensitive enough to weep over those who are in spiritual darkness. As I pray for those you have given me, I ask you to bring them salvation and forgiveness. Give them the gift of eternal life.

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?

What am I being asked to do?

How do I need to begin obeying Him today?

Day 6 - He Rewards

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…”  2 Corinthians 5:10-11

This sounds like a “bad news” passage. “Judgment seat” is the first flag. Then, “according to what he has done” gets us a little concerned. But the “terror of the Lord” really sends us over the top. This is not good, we think.

But it is good. The passage is speaking of the motivation for serving Christ – and Paul reminds us that we are going to heaven one day. We’ll be going right into the presence of Jesus when we die – immediately.

Since we are, we also need to know we’ll be standing before His judgment seat. Now, this is the good news. Our sin has already been judged on the cross. This time, it is our works that are being judged. And the judgment seat spoken of here is actually the victor’s stand, much as the Olympic champions are recognized on a platform and given a medal. This speaks of REWARD.

Sure, we’re motivated by a healthy fear of the Lord. Sure, we’re mindful of the serious admonition to be His followers, witnesses, ambassadors and soldiers. All that is present in the passage.

But it is that motivation that moves us to “persuade men” and it is, in part, that activity that is being rewarded at the end.

Let’s just say you’ve been called to run an Olympic race and your country has authorized you to do so. You have the uniform, the training, and a place on the starting line. You run with all your might. You do your very best, striving to please the country that sent you. The race is now over and you’re on the winner’s stand. You’ve done everything you were asked to do – a reward is coming.

That’s the picture we have here.

I may not feel a reward coming for reaching out to people who don’t know Jesus, but one is most certainly coming. I may not understand how God can reward me for simply being faithful to pray, invest and invite others to come to Christ, but the Word tells me I’ll be rewarded. I may not even be serving for that reward, but I can expect it!

See, I’m not running this race called life without a purpose. I’ve been called, given a track to run on, given a position to fill, and I’m running the race to please Him who called me. I’m looking forward to that day!

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the promise of reward. My greatest ambition, however, is to please You by fulfilling the purpose for which You have me here. I want to go for You, speak for You and please You. As I look around, let me see the race I’m to run today as an ambassador for Jesus Christ.

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?

What am I being asked to do?

How do I need to begin obeying Him today?

Day 5 - He Anoints

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

I’m really glad God doesn’t just give us a job to do, send us out, and then leave us to ourselves! He goes with us!

True, sometimes we feel that He has left us alone out there as witnesses, and more times than not we act like we are doing this all by ourselves. Our fear sometimes convinces us we’re flying solo with no real piloting experience. It can be hair-raising when we think like that.

The truth, however, is that God goes with us. He anoints us by the power of His own Holy Spirit. See, the disciples of Jesus had the same concerns you and I have about going out as witnesses and ambassadors for Christ. For three years, Jesus was WITH them before going to the cross and dying there. So the disciples felt very much alone.

He’d told them about this day – but they didn’t quite grasp the concept. “And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.” John 14:16

Jesus’ plan all along was to anoint us with the power of His Holy Spirit, who abides in the life of every Christ-follower. It happened in Acts 2 at Pentecost and those followers were filled with power and as the Holy Spirit came upon them. It happens again every time someone accepts Christ. Jesus gives each of us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide us and to empower us. We never go alone!

When you take steps to share the good news of salvation with people that God has placed in your life, you can be sure that you are anointed by the Holy Spirit to be a witness. You have the stamp of authority to be His ambassador. You have the license to fish for men. He is WITH you!

When Jesus is with you, doors are opened. He can open the doors of peoples’ hearts. He can open the doors of circumstance and opportunity. He can break down language barriers (just read Acts 2), cultural barriers (just read John 4) and every other kind of hindrance. When Jesus is with you, people can tell you’ve been with Him, and He is able to draw them to the gospel. You’re not alone.

Because Jesus Christ anoints me to be a witness, all I have to do is obey. He does the rest. “You shall receive power…and you shall be My witnesses…”

Prayer:
Lord, I confess that I am often afraid and feel alone when it comes to telling others about You. I acknowledge the truth today, however, that You are with me everywhere I go. I ask you to help me remember this truth and walk by it – whether I feel alone or not – You are with me. As I pray, and as I invest and invite, demonstrate Your power through me.

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?

What am I being asked to do?

How do I need to begin obeying Him today?

Day 4 - He Gives

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18

God has given us two great things.

First, He has given us “reconciliation!” He has graciously and lovingly secured our good standing with God by sending Jesus Christ to the cross in our place. In verse 21 of this passage, Paul says it like this: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Being reconciled to God means everything that separates, everything that condemns, and everything that brings war is put to rest and placed in proper order. Because Jesus died on the cross for us, we have been made right in every way with God. Consequently, we enjoy a new relationship full of joy, promise and acceptance!

But God also gives us something else. He gives us a ministry. Every true believer has a ministry that is not tied to their spiritual giftedness, nor is it dependent upon their level of maturity. He gives us a ministry of reconciliation because we have experienced it ourselves, and can clearly describe it.

It is a “word of reconciliation.” That is, our testimony. Did you know that one of the most interesting and powerful tools you possess as a Christ-follower is your testimony? It is amazing how interested people are in hearing real and compelling stories of what God has done in someone’s life. They may argue theology with you, but they cannot deny a real-life story.

Your testimony can include three things.
1) What your life was like before you met Jesus Christ
2) How you came to put your trust in Jesus Christ
3) What life has been like since that time.
When you put it down on paper, it is quite an amazing tool.

Some people write their testimony on paper and send it to those who need to hear it. Others commit it to memory and are ready to share whenever and wherever God gives them the chance. But the point is, your word of reconciliation is ready. When coupled with the verses that clarify what Jesus came to do – you have your God-given tools.

It is also a job with a title. We are “ambassadors for Christ.” Paul actually says it is as though God is pleading through us for others to be reconciled to Christ! The ambassador’s job is to simply represent the One who commissions him. And God has given us this commissioning!

So, ambassador, in exercising this ministry, look carefully at the ones God has placed in front of you and be prepared to share the word of reconciliation with them. As you invest and invite them to come see Jesus Christ, you join your Master in His work to “seek and save that which was lost.”

Prayer:
Lord, today I represent You. Help me tell my story to all You bring my way and give me the resolve to represent You well in a world that does not know You.

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?

What am I being asked to do?

How do I need to begin obeying Him today?

Easter is coming!

This is an incredible and effective time of outreach for our church. This year, we’ll be having a Good Friday Cross Service, where this unique method of preaching while carving a cross will take place once again. I never get tired of preaching that message, and there are some new elements involved this year, so plan your calendars around this Good Friday Service on April 10, 7pm. It is THE event to bring people with you who need to hear and see the message of the Cross.

Easter Sunday Morning, April 12, we will be having 3 Sunday morning services. We will again offer an 8, 9:15 and 10:45 am identical service and encourage those who will be serving in one of the later services to come to the early service.

Miracle Moments continue to be the way by which people come to faith and to First Euless. We’ve had thousands of miracle moments reported in the last few months, and I want to keep it on your radar screen. This year to date, we’re experiencing a 10% increase in attendance over last year in worship services and continue to increase in our Connection Classes as well (over 5% more than last year). You have a lot to do with that, since 36% of those who have joined our church have said they did so because they were first invited by a friend to attend. A huge percentage of people consider attending an Easter weekend service somewhere – invite them to come here!

Another statistic to remember is that nearly 9 out of 10 people say they’d attend church if a friend invited them. Who will you invite next week? For Easter? We can impact the lives of others by inviting them to attend – or even better, inviting them to know Christ as you know Him. Now is the time to reach out!

Day 3 - He Makes

“Then Jesus said to them, “Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Mark 1:17

This verse used to bother me. Badly. It bothered me because a preacher had the audacity to take it apart and put it back together in a very uncomfortable way. It was uncomfortable because it brought conviction to me, and I didn’t appreciate it one bit!

Here’s what he said. “If Jesus said, “Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men,” then when we follow Jesus we will be becoming exactly that. And if we are not becoming fishers of men, somehow and someway, is it not true that we are not following Jesus?”

See. You don’t like it either.

Well, in all fairness, I must say that the preacher was right. This is what that verse says. And when you put it in the context of a bunch of fishermen who were listening to Jesus that day, it helps us understand better.

Jesus is saying that in the same way our vocation may be fishing for fish, He will call us to an underlying motive and purpose for all we do – and that is helping others find Jesus Christ. We are to be ready and willing to draw the net on all who God brings into our range.

That means we must have our net out.

It means we must be ready to draw it in.

It further means we must be watching for this to take place. When someone fishes, they keep their eyes on the line or on the net. We must always be ready to invest in the lives of those around us and invite them to know the Jesus that we know.

Statistics tell us that 70% of the people who come to church are invited by someone they know, and they respond positively. The Billy Graham Association once published that 93% of those who made decisions at their crusades were brought by friends. Only 7% “just happened” in to the crusade. If these statistics are true, it speaks loudly about the importance of being fishers of men.

Who is in the region of your net? If I were to ask you who it is that God has placed in your life that you might invest and invite to come and see Jesus, who would you name? Do you see what the Lord is calling His followers to do? Will you do it?

Prayer:
Lord, I am a fisher of men. I may not have a lot of experience, but I am a willing learner. Make me become a fisher of men. Let me see the underlying purpose for why You have placed the people in my life who are there. And as I list their names to pray for them, to invest and invite, let me experience the “catch of a lifetime!”

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?

What am I being asked to do?

How do I need to begin obeying Him today?

Day 2 - He Invites

“The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip
and said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” John 1:43

Jesus came into the world to “seek and save that which was lost.” Well, what does that look like from OUR side of the fence? What do the “lost” hear about it?

Jesus came with an invitation. He invites people to come see what He has to offer. In John 1, He first invites two disciples of John to “come and see.” (v. 39) They wanted to know where He was staying, so He invited them to find out for themselves. Then He invited Philip to “follow Me.”

Later we find Philip echoing the same invitation to Nathanael, who asks another question that is answered by Philip’s words, “Come and see.”

I can make a pretty good case for our purpose here. Our purpose is to follow Jesus and to invite people to come and see for themselves Who He is! One interesting trail that runs through John 1 is the trail of relationships. These folks were all connected.

Watch this:
    *Andrew first heard Jesus speak. (v. 40)
    *Andrew first found his brother, Peter, and told him. (v. 41)
    *After Jesus found Philip, Philip found Nathanael and invited him to see Jesus. (v. 45)
    *In John 2, they were all invited to a wedding, and went and showed them His power.

If you’re seeing what is happening here you know that people were sharing within their own networks of friends about the impact Jesus was having, and it began to be an increasing series of concentric circles. Before long, everyone knew who Jesus was. Without a program. With a revival. They just told everyone they knew.

Sometimes getting back to the basics is the best way to go. Getting back to our basic purpose to follow Jesus and tell others is right on target. At First Euless, we call this “helping people believe in Jesus Christ, belong to His church, and begin their true spiritual journey….” Simple. To the point. Purposeful. And powerful. When people begin to follow Jesus, their lives change.

Since Jesus invited us to follow Him, one great way to follow Him is inviting others to experience Him as well. Easter will be one of the greatest ways to say to a neighbor, friend or relative, “Come and see.”

Who has God placed in your life and within your circles of concern? Whose names will you put down on the list, pray for, and invite to “come and see?”

When we invite others to see Jesus, we are walking with Him in His purpose, which is to “seek and save that which was lost.”

Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I consider my greatest calling in life is to follow Jesus. As I begin this 21 Day spiritual journey, I ask you to help me be a living invitation for people to come and see Jesus Christ. I know that this is part of my eternal purpose.

Questions:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to me today?

What am I being asked to do?

How do I need to begin obeying Him today?