Archive for September, 2009
Good Morning GraceView ! Hope you have had or will be having your spiritual wheaties this morning. Listen to these words of our brother and mentor in the faith and understand the requirement for blessing in your life today: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25 (NIV) James starts his thoughts in chapter 1 by saying he is a servant of God. We often claim the same—but are we living like it? Let’s press harder today to serve Him because we love Him and we know He loves us unconditionally.
TONIGHT –Plan to join others tonight for LifeGroups to “grow deeper” in your foundation that will continue to equip you as a servant and instrument of God’s grace! Haven’t been on Wednesdays yet? Come on anyway. Coffee House opens at 6:15 for light refreshments and our various Bible Studies begin at 6:45—or whenever you can get there! See you in a few hours!
ONE WHO IS TOTALLY UNAFFECTED BY OUR ECONOMY OR ANYTHING ELSE..
Saints of God- may I encourage you with this thought this morning: God is not inhibited, worried, frantic, destitute, lost, desperate, and certainly not affected by our economy or anything else in any way shape or form. We may feel we are. And, we know America is. But I assure you from the Truth of living Scripture—He is alive and on the throne and unaffected by anything because He is God! Quoting from Chapter 7, The Knowledge of the Holy, by Tozer: “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God,” said Moses in the Spirit. “From the vanishing point to the vanishing point” would be another way to say it quite in keeping with the words as Moses used them. The mind looks backward in time till the dim past vanishes, then turns and looks into the future till thought and imagination collapse from exhaustion; and God is at both points, unaffected by either….Because God lives in an everlasting now, He has no past and no future. When time words occur in the Scriptures they refer to our time, not to His….” Remind yourself often of David’s encouragement from the Psalms, “Why so downcast O My Soul, put your Hope in Him!” Have a great day in the grip of the all-sufficient-eternity of God! – Robbie
God is on your side! No doubt about it child of God, “… we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 Today, we have the opportunity to live out that purpose. And in Living God’s purpose out in our lives, He has given to us and will give to us EVERYTHING we need to be successful. His ultimate purpose for you and me today? – To continue conforming us to His image. What an awesome privilege! To think that the God of glory desires we become more and more like Him every day and has promised to work for our good-which is HIS good. This in fact means that God wants us to walk in total freedom from guilt, bad habits, habitual sins, indifference, apathy, discouragement, anxiety, and all those things “which so easily entangle us” while running the race that is set before us. So today-remember- God is on your side as your heavenly Father cheering you on and helping you each step to free you up in order to run the race and win the prize.
NATIONS’ LEADERS- what in the world?
Vance Havner wrote, “To some, Christianity is an argument. To many, it is a performance. To a few, it is an experience.” Today while the nations’ leaders meet and the arguments continue and the performances roll on, let’s be careful not to get caught up in the drama of argument or performance which only brings doubt and disillusionment with this world today, but rather, I encourage you and myself the most, to be caught up in “experiencing” the one and only supernatural- fresh flowing- energizing -sustaining -(and the list goes on) life source of all that promises abundant living! Don’t leave home this morning without His Spirit plugged in and your tanks full! J When you and I are plugged in to the Life Source, we are connected to the Alpha and Omega who sits high above any national leader. When we practice the regular interaction with the God who created the universe, we have no fears because “Greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world.” The last chapter of this world has already been written, and I assure you based on the infallible Scriptures that as true Christ Followers we are on the winning side. J But until victory day—these days of uncertainty—we must go through. But—it’s the “experience” that matters. So –“This is the day that the Lord has made-we will rejoice and be glad in it.” On Christ the Solid Rock we stand—all other ground is sinking sand! – Robbie
REFLECTIONS Yesterday was another great day at GraceView! Pam and I love you guys! There is such a genuine love and spirit of unity we enjoy. Our theme yesterday-“The Rich Fool”. Jesus made it clear to us that choosing to be greedy and self absorbed when it comes to possessions and wealth brings nothing but emptiness. I think we all realized as well that it’s not just the “rich people’ that struggle with wanting “more”. It’s all of us no matter the size of our bank account or paycheck. I guess that’s why God said: “The Love of Money is the root of all evil”. I was especially moved yesterday by the comment of one gentleman who told me the timing of this parable message was just right for him and his wife who had recently lost $100,000 in an investment. Having to digest this loss and its implications as you can imagine has been a tough pill to swallow. But knowing this individual—Him and His wife will accept this as an opportunity from the One who holds all the wealth of the world in his hands to grow stronger in what really matters in life. Friend- we go to work today and will receive a pay check – hopefully . And if you have a job—thank Him for it! But remember—as you go—it’s not about money today—it’s all about glorifying Him by reaching people with His good news
Here’s an Interesting quote by one of our country’s founders, Thomas Jefferson, that I think we should all print out-memorize-and share: “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”- Just think about that –and then think about this : “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:6-7
TRUE WEALTH Was reading this morning about a Man who thought he had it all together. He had amassed great wealth to the point it was necessary to rearrange and protect his assets. Obviously he had become so wealthy which in and of itself is not a bad thing. I know a lot of rich people who use their wealth for God’s kingdom work. However, this man had become vain and conceited about his success. I read about this man in Luke 12. Jesus knew about Him and confronted him with the reality of Life and that being rich in this life without being rich in God was to loose everything. Child of God- it does not matter whatever socio-economic scale on which you live, the drive for wealth, for security, for “things’, can negate all potential in life if you leave God out of the equation. Make Him top priority and focus on Him and serving Him this week, and “the things of earth will grow strangely dim”. We are all finding out through this global economic crisis that wealth is not the save all answer to life. If we know this is true—let’s live it, and model it to a world that is clinging to money and ‘things” as the answer to life. Turn your eyes upon Jesus –now—and keep them there. Further study: Luke 12: 13-21
The Knowledge of the Holy
Continuing with thoughts from A.W.Tozer in His Book, The Knowledge of the Holy : “When the Scripture states that a man was made in the image of God, we dare not add to that statement an idea from our own head and make it mean “in the exact image”. To do so is to make a man a replica of God, and that is to lose the unicity of God and end with no God at all. It is to break down the wall, infinitely high, that separates That –which-is-God from that-which-is-not God. To think of creature and creator as alike in essential being is to rob God of most of His attributes and reduce Him to the status of a creature. It is, for instance, to rob Him of His infinitude: there cannot be two unlimited substances in the universe. …” How does this statement grab you this morning? Does this mean God is too far from our grasp of understanding? Well—He is. But don’t let this bother you. This was the reason for His Son Jesus. Incarnate—in-the-flesh, made in the likeness of a man. Yes-we were made in His image, but not as an exact copy—for there is only one God-and we are not even close to Him. J Tozer goes on in this same chapter (2) to finish his thoughts on this matter: “The answer of the Bible is simply :”through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In Christ and by Christ, God effects complete self-disclosure, although He shows Himself not to reason but to faith and love…” As the Scripture encourages us – Selah! Meditate on these things. J
Have a great day—and remember- Psalm 1:6, “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous.”
Muslims on Capitol Hill
I was informed a couple days ago about the following web site concerning a September event that should cause concern and a watchful eye for Americans and especially Christ Followers: I encourage you to see this web site soon. islamoncapitolhill.com .
A.W.Tozer, author, teacher, and pastor in the early 1900’s wrote the following: “With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the Divine presence. We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence. ….The only way to recoup our spiritual losses is to go back to the cause of them and make such corrections as the truth warrants. The decline of the knowledge of the Holy has brought on our troubles. A rediscovery of the majesty of God will go a long way toward curing them….If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is.” I am re-reading Tozer’s book-The Knowledge of the Holy. Grab a copy from Lifeway and join me. Let me know what you think about Tozer’s words of challenge for us today. Take an hour away from your TV time and edify your soul. J
