Trumpet Time

How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?-But to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:11-12

It was so perfect. It couldn't have been more perfect, and I've never seen it anywhere close to that perfect again.

Back when I was in high school, I was way into surfing. I was so into surfing that I sacri-

ficed to save up money to go to Hawaii to surf with nine of my best buddies. When we finally went, we found one particular surfing spot. We paddled out and it was absolutely perfect.

Hardly anybody was there. We couldn't believe it. I mean, it was amazing. It was an outer break. Then after the outer break, it surfed into a mid break that connected to a shore break. It was absolutely awesome.

I've been back to Hawaii a number of times since and I've looked for that place, and I've never, ever found it again. I've even asked people who live in Hawaii about that particular spot that I got to surf on that day and they look at me like, No way. You actually surfed there? It's almost like if I didn't know it actually happened, I would think maybe I was dreaming. It was that perfect. It was that epic. It was that awesome. And it was that rare, because it's never happened again.

The problem with that surfing spot is that the conditions are very rarely right to be able to surf there. And I wonder if sometimes the same is true about our witness, if maybe our witness so rarely shows because the conditions just aren't right.

Maybe the timing isn't convenient. Maybe we're afraid of being rejected. Maybe we feel shame from things we know we shouldn't have done. Maybe we feel like those relationships are too broken to be a witness in them. Whatever it is, we feel that the conditions aren't right.

And maybe you're right that the conditions certainly aren't ideal. But there is one thing I know, and it's that Jesus told us to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

This means that we don't get to be fake. If our faith is real, then it comes out. No masks. No hiding. Just simply living out the light of who we are because of Jesus' work and presence in our lives. Our witness shouldn't depend on our conditions, because the only condition that matters is Jesus in our hearts.

Don't let your witness come around once in a lifetime. Instead, let the light of Jesus shine every day in everything you do.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that Your presence and work in my life is what qualifies me to be a witness! I give myself over to Your work and presence in me completely. Help me to let my light shine!

Amen

Can You Believe This?

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 1 Corinthians 3:11-14

Do you like puzzles? A lot of people do, and a lot of people don't, but there is one puzzle that all of us are stuck with-the puzzle of life.

Life is a puzzle because it's made up of lots of different pieces-our identity, family, hob-

bies, jobs, education, friends, church, etc.-and we're all trying to figure out how these pieces are supposed to go together and what they really mean to us.

In our verses for today, Paul gives us a huge key to figure out how to put the pieces of our life together. He tells us that the starting place of our life-the beginning, the foundation, the origin and point of it all-is Jesus Christ. Everything we do will be judged by how well it builds on this beginning.

It does us well to ask the question of how we build on the foundation of Jesus in our lives, and the answer is that we build with good works. Now, I must be very, very clear that no one can have the foundation of Jesus in their lives except by the grace of God. This is the salvation we receive by grace through faith. But I must be equally clear that we build on our faith, proving it with good works that honor God in our lives.

We cannot just say, Well, I believe in Jesus, and then live our lives as though He means nothing to us. If Jesus is in our lives, then He transforms our lives and we choose to honor Him in the decisions we make and the actions we take.

What's more, everything we do is recorded, but it is recorded so that we can be rewarded. Every day, every act, every thought, every deed, every opportunity, every accomplishment is recorded so that God can reward us in Heaven one day. But if we don't build well, we have salvation, but we have no reward.

Choose well to live for Jesus so that when you stand before Him one day, your works will not be burned up in the testing fire. For if they endure, then reward awaits you; if they do not endure, the no reward awaits you.

The choice is yours. Choose well.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

It's scary to me that everything I do in life might burn up one day when You test it. Please help me to choose to live for You every day so that I will receive a great reward from You on that Day.

Amen

What Hinders Holiness

And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. Leviticus 20:26

There is a lot of talk about budgets these days, and for good reason, but do you understand what a budget is really all about?

A budget, put in different terms, is a way of intentionally setting apart portions of your income for various purposes. I make X number of dollars, and the first portion is set aside for my tithe, one portion goes to pay the house payment, another portion is set apart for the car payment, and on it goes until the bills are paid.

That much of your budget covers your commitments, but what do you do with the rest? How you apportion the rest, the things for which you set it aside, tell me a lot about what your heart loves most.

When we talk in church about holiness, we are talking about being set apart. It means that our life is budgeted for a purpose. We are given resources of time, love, money, and more, and God calls us to be holy-set apart-for His purposes.

But when we spend all these resources chasing after the things of the world-wealth, possessions, prejudices, selfishness, and pride-then we have become holy for ourselves. Or you could say wholly for ourselves, set apart for our own desires and purposes, selfishly building our own little kingdom on this earth that won't last into eternity.

We need to lay these things down and follow God's call to true holiness. Be holy as I am holy, He says, and out of His holiness, He sent His Son to die for wretched sinners. He set aside the rights of His deity-His wealth, His riches, His power, His authority, His Heavenand He came to Earth to save the likes of us.

Holiness is when we do the same thing, when we take whatever we have and we offer it up to God for His purposes, for His calling. It's when we give of what we have to help raise up those in need-the lost, the poor, the orphans and widows, the broken marriages.

Wherever we are rich, let us use that wealth for God's purposes, to build His kingdom. Then we will have treasure in Heaven. Then we will begin to understand what holiness is all about.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for demonstrating Your holiness by coming to earth to save me! I'm sorry for the ways I have been holy just for myself; please forgive me. Help me to be holy as You are holy, setting my life apart for Your purposes.

Amen

Holy Moley

And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach.' Isaiah 4:1

Have you ever been to a costume party? Chances are good that you go to them more often than you think.

Almost all of us wear costumes, so let me tell you about some of the most common cos-

tumes people wear these days.

Success. People wear the costumes of cars, fancy houses, jewelry galore, nice clothes, and all the other trimmings. You know what? I've talked to a lot of these people and I have discovered something. Almost all of them are insecure, wondering the same questions about life that everyone else is wondering. The success and the bling and the sweet rides and the fancy cribs, none of it fills that hole of desire in their hearts.

Beauty. Have you ever been to one of those popular health clubs? They're packed with people, many of whom are there not for the sake of health, but for the sake of beauty. They want to look good. They want to impress people. And while they are disgusted at being ogled when they walk down the street, they like that they turn heads. Plastic surgeons and Botox clinics make their living by providing these costumes.

Relationships. A lot of people try to hide who they are with the people they choose as friends. I must be cool; just look at my friends! They pretend that nothing is wrong while they attend the upscale parties and the fanciest release bashes, or they feel important because their friends are high ranking business or government officials. All of this is a costume.

You want to know the only costume that works? It's Christ. He's the only costume that works, because when we put Him on, He changes our heart. And when He changes our heart, it fulfills who we were created to be and we no longer live a pretended life; we can actually live a genuine one.

Would you like a genuine life today? Then put off the costume and put on Christ.

Prayer Jesus Christ,

I confess that I have worn costumes all my life, trying to make myself look better than I really am. But I know that all of those things are worthless compared to You. I want the genuine life that You offer me. Please come into my life and make me Yours!

Amen

Forever

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate... But Abraham said [to the rich man](), Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.' Luke 16:19-20,25

We stand at the edge of a vast chasm. Our choice between two extremes will determine our fate, and once we have gone to one side of the chasm, we can never cross to the other.

On one hand we can see the wealth of the world. Splendor and majesty, ease and comfort grow large in our vision and entice our desires. On the other hand we see the suffering of the world. Beggars and the broken, filth and poverty fill our sight and we shudder with revulsion.

Our logical mind tells us that there is no choice to be made here, our decision must be obvious. But Jesus says it is not as plain as that. He says that there is a life beyond what we can see that we must consider.

Looking above the chasm to Him, we ask for help to understand what He means. In answer, He simply pulls open His chest so that we can see His heart. Images of His glory flash in our minds and we realize with awe the vast treasure He possesses in Heaven. But that is not all we can see in His heart, for quickly the vision of Heaven is swallowed up by a vision of indescribable destitution. Immediately we know that we see the wretchedness of mankind, the poverty of those living as broken images of God.

Then we understand the choice set before us. It is the same choice that was once set before Jesus. He saw the splendor of Heaven, yet He also saw the afflictions of mankind. He weighed all that He possessed and accounted that it was worth nothing if He must abandon His creation to keep it.

Our vision of Jesus fades and we find ourselves still standing on the edge of the chasm. Having seen Jesus' heart, we know exactly what to do. We know that all we have is worth nothing if we use it only to comfort ourselves.

So we make our choice. We count all we have, offer it up to Jesus, and continue through life, working to take every opportunity we have to meet the needs we encounter around us.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You think I am worth all the treasures of Heaven! Please give me Your heart for the people around me and show me the right way to meet all the needs that I can.

Amen

The Ultimate Threshold

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1

Everyone is looking for a way to live a better life, and today I am going to tell you the best news for this you could ever hear. Are you ready?

This life that you have right now is temporary. The body that you have is just a tent, a temporary dwelling place that will not last forever.

Why is this such great news, you ask? It's great news because, if you believe in Jesus, then the next body you have will last forever. It will be a building, not a tent. And it will be in Heaven, not on Earth. You will not be longing for the camping trip to be done, because you will be living in the beauty of Heaven, the joy of God's presence, and a life-filled, uncorrupted body like you could never imagine.

When you get to Heaven, you will never ask, When are we getting out of here? You will never say that. Why? Because you've arrived! You're home! This body beats the heck out of my old body!

You know, part of what makes this such incredibly good news to me is that we will all have bodies. We will not just be dismembered spirits floating around in some nirvana state of soul sleep. And how do I know? I know because Jesus got a body when He rose from the dead! He did not rise up as a ghost, but He rose in bodily form, saying, Touch me, handle me, and hey, let's eat!

We will eat in Heaven. We will have bodies that are no longer held back or restricted by the things that afflict us now. This really is incredible. I mean, when Jesus rose from the dead, He wasn't just eating and letting the disciples touch Him; He was walking through walls and disappearing from one place only to appear miles away in another place! These new bodies we will have are amazing!

For the joy of what was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross. Sometimes the best news you can have about this life is that something better is coming, and it is a promise from God that no matter what affliction has a hold of you now, in Heaven you will have a new body that is glorified and free.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You give us Yourself as an example of what we will one day receive! Thank You that You will give me such a wonderful gift when I get to Heaven! As I wait for that day, I choose to live for You, with the hope of what is to come.

Amen

Faith Lift

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Acts 8:5-6

You've heard of face lifts, right? Of course you have. But have you ever heard of a faith lift? There are four procedures to a faith lift, and the first one is an overarching burden for the lost. I'm talking about a burden for the lost that would supersede any excuse we could come up with for why we are not doing something, anything, to go out from our Sunday-only church life and actually reach the lost who are spiritually dying around us every day. Our passion for reaching the lost needs to cause our faith to lift until we believe God can use us no matter who we are or what we've done.

The second procedure for our faith lift is an offering of obedience. When God calls us to something and we're faithful with it, it ought to become a place of blessing. When that happens then it can be hard to leave. But we need to remember how we came to the blessing in the first place-by following God-and we need to continue obeying His voice wherever He tells us to go.

Procedure number three is that we must overcome the obstacles that are holding us back from God truly getting a hold of our lives. We must live in full surrender for His glory 24/7, each and every day of our lives. What God says does not always make sense, and it's not always convenient, but He wants to see our faith lived out in action.

The last procedure in our faith lift is being open to all opportunities. Some day you're going to disappear. Either you'll die or Jesus will just catch you up to be with Him. But the question is, how many other people will be caught up because of you?

We all need a faith lift, and it might not be easy, but it will happen as we make the intentional choice to follow Jesus as he leads us. Then, when we see His faithfulness, we will be full of faith and our faith will lift.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for being faithful to me! I choose right now to be faithful to You. Lead me and guide me however and wherever You choose. I will follow You and praise You as You lift my faith.

Amen