Fender Mender

Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. 1 Corinthians 9:14

Have you ever wondered what would make someone become a pastor? Well, I can tell you that for most of us, it's because we don't feel like we have a choice. We're compelled to preach the gospel.

But there's an interesting twist in this being-a-pastor thing-we're supposed to earn our living from the gospel.

This could be some really major conundrum, here, where pastors are compelled to preach the gospel and to earn their living from it. I mean, what if people don't give to help finance his ministry?

Well, the only way this works out well is if the people recognize the gift they have been given, the service that has been done for them, and they give out of willing hearts. As a pastor at Horizon, I am privileged to be part a congregation that does this, and we must make sure we keep this generous heart among us.

Paul says there is a reward for preachers who willingly submit to this system God has set up for them, and that reward is that when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:18).

I think of all the opportunities that the Lord has provided for us. You know, I once was invited to Germany to speak to all the Calvary Chapel pastors across Europe and Russia. Can you imagine charging for that? No. Please no.

I think it's important to write about this because, listen, in no way am I trying to make myself look good. I'm a sinner saved by grace. I'm like Paul, chief among the worst in the lot. But neither am I living on the ocean bluffs in La Jolla or flying private on these trips. And my church picks up the tab when I go speak in other countries so we don't charge the pastors in India, Germany, Africa, or wherever.

I am blessed to do this. Paul is blessed to do this.

But maybe you're reading this today and you're like, Well, where's my blessing? You're so blessed. Paul's so blessed. Where's my blessing?

My blessing is in what I give, and you will find your blessing in the same place-in what you give. Where's your heart of sacrifice for your church? Where's your support? Where's your involvement? Where are you giving your gift?

Answer those questions, and you will write the map to where you will find your blessing.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for being our example in giving everything, and being blessed because You gave! Please give me the courage to give generously, trusting You that You will bless me as I give.

Amen

In Search of Aletheia

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deed. 2 John 10-11

Speak the truth in love. You've heard that one before, right? It doesn't take much trying to live it out, though, before you realize that it sometimes is harder than it seems.

When we think of loving someone, we rightly think of things like forbearance, patience,

and forgiveness-things that help us put up with knuckleheaded people and overlook the flaws in their lives.

But when we think of truth, we think of a hard-edged, unmoving, black and white reality that leaves little room for the grace we associate with love. So how do we reconcile love and truth, two things that seem to conflict with each other.

Jesus is our perfect example of this, as John 1:14 testifies, saying, And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus came as the living answer to the truth of our predicament. He did not gloss over the sinful condition of the world or deny that we would spend eternity in Hell without Him. However, He also did not bash this reality over our heads or shove our own sinfulness in our faces.

Rather, He came as the answer to the problem. And whoever will acknowledge both the truth of the problem and the truth of the answer will receive the fullness of His grace in their life and be saved.

When the woman caught in adultery was thrown at Jesus' feet, His mercy delivered her from the truth of her sin into the truth of a new life in Him. Our job is to do the same. When we see sinfulness and the effects of sinful living around us, what do we do? We intercede, we rescue, we save, and whenever we can, we heal and deliver.

Romans 3:23 tells us that All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, yet Jesus showed us this glory in grace and truth. The truth recognized our sinful reality, yet the grace exchanged our reality for His.

As we testify of the full truth-both the truth of our sinful past and the truth of our transformed present and future-then others will hear the truth in love. We cannot only speak of people's sin, or they justly feel condemned and hopeless. However, if we will tell them the truth of how Jesus could change their lives, then we are speaking the truth in love.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for being the picture of grace and truth! Please fill me with Your love and truth, and help me to be the same picture to others that You are to me!

Amen

The Measure of Our Days

Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised. Song of Solomon 8:7

A lot of people think marriage is a big mystery. Really, I have to disagree. I think it's pretty simple, and if you follow along with me today then I think you'll agree.

There are three kinds of marriages. First, I'll tell you about a rotten marriage. A rotten marriage begins when you start with someone who lives out life for all they can take for themselves. A rotten marriage gets full blown when you have a taker married to a taker, and all they do is take, take, take, take, take.

This is what I need from you. This is what I need you to do. This is a train wreck of a marriage that's got kill switch sitting all over it and ultimately finds itself in my office because all they do is selfishly take, take, and take again.

What's just about as bad is an abusive marriage. You get an abusive marriage when you have a giver married to a taker, and one gives and gives and gives until they're run over by one who does nothing but take. It's terrible. It's not what the Lord is desires for us at all.

Second, something else He doesn't want is a ho-hum marriage. This is the middle of the road marriage that's neither diving nor thriving. I'll tell you, you get this kind of marriage when you have two people who are neither givers nor takers. They just sit there lukewarm in their love.

Or, you can get a marriage like this when two givers are giving outside of their marriage before they give inside their marriage. Then, by the time they get to their marriage, they're giver's all gived out; they didn't save anything for the most important human in their life.

Rather, here's what God wants for us-and here's a great marriage-is when a giver is married to a giver, and they put each other as first priority in their giving. If you fight about anything, it's about who's going to out-give the other.

I'm doing this for you.

No, I was going to do that for you.

I'm doing this for you.

I was going to do it for you!

That ought to be your first fight, who is going to out-serve their spouse.

Marriage really can be that simple. Choose to be a giver today and watch the transforma-

tion that happens in your home.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for choosing to give me Your life before I ever gave You anything! Please help me to be an example of Your giving love in my home!

Amen

The Most God-Like Thing We Can Do

This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 2 Corinthians 2:6-8

In case you haven't heard, forgiveness is important. In fact, our Christian life doesn't work without it. Jesus forgave us, so it just doesn't work for us to withhold forgiveness from those who've hurt us.

To help you in this forgiveness thing, let me give you the don'ts of forgiveness. First, don't internalize the hurt. Now, I would be a hypocrite if I said not to personalize it. Just face it, hurt hurts, which makes it pretty impossible not to personalize it. I'm just saying don't let it affect who you are. Let Christ determine who you are, not your pain.

Second, don't make it more than it needs to be. In our verse today, Paul is saying that the punishment was more than sufficient for the crime. God's heart is always as David prayed in Psalm 51 (the psalm he wrote after he committed adultery and murder), God, restore unto me the joy of Your salvation. God wants us to be restored, or He wouldn't have bothered sending Jesus so that we could be forgiven, and we need to pray for restoration for those who hurt us.

Third, don't miss the opportunity to be merciful. Mercy is defined as not getting what you deserve. James 2:13 says, For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Whatever offense you have, mercy wins. And if you want mercy instead of judgment, you'd better give mercy instead of judgment.

Fourth, don't limit God's love. Scripture says that love keeps no record of wrongs. If we have God's love in us then we have to do the same. Don't limit God's love working in and through you to forgive.

Fifth, don't fail the forgiveness test. Forgiveness is a test of our obedience to Christ Jesus, because He didn't leave us a choice. He didn't say, These things you must forgive, but these other things are too terrible to forgive. No, He said we must forgive, period.

Paul could not rest until this issue of forgiveness was settled. He knew that no one could see Christ in him until it was. What issue do you have unsettled in your life? Choose to forgive today, so that you may be free, and so that others might see Jesus in you.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I know that what's been done to me doesn't measure up to what I've done to You, and I don't want to fail the forgiveness test. I choose to forgive those who have hurt me and I extend mercy to them. Please bring restoration! Heal my heart and set me free!

Amen

Rewarded

For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5

What does it take to make your marriage rewarding? Have you ever thought about it? Because I want you to know today that it does not happen all by itself.

Some of you today just need to know that a marriage can be rewarding and it really can be! but all of us need to know today that there are five principles we need to get down to have a rewarding marriage:

First, honor your marriage. Our marriage must carry weight in our hearts, which means that we choose to make it important. We place it first on our priority list, which means that we say, No, to things that would distract us from our marriage.

Second, enjoy your marriage. Can you remember your wedding day? Chances are pretty good that you were giddy with happiness on your wedding day as endless dreams filled your mind of all the ways you were going to enjoy your marriage. No matter how much has changed, you can still choose to delight in each other now as you did then.

Third, defend your marriage. Society is trying to run over marriage with a bus, and statistically, the Church is going right along with it. Defending marriage with your vote is important, but defending it in your home is even more important. We must be like watchmen over our marriages, daily standing guard against any threat.

Fourth, strengthen your marriage. There's no other way to say it, but this means work. It means that any stones and logs that are jamming up the flow of your marriage need to be removed, the hurts of the past need to be forgiven, and the hurtful attitudes need to change.

Fifth, never forsake your marriage. Never forsake it in your heart, letting your thoughts or eyes wander to the people around you, wondering what exciting things you might be able to enjoy with them. Never forsake it in your words, speaking as though your marriage has no hope. Never forsake it in your actions, but bend your actions around the fact that you are married.

The world is crying out for solutions to their dysfunctional families. Put these five principles into practice and you will find the world flocking to discover your secret to a rewarding marriage.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that someday You are going to take the Church as Your bride, and You will have a rewarding marriage. Please give me wisdom and strength to practice these things and make my earthly marriage as rewarding as that heavenly one will be!

Amen

Avoiding the Toll Road of Divorce

Jesus answered and said to them...Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.' Mark 10:2,11-12

Everyone wants to know about divorce. There are few topics about which it is so easy to step on people's toes.

Jesus helps us understand God's heart in this issue, telling us that, ultimately, God says that men and women who consummate the covenant of marriage are one person. How, then, can one person become two again? Simply put, they can't. What God has joined together, let not man separate.

However, God does give us in His Word a small handful of reasons under which divorce is permitted-not the ideal, never intended, not His heart-but it is permitted. Here they are: First, divorce is permissible when adultery has been committed. If a husband or wife breaks their covenant by committing adultery, then divorce is permitted.

Second, if an unbelieving spouse refuses to stay married to a believer. This does not mean that the believer is permitted to divorce the unbelieving spouse, only the other way around. It also does not mean that the believer is allowed to drive their unbelieving spouse to divorce. Rather, the believer should act in such a way-praying, submitting, serving, loving-that the unbeliever gets saved.

Third, if sexual immorality has been committed. This is broader than adultery, includ-

ing everything from pornography to drug use. The point of this one is to communicate that we must take the sanctity of our marriage seriously. Do not do anything that jeopardizes your vows.

Lastly, and this sums up the rest, God permits-not delights in, not desires-divorce when a spouse has acted treacherously. This means to act faithlessly, with intentional deceit, or to be purposefully unfaithful.

Let me be clear, our marriages should be an image of the relationship between Christ and His Church, where there will never be divorce. That is God's heart and intention.

Unless your marriage qualifies under these four things, and even if it does, seek peace, seek reconciliation, seek unity, become one together.

Only as we work hard toward this end will our marriages become the image they are to be and fulfill all that God desires for them.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for Your high standard for marriage! I confess that I need Your help to live up to all that You say my marriage should be. Please have Your way in my home and be King over my marriage!

Amen

How to Live a Holy Life

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.' Isaiah 1:16-17

There's a lot of talk these days about responsibility.

When it comes right down to it, who is responsible for the economic troubles going through the country right now? Is it the President? Congress? Wall Street? Greedy rich people? There's a lot of blame going around, and wherever blame is cast, someone is trying to pin down who is most responsible for the problem.

So where is the blame and responsibility when it comes to whether or not our country follows God? A lot of us want to blame some perceived center of unrighteousness like Hollywood, Washington, or the music industry.

We'll read verses like our verses for today and think, That's right, we really need to repent! Except, the we that we're talking about in reality has very little to do with ourselves. The we is really always that guy over there, or those other people who are really doing the bad stuff-the drug dealers, gang members, pedophiles, criminals, and industries that shape our culture toward wickedness.

You know what? All those people may need to repent, certainly they do; we all do. But I have no control over those people. On a good day, I can control myself.

We all need to realize that, while all those other angry people in traffic, or the sinners who watch those other movies in our favorite theaters, or our neighbors who have no idea how to raise their kids (because we sure do) need to repent-so do we. And we are responsible first and foremost for ourselves.

So the next time you're in church listening to a message and you think, Boy, that's a great word there. I know a person who should really hear this! stop yourself. Realize that you do know a person who needs to hear the message-you.

If you want to know who is responsible for all the junk in our country today, start by looking at your own life, not because other people don't have sin, but because until you don't, you don't get to cast any stones at others who do.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I need help! I confess that I have looked for others to repent without considering the sin in my own life first. Please forgive me and wash me clean! Help me turn to holy things so that the world will know I am Yours.

Amen