Jonah-Jacked

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.' But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Jonah 1:1-3

Hope and Change.

That sounds like a great slogan, doesn't it? Wait, you're saying that it's already taken? Well, we're going to use it anyway, because there's still plenty more change that needs to hap-

pen, amen? And we know that God is the only one who's able to give us hope for the change we need in our lives and world today.

In fact, I want to revisit one of the greatest stories of change in all of scripture-the story of Nineveh. Now, let me first say that there is no city in our world today with problems that Nineveh didn't have going on. I mean, they had every form of wickedness you can imagine, and the city was huge. But God loved the people and wanted them saved, so He sent Jonah.

Mark that. In order for that change to happen in Nineveh, what had to happen first? Jonah had to go. But Jonah didn't want to go, so God needed to hijack him. Jonah fled in the opposite direction of which God had sent him, but-and this is a big but-but the Lord brings on a storm that cancels out Jonah's little trip.

God forced the issue of Jonah's rebellion and disobedience. In other words, it was like God was saying, Hey, Jonah, I want to save Nineveh, but I'm not doing it without you. Get your big but out of that boat and come with me!

Jonah had a big but and a lot of us do, too. Jonah's but was, But I don't wanna! Does that sound familiar? Maybe you've caught yourself saying that a time or two to the Lord.

We need to get hijacked. Surrender. Forget the excuses.

Well, I was going to go down to Mexico, but... Well, I was going to tithe, but... Well, I was going to serve, but...

In order for that great city to be reached, it required Jonah to get hijacked. Listen, we've got a world to reach today. We've got a city to reach that's as lost and sinful as Nineveh was back then. And we can't continue to come up with excuses why God can't use us.

What is the city, nation, people group, or realm of society that God has put on your heart? Now, are you hijacked enough to do something to bring God's change to them?

Prayer Lord God,

I need Your help! I do not want to be like Jonah, fleeing from Your presence and disobeying Your voice. Please give me wisdom and boldness to follow You to bring change to this world!

Amen

Project Mission

Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison that is on the other side,' but he did not tell his father. 1 Samuel 14:1

Your Christian life should be an adventure. Do you know why? It's because there are people you don't know, sometimes in dangerous places, who don't know Him and it's up to you and me to reach them.

Jesus' mission was to save the world and following Jesus means actively getting involved in the His mission. It's the Great Commission-the co-mission-realizing we don't do it alone. It is His heart, passion, zeal, and courage filling up our hearts and saying, Come on the adventure! With Me, all things are possible.

Take a trip to Uganda I was part of, for example, where we could believe together for sending a righteous message into the heart of all of the witchdoctors who want to continue to mess with the lives of the children in that nation.

And, hey, I'm going to be honest with you today. When that witchdoctor, Kobi, bowed his knee and accepted Jesus Christ, broken over what he had done, I was just sort of conflicted by the whole thing. I mean, there was something in me that wanted to look at this guy in his prison and say, Not only is this what you deserve, but you ought to rot in Hell for what you have done, mutilating and sacrificing innocent children.

But all of a sudden, I see this wave of grace come through the warden's office. And not only does this witchdoctor's heart change as he surrenders his life to Jesus, but my heart changes, too, as the Lord brought me in tune with the reality of just how far I still have to go.

Listen, God's not through writing Kobi's testimony. And we have the opportunity to be part of that, since they invited us to go back and preach in that prison. But that would mean risk and adventure. That would mean getting uncomfortable for the sake of Jesus' glory. I mean, if you have soap in that prison, you're a wealthy guy. The prison was built in 1920 for 600 inmates, it's never been updated since 1920, and it now holds 3,500 inmates. If you have a mattress that's one inch thick, you're styling, man; you're a king.

And now in the heart of that prison, there's Kobi, the former witchdoctor, now a son of God, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, all because some people took an adventure for Jesus.

God wants to make your Christian life an adventure. Will you go?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for going on the ultimate adventure, leaving Heaven and coming to Earth to save me! Please put more of Your heart in me today and lead me on the adventure You have for me in this world!

Amen

This Changes Everything

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, Peace to you.' But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, Why are you troubled?' Luke 24:36-38

What's troubling you? Perhaps it is the economy, the way the government is running the country, or all the turmoil in the Middle East. Maybe you've lost your job, or you don't like your job but are afraid to leave because you know how hard it might be to find a different one.

With all that is going on in the world that could potentially trouble you, you probably don't need me to give you a list of suggestions. Most of us can probably think of something right away on our own that makes us a little unsettled, and maybe even scares us.

That's where the disciples found themselves. Jesus had died, their dreams were shattered, their lives were at a dead end, and now some of them were reporting that they had seen Jesus alive. As they gathered together to share stories of their emotional roller coaster-BOOM!Jesus appears right in the middle of them.

Can you picture yourself standing in that room? I wonder whether Jesus appeared right in the middle of them or kind of off to one side in a corner. Did He wait around to see how long it would take before someone noticed Him? Who saw Him first? Or did they all see Him at the same time?

However it happened, everyone reacted the same way. They were terrified and frightened (as though it wasn't enough to just be one of these two!). They thought they were seeing a ghost.

And there, in the midst of all their trouble, Jesus speaks out, Peace!

As He had spoken in the middle of the storm, Peace! and the waves were stilled, He now spoke to His disciples to still their worries and fears.

Peace, I am not dead. I am alive, and I am with you! In an instant, everything changed.

Can you hear Jesus speaking to you right now? He is saying, Peace! He is saying, I am with you, even right now, and My presence changes everything.

What is troubling you? Jesus is the answer. His death and resurrection mean the promise of peace no matter what we face. Will you ask Jesus for His peace right now?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your peace! Right now in life I am facing trouble and I don't have peace, but I know that You do. Please come, give me Your peace, and help me through my troubles!

Amen

Holey Moley

For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stock and the store, the whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water. Isaiah 3:1

What do you think the world looks like when the world stops loving God?

Really, stop and think about that for a second. What do you think that looks like? I think there are a lot of words we could use to describe it, but I'll try one that might be a way of summing it up: Ruin.

Everything falls to pieces, right? When people stop loving God then they stop loving each other. Families break down. Governments become corrupt. Businesses oppress people. Crime rates soar.

You get the picture. But one thing I want you to know today is that the road to ruin involves many steps.

I think for some of us, we think that the road to ruin is like a redeye flight overnight. You wake up and you're there. Not so. The road to ruin happens incrementally, little baby steps at a time. If your marriage is on the road to ruin, it's not going to be ruined overnight. If your business is on the road to ruin, or if your country is on the road to ruin, it's because there are many steps that have been taken.

Now, here's the encouraging thing-each one of these steps provides the opportunity to turn back, to stop going that way, because that way is nothing but misery, catastrophe, heartache, and pain.

Do you realize that God gives us choices? He does! He gives us forks in the road, options that provide an opportunity to come back to Him. In fact, God sent prophets to His people throughout the Old Testament to help them to see their chances to turn around before they ruined themselves. They could have turned around at any moment, and on the rare occasion that they did, God saved them. But when they didn't, He allowed the disaster to come.

In all of that, do you see the constant? The constant is God's heart to save us. He never wavers in that. What varies is whether or not we're listening.

Are you listening to the Lord today, or are you on the road to ruin?

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for Your constant heart of compassion toward me! I choose today to listen to Your voice and follow You into Your salvation. Please keep me far from the road to ruin!

Amen

How to Pray

But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. Matthew 6:3-4

Imagine someone stopping to give money to a homeless person at an exit off the highway, but before they do, they crank up their stereo and shout out for everyone to hear, Hey, I'm giving five bucks to this homeless dude!

Or what if you're just sitting in church and someone jumps up from their seat, slam dunks their offering in the bag, and shouts out a scream like they're doing a touchdown celebration dance?

Now, don't get me wrong. It's good to be enthusiastic about giving, but is this how giving should go? No. You don't want to do it like that. In fact, Jesus says that's how the hypocrites give. They kind of blow a horn, make a big scene, and dance in the streets. God says they have their glory; they've had their fifteen minutes of fame. But that's all the reward they'll get for their good deed.

So how should we give? Here's how we do it. We do it in secret, so that our Father who sees in secret will reward us. After all, do you prefer the reward of man or the reward of God? I know, it's a silly question, right? But you maybe wouldn't think so if you realized how much people give the wrong way.

And it's not just about giving; it's about praying and fasting, too. Because Jesus goes on to say that the hypocrites would wear their worst clothes, not shower, and make sure their faces looked sad when they fasted so that everyone would know what they were doing. They would pray loudly in public so that everyone would be impressed with how spiritual they were. In other words, all the good things they did were done so that people would like them-God wasn't really even in the picture of their hearts.

Alright, step one-as a church, we have got to be doing good, charitable deeds. We have to be tithing. We have to be giving offerings. We have to be praying. We have to be fasting. And, yes, I said, Have to. Why? Because Jesus didn't say, If you pray, fast, and give; He said, When you pray, fast, and give.

Step two-make sure your heart's right. When you do all those good things that you are now going to do, do them for God, knowing that He not only sees what you do, but the heart with which you do it. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly for all to see.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You that You have told me what's important to You. Please help me to see opportunities around me to do good for others and let Your Spirit work in my heart so that it will be right before You!

Amen

Our Father

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. John 8:56-59

Have you ever wondered what God's name says about Him? If not, then you should, because His name says quite a lot about Him.

In fact, take another look at our verses today to see just how seriously the Jews took God's name. When Jesus used it about Himself, they picked up stones to kill Him, flying into a religious, zealous rage.

God's name-I AM-is important, but not just that we are passionate about His name being treated properly. What's much more important about God's name is that we understand what He reveals about Himself in it.

First, His name shows that He exists. It really settles that whole issue altogether. He is. Period. And there's nothing anyone can do about it. You cannot make God not exist. You can't make Him go away. He is.

Second, He's self-contained. He isn't dependent or indebted to anyone. No one created Him, so that He should answer to them. No one gave Him anything that He hadn't first given to them, that He would owe anyone anything. He has no need. In fact, He has everything we need.

Third, He doesn't change. You know, a lot changes in our world, but God never does. His love doesn't waver when we do things we shouldn't. His commitment to us doesn't change depending on His mood. He simply is who He is, and He never changes.

Fourth, He isn't going anywhere. This means we can trust Him. Listen, don't trust your stocks, your bank account, your job, your looks, or your popularity. All of those things can go away. But nothing is going to move God.

Fifth, His name proves His sacrificial love. Jesus shows us this when He says, Hey, guess what? You know that God you claim to serve? I'm Him. I am the I AM. And what Jesus showed us about the I AM is that He is a God who sacrificed His very life so that we could live. You can't find bigger love than that.

Won't you call on this name of God today?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for what You have revealed to us about Yourself in Your name! Thank You that You will always be there for me with Your sacrificial love! Please help me to reveal You to others as You have revealed Yourself to me.

Amen

Heaven: A Study of Our Home

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' John 8:56-58

Our world is all about connection. Never before has being connected been so easy, so important, or so constant. Every new technology that is produced is made with connectivity in mind. The internet birthed social networking. Then wireless internet expanded our ability to connect. Then smart phones came with 3G and 4G connections, speeding up and spreading out our connections. Now not just desktops, laptops, and smart phones, but tablets, televisions, and even glasses are keeping us connected like never before.

Now, I'm glad you're almost maxing out your friend limit on Facebook, but what I'm really more concerned about today is, are you connected to God?

Because, see, just as there are technologies that we need in order to stay connected to one another, God has provided heavenly technologies, so to speak, for us to be able to stay connected with Him. And believe me, if you aren't more connected to God than you are to your Twitter followers, you have a big problem.

God's chief connection technology is called prayer. I know, it sounds so simple, and it really is. But this prayer connection is more powerful than your power-boosted high speed internet.

Take Solomon for example. In his early years, when he built the Temple and dedicated it, he prayed a magnificent prayer that all of us would be proud to have prayed. More than that, his prayer life is what connected him to God so that he could get his amazing gift of wisdom. In other words, every wonderful thing that Solomon ever did, he did because he had prayed at one point in his life.

But if you know his story, Solomon didn't finish well. By the end of his life, he was worshiping idols and spreading their pagan filth through all of Israel. What happened? He lost the connection, not because God's receiver stopped working, but because he stopped transmitting anything. And when there was no connection, there was no power, no presence, and no perspective.

Listen, your God in Heaven has more resources available to you than Apple, Google, and Facebook's app stores combined. Stay connected to what really matters. Stay connected to God through prayer.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for reminding me to stay connected to what's most important and teaching me how to keep that connection strong. Please teach me to pray; teach me to stay connected to Your heart!

Amen