Uncluttering

Are you willing to get rid of the stuff in your life that is just in the way? Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved (Matthew 9:17). In anticipation of a construction project that will necessitate moving our church’s food pantry, we’ve been doing a little cleaning at church. Like a lot of homes – maybe like your home, in fact – church buildings accumulate stuff. And while some of the stuff they accumulate is important and necessary, a good portion of it is “we-might-want-to-use-this-again-sometime” stuff. We have a lot of that kind of stuff lying around, waiting for “sometime.” By the look of it, some of it has been waiting since the Nixon administration. Anyway, watching people sorting through cabinets and shelves and throwing out stuff that’s no longer useful has me thinking about the old stuff that one finds lying around church buildings. Old stuff like hymn books that are no longer used, or leftover Bible class curriculum, or old sound equipment, or broken furniture. It’s got me thinking, as well, about old stuff like traditions, ways of doing things, values, and assumptions about the world around us and the community in which we live. I’ve been thinking about how most churches could stand to do some “uncluttering,” for lack of a better word. I’ve been thinking how most churches need every now and again to look at all the stuff that’s lying around and ask if it’s worth keeping. I wonder if that wasn’t what Jesus was getting at with his “new wineskins” comment. I look at that, I look at where it’s located in Matthew, and it starts to dawn on me what Jesus had in mind. He’s announced to a paralyzed man that his sins are forgiven, and people are calling it blasphemy because forgiving sins is God’s business. He’s invited a hated, traitorous, corrupt tax collector to join his inner circle. (Imagine, for comparison, if he asked a businessman laundering drug money for the mafia.) The pious people have called him and his disciples out for not fasting. He’s just about to be touched by a woman made “unclean” by her constant hemorrhage, and then he’ll go on to touch an “unclean” dead body. He heals the woman and raises the dead little girl, but clearly he’s giving the religious folks plenty of ammunition. See, I think the folks that criticized Jesus for doing the things he did needed to clean out their church buildings, if you take my meaning. They had some stuff lying around that wasn’t doing them or the people God called them to teach and lead and serve much good at all. They had some assumptions, traditions, and practices that were just taking up space, causing people to stumble, and getting in the way of the things that really mattered. But it was stuff that had always been there, and as far as they were concerned, always would be there. And so they left it in place and got very grumpy and impatient whenever someone tripped over it or wondered aloud if it wouldn’t be better to toss it out. It happens in churches. Stuff accumulates over the years. Oh, there’s always a reason that it does, and usually it’s a very good reason. At least at the beginning. Over time, though, the reason fades and what’s left is the tradition, or the practice, or the assumption. I bet you can think of some stuff at your church like that. A lot of it is innocuous and harmless enough. I recently conducted an experiment at my church to try to find out why, after the servers pass the communion trays, one of them always comes back up to the front to put the lids from the grape juice trays back on the pedestals that the stacks of trays start on. The trays aren’t there anymore, but someone always moves those lids. No one seems to know why, but there you are. (The best answer I got was, “I don’t know: so there’s room for the offering plates later?”) A lot of the old stuff that’s lying around my church, and yours too, is like that. It doesn’t interfere with anything, and doesn’t take up much space, so why not hang on to it? And some of the old stuff is there for a really good reason, and shouldn’t be thrown out unless it’s for an even better reason. And some of it – well, it’s the equivalent of walls and columns and floors and ceilings in a building. It’s load-bearing, and to get rid of it would be to forsake the gospel and cease being the church. So, really, I’m not advocating throwing out old stuff without discernment, just getting rid of the clutter! About the author: Patrick Odum lives in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, Laura and son, Joshua. He is one of the ministers at Northwest Church of Christ, and an avid Heartlight fan. He enjoys writing and maintains a website of his work called Faith Web where you can find all of his articles. Email Patrick

Is It Really All Just So Much Talk?

Does your faith move you beyond just talk? [Jesus said] “I’m telling you to love your enemies and do good to them. Lend to people without expecting to get anything back. If you do these things, you will have a great reward. You will be children of the Most High (God). Yes, because God is good even to the people that are full of sin and not thankful.” (Luke 6:35 ERV) “Religion is as religion does – all the rest is talk,” writes Irving Greenberg. A Jewish theologian, Greenberg had the Holocaust in view with his statement. It was not enough to say a prayer for Jews in the time of Hitler. It didn’t help to feel sad or to wish that someone would come to the aid of people being murdered. It was a time that called for very specific and practical behaviors. A European Jew in 1943 needed something as specific as a Gentile home or shop where she could hide. Money. Food. Spiriting across a border. “But that would involve risk to the person providing it!” someone cries. Of course, it would. But that is the point. Faith, godly living, justice, compassion don’t have meaning until they are deeds instead of mere pious conversation. It is pretty easy to see that now. We are more than a half century away from Hitler’s gas chambers and crematoria. It is even possible to watch a movie or TV documentary and tell ourselves we would have done something back then. We can hope so. But there are good reasons to wonder. Where does a stranger fit into your life? All of us do kind things for our family and close friends. I insist on buying lunch this time. You go to the hospital to cheer her up. You take care of his yard for six weeks while his ankle heals. You babysit their kids when they need to run an errand or just see a movie. But you’ll get all those kindnesses back. You may even be repaying things they’ve already done. It is wonderful to have such positive, supportive relationships in your life. The challenge for many of us, though, is to name something we do for strangers. People who will never pay us back. People of a different color or religion. People whose politics we don’t like. An enemy. If those of us who say we are disciples of Jesus do not grow in our ability to care about others in very concrete, self-sacrificing ways, we are only fooling ourselves. Poverty, sickness, loneliness, hunger, fear – no individual or family, local church or civic group can tackle all these problems. But there is one situation, one family, or one person you can help. And “help” isn’t warm feelings or kind thoughts. It is time. Putting money down. Having somebody into your home or going to theirs. Making a lonely person feel cared for. Tutoring a child. Religious rituals are no substitute for compassionate actions. If the Marines are looking for “a few good men,” Jesus is searching for a few real disciples – people whose religion is Christ-imitating love and not mere church prattle. My brothers and sisters, if a person says that he has faith, but does nothing, then that faith is worth nothing. … A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or might need food to eat. And you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat.” You say these things, but you don’t give that person those things he needs. If you don’t help that person, your words are worth nothing. It is the same with faith. If faith does nothing, then that faith is dead, because it is alone. (James 2:14-17) About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades, been a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities and a med school. He is currently Professor of Philosophy & Religion at Lipscomb University. He is the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles.

Connecting with Jesus Personally

Can I really know Jesus personally? Life can turn on a dime. Circumstances, events, people, words of a song, a movie, or moment of introspection can change us forever. Sometimes that life-altering turn comes because of what appears to be a chance word we hear in a song, or because of a note we receive from a friend, or because of a phrase we read. Other times, that dramatic turn comes through what appears to be a random opportunity. Other times, our life-change comes through the bewildering touch of grace that introduces us to someone whose influence unsettles our ordinariness and redirects our energies in surprising new directions. No matter the source of this kind of change, our plans are re-routed toward fresh hope. Such a moment happened in the life of Andrew and a friend after getting to know Jesus. Andrew had prepared himself to be ready for the Messiah – “God’s Chosen One” – regardless of the cost. That’s why he had become a disciple of John the Baptizer (Mark 1:1-9; John 1:6-8; John 1:19-27). John the Baptizer’s ministry also set in motion Andrew’s life of connecting people with Jesus. John’s gospel describes Andrew’s moment of life-altering change in these words: “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon (John 1:26-39). After meeting the Lord, when we see Andrew in Scripture he is connecting people with Jesus – what we are calling “The Andrew Effect.”* So this event with Jesus is especially important because this is the pivot point in Andrew’s life. This moment is where he rerouted his life from fishing for fish in his shared business with his brother Simon Peter and began “to fish for people” (Mark 1:16-18). This afternoon meeting with Jesus changed Andrew forever. It also provides us a window into the first principle of “The Andrew Effect”: connecting with Jesus personally. When Andrew and another of the Baptizer’s disciples followed Jesus, Jesus turned and asked them a crucial question: “What are you seeking” (John 1:38 ESV). This is a question of watershed importance. How a person answers it redirects all of life that follows. Andrew’s answer changes everything. Yet translating his answer into English is a bit tricky. Most translations go with something like, “Rabbi… where are you staying?” Literally, the question is this: “Rabbi, where do you abide?” Clearly, Andrew’s question wasn’t about Jesus’ physical address. He wasn’t going to look up Jesus’ house on Zillow.com and find out about the neighborhood. Andrew wanted to know where Jesus’ heart was, what mattered to him most and what made Jesus tick. In cornbread (though incorrect) English, Andrew and his friend were asking Jesus, “Teacher, I desperately need to know where you’re at!” Andrew followed Jesus because he was after much more than an afternoon at Jesus’ house; he wanted an in-depth look at Jesus’ values, teaching, mission, and purpose. He wanted to know if Jesus was the person the Baptizer had claimed him to be. He wanted to know if Jesus was God’s Messiah. He wanted to know if Jesus was the one person in whom he would invest his hopes, dreams, and life. Jesus was looking for followers with Andrew’s kind of passion. He invited Andrew and his friend to come to spend time with him with these words: “Come and you will see.” Then we are told: So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon (John 1:39). The results of this afternoon of deep conversation were immediate and astounding: Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus (John 1:40-42). Andrew begins his life’s work of connecting people with Jesus after this important time with Jesus. The principle derived from Andrew’s life is as important as it clear: if we are going to connect people with Jesus, we’ve got to know Jesus. More than knowing about Jesus, we have to know Jesus’ values, teaching, mission, and purpose. We have to know what made him tick. We have to feel the passion and know the love he has for people – all kinds

Forced Out of My Rut

What will it tke to get you out of your rut? The rain had been falling lightly for the first hour of my trip home. The road was a little slick, but not bad. The pesky light rain kept my windows a mess – too light to wash off the road film and just damp enough to keep my wipers streaking up the windshield. After a stop for refueling, I continued on my way. Another twenty minutes down the road, everything changed. Suddenly the skies darkened so that it looked like early evening. The raindrops became larger and fell more frequently. Then the deluge began. I had to slow down, turn the wipers on high, and get out of the ruts in the pavement. As the heavy rain began to fall, the almost unnoticeable tire lanes on the highway filled with water. Even at slow speeds, the tires instantly began to hydroplane and controlling my truck was impossible. I was forced to get out of the ruts if I was going to make it home. So often in every day living, many of us get in our ruts and never realize we’ve fallen into them. These comfortable patterns in our lives become so ingrained that we fail to even recognize they are there. Every-once-in-a-while, our Father finds a way to help us see our ruts and nudge us to get out of them. Now let’s be honest with ourselves. Not all habits are bad; in fact, some are good and many help us do good things without having to think much about them. On the other hand, we often let ruts steal from us the new joys, challenges, and adventures that God has designed just for us. It’s not only that we fail to see the things along our way, but it’s also that we don’t take any different routes with our lives and so we miss many of the things God wants for us to discover. It’s not an accident that the popular definition of a rut is a grave with the ends kicked out of it. Unfortunately, that grave without an end is where some of us allow ourselves to live. So how do we get out of our ruts in a godly way? Each day, we need to ask the Lord to open our eyes to see the opportunities, people, situations, and alternatives around us. We do this by beginning the day focused on the Lord and his will for our lives. We ask him to lead us to the place, people, and circumstances he wants to use to shape our lives. While we may not see something that immediately captures our attention, simply changing our familiar surroundings is often enough for us to see a new direction to pursue that leads us to other areas of service for the King and his Kingdom. Let’s not let our ruts take the adventure out of our discipleship and keep us from people the Lord has waiting for us on unfamiliar paths just nearby. Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. (Matthew 6:32-33) About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God’s Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com. Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.

Finding God on the Mountain

What will God be like when you find Him? Elijah had gone to the mountain looking for God. He’d been ready to give up. Ready to lie down and die. He saw no hope, no future, no point in going on. Then an angel told him to go to the mountain. And Elijah was there, waiting for God. But he didn’t know what to expect. A powerful wind came, ripping apart the very rocks that made up the mountain. Surely this was God! But no, God wasn’t in that wind. Next there came an earthquake. As Elijah felt the very mountain tremble, he must have been certain that this was God revealing himself. But no, God wasn’t in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. Again Elijah looked for God. But God wasn’t in the fire. Then came what the King James Version translates as “a still, small voice.” A whisper. A barely audible murmur with a question on its breath: “What are you doing here?” (1 Kings 19:12-13) Elijah poured out his tale of woe, telling of his faithfulness to God compared with the unfaithfulness of the people around him. He told of the queen’s persecution of God’s prophets and her specific efforts to kill him. He explained to God that no else was faithful, not even one. Only Elijah was left. That’s when God explained to Elijah that he couldn’t see the whole picture. That God was doing things that Elijah didn’t know about. That God had plans in motion, some of which included Elijah. And there were still six thousand people faithful to God that Elijah wasn’t aware of. Have you ever reached that point where dying seemed to make more sense than living? The extreme of frustration and hopelessness that leaves you doubting whether God Himself can fix your problems? Maybe you need to go to the mountain. Go looking for God. Don’t expect hurricanes or earthquakes. Don’t expect to be swept in a holy fire. Listen for the still, small voice. Listen for the question: “What are you doing here?” And once you’ve poured out your heartaches and your fears, you may just find that God is doing things you don’t know about, both in your life and the lives of others. But you’ll never see it, if you don’t look for Him. If you want to talk more about finding God, join our discussion at www.hopeforlife.org or write to me at tarcher@heraldoftruth.org. (Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing, retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article. Contact us at info@hopeforlife.org) About the author: Tim Archer is the author of Church Inside Out and leads a seminar by the same name on behalf of Hope For Life, a Herald of Truth ministry.

Hard Work and Holy Listening

Instead of a well-manicured life, and perfectly organized and aesthetic home, my heart is yearning for more connection with love… His love… and, to be part of His loving presence. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) (Matthew 1:22-23). I tucked my sleepy toddler in bed and pushed aside his treasures – a stick and a “Biscuit” book. Boys are such shocking and addicting creatures. I want a two-year-old boy always. But mothering was hard today. I messed up, and even though my long-term goal was good and right, my words were impatient and ungracious. I’ve been listening to the Bible out loud – as I drive, wash dishes, and mix bread. God’s story on earth is told through such messy, needy people. The glorious gospel smashed hard up against fighting and deception. It’s staggering. Perplexing. How an immortal God dares to pause and press His fingerprint into the brittle clay of humankind is enough to leave me gasping. In one hand, we have the Holiest of Holies. In the other, we have a person bent on his own stubborn way. How can these two tell one story? It’s not the perfection of the man, Jesus, that makes the gospel of His beautiful, but the miracle of it. The restoration, the breath of heaven rushing into a dead body, the impossible putting on mortal flesh by the eternal and holy. I’m jotting down goals for this year, but I’m eyeing them warily. Instead of a well-manicured life, and perfectly organized and aesthetic home, my heart is yearning for more connection with love… His love… and, to be part of His loving presence. To know His voice, in my most crumbling moments. To speak His words, instead of my hasty ones, to my children. Being fully present where God has me, and honest to goodness, letting everything else go. I’m pushing it all aside. I’m listening. Yes, even listening to the sticks and books in the toddler’s crib and looking for Him. It’s holy work. It’s beautiful breaking. Heaven and earth clasp hands and kiss. Emmanuel, God with us. Among us. Within us. Here. He is here. And I am listening! Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2). About the author: Melissa Troyer is a stay at home mom with five beautiful children who keep her busy and constantly remind her to get down on her knees, both to laugh with them and to pray for them. Melissa is happily married to the love of her life, Daniel, who is currently studying full time to become a Physician’s Assistant. Melissa has learned to lean against the Father in seasons of loss and to dance through the dust in times where hope is renewed. She is passionate about worshipping in each season and often finds herself weaving words encouraging others to do the same. You can find her on Facebook. You can find more of her writing on her blog.

The Destruction Behind Remodeling

Could God be behind the destruction in your life? “Be ready. … In the same way that earlier I relentlessly pulled up and tore down, took apart and demolished, so now I am sticking with them as they start over, building and planting.” (Jeremiah 31:27-28 The Message) My basement is being remodeled. For the past week, some guys have been banging around down there. Hammers have pounded, saws have screamed. They’ve worked long, hard, dirty days. And guess what? It looks worse now than it did when they started. I’m not unhappy, even though walls have been torn down to the studs and bare concrete is exposed throughout the basement. We’re in demolition phase. The really important work, the part that will make the basement look new, clean, and functional, hasn’t even begun yet. However, that part can’t begin until this week’s work is finished. There are still some electrical repairs to go. The floor needs to be broken up so drain tile can be installed. A pit needs to be dug for the bathroom that is yet to be installed. In fact, this time next week the basement will probably look worse than it does today. That’s the way it has to be, of course. A good remodel doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and hard work. A lot of debris has to come out before the new can begin. In a couple of months, it should all be done. New drywall will cover the exposed studs and ceiling joists. The old florescent lights will be replaced by new incandescent fixtures. There will be new carpet and paint. The basement will be transformed from a dark, damp, catch-all for junk into a livable, usable space. First, however, the old paneling and ceiling tile had to be ripped out. A dumpster full of trash was carted away this afternoon. When you renovate, first you have to destroy. What you’d call vandalism any other time is improvement when it’s intentionally followed by rebuilding. Sometimes it feels like there’s some vandalism going on in your life, doesn’t it? Well-constructed plans end up demolished? Have your hopes been stripped down to the superstructure? Have your dreams been thrown away like outdated wallpaper? Sometimes the destruction in your life seems to be of your own making and that’s hard to face. Worse are the times when you feel torn down and broken apart, but you don’t know why. Has God caused this, or just allowed it, you wonder? Then you realize that it makes no appreciable difference which is true. For all intents and purposes, it feels like God has taken a 20-pound sledge to your life. As a Christian, you can trust that if this is so, it is to rebuild and not destroy. Life can be full of all sorts of destructive moments: A marriage ends. A job is lost. A child gets sick. You suspect your spouse of being unfaithful. Your church lets you down. You’re caught in a lie. You face the shame of having secret sin discovered.The facade of your existence starts to crack and fall away in chunks. The ugliness under the surface starts to show through. But, what Satan intends for harm, God can use to begin remodeling. What others intend to hurt you, God can use to rebuild your life. I met a man this week whose comfortable life was destroyed by a prison term. He violated his parole a year ago and was sent back to prison. Now he’s out again, desperately trying to restart his life. He’s living in his mother’s run-down house in a dangerous neighborhood. Yesterday he had only thirty cents to his name. He’s facing a Chicago winter with no heat, electricity, or job. Through a mixture of bad choices and bad luck, his life has been stripped down to the studs. His life, as it is, is unlivable. If you’re in the same boat, then here’s where you need to start paying attention. If God takes a sledge to your life, it’s because he knows you’re worth saving. He sees that some renovation is in order. No one renovates something that’s worthless, right? You can only renovate something when you have a vision for the finished project – when you know what you want it to look like and what it could look like. When God looks at you, he doesn’t just see the sin, failure, weakness, and ugliness that mar each of us. He sees what we can look like when he’s through with renovation. He sees us as he hopes we’ll be some day: clean and solid and useful. Sometimes, however, he has to do some demolition before construction begins. Pride needs to be ripped out of us. Self-centeredness needs to be pounded into shards on the floor. Anger needs to be softened. Lust eliminated. The corrupt parts of us cut away. Demolition, make no mistake, is a painful process. It requires that we endure a lot of pounding, noise, and dust. It requires us to accept the idea that, for a time, things may look worse before they look better. It calls for patience and endurance. It especially requires that we trust in God’s vision for what he wants us to be. It requires us to like that vision of ourselves better than we like our lives now. Rest assured that God never tears down unless he has plans to build us up again. Understand that demolition is just the beginning of his work of renovation in our hearts, minds, and spirits. Do you think that the apostle Paul enjoyed his Damascus Road experience, that Samson enjoyed his Philistine prison, or that Joseph appreciated an Egyptian jail? Do you think that David enjoyed running for his life for all those years? Do you imagine that Jesus enjoyed the desert, Gethsemane, and Calvary? But they each endured. They continued to seek God in their crises. They learned to trust him even as he took a sledgehammer to

Less of Me

Can I live up to my purpose? Every year I make New Year’s resolutions and every year I break them, so this year I’m trying something different. Instead of hoping I’ll change my habits for twelve months I’m going for one month: January. For just this month I’m doing my best to focus more on the needs of others and less on me. I call it, Less of Me Month. Remember the song, “Less of Me,” by Glen Campbell. The words are as follows: Let me be a little kinder Let me be a little blinder To the faults of those about me Let me praise a little more Let me be when I am weary Just a little bit more cheery Think a little more of others And a little less of me Let me be a little braver When temptation bids me waver Let me strive a little harder To be all that I should be Let me be a little meeker With the brother that is weaker Let me think more of my neighbor And a little less of me Every day I’m thinking about the words to this song – I tried to make it my ringtone on my cell phone but I’m not smart enough to figure out how to do it. I’m beginning my day with Bible reading and prayer. Next I write about “Less of Me Month” on my blog (www.nanahood.com) and then during the day I find at least one random act of kindness I can do for someone else. The month is half over and so far, so good. This experiment has taught me a few things. First, if ever there was a perfect example of someone who thought solely of others it would have to be Jesus. Because of Him … … the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor (Matthew 11:5 NLT). The things we worry about simply didn’t matter to him because he knew God would take care of all his needs and he tells us that we will be treated the same way (Matthew 6:25-34). The more I study the Bible and read about Jesus and see how selfless he was, the more I realize that I was not made to serve myself. I was created to serve Him. I’m taking baby steps to get there and I’m sure sooner or later I will stumble and fall but if I walk with Jesus, together we can win the race. Another thing I’ve learned is that thinking of others, at least for me, is something I have to do intentionally. In the course of a day I go about my business focused on my home, my husband, my children and my grandchild. I have to set aside a time – my morning Bible study and prayer time – to concentrate on the needs of others. If I leave it to chance and my random thought process, it may not happen. Jesus’ brother, James, reminds us to put our thoughts and good intentions to work: Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well” – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all – it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” I say, “I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.” Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless? (James 2:14-20) The world is full of people in need. Jesus knows that and he wants us to tell them about him, about the Good News of everlasting life, about a place where there is no poverty, hunger, sickness or tears. We can’t save the world, but He can. He was the master of thinking more of others. I am his apprentice. When I look at his life, I can’t help but feel inadequate; but then I remember that it isn’t the size of the good deed that matters. And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded (Matthew 10:42). About the author: Teresa is an accomplished author, speaker, mother, and grandmother. Teresa has been married to Bill for a lifetime of family, faith, and love. They are members of Pleasant Hill Church of Christ in Kentucky. They have 5 children and 4 grandchildren. Teresa is also the author of the popular women’s blog called “NanaHood”!

Someone for Us

We all need a ‘Someone-For-Us’ Friend! Jesus said it as clearly as humanly possible: Jesus called [his disciples] together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant… just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28). So often, we read Jesus’ words to mean, “When we stand before God in judgment, the greatest person will be determined by who has been the best servant.” We make Jesus’ words into a future promise; something recognized by God about our lives at the end of time. This way, we can go ahead and strive for greatness by our own – or worse, by the world’s – definition of greatness. If we listen, we can catch ourselves thinking, “Those sweet ‘little people’ who do all those menial ministries will be rewarded in the end, but I want to do something great for God, now!” Jesus, however, defines greatness in our world – in our now – as being a servant to others. His example is the supreme example. Jesus wasn’t just great when he ascended triumphantly to God, victorious over death. He was great when he touched the leper, held little children, gave the widow at Nain back her husband, and washed the disciples’ feet. He was great when he humbled himself in the wilderness, protected the woman caught in adultery, privately raised the little girl who had died, and affirmed the sinful woman of the city for her extravagant display of love. Greatness now is being a servant now. The greatest among us – in our churches, our families, our communities – are those who quietly serve to bless others and honor their Savior by serving as he did. This promise isn’t just a future tense reward: it’s a right now reality. Even though most in the world do not usually recognize those who serve, God does. These servants are the great ones. Not the ones who command huge stipends to speak. Not those who stand before large churches or command a great TV audience. The ones who quietly bless, care, toil, and serve behind the scenes right now are the great ones. One of my favorite people in the Bible is Onesiphorus. I like to refer to him with a play on his name – “Someone-For-Us”! That’s because we all need someone like him in our lives. Even more, there are people all around us who need us to be Onesiphorus for them – to be their “Someone-For-Us” friend. In the apostle Paul’s dark night of the soul during his next to last imprisonment, Onesiphorus was there for him. Look how Paul describes his “Someone-For-Us” friend: You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me… May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus (2 Timothy 1:15-18). If we are going to be truly great, Paul’s “Someone-For-Us” friend is a fine example. Notice what Onesiphorus did: He was Paul’s oasis of refreshment when everyone else was deserting Paul: he was a friend in the toughest times. He was not ashamed to be identified with Paul even though Paul was possibly facing death for his faith. He wasn’t just a fair weather friend but was a friend when it was personally dangerous. He searched and worked hard to find Paul to bless him: his service to Paul required devoted attention, not just an opportune moment to serve. He served Paul in the day-to-day grind of life, not just when things were especially challenging or noteworthy. His service was consistent and faithful through all circumstances. What strikes me about Onesiphorus’ greatness is that he is so little known among those who claim to follow Jesus. He is not held up as a hero despite being a “wind beneath my wings” kind of hero. I believe this is because so many of us would like to be grand servants of God that make a world of difference like the apostle Paul. I believe the great apostle would tell us that without people in his life like Onesiphorus, he would not have been as great a world-changer. Instead, he would have been someone who died alone, without friends, and with a much more limited mission. Jesus said greatness must mean service. So, the question for us is not, “Who do I want to be?” Instead, it is this: “Who has God put in my life who needs an Onesiphorus – a ‘Someone-Who-Is-For-Us’ friend?” Greatness is at our fingertips. Will we choose to be a servant – a ‘Someone-For-Us’ friend – or will we pursue our self-aggrandizing version of greatness? Final Note:I want to dedicate this article to the “Someone-For-Us” person in my life: my wife of nearly forty years, Donna. Over the last two years of transition, she has tirelessly served our daughter and me in far too many ways to count. She believes this is her call from God at this time in our lives. Without her efforts, our work with Heartlight.org and Verse of the Day as well my work with missionary renewals and serving churches in their interim seasons would not be possible. I am thankful to God for this bright and talented woman who has chosen to serve so sacrificially. On top of that, she has been the beauty in my life all these years! About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com, read by

What You Need to Move Ahead

Does the New Year already seem like an old one? You try to leave them behind on December 31 so you don’t have to carry them with you into January 1. But for many of us, after waking up for several weeks into the New Year, we find ourselves surrounded by the same old noise. For many, the noise comes in the form of tapes played out in the surround sound of the mind. A pre-set, automatic, “play” button is pressed and we hear that same old noise again. One noise reminds you of past mistakes. Another noise replays a recent failure. At times, it seems, we have a never-ending playlist of uninvited noise. And when we think we are finally silencing the recorded noise, noise comes at us live. A friend or a boss or a family member believes it is his or her duty to remind us of our failings and frailty. As a result, we feel incompetent or inferior or incapable – or maybe all three. We feel condemned. I’d like to point out that “condemned” is exactly where the Enemy would like us to be. He wants us to hear those voices. He wants to fill us with enough noise that we begin to believe what we are hearing and render our lives ineffective. This Enemy has a clear job description: “accuse” and “deceive.” He does his job very well. We’ve heard the noise in our head and we’ve heard the noise from others. But, do you think we might find enough quiet space to hear from Him – Father of Jesus instead of the Father of lies? Through the Apostle Paul, Jesus sent some words our way that we need to hear … a recording that needs to become the dominant song on our playlist. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Notice, the apostle doesn’t say there is “some” condemnation or just a “little” condemnation. He says there is “no” condemnation. How can that be? Don’t miss that Paul says this is a reality for those who are “in” Christ Jesus. That small preposition is powerful. You see, when one is “in” Christ, then God sees Christ when he looks at that person. Does he condemn Christ? Then neither does he condemn you. That’s his invitation to you this New Year, too. Yes, I know New Year’s Day is over and most of us have already blown a resolution or two … maybe even given up on them altogether. So now, right this minute, on this day, when old habits, patterns, and noises crowd in on us, we need to hear the Father’s message, and not the Enemy’s lies. Christ wants to free us from the constant accusations from the Enemy, whether he uses the voices from the past or the voices from the present. He wants us to realize that we are in Christ and that Christ is in us. He wants us to play the song of freedom in our minds so we can live a life of freedom for Him in our world. So read them again. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Mark them. Memorize them. Drown out the noise with the Father’s truth! Then, move ahead with them in this New Year … even though the “new” may already have already begun to feel like something old … because you know God’s always new truth: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. About the author: Rick Brown is the preaching minister for ChristBridge Fellowship in Tomball, Texas. He loves his wife Karen and two sons. Rick is also the author of The ME Addiction.