Seeking Out The Good of Others-9/12/11

Good Morning,

Well I only posted twice last week but the week I made my commitment to post three times a week I actually posted four so my average is intact. Last night I preached a sermon on seeking out the good of others over your own needs, I won’t put the whole thing up but I will give you the gist of it.

When the school year began a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to do something to help our teens get through their day with an encouraging message. I decided that three times a week I would send a text message to the teens with an encouraging thought to help them get through the day. Parents you can be so proud of all your teenagers, they have all responded well to receiving these text messages and have been grateful for them. One of the scriptures I shared with the teens recently was 1 Corinthians 10:24 which says…

24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others-1 Corinthians 10:24

I really love this passage but it has been eating at me because I haven’t really been doing the best job of seeking out good for others lately. Here are three ways that I believe might be able to help us help other people.

1. Become active in your community-Acts 2:46-47

The early church was always extremely active in their community and they were blessed for it. If you don’t believe me just look.

Acts 2:46-47

46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

2. Care For Widows and Orphans-James 1:27

Another way we can seek out the good of others is to be aware that there are people in our world who are not as fortunate as we are. There are children out there who don’t have mothers and fathers, there are women out there whose husbands have died and they have no one to take care of them. As God’s people we have the opportunity to look after these people and help them live a better life.

James 1:27

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

3. We Seek Out Those With Sin in Their Lives and Minister To Them-Luke 19:1-10

Probably the best thing we can do to meet the needs of someone else is to find people living in sin and minister to them. I think we hear this one and agree with it and then we just kind of forget about it. All of the community awareness and taking care of widows cannot take care of the sin problem in the lives of people. In order to help people with their sin problem then we must become involved in their lives just like Jesus did in Luke 19.

Luke 19:1-10

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

It would have been so easy for Jesus to dismiss this sinful tax collector, some probably thought that he should have made an example of him to the people there, but that was not Jesus’ way. Instead Jesus went to the man’s house and that impacted him so much that he changed his ways. Imagine what would happen if showed Jesus to the people you are around on a daily basis through your example and through his word? Not every case would be a Zacchaeus but I believe if you shared Jesus enough times with enough people that you would eventually find someone to respond to the Gospel message.

Think about how you can help someone today. You hace all helped me and blessed me by being my friends.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

Back To School

Good Morning Everyone,

Today is that day that you always dreaded as child, the first day back to school. For me this day was always a pretty dreadful experience. I loved summers growing up in Texas. Whether it was going to church camp, area wide devotionals, or spending time on the family cattle ranch I loved every aspect of summer. The first day of school always loomed like a dark cloud on the horizon of my life. The first day of school meant getting up early and not staying up late hanging out with my friends, it meant that I had homework, it meant I had to take tests and it also meant my spirituality was going to be challenged.

The last aspect of my spirituality being challenged was one that I was always aware of, but now that I look back I realize that more often than not I failed. I listened to and told jokes that I shouldn't have been a part of, I gossiped, I made fun of people and in general didn't give much regard to my spiritual appearance. I think it is this part of my spiritual journey that lead me to ministry, specifically, youth ministry.

In my works with teens I see that not really much has changed in schools. Our youth group summers are great! Every Monday night we have a big group of kids that make it out to the area wides, our camps and Bible classes are well attended and the overall spiritual health of the teens is great. Then the first day of school roles around and my teenagers, my babies, are thrown back into a world that could care less about spirituality. So today I want to leave all of you with a few scriptures to help you and help your teens live a spiritual life in an unspiritual world.

1 Corinthians 15:33
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

1 Peter 5:8
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Deuteronomy 31:6
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

God's will help you and your teenagers navigate the unspiritual world of Junior High and High School. As always I offer myself as a resource. I hope I have blessed all of you today as much as all of you have blessed me.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

How Will You Be Different Today?

How Will You Be Different Today?

Daniel 1:8-16-NIV
⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

This is part of the text the teenagers looked at Sunday morning. Daniel and his friends were plucked from their home at a young age and forced to learn a new way of life. All the morals and values they were raised with were now in question by the people who had abducted them from their homes. What makes this passage of scripture so teachable is that these young men decided to do what God wanted them to do and not what man wanted them to do.

Consider for a moment how easy it would have been for Daniel and his friends to conform to the world around them. Consider for a moment how easy it would have been for Daniel and his friends to sacrifice their integrity for the fleeting gift of acceptance. Consider for a moment how often Christians conform to the values of this world when God has set such higher standards for his people. While you are considering all of that consider these words from the book of Romans.

Romans 12:1-2-NIV

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer 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.

Too often all we do is read these words without taking them to heart. Our society has become one of no absolutes; instead of black and white the world sees things in shades of gray. As God’s people we are called to something higher than shades of gray and compromising our morals. Often times I hear people try to justify their complacent attitudes by comparing our society to those of Biblical times. The justification is that we have more avenues of sin than the people of Biblical times. Not only is this justification ridiculous but it is false. We may have different opportunities to sin but the act is sin is the same as it was during Biblical times; and it is just as wrong now as it was then. When considering comparing our society to the societies of Biblical times consider the words of Peter.

1 Peter 1:1-2-NIV

¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ²who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Peter was writing to people who were scattered away from their homes not by their own choice. Peter encourages these people through his letter to live a life based not upon their circumstances but upon the providence of God the Father with words like these…

1 Peter 1:13-16-NIV

13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

So, how will you be different today? Maybe you will decide to give up a worldly habit, maybe you will reach out and become a friend to a friendless person or maybe you will take a stand for God when you have failed to in the past. I can’t tell you how to be different, but I can tell you that as Christians we need to be different. The way you decide to be different today is up to you. I encourage you to prayerfully consider how you are living your life and how you can be different today.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

Are We There Yet?

Good Morning Everyone,

If you grew up in a family like mine then that means most summers you took some kind of vacation. Whether it was going to Palestine to attend the world famous Crockett Road Church of Christ VBS, or headed up to Nashville so Mom could finish her education, or touring Major League ballparks we usually managed to get away for a little while each summer. The one common theme on whatever trip it was we were on was the question, usually from me, "Are we there yet?".

Yesterday I went to Angleton to attend a monthly minister's meeting and luncheon. I was driving April's car because I was low on gas and my car was sitting at the Church building. As I was driving the forty or so miles to Angleton is occurred to me that exactly a year ago that I was driving April's car on our trip from California to Texas(I'm pretty sure I asked if we were there yet a few times). It then occurred to me that this is the first time in the past two years that April and I have not been moving to one place or another.

I am proud to say that Pearland is home. We have a wonderful church family here, the working environment for April and for me are great, and we have made ,and in some cases, renewed some wonderful lifelong friendships. As I was contemplating all of these things a scripture became very real to me.

James 4:13-16
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

Life is indeed precious and we definitely not in control. We like to fool ourselves into thinking we are in charge but when all is said and done God is in charge. Sometimes we need reminders of that fact ,and when we do, God is good to give them to us, we simply need to listen. To all of you who have made our first year in Pearland the best year we have had I want to thank you. You took two people who were scarred and broken and helped us to become whole again. Today I want to leave you with the words to a song that speaks to this and will help you to keep walking with the Lord.

If You Say Go

If you say go we will go
If you say wait we will wait
If you say step out on the water and they say it can’t be done
We’ll fix our eyes on you and we will come

Your ways are higher than our ways
And the plans that You have laid are good and true
If You call us to the fire You will not withdraw Your hand
We’ll gaze into the flames and look for You

My prayer today is that we will understand that God's ways are higher than ours and that his plan is the perfect thing for all of us imperfect people. I hope you are blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

The Long Lost Blogger Returns

Hey Everyone,

I know, I know it has been awhile but I wanted to take a moment and write a note this afternoon. The purpose of this note is to ask for prayers on behalf of an event that is taking place here at the Pearland Church of Christ tonight at 7:00PM.

As a congregation we see the need to reach our community here in Pearland. The problem is our community is so mobile that door knocking is no longer a useful means of reaching people, we have had success in the past mailing a DVD telling about our congregation to the community but we want to do more.

Our meeting tonight is to discuss congregational and individual strategies for reaching our community. We want people to know that we have a a passion for God and a passion for the lost. I am asking you to spend a few moments in prayer today asking God to bless our efforts. We can plan all we want to but if we go into this without seeking God's blessing then we are setting ourselves up for failure. Thank you all for always being so supportive and I thank you in advance for your prayers.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul