GCC Pastors' devotions

“I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:22

This week I had a couple of cool opportunities to share my faith. One was a lady who worked at the front desk of a hotel where I was staying. When I asked her (that’s right), “What is the best thing that has ever happened to you”, she shared her story with me and I shared mine. I then asked her how long she had worked at that hotel as a front desk person. She informed me that she had been there for five years. I then probed by asking her if anyone in the past 5 years had ever engaged her in a conversation about Christ. She answered that this was her very first time. To be honest with you, I was shocked. Let me tell you why. First, there were two or more pastors and Christian leaders staying at this same hotel and attending the same event that I was there for; and secondly, in five years, with all the Christian gatherings in that town, not one person had ever attempted to share their faith with this woman. Hmm…makes me wonder.

Let me share some statistics about what people think about faith:

- Gallup polls say that 50% of people intend to return to church someday.

- 20% say they are waiting for someone to talk to them about spiritual matters.

- Barna polls are quoted as saying that 62% consider themselves ‘deeply spiritual’.

Some people don’t think that I am normal. They may be right, but normal in the Bible found people in the market place sharing their faith daily. Today some say that it is just not their calling to openly share their faith. Let me challenge those folks with the Word of God. In Jude we are told, “…and some having compassion, with fear pulling people out of the fire.” Those folks probably didn’t think it was their calling either to witness to others…BUT they did it.

Dear friends, I appeal to you to make a list of people you want to be saved. The list may include family members, a friend or classmate or co-worker, a husband or a wife. Make that list, not just mentally, write it down. Then, begin praying and fasting for them. Ask God for opportunities to speak or show His love.

You may not be there yet to share your faith every day. That’s okay. It took me years to get to being as bold as I am now. But you can do something. As you pray and fast, remember these things.

1. Be Intentional about your faith

2. Take an Interest in people

3. Make Investments into reaching people

Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? The Jewish boy was robbed and beaten when along came two respected church leaders. And what happened? Those folks who should have been counted on to help failed the test. Then along came a guy who was considered a dog to most in that society. He didn’t only stop and take an Interest in this man, he got out his wallet and made an Investment (Luke 10:35).

What are you willing to do, that you may save some?

Pastor George

This morning I was brushing my teeth and preparing for another day of ministry when a picture of Jesus washing feet flashed before me. Then I remembered the early years of my Christian walk when we would wash each other’s feet after our communion service. If you have never washed a stranger’s feet, you probably don’t understand how humiliating that was for this young twenty year old new follower of Christ.

In the book of John, chapter thirteen, Jesus grabs a bowl and a towel and begins to wash his closest followers’ feet. Then it is Peter’s turn to get his feet wet, but instead of excitement and joy, there is total and absolute objection to having any part of this demeaning activity.

We have all been there where we want to bolt from a situation that makes us feel uncomfortable. You can name many instances, I am sure. After Peter’s brief tangent, Jesus hits him with this statement, “Unless I wash your feet, you won’t belong to me” (John 13:8). Now if that’s not enough to process, Jesus takes this to a whole other level with the following statement, “If I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you should wash one another’s feet.” I seriously think it is a good thing to get a basin of water and a towel to wash each other’s feet. It surely is an activity that brings us back to the basics.

As I make that statement, I also believe there are two bigger messages here that our Lord wanted to convey. First, true Christianity is modeled by an attitude of a servant. Secondly, serving gives you a real picture of Jesus’ life. The Word says, “He did not come to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45).

Here are the challenging questions I would like you to ask yourself:

1. How am I serving?

2. Am I wasting my life or am I building a legacy of a servant?

3. Am I praying for opportunities where God wants me to serve?

God asked Moses, “What’s in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). God gave Moses a staff, a tool of sorts, to do the job He gave his servant to do. So I want to ask you today…what has God given you? What is “in your hand”? How does God want you to use it?

Pastor George

Is this for you another year of making promises? Many of us are very good at making vows but not so good at keeping them. We are going to lose weight, we are going to exercise more, we are going to get out of debt, we are going to stick to a budget, and we are going to spend more time with family. Great ideas…all of them. However, surveys tell us that most resolutions are forgotten in just a short time.

We make resolutions because we want to bring change to bear on our circumstances. We want to improve ourselves and our quality of life. And the top resolutions, for most people, tend to revolve around the same three poles: money, health and family. But we, as Christians, ought to be looking at the bigger picture…the eternal life. Let me give you some New Year’s resolution ideas that will improve your 2012, the rest of your life on earth, and your forever after:

1. Seek God more –”So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD … ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6, NIV).

2. Seek to be an instrument Goduses — “Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress” (I Timothy 4:14-15, NIV).

3. Be intentional for souls– “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (I Corinthians 9:22, NIV).

4. Invest in your spiritual growth “”Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me (Philippians 3:12, NIV).

5. Make the tough decisions you know are best — “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:22-24, NIV).

6. Confront debilitating patterns of sin – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1, NIV).

7. Make the commitment to build your community — “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over” (Matthew 18:15, NIV).

Join me in the New Year in committing to grow our spiritual lives deeper, to grow our relationships deeper and to being willing to go where God leads us.

Pastor George

Have you heard about the recent controversy surrounding the football quarterback for the Denver Broncos? The mainstream media considers him to be an over zealous evangelical Christian. The controversy is not over the fact that he is good moral person – it’s over the fact that he openly talks about his love for Jesus Christ. A popular media personality Jake Plummer said in a radio interview that he wished Tim Tebow would curb his references to Jesus Christ and his faith. Tebow responded, “If you’re married, and you have a wife, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife ‘I love you’ the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and every opportunity? That’s how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ; it is the most important thing in my life. Any time I get an opportunity to tell Him that I love him or given an opportunity to shout Him out on national TV, I’m gonna take that opportunity. And so I look at it as a relationship that I have with Him that I want to give Him the honor and glory anytime I have the opportunity.”

In our day and age of tolerance, it is easy to go along with the mainstream philosophy to keep your religion to yourself. Though that is true, what does God’s Word say about this?

1. “If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38 nlt

2. And he said to them, ” Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature…” Mark 16:15 nlt

To addition to this, in Acts chapter 7 we read the account of the deacon of the church being martyred because of his radical confession. It says in verses 54-58, “Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed togetherat him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.”

Wow, how bold was that deacon? I think it’s time WE, the church, get radical about confessing our faith. Yup, RADICAL enough to live out our faith in an authentic way. Radical enough to look for opportunities to publically acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Savior. Radical enough to make Jesus known to every person we meet. Let’s copy Denver’s quarterback Tim Tebow; let’s NOT be silent about our faith, let’s be Radical!

Just like the angels who came heralding to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem that Christ the Lord was born. Their timing was perfect. And I think it is the perfect time for you and I, the Church, NOT to be silent about our faith.

Who will you tell?

Pastor George

If you watch any TV at all, you cannot have helped but notice the last couple of weeks Target has been filling the air waves with some funny ads. A crazy looking lady has been prophesying that “IT” is coming! Well, I must admit, the ad worked because on Black Friday I did what I have never done before. I went shopping! I watched on the news people stampeding in malls at midnight trying to get something they probably couldn’t afford or something someone didn’t need. This was one headline that I read, “Black Friday Violence Worse than Ever as American Consumers Fight Over Deals Like Crazed Animals”. Wow, what is that?

Black Friday is most assuredly coming, but not like most people think. I don’t mean to rob you of enjoying the holidays, but Jesus warned us to keep eternity in our sights. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus outlines the coming events that lead to the end of time. Yes, there will be wars and rumors of war. Yes, there will be disasters like never before. But this is what caught my attention, Matthew 24 says, “42Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.43But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.45″Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.”

It is easy to lose sight of the reality of God’s Word when we are so engaged in our busy lives of raising kids, being successful, doing life! But Jesus warns us to:

1. Be Watching

2. Be Read

3. Be Faithful

1. During this holiday season, Watch…keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, He is the reason for the Season

2. Be Ready to respond to needs. Be ready to serve. Be ready to Give.

3. Be Faithful in the small things

46″Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.”

Pastor George