What's In a Name?

If you know anything about me, you will know my favorite church is The Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York. I have had the pleasure to worship, work and pray with them on several occasions. One of the things I have done with them is to go out on the streets of NYC and pass out flyers. On one side of the flyer it promotes the Sunday evening service as this is their seeker service. On the backside of the flyer is the plan of salvation. Before they hit the streets, they have an intense time of praise, worship, and prayer.

On one particular Saturday, in July 2002, our group was joining them on their street witnessing venture. We were given strict instructions to just pass out flyers and try not to engage everyone, but to only speak to those who wanted more info. We broke up into groups. In one of those groups was one of my mentors. He is a wise, older, white-haired, godly man who has the respect many at my church. His group was led by a middle aged Puerto Rican lady who is totally sold out for the Lord. After they had piled into her vehicle, she gave them the instructions again, but this time emphasized something very important to her. She told them, “Do Not Do Anything That Will Bring Shame To The Name Of Jesus Christ!” It was so important to her that she said it a couple of times again. Notice she did not mention Brooklyn Tab at all, but the name of Jesus Christ. In a sense she was telling them, “Remember whose you are.” Today we get so caught up on where we attend church that we become “church worshippers” and not Jesus Christ worshippers!

Last week in Bible study, I came across this passage in Ephesians: "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Eph. 4:1-2)

I have been chewing on those verses, especially the part that says “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” I don’t know about you, but that hits me between the eyes. This is exactly what I want my life to be all about. I want to live a life worthy of Jesus Christ!

Can you imagine if all the men in our churches were to strive to live up to that measure, how today would look radically different? Men would be leading with confidence and authority. Husbands would be loving and cherishing their wives. Fathers would be Dads. The divorce rate would cease to exist in the church, etc.

You and I can’t change the world overnight, but you and I can strive to “live a life worthy of the calling”. From there, you get your friends to strive; and they get their friends. Before we know it, we have changed a complete generation.

I’m praying for you today. Blessings!

Speak Truth

I have to confess to you a guilty pleasure of mine. I like to watch American Idol. My wife and I have been watching since Season 4. I picked Carrie Underwood to win the whole thing from very early on. We watch it from the tryouts till the very end. Every season, as I watch the tryouts, I am always amazed how people who have no musical abilities, believe with all their hearts, they will be the “Next American Idol”.

I know some of them are just trying to be as outlandish as possible to make it on the show. But there are many who are just horrible who really think they can sing. When they get the obvious rejection, first they can’t believe they’re not making it to Hollywood. Then they will start to cry, because their dreams have been dashed. Many times they have their families there and they’re crushed too. As they try to console their rejected loved one, they’ll turn to the camera and tell America that the judges are just wrong!

These people are in complete denial. For the first time in their life, someone has had the guts to tell them the harsh truth: They can’t sing! Afterwards, they’re hurt and angry. There many a folk out there that are living a life of denial. You may have tried to tell them the truth about salvation thru Jesus Christ and they continue to reject it. They would rather listen to their own ideas and beliefs. It breaks my heart to see so many folks turning their backs on God. As you and I know, one day we all must come before the “One who judges all of mankind”, “the One true Judge.” They are in for a rude awakening.

The Bible is very clear on this. In the Gospel according to John, Jesus is trying to explain the power of Satan and why people do not believe Him.

"Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! "(John 8:43-45)

Pretty straightforward, huh? Jesus understands who Satan is, he is the father of lies. Have you met someone in such denial of the truth, even though they know the truth deep down? This goes for Christians who have allowed themselves to fall away. A few years ago, I was asked to go talk with an old friend of my wife’s family. He had decided to leave his wife after close to 40 years of marriage. He had found somebody else and decided to leave his family behind and marry this new woman. He was so much in denial of the truth and his heart was so cold and hard that no matter what we said to him, his mind was made up. All of this hurt my wife so much as she had always looked up to this man as an uncle. She cried all the way home. To think he was willing to destroy his wife, three grown children and their grandchildren for self gratification. My friend, this is buying into the lies of Satan.

How can we avoid this pitfall? There are four ways:
1.) Stay in God’s Word. Study it, mediate on it, and live by it.
2.) Pray. Stay in communication with the Father.
3.) Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength.
4.) Have a couple of friends to keep you accountable, to help you when you start to stray.

I pray for you to continue to do these four things to know what Truth is.

Blessings!

Night Vision

Throughout the history of warfare, there have always been those weapons or tools that gave an army an edge. Today, there is a military tool that can give the military an edge. They’re called night-vision goggles. Night goggles literally allow the wearer to see an illuminated view of what's going on in the darkness; things that would otherwise be invisible. If you can see through the night, you can see what others can't see and you can operate when others can't move.

For a long time, God has been equipping folks with the ability to see through the night. You don't even need special goggles, but you do need to have a love relationship with God where your heart opens up to things that He wants to show you. And maybe it's nighttime in your life right now and it's gotten pretty dark. It's hard to see where to go, hard to know what to do, and it's pretty scary.

With that said, you're going to love God's promise of night vision to His children. In Isaiah 42:16, God says, "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them..." Are you walking down a way you've not known before? Are you headed toward an unfamiliar path? Your Lord says, "I will be your night vision." It gets better. He goes on to say, "I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth." That is awesome! Of course, you have to be walking into the darkness for God to turn the darkness into light. He doesn't say to start walking when He lights up the path. He says to start walking and as you walk, He'll light it up. It reminds me of the clip of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” where Indy has to step out in faith to walk across the bottomless pit. When he takes the first step, he finds there is a bridge unseen to man.

Yes, you may be in a night season right now, but your God owns the night! In fact, that's usually when you can see Him best. Like the moon. As long as it's daylight, you can only see a pale moon, at best. But when it's dark, that's when you can see the brightness of the moon - or of your Master. Just like the military who get a lot done in the night because they have night vision, your Lord gets a lot done in the nighttimes of our life; often some of His greatest missions. No matter how dark it is around you right now, your God is able to lead your steps, protect you from all harm, show you where to walk, and enable you to complete your mission, unhindered, undiminished, uncompromised, and undefeated no matter what's out there in the dark.

Because, as 1 John 4:4 tells us, "the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." So, don't make the mistake of just trusting what you can see, or trusting what you can feel. You need to know that your Heavenly Father is walking ahead of you every step of that night. So, keep walking and keep trusting. Your Father owns the night!

Blessings!