Jesus is Our Cornerstone

Last year I read a story that happened in China. In the city of Shanghai, a 15 story apartment building built to withstand floods, earthquakes and high winds was almost complete. It was a beautiful building that would have housed hundreds of people. On June 27, 2009, after severe rains, this brand new building before anyone moved in, simply fell over, first floor and all. It was so well built, when it fell it didn’t break in half, it didn’t crumble, in fact it stayed intact from the top floor all the way to the basement. It simply fell over killing at least one unsuspecting construction worker. As engineers began to investigate, it became apparent that the building foundation was not properly built or placed. The foundation could not support the weight of the building.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7 that those who puts Jesus’ words into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The storm that came was intense with great flooding and powerful winds, it was amazing that the house stood firm. Jesus said that the reason the house was still standing was because of the strong foundation. He then said that another man built the same kind of house but on a weak foundation and it collapsed during the storm.
A church that obeys the word of God, that rests its faith in Jesus can never just simply fall over or fall apart. Jesus can handle the weight, the pressure, and storms that His church sometimes has to face.
The reason why many religious people stumble, and why some churches stumble is because we are trying to carry the weight on our own. When we try to be our own foundation, when our focus is not on Jesus but on ourselves, we are too busy trying to keep the church from falling down that we can’t do anything else but try to hold it together. That is miserable and no way to live, besides that we would never have the energy or time to obey His great commission. That is why the weight of the church, the weight of your life is not supposed to be in your hands, but in Jesus. Our faith is not in what we do for Him, our faith is in what He does for us. Jesus is the cornerstone of our lives, and all that we do should rest on Him.

Scripture & Prayer Guide for the Gospel of Mark

Monday: READ Mark Chapters 1, 2, & 3. Pray: Ask God to guide you into complete surrender into will. That you would rely upon Him as He continues to transform you into the likeness of Jesus.
Tuesday: READ Mark 4 & 5.
Pray: Ask that God would grow your faith as you go through each day; that you would always seek His help, His mercy, and His transforming power.
Wednesday: READ Mark 6, 7, & 8.
Pray: That you would fall deeper in love with Him as you grow in your desire to be more like Jesus.
Thursday: READ Mark 9, 10, 11.
Pray that God will give you a desire to be obedient and faithful to Him even in difficult times.
Friday: READ Mark 12, 13, 14.
Pray that you would have the desire to do God’s will, that His mission would become your mission in every moment of life.
Saturday: READ Mark 15 & 16.
Pray that the story of Jesus would become the cornerstone of all that you do; that the grace of God may transform your life into one that glorifies Him each moment. Be sure to say thankyou!

Get r Done

We are in our new sermon series called “Get r Done”. In the south the words “Get R Done” are not just a phrase, they are a battle cry. To say “get r done” is to say I will get the task completed no matter the cost, the time, or the effort. Get r Done means we are on a mission to do something. Last week we focused on the idea that God has given us a mission to be disciples who go make disciples. In 21st century terms, our mission is to connect with Jesus while encouraging others to also connect with Jesus. In the book of Zechariah a group of Jews moved back to Jerusalem, they had been defeated and had been led away in chains back to Babylon. Now they are back on a mission to rebuild the Temple and the city. The city of Jerusalem with its walls and great Temple were all in ruins, all that was left was rubble. The very place God was to dwell (The Temple) was destroyed. There must have been part of them that felt hopeless, they had to know that they were in trouble. They must have thought “how do you build a city or a kingdom out of rubble?” Right now some of you may feel the same way. How do we bring God back into this place, into our hearts? If our mission is to follow Jesus and to help others follow Jesus how do we do that when all we feel like we have to work with is rubble? Notice how God helped the people get started.

“6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. 7 "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!” Zechariah 4:6-7 NIV

It was an important message to all of the people; that the city, the gates, and the Temple will be built not by the power of man, but by the Spirit of God working in His people. Jerusalem was rebuilt because the Spirit of God worked through the hands of men and women who surrendered to the Spirit of God. If we want to get things done in this church, or if you want to do something for God, then start by reconnecting with Him. That’s what it means when we say, not by power, but by His Spirit.

Into His Likeness

"18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
When Moses came down from Mt Sinai with the 10 Commandments, his face was so bright that it overwhelmed everyone who saw him. Therefore they put a veil over his face. The idea is that when one comes into contact with God they are changed (transformed), even if it is just temporary.
What Paul is saying here in 2 Corinthians 3 is that too many people are living outside of Jesus, their hearts are veiled. Another wards they can’t see or comprehend the blessing and freedom that is found in a love relationship with God. Jesus removes all separation, and brings us closer to God. The main focus of verse 18 is that if you are connected to Jesus your life will change. The idea is that if we spend time with Jesus, if we take time to get into His word, if we pray in His name, and if we stay connected to Him, we will be changed. You may ask “change into what?” Verse 18 says change into His likeness. When Moses came into contact with God, his faced shined brightly. When we come into contact with Jesus we too shine a light of hope that blesses everyone we encounter. Transformation into spiritual maturity should be the norm rather than the exception. May God bless you each moment as you allow Jesus to transform and bless your life each day!

DEVIL

Devil is a movie that M. Night Shyamalan wrote & produced that my wife and I found interesting and very entertaining. I will not give too much away, in fact consider yourself warned if you plan on watching the movie and don’t want to have the ending spoiled.

Most stories have a way of highlighting the struggle that its characters are going through and then in one short moment at the end we discover a truth about them. While some stories goal is only to focus on the struggle, many filmmakers (especially Shyamalan) are concerned with where the characters are going. The struggle these characters deal with is their sin, guilt, and the devil’s desire to make them pay for it. This story spends most of its time dealing with that idea, however that is not the goal of this movie. ***SPOILER ALERT*** The ultimate goal of this film is to remind us that forgiveness is more powerful than the schemes of the devil.

The security guard who narrates the story tells us something that his mother would always say, "Don't worry. If the devil is real, then God must be real too." I give this movie two thumbs up. It is PG-13, which means it has the typical violence and language of a PG-13 movie, so please keep that in mind if you decide to see it.

Living Water

“5 People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. 6 If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. 7 Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God's laws.” Romans 8:5-7 CEV

I like how the Contemporary English Version translates Romans 8. Paul describes two kinds of lives; the Christ- Centered Life followed by the Me-Centered Life. Paul describes the Christ- Centered Life as a life that is ruled by the Holy Spirit. One of the great benefits of having a relationship with Jesus is having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The idea behind Romans chapter 8 is that the reason we do good things is because we are in submission to the will of God. God’s Holy Spirit gives us the desire and strength to do good things. The Me-Centered Life works just the opposite. The King James Version uses the word “flesh”, the NIV the word “sinful nature”, and the CEV uses the word “desire”. Flesh does not necessarily mean body; it in this context describes a lifestyle that is not God centered. Everything I do, think, or say is influenced by either the flesh or by the Holy Spirit. The flesh encourages us to live a me-centered life while the Holy Spirit influences us to live a God-centered life. A “me centered” life is not only powered by me, but it is also limited by me. A me-centered life thinks that I earn my salvation through good works. A me-centered life is not so much a selfish life, it is more of a disconnected life, because we believe all the power and resources we have comes from us and not from God. In 2 Peter 2, Peter describes false prophets and teachers who may at one time belonged to God, but eventually they were rebelling against Him. Peter describes them in v.17 as “springs without water”. Those false teachers looked like christians, they talked like christians, but because they were disconnected from God they were like a spring without water. They became useless and destructive. Throughout scripture God offers people living water, in which the apostle John described as the Holy Spirit. It is by the Holy Spirit that we are strengthened to live a “Christ-centered” life. The church needs Christians who are connected to the water. Our country needs churches that are connected to the water that transforms selfish and sinful hearts into ones that are willing to love and serve as Jesus did. Every day is a battle between being “Me-centered” or “God-centered”. The only way I know how to win that battle is to actually surrender each moment by worshiping the presence of God and being led His Spirit.