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SIGNIFICANCE

6/29/2010

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“Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!  And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.  For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping.  But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance," (Genesis 45:4-7, NIV).

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14, NIV).

Have you ever wondered where the present day will bring you?  Have you wondered if God really is paying attention to what you’re having to deal with today?  Have you wondered if God really is as personal and close as the Word claims?  It’s hard for us to step outside of our situation, especially when we’re overwhelmed, and remember that God is in charge.  Remember, we’re His when we commit ourselves to Christ, who is Lord.  We like to remember that God is ours, but the rubber really meets the road when we understand the depth of God’s ownership of us.  We tend to still think that we are somehow little gods of our own lives, in control of our own destinies.  But the Word is clear:  We have been redeemed:  “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”  When we understand this better, our trust of God, even through the toughest of times, deepens.  We understand that God has created us intimately, deliberately, wonderfully and individually for His great purposes right now in this time.  God knows what He’s doing.  God has great plans for us.  Those plans are realized in the best sense when we submit to God’s control and realize that God is not simply Master; He’s a Good Master.  Our Master doesn’t simply dish out commands and sit back and relax:  He wants to work along side us, take the brunt of the burden off of us, exalt us from our former status and richly reward us.  Be rest assured that God has great plans for you, He has a very significant plan in mind for each of us.  But His plan for us is never isolated –it’s meant to impact others and interlink with the plans He has for His other servants.  He really knows what He’s doing and the impact He intends to be realized for us and through us is very significant.  Don’t get off focus, keep your focus on the One who has the clearest vision.  God sees the whole picture.  We find the greatest joy when we trust His intentions because they are always good.  Don’t let your significance be wasted on a world that is passing away; use the life, gifts and resources God has given you to invest in treasure that really lasts.  And don’t forget to fall in love with the church and the One to whom she belongs.  God always makes the greatest and most significant impact on this world when we work together in unity with His goals in mind.
Love in Jesus,
George
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A BETTER COUNTRY

6/27/2010

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“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country -- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them," (Hebrews 11:13-16, NIV).  

Imagine being in Abraham’s shoes.  About 430 years had passed from the time that Noah and his family left the Ark after the flood until Abraham heard God’s call to leave Babylon (Ur of the Chaldees) and go to the promised land.  Imagine what Babylon, the place where the people and rulers had openly decided to defy God’s commands, must have been like in Abraham’s day.  Abraham was being asked to leave a center of civilization and the latest technology for a land he knew nothing about.  God promised Abram (later renamed Abraham) an inheritance and a special blessing (Genesis 12:1-3).  God told Abram that he would become a great nation and all nations on earth would be blessed through him –all because Abram responded to God’s call. 

What’s your “Babylon”?  Is there territory, ideas or behaviors that God is asking you to leave behind in favor of a greater blessing?  It couldn’t have been easy for Abram to leave the familiar to head for uncharted territory.  But Abram believed God.  Though Abram got out of Babylon, it probably took some time for Babylon to get out of Abram.  But God is patient, merciful, and always sees the bigger picture; He sees the great potential of a willing heart. 

We often don’t have many answers for the journey God asks us to go on.  But as long as we remember that it was God who asked us to begin the journey, we’ll keep our eyes fixed on the Better Country that is coming.

We don’t belong here.  We dare not return to our point of origin.  We have a greater citizenship, and the Ruler of all creation is preparing a place for us.  Don’t go back to Babylon.  Do be distracted by “more promising” destinations.  Keep on task and look to the Better Country.  All that we do, all that we commit to the King and His Kingdom never goes unnoticed.  Don’t grow weary in doing good, and don’t even consider turning back to the “home country.”  The only return we should be concerned with has nothing to do with Babylon and everything to do with God.

Love in Jesus,
George
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LOST AND FOUND

6/16/2010

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“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.  He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.  When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.  All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a `sinner.'"  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." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:1-10, NIV).

Have you ever wondered how Zacchaeus ended up being a tax collector?  What would motivate an Israelite to collect taxes for Rome?  The majority of people in Israel detested such tax collectors because, well, who really likes tax collectors to begin with?  More than this, they were traitors for collaborating with Rome.  They were typically corrupt and Rome tended to turn a blind eye to the behavior of tax collectors as long as Rome got its expected share.  These were the people who benefited by helping the enemy by (usually) gouging their own countrymen.  In the common person’s view, I’m sure Zacchaeus and others like him were beyond redemption...  unclean. 

Who do you know who is “beyond redemption?”  Who are the “undesirables” to you?  Jesus saw a sinner, a child of Abraham, who had become misguided by the temptations of this world.  Jesus looked up and saw the interest of one who was empty and searching.  Jesus wanted to extend fellowship to one who was searching and needed to hear the words, “God loves you.”  But the reaction of the people observing was textbook:  They muttered, “sinner.” 

How could Jesus be friendly to a traitor?  Someone who lives his life in such an “unclean” manner?  How could Jesus dare to call himself a teacher or a prophet if he associated with such sinners? 

Jesus never condoned sinful behavior but He loved the sinner who had the potential to become a saint.  Jesus didn’t praise Zacchaeus because he had decided to give his wealth away or suddenly seemed to be interested in following the Law.  Jesus saw a repentant heart.  But the occasion for repentance may have never come if Jesus had not sought that which was lost. 

Jesus loved to give people the opportunity to express repentance.  Repentance often came when people experienced God’s kindness when it was not earned or deserved.  God loves to forgive.  And God is looking for an army of forgivers to go forward and show His kindness to those who are lost. 

 "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field," (Matthew 9:37-38).

Love in Jesus,
George
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REST

6/8/2010

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“If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."

The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." (Exodus 33:13-17, NIV).

Moses was a regular person, just like us.  But God used him in mighty ways to show the world His ways and the desires of His heart.  As Moses matured spiritually, as he learned more about the Lord, Yahweh, Moses wanted more.  He couldn’t get enough of God.  Moses asked God to know and continue to find favor with Him.  What was God’s response?  “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  Rest?  It’s surprising to see how much the Word of God talks about rest.  But God does not mean simply taking a nap or retiring.  When God speaks of rest, this is directly connected to the idea of Moses’ request to God:  Favor.  Moses was asking to always remain with God and never leave His presence.  He wanted the grace of God to eliminate any possibility of being separated from Him ever again.  To God, this is known as “rest.”  The ultimate Rest is coming.  Labor was instituted as a curse upon this world –a world that determined that following it’s own ways was better than following God’s ways.  What is rest?  It is the perfect restoration of all things as God intended.  God promised to send His Presence with Moses, right up to the end, when Moses would enter God’s Rest.  But that wasn’t enough for Moses.  Moses wanted God to guarantee that His presence would be with him and Israel, to the very end.  Moses was not thinking about his own interests alone; he was thinking about the desires of God’s heart and that the whole world might know Him.  And the only way that the world could know Him was by distinguishing Moses and the people of Israel as different, holy, separate from the rest of the world.  God’s rest is complete and total salvation.


Do we want to experience the rest of God?  There is salvation for today and every day until we reach our journey’s end.  God knows us all by name.  God knows all things.  But when God told Moses that He knew him by name, He wasn’t simply saying, “I know your name is ‘Moses’.”  He was saying, “Moses, we are on a first-name basis.  I am pleased with you and love to be with you too.  I will allow you to really, really know Me.”

We can have rest, a small taste of what is yet to come, by seeking God’s Presence in our daily lives.  But when we seek to know God, the knowledge of God drives us to make Him known to the whole world.  Our hearts then cry, “Distinguish me and your people from everyone else.  Let Your Kingdom, Your Power and Your Glory reign everywhere and forever.”  Let’s all seek His Presence and His favor so that His Rest comes powerfully for us and through us for others.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you REST,”  (Matthew 11:28, NIV).

Love in Jesus,
George
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THE NEW SCHEDULE

6/7/2010

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Life can be pretty crazy at times.  We could probably all give a pretty hardy “AMEN!” to that.  How much of life are we really able to control and how much is really out of our control?  The reason I’m saying this is because I had a totally different newsletter prepared for last Tuesday, but due to technical difficulties, it wasn’t distributed.  At first I was frustrated that things didn’t happen “on schedule,” but because the newsletter didn’t go out when it “should have,” God has put something before me that is probably much more important to hear at this point:  The new, summer schedule.

Why are we doing this?  Why do we have to change things?  Will this really help us, or will it cause more problems?  Why now? 

I’m sure many of you are wondering why this is being done.  Please, let me take this opportunity (though this hasn’t been the first time, nor will it be the last) to explain more of the philosophy of why we are going to this time frame. 

First of all, Kouts Christian Church needed to change some of its focus –or it would die.  The Great Commission of Jesus is intended to reach all people of all age groups, no doubt.  But our most immediate and urgent concern was children and youth.  Unfortunately, the attrition rate of Christians leaving the faith in this country is horrendous.  Though many children are raised in church, the majority of them leave the church once they are “out on their own.”  Our hope is to reverse some of that trend by changing both the content and style of teaching for young people.

Another reason why we are making this change is to use the time God has given us as effectively as we can.  We have determined to use the time God gives us to teach children strong, foundational concepts both through curriculum and practical ministry.  We can no longer treat any part of our program as “childcare” –we see it now as an urgent opportunity to teach kids the faith –and to become evangelists themselves. 

We have condensed the three time slots on Sunday mornings (1st service, Sunday school and 2nd service) down into two hours.  This way, if a young family visits our church, we will always have a class available for kids during both hours (1st hour or 2nd hour) coinciding with a Sunday service.  We are going to use that time to teach kids as effectively as we can while we have them. 

And let me just finish by saying that kids are not our only focus, but it is our immediate focus.  As we begin to minister with better focus and a greater sense of urgency, we will begin to minister to every age group in better ways.  So, if things seem a little disorganized and don’t flow exactly as planned at first, please be patient.  This is all very new and we need your help to get the job done.  As always, please pray for the church, and rather than complain, please contribute.  Many hearts and heads have come together to try and get the job done better.  We will adjust and change as things begin to roll a little better and we get used to some of the new routine. 

Thank you for your heart-felt devotion for Jesus and for His Kingdom!

Love in Jesus,
George
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    George Taylor is Teaching Minister at Kouts Christian Church. This blog is updated every week.

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