Spiritual Transformation

"And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you; for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath." - Joshua 2:11
 

Last Sunday night at FBC we began a series of messages going through the book of Joshua.  Most of us know that Joshua is a book of transition.  There is a transition in leadership from Moses to Joshua as well as many other transitions.  As we come to chapter 2 we find in one of these transitions a spiritual transformation.  This is what God desires for us all!  This coming Sunday night at FBC we are going to delve deeper into this transition and transformation.  I would like to share just a brief thought with you concerning this transformation.

The conversion of Rahab, the harlot, is a wonderful illustration of the transformation that God desires for us to experience in our lives.  First, we are radically transformed when we repent of our sins and place our faith and trust in Christ.  Second, we are to be radically transformed each day to look more like Christ and for our lives to reflect Him.  The life of Rahab illustrates how amazing the mercy and grace of the Lord is toward you and I. In the book of Joshua she is referred to as a harlot, however when you come to the book of Hebrews, she is referred to as a woman of faith.  Only God Himself can produce that kind of transformation in someone's life.

The thought I want us to ponder today is: are we allowing Christ to transform our lives in a radical way just like He did in the life of Rahab?  You might say, "I am saved, my life has already been transformed."  I am referring to salvation, but rather to allowing Christ to radically transform you and I to look more like Him each day.  Each day we must allow Christ to mold us and to make us more like Him.  Are we allowing Him to have His way with us to bring about this transformation?

I don't know about you, but I desire for Christ to work in my life in such a way that each day I am seeing a radical transformation in my life to be more like Him.  Just think about the Lord saved and radically transformed a woman who was a harlot and through her is the lineage of Christ.  Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Creator of this Universe, and God in the flesh, is descended from the a woman who was a harlot at one time.

Jesus Christ can radically transform any life, will you allow Him to transform yours?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, thank You for You mercy and Your grace.  As You radically transformed and worked in the life of Rahab, it is my desire that You would transform and work in my life.  Conform my life each day to look more like Jesus.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Have Pity

"Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me." - Job 19:21


 

It has been said that no one in all of Scripture, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, suffered like Job did.  It has also been said about Job's friends, that with friends like that, you don't need enemies.  What we read in Job 19:21 is one of the saddest statements made in Scripture.  Job is desperate as he cries out for his friends to have pity on him.  What stands out to me about this verse is the total lack of compassion and mercy shown by Job's supposed friends.

What about us today?  There are people in our churches today who are suffering.  Are we willing to show them mercy and compassion and really be there for our brothers and sisters in Christ when they need us?  There are also multitudes that are lost without Christ in our culture today.  Are we willing to speak the truth in love to them?  Are we also willing to show them mercy and compassion by showing them the love of Christ that they desperately need?  I'm so afraid that those in the church, as well as in the world, think that we see them only as a number.  "We have led this many to Christ this month.  We have given this much to missions this past year or we support this many missionaries."  You and I must be willing to invest ourselves into the lives of those who are in need, whether those needs be spiritual, physical, or emotional.  We must be willing to cry with others, to share their hurts, and cry out to the Lord on their behalf.

It seems to me today that way too many Christians are in the category of Job's supposed friends.  They are merciless, they are without compassion on those who are hurting and in need.  Too many times we spend so much time condemning others that we fail to show them Christ's love, mercy, or compassion.  Now I am not saying that we accept their sin and overlook it, I am saying that these people who are hurting need someone to just love them and show them Christ.

Will you show mercy, compassion, and the love of Christ to those that are hurting?  May God break our hearts especially for those that are lost in the world and desperately need Christ to save them before it is eternally too late!

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father. break my heart for those around me that are hurting and desperately need Your love!  Please forgive me for my failure to show Christ's love to these people.  Help me to show mercy and compassion to those in need, whether they be in the church or in the world.  May I make a difference in the life of someone else for Your honor and glory!  In Jesus name, Amen!

Startling Statistics

  

This is not going to be somewhat of a different blog post for me.  Yesterday I received something in the mail about a retreat for pastors and their wives.  As I began to look through the information I came across some very startling statistics concerning pastors and the ministry in general.  I want to pass this information along because it indicates that something is drastically wrong in our churches today.

I must be honest, I can relate to much of what is said and in some cases I am one of those statistics.  So here we go, below are some very startling, eye-opening, and disturbing statistics about pastors and the ministry.

What Pastors Are Struggling With In Their Ministries

• 1,500 pastors leave their churches every month in the U.S. because of conflict, burnout, or moral failure.

• 80% of pastors believe pastoral ministry has affected their families negatively and 33% say that being in the ministry is an outright hazard to their families.

• 82% of pastors in the U.S. said they would leave the ministry if it were financially feasible to do so.

• 80% of pastors feel unqualified or discouraged in their role as pastor.

• 80% of pastors spend less than 15 minutes a day in prayer.

• 70% of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant, or mentor.

• 70% of pastors say the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.
• 50% of pastors have considered leaving the ministry in the last three months.

• 40% of pastors report a serious conflict with a parishioner as least once a month.

• Almost 40% of pastors have had an extra-marital affair since the beginning of their ministry.

• 23% of all current pastors have been fired or forced to resign in the past.

• The average pastoral career only lasts 14 years.

• 66% of church members expect a minister and family to live at a higher moral standard than they do.

Again, as I read these statistics I am struck by this recurring thought, "Something is drastically wrong with this picture."  We must turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to these realities!  It is causing major harm and damage to the cause of Christ.  People must realize that pastors ARE NOT super human or some sort of spiritual giant that does not face the same struggles that they do.  We are only human!  We face the same struggles that our church members face.  We fuss at our children just like they fuss at theirs.  We argue with our wives at times just like other men in the church argue with theirs at times.  There will probably be some pastor out there that will say that I shouldn't be saying these things, but hey, I'm just being honest.

I am not trying to have a pity party for pastors and get everyone to feel sorry for us.  I am trying to get people to see the reality and seriousness of the situation.  As I read through this, I came to the realization that I am a statistic.  What about you?

Feeling Inadequate

"Have no I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." - Joshua 1:9

Do ever feel inadequate to do what God has called you to do?  If we are honest, all of us at one time or another have felt this way when it comes to serving the Lord.  It even seems that Joshua felt this way as well.  In Deuteronomy chapter 31 Moses encourages Joshua to be strong and of a good courage.  Then four times in chapter 1 Joshua is encouraged to be strong and of a good courage; one time by the people and three times by the Lord.

I want to encourage you today, that if you feel inadequate to do what God has called you to do, it is a good thing.  You are probably thinking that this sounds strange and doesn't make any sense.  It is good for us to feel inadequate because then we are forced to desperately, completely, and absolutely rely on the Lord and His power to get the job done.  The Lord is attracted to weakness.  It is through our weakness that His power is manifested and His strength is shown.  When you and I get to the place where we acknowledge our weakness and total helplessness before God, it is then that He is able to work in our lives in a mighty and powerful way!

I want to challenge you to passionately and desperately to seek after the Lord and His strength and power today.  Do not lean to your own understanding and your ability!  This is why we see such a lack of the God's moving in our lives because we adequate for the task.  When we get to the place that we realize how inadequate we really are, then we are in the place where Christ can begin to do something in our lives.

Today, humble yourself before the Lord by desperately and passionately calling out to Him to manifest His power in your life.  Seek and cry out to the Lord with your whole heart that He would equip you for His service.  Just remember, if you feel inadequate to serve Christ, that is a good thing!

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, I confess my total inadequacy to serve You and to do what You have called me to do.  I desperately need Your strength and Your power in my life!  Help me not to lean to my own understanding or ability, but help me to absolutely and completely rely on You!  In Jesus name, Amen!

A Stranger With God

"Hear my prayer; O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were." - Psalm 39:12


 

"I am a stranger with thee..."

Does this describe your fellowship with Jesus Christ?  Even though we have trusted Christ as our Savior, I'm afraid that many of us are strangers when it comes to our fellowship with Him.  I do not mean strangers in the sense that Christ does not know us or who we are, but rather that we do not spend intimate time with Him the way we should.  There are many people that we may know who they are and maybe even know a little about them, but in reality they are strangers to us.  Sadly, this describes many of us when it comes to Jesus Christ.  We are strangers with Him.

I can't help but be convicted about my lack of prayer and intimate fellowship with Christ.  I believe this is the state of most Christians today in that we are seriously lacking in our prayer life and intimate fellowship with Christ.  Simply put, we are not spending time with Christ the way the disciples and the early Church did.  It seems that our churches as a whole and us as individuals know very little of the power that the early Church had because of their time spent in prayer declaring their utter and complete dependence on the Lord.

One area pastor made the following statement: "You can have as much of God as you want, and that you already have as much of God as you want."  I can honestly say that I want to have more of Christ, I want to know Him in a more intimate way, I want His presence to more real to me, and I want to see a glimpse of His glory!

I am challenging myself and you to develop a life of prayer declaring your absolute, complete, and total dependence upon Christ for every need in our lives.  May we cry out to the Lord to work in our lives, homes, and churches in such a mighty way that He will draw others unto Him.  May we not be strangers with Christ in our prayer life or our intimate fellowship with Him. 

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, may I not be a stranger with Thee.  I pray that I can have more of You, that I can know You in a more intimate way, and that Your presence will be more real to me each day.  Help me to totally, completely, and absolutely cry out to You and depend on You for everything!  It is my desire to develop of a life of prayer and intimate fellowship with You.  In Jesus name, Amen!

No Exceptions

"And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him." - Exodus 4:24



In Exodus chapter 4 we find Moses is preparing to return to Egypt to lead God's people from that land into the land that the Lord had promised to Abraham.  Then when you come to verse 24, you find that God met Moses prior to his departure and sought to kill him.  Now that might seem a little strange when you first read over it, but there was serious issue that Moses had ignored.  Moses had not yet obeyed all of the commands of God.  He had failed to have his son circumcised as required by the Lord.  If Moses had not responded quickly in obedience, he surely would have been put to death.

Just like Moses, we too must learn that God makes no exceptions for holiness and righteousness.  If you and I desire to be used mightily in God's work we cannot blatantly ignore God's commands or His standards that He has set.  The Lord had to make some changes in the life of Moses before he was ready to lead God's people out of Egypt.  We are no different.  The Lord will have to make some serious and significant changes in our lives if we are to be used By Him in His work.  Jesus Christ wants you and I to walk in His holiness and His righteousness so that we might be vessels that He can use.

We must remember that Jesus Christ makes no exceptions when it comes to His standards of holiness, righteousness, and obedience.  So many people today are trying to serve Christ even though they have ignored one or more of His commandments.  Are you trying to serve the Lord and yet you have ignored something that He has told you to do?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me to examine my heart and my life to see if there is any area that I have been disobedient to You.  Please forgive and cleanse me from my disobedience.  Lord, help me to absolutely and completely surrender my heart and life to You in obedience that I might be a vessel fit for Your service.  In Jesus name, Amen!

A New Opportunity

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life." - Romans 6:4



How did you do in your walk with Christ yesterday, the day before, or even last week?  Were you faithful and obedient to Him or did you fail big time?  If we are honest, we have to admit that there are days when we fail Christ so miserably.  However, we must not let our past failures keep us from being faithful and obedient to Christ today!

Today offers you a fresh opportunity to serve Christ.  It also offers you a fresh opportunity to allow Christ to have the rule and reign of your heart.  Each day you and I must surrender our hearts afresh and anew to Christ as we crucify our flesh.  We must daily take up our cross and follow Him in obedience.

Will you allow Jesus Christ to rule and reign in your heart today?  Will you crucify your flesh and surrender in obedience to Him today?  Will you take up your cross and follow Christ today?

Maybe you have failed Christ miserably yesterday or even today; don't dwell on it, don't fret about it.  Look at today or even tomorrow as a fresh and new opportunity to surrender to Christ and to let Him rule and reign in your heart!

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me not to dwell on past failures in my walk with You. Help me to focus on today, that I might surrender to You in obedience afresh and anew.  Help me to this day to take up my cross and to follow You.  Thank You for new opportunities.  In Jesus name, Amen!