Where are you going?
What are you waiting for?
Do you believe that you will soar to great heights?

Too often we find ourselves believing Satan’s lies; lies that say you will never amount to anything; lies that you aren’t special enough or that God can’t use you until you are more mature, older, or more educated.

God is in the business of making our dreams come true. He puts many of our desires and dreams in hearts. Then He equips you with the right tools and gifts to accomplish them. We know from scripture that God has an extraordinary plan for your life, yet all He desires is a life of obedience and faith. Faith and obedience is what the “high fliers” or the great people who have gone before us, had in common.

Take David for instance. He was a teen aged guy with lots of older, bigger brothers. His job during the fighting was to bring food to his brothers. That was not a very glamorous task during a battle. But when he arrived a the battlefield, he found no battle. Just petrified soldiers. So he sprung into action. Why? He had faith, not in himself, his size or his ability, but in God. You remember the story. God wins and he used a teenager to win the battle.

No matter who we are or what we become, God wants to use us in big and small ways each day. Some may become famous, others may find themselves in a more ordinary kind of life, but with God it is always possible to do extraordinary things! When we surrender our lives with the intent to glorify God in all things, I can guarantee God will do more than we can fathom. “Oh the Places You’ll Go!”

1. Into distant lands with the message of Jesus Christ to people who have never heard!
2. Into your junior high and high schools where the things of this world have replaced Jesus and prayer.
3. Into office buildings where many who get by only because it is routine.
4. Into burning buildings where you will rescue people.
5. Into hospitals where people are dying of illnesses.
6. Into restaurants where people are hungry, and searching for food of substance; The Bread of Life.
7. Into science labs where others search for the meaning of life.
8. Into the sports career where athletes search for a reason to be great besides money.

You hold the key to life. In every place you will go, you have the answer that could potentially change the course of someone’s life forever. My question to you is, are you willing to share? Are you willing to surrender and let go of your plans for your life and allow God to use you to go places you never imagined you could go? With a small amount of faith all things are possible.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, You can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Dream big, surrender, and wait.

“So…Be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
Or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So… get on your way!”
                    -Dr. Seuss Oh the Places You’ll Go

Questions

1. What are your dreams? What is holding you back?
2. Are you limiting God and His purpose for you?
3. Can you say you fully surrender to God, and want to go wherever He takes you?

Courtesy of dare2share.org

Apparently, our job of evangelism is almost done- since nearly 8 out of 10 are headed for the streets of gold…right?

Then again, this survey never got past the surface questions. I wonder what the percentage would have been if the inquiries would have dug just a little deeper. It would have been so easy to slip in a quick follow up question:

“Since you believe that you are going to heaven, let me ask you this: why do you think you deserve to go there?”

Of course, once you drop that line, all manner of weirdness breaks out. Believe me; I think I’ve just about heard it all. Everything from alien connections to karma to even atheism. That’s right- I’ve spoken with atheists who believe they are going to heaven.

Huh?

Generally what it boiled down to, though, was that most people believe they are pretty good. Good enough, in fact, to not have to end up in hell…therefore heaven must be their destiny.

Isn’t that just like us Americans? As long as we’re not as bad as some people, we’re sure to be headed for Paradise. So we take a mixture of belief systems, movie messages, conversations, and relatively harmless verses from a multitude of religious texts and-poof- everyone has their own made to order religion that’s sure to end up great.

The truth is that it is not going to end up great. This survey reminds me of the rich and beautiful people on the Titanic who were drinking champagne and playing games with chunks of the iceberg while the ship was rapidly taking them to their deaths. I’m sure that more than 77% of them believed that everything was going to be alright- but the reality turned out to be very different than they expected.

Jesus addressed this exact issue:
“Knowing the correct password–saying “Master, Master,’ for instance–isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience–doing what my Father wills. I can see it now–at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, “Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? “You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ (Matthew 7:21-23- The Message)

Apparently there were lots of folks in His day who thought they were going to heaven as well. Jesus is plainly warning them that it is not a matter of religious works- but one of righteous faith.

The survey and this passage send a clear message to me:
We’re asking the wrong questions. Many evangelistic techniques try to persuade a person to want to go to heaven. I’ve got news for you- most people already do! The issue for them is not whether heaven exists, or even if they believe they are going. The key is *why* they think they are going. It boils down to believing vs. behaving. If works could get us into heaven, then why did Jesus waste His time by coming to earth and dying a horrible death? As well- I think deep down most people- no matter what they say outwardly- know that they don’t deserve heaven. Yet instead of facing that awful truth and turning to Christ- they decide instead to keep drinking the champagne of false religions and playing the games of denial and positive thinking.

Meanwhile the ship continues to go down.

Questions:

1. Do your friends and family members believe they are going to heaven? Why or why not?
2. Have you ever asked them why they have chosen their particular belief system? Why or why not?

Courtesy of dare2share.org

Moses was terrified. First he had spent forty years in Egypt- the most powerful nation on earth- as a prince. Popular, revered, and held in the highest esteem. Add to his resume forty years in the desert as a shepherd working for his father-in-law. Lonely, unappreciated, and punching the clock at smelly job central.

Now he kneels trembling before Jesus in the burning bush being commissioned for a holy cause. He was being sent by God Himself to set the Israelites free from the Egyptians. Promotion? Sure. Chance to be restored to greatness? Absolutely!

Only – he didn’t want to go.

He fired excuse after excuse at the blazing King. Christ had an answer for every one of them. One of Moses’ excuses was “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

Jesus had an answer… “I AM who I AM.”

In the same way Moses was a master of excuses when it came to delivering the Jews, aren’t we the excuse experts when it comes to delivering the gospel? God Himself has commissioned us (Matthew 28) to “go and make disciples of all nations…”

But God – what if I don’t I know what to say? What if they reject me? What if they ask me a question I don’t have the answer to?” Blah. Blah. Blah.?The bottom line is this… the great “I AM” has sent us. Excuses fade into oblivion when it comes to Christ. When we realize who God is- excuses fall flat.

So who is God? Who is this “I AM”?

First – we know that He is “one God”. Deuteronomy 6:4 reminds us, “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Christianity is a monothesitic faith. “Mono” means one. “Theo” means “God.” We believe in one God.

Second – we believe in one God who is comprised of three persons… the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each is fully God. Each is fully unique. Three persons: one essence.

The title some have given this truth is “The Trinity.” One God (unity)- comprised of three persons (Trinity)

Get it? Neither do I. Neither does anyone, except God. God is infinite. We are finite. As one expert said, “For us to try to comprehend God is like a gnat trying to drink in the ocean.”

But get this. This triune God is sending you on a mission. This holy mission is to spread the Gospel to a dying world. Just like Moses, our excuses fail. Why? Because the “I AM” has sent us. We are on a mission from God- let’s get busy!

Questions:

1. Why is the Trinity so hard to understand?
2. What are some excuses we use when it comes to sharing our faith?
3. How can we learn more about God and what He wants us to do?
4. What “Egypt” is God sending you to?

Courtesy of dare2share.org

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, ‘you better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it’. Then he thought, ‘Oh, forget it, it’s only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Besides, the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from God and keep quiet.’

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, “Here, you gave me too much change.”

The driver with a smile, replied, “Aren’t you the new pastor in town? I have been thinking lately about going to worship somewhere. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.”

As soon as he stepped off the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole with a tight grip and said, “O God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.”

It’s the little things, isn’t it? I know we’re always on the lookout to make sure that we don’t commit the “big” sins- otherwise we might be a poor testimony to those outside the faith. So we go to the right social events, see R rated movies on the other side of town, and keep all of our fingers on the wheel when someone cuts us off in traffic.

So why is Christianity so quickly becoming a non-factor in its influence on culture? Because we’ve sold the Son for a quarter- that’s why! We’re so focused on the external appearance of our ‘testimony’ that we’ve forgotten the most important thing: people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. In order to show people that compassion of Christ, we must first start by letting the Holy Spirit change us from the inside out.

There were people in Jesus’ day who loved to show everyone what a great testimony they had. They prayed long prayers in public, never missed church, recited Scripture, wore religious symbols, and generally gave the impression that they had ‘super-sized’ their spirituality.

Jesus despised them.

The strongest things Jesus ever said were never directed at the “sinful” people- but He sure opened up a can on the pretentious pietistic people of the day. Here is one example of Christ’s feelings towards them:

“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something. “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.” (Matthew 23:25-28)

Don’t mince words, Jesus- how do you really feel?

These folks suffered from an extreme case of what I would call “outward-itis”…only what people could see mattered to them.

God has a different plan. He wants us to start by looking at what is wrong in our hearts before we start coming off ‘religious’ to others. The world definitely does not need more Bible thumping bobble head figures who can simultaneously say “God Bless” to a cashier while at the same time pocketing the extra change they receive. Unbelievers need to believe that we believe- which requires us to be real, admit mistakes, and take care of the little things.

Bottom line: before you fasten the WWJD bracelet on your wrist- make sure it is emblazoned on your heart!

It starts with the basics. Smile. Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Open doors. Let folks with fewer items ahead of you in line. Give back change- and on and on…

This week, watch and pray for opportunities. Most importantly, listen to the instruction from the One who can keep you from selling Him for a quarter:

Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. (Matthew 23:11-12)

Questions:

1. Does your inside reality and outside appearance match up?
2. How often do you try to appear ‘righteous’?
3. What is Jesus telling you through this devotion?

Courtesy of dare2share.org