That's Delight?

Your life was designed to live and enjoy. You are a special creation which is you unique and unlike anyone or anything else this world will ever know. You are the only person who will ever live the life you live, know all the people you know, or go all the places you go. Enjoy life. Delight in life.
Ironically we find that life is delightful at many times, most of which is to our definition of delight. What is God's definition of delight? Is there a divine definition of delight? We seem to define delight as something that is fun, but is that accurate?
When you woke up this morning and brushed your teeth was it delightful? Likely not. So, why did you do it? Because you would rather do it more than get a filling... you delight in the fact that the bigger picture is well worth it. I propose to you that delight comes when we live for something greater than our own selfishness. Our human nature will tell us that we exist for self-preservation; our faith tells us that we live for TRUTH preservation. As followers of Jesus we must delight in seeing truth succeed.
For more on this please take the next 30 minutes to view this session entitled "That's Truth?" If it blesses you in any way please email us and let us know.

A Risky Christmas Adventure

Jesus knew a simple addage: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
This is Christmastime in 2009 and it seems we all are trying to be safe. Amidst a face smile of good cheer we are only trying to cheaply mask the fear surrounding our national security, personal finances, and shaky relationships. The last thing we are truly experiencing is peace on earth or good will toward men. But, there is hope.
When it was time to bring God in body into the world (Jesus), a message went out of the Messiah's birth but it didn't go out to he high fleutin' politicians in Washington, DC or the religious leaders in the vatican; instead it went out to the plain old working class folks just like you and I. People who have issues, bad days, and are at time insecure are the ones God saw purpose in and it is them that he brought ground breaking news to.
Today that same knews is coming to you, and you have to face the decision of what you are going to do now that you know where Jesus is. Only a fool would know where Jesus is and not run to him.
If you are encouraged by this session please email and let us know and share it with a friend.

Facing Winter

Death is something most people fear but it is as much a fact of life as is birth. We were are all born and we will all die. This fact should motivate us to seriously consider what happens upon death and determine if we are prepared. If we have recognized the truth of Jesus and put our faith in Him we are prepared for this impending winter which is coming. If we have not seen Jesus for who He is then we are unprepared and standing out in the cold with nothing to protect us from a brutish suffering.
This fact should motivate the Christ follower. We are standing in our prepared state and have all we need to face this winter while others stand unprepared. Some great about Jesus is that when he equips us to face this winter he also gives us everything we need to prepare others. Literally we have the boots, mittens, and coat the everyone needs to be delivered from the impending threat of winter. Sadly, many Christ followers tend to scoff at the ones on the outside and talk about how foolish they are and display their disbelief that anyone would go out in the cold dressed in such a way, instead of sharing the warmth with them.
The last challenge Jesus gave to His followers while on planet earth was for them to share the warm; equip others.
Check out this final session of our "Harvest Before Winter" series. If it blesses you in any way please let us know it and share it with a friend.

Turn Around.

A few years ago I went to a "Revival Meeting". Now, I don't know about you but I always thought that these meetings were intended for current followers of Christ to come and get their spiritual flame to burn a bit brighter. The very work "revival" means to literally revitalize or the rekindle what is already there. So, spiritually it would take the Christ follower who has let their flame die down and bring it a raging inferno again. While I sat in this meeting a seemingly angry man demonstrated to me that he found the intent of these meetings to be strickly evangelistic and aimed toward the non-believer (And, that is fine, we need meeting like this but I would not have called it a revival rather an outreach). As I sat in my seat this angry mans fist repeatedly struck the podium and his voice peaked out the sound system which produce a very unpleasant sound. In this arena I asked myself, "Is this the way Jesus spoke to people when he was trying to show them the truth?" When Jesus spoke the words "I am the way the truth and the life" (John 14.6) was he slapping the Pentatuch against a rock to emphasize each word which he shook a raging finger at the crowd. I don't know about your house when I was growing up when mom and dad acted like that I shook and ran from them instead of running and clinging to them.

Sadly I believe many well intentioned Pastors and Evangelist have missed the point of how Jesus became the days superstar of truth and attracted people from hundereds of miles away to walk days just to see him. Mark 1 relays to us the even of Jesus entering into his adult manhood and calling and also shows us the approach that Jesus took. Verse 15 is the first words Jesus speaks in this book and he says, "Repent and Believe...". Now, these are the same words that the man I saw speak was using but again, I can't picture Jesus, jumping, slapping, and spraying spit onto the crowd. In our society the term "Repent" is associated with a man doing all these things but not Jesus.

"Repent" literally means to turn around. Jesus is inviting people to turn around. Why? Because they won't like the destination they are heading toward. He contines and says "Believe". Jesus is in essence telling them "You won't like where you are heading; believe me on this one, turn around, come back this way... come back to me." That is a bit different that how most soapbox preachers present this verse, isn't it? Repent is not a negative word, it is a positive invitation to a better destination because we believe Jesus.

Have to recognized yet that your natural path is not taking you to the destination you desire to be at? Do you need to turn around, beleive Jesus, and reach the destination your soul longs for?

Watch this session as we learn about this turn around. If it blesses you please let us know and share it with others.

What is Your Life?

"This is Your Life" was a TV show in years past which highlighted a person's life and reflected on the accomplishments and failures of life. "E! True Hollywood Story" currently gives a glimpse into the lives of celebrities. We seem to have a facination with look at people's lives; it is time you look at our own.
I encourage you to do something today. Ask yourself, "What is my life?". Really, stop and reflect on it. Scripture poses the question "What is your life?" and gives the insite that it is a vapor. It is here and then it is gone. We run our lives like we are the here all and end all. Consumerism is the recipe of the day and we feel life we must reach the standard of living portraid by commercials and celebraties or else we will never be happy. We end up running our lives as if the goal is to acquire wealth, possessions, and build shallow relationship then wonder why the depression rates are at all time highs, insomnia is not explained as normal to tens of millions of people, and relationships are falling apart quicker than my two year old can dismember a pb & j sandwich.
My suggestion is this. As you examine your life and seek to discover your life's meaning you will have to know the intent of your life before you can discover your purpose. This now becomes an origins game. Consider the fact that you were not made my some random accident, rather you were created by a loving God who makes nothing or no reason but makes all things for his enjoyment and ours. From the beginning of life we were created to know God and have a relationship with Him which allows us to get to know him more. You were intended to be connected with God. But, somewhere along the line this connection was broken through our rebellion, since then mankind has been on a path leading us away from our intended purpose.
Mark 1.15 Jesus says, "You're going the wrong way, turn around... you've got to believe me on this one." And asks us all to open our eyes and see what we are doing to ourselves and then look at a far better life he has in store for us. A life free of selfishness, consumerism, and depression.
Enjoy this video session as we explore the idea of answering the question, "What is your life?" If you receive a blessing from this video please take moment to let us know and then pass it along to a friend.

Beautiful World

To all of you in internet land here is an incredibly fun song we have done for a year or so and I thought you would enjoy it!

Sleeping During the Harvest

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a farmer. Likely they would laugh if you told them I ever worked on a farm. I have no farming experience other than a garden my wife and I had at a previous house. Even though I have no such experience though I do know something about agriculture; you have to make sure everything is done right and on time. If you miss a step early on it will effect the harvest; if you miss the harvest all is lost. Timing is essential and the harvest is what makes it all worth while.

You may be asking now, what does this have to do with anything? Let me explain. Spiritually speaking we live on a field; God's field. We are all one of his plants, something or someone that he has invested seed into. We live our life and grow spiritually and may come to the point that we blossom and are ready to enter a whole new purpose in life. If that harvest doesn't come then we will never grasp that new purpose and will instead fall and rot. The same is true to the physical farmer's field; timing and harvest must be done properly.

God has given his followers the task of manning the fields and making sure all goes well in them; we have the responsibility of tending to the plants and assuring they are harvested. Sadly the vast majority of his followers have lost the commitment to their responsibility and are now curled up inside the farmhouse where it is warm and comfy instead of one the field where they should be. The greatest need in the world today is for Christ's followers to get out of the house and back on the field. The greatest disgrace in the world today is that Christ's followers have let Satan trick them into thinking the church if for those who already know Jesus instead of those who don't.

The video session below is part 1 of a series we began this past week and is designed to motivate you to get out of the farmhouse of comfort and get back onto the field. You may not want to watch this session but you need to! If you enjoy it and are moved please email me at pastor@millettbbc.org and let me know and then pass it along to another person who will be blessed by it.

Faith Takes Action

I have to admit something. I have a this facebook account and I keep track of a lot of people whom I haven't talked to or seen in years... really cool, right?! This is nothing new, you probably have one too and do the same thing. But do you do something else I do that is really silly? I join these groups and causes for things that are really good things like "Stop Domestic Violence" or "Abortion is Murder". At face value this all sound really good and makes me look like I care, but I don't. Well, not that I don't care about these things, but if joining that group or cause meant I have do send them money (even a one time gift) or show up to work a benefit event once and a while I wouldn't.

Please feel free to judge me for this but immediately following your judgement please go to your facebook page and ask yourself the same thing about all the groups and causes you are a member of. I do find my support for these causes and more are taken care of though other involvement in church or organizations.

My point is this... we like to say we care and are willing to support something but we really don't if we are not willing to take action on it. Our claims are empty and superficial at best. The same is true with our faith if we don't take action upon it. Jesus is often seen as a great philosopher with a get out of hell free card for all who think that way. Jesus never intended for his life and his sacrifice to be viewed in this way. Faith was intended to produce action. The author the book of James said it this way, "Faith without works is dead". Like roadkill on the highway it is there but it also stinks and is viewed as in the way; it is dead.

Your faith is intended to move you forward and others around you also. Check out this session of our service. If you find it inspiring and helpful please pass it along.

What About Jesus' Momma?

Our apologies to our regular web viewers who faithfully watch our services via this blog, due to technical difficulties we are unable to post this weeks service. However, it will be available at a later date when we have this "Finding Answer.Together." complete dvd set available in July.

On Mother's Day we were able to keep a good think going but continuing our series as well as be themed around Mother's. Specifically we talked about Jesus' Momma. Did you know that Mary contains the second most controversial topic in all scripture?! Yes, our little old, innocent Mary packs quite a bombshell in her role of scripture. The virgin birth makes here a hot topic. Now, some of you reading this just thought "Really, what is there to wonder about?" while others thought, "Isn't that the truth... who made that one up?".

The Bible is very clear that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was both conceived and born. Some groups believe she even remained a virgin the rest of her life. With all of this controversy, lets take a look at what the Bible does and does not say about Mary and then try to weigh out what stance we should take on Mary. Cue the lights and music because here we go...

Mary is first mentioned all the way back in Genesis. Genesis 3.15 to be specific when God is talking to the dreaded serpent and says he will put enmity between him and the woman. Ask any lady and she'll admit that to be true of her and snakes! However, this "woman" is not "women" but Mary. "How so?" you ask. See, the verse goes on to speak of the "seed" of this woman, and that her seed will be at direct odds with the product of the snake (Satan). Knowing that this is the only time of scripture where a child is spoken to have been born from the lineage of a woman and not the father, this is a special occasion. Galatians 4.4 again speaks of a special child born of a "woman"... Jesus, and Mary. Today we would think nothing special would be meant if we said a child was born of a woman but in Biblical days this was big stuff. Okay, so being born of a woman is one thing we know about Jesus' momma, but we also know that she was a virgin... or do we?

Isaiah 7.14 says that a virgin will conceive. We all know that is impossible! Actually the Hebrew text says that an "almah" will conceive, and "almah" is literally translated "young woman". The appropriate Hebrew word for virgin is "bethulah", but that is not what Isaiah 7.14 says. Could it really mean that Mary had been knocking boots with Joseph after all and the virgin birth this was just a fun twist to lead us on? Maybe Isaiah was talking about his own son who was born just a short while after 7.14 was written? Let's dig deeper because we know that just because someone is a young woman it does not mean they are not a virgin also. If we look at the life of Rebekah in Genesis 24.16 we see that she was a maiden (Bethulah), and then a couple chapters later she is an "almah" (24.43). See, Rebekah is a "young virgin woman." Is that too what Mary was? About 2 centuries after Isaiah wrote these words the Jewish community showed that they knew exactly what an "almah" was when they translated it as "parthenos" when penning the Septuagent (Hebrew Bible translated to Greek), and "parthenos" is undoubtedly a virgin. So, yes, Mary was a virgin.

Looking at scripture we can know exactly who Mary was, but how can there be so much controversy around her if things seem so cut and dry? Controversy comes into the equation when people try to add or subtract from what is recorded in the Bible. Lets take a few moments and look at what the Bible does not say about Mary.

1. Mary had a c-section. Some people believe that somehow God miraculously removed Jesus from her uterus. They feel there is some shame cast upon Jesus and or Mary to have travelled down the birth canal and through private areas of the female anatomy. This is a ridiculous claim, it is like telling a butterfly that it is worthless because it had to struggle its way out of the cocoon. Micah 5.3 is talking about Mary and says she "travaileth" or labors. If God did a supernatural c-section there would be no laboring.

2. Mary was a virgin her whole life. I can't believe the Council of Constantinople actually came to this conclusion! Major religious leaders on both sides of the Protestant and Catholic borders believe this! Think of this realistically. God designed marriage to have a physical union and Paul even speaks of neglecting that union as being a sin that leads to more sin. Matthew 1.25 says that Joseph didn't have sex with Mary until after the child was born, implying they had sex after that. Also, Mary had other kids! Since God only had one child and didn't not impregnate anyone else via the Holy Spirit we know Mary and Joseph must have made babies just like everyone else; dim the lights, put on some love songs, get some oil...

3. The virgin birth was taken from mythology. Nice try but look at the facts, the OT prophecies were nearly all written before mythology.

4. Believing in the virgin birth means you have salvation. Mary's virgin birth does not prove anything for you along the lines of salvation. Romans 10.9 says how one is rescued/saved and it mentions nothing about the virgin birth. Several groups believe in the virgin birth but also believe Jesus is an archangel or simply a prophet and that certainly won't rescue you from the curse upon humanity.

5. Sin nature comes through the father. Yes, some believe that the reason that Jesus didn't have a sin nature is because his father was God and not a man and it then means that it is the male genes that cast sin upon the next generation. Speaking of genes; if you believe that, get your head out of your jeans and read Romans 3.23 "For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Nice try feminist-man-haters but you aren't perfect either. Mary herself referenced her need of a savior in Luke 1.46-47.

6. God had sex with Mary. People do believe that. In High School a kid told me this and I about laughed out loud. "If God had sex with her than she wouldn't be a virgin." I told him. He went to his church and came back this this reply, "They said if you have sex with God it doesn't count." LOL! Luke 1.35 says, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee...". I may be wrong but the Holy Ghost is not the body of God but the every present active force of God, right? Since he does not have a body he cannot have penetrating sex, right? Furthermore, the only way for God to have sex with Mary is to have the body part of him do it which is Jesus. So, Jesus would have been sent by the father to sleep with Mary to get her pregnant with Himself. Go ahead, read that again and you'll still be scratching your head. Of course, this view is only held by people who do not hold the trinity.

7. The virgin birth is not important. I'll admit there are some who put way to much emphasis on Mary and the virgin birth, but my view does NOT mean this is not important. Some wonder "Can you be a true Christian and not believe in the virgin birth?" My answer is "NO!" To that some of you just moved your mouse to the back button and this I just turned into a radical right-wing legalistic holy-rolling Christian. Hear me out. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ we are putting our faith in all that he has done for us. Past. Present. Future. We commit to him and have faith in him. Sure, we certainly don't know everything about him when we are a new Christian but our faith says that we will accept Him and everything about him as we crawl out from under the shadow of ignorance. Now, if we start picking and choosing which parts of Jesus we follow we are only having "conditional faith" and conditional faith does not produce salvation. The truth is that every part of Jesus' life is important and it all weaves together to produce the Jesus of our salvation.

All of this being said, what should we think of Mary. We know that she was a young virgin woman whom God used as the human vessel to bring his Son into the world, but is the she most holy female to ever live?

Mary is an incredible woman. Luke 1.30 tells us that God had found favor with her. However, she is not the only woman God ever found favor with. Mary happened to be the woman he found favor with to execute this part of his redemptive plan. Throughout history God has found favor with many, many men and women used them to work out his plan. Mary was one of these women at the point of history when he would send his body, Jesus Christ, to enter the world. Mary is an example of what God can do with someone who is willing to be used by him.

Mary is an example to follow, not an object to worship. Her example can teach us all something. God new that this was a bold move to have her be pregnant before marriage but it had to be so. Her life was one which carried shame and reproach from the outside world but it was still part of God's plan. Mary stepped up the the plate and hit a home run. She didn't back down. Mary loved God. Mary kept herself pure before marriage. Mary was faithful to her man. Mary was a good mother. Bottom line; Mary was not perfect, but she serves as a great example to us. Just like there were some struggles which came along with her divine calling, there will be some for us, but we too can step up the the plate and hit a home run in faithfulness to God.

Mary never claimed to be what many have made her out to be. In reality she was an ordinary woman who looked to an extraordinary God.

What does Jesus Mean for Today?

Okay, so we all know that Jesus was around a really long time ago and died on a cross, came back to life, yada, yaha, yada... But why should I care? Does he really care about me now? I think he just sits on a some rocking chair in the sky waiting to ruin the world someday and get snapped back into reality that we are here.

The above is a common view of Jesus, and if you that is your view of Jesus you are in luck. Although this perception of Jesus is very common, there is truth out there that you need to know. You are right, Jesus was a guy who was around a really long time ago and he did die on a cross and came back to life, but he is not just sitting on a rocking chair practicing his aim throwing lightening bolts. Jesus is very active, maybe even more so than when he was here on earth. "Doing what?" you ask; working for you.

You see, in the Old Testamant we see all the ways that God worked before Jesus (the body of God) came to earth. God communicated with regular people of faith and instructed them how to get to know Him more. The three main offices that helped people get to know God were the Prophets, the Priests, and even the King. God guided them and thier experiences to help us. Once Jesus came and lived the life He did, dying for us, coming back to life, and ascending back to heaven, everything changed.

While the Old Testament people relied on the three main offices to aid in the relationship to God, we rely on Jesus because he has now taken on those roles. Jesus is our prophet, our priest, and our King. Now, you may not recognize Him as that yet, but He is. Jesus is speaking to you and wanting to guide you but it all comes down to you letting him. You see, God may have the unlimited power of the universe, but he is still to much of a gentlemen to force himself upon you; you have to openly and willingly recognize God.

You will really find a lot of good stuff on this if you watch our sermon in this series "finding answers. together." You are not the first person who searched for spiritual truth, we all do. Right now I want to partner with you on your search. Join me and watch this.

What's So Special About Jesus?

Why are you a Christian? Why did you chose to follow Christ and not Islam, Buddha, or Scientology? Really, think about it. What makes Christianity so different from these, or any other religion? The difference: we have Christ... but so what? What makes Jesus so special that we should follow him and not other religions? What gives Christians the right to say they are the only way to heaven, don't all roads lead to heaven?

These questions and more are answered in this sermon.

Sermon: What's So Special About Jesus?

Where You'll Find Jesus

As we continue in our "Preparing for Easter" series we look at what many wonder... where is Jesus today? If he is so loving how could we possibly see the evil present in the world today? Fact is, Jesus is here; as we sit around talking about him, he is waiting for us to recognize him.

Batteries and Jesus.

For all who read this before December 14th, you will be hearing this again on Sunday's Christmas service but here goes.

Batteries and Jesus? What do they have to do with anything? Batteries are little round cylinders that carry an electric current to anything that requires that works off from electricity... that has nothing to do with Jesus. Continue reading.

Growing up we didn't have a whole lot of money when it came to gifts so we never really expected much which worked well because none of us 5 kids required much. We always had more fun playing with each other than with than toys... don't get me wrong, we liked our toys too though. I remember one Birthday, I think I was eight when I received a toy radio controlled car, you know, the ones that turn by going in reverse (the ones that if you leave them like that will make a cat so dizzy it pukes). I thought this birthday was the greatest until the batteries went dead. Thankfully my older brother, 18 at the time, jumped on his bike and went to the nearby store for some more. When he got back I proved I was now a big boy and put the batteries in myself but the car still didn't work. I couldn't figure it out; were they duds? I put the old ones back in it and they didn't work either. Frustration came over me as I went from being the happiest boy in the world to the saddest because me new toy didn't work. Thankfully, big brother nearby was willing to help and showed me that I had put the batteries in the wrong way. Once they were put in the right way they worked perfectly.

So, what does this have to do with Jesus? Jesus did not buy me batteries, nor did he deliver a great incite that they were in backwards. What does Jesus have to do with all of this?

Just like you get birthday gifts on your birthday, Jesus' birthday is coming up and guess what... you get gifts on his birthday too. John 3.16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Jesus' birth began the tradition of giving presents at Christmas as God sent his son as a gift, but you receive something too. There are two thing in that verse give to the world; since you are reading this-that's you. We are given Jesus - The Savior and provider of restoration of relationship... eternal life with God, and we are given eternal life.

We are like the idea of having a close relationship with God. Most people believe in a god or higher power. There is a part ingrained in us that tells us there is a god. We like this idea. However, what people seem to have an issue with is that it is Jesus and Jesus alone that makes this relationship and restoration possible; we like the gift, but not the required power source. We look all around us trying to find some loophole to restoring the relationship and try many different things: money, kindness, numerous "religions", support groups, goodness, organizations, etc... and then we get mad when someone says that these things are good, but won't restore that relationship. We tell people things like "You're narrow minded" and "If God is really a loving God wouldn't he let all religions go to heaven" and the list could go on.

This is where Jesus and batteries get something in common. Imagine how stupid you would sound if you called up that toy car manufacture and said something like this: "You are so narrow minded! If you really wanted me to play with your toy you would make it so the batteries could be put in anyway I wanted to!" or maybe "I can't believe you actually requires batteries to play with this toy. I have been good my whole life and worked hard to get this toy car, that should count for something!" and even "I'm not going to put batteries in it because I know other people put batteries in their cars and they are jerks!"

If you really did call up a manufacture and give these complaints you would end up and the next "list of stupid" email going around the office because they claims are simply ridiculous but we justify saying the same thing about Jesus and having our relationship with God restored.

You can have the greatest gift set before you but if you don't have the batteries it will never be used. You have to have the right power source to get any good out of it. God has given you eternal life but you can only use it by placing your faith in Jesus Christ.

Leading Like Jesus

Today God revealed to me a great nugget of information that is nestled into a Psalm of David. Psalm 28.1 says "Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my Rock; be not silent to me, lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit." Did you catch it? Let me show it to you.

David begins by saying this: "I am crying out to God, now it is your turn to talk to me. God, if I don't hear from you then I am as good as being in hell". That is a loose paraphrase with emphasis added, but look back to the actual verse and you will see it there along with the state that David might as well be in if he doesn't hear from God. Here is a bit of what brought to my heart as I saw the verse in this light.

First, David is listening to hear from God. You say, "Yeah, so?" This is possibly the most important part of the verse because God could be speaking loudly, opposed to the "still small voice" and if David wasn't listening to God it wouldn't make any difference. David, being a believer if the triune God, is taking the time to recognize that God is wanting to say something and he wants to listen because to him God is his "Rock". If God was not the "Rock" of David's life then he likely wouldn't have cared if he heard God or not. We must make God the Rock of our life and listen for God; He is talking to you and wanting to be heard.

Secondly, David realizes that if he does not hear from God his life is useless and he may as well just go to hell now and save the waste of his earthly breaths. Without the voice of God, David could not write the 23rd Psalm which portrays God as being the Shepherd that leads to the lush great pastures and the calm waters nor prepare the feast before him. David knows that it is imperative that he stay in tune with the voice of God for his life to have meaning and purpose. David knows that as soon as he stops hearing the voice of God his life is over, spiritually speaking. What about you, are you too far from God to hear him speaking? Are you the same as the sinner still bound for hell? Your life has a greater purpose than to be a spiritual couch potato. It is time that we all make God our Rock and stay close enough to Him to hear Him and stay fresh, not stagnate.

Lastly, I was struck with a great truth of a parallel truth of this passage and a series we are currently going through with our 11 am worship services called Follow the Leader where we are learning to not only follow Jesus but to lead like Jesus as well. It has been said that the average person will influence over 200,000 people in their lifetime. If that is the case we have the opportunity to influence A LOT of people with the love of Christ, but if they don't hear from us they are as good as being in hell already. David is crying out to his leader and wanting to hear from them. God was also the mentor and advisor to David and greatly relied upon. If you are believer in Jesus Christ then you are leading someone too and are their spiritual mentor and advisor. No, you should not be their god but you should be the voice of God in their life. If you are someones "spiritual mother or father" they need to hear from you God's voice, and see God's character in you. Are we answering the cry of people who are looking up to us?

God has established the church to be His body in this New Testament church age. We are the ones people are looking to and crying out to for help as they cry out to God. It is time for you to stand up and answer that cry. Live the love of Jesus and lead someone like Jesus would.

Player One

A couple of months ago a good friend of ours gave my kids a Nintendo Gamecube. That was really nice but we didn't have any games. We got some and the kids began to become addicted. We have the addiction well under control now and they eager look forward to every occasion they are able to play. After turning down many proposals to play with them I gave in an sat down to play a great game of "Cars" the video game. It was entertaining and enjoyable but there was something else I soon realized; my kids have control issues. Yes, my oldest is 4 and he has control issues. No matter what it is we are going to play on the gamecube he is determined to be player one! To some that may not seem like a control issue but you must understand that player one holds privileges that the other players do not have. The entire menu, the initial game setup, sometime the only ability to pause an active game, etc... No one ever told my kids that player one held more power, but if you ever play with them you will automatically be handed the player two controller as they hold the plastic scepter of power. This made me think...

How many times do we do this with Jesus? We know that we need to have Jesus a part of our life so we invite him into it our "game of life"; we are really excited that we don't have to "play it" alone but then we stick him with the player two controller. Yes, he can still play the game with us and we can enjoy His company but at the end-of-the-day we are the ones in control.

We tell people Jesus is a part of our life, we thank Him for being a part of our life, and we experience his grace but we just can't bring ourselves to let him be player one.

"Any one can die for Christ; that's easy. Living for Christ is the hard part," is what a man recently told me. How true that is.