Congratulations to everyone who made it to the NTin30 finish line. It’s a very big deal to read through the entire New Testament in 30 days. I’m proud of you.
For those of you who weren’t able to keep up with the pace, or still have a few days to go, don’t beat yourself up. Keep reading. It’s not about finishing a project. It’s about the continual process of knowing Jesus and loving His Word.
For those of you who finished, don’t check Bible reading off your to-do list and lose your momentum. There is a transitional reading plan in your Study Guide that will help you get on a much slower paced, much more moderate track to consuming God’s Word daily. You can access it here.
Scroll to the end of the Study Guide.
Read now for depth instead of for distance. Read. Let God bump you with a text or story or passage. Stop. Reflect. Journal and then share it with others. Pray to obey. Love the Word. Live the Word. Daily!
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever. -1 Peter 1:24-25
Repent and do the things you did at first. -Revelation 2:5a
This verse helps me think about repentance in a brand new light. Many people associate the word repent with groveling and feeling really, really, really bad about what you’ve done.
No doubt, the heart of repentance is humility. We can’t truly repent if we aren’t grieved by our sin in the light of God’s grace.
But when John commands the church at Ephesus to repent, he doesn’t call them into a place of shame and guilt. Instead, he tells them to remember the height from which they have fallen. And to get back to that place through genuine, Biblical repentance.
That’s the essence of repentance. To repent means to get back to the top. Back to God’s perspective. His ways. His truth. To repent is to reclaim the lost potentials. To come back to where we belong.
There’s a time to kneel and bow down in repentance. But there’s also a time to rise up, move forward, and get back to your rightful place in God.
I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” -John the Baptist, John 1:23
Most people have a voice. John the Baptist takes it a step further: I am the voice.
Wow! The expression of his passion was so singularly focused that his message and identity were one and the same. You could read it this way: “My whole life shouts: prepare the way for the Lord!”
Your life shouts something, too-whether you mean to communicate it or not. What are you the voice for? What comes through loud and clear in the way you live?
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” -John 11:21-22
Most of us give up on God too easily.
Martha was very frustrated with Jesus. Her situation was hopeless. Her brother, Lazarus, had been dead four days. It doesn’t get much worse than that.
But there was something about Martha that didn’t allow her confusion and despair to overwhelm her faith.
Even now…she insisted, I believe in your power to resurrect the dead.
It’s one thing to trust in God when your situation is on life support. It’s another thing to trust God when your dream is dead and in the ground.
Maybe a relationship in your life just fell apart. Maybe you lost a lot of money in the recession last year. Maybe you’ve made some terrible mistakes that have cost you a lot of time and opportunity.
But it’s not over as long as Jesus is on the scene.
Even now He can restore your relationships. Even now He can supply all your needs. Even now He can forgive you and make you whole.
John 10:41-42 They said, “Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.” And in that place many believed in Jesus.
I want to drop a word of encouragement for those of us who don’t feel very successful, noticed, important or appreciated.
Just because you’re not performing miraculous signs doesn’t mean you’re not making a significant impact.
John the Baptist died by decapitation in prison, wondering whether anything he had ever dreamed, declared or done made any difference in the end.
Apparently, John’s ministry made more of a difference than he would ever know on earth. By the time you get to John 10:41, the Bible says “many people” are coming to Jesus and placing their faith in Him- all because of John the Baptist’s faithful ministry.
Maybe God will allow you to do miraculous signs in the name of Jesus. Maybe your ministry is filled with a great sense of miraculous awe. Or maybe He’ll simply call you to a faithful ministry that will prepare the way for someone else to make a significant impact through miraculous signs.
I have a feeling that when we get to heaven, we’ll discover that much of the heavy lifting for the advance of the Gospel was done by those who never performed a miraculous sign, but through years of faithful ministry, had a miraculous impact.
Just stay faithful. Keep your station. God is at work!
-God is incompetent. If I’m anxious, it suggests that there’s an issue in my life that God is potentially incapable of resolving. If His arm is not shrt and His ear is not deaf why am I kicking and screaming trying to save myself?
-God is forgetful. Do I suspect that my need has slipped God’s mind? Does the Lord need me to send Him a reminder in the form of my panic and stress…just to make sure He doesn’t miss the appointment?
-God is indifferent. 1 Peter 5:7 teaches that I can cast all my anxiety on Him-because-and only because-He cares for me. By refusing to cast my cares on Him, I expose my deep down belief that He really doesn’t care -about me…about my particular burden. Anxiety puts the pressure on me to perform as my own personal Saviour, thereby undermining the intentions of God on my behalf. Be anxious for nothing. Anxiety is unbiblical. It’s counterproductive. And it’s a direct insult to the proven character of a powerful, faithful, loving God.
I like the old King James translation of Hebrews 11:1:
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is not an abstract theoretical proposition. It’s not wishful thinking. It’s substance. It’s action. Faith is something you do and not just something you think about.
Most of my life I imagined faith is synonymous with hope.
But according to Heb 11:1, that is not so. The more I study Scripture, the more I detect a sharp distinction between hope and faith. Hope is a desire. Faith is a demonstration. Hope wants it to happen. Faith causes it to happen and acts as if it’s already done.
Faith is not content to want it really, really bad. Faith consults the drawings and gets busy building. Hope is the blueprint. Faith is the contractor.
Some of the things we’re believing God for will never happen in our lives if we just stand in hope instead of walking in faith. At some point hope must become substance. At some point, you must step out of the boat and put your hope into action.
What a commendation by the Apostle Paul speaking of Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:30. That Greek verb for risk, parabouleuomai, can be translated: "to play the gambler." And it's that word and the example set by Ephaphroditus that inspired the Parabolani Brotherhood, aka the Gamblers. The Parabolani Brotherhood were the members of a Christian brotherhood who in the Early Church voluntarily undertook the care of the sick and the burial of the dead when no one else wanted to do it. They gambled their lives by exposing themselves to contagious diseases and caring for the sick during the plagues.
Gambler for Christ. I like that terminology. I think it has an edge to it. And I think it's a reminder of our calling. While soldiers gambled for his clothing, Christ gambled his life on the cross for yours. And he didn't die just to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. What are you gambling for Christ? What risks are you taking to serve the cause of Christ?
They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:13
Jesus gave the disciples very specific instructions about the preparations they needed to make for the Passover meal. See Luke 22: 7-12.
The disciples followed His instructions to the detail. And everything was in place, just like Jesus said.
I can’t count the number of times God has called me to take a step of obedience that seemed somewhat far fetched at the time. But when I got to the place where he told me to go, I found things just as Jesus told me they would be.
When God calls you to obey Him in your finances, career, or relationships, do it. And once you get there, you’ll find everything is in its place.
Just like Jesus told you.
You know what happens as a result. You grow closer to Him. You just learn to trust Him more and trust Him big. That is what big faith does, it builds a great relationship with Jesus. Because trust is the essence of all relationships!
Some people wonder why we take the trouble to celebrate special occasions like church anniversary or birthdays. And at first glance, I can see how all the fuss may seem like a misappropriation of energy and effort. After all, doesn’t a growing, thriving, mission-centric church have more important things to do?
I feel the same way sometimes when I read through all of the required feasts and festivals God prescribed for Israel in the Old Testament. Didn’t they have more important things to do? Doesn’t the celebration and remembrance get a little excessive?
Apparently God didn’t think so. He commanded that His children commemorate His extravagant deliverance in an extravagant and intentional way.
The Pharisees found fault with the extravagant demonstration of appreciation initiated by a sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50. Jesus commended her expression of love as appropriate and fitting… “he who has been forgiven much loves much”.
It might not always be convenient or efficient to stop and make a big deal about the things God has done, but it’s Biblical and worthwhile.
When God changes a lives in your cell, make a big deal about it! When someone in your cell gets baptized celebrate? Babies first-month? Celebrate the gift from God! When your ministry gets a fresh breakthrough and hits a new level, make a big deal about it! When your one of your kids makes significant progress, make a big deal about it!
When we fail to celebrate what God did for us yesterday, on what grounds do we expect Him to bless us today? We grow in BIG faith when we learn to celebrate what God has done in our lives!
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:6-8
We Christians talk a lot about accountability. The basic idea is that we should hold each other to Biblical standards.
Some people take this concept so seriously that they form accountability groups, which is not wrong at all. Usually, “accountability partners” ask each other questions like:
Did you skimp on your Bible reading this week? Were you a good witness at school or at work? Have you looked at pornography since we last met? Etc.
The discussion (in my experience) usually revolves around making sure we’re doing all the stuff that makes us “good Christians”.
That’s a good start, but I believe there’s a higher level of accountability required of God’s people.
What if accountability was focused more on making each other great than making sure we were being good?
We would all agree, and rightfully so, that if you see blatant sin in the life of another Christian, it is your responsibility to call it out. To challenge it. To confront it.
But what about when you see blatant potential that is lying dormant in another Christian’s life? When you see underdeveloped greatness in the life of someone you love, isn’t it just as important to call that out too?
To ask each other questions like:
1. Are you consistently cultivating the anointing that God has placed on your life? Or do you have skills and abilities that are rusting in the toolbox? 2. Are you taking full responsibility to steward every gift God has given you, stretching yourself beyond your prefabricated limitations? Are you stretching your faith? Is your faith growing big? 3. Do you have a God sized vision for your life? Are you fulfilling it daily? 4. Have you said no to a risk that God recently instructed you to take? Are you out of your boat? 5. Is your life oriented around changing the world or merely surviving it?
Can I encourage you to do this today and all week next week (in fact your whole life)?
Approach someone in your life who is living below his or her potential and privilege as a child of God. Someone who has let some dreams lie dormant because of fear, insecurity, busyness, or laziness.
Remind them how gifted and resourced they are to do exploits for God. Get in their face about the greatness of God in their life. Speak into them about their unlimited and unique potential in Christ.
1 Cor. 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Stand firm!
Nothing is move vital to accomplishing the purpose of God for your life than a spirit of resolve.
When your stomach starts to hurt in the few days following a big, risky, God-breathed decision, stand firm. When you’re tempted to flirt with an old sin pattern, stand firm. When critics speak lies about you, stand firm. When friends forsake you, stand firm. When the money’s low, and your logic says to bail out, but the Spirit of God says don’t back down, stand firm. When what your witness isn’t popular, but it’s Biblical and necessary, stand firm.
When you feel like giving up reading and reading the New Testament. stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Jack Neo has been in the news for sexual immorality. Couple of months back it was Tiger Woods but Jack is so much closer to home and we all have been reading the news a little shocked and a little sad. What has happened to these celebrities can happen to anyone of us.
Sexual temptation is a primary weakness for men. That is why every man, in humility and in community, must realize the importance of making provision for his weaknesses.
There is a great thought in Proverbs 30:26:
“Rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags.”
The principle is simple: If there is an area of your life where you’re weak, like the badger ( a small animal from the weaver family) you’ve got to find a way to cover yourself. It is only then you can protect yourself and flee sexual immorality.
The applications are endless:
·No Christian man should try to handle his sexual struggles alone for his heart will deceive him into sin. Sexual purity is a community project. So make provision for it. Hide yourself in the cleft of the rock. Find other men to be accountable to. That is what the Agape Guys Ministry (AGM) is all about.
·Install accountability software for internet use - like X3 Watch. It another excellent example of the provision principle in action.
·Watch out for highly stressful seasons with the family – seasons that invite conflicts between you and your spouse. Those seasons are especially weak spots for guys. Make sure you minimize the liabilities during those times. Again, guys, every time you have a conflict with your wife or kids, share with a friend. Get prayer. Pray together. Pray alone. Make your home in the crags.
·And don’t leave home for a business trip without bring a closure to your fights. Otherwise, because you feel alone and drained emotionally, you become very vulnerable to sexual sin.
·Of course, never be alone with another woman. Don’t be alone in a car with a woman colleague.
Guys, we must make provision for our weaknesses. We are not any more stronger than Tiger Woods or Jack Neo. But God has provided a community for us to help us cover our weaknesses so that we can continue to focus in strengthening our families. I realize very few people have the luxury of a support system like that. But in Agape, by the grace of God, He has given us the ‘crags’ to hide in so that we can flee sexual immorality.
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Gal 1:10
I just love this verse from Galatians. It fires me up. I hope it does that to you as well.
This is the question that has been holding way too many of of us back from what God is telling us to do for far too long. This is what keeps us from getting out of the boat and experiencing the tension of faith and this is what keeps us from walking in big, big faith!
Some of you heads of ministries and cell leaders are currently contemplating a bold move of faith. God has told you to do something. He has spoken to you to change something, start something, stop something, grow something, build something, move something… but you just keep revving your engine, fronting like you’re still praying about it. You’re not praying about it. You’re stalling out because you’re more concerned about what the members think and you think too much about "what if it fails" kind of thing. More than what God has said about it.
Dear leader, you won’t stand before the people at the end of your life to give an account. So go ahead. Seek to please God. You answer to Him for what He put in your heart to do.
Some uni student reading this blog needed to dump that charming, spiritually empty guy she’s dating, a long time ago. But what would her friends think? What would the guy think? Young lady, you need to be more bothered with what God thinks! Look that dude in the eye, tell him the goodbye that God told you to tell him, and date Jesus exclusively for a year, and watch your spiritual life begin to soar again. Then trust God to bring you His guy He has made just for you. That's big faith. That is pleasing God.
Some 36 year old dude with 2 kids, an SUV, and several intimidating loans, car, housing... has a dream to start a business. The plan is solid, and his wife is behind him. But the last time he mentioned it to his friends and in-laws, they all smirked and gave him 101 reasons why it might not work. So he shrugged it off and continues sleepwalking through life; cruisng without faith! Hey friend: Why are you about to let your no-faith friends talk you out of what God has put inside of you? Who cares whether they think you can pull it off or not? Your God has spoken to you. Get up and step out of the boat. Follow His command. Just please Him. There is nothing more adventurous and more growth triggering than that!
It amazes me how many times we let the opinion of a loser silence the will of our God.
Have you often wondered why life seems so unfair? Life certainly was unfair to Jesus. In Mark 14:43-65, one of his closes friends betrayed Him. Together, the "chief priests, elders and teachers of the Law" constituted the Sanhedrin, the supreme religious and legal court in Judea. Yet those who were responsible to administer law plotted toseize Jesus secretly, and dragged Him off to an illegal nighttime trial (vv. 43, 53). The same court, responsible to hear evidence, sought to manufacture it (v.55), and even recruited false testimony (vv. 55-59). When Jesus affirmed His deity He was immediately condemned, even though the Law then called for a full day to pass in a capital case between a finding of guilot and sentencing (v. 64). No, there was nothing fair at all in the trial or conviction of Jesus Christ.
He came, He healed, He taught of God's love, and after the mockery of a trial His enemies took delight in spitting on Him and striling Him with their fists. It was not fair!
It's something to remember when life is unfair to us. God never promised fairness. But yet, He is the God of justice. Life in this world wil never be fair. Even the Son of God was not spared from this unfair world.
The Apostle Peter, remembering that night and the following day, wrote, "If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps." (1 Peter 2:20-21).
If you suffer for doing good, good! It will not be fair, but you will not miss your blessing. God is just!
I read today’s passage in the New Living Translation and picked up something:
John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am— so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals.” -Mark 1:7
Jesus said that John was great in Matthew 11:11
Specifically, that he was the greatest man ever born of a woman.
But John knew that Jesus was so much greater. And that’s what made John great.
Remind youself and resound in your mind today: Jesus is so much greater than any difficulty you’re facing today. He’s so much greater than the pleasure of any sin you’re considering. He’s so much greater than any other ambition you could pursue.
To truly be great, never forget that He is so much greater.
And He is able to do FAR MORE than you can ask or imagine. There is NONE greater than Jesus. No wonder we are His followers!
The scene in Acts 20:13-37 is touching. When Paul said goodbye to the leaders of Ephesus he knew he would never see them again in this life. Luke, watching, said, "They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him" (v.37). It was a sad but fond farewell. Somehow in just two brief years an unbreakable bond had been forged between Paul and these converts.
Square that scene with our own farewells. When you say goodbye to a group of friends, would there be such emotion? What made these people in Ephesus so fond of Paul? Paul must have built such strong, close relationships with them. How can we learn to be close to others ourselves? How can the cell community become that close? How can a mentoring group forge such closeness?
Look at Paul. Paul let people know how he lived (v.18). They saw his life close range. Often times, we tend to keep people at arm's length to our private life; our domestic life. No one knows what is happening behind the closed doors of our homes and our lives.
Paul opened up his life, and invited people to see and know the real him. In that sense, Paul was a man who had nothing to hide. That kind of a life is truly a life of total freedom. He was the same person everywhere. Thus he said, "You know" several times as he reviewed his way of life in Ephesus. Being willing to share ourselves is the key to intimacy, be it in a cell group or a mentoring group.
So when people saw Paul living out his life, it created a bond of deep love and affection between Paul and the Ephesians. Cell leaders, take note. The transparency and authenticity of your cell members will never rise above your personal transparency and authenticity. When you share your life openly, you create a safe place for your members to be open about their lives. And when the day of farewell comes, I bet there will be many tears!
Acts 3:2 Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
Acts 3:6-7 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.
These two verses are interesting when you look at them side by side. I think they kind of reflect two different ministry philosophies.
There’s a crippled man. He needs help. One group of people decides to help him by carrying him to the gate to beg everyday. Peter and John decided to help him by reaching down, pulling him up on his feet, and telling him to walk.
Our ministry philosophy at Agape is more like the latter. We don’t want to be carrying people to the gate to beg. We don’t want to coddle and cater and spoon feed people leaving them unchanged.
But we want to reach down and help people; help them move to the next level. We’ll impart the healing power of Jesus to them. But they’ve got to get up and walk. They have got to make a personal investment into studying God’s Word for themself. They got to have the self-leadership to grow.
How about you? Are you investing too much time in carrying people to the gate and dropping them off to beg? Are you the one doing the begging when you should be lifting somebody else’s burden?
There are Christians who like to slip in and out of church. They want to hear the preaching but they don't want to do anything else. They like to remain anonymous.
I suppose that is the part of the appeal of very big churches. They are big enough for people to get lost in. You can go to church. But you don't have to get to know anyone.
Look at the pattern set for us in Acts 2. It is facinating. Big? You bet. Some 3000 people were converted by Peter's first sermon. That is a pretty good start to a big church. But lost in the crowd? Never! Because that first big church in Jerusalem immediately divided those converts up ino small groups, got them to meeting in houses, and before you knew it, each of these folks found he or she was loved - and loved others.
Luke described the result. They experienced unity in their house fellowships (v.42). They expressed their love for each other in the most practical of ways (v.44). They got together in larger groups to worship with enthusiasm (v.46). They became such friends they spent a lot of time with each other's families (v.46). They felt so glad that praise kept welling up out of their lives (v.47) And, oh yes, everyone was favourably impressed - and more people kept on being converted daily.
The Lord was so pleased, the Holy Spirit was continoually poured out upon them!
Don't be 'lost' in church with no relationships because then you've also lost out on a vital ingredient of authentic Christianity. Discipleship and growth happens in a community!
The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
Matt 17: 10
The immediate aftermath of the story of the Transfiguration has much to teach us. The disciples feel down before the transformed Jesus at the Transfiguration and when they looked up “they saw no one but Jesus.” (Matt 17:8) What a mountaintop experience that was. They were deeply, totally immersed in worship.
They started back down the hill and almost immediately they become sidetracked. “By the way Jesus”, you can almost hear one of them say, “I have always wondered about the Malachi 4 passage. Does it really mean what the teachers of the Law say: that Elijah must appear before the Messiah came?” The moment of worship has passed and was replaced by questions about the Bible.
I know. The Bible and theology are important. Intellectually stimulating discussions about the Bible excites many of us. I am so convinced of that that I spend my life studying and teaching the Bible. But there are times when getting another answer from the Book, or asking another question detracts from a person’s spiritual life.
Just like asking that question about Elijah must have drawn some of the wonder from the memory of their worship, and diluted some of their awe of Jesus. So ultimately what is vital is not having all the answers, but worshipping Christ. Not knowing more, but knowing Him. Not study, but kneeling in awe before the One we meet as we eat this Book!
As you read through the New Testament these 30 days, don’t let the questions that come to your mind keep you from the awe and wonder of knowing the Lord of this Book!
