Influencers Weekly Devotional

Thursday, December 29, 2011

One Resolution Only

By Bryan Craig

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Fellow Influencers:

As we wrap up 2011, I hope you are finding some quietness this week to rest and reflect on God’s work in your life this past year.  As the new year approaches, our culture has trained us to think about “new year’s resolutions.”  In January, Health Club memberships are at an all-time high as so many resolve to lose those holiday pounds.  Retailers and restaurants see a significant drop in business in January as resolutions are made to spend less money.  Church attendance often goes up in January as some actually resolve to work on their spiritual life.  Unfortunately, as you already know, most resolutions fade away by February.  Could it be that our resolutions are somewhat misplaced?

Many years ago, as a young salesman, I attended a Zig Ziglar conference which was very inspiring.  He divided all of life into segments and plotted them on a wheel.   There was Financial, Family, Career, Mental, Physical, Spiritual, and Social.  We answered a series of questions which would help us assess how we were doing in each of these categories of life.  Then, we plotted our answers onto the spokes of the wheel.  In some areas, we were doing very well, and our spoke was full.  In other areas, we were deficient, and so, the spoke was barely filled in.  After all the spokes were plotted, we looked at our “wheel of life”.  He proposed that if we were out of balance, our wheel would provide a very bumpy ride.  Then, we were challenged to set goals to make changes in our deficient areas to bring our life more into balance.

This was actually a very good exercise, and for many years, my wife and I would sit down at the beginning of a new year and assess our life in these 7 areas.  We would then set goals for our family in all of the areas.  It is good to have goals and to push ourselves to be better, but I believe God has a different plan for us. 

The simple, yet profound, message which guides our Influencers ministry has changed my life and my perspective.  “Abide in Me, and you will bear much fruit,” Jesus tells His disciples in John 15, and He tells us the same thing today.  We believe the “fruit” He was referencing was the “Fruit of the Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.”  We also believe that the “Fruit of the Spirit” enables the “Gifts of the Spirit”, which shapes our ministry on this earth for God’s glory. 

I will go further than that.  I believe if we “abide” in Christ, we will become the men of God we truly want to be.  We need not set goals to lose weight, to exercise more, to spend less money, to be better Dads, etc.  Our ONE goal should be to ABIDE.  Out of that abiding relationship, the Holy Spirit will begin to work on the rough spots in our life.  If we are overweight and out of shape, God will prompt a change in diet.  If our spending is out of control, God will begin to speak to us about money.  If we need to spend more time with our family, God will convict our hearts with His word in that area. 

God created you, and He knows the plans He has for you.  He wants good things for you in life.  He already knows all the “resolutions” you would make if you were going to do so.  He cares about you being a better man more than you do.  He cares about your health, your family, your finances, your mental well-being, your career, your social life, and of course, your spiritual life.  I think we make it too complicated.  It’s because we are “performers” and “achievers” and “competitive”.  We think it’s all about what we can do.

Do this!  Resolve to “Abide in Christ” in 2012.  What does that look like?  If you’ve gone through The Journey, you have an idea.  If you haven’t, I would challenge you to join a Journey group when the next one comes around.  Until then, get your Bible and a Journal.  Begin spending time reading God’s Word, just a few verses each day and start journaling what you are hearing God say to you.  We use the S-T-A-R method.  "S" means “Scripture Read”, "T" means “Thought Conveyed”, "A" means “Application” and “R” means “Response”.  If you use this method and begin journaling through a few scriptures, you will be amazed what your Lord will begin showing you.  Most important, Pray.  Pray before you get started and pray after you have journaled.  The more you do this, the more you will begin to connect your heart with the Lord and the more your life will begin to change.  New habits will form.  The old man will begin to fade away. 

This is not hard, men.  Just open yourself up to the Lord.  Remember that Jesus is “the author and perfecter of our faith”.  He sent His Holy Spirit to comfort us, to counsel us and to teach us all things.  Think of Him as your new “life coach”.  Trust Him with the plans for 2012, and you will be amazed what He will do. 

Influencers Weekly Devotional

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Twas the Night Before Christmas

by

Rocky Fleming

Can we even imagine what it would have been like for those shepherds who saw, heard, and experienced this event that took place over 2,000 years ago? It will be hard to do unless we remove ourselves from the cultural norms we have grown up with, and look through the weary eyes of a man who was working in one of the lowest of work classes. The shepherds in that day, as it goes today for a man who mistakenly but normally defines himself by his work, would be the last people anyone would expect to be the first to receive this great news about the King of Kings being born. These shepherds would be equal only to tax collectors and dung sweepers. They were deprived of all civil rights, could not hold judicial office, and were a despised class officially designated as “sinners.” Therefore, if we could get into a man's perspective driven by such humiliating circumstances, and look through years of being spit on, cursed and regarded less than the sheep's wool they protected, maybe then, we could understand how great a privilege it was for these men to receive this news. The big question is, why would God start at the bottom of the pit of sinners, which included the religious privileged, to announce the birth of Jesus?

If you haven't figured it out yet, you should…God does most everything counter to the ways of the world, even the way He delivered His Son to this planet. Consider if you will that Mary and Joseph were not much higher up the class chart than the shepherds, evidenced by where Jesus was birthed and Joseph's work. Jesus, the Christ, was born in a stinking stable among stinking animals. Remove from your thinking the glorified depictions we have seen in our churches and greeting cards. A stable is dirty and this was not a sterile environment. There was no doctor or midwife to walk Mary through the labor. She was likely no more than 15 years old or less. This was her first child, so she had no firsthand experience with the pain of childbirth, and the contractions her young body would go through. Joseph did what he could do for Mary in making her comfortable, but what would a carpenter know about childbirth? Some might say that God was unfair to make it so hard for Mary and Jesus to be born this way, unless we can see the hidden message being delivered in this humble setting. Why would God start at the bottom of the people of the world to announce His Son's birth, and He be born into such humble circumstances? It was because God was saying through this setting, as the angels said, what was happening would be “good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.”  Did you catch the biggest of the big news? Jesus, the Savior, would be for “all people.”

There were so many other hidden messages during the life of Jesus and our cultural ignorance keeps us from understanding how great this great news was. During His life, Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd. Can you imagine a 21^stcentury equivalent of this description? How about a septic tank cleaner who calls himself good? How about a garbage collector? How about a nurse who cleans the rotting flesh of a leper? Can you think of any others? Probably not, for even those jobs are not despicable, only hard to do for most of us. But Jesus voluntarily identified Himself in a class of people that the people of that day looked down on, and in doing so, He lifted up the lowly, and brought down the arrogant. That is why He brought so much hope to the broken people of that day, and why He brings so much hope to the broken people of this day.

I left out one other class of people that were considered the dregs of society in Christ's day, and it is the same today. They are a broken people. It is your typical prisoner locked up in the jails and prisons across this land. The last few months I have had some firsthand experience meeting with some prisoners in Chino and Cummins prisons, and have talked with men there who are going through The Journey. For many men and women within and outside of prisons, The Journey has been good news to them, as it is a process that delivers them into an intimate, abiding relationship with Christ. Can you imagine the good news it is to a man who has murdered a life or stolen property and been sentenced to be taken out of society to hear that God still values his soul and wants to have an intimate relationship with him? Can you imagine the message of grace and deliverance that the Good Shepherd gives to those men, versus a message of condemnation that the world gives them? Can you imagine what a privilege it is for those messengers who meet with these prisoners, and give them the “good news of a great joy that will be for all the people” which includes them?  I can understand why the angels were having a party in the night time sky before the shepherds. They were excited about the hope these humble men were about to be given, and the hope that would be given to all the people of the world. It is exciting to declare this message of hope, and to be a messenger of God's word to a person without hope. That is why the angels were so exuberant. But, so can we also join in their celebration, if we will join in their message.

As we prepare this week for the celebration of our Savior's birthday, could I ask you to also consider how you might get into the celebration the angels had over 2,000 years ago? It is easier than you might imagine, but it will require a little effort. Why not consider being an angel to someone this Christmas? You need to know that the word angel in Hebrew and Greek simply means messenger from God. Although you cannot be a member of the heavenly hosts, you can still be God's messenger, if you will declare that same good news declared 2,000 years ago. You can declare it to a child, or an elderly person in a nursing home. You can declare it to a homeless person or a multimillionaire. You can declare it to prisoners locked up in jails, or to prisoners not in jails and who are locked up in sin and self-condemnation. It is good news to all of these people, and they are likely within easy reach of you. Simply look around, and you will find them ready to receive the good news you can deliver to them.

God bless you in your Christmas mission, angel of God. There are some very discouraged people who are waiting for you to bring them this great news. Now is the time to speak out.

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Influencers Weekly Devotional

Friday, December 16, 2011

Do You Have Room for The Christmas Spirit?

By Bryan Craig

“She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:6b

Brothers, Christmas is only a few days away.  For some of you, that statement creates a sense of panic, as you think of all the things you will be scrambling to complete before the Holidays and consider what in the world you will get for your wife.  For some of you, Christmas is a painful reminder of loved ones who won’t be at your Christmas gathering and for others, Christmas is just an end to a seemingly awful year.  I know some men who just don’t really like Christmas, in general.  If this note doesn’t find you in the Christmas spirit, let me encourage you.

“Christmas” literally means, “Christ’s Mass”.  It is a celebration of Christ.  It is not the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, it is not Frosty the Snowman, it is not trees and lights and cookies and cider.  Those things are nice, and those things work their way into our Christmas celebration, but they are not Christ.  It is interesting how something as simple as celebrating Christ can evolve into such a worldly expression that when December 26^th arrives, we feel further from Christ than when we began the season.  That’s because “the world and its desires pass away.”  Nothing on this earth can satisfy us like Christ. 

Isn’t it amazing that when the Savior of the world arrived, no one would receive Him?  I wonder if the innkeeper really had a full house.  Or was it the middle of the night, and so, he didn’t answer the knock on the door by Mary and Joseph?  Or did he see this very pregnant woman about to give birth and start thinking about the possible liability if a baby was born on the premises?  Or was he too busy counting his money or lamenting a poor year’s profits?  If he really knew Who this baby was, would he have found room?  Maybe he would have given up his own room?

We actually replay this drama every year at Christmastime.  Amidst all of the busyness of life, Christ comes.  He comes in an unexpected way, at an unexpected time.  He beckons us to let Him in.  Do we have room?

Maybe you’re just not feeling it this year.  Maybe you’re stuck inside “the Inn” of your life, with the door locked.  If Christ came to the door, you wouldn’t recognize Him.  You would send Him on His way down the road.  This is not a Christmas problem.  This is a heart issue.  You see, if you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior, He is not only in your Inn, He is in you.  He is truly “Emmanuel-God with us.”  Jesus sent His Spirit to dwell with us forever, the Spirit of Truth.  Yes, His Spirit is with us and in us.  He is completing the work of Christ in our lives and in the world. 

When you hear someone, even a non-believer, talk about “Christmas Spirit”, guess what?  They are talking about the Holy Spirit!  Yes, when the world sees the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) at Christmastime, they claim that someone has the Christmas Spirit.  In an amazing way, God opens all eyes to see His Spirit during the celebration of Christ’s birth more than any other time.  We have a responsibility to let His light shine through us so that others may find Him, especially at Christmastime.

Jesus is here!  Unlock your door and go find Him.  You won’t find him in a Christmas party or in a Christmas movie.  Go to a simple, quiet place and get still.  Wait on Him with worshipful anticipation.  As you turn your heart toward Him, you will find that the Christmas Spirit has been there all along.  Like the birth of the Savior, you will discover the birth of new life within you.  You will find Christmas.  Then, like the shepherds who found the newborn King, you will praise God and tell everyone you know what you have discovered. 

Isn’t this really the heart of The Journey?  Abide in Him, and you will bear fruit.  Worship Him and Celebrate Him at Christmas, and you will know how to “keep Christmas” in your heart.  As Ebenezer Scrooge discovered after the Spirit changed his heart for good in just one night, it’s not too late.  Merry Christmas and God Bless Us, Everyone!

Influencers Weekly Devotional

Friday, December 02, 2011