Believe Session 2: A Personal God has a Priority for Me

   This week we are learning God has a passion for us; He really does care. He has a plan for us, a purpose designed by His will and His love. Today we see that He has a priority for us, and that is to show His goodness.

   When I think of the goodness of God, I cannot help but think of the song which says, "You are a Good Good Father, that’s who you are, that’s who you are, and I am loved by You, that’s who I am, that’s who I am.” The Bible says “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father,” (James 1:18).

   When we know that God is good, it is easier for us to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). There are and have been times when seeking God's Kingdom and Righteousness is not always a priority for me and I don't know why.

    Maybe I don’t trust His kingdom and righteousness is truly good. Or maybe I am just not wanting His good; I want what's good for me. Instead of "Father knows best", I begin to think I know best. If you are struggling with the thought that perhaps you are not loved by a good Father, and that things are not going to your plans, think about this:

When you cannot see God’s hand, trust His heart.

    One day a man called Jesus “Good Teacher.” Jesus responded that no one is good but God alone. Jesus was saying that by comparison, nothing can compare to the goodness of God.

     When I remember that no one loves me more than God, when I think about how no one knows more than God, and when I know that no one has more power and ability than God to give me what is good…it is then that I can seek Him first.

Believe Session 2: A Personal God has a Plan for Me

    A man I know has a son who professed his atheism to his father. Even though the young man had followed God and had professed faith in God at a young age, for a variety of reasons but primarily because God had not answered his prayers, he simply said he no longer believed in God.
 
    The devastated father wisely said, "Which is better? To go through life believing that there is a God who loves us and is orchestrating our lives with a divine plan or to think that all of life is purposeless, meaningless and completely random?"

    If we firmly believe that God cares for us and if we trust His plan and purpose is to prosper us and benefit us, our faith will direct our steps with confidence, assurance and resilience that cannot be vanquished. This is not some pie-in-the-sky Pollyanish, power of positive thinking technique. No, to believe in a personal God who cares and has a plan is a faith which is firmly rooted in the Bible from beginning to end.

    Our lives are a 70 year drama (some longer some shorter), unfolding and being depicted right before our very eyes and God is the author. But He invites us to be the co-author by faith and trust, if we choose to BELIEVE! Suspend your disbelief that even if Jesus did not answer your prayer, you will see God move in ways beyond our belief.

   Yes, God invites us to join Him in writing His story, but remember this: He is the final editor author, producer, and publisher!

Session 2--A Personal God Has A Passion For Me

Crickets.

I do not care for crickets. As we had an invasion of crickets this past Sunday, I stepped on them, swept them, trashed them, even went to the store to get spray to kill them. I felt like there were thousands of them.

After church, a little boy named John gently took one cricket and put it in the grass which was covered with thousands of other crickets.

I think about a God who made all of the universe, seven billion people, all of the animals and insects and yes crickets. God is so far above and beyond me, far greater than I am above a cricket.

And yet God cares for me. "What is humanity that you are mindful of us? People that you care?" the psalmist wrote. "He's rich in love and slow to anger," another psalm says.

Little John's tenderness did not change my mind about crickets, but it did remind me of how amazing it is that God greatly cares for me.

Last Sunday, Pastor Randy preached on "What Can We Know" about God--His eternal power, divine nature, and our response to that knowledge. This week, we are studying about a personal God, seeing even more importantly "What God knows about us."

So my lesson from the crickets? Hmm. How about, "There's a place where God wants us to be and if we are in the wrong place, like crickets in a place made for humans, we may face judgment."

Now that will preach!

Believe Chapter 2: A Personal God; Does God Care?

What does “a personal relationship” mean?

One cannot read the Bible and not understand that not only is God a personable God but that He wants to have a personal relationship with us. God created man for His glory but also His fellowship.

Just read Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd."  or the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus points to the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields. He says do not worry because God takes care of them and will take care of you." (These are the two stories emphasized for children and preschoolers).
In the garden, He communed with man daily. God does not NEED us as He is infinite nor is He lonely which again would be a sign of a deficiency in God. He WANTS to be personal with us!

No, He is not co-dependent! But He enjoys us and desires us to pray to Him, to hear from Him, to be a Father to His child, a Groom to His Bride. A personal God? You better believe it! Christ came to teach us that through His atonement,

His sacrifice, that we can now come boldly before the throne of grace in prayer and receive help in times of need (Heb. 4:16). How do we come? With confidence! To whom do we come? To “our Father”! (Matt. 6:9)

The following devotional is from Zondervan, based on Chapter two of BELIEVE, which will be taught and preached on Sunday, September 18 at FBC Killeen.

Day 2: Personal God

KEY QUESTION: Is God Good? The God of the Bible is the only true God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the one all-powerful, all-knowing eternal God.

But is He good? Is He involved in His creation? Does He love us? Does He have a plan for us? Is He interceding and intervening to move the events of our life and world toward His intended purpose?

Consider the following and decide for yourself.

A biblical character in whose life we see how much God is involved and cares about His people is David, the poet, singer, shepherd, warrior and king, who wrote and sang from a deep well as he journeyed through life and encountered the one true God. David composed many of the psalms found in our Bible. David wrote as a shepherd boy while gazing at the billions of stars God created; he wrote while being chased down by King Saul; he wrote while he was king of Israel; and he wrote as he was coming to the end of his life on earth. The songs that David and the other psalmists wrote express their personal and intimate relationships with God.

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. (Psalm 139:1-6)

KEY VERSE I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)

KEY IDEA I believe God is involved in and cares about my daily life.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live? How can believing this truth about God as a personal and good God — not only in our mind (understanding) but also in our heart — guide the way we live? 1. God’s ways are higher than our ways. We are tempted to make frantic decisions because we can’t see our way. We can’t see around the next bend in the road. God’s ways are higher than our ways, because he is seated above on his throne. When we feel that we don’t understand God’s instruction in his Word, we must remember that he sees things from above and we don’t. (See Isaiah 55:8-9.) 2. God, who controls nature and history, knows and cares about us. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus conveyed God’s care for his children. These words about a loving Father paint a vivid picture of a God who is not out to get us, but rather to redeem us. He is not out to destroy us, but rather to restore us.

YOUR TURN

Why does Jesus want us to refrain from worry?

How does freedom from worry demonstrate confidence in God’s provision and care?

Join the discussion and use hashtag #BelieveTheStory.

Week One - Believe Devotional -- God

Weekly Preparation for Believe

TIM MCKEOWN·MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 201611 Reads

As FBC Killeen prepares for BELIEVE, which begins Sept. 11, I thought it would be good to have devotionals to prepare our hearts. BELIEVE is a way of understanding our core, basic beliefs, actions, and virtues we should have as Christians, but it is certainly not shallow! In fact, today’s devotional is as deep as it gets: “Who Is God?”

What I find interesting in BELIEVE is that what we believe should transform us intellectually, behaviorally, and spiritually. That is our core essence that we have, a type of Trinity so to speak, consisting of our Soul, our Body, Our Spirit.
 Our intellect, along with our will and emotions, is our soul. This is how we think, which is Part 1 of BELIEVE, answering the question, “What do I believe?” 
Our behavior is how we act, which is our body and this is covered by Part 2 of BELIEVE, answering the question, “How should I behave?” 

     And our spiritual transformation (Part 3 of BELIEVE) is our Spiritual self, distinct and separate from our soul and body, and yet intrinsic to our entire personhood. This answers the question, “Who am I Becoming?” BELIEVE is a trinity study of ourselves: Believing, Behaving, Becoming. In other words, we need to Think, Act and Be like Jesus. We are made in the image of God who is also a Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
     As I said at the beginning, BELIEVE is not shallow at all...Enjoy these devotionals which come from Zondervan.

Day 1: God

KEY QUESTION: Who is God? What do we know about this amazing God, this God of miracles and creative wonder? Christians believe God is actually three Persons, a "Trinity." Though the word "Trinity" isn’t found in the Bible, in the very beginning of God's story, the creation story, we see hints that God is plural. Genesis 1:26 says, "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.'" The creation story tells us we were created in the image of God, and Adam and Eve were two distinct persons who came together as one, just as God is three persons [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] but one true God. The journey of faith begins with our belief in God. Like the early Christians, we too are called to make our own personal declaration. 
Do we believe in the one true God? 
Do we accept the Bible as it reveals that God exists in three Persons? 
Even though we are weak and not fully able to understand the mysteries of God, he works mightily in and through those who believe. When we embrace God with our whole heart and worship him with our whole life, we experience the inner fruit of the Spirit that transforms our lives from the inside out. When we are growing, experiencing restoration in our relationships and doing the right thing, it is evident that God is in us and with us.

KEY VERSE May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

KEY IDEA I believe the God of the Bible is the only true God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live? Because I was created in the image of God as, and for, community...

·  I recognize the full personhood of others and respect boundaries.

·  I look out for the rights, preferences, and comfort of others.

·  I value and enjoy others.

For any situation, relationship, or decision we face, we can resolutely apply these principles to guide us. The results, over time, will lead to blessing in our own souls in the form of fruit such as joy and peace, and we will express our actions outwardly for others to enjoy in the form of fruit such as love and kindness.

YOUR TURN

What's one way you have experienced God as Father? As Jesus the Son? As the Holy Spirit? Join the discussion today and use the hashtag #BelieveTheStory.

Believe, Chapter 1 -- God

As FBC Killeen prepares for BELIEVE, which begins Sept. 11, I thought it would be good to have devotionals to prepare our hearts. BELIEVE is a way of understanding our core, basic beliefs, actions, and virtues we should have as Christians, but it is certainly not shallow! In fact, today’s devotional is as deep as it gets: “Who Is God?”

What I find interesting in BELIEVE is that what we believe should transform us intellectually, behaviorally, and spiritually. That is our core essence that we have, a type of Trinity so to speak, consisting of our Soul, our Body, Our Spirit.

Our intellect, along with our will and emotions, is our soul. This is how we think, which is Part 1 of BELIEVE, answering the question, “What do I believe?”

Our behavior is how we act, which is our body and this is covered by Part 2 of BELIEVE, answering the question, “How should I behave?”

And our spiritual transformation (Part 3 of BELIEVE) is our Spiritual self, distinct and separate from our soul and body, and yet intrinsic to our entire personhood. This answers the question, “Who am I Becoming?” BELIEVE is a trinity study of ourselves: Believing, Behaving, Becoming. In other words, we need to Think, Act and Be like Jesus. We are made in the image of God who is also a Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

As I said at the beginning, BELIEVE is not shallow at all...

Enjoy these devotionals which come from Zondervan.

KEY QUESTION: 

Who is God? 

What do we know about this amazing God, this God of miracles and creative wonder? Christians believe God is actually three Persons, a "Trinity." Though the word "Trinity" isn’t found in the Bible, in the very beginning of God's story, the creation story, we see hints that God is plural. Genesis 1:26 says, "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.'" The creation story tells us we were created in the image of God, and Adam and Eve were two distinct persons who came together as one, just as God is three persons [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] but one true God. The journey of faith begins with our belief in God. Like the early Christians, we too are called to make our own personal declaration.

Do we believe in the one true God?

Do we accept the Bible as it reveals that God exists in three Persons?

Even though we are weak and not fully able to understand the mysteries of God, he works mightily in and through those who believe. When we embrace God with our whole heart and worship him with our whole life, we experience the inner fruit of the Spirit that transforms our lives from the inside out. When we are growing, experiencing restoration in our relationships and doing the right thing, it is evident that God is in us and with us.

KEY VERSE

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

KEY IDEA

I believe the God of the Bible is the only true God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

KEY APPLICATION:

What difference does this make in the way I live? Because I was created in the image of God as, and for, community...

·  I recognize the full personhood of others and respect boundaries.

·  I look out for the rights, preferences, and comfort of others.

·  I value and enjoy others.

For any situation, relationship, or decision we face, we can resolutely apply these principles to guide us. The results, over time, will lead to blessing in our own souls in the form of fruit such as joy and peace, and we will express our actions outwardly for others to enjoy in the form of fruit such as love and kindness.

YOUR TURN

What's one way you have experienced God as Father? As Jesus the Son? As the Holy Spirit? 

A Biblically based process for making and growing disciples

Please read the previous article on making disciples. This is part 2 of that column.

MasterLife was developed by a gentle but firmly committed pastor, missionary to Indonesia, seminary president and then senior vice-president of overseas operations for the Southern Baptist Convention. More than all of those things, Avery T. Willis, Jr. was himself a DISCIPLE-MAKER, influencing more than 250,000 persons through his material which has been out since 1980. MasterLife has been translated into more than 50 different languages. 

So what is MasterLife? In four separate parts, it mirrors our church’s motto of
CONNECT, GROW, SERVE, GO.

 1. The CROSS=CONNECT. Our connection with Jesus Christ is foundational for discipleship. In Part 1, we will go through connecting with Christ in establishing a “Quiet Time” (a daily devotional time of prayer and Bible reading). With Christ at the center of our lives, we learn to connect with others in fellowship, witnessing and ministry. Each week in all of these studies, we disciples will memorize verses to affirm God's connection within us.

2. The PERSONALITY=GROW. Christ transforms our character through discipleship. In Part 2, we learn how to grow through God’s Spirit teaching, guiding, directing, empowers and even intercedes for us to do God’s will and work. Our flesh is our old fallen nature, our spirit is our new resurrected nature, and our soul is the battle ground.

3. Our VICTORY=SERVE. Spiritual warfare raises its head in numerous ways, but make no mistake: we are in battle. Part 3 leads us through Psalm 119 and its emphasis on God’s Word. Even Jesus relied on the truth of the Scriptures to fight and achieve victory in the temptation battle with the devil. God gives us principles for victory standing in truth, praying in faith, and wearing the armor of God.

4. Our MISSION=GO. The Great Comission (Matt. 28:19-20) is not primarily about evangelism, missionaries, going, or baptizing. Part 4 disciples us to make disciples through relationships. This is our ultimate mission for which God has saved us! We will learn our spiritual gifts He has given us for our mission in life. We are saved for this purpose.

If you read ALL of this, pat yourself on the back! If you want to join, will train trainers (future disciple-makers) beginning June 20 at 5:30 a.m. here at the church. Choose ONE of these four plans, which will be led by the following people:
Jason (Part 1, Cross, Thursdays beginning June 23),
Billy Bob (Part 2, Personality, Wednesdays beginning June 22), Cliff (Part 3, Victory, Tuesdays, beginning June 21) and Mike (Part 4, Mission, Mondays, beginning June 20).   

Remember, you can only come to one session a week and once you choose, we want you to stick with that series for all seven weeks. So choose wisely! Pray for these and those who will go through these disciple-making courses.

 

Making Christ the Master of your Life

    Are all Christians disciples? If so, what did Jesus mean when He said we are to “make disciples”? Is that simply telling others to become Christians or are we to “make disciples” by helping others grow in Christ-likeness. I believe it is the latter. 

    True, we seek to evangelize and convert, but if becoming a Christian is being “born again” (John 3:3, 7; 1 Pet. 1:23; Titus 3:5), then we must grow in respect to our salvation. “Like newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2). The word disciple is used more than 200 times in the New Testament, and the word literally means “learner.” 

    In Matthew 28:19-20, commonly called the Great Commission, two different words are used that is translated as “teach” in King James. The first word is the verb form of “disciple” and is better translated “disciple all nations” or “make disciples in all nations.” 

    The second is word for teach is used nearly 100 times in the Bible, always translated as teach. Neither word merely means to lead people to make an intellectual decision or to pray a prayer of salvation. Those are simply starting points. 

    We have not truly become a disciple of Christ unless we have done what Christ commissioned us to do:  
1) Be baptized (“immersed”) in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit;  
2) Be taught and be teaching others to observe all the things Jesus has commanded us; and  
3) Be discipled and disciple others as we are going throughout the nations and ethnicities  under the presence, power, and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

    You may go by the name of Christian, but are you truly a disciple, a learning, growing pupil of Christ who obeys all of the precepts and instructions of our Master and Lord Jesus Christ? Are you obeying Christ by making disciples yourself? 

    A true disciple is not just the twelve whom Jesus called or someone who prayed a prayer as a child. Acts 14:21 and other passages tell us that the early church continued to make disciples. If you are not making disciples, which is part of the “all things I have commanded you,” you cannot truly call yourself a disciple. 

    In upcoming weeks, you will hear more about four different MasterLife courses to train Christians in making disciples. Be in prayer for those who will lead others in these life-changing courses. 

Psalm 46 revisited

I primarily, if not solely, do this blog for my amusement and no one else's amazement.

I really enjoy the psalms.

So here we go with a revisit of Psalm 46. 

    I revisited Psalm 46 in preparation for a funeral.

    Psalm 46 says this. 

 ¹God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Presence. God is with you and me. He said in Heb. 13:5 “I will never leave you or forsake you.” We may feel lonely, but we are never alone. God is there. Jesus said that I go to prepare a place for you but then He also says "I won’t leave you as orphans, I will send you a Comforter." 

     That means Jesus is literally in heaven with those who have trusted Him. The Bible says not only will God be present with us, but after this life is over, we will be present with the Lord. 

In 2 Cor. 5, Paul said this:

1For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7For we live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

     So God is present with us and after this life, we are present with the Lord, immediately and without delay, without fear, without worry.

Promise. Secondly in Psalm 46, I want to look at God’s Assurance in hard times.  ²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, ³though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. ⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

     God doesn’t promise us a rose garden here on earth. There are going to be times when we are afraid, there’s going to be earthquakes, physically and emotionally. There’s going to be fire and floods. Don't doubt, but believe. If faith in God is worth anything, it is worth it when we go through the mountains falling, the waters roaring, the rivers rising. God never fails us, not really. 

     Why do I say that? How can I say when we go through health problems and death and lonely times and dreams disappointed? Because of God’s promise is that in eternity, only our successes and victories in Christ last. When this life is over, eternity is only just beginning. God’s promise is true.

Power. Third I want to see in Psalm 46 not only God’s presence with us and our future presence with Him, not only do I see God’s promise to get us through life and death. But listen to God’s power.

⁶Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. ⁷The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. ⁸Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. ⁹He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shield with fire.

    Paul said in the New Testament, “I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation.” 

     Jesus prayed for Thine is the kingdom and power and the glory.” When he was resurrected, He said all power was given to him in heaven and on earth. But He is not selfish with that power, because in Luke 24:49, he says through the Holy Spirit, the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, He will give to us. 

   There is a power that we have from God to go through these tough times, but it is not from us, it is from God. There is a dunamis power from which we get the word dynamite. It’s a power that doesn’t come from within, it is a power that is though it came from an outside source.

      You may say, Pastor Tim, I don’t care about having power. I don’t care a bit about power. Look again at God’s power ⁹He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shield with fire.

    God gives us power to rest. He has the power to end the war that is within us.

   Pilate stood before Jesus and said “Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.

    Jesus gives us power over the grave. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

     He even gives us power to become a child of God. We are all creation but we are not all His children. John 1:12 says “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Peace. Finally back in Psalm 46 there is a fourth part of this message for us today. ¹⁰He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ¹¹The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

There is a calmness that we have because of God. If you are a believer you know what I am talking about. There is a book that’s called “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.” If I were to write one, it would be “I don’t have enough strength to be an atheist.” 

   Why? Because I love having the peace of God. I love having the God of the universe living within me. No it’s not just the power of positive thinking. It’s not having a good attitude or some Polyanna optimism. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

     Lord knows none of us  are perfect, but we know the one who is perfect.And He loves us perfectly and gives us perfect peace. 

     We can have peace when we go to a funeral because we can be still and know that God is God. We are going to heaven not based on how good we are, we aren’t that good, but how good he was to send us Jesus to die on the cross. 

     We can have power to become a child of God by believing and receive Him.  We have peace and power because He who promised is faithful and true. 

    And like I wrote at the beginning, we have his presence here on earth and when this life is over we will be present with him in Glory.