Is Your Life Worth Sharing?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 10:30 AM
All Christians have a certain level of commitment, a certain depth of spirituality. Most of us are not satisfied with where we are. We would like to do better; we would like to improve ourselves

Here is where we start, accepting the challenge to be the best you can. No one can be their best for God if they do not know His Son Jesus. Remember, there was no moderate, liberal or "middle of the road approach" to the cross when Jesus died for us; it was all or nothing. Jesus came to give His "all" for us in order that we might be saved. Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God demonstrated his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Examine your life and make certain Jesus lives in you. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"

Jesus came to serve others. In Mark 10:45, He said, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." We all remember the Bible story of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. Why was He willing to do that? He was teaching the lesson of humility and servitude. Listen, we can never be all we need to be until we understand the meaning of serving.

In Tan’s book of 7700 illustrations, it is said this ad appeared in a London newspaper: "Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success." The ad was signed by Sir Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic explorer. Believe it or not, thousands of people responded instantly to the call. They were ready to sacrifice everything for the elation of adventure and uncertain honor.

God may not have called you to jeopardize your life, He may not have called you to place yourself in constant danger, but God has called us to be loyal to His service.

The person who is unwilling to serve, is kind of like a bump on a log, he just sits there, doing nothing, watching life pass by. You will not find joy in idleness. I believe the people who experience the most frustration in life, are those who are not involved in spiritual things.

I heard this story about an irate church member who dropped by the preacher's study one morning. He had a long list of grievances. Obviously unhappy to the point of misery, the disgruntled man finally blurted out, "Preacher, I'm quittin' or going to another church! I won't be at church anymore!" The wise preacher didn't argue; he expressed his concern over the man’s decision. "I am truly sorry you feel that way," he said. "By the way, I wonder if you would do me a big favor on your way home. Mrs. Brown has been ill for sometime and needs help with the cost of her medicine. Mr. and Mrs. Ray gave me fifty-dollars this morning after church and asked me to give it to Mrs. Brown. Do you mind stopping by on your way home and giving it to her?" The disgruntled member agreed and left.

The next Sunday he was in his regular place at church. The pastor approached him and said, "But I understood you to say you were quitting, going to another church what happened?" "When I gave the fifty-dollars to Mrs. Brown, she wanted to give me a hug! The joy and gratitude that I saw in her eyes made me wish I had been the one who gave her that money. And that made me realize how good the couple must have felt who did give it. I've had my eyes opened. You don't need to worry! From now on I'll be in church, doing my part.”

I have never known a happy, selfish person. Have you? People, who are unwilling to commit to service and sacrifice, are usually those who live lives of quiet desperation.

Someone wrote, "If your aim is to be miserable most of the time, the following ten actions will help you reach that goal in record time:

1. Think only about yourself. Talk much about yourself. Include "I" as much as you can in every conversation.

2. Pay close attention to what people think/say about you.

3. Expect to be appreciated.

4. Cultivate suspicion, jealousy and envy.

5. Be sensitive to every slight or insult. Never forgive a criticism.

6. Trust nobody but yourself.

7. Insist upon special consideration.

8. Demand that everyone agree with your views and opinions on everything.

9. Shirk your duties and responsibilities if you can.

10. Do as little as possible for other people.

Examine your life, take a hard look at yourself, is it worth sharing? Around here we often say share a life worth living.


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Family Circle
Monday, May 24, 2010, 09:40 AM
Was this a typical Monday for you so far??? I think of a woman who was at home, doing some cleaning when the telephone rang. In going to answer it, she tripped on a scatter rug and, grabbing for something to hold onto, seized the telephone table. It fell over with a crash, jarring receiver off the hook. As it fell, it hit the family dog, who leaped up, howling and barking. The woman's three-year-old son, startled by this noise, broke into loud screams. The woman mumbled some colorful words. She finally managed to pick up the receiver and lift it to her ear, just in time to hear her husband's voice on the other end say, "Nobody's said hello yet, but I'm positive I have the right number."

Although trying and hectic at times, if you are a part and member of a family today, it is an amazing thing, because God has put us all together. As a result, the family makes a father into a dad, a mother into a mom, and a house into a home. If you are a member of that type of family then you belong to something that is so near to the heart of God that He established it thousands of years before He did the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet, the truth of the matter is that our families are under attack as never before. Hell is not raging against the White House, it is raging against your house, and my house, and we have got a fight on our hands. Thus, if there is one thing that ought to concern us, it is that our families know the Lord, and the family circle is unbroken.
I want us to look at Luke 15:8-10 like maybe you have never looked at it before, in this text we find a perfect picture of the home. This parable has always spoken to my heart, but not until recent days did I view it from the standpoint of the family, and the home. We see a coin, which speaks of a person, or a soul. We see a woman, which represents the heart of the home, a mother. And, we see a house, where the home actually exists.

This parable is one of three of Jesus' most famous parables. It is one parable, with three pictures. The one before us today dives deep into our heart because we see a mother who is going after, and reaching out to something in her home that is lost. She is bound and determined to keep the family circle unbroken. If someone in your family is lost, keep lighting the candle of the Lord Jesus, keep sweeping your heart clean, and keep diligently, earnestly, and carefully praying that God would save them. If you are lost, don't go to hell. Don't allow the family circle to be broken. Come to Jesus! Allow the family circle to be complete. Allow the entire family to be a part of everything that God has prepared for us.


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Why Should We Trust in God?
Friday, May 21, 2010, 11:36 AM
I could give you many reasons why you ought to trust God, but let me just give you this one to think about. When we trust God, God guides us. God doesn't make Xerox copies or clones. He only makes originals. Whether you are a plumber or a preacher, an electrician or an evangelist, a mechanic or a missionary, God has a plan for you. God wants to guide every step of your life.

At first glance, I thought it was a great victory. The Federal Appeals Court ruled that the phrase "In God We Trust" on a government building, does not violate the separation of church and state. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, ruled on May 13th that the national motto may remain on the facade of a county government building in Lexington, North Carolina. But listen to what the court has to say and I am quoting Judge Robert King, "The Fourth Circuit has heretofore characterized the phrase 'In God We Trust' when used as the national motto on coins and currency as a 'patriotic and ceremonial motto' with 'no theological or ritualistic impact.'" Quite frankly, if those four words, "In God We Trust" have "no theological or ritualistic impact" then you could just have easily substituted Mickey Mouse for God.

It raises, for me, a big "why?" I don't mind telling you that there are a lot of "why" questions that I carry around every day. For example:
* Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii?
* Why are there floatation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?
* If a 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?
* Why is it that when you transport something by car it is called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship it is called cargo?
* Think about that little indestructible black box they use on airplanes - why can't they make the whole plane out of that same substance?
* Why is it when you are looking for an address you turn down the volume on the radio?
* Why do they sterilize needles that they use for lethal injections?
* Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
* Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?
* Why do they lock gas-station bathrooms - are they afraid somebody is going to clean them?

Why should we trust in God and if we really do trust in God, what would that mean for the way we live our lives? I am going to be very honest with you. It is a lot easier for me to tell you to trust God than it is sometimes for me to trust God. Will you trust God today?



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Back to the Basics
Thursday, May 20, 2010, 09:19 AM
One day, Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi was upset that his team had just come off of a losing season. On the first day of training camp... he walked into the locker room filled with rookies and veterans who were ready to begin a new season .. after a brief greeting .. Lombardi held up a football and said, "Gentlemen, this is a football. We're devoting this season to getting back to the basics of blocking and tackling that have made us a great team."

Let me say to every member and partner of the ministry of Bellaire Baptist Church: this is a Bible. We are declaring God's Word … winning people to Jesus and then baptizing them and getting them plugged into a Sunday School class for them to grow and reproduce.

If you want to know if we are winning or losing as a church, a church member or as a Christian … if you want to know if you are winning or losing as a saint ... if you want to know if your Sunday School class is winning or losing ... see if anybody is coming to Jesus through your witness.
When was the last time somebody was saved in your Sunday School class?
When was the last time you enrolled a lost person on your Sunday School roll?

When was the last time you had dinner with a lost couple or spent an evening with a lost couple at a sporting event?

I'm asking each of you to invest some time this year in cultivating a relationship with a lost couple or a lost person. And over the next twelve months serving them .. ministering to them .. caring for them .. loving them .. showing them Jesus.


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Understanding Our Salvation
Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 09:54 AM
When Leo Durocher was Manager of the Dodgers, he was booed for removing a popular pitcher in the eighth inning of a close game. After the game, a reporter asked Durocher how he responded to such criticism, and he said, "You know
baseball is like church. Many attend, but few understand." To be a true baseball fan, you must understand the game. To be a true Christian, you must know and understand salvation.

It is tragic, but it is true many attend church, but few understand. I heard Dr. McGee say one time, just a few years before he died, that he believed that not more than 25% of evangelical Christians really knew or understood salvation. I will never forget that he said that. I just pray to God it isn't true.

Salvation is always and ever the same. There was not one way for Adam and Eve to get saved, and another for Enoch, and something else again for Abraham and Sarah. Same thing for Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, Moses' parents, and Moses himself. From Moses to Malachi there was just one way - by faith. And from Malachi to the Messiah there was just one way, and from the Messiah to you and me there is just one way. Jesus is the way.

1 Peter 1:10 says that the prophets inquired (of God) and searched carefully for salvation. They already had it, but they didn't fully understand it. How far does this go back? All the way back! Back to righteous Abel, back to Noah and back to "before the foundation of the world," where He decided that we should be holy and without blame before Him. Ephesians 1:4 " Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love."

All the prophets had, was the Law of God (first five Books). But look how they searched and what they found. Numbers 24:17 " "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.” This is Jesus, the focus and person of our salvation. The prophets saw this and searched for more about what was coming. We need to search out our salvation as well. We need to know it is for real, forever! We need to be convinced that it is all of grace, through faith, and not of works.


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