I am from the future. I’ve been trying to hide this for a long time but I decided to come out of the closet and reveal that I am from the future. I have already seen what the outcome is. I already know how it will turn out. I can see the destination that you are heading for right now. I am from the future, living in the present, to warn you about what is ahead.
To the user of pornography, the future is not pretty. You will find that this habit is greedy. It will demand more of your time, more of your money, and what once satisfied will no longer satisfy which will lead you into deeper and deeper perversion. I have already seen your end; risking yourself professionally, risking your career, devaluing your wife, divorce, isolation, public embarrassment, etc.
To the resentful who cannot forgive, things look bleak ahead. As you vow to make others pay for what they have done to you your heart simply grows cold and hard. Your anger splashes out against anyone and everyone - especially those who you love the most. You are critical and you become very unattractive. In the end you are alone.
I have been at your divorce. I watched as love, respect, compassion gave way to demands, arrogance and selfishness. When the little things that make a woman feel special stopped happening I knew where that road was leading. And I was there when the second marriage headed the same direction. I’m from the future and I tried to tell you but you wouldn’t listen.
I have already been at judgment day and watched you there. As you stood before Almighty God I saw you squirming, fishing for excuses, trying to present your case in the best light possible. It’s amazing how serious somebody can get about God when it’s too late.
Because I’m from the future I have come back to the present to warn you about what is ahead. I know what’s in front of you and I’m here to tell you that it is time to change right now! You can do something right now. I’m from the future and I’m telling you what is ahead.
Friday, August 6, 2010
A Sunday Morning Win
As leaders I think you should be absolutely clear on what a successful Sunday morning church experience looks like. Some people might measure success by numbers, some by technical excellence, some by how the soloist did, and some by the quality of the sermon. We have developed a simple sentence that describes the bullseye we try to hit on Sunday morning: an encounter with the living God in a loving church. If that happens Sunday we have succeeded. Simple as that.
So what is your part to play in making that happen?
“An encounter with the living God…” Have you ever considered how God shows up at church? Is He always in the building just waiting for us? Does He come during a certain part of the church service? Is He waiting for an invitation? I tend to believe that he is waiting for us to ask Him to come, in prayer, before He shows up.
Our desire is for every single person to encounter the living, sovereign, all powerful, healing, loving, grace filled, life changing lord of the universe in every service. If God does not show up then we are wasting our time. And God tends to show up where he is invited, where he is asked, where he is hungered for, where he is wanted and where his people are assembled for his purposes.
Your part to play is to pray for his presence, to be filled with the spirit yourself, and to be ready to respond to Him even at the slightest whisper.
“In a loving church…” The church is the physical presence of Jesus on this planet. When Jesus’ people assemble that place should look like and feel like being with Jesus himself.
We can all make this a more loving church. We can go out of our way to shake hands and hug as many people as possible at every meeting. We can stand at doorways and greet. We can stop ignoring and glancing past those people that we don’t know (do you know how many times I have watched guests totally ignored? It’s almost as if we don’t even see them!). We can make room for the visitor to sit with us. We can make an intentional effort to remember names. We can do our small part to make this the most loving place possible.
So that is what we aim for every Sunday morning. Sometimes we hit it and sometimes we miss. I simply remind you to play your part in helping us to hit the target.
So what is your part to play in making that happen?
“An encounter with the living God…” Have you ever considered how God shows up at church? Is He always in the building just waiting for us? Does He come during a certain part of the church service? Is He waiting for an invitation? I tend to believe that he is waiting for us to ask Him to come, in prayer, before He shows up.
Our desire is for every single person to encounter the living, sovereign, all powerful, healing, loving, grace filled, life changing lord of the universe in every service. If God does not show up then we are wasting our time. And God tends to show up where he is invited, where he is asked, where he is hungered for, where he is wanted and where his people are assembled for his purposes.
Your part to play is to pray for his presence, to be filled with the spirit yourself, and to be ready to respond to Him even at the slightest whisper.
“In a loving church…” The church is the physical presence of Jesus on this planet. When Jesus’ people assemble that place should look like and feel like being with Jesus himself.
We can all make this a more loving church. We can go out of our way to shake hands and hug as many people as possible at every meeting. We can stand at doorways and greet. We can stop ignoring and glancing past those people that we don’t know (do you know how many times I have watched guests totally ignored? It’s almost as if we don’t even see them!). We can make room for the visitor to sit with us. We can make an intentional effort to remember names. We can do our small part to make this the most loving place possible.
So that is what we aim for every Sunday morning. Sometimes we hit it and sometimes we miss. I simply remind you to play your part in helping us to hit the target.
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