HillThread ~ Supporting Missions

Galatians 3:26-29
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Spiritual comparison has nothing to do with skin color, and everything to do with the condition of our heart. It doesn’t matter if our ancestors came to this country in the Mayflower, or in a slave ship. In Jesus’ Kingdom, social status doesn’t count.

And he doesn’t consider gender either, because “in Christ’s family, there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female . . . we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.” Jesus is just as available to you as He is to me.

God doesn’t even discount you based on your moral background. Rahab was a harlot until the exercised faith in God’s Word. In fact, she is even mentioned alongside Sarah, Abraham’s wife, because she believed and was blessed.

Faith is the only thing that creates true equality, and true unity in Jesus. When we have faith in Jesus, we can walk with our head held high despite our past failures. Jesus healed a woman who was stooped over with severe spinal curvature for 18 years. When He saw her Jesus said, “Woman you are free . . . and immediately she was able to stand up straight.” (Luke 13:12-13)

When we place our complete faith in Jesus, we too find the power to stand up straight. Once that happens, we can look around and see that we are all the same before God. Once we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are welcomed as heirs to God’s promise, and co-heirs alongside Jesus Christ. We are welcomed into His family with a huge bear hug.

Related Text:
Ephesians 4:17-32 (teaching us to live as children of light)

Psalm 106:15
“So he gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease upon them.”

Frank Sinatra sang, “The record shows, I took the blows and did it my way.”  Sometimes God will let us do things our way, and then let us deal with the consequences.  When we insist on having or getting or doing something that He in His wisdom has withheld from us, it’s like God says “Okay, I warned you, but have it your way.”

The Bible says that because the Children of Israel:
1.  ”forgot His works,
2.  did not wait for His counsel,
3.  lusted exceedingly,
4.  tested God . . .

He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul” (Psalm 106:13-15).

That is the formula for spiritual barrenness.

When God called Moses to deliver the children of Israel, Moses tried to do it his way at first.  He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, but instead of consulting God, he took matters into his own hands by killing the Egyptian abuser.  Before he did, the Bible tells us that he “looked this way and then that . . . ” (Exodus 2:12) – but he never looked to God.  He was more concerned about audience response than God response.

God had to teach Moses that his orders came from God.  After Moses dug a hole and tried to hide his deed, God allowed it to be exposed.  Why?  To show Moses that by doing things his own way, he couldn’t even keep a single soldier buried in the sand.

The subject of following God’s will and plans for your life is a slippery slope.  How do you know, and how can you be certain.  This is not something I (or anyone else besides God) can tell you.  This information must come from God, and it becomes known when you are abiding in God’s word and maintaining a close relationship with the One who loves you so much.  Make up your mind to live your life God’s way.  We an’t just pretend to be Christians.  We must be obedient to God, we must read the Bible and actually live out what it says.

Related Text:
James 1:19-25

1 Peter 2:21
“This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.”

What does it mean to be invited into the kind of life that Christ lived?  Before your answer, read this story by Tony Campollo:

“Joe was a drunk, miraculously converted in a street outreach mission.  Before his conversion he’d gained a reputation as a derelict and dirty wino for whom there was no hope.  But following his conversion to Christ, everything changed.  Joe became the most caring person at the mission.  He spent his days there, doing whatever needed to be done.  There was never anything he was asked to do that he thought was beneath him.  Whether it was vomit left by some hungover alcoholic, of scrubbing filthy toilets, Joe did it all with a heart of gratitude.  He could be counted on to feed anyone who wandered in off the streets and help them get settled in even when they couldn’t take care of themselves.

One evening, after the mission director delivered his evangelistic message to the usual crowd of sullen men with dropped heads, one of them looked up, came down to the altar and kneeled to pray, crying out to God to help him change.  The repentant drunk kept shouting, ‘Oh God, make me like Joe!  Make me like Joe!  Make me like Joe!’  The director leaned over and said, ‘Son, wouldn’t it be better if you prayed to be made more like Jesus?’

After thinking about it for a few moments, the man looked up with an inquisitive expression and asked, ‘Is He like Joe?’

What does it mean to be invited into the kind of life that JEsus lived?

It means to love like Jesus loved.

Related Text:
John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Exodus 33:14
“God said, “My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.”

Knowing when to say “when” can save your life. Self-deceit is the hallmark of a person experiencing “The Martyr Syndrome.” This is a person who believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have to be involved in everything at their church and serve in every capacity. This just cannot be done, eventually you will succumb to stress and resentment.

If you’re going to survive, you’ve got to discover your own pace – not be driven by what people may or may not expect of you. Look out! Fatigue is dangerous; when it walks in, faith walks out. Furthermore, when we’ve burned out, we’re attacked by old enemies we’ve already conquered.

The person who is experiencing “The Martyr Syndrome” more often than not begins to forget why they are serving in the first place. They forget that Jesus is their focal point, and they get wrapped up in the “job” instead of being wrapped up in the one who died for them.

Step back, take a look at why you do what you do, and ask God to help you decide how to make the best impact for Him. Sometimes, doing more doesn’t do any good.

Nurtured and rested people are much more effective in every area. Their relationships with God are stronger; their families are happier; their health is better; they live longer than the martyrs. Why? Because they’ve truly found the place of rest.

Related Text:
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Proverbs 11:30
“The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life;
a wise person wins souls.”

God’s Word tells us to be prepared to Share Christ (1 Peter 3:15).  Witnessing to others about Jesus Christ requires wisdom, especially in three areas:

1.  Don’t assume that people understand the Gospel because you were raised in a church, and don’t think that they will catch your faith through osmosis just because you are around them.  Romans 10:14 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”  Share your testimony – the short version.  Forget the good advice and focus on sharing the Good News of God’s love.

2.  Be patient – sometimes you have to sow the seed and leave the rest to the Lord of the harvest.  Don’t try to corner them into a decision.  Don’t become frustrated and angry because there is no instant belief.  Share the Word, leave the door open, and trust in the One who said, “I am watching over My word to perform it.”  (Jeremiah 1:12)

3.  Be alert to opportunities that God places before you – and don’t be afraid of them.  Some people call them divine appointments, God meetings, or holy coincidences.  Whatever term you have heard most often, the fact remains that, as Christians, God uses us in the lives of others.  God’s strength and power and joy should enable us to meet the opportunities head on and do the will of our Heavenly Father.  If we cower away, we will never know how God wanted to use us.  R.A. Torrey tells of an experience that totally changed his attitude toward witnessing.  While he was eating at a restaurant with some friends, he felt that he should talk to the waiter who seemed to look very depressed.  But he shrugged the feeling off, and never said a word.  At the end of the meal, when the waiter didn’t return, he asked another employee about his whereabouts.  The manager came to their table and said, “We just found him dead in the back of the restaurant.  He has hanged himself.”

When God leads you to speak to someone about His Son, get on the ball and do it!

Related Text:
James 1:5-8

Proverbs 8:12
“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment.
I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.”

No matter how great our cause, when we push ourselves beyond the limits designed for us by God, we suffer the same results as those who burn out in any other pursuit.  Those of us who are classic work-a-holics must learn how to make stress work for us instead of against us.

Here are a few insights learned from experience:

1.  Many people don’t know how to handle life any other way than being under a constant blanket of stress.  (When our only tool is a hammer, we tend to see every problem as a nail.)  You need to acknowledge that stress is like emotional adrenaline to you – which is why you keep creating it and even craving it (as crazy as that sounds).

2.  When you sit in a chair and you hear the legs begin to crack, common sense tells you that if you don’t take your weight off of the chair, you’re going to be on the floor pretty quickly with a big thud.  Use your common sense to heed the telltale signs of your health cracking and the stress taking over so you don’t begin to crack yourself.  When we crack under the pressure, we greatly diminish what we can do for God or anyone else.

3.  Learn prudence.  The word prudence means “careful management”.  A prudent person becomes a better manager of their time, their energy, and their God-given gifts.

4.  Identify your stressors.  I know a lot of mine, have you identified yours?  Change the ones you can, and start accepting the ones you can’t – such as other people.  Learn to adapt to any stressor that can’t be changed so that the stress they create motivates you instead of burying you.

5.  Most importantly, spend more time with Jesus, who said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Related Text:
Proverbs 8:1-14

Ezekiel 22:30
“I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn’t have to destroy it. I couldn’t find anyone. Not one.”

Mr. Kimball, a Boston Sunday school teacher, began visiting one of his students at the shoe shop where he worked as a clerk. Eventually, Mr. Kimball led his student to Christ. The year was 1898 and that student’s name was Dwight L. Moody.

Twenty-one years later, D.L. Moody, now an evangelist, visited London and a great spiritual awakening took place. F.B. Meyer, a local pastor, went to hear Dwight L. Moody preach and his life was transformed. Later, F.B. Meyer went to America to preach, and in one of his meetings, a student named J. Wilbur Chapman came to Christ. J.W. Chapman became active in the YMCA, where he met and discipled a former baseball player named Billy Sunday.

Billy Sunday became a great revivalist, and in one of his crusades in Charlotte, a group of businessmen came to Christ. A year later, they decided that their city needed another crusade, so they invited Mordecai Hamm to be their speaker. After 3 weeks, Mordecai Hamm left town discouraged because his crusade only yielded one convert to Jesus Christ – a 12-year-old boy named Billy Graham.

One Sunday school teacher just trying to be a good teacher of the Word started the chain reaction that eventually brought Billy Graham to the loving grace of Jesus Christ! One person – just one – can make all the difference in the world.

Proverbs 3:6
“In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.”

Insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for different results.”  Think about that definition while you read this essay by Portia Nelson called, “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.”

Chapter 1:  I walk down the street.  There is a deep hole in the pavement.  I fall in.  I am lost.  I am helpless.  It isn’t my fault.  It takes forever to get out.

Chapter 2:  I walk down the street; there is a deep hole in the pavement.  I pretend I don’t see it.  I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place, but it isn’t my fault.  It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3:  I walk down the street.  There is a deep hole in the pavement.  I see that it’s there.  I still fall in.  It is a habit.  But now my eyes are open.  I know where I am.  It is my fault.  I get out immediately.

Chapter 4:  I walk down the street.  There is a deep hole in the pavement.  I walk around it.

Chapter 5:  I walk down a different street.

Related Text:
Now read this essay by Solomon in Proverbs 3:5-7
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!”

Proverbs 4:7
“Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.”

Jimmy’s mom said, “Get up, it’s time for school.”  He didn’t answer.  Again she said, “Get up jimmy, it’s time to go to school!”  He said, “I’m not going anymore.  There are 1500 kids in that school and they all hate me.”  Sharply she replied, “you’ve got to go to school!”

“I can’t,” he said, “even the teachers hate me.  Give me one good reason that I should have to go through that misery?”  Looking him in the eye, his mom said, “I’ll give you two; first, you are 42 years old, and second, you’re the principal!”

Life is a never-ending education.  When he was 85, Pablo Casals, the grea cellist, was asked why he still practiced 5 hours a day on his musical instrument.  He replied, “Because I think I’m getting better.”  What an attitude!  Peter said, “Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ . . .” (2 Peter 3:18)  One of the toughest decisions we all must make is whether to be content with who we are now – or to keep striving to reach our full potential.

Built into every painful experience is the wisdom to build a better future.  All we need is the right teacher and the right textbook.  In the Old Testament, when God found Gideon, he was hiding in a cave, thinking,  ”There is nothing anybody can do.”  But God showed him that he wasn’t a captive to the Midianites; he was a captive to his own inferior attitude, to his own fears and the opinions of those around him.  God had the power!  He also had the plan; all that was needed was for Gideon to be willing to trust God and open his heart.

God has things He wants to teach you.

So the only question that remains; Are you ready to go to school??

Related Text:
Judges 6-7 (yes it’s 2 chapters, and yes it’s the Old Testament, but it’s the story of Gideon; and besides, you’re ready to learn, right? put understanding on the top of your list, study God’s word and be taught by God)

Romans 7:5-6
“For as long as we lived that old way of life, doing whatever we felt we could get away with, sin was calling most of the shots as the old law code hemmed us in. And this made us all the more rebellious. In the end, all we had to show for it was miscarriages and stillbirths. But now that we’re no longer shackled to that domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, we’re free to live a new life in the freedom of God.”

Living a “new life on the freedom of God” is an antidote to stress.  although obeying God usually has it’s own reward, obeying the “still, small voice of God” is especially rewarding.  You see, when God speaks to us, it is usually more like a gentle prompting than like a hammer pounding us on the noggin.  We can ignore His prompting, disobey it, argue with it, even try to postpone it.  Bu when we decide to take any of those options, we always finish up under stress.  After all, what is more stressful than knowing that things are not right between you and God?

The word obedience is a turn-off to many people.  Right away, they think of God as asking them for huge sums of money, or sending them to a mission field of horrors, or telling them to do something they really don’t want to do.  Get Real!  If we don’t listen to Him when He wants us to turn off the tv and spend 10 minutes with Him in prayer and some Bible reading, why would He send us on a mission??

Obeying God in little things – not big ones – is what lowers our stress level.  For example, when He prompts us not to say another word and we keep right on talking, that’s when arguments seem to erupt and, or course, our stress sky-rockets.

God’s word says, “If you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your god . . . you shall be above only and you shall not be beneath.” _Deuteronomy 28:1,13)  the difference between being under the situation or on top of the situation is usually found in one word – obedience.

Do what god wants you to do, and you will see your life transform before your eyes!

Related Text:
Romans 6:6
Ephesians 4 (entire chapter)
John 14:15 (you just gotta read this today)
John 15:10 (this one too!!, it’s super short, just take 10 seconds and read it)