April 27th, 2012 by Phil

“Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, ‘How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’” Mark 2:13-17

What a merciful God that He would send His only Son to the world to be friends with a bunch of sinners like ourselves. Not one of us is worthy to be friends with the Son of God. But Jesus chose to be friends with us. He was sent to us to show the world how they were to live and they did nothing but rebel and crucify Him. What kind of friends are those? He saw something great in the least of people. Jesus loved the poor and destitute. He loved the sick and the lame. He loved the innocent children so much that He tells the apostles that unless we become like a child, we could not enter the Kingdom of God. Christ tells us that we need to transform ourselves and turn away from sin. He taught us what love is and displayed it through compassion, mercy and gentleness. Jesus dined with tax collectors, considered to be the lowest shrews of that time. He loved a prostitute that was judged by the world, a world that would use her for what she was but hypocritically condemn her in front of the pious and pomp. Jesus’ love for the worst of these, people like us, is hard to comprehend by the way the world thinks. When we see a homeless man, we call him a bum. When Christ sees a homeless man, He calls them friend. When we see a prostitute, we call her a whore. Jesus calls her friend. We call the family on welfare lazy moochers. Jesus calls them friends. The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and the people say, “Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend to tax collectors and sinners.” (Matthew 11:19)We as Christians should be doing the same. Instead, we choose to ignore His teachings and point our fingers in judgment at those who need a friend the most. There is no difference between a hypocritical Christian and a Jewish Pharisee. We know the Word and His teachings, yet we do not follow them. So what are we? We are sinners. We are no different than those in the crowd who shouted “Crucify him! Crucify him!” when we judge the “bums, whores and moochers.” Instead of looking where our fingers are pointing, take a look at what direction the other three fingers are aimed, right back at you. Jesus did not come to condemn but to save. “I have not come to invite good people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.” (Luke 5:32) He came to save His friends. Sinners like you and me. Jesus came to be a friend to sinners. I am a friend of Christ and I am a sinner. Are you?

April 3rd, 2012 by Phil

If they serve Him obediently, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness.
Job 36: 11 HCSB

We are all call to serve at one point in our lives. Whether it be serving food at a diner or fighting for your country, service must be provided in order for things to happen. If there were not waitresses or waiters to take our orders, we would have to go straight to the cook. If there was no cook, we would have to cook for ourselves. (Some of us would be in trouble) If we did not have brave young men and women that put their lives on the front lines of the battlefields or the streets of our cities, we would have to defend ourselves. The courage to serve in this manner is like that of Christ and apostles like Paul, Peter and John. No matter which way you serve, all is important. From the lowest to the highest, we are all servants of some sort. Jesus Himself tells us He came to serve. He was sent to earth to show us how to be a righteous servant of the Father. When you are called to serve, be obedient to the calling. Do it all for the glory of the Lord. It is not about getting to be the employee of the month or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. God doesn’t need awesome, He wants obedience. When Peter, James and John began to argue who was the best, Jesus said this, “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must first be a servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28) Jesus tells us we must become slaves in order to be first. A slave is a strong word and has a negative connotation in today’s society. But Jesus isn’t telling us that we must be oppressed, just obedient. Serve the Lord and bend to His will for your life. If it is to serve hamburgers and fries, do it with faithfulness. If it is to be a president of a major corporation, do it with righteousness. No matter what it is you are called to do, do it to Honor the Lord.

“God wants us to serve Him with a willing spirit, one that would choose not other way.” Beth Moore