Becoming Bilingual — by Bill Crowder

Becoming Bilingual — by Bill Crowder

Read: Acts 17:19-31
In Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, "For we are also His offspring." —Acts 17:28

Is it possible—in a society that seems increasingly indifferent to the gospel—to communicate the Good News to people who don't share our faith?
One way to connect with people who are unfamiliar with the things of Christ is to become culturally "bilingual." We do this by communicating in ways people can easily relate to. Knowing about and discussing music, film, sports, and television, for example, can offer just such an opportunity. If people hear us "speak their language," without endorsing or condoning the media or events we refer to, it could open the door to sharing the timeless message of Christ.
Paul gave us an example of this in Acts 17. While visiting the Areopagus in Athens, he spoke to a thoroughly secular culture by quoting pagan Greek poets as a point of reference for the spiritual values he sought to communicate. He said, "In Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring'" (Acts 17:28). Just as Paul addressed that culture by knowing what they were reading, we may have greater impact for the gospel by relating it to people in terms they can readily embrace.
Are you trying to reach a neighbor or a co-worker with the gospel? Try becoming bilingual.

To earn your neighbor's ear
And prove you really care,
Use terms he understands
To show you are aware. —Branon

The content of the Bible must be
brought into contact with the world.

-- Our Daily Bread

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Leave the Popularity for Jesus

It is the biggest temptation every preacher deals with. Every preacher? Yes, every preacher; and if one ever tells you he or she has never experienced its power, do not buy a used computer from that preacher. What is it? Popularity!

Phillips Brooks, who gave the world his wonderful carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem," knew popularity's seductive powers. As a preacher, he experienced it firsthand and declared, "To set one's heart on being popular is fatal to the preacher's best growth. It is the worst and feeblest part of your congregation that makes itself heard in vociferous applause, and it applauds that in you which pleases it."

Truth is that the love of popularity does not just seduce preachers. Everybody likes to be liked. For preachers, however, it is an especially deadly enticement. More than one unusually gifted preacher has been caught up in its grips and weakened, even destroyed, by its deadly power.

These days Jesus is literally everywhere. He is in newspapers and on the covers of magazines. He is on TV and radio.

You can find Him on football fields and on the tailgates of SUVs. He gets a mention in the great debates of the day—from Iraq to gay marriage, from evolution to the environment.

He is a celebrity unequalled in human history, this Jesus you and I are called to preach. My granddaughters might tell you, "He's hot!" That's right, He sizzles! Of course, it will not last, will it? Jesus will go out of fashion as quickly as He came in once the media tires of Him, don't you agree? No? Me neither!

(To read the entire article, "Every Preacher's Fiercest Temptation!" by Robert Leslie Holmes at Preaching.com, click here)

Time

A friend said, "My problem is that I have surrendered my time to work, to other people, and to bad habits." We should first surrender our time to God. God owns it anyway. Our task is to manage properly what has been entrusted to us until he returns or wants it back, including our time.

Think about a compass and a clock Two very important tools, but two very different instruments. One would be wise not to confuse the two. To surrender our time to God is to be governed by a compass rather than to be controlled by a clock. A compass provides a sense of direction, purpose, vision, perspective, and balance. A clock measures duration, the expenditure of time. A compass determines effectiveness-doing the right tasks. A clock determines efficiency-how long it takes to accomplish a task. Both have their place. But, the compass must come before the clock, therefore, effectiveness before efficiency. The "mega priorities" of the compass subordinate the "mini priorities" of the clock.

A compass, therefore, becomes a symbol of an internal guidance system that provides us with our values and convictions based on God's Word. This non-negotiable governs our lives. In the same manner that the gravitational force pulls the compass needle; it is God that governs the drive of our lives. We surrender to his force. 

Our time should be surrendered to God daily. I asked a friend who is engaged in many pursuits successfully, how he managed it all. He said, "I give my first minutes to God, then I commit the remainder of the day to his Lordship. And amazingly I work more effectively and efficiently."

Have you surrendered your time to God?  Is your time in his hands? (Rick Ezell,One Minute Uplift newsletter)

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A Crown of Life

God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. Revelation 21:4

Why all the effort to stay fit? To stay alive?  We pop pills, pump pecks, pass on the pie, and pursue the polyunsaturates.…

Why? Because we are worried about staying alive. In heaven that won't be a worry.

In fact, you won't be worrying at all. You won't worry about your kids getting hurt. In heaven there will be no pain. You won't worry about getting old. We'll all be ceaselessly strong.

Scripture describes heaven as a place where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying or pain.

We are not made of steel, we are made of dust. And this life is not crowned with life, it is crowned with death.

The next life, however, is different. Jesus urges us to "be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).

Max Lucado

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From Tired to Inspired

From Tired to Inspired

We all get tired. Somebody once told me the crucial question for ministers was not, "Am I tired in the work?" but, "Am I tired of the work?" I have to admit there've been times when I could answer either query in the weary affirmative.

Even preaching, my first love in the ministry, the thing I truly feel called to do, I've gotten tired in and of. There have been days when I felt I could make more impact throwing beans against the wall (or at the folks in the pews!) than by preaching. There have been days when study time insidiously morphed into e-mail time and sermon preparation sailed dangerously close to sermon rehashing. Even though I try to remain fresh and engaging, the very words I'm required to use Sunday after Sunday — believe, repent, confess, even Jesus — can sometimes lose their flavor. Depending on what's going on in the church — infighting, a scandal, simple doldrums — an imp seems to hover near my eye with brush and jaundice- palette.  I'm tempted to cynicism.

Been there? Because we preach as sinners to fellow sinners, we all have. Thankfully, for most of us, such times don't last. Thankfully, God's grace and power somehow waft back to our lives, lifting the sagging sails, refilling our preaching with purpose, clarity, and emotion.

It might be a vacation that does the trick or maybe a conference. The rekindling of power might come with sunshine after weeks of slate-gray skies. Or maybe it comes wrapped in some member's thoughtful, encouraging note.

(To read the entire article "From Tired to Inspired" by Gary D. Robinson at Preaching.com)

Ancient Words- Words and Music by Michael W. Smith

Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God's own heart
Oh let the ancient words impart

Ancient words ever true
Changing me and changing you
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart.

Words of Life, words of Hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where e'er we roam
Ancient words will guide us Home

Holy words of our Faith
Handed down to this age
Came to us through sacrifice
Oh heed the faithful words of Christ

Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God's own heart
Oh let the ancient words impart

Ancient words ever true
Changing me and changing you
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart /4x

We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart



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Do Not Lose Your Vision

"Like the blind we grope... feeling our way like men without eyes..." Isaiah 59:10 NIV

The Pilgrims landed on the shores of America full of vision. The first year they established a town. The next year they elected a council. In their third year the town council proposed building a road five miles out into the wilderness for westward expansion. But the people criticised it as a waste of public funds. Amazing! Once they had been able to see across oceans to new worlds, now they could not see five miles down the road. What happened? They lost their vision! How can you keep that from happening to you?

First, refuse to become self-centred! God wants you to enjoy success, but anytime the profit margin becomes more important than the service principle, you will forfeit God's blessing. Second, do not get lost in the mundane! One successful leader writes, 'In preparation for the day, I focus on the main event and ask, "In order to make the main event a good event, what must I know? Do? Eliminate?" Some things will be fun, some will not, but with preparation the most important things will get done well.'

Third, refuse to go with the flow! Most of us are married to the status quo. We want what is, not what can be. We seek safety and simple answers. To keep your vision alive you must give yourself permission to go a different way; to break new ground. The moment your eyes open each morning remind yourself, 'There is more out there than what I've experienced', then commit your day to God and get moving!

- Bob Gass
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