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Archives For November 30, 1999

CHRIST IS RISEN! now what?

April 6, 2010 — Leave a comment

For those who would call themselves Christ-Followers, Sunday was HUGE!

It was a day of rejoicing.  A day of proclaiming Jesus’ victory over Satan, sin, and death.  A day of innumerable “He is risen / He is risen indeed!” exchanges with “Marco?  Polo!” precision.

You know, all the things that we appropriately do on Easter to give praise, honor, and glory to our amazing God and risen Savior.

It’s Tuesday.  Now what?

We read that after Jesus’ death, the disciples hid at first, then waited for the Holy Spirit to come as Jesus told them to.  Hopefully you are not in hiding today and we receive the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ as Savior…no waiting.

So, now what?

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Forgotten God – Chapters 6 & 7

March 26, 2010 — Leave a comment

Final [and way overdue] post on Francis Chan’s book: Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit.  [I team taught through the book last quarter in Sunday School at church and decided to blog about the book.]

Posts from other chapters:

I’ll plan on giving a synopsis and review of the Forgotten God DVD Resource in a separate post.

Chapter Six: “Forget about God’s will for your life “

I think one of the things that I appreciate about Chan’s books are his chapter titles.  Chapter six is a perfect example.  He takes one of the core things that Christians concern themselves with and turns it on it head (hopefully I’m not the only one here…) – that being our focus on knowing God’s will for our lives.

The big thought here is that we often miss, even ignore the Holy Spirit’s leading and prompting with our focus on knowing or figuring out God’s will for our lives.  Chan is not saying to totally ignore this – but the key is not to be so consumed that everything else (people, life, opportunities, etc.) take a back seat to our search, even quest for God’s will.

I don’t think we purposely do all this, but it can and does become a distraction.

Living out the chapter title is a huge step of faith and certainly involves depending upon the Spirit for courage – trusting that things, situations, people are placed in our lives for a purpose.

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It’s not just for the “Professionals”

March 16, 2010 — 2 Comments

I think sometimes we wrongly think that the only people who make a difference or have “impact” for God are the “professionals.”  You know, the pastors, evangelists, worship leaders, authors, etc.

Sure, as Christ Followers we’d never say that out loud; but we think it and often act and even live like it.  We know the passages in the Bible that talk about every part [or person] of the “body” [or church] being important; but we often equate ourselves as the “pinky toe” – you know…necessary, but usually not seen (except in season).

I read a verse today that reminded me that, in addition to the “professionals”, it’s regular folk that make a difference or have “impact” for God – in some cases even greater than the pros.

Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.

Romans 16:23

Here, at the end of his letter to the churches in Rome, Paul mentions a bunch of specific people to greet and also lists people who send their greetings.  For whatever reason, Erastus’ job is listed instead of simply calling him a fellow worker, friend, or brother.

Honestly, when I first read this, I thought Eratsus was the sewer coordinator for Corinth; but a check of the Greek shows that he was the city treasurer.  At any rate, dude was not a church “professional” as we usually categorize people.

Anyway, Erastus’ job title just struck me and reminded me that we all are important and contributing parts of the body of Christ.

REMEMBER: It’s not just for the “Professionals”

– Dennis…just a regular, old, security [φύλακα] dude.

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“He’s Control”

February 26, 2010 — 3 Comments

…or rather, “He is in control.”

My wife and I have been on a journey to adopt children for a while and are trusting that God will lead us to the exact ones He has providentially prepared for us (and us for them!). I’ll admit, the waiting, praying, hopeful phone calls and meetings, dashed hopes, etc. is tough. We both have grown personally and as a couple during this process – and for that we’re grateful…but that doesn’t make the journey any easier. We trust in God’s plan and look with expectation to what He has prepared.

At times, it’s hard to remember, as we search, inquire, pray, trust…, that He is actually in control.

…that He has always been in control.

One of my favorite passages that clearly demonstrates this is in John 19. Jesus has been arrested and, in the eyes of His accusers, close to defeat. As he stands before Pilate we read:
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Listen Up, D! [v2.25.10]

February 25, 2010 — Leave a comment

From a Lenten devotional I recently subscribed to:

“The life God longs to give me in his presence is free of my dependencies.”

[…save Him]

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Forgotten God – Chapters 4 & 5

February 22, 2010 — 2 Comments

It’s been a few weeks since I posted on Francis Chan’s book: Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit.   We took a few weeks hiatus, but we’re back and this is a catch-up post…

Chapter four: “Why Do You Want Him?“

The chapter title summed up the main theme.  It’s really about purposes for desiring to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.  It’s an interesting question – and one that probably isn’t really considered as one asks and prays for empowerment.  Do we wrongly treat the Holy Spirit as a token?  Do we call out to him with wrong motives in our heart?

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Listen Up, D! [v2.16.10]

February 16, 2010 — 1 Comment

[Paul, to the Corinthians]

“… Christ [sent me] to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

1 Corinthians1:17 (NIV)

[Holy Spirit, to Dennis]

Whatever you do or say in the name of Jesus, make sure it’s not based on YOUR words or experiences alone.  They are powerless without pointing to the sacrifice and grace of Jesus.  That’s where life-changing power lies.

x

…Am I the only one challenged or convicted by this?  How about you?

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Listen Up, D! [v2.11.10]

February 11, 2010 — Leave a comment

I always like it when God whacks me on the head during my devotional:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this [all three, dennis!] is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

thank you GOD, my I have another!

So, what did God “whack” you with recently?

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Remain

February 4, 2010 — Leave a comment

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

– Jesus (John 15:4)

My wife and I are avid Fringe viewers.  A few weeks ago, one episode really illustrated John 15:4 for me.

The episode, titled Johari Window, involved a town of people who have, for generations, been stricken with a physical deformity as a result of a government experiment.  The townspeople hide their physical deformity from outsiders through a massive electromagnetic pulse that runs through the town.  The pulse causes them to look normal; however, once they leave town and are out of the pulse’s reach, their true deformities show.

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Pruned

February 1, 2010 — 4 Comments

Last Saturday, I completed the annual “pruning of the roses” task at home – not as dangerous as the “running of the bulls”, but I did have some good pokes from the thorns!

Some of the rose bushes and trees we have are pretty old (according to my neighbor, some were even transplanted years ago from his house).  Some of them are younger, having been planted by us.  In order to keep them healthy and flowering each year, they must be pruned – even if they look like they don’t need it…even if they have blooms right now.

Old or new, well-established or just-planted – each gets the same treatment.

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