HE CARRIES OUR DISEASES

Posted on March 12, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Matthew – Fulfilled

My daughter’s family is playing “whack a mole” with the flu bug. One gets it and then passes it on to another family member. One child gets well while another comes up with the virus by evening and it begins again. “Sharing is caring” goes the phrase, but not in this case. This has been going on for a month. We are praying for an end to this game of pass the flu bug for her family. You can pray with me. It is not life threatening, but it is tiresome. They need rest.

Why do we pray for each other when we are sick and cannot perform our daily tasks? Because we know that Jesus cares and carries our diseases to the God who heals and restores. Jesus relieves our minds and cures our ills. Jesus give us hope and encourages us to pray for others. Why? God’s glory is seen in everything Jesus is and does because He thinks and moves with the command of the Father for the Father in heaven. Jesus heals so that others may see God. Jesus is prophecy fulfilled. Jesus points us to God.

Matthew 8, The Message
(The Healing continues…)
14-15 By this time they were in front of Peter’s house. On entering, Jesus found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed, burning up with fever. He touched her hand and the fever was gone. No sooner was she up on her feet than she was fixing dinner for him.

16-17 That evening a lot of demon-afflicted people were brought to him. He relieved the inwardly tormented. He cured the bodily ill. He fulfilled Isaiah’s well-known sermon:

He took our illnesses,
He carried our diseases.

help

What do we learn?
–Pray for each other, in Jesus Name, to the God who Heals and Restores.
–Give God glory and praise for healing and restoration.
–Like Peter’s mother in law, get back to serving God! Move on.
–Pray expectantly. We who are caregivers know this prayer well.
–Sometimes, God decides to provide complete healing by bringing our loved one home to be with him. Give Him glory! No more pain or suffering.
–Healing here or there is a win!

Dear Heavenly Father, We have many who family members and friends who are suffering or recuperating from illnesses, surgeries, and emotional upsets. You are the God Who Heals and we pray to you for help for these loved ones. May Your glory be seen in their healing and restoration. In Jesus Name, Amen

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TEACHABLE MOMENTS

Posted on March 11, 2017 by randscallawayffm

 

Matthew – Fulfilled

Good teachers grab moments in time, when students are primed to listen to applicable truth, connecting the situation at hand to their life. Great teachers have lesson plans, but if something happens that will help “the class” understand more because of how life is touching them at the moment, you depart from the plan immediately while you have their full attention because of the situation and give it all you have in you. It’s happened to me many times. I surprise myself, sometimes, because of what God teaches me…in the moment.

Jesus is approached by an “outsider” who comes to Him with full assurance that Jesus can heal his servant. Jesus is so impressed with this outsider’s faith in Him, that he uses the moment to tell the following crowd of onlookers, the insiders, about who will invited to the ultimate banquet of God. My dad used to say, “I think we will be surprised at who we will see and who we won’t see in heaven someday.” I am sure my dad is there now. Dad is probably not worrying about who is there, but rejoicing in the fact that he kept the faith. Faith…the bottom line.

Matthew 8 faith

Matthew 8, The Message
5-6 As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said, “Master, my servant is sick. He can’t walk. He’s in terrible pain.”

7 Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.”

8-9 “Oh, no,” said the captain. “I don’t want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. I’m a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10-12 Taken aback, Jesus said, “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works. This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions—streaming in from the east, pouring in from the west, sitting down at God’s kingdom banquet alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then those who grew up ‘in the faith’ but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened.”

13 Then Jesus turned to the captain and said, “Go. What you believed could happen has happened.” At that moment his servant became well.

Who do we put all our faith in and who is our “go to” when panic, fear and anxiousness tries to overwhelm us? Stop, think, take all the time you need. I am.

Dear Heavenly Father,
When roadblocks are thrown into our path, we look to You. When illness stops us, we turn to You. When a plan goes sour, we ask you to help us. When failure to achieve stops us, we ask for your help to learn from it and move on with your guidance. My faith in you is how life works for me. Lord, when I falter in my faith, lift my eyes to look full into your face. Teach me in those moments for it is then that I learn the most from you. But be gentle…as I know you will. In Jesus Name, Amen

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HE CAME DOWN

Posted on March 10, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Matthew – Fulfilled

Mountaintop experiences are wonderfully exhilarating.  I remember a time when I was given an opportunity to speak to officials of a church denomination.  It was my first time to do this kind of teaching.  I fell to my knees and asked God to give me his words as his servant and spokesperson.  I was to open this session of what would be a series of meetings and training about the renewal of God’s church.  It went well.  People understood God’s Word with me and were encouraged.  After speaking, then the work to DO came next.  The work before us was hard, but necessary.   We cannot just talk about ministry but not live it.  We are all ministers for and with each other as we love God and love others.  Jesus shows us by coming down to live on earth.

Matthew 8, The Message

1-2 Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Then a leper appeared and went to his knees before Jesus, praying, “Master, if you want to, you can heal my body.”

3-4 Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there, all signs of the leprosy were gone. Jesus said, “Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed body to the priest, along with the appropriate expressions of thanks to God. Your cleansed and grateful life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.”

Matthew 8 Jesus heals the leper

 

Read this passage several times and let what is happening sink in.  Jesus didn’t stay on the mountain to hear the applause of the crowd.  He CAME DOWN the mountain to seek and to save, to heal and to restore…prophesy fulfilled…DOING the work that our Father sent him to DO.  He taught the crowd what it takes to BE a child of God, then Jesus demonstrated what to DO, how to LIVE the Word of God.  Jesus CAME DOWN from his throne on heaven, from the cheering crowds there, from the comfort of his position on his throne, from the perfection of heaven to earth.  He CAME DOWN and lived among us to teach us that DOING (living it) will follow closely with BEING with the Father.  Be then do.

What do we learn?

–It would be great to just sit here in my quiet space and forget there is a world out there starving to know Jesus, to know that they are loved beyond their wildest dreams and can be saved and restored.

–It would be great to study God’s Word all day long and talk with Him and not leave my little room to go to a place with lots of kids whose eyes show anxiousness and need a caring adult to show them love and care.

–Our “cleansed and grateful lives, not our words, will bear witness to what God has done in us.” This is the key to our doing…our grateful lives leading others to Jesus.

–It would be great to stay here and not come down this mountain.  But it is time to get ready to go to work.  THIS is how we get ready.  BE with God, then DO what He invites you to do.  Take one day at a time.  That is what “daily manna” is all about.  BE then DO.

In Jesus Name, Amen

And I’m singing…

I love to sing and I love to pray
Worship the Lord most every day
I go to the temple and I just want to stay
To hide from the hustle of the world and its ways

And I’d love to live on a mountain top
Fellowshipping with the Lord
I’d love to stand on a mountain top
‘Cause I love to feel my spirit soar

But I’ve got to come down from that mountain top
To the people in the valley below
Or they’ll never know that they can go
To the mountain of the Lord

Now praising the Father is a good thing to do
To worship the trinity in spirit and truth
But if we worshiped all of the time
There would be no one to lead the blind

But I’d love to live on a mountain top
Fellowshipping with the Lord
I’d love to stand on a mountain top
‘Cause I love to feel my spirit soar

But I’ve got to come down from that mountain top
To the people in the valley below
Or they’ll never know that they can go
To the mountain of the Lord

Now I am not saying that worship is wrong
But worship is more than just singin’ a song
It’s all that you say and everything that you do
It’s letting his spirit live through you

Still I’d love to live on a mountain top
Fellowshipping with the Lord
I’d love to stand on a mountain top
‘Cause I love to feel my spirit soar

But I’ve got to come down from that mountain top
To the people in the valley below
Or they’ll never know that they can go
To the mountain of the Lord

 

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BEING AND DOING

Posted on March 9, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Matthew – Fulfilled

Matthew 7, The Message
13-14 “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

15-20 “Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.

21-23 “Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’

24-25 “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

26-27 “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

28-29 When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.

Help us live it, Oh Lord, we pray. In Jesus Name, Amen

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GRAB FOR THE INITIATIVE!

Posted on March 8, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Matthew – Fulfilled

When we are down, we ask, “Why doesn’t someone help us?” In those times of self pity brought on by a plethora of disappointment, we want our needs met for awhile. When we work hard, don’t get enough rest, we begin to fall deeper into self. This human malady leads us to be more and more critical of others because that takes the attention from our own failures to achieve. Workaholics seem to fall for this more than others. When others do not seem to work as hard as us (in our minds), we feel taken advantage of in life. This is not a good place to reside. We need to MOVE out of this place in our thoughts and leave all the baggage behind that goes with these feelings. We need to look up, repent and follow Jesus’ simple rule of holy thinking and behaving.

Matthew 7, The Message

A Simple Guide for Behavior

1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

6 “Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege.

7-11 “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

12 “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

Matthew 7 1-12

 

What do we learn?
–“Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then GRAB the initiative and do it for THEM.” –Jesus
–Don’t pick on others. We reap what we sow. Don’t plant potatoes if you want carrots!
–Don’t bargain with God! What a ridiculous notion to think we have ANY bargaining chips in our pocket that would come close to what God gives!
–Ask God for what you need. This goes deeper than we think, for when we really think about what we NEED, we realize how blessed we already are. When we are direct with God, He enlightens our hearts and minds with our TRUE need. His love far exceeds what we think we need. His love is really all we need. Mm. I could go on…but you get it.
–Again, “Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then GRAB the initiative and do it for THEM.” –Jesus This is the bottom line of what Love God, Love Others means.

Dear Heavenly Father,
It is good to meditate on your teaching to us. I can only imagine what it meant to sit on that mountain slope and hear you explain the intent of Your Law after hearing how mankind messed it up over the years. Thank you for coming, explaining, loving, modeling the true nature of God and what HE wants for us. Thank you for laying down your life for us, dear Jesus. Thank you for being with us each day. Help us to grab the initiative to do for others…In Jesus Name, Amen.

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RELAX

Posted on March 7, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Matthew – Fulfilled

“Mama said there’ll be days like this,
There’ll be days like this Mama said…”

This old song humorously comes to mind when I am over stressed about things and people. It makes me smile and think of my mama who was industrious, never stopped working until she got so ill that she could not. In the early years, she would be a bundle of stress until the task was complete. I didn’t want to be like that…but I am. Stress is passed down from generation to generation.

My mom wrote an article years ago about stress called, “Why do I feel guilty if I relax?” After reading the article and talking with her, I knew this was a generational malady. We love God and turn to Him for guidance and tried to follow Him but we can’t seem to relax after we have done our part and rest in truth that He never stops working and will complete the work He started in us. She said, “I feel guilty if I sit down to rest. I feel guilty when I take a vacation from work.” Okay, I have perspective on this pleasure in my life. I have found that vacations renew your mind and make us better at listening and following God with more enthusiasm and vigor upon our return. “All you who are weary, come away and rest with Me”, says Jesus.

Jesus takes time to teach us that to relax is to focus on Him. Worry is not worship. We need to center our thoughts on the God of the Universe and Creator of everything. The great I AM, Who was and is to come, is in control. Bank on it. Let go of the stress of what you think you need to get done and focus on what God has done, is doing and will do. “What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving”, says Jesus to his followers. He is speaking to me this morning, one of His students and followers.

The more we worship the less we worry. “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” Wow, just ponder that for awhile. Take all the time you need. Now, here’s the rest of the passage…

Matthew 6, The Message

A Life of God-Worship

19-21 “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

22-23 “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!

24 “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.

25-26 “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

27-29 “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Matthew 6 relax

What do we learn?
–Seek first God.
–Worship God over worry. Our trust in Him is measured by our amount of worry.
–Most of the time our worry over what might happen never happens.
–What a waste of time to worry when we could have been resting and relaxing at the feet of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for speaking to my heart, teaching my soul to find rest in You. You said there’d be days of suffering and trials, but You followed those words or warning with the truth that you have overcome and will always be with us. Thank you, Lord. May we rest in these thoughts of you all day long and forever.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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CONNECTED

Posted on March 6, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Matthew – Fulfilled

“Can you hear me now?” These words were made famous by Verizon. But it all began with the invention of the device called the phone. I can imagine Alexander Graham Bell shouting, “can you hear me?”, on his new invention that rocked the world in how we connect to each other. When we hear, “YES! I can hear you!”, and the connection is clear, we are satisfied, elated and at peace. We are happy to know that we have a good connection with the person at the other end. We talk and then listen to the reply of the one we called. Connected.

Today, connections to others have now evolved to short texts with abbreviations for words. We no longer “hear” the feelings behind the words written. We only imagine. We are so busy, we blurt texts of quickness, thinking we will get back with them later. Sometimes relationships suffer from this new way to connect. However, a quick text to tell someone you love them and are thinking of them is great, too. It is a double edged sword so to speak. Mm.

So, it seems to build an intimate relationship we need to simply talk face to face so that the intent of our hearts are expressed. We all have a desire to be connected. God created that in us, but I wonder if our current communication habits with others is affecting our communication and connection to God? There is no formula to stay connected to God other than being real, sincere, and simple. Jesus helps us to understand how to be and stay connected to our Father in heaven.

Matthew 6, The Message

Pray with Simplicity
5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

14-15 “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.

16-18 “When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint. If you ‘go into training’ inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn’t require attention-getting devices. He won’t overlook what you are doing; he’ll reward you well.

'Wouldn't it be easier to just SMS God, rather than pray'

What do we learn?

–“There is a connection between what God does and what you do.” –Staying connected to God means forgiving others.
–He hears our hearts and knows our needs before we pray. There is relief in knowing that about God. We do not have to think of words we think He would like to hear. Sometimes, “help me” is sufficient.
–We begin with Our Father in Heaven, hallowed is YOUR name so that the focus is shifted from us to God, our deliverer. HE is God and we are not.
–When we fall to our knees and cry out to God in honesty and repentance, we have His full attention. He will speak when we stay on our knees long enough to listen.
–God is always at work, never changes His promises to us and will always be with those who call on His Name in the quiet place of connected, intimate communion called prayer. Sometimes we don’t even use words.
–“Can you hear me now?” YES!, says God, our Father!

Our Father, who is in heaven. Hallowed is Your Name. May Your Kingdom come and reign in and all around us. May Your will be done in every detail of this day and may I notice and give thanks. Give us this day our daily strength, wisdom, insight and understanding. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who merely hurt or offend us. Lead us not into temptations, but deliver us from the evil one. You are in charge! To You be all glory, honor and praise!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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APPLAUSE

Posted on March 5, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Matthew – Fulfilled

Randy and I had a wonderful opportunity to attend a Billy Graham School of Evangelism years ago while we were young in full time ministry. There were many witty and intelligent speakers/teachers who lifted our spirits while we retreated and gained strength from working on the front lines of the battle for lost souls. One man’s words stick with me still today. I am reminded of these words of wisdom as we read the next topic of Jesus’ sermon to his followers and attenders of curiosity. “RUN from the applause of men and women!”, said this wise teacher. “When you have any success in your ministries, others will immediately want to lift you high, put you on a pedestal and praise you because they are human and can only see you in front of them. They need to see GOD and praise HIM, for it is God who did the work in You. Immediately and consistently give God the glory…and be sincere about it.”

Yes, RUN from this hero worship with all that is in you for it is a temptation of the evil one to turn what God has done in and through you into merely a performance. Once you fall for it, it will become habit, because it feels good to be valued by those in your care. Praise and applause is an addicting drug that is not easily eliminated from your life as a minister. This was spoken by a well known leader who DID fall for it and had gotten to the other side, free from it, but always in recovery because of it.

Because Jesus was tempted with this exact sin when the evil one took him to the top of Temple and said, “You can have it all”, He includes this warning to us to be careful of merely performing, avoiding the applause of man. Jesus knows we will be tempted, too.

Matthew 5, The Message
The World Is Not a Stage

“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

2-4 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

matthew-6-1

What do we learn?
–God knows our hearts.
–God will help us avoid the applause of men and women if we turn to Him for help.
–Pray that God would mature us to the point of extending grace and kindness to others without a second thought of how these acts would benefit us. This develops of new habit of kingdom thinking and behaving.
–Pray for opportunities to help in secret for this will train us to behave kindly without expecting anything in return.
–Avoid self gratification. RUN from it!
–RUN from praise and adoration meant for God alone.
–Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow!

Dear Lord, this is our prayer…In Jesus Name, Amen.

And I’m singing…

Hope for all the world, You came down,
Traded heaven’s throne for a sinner’s crown,
Grace poured out.
Son of righteousness crucified,
Hanging on the cross You paid the price,
To give us life…

In Jesus’ name our sins are washed away,
In Jesus’ name we are rescued, we are saved,
For love has come to make a way for us,
In Jesus’ name there is freedom for the broken,
In Jesus’ name there is healing for the hopeless,
For all our days, we rest in Jesus’ name…

You alone are good forever true,
Never far away, we’re holding on to You,
Only You…

(Kutless)

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THE CHALLENGE

Posted on March 4, 2017 by randscallawayffm

Matthew – Fulfilled

Years ago, challenging “grace” words were ingrained into memory. Those words come forward when I am in situations that need the intent of these simple, profound words applied. “How you treat others is how you are treating Jesus Christ.” Whatever you do, you are doing it to Christ. When we malign our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are saying those words directly to Christ. Whenever we are gracious instead of hitting back with sarcasm or gossip, we are doing it to Christ. We must look beyond the evil played out in a person…to Christ. Only then can we do as Jesus teaches us in this next passage to “love your enemies”.

Jesus doesn’t give us a should without a how. I love that about our Master Teacher. He tells us to stand and take it, to respond with grace instead of hitting back, to love the unlovable, and to pray for them. “In a word, what I’m saying is, GROW UP”, Jesus teaches. Instead, extend grace. Show them Christ in us. Show them unconditional love. Show them you care about them and will pray earnestly for them. The challenge? “Let your enemies bring out the best in you, not the worst. This is Kingdom thinking and living.

Matthew 5, The Message

Love Your Enemies
38-42 “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

matthew-5-outrageous-love

What do we learn?
–The challenge is to think and act like Christ taught us which is opposite to the way the world thinks and behaves. This is Kingdom thinking and living.
–Peace comes to those who don’t fight back. No one can continue the war if the other one is not throwing back arsenals of hate.
–God gives His best to everyone, the nice and the nasty. We are to do the same, living out His identity in us. Let’s be the nice and not the nasty!
–Love the unlovable.
–Pray God’s best for those who hurt you and others.
–Hurting people hurt others. Pray for God to heal their hurt.

Dear Heavenly Father,
You are gracious and more kind to us than we deserve. This message is a challenge to all of us. Our gut reaction is to fight back. Be our strength and resolve to live generously and graciously when under attack by the enemy’s schemes working in venerable, hurt people. Help us to love the unlovable like you love us. Help us to practice the servant life. You taught us well. Now help us live it out loud.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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YES OR NO?  

Posted on March 3, 2017 by randscallawayffm

“You bet I’ll help you with that!”  “I’m coming, Lord willing and the crick don’t rise.”(Oklahoma influence)  “I will help you, just call me when you need help and I’ll be there.””I wouldn’t miss it.”  We have heard these promises and many more like them, haven’t we?  Some of the people who said these words meant it and came and many do not come through.  We will always remember the people who showed up when we needed them most.

We were taught as teachers to never promise what you cannot deliver.  So we didn’t…most of the time.  We should never promise our kids what we cannot or wont’ do.  Our fallback answer to our kids and grandkids’ requests is the famous put off decision making answer, “We’ll see.”  Maybe we need to rethink this answer, be strong and just say yes or no.  Our actions and way of thinking becomes a cycle that continues through generations.  Mm.

Many people do not promise anything, won’t commit until the last minute keeping all their options open for a better invite.  That is sad, too.  We are a very indecisive people it seems.  Jesus knew that and inserts a small paragraph in his “sermon on the mount” to include what it means when we make empty promises.  He also includes the heart motivations behind our words and provokes our thinking to be a bit more careful what we say and why we say it.  We are not fooling our kids, grandkids or anyone else in this matter.  Say yes or just say no, Jesus preaches.  Can we do that?  This is not how the world thinks or acts.  Yikes.

Matthew 5, The Message

Empty Promises

33-37 “And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

matthew-5-yes-or-no

 

What do we learn?

–Don’t make empty promises.

–Pray for people at the moment they ask you.

–Just say yes or no.  Our integrity is at stake.

Dear Lord, Sometimes, because we are people pleasers, we take too long to say no.  We put people off by saying maybe or we will see which is a put down we learn.  Help us to change our habits, be strong, and follow your teaching with the right Spirit and right heart.  We repent of saying one thing and doing another or not doing anything at all.  Help us not to manipulate but to be honest and gracious.  Help us to say yes or no.

In Jesus Name, Amen

 

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