The early Church in the book of Acts had God’s Word. They preached and shared it with the unsaved; it was taught daily to the believers. God’s Word was central to the life of the early Church and foundational for everything they did. They were not hearers of the Word only – they applied, obeyed and acted upon everything that they heard.

This Sunday I want to talk about being bold in our prayers. Many believers today have a very impotent prayer life if they pray at all. They seldom see anything change or happen because they pray and so become discouraged and either cease praying or pray such general insipid prayers that it would not matter if God answered them or not. This is not the way it is meant to be.

God wants us to take up our cross daily and do that which He has called us to do – to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and to do it as we “go into all the world and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19). He has called us to tell others about Him. He has called us to become involved in what He is doing – rescuing the lost from a sure, certain and permanent destiny in Hell. We need, like Jesus, to be about our Father’s business.

And, when at work – work hard and do more than is expected of you. The Bible states that, as disciples, we “do all things as unto the Lord.” This means that regardless of your job and who signs your pay cheque you are to work as if God is your boss and thus represent Him well in your work place. Stay focused, love people, and work hard. In fact, Jesus would tell you that you are do always do more than is expected of you. You are to “go that extra mile” and do what is expected AND THEN SOME.

Based on a better-safe-than-sorry principle, these fences of tradition were designed to ensure people stayed conservative, conventional, conformist, and supposedly far from sin. In order to break a law and thereby fall into sin, a person would first have to intentionally “hop the fence” of tradition. It was these fences that Jesus kept breaking down, jumping, or simply ignoring. The reason? These fences or traditions were keeping people from experiencing the living God and having to interact with the living God in their day-to-day lives… no longer keeping Him at a safe distance or “fenced in.”

N.T. Write, a Bible scholar and serious disciple of the Lord, wrote: “I believe that the closer we get to the original Jesus the closer we are to recognizing the face of the living God.” How true!

However, to really see the original Jesus we need to pray against and take off religious glasses so that we can see clearly who Jesus really is. Religion has painted a seriously distorted picture of the real Jesus. They have made Him sweet and nice and not radical and commanding attention. They have made Him soft and cuddly and not One who is Lord of the universe and thus strong and powerful. They have turned Him into a God that winks at indiscretion and sin and not One who judges and demands (strong word) holiness and obedience.

Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:15 NRSV)

Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)

To “repent” means to have a change of heart resulting in a change of mind; to look at things from a new point of view; to think about things differently; to change your current course in light of the new perspective.

Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)

To “repent” means to have a change of heart resulting in a change of mind; to look at things from a new point of view; to think about things differently; to change your current course in light of the new perspective.

The early Christians realized that the scandalous edge of their faith was not that they were attributing deity to a human being (calling Jesus God), but that they were attributing humanity to a deity (calling God a man).

For them, the question was not, Can a man be God? But Can or would the one God, Creator of the cosmos, dare to become a man?

Many people who start out loving the Lord soon find themselves back in religion and devoid of any real feeling of love for the Savior. In fact, religion is what is left after a true love has been trained away.

Doug Banister writes, “Religion is the archrival of intimate spirituality…Religion , a tiresome system of manmade dos and don’ts, woulds and should – impotent to change human lives but tragically capable of devastating them – is what is left after a true love for God has drained away. Religion is the shell that is left after the real thing has disappeared.”

“It is no surprise, in view of His teachings and actions, that Jesus was crucified. What is surprising is that it did not happen sooner.” (Ben Witherington III)

Jesus’ teachings and most of His actions would have been seen by religious people as more than mildly irreligious; He would have been considered a complete radical and one who was against what God had set up through Moses thousands of years before. This is because He was against it. He clearly had an irreligious agenda that was determined to bypass the salvation system of His day to connect people directly with God. His teachings and actions, according to the religious standards and teachings of His day, were absolutely scandalous.

Gandhi once remarked, “I don’t reject your Christ, I love your Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

The reason the early disciples of the Lord (the Book of Acts) were able to turn the known world upside down in such a short time was they were so much like Jesus. The early disciples were intimately connected with Jesus, like a body to its head. Remember, Paul tells us that the Church is the Body of Christ and Jesus is the Head of the Church. And, as long as the disciples stayed intimately connected to the Head they continued to love as He loved and radically alter the world one life at a time.

Soren Kierkegaard once said, “Act just once in such a manner that your action expresses that you fear God alone and man not at all – you will immediately in some measure cause a scandal.” I believe that. In fact, if we follow the Lord and do as He asks of us we will find that our days are never boring and will often scandalise others.  We will be somewhat unpredictable and definitely not politically correct.

In the present day the fast eats the slow. So, the key to a healthy and growing church is to grow a nimble church of flexible teams and only essential and basic programming. And, the programming must be built relationally. Thus the church needs to abort any ministry that is not working. Our motto should be – must be – “Jesus is the only thing that we promise will never change.”

I have made a commitment to be single-focused in my teaching and preaching in 2012. If you want to see the church grow then you will join me and allow this to be our only focus for the year. The key to growing strong believers and a healthy and thus growing church is the preaching of the person and work of Jesus Christ from the Bible every week with passion and clarity. The issue is always, only, fully, uncompromisingly, and exclusively Jesus.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

It is our job to bring Christ to the lost; only God can bring the lost to Christ. Read that again and let it sink in. I have had that written on my desk memo pad for a week and every day I have read it and meditated on it. Powerful statement and one we need to heed in 2012 as disciples of the Lord Jesus.

F.B. Meyer – a preached of a past generation – said, “The greatest tragedy in life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” I believe that to be true. Often we mean to pray, say we will pray, want to pray, plan to pray … and yet don’t pray. Life comes rushing in and prayer gets lost almost daily in the shuffle. I am not referring to short prayers for help throughout the day or emergency prayer when you receive a text message or email asking for you to pray – I mean a good solid time of prayer each day where your focus is the Lord and your heart touches His heart.

I’m not a Christian, but I’ve finally made the decision to come to your church this Sunday. Here’s what you need to know about me.

Okay, I’m not a Christian, but I’ve finally made the decision to come to your church this Sunday. Don’t expect much from me though. If something comes up, I might not, but right now, I’m planning on it. I feel like I need to go, but I’m not sure why. I want to tell you a few things about myself before you meet me.

Tonight we see another new year begin and this time of year is always a good time to look back at what was and then think forward and see what could be. The media does this as they examine the top stories of 2010 and predict what 2012 will be like politically, economically, and socially. We don’t have to become involved in their deliberations and predictions and all that the “prophets” and “profits” of doom are speculating. Instead, it is a good time to simply take a look at our relationship with the Lord.

As we are about to celebrate the birth of the Savior remember that the Bible calls Him the Word (John 1:1-2). He is the Living Word in whom was light and life; the Living Word who came full of grace and truth. So, as you read your Bible – the written Word – remember that unlike any other book in the world you do not read it for information or for the story line; you read it to come to know the Author. All other books are read either because of a good story line (which the Bible also has) or to gain more information and hopefully knowledge. However, the Bible was written so that we may come to better know the Author – God Himself.

As we are celebrating the birth of Christ and His first coming to earth from Heaven it is good to look forward to His second coming. In His incarnation He was born King (not a prince waiting to rule). In His second coming He returns as King of kings and Lord of lords. His reign began long before His birth as He is God and has been ever increasing since His birth as His Kingdom continues to expand in the hearts of people. This continual expansion was first recorded in the prophet Isaiah. By His grace and according to His Word we are part of a worldwide Kingdom that exists within the kingdoms of the world.

The Bible is God’s Word and it is Truth. Jesus was born full of grace and truth. And, upon this Truth we can build a life that is solid and will withstand all the circumstances and situations we face in our daily lives. This i what Jesus plainly taught in Matthew 7:24-27.

If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s third largest. Data Genetics reports that 42% of the U.S. population has an account with the social networking site – in Canada the percentage is far greater. And, the majority of the “Facebookites” are unsaved. It is a vast mission field that touches almost every nation on the planet – and you can reach into those nations without leaving the comfort and warmth of your own home.

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little lifesaving station.  The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost.  Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous.  Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work.  New boats were bought and new crews trained.  The little lifesaving station grew.

The other day in a meeting of leaders and others we were discussing something I have written called “The Apostolic Mandate” on-line at www.ralphhoweministries.com we were openly and honestly discussing the changes we need to make in our thinking about the Church that now exists so we can be part of the Church that Jesus is building. It was a lively discussion covering some of what was in the discussion paper but certainly not limited to the ‘teaching.’ It added new insights and new understanding as well as depth to the document but also to our understanding. It literally changed our hearts.

I am amazed at the number of people who call themselves born again believers who don’t attend church. The Bible states clearly that being a true disciple of the Lord means believing (trusting with your whole heart), belonging, and becoming more like Him each day. The Bible refers to a believer as part of the family, the army, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood… all descriptions of a true believer make them a part of something bigger. The Bible is clear – you are not a believer if you are not an active part of the body.

(AP Images/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

Blogger’s note:

Often we become all bothered and upset by little things in our lives that are causing us a mild inconvenience. We worry over trivial things that are not even going to be remembered in a few days or weeks. And, we focus on things that are often, in hindsight, very insignificant. And all this while other believers are losing their lives because they are born again believers and disciples of the Lord – true Christians.

Picture credit: Harold Camping (AP Images/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

In yet another ridiculous end-of-the-world assertion, Harold Camping claims that people who accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior after May 21 aren’t really saved at all.

If you didn’t believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord before Camping’s trumpeted “Judgment Day,” he argues, it’s too late for you.

I often mention to people that one of my definitions for evangelism is “changing people’s assumptions.” In our Western context, almost everyone has heard of at least one version of the Christian gospel. By what they have seen on television, heard through the grapevine, or experienced in a church setting, most feel they know what Christianity has to offer, and they aren’t showing much interest. When pushed even further as to why they are not drawn to Christianity, they usually mention a problem with the church as an institution or organization. In other words, they tell us what they think about our formal gatherings and our churchliness.

It has been said that people outside the Christian faith often perceive us to be a lot like mice. If you meet just one, they’re kind of cute, but if you come into a room full of them, they can really freak you out!

Of course, that is true. If someone comes to know you as you spend time together, drink coffee and see each other at work or in the neighborhood where you live – it’s cute. It’s comfortable. You are safe. But, if you invite them to attend Sunday morning with you and there are a bunch of “mice” all gathered together that can be overwhelming for a ‘non-mouse’ and really freak them out.  They most likely will not return a second time.

I have come to realize that I can’t do everything that needs to be done – I can’t change the world. I will certainly never lead a revolution that will overthrow the world economic structure. I will never win a whole nation to the Lord. I am severely limited in what I can get involved in and accomplish.

Jesus is having an encounter with the young man who was rich. It is an amazing encounter found in Mark 10. The young man believes he has all the rules of life in order. According to the standards of the young man’s world, he probably did. We assume by Mark’s description that he was a good man, with position, title, and also enough spiritual maturity that he comes to Jesus to ask what to him is an important question: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17) We have all asked such questions, and in such ways as to get the answer we want, but not necessarily the one we need.

This past Sunday in a fiery crash killed a young man 34 year man suddenly and unexpected. A father of two young boys and a rising star in the Indie Race circuit his life was cut short by a 15 car pile-up in Las Vegas and the racing world is mourning his death.

Daily I am hearing reports of people being reached with the love of God as found only in Jesus. Every day I hear from one or more of the leaders as well as the members of The Sanctuary – texts, emails or phone calls asking for prayer for someone that they are reaching out to and sharing the Gospel with. Daily I hear stories of outings and special events (suppers, coffees, parties, showers) where disciples are inviting non-believers to do things with them in the hope that they will see and hear the difference that Jesus makes in their life. It is exciting to see and hear all that is going on.

As I speak to many who call themselves disciples it soon becomes evident that they are having issues with finding time to be with Jesus on a daily basis. The world today is moving quickly and life can be very demanding. Often it requires our immediate attention from the moment we get out of bed in the morning right through to when we place our heads back on the pillow at night. We are not talking about quality time with Jesus here – just time, any time – some time each day. Seems almost impossible.

To love, accept and forgive makes us different. Being different then allows us to make a difference. If we live the same way that non-believers live we will have no impact upon the eternal destiny of those we know and relate to, those we meet and those we love. But if we act like Jesus did we will certainly have a major impact upon many in our world. This is our calling as disciples of the Lord.

On Sundays while I teach we have a text system set up where you can text your question to us and at the end of the teaching we put the top two or three questions up on the screen and discuss them together. This is a new aspect or part of our worship experience on Sundays. As a result we are still working out the kinks. Example: several Sundays back – the first Sunday I was preaching since the implementation of this new feature – I totally forgot.

I have been teaching about “Being Different So That We Can Make a Difference.” It is the biblical teaching that we need to be in the world but not of the world. We are called to be salt and light and thus healing and change agents in the society and communities in which we live. If we look like, talk, live like, and entertain ourselves like everyone who does not know Jesus and have a dynamic relationship with Him – then we will not, in fact cannot – make a difference because we will not be different. Our light will be hidden and not seen.

It is amazing to me that people reach out at Christmas and thanksgiving to help feed the poor or do something else for those less fortunate than they are. Christians and churches make special efforts at both this time of the year (thanksgiving) and in December (Christmas) to show the love of God to others. It is almost like a light goes one, a neon sign flashes in their mind that says, “Its thanksgiving. I am going to serve God by reaching out to the poor.” Or, in December, “It’s Christmas and time to let someone know of the love of Jesus – the reason for the season.”

Apostles are called to preach right doctrine. But, this is not teaching Christian doctrine for the sake of Christian doctrine. This is right doctrine which, when believed, leads to right behavior often with unforeseen but wonderful consequences. We are not in the business of offering reasons why or correct moral teachings (although both of these are good); we are in the business of life transformation and change. Right doctrine should, when believed, lead to change, transformation and thus right behavior.

As disciples of the Lord we are called to be “other focused” and this makes us different than many others in our world today. Today we live in a society and a culture that is self-centered and me-focused and where everyone’s favorite topic is themselves. So, to be different and thus make a difference we need to be focused on others and learn how to listen to what they are saying and not saying.

I have been writting and teaching on “Making a Difference by Being Different” and looking at the need for Christians to be “joyful” so that they approach life and live life differently than those who live without Jesus and thus without hope. This Sunday I will be preaching on “contentment” and how Christians are called to be content in each and every situation in which they find themselves. This is, of course, the total opposite to those who do not know Jesus who are discontent and unhappy with life as they find it and are trying to fill a void with material belongings, new toys, sex, drugs, alcohol, and constant sports and entertainment.

The problem with life is that it is so daily. You never get a day off. The same can be said about being a disciple of the Lord Jesus. You do not get a day off. Today is my day off and so is specific blog was written several days ago. I don’t want to work on my day off.