Supremacy

The Bourne Supremacy - what a cool movie!!!  Jason Bourne is one bad dude, and he proved his supremacy in the movie by outsmarting, out-shooting, and out-dueling his enemies.  Jason Bourne is a great action hero, yet not real.  How about the Navy Seals?  Now that's supremacy.  They proved their supremacy over Osama bin Laden when they burst into his million dollar compound and .... well you know how that turned out.  Navy Seals reign supreme, but not supreme over the world. 

Colossians 1:15-23 tells us of the ONE who is SUPREME!! Jesus Christ!! "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church;  he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."  (vv. 17-18)  Prior to that Paul writes "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created:  things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or power or rulers or authorities;  all things were created by him and for him."  

I have tried to create things before.  Epic Fail!! I have tried to put things together.  Sometimes I even read the instruction manual.  Nine times out of ten, I mess that up too.  I am just not a creator and not a builder.  About the only thing I can create is a nice flower bed or landscape.  In the midst of my inadequacies is Jesus Christ who created ALL Things and ALL Things were created FOR Him.  That is supremacy!  That gives me Hope!  Anytime we fail; anytime we find ourselves beating ourselves up over our shortcomings; may we look to the one who is supreme and find our purpose.  May we look to the one who died on the cross for us, and find supreme grace, forgiveness, and mercy .... and then rejoice.

Have you ever found yourself thinking Jesus should play by your rules?  Or have you ever found yourself thinking that Jesus Christ is not fair in what He expects of you?  Or have you ever found yourself reading something from God's word and what it said just didn't feel comfortable to you so you manipulated it, changed it, and tried to justify your thoughts in the place of His?  BE CAREFUL!!  We all have done one of these at some point in our lives, but be careful.  Jesus Christ is Supreme over the entire universe and His ways are HIS WAYS and His rules are HIS RULES and His words are HIS WORDS.  We have no right to make up our own rules.  We have no right to change His rules.  We have no right to manipulate His teachings.

Let us all start acknowledging the fact that God is GOD.  Not a religion, not a custom, not Santa Claus.  God is GOD.  Jesus Christ is GOD.  He does not move at our command, and He does not bend at our will.  We breathe because of His grace.  We exist because of His love.  He deserves our worship, our allegiance, our praise, our service, our honor.....our lives. 

I love Jason Bourne.  I love the Navy Seals even more.  But I want to follow the one who is supreme over all things;  Jesus Christ. 

Find Your Power

If you want to read about a cool guy, check out the life of David.  What an amazing man of God!! And what an ordinary guy too!!!  Here is a guy who was labeled "A man after God's own heart" yet he can relate to the struggles of every ordinary man that has walked this planet.  He often came up short.  He often messed up.  He often sinned.  BUT.....what sets him apart is his understanding that he is nothing apart from God.  David's greatness, power, leadership, military genius, musical genius, and so many other great attributes all resulted from his understanding that God was his power source.

In 2 Samuel 5 we find a great truth.  David has become king over all Israel and Judah; "and he became more and more powerful".  But the great truth is not that he is king;  not that he became more and more powerful, but the last part of verse 10;  "because the Lord God Almighty was with him."  David killed Goliath, later killed his tens of thousands, and eventually became king, and then grew more and more powerful BECAUSE the Lord God Almighty was with him. 

Are you looking to be more successful?  Or are you looking to find something, even anything you can be proud of?  ....  Are you looking to find the courage to stand up for Christ?  Or maybe you are just looking for the courage to get out of bed each day? .....  Are you looking to heal your broken marriage?  Or maybe you are just looking for healing within your own heart?   Whatever your story, you can find the solution only BECAUSE and only IF the Lord God Almighty is with you.  We are simply nothing apart from the greatness of our Lord and Savior. 

David's story continues.  Later in the same chapter of 2 Samuel we read about David going into battle.  Twice we find David inquiring of the Lord.  He's praying.  Realizing that all answers and all success comes from His Father in Heaven. 

And then perhaps one of my favorite parts of this passage; verse 20.  "As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me."  All credit is due God.  David's praise goes to his Father in Heaven.  Not to himself.  Not to his men.  Not to his plan.  Not to his abilities.  Only to his God.

Where do you find yourself today?  Is your power source your own, or is it the Lord God Almighty?  I urge you, plug in to the power of God.  Follow Him, Talk to Him, and Praise Him. 

Going M.A.D.

It is a beautiful thing when God teaches you something.  It may not always be comfortable or easy, but it is beautiful to be taught by the Creator of the Universe. It is even more beautiful when you have the chance to teach others what God has taught you, and even more humbling. 

This past year God has really been teaching me the importance of service to others.  I call it M.A.D. which stands for Making A Difference.  My students and I have been studying God's word recently and looking at the importance of Making a Difference and how we are "all called because all are worthy."  Recently, many of us were able to go out and hopefully make a difference in the lives of others as our students went and worked at the homes of some of the ladies in our church while others went to Homes of Hope for Children. 

Not many things make my heart happier than seeing my students use their gifts, knowledge, passions, and abilities to serve others.  Be it S.B. pruning plants (using something she learned from her mom), A.S. driving the zero turn lawn more (which he wants one now), A.R. jumping up and down on a shovel, J.S. working non stop to make sure that every piece of dirt was moved from around the house, T.R. working harder than anyone although she is just a bit older than the rest of us;  people were Making A Difference by using what God has given them.

M.A.D. is catching on.  God is allowing us the opportunity to serve in North Mississippi in the wake of the tornadoes that struck last week.  I look forward to seeing God glorified through the efforts of our church family.  Please understand why we must all serve....to glorify God.  By serving others, encouraging others, meeting the needs of others, and humbling ourselves,  God is glorified and His name will be praised.  2 Corinthians 9:12-13 says "This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.  Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else."

So how do we make a difference?  Doing whatever it takes to see that God is praised. 

Our Backs

Do you ever think about your back?  I do.  Well, not yours, but mine.  I have an old man's back and if things aren't perfect back there, my day is rough.  It causes pain, it wears me down, it causes me stress.  The human back controls us, holds us up, brings us down, and the list goes on and on.  Stress tightens it.  Relaxation releases it.  It is truly a marvelous, yet sensitive part of the human body. 

But have you ever considered your back in your spiritual walk.  I mean, as Christians, what do we often want our back to be used for? ........... a pat of course.  We love to have our backs patted and we love to be made to feel good and we love to be recognized for our accomplishments.  Who doesn't?  I certainly don't think it is wrong to recognize people for their accomplishments, I certainly don't think it is wrong to celebrate our accomplishments, in fact I think it is Biblical to encourage and to lift up.  BUT, have we as Christians grown too comfortable in our own achievements?  We demand recognition.  We design programs to honor ourselves and to celebrate ourselves, meanwhile billions of people still do not know Christ.  We celebrate ourselves, while people starve within shouting distance of our churches. 

And then comes the clincher.  Look at the back of the one who we worship.  This Passion week, if we look at the back of Jesus Christ, we should be reminded of a back that was bent over in service;  a back that was bent over washing his disciples' nasty feet; a back that was whipped, beaten, and ripped into shreds;  a back that was hung on a horrible cross.  He never once looked for a pat on the back.  All glory went to the father.

May I stop looking at myself, and look at Jesus Christ.  May the church not celebrate itself, but celebrate its Savior.