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Scripture: Matthew 5:16 "… let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (NIV)
Observation: Jesus is pointing out that, whenever people see our good deeds, they should praise God and not us! It takes the focus off of us and onto God. We also have to be like light, shining onto everything that needs light. Light reaches even the darkest corners of a room. We need to be that way.
Application: what a difficult thing for an artist to take attention off of himself! This is something I’ve always struggled with. I also know from Jesus’ Words that I need to let the attention go to Him, so that is the purpose of my ministry. I always need to let people know that He is the one who has built our church, our ministry teams, our families, our community. When I’m in front of people, they need to see that this artist is different from others in that I don’t want attention for me but for Christ, I want them to see Jesus, I want them to see a difference in me that has nothing to do with me and all to do with HIM!
Prayer: Jesus, I want to always point people to You. Help me put aside my own ego and use me to give you all the glory. I do not want to be an artist who craves attention, but an artist who makes people think about You and not me. My my words and actions reflect You. May every note that comes from my hands make people think about You, Your beauty, Your artistry, and Your Love. Amen.
The book of Matthew, that is. Members of The Pursuit will be posting their thoughts and observations about
each chapter of that book in The Pursuit Blog. Wanna hear what they have to say? Check it out here.
Scripture: Matt 4:8-10 "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.’All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.‘"
Observation: To me the temptations are all about the very egocentric "quick-route." Satan offers Jesus a quick route to being king over all the nations of the earth. He had forgotten that Jesus was already the owner of it all (so, he was lying)! Nevertheless, Jesus rejects the quick route not by saying that He is the owner of everything already, but that He will serve God only! To Him, serving God was more important than any perks.
Application: Watch out for the "quick route"! Sometimes it’s easier to act on emotions only, on the moment. By having God’s Word in mind, we are able to think about our actions. For me, it’s hard to ignore my emotions, but I must avoid the "quick route" to things and focus on serving God, He will decide what needs to fulfill, and even in the ones that are not fulfilled I must learn to give Him glory and serve Him wholeheartedly no matter what!
Prayer: Jesus, give me the discernment I need not to act on emotions. Give me the patience I need to wait upon You. Work in me and fix everything that needs to be fixed. I want to show You that I love You by how I trust Your Word. Keep me away from the "quick route." Fulfill the needs in my life that You want to fulfill, and give me restraint and contentment in the areas where your answer is no. Even when You say no, I know you know better than me, and I will still give Your praise! Amen.
Scripture: Matt 3:8 "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." (NIV).
Observation: These were words of admonishment from John to the religious leaders of the time, who were more worried about their own fame than about the condition of their hearts. For John, and for Jesus, good works do not demonstrate genuine faith in God, neither does religion, but a true lifestyle, a heart that is repentant and really loves Christ.
Application: Sometimes I think I can rely on religion for my spiritual well-being. I work in ministry, I do what is required, just barely. To me, religion is about the motions, and the Pharisees and Saducees had them down. However, it is not about religion, otherwise John and Jesus would have praised those guys. I want to have a heart that really loves God, that is repentant, and that is surrendered to His will. I do not want to be religious, I want to be faithful. I do not want to do just what is required, but what Jesus wants me to do. I guess this means I should stop worrying about what others think of my or my ministry, and think about what God sees instead of what others see. I have to stop pleasing people, and start pleasing God.
Prayer: Jesus, forgive me for going through the motions only. I want to love you like You have loved me. I want to live a life that reflects You and not my works. When people look at me, I want them to see You and not me. I want you to be pleased with my life. I hear lots of opinions all the time about how things should be done. Give me grace to hear them, but also direction to know where You want me to go instead of what people would like me to do. Thank you for so much! I love you Jesus.
Scripture: Matthew 2:4-6
"When [Herod] had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
" ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’ "
Observation: God could have chosen a glamorous town like Rome or Jerusalem for the King to be born. However, Jesus was born in one of the smallest towns in the country–Bethlehem. God is in the business of using the lowliest and weakest instruments for His plans. Jesus, the King, was born in a small town, in the family of a carpenter, in a stable. What an unusual place for a king to be born!
Application: There is nothing great about me, I am not special, nor do I have any special powers on my own. What makes me special is Jesus living in me. God can do "immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20), so why not let Him live inside of me and do all that He can with my life?
Prayer: Jesus, there is nothing special about me. Even though I have little to offer, you have asked me to live for You and serve You. Please take this weak instrument and use it for your purposes. Do all that you can through me to further your Kingdom, use all of my life for You. Amen.
Scripture: Matthew 1:19a "Because Joseph [Mary's] husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace…"
Observation: A man in first century Judea had the right to punish his fiancee publicly if she had committed adultery before their marriage. Not Joseph. The book of Matthew says that Joseph was "righteous." So much so that he was willing to forfeit the affirmation of his "honor" for the sake of Mary’s life, he was willing to act AGAINST THE CULTURE. Most likely, while Jesus was growing up, stories like this one were told at home. Joseph loved others more than himself. This is a whole other level of manhood. Later on, Jesus takes these teachings to the next level, by forfeiting His glory, His Kingship, and His life for us.
Application: As I read that about Joseph, and as I remember Jesus’ life, I realize how far from it I am! I am definitely not like Joseph, or Jesus! However, I want to aspire to be a man like that–putting others’ needs before mine, sacrificing of my own out of love, even if I get mistreated.
Prayer: God I know there is much growing I need to do. I thank you that you are challenging me to grow. Thank you for showing a love that is unlike any other on Earth. Please, allow me to become a righteous man who loves sacrificially.Forgive my sins and my faults, and have Your way with me. You are Lord of lords and King of kings, Jesus, Son of God, and you deserve all honor and glory! May I be able to give you glory with my life. Amen.
There are things people are usually afraid to talk about, and faith
tends to be one of them. At The Pursuit we are not afraid to talk about the things we
believe in, which is why this Sunday we are starting a new series of sermons called "Truth Uncensored." I’m really excited about this new series because…
1) It will present the core beliefs of The Pursuit. We will talk about important issues like: The Bible, Prayer, Evangelism, the Church, and Jesus, and what each one of these issues has to do with our lives.
2) Our study will come out of Jesus’ words from the book of Matthew. In fact, we are going to invite the whole church, and you, to read one chapter a day of the same book starting this coming Monday with Matthew chapter 1, and ending on Sunday March 23 with chapter 28. As part of that study, the staff of The Pursuit will be posting thoughts, observations and prayers based on each daily study. Make sure you check our blogs daily! We would love to share our spiritual journey with you as we go through this book.
Earlier this week, as we were watching the lunar eclipse, we were showing it to our family in Indianapolis via video chat, and they were doing the same. The bigger picture shows what they were seeing, the smaller one shows the moon as seen from our back yard in Miramar. My beautiful bride graces the frame.
I love the Celebration Services at The Pursuit. It is always a highlight for me when we get together to learn about what God wants for our lives, and to dedicate rocking music to Jesus. I love seeing the reactions of the people. Some are reflecting, others are expressing themselves to God with their hands on high and their eyes closed, and others are learning what this whole thing with music and Bible teaching is all about.
Yesterday was no different. The Bible was taught, and Jesus was celebrated! Our timing for set up was great as well. I even had time to enjoy a doughnut and coffee! I’m usually so busy I don’t get to stop for a second, but yesterday we had more helping hands, and we felt more confident about the equipment.
After the service we saw our new friend Francesca get baptized! What a privilege to be there! This was the most important decision of her life and we got to see her give her life to Christ! Congratulations Francesca!
Next week we start a new series of sermons called TRUTH UNCENSORED.
We are going to be talking about the foundational beliefs that we have at The Pursuit. If you are in the area, come by and see what we are all about! We won’t hold anything back!
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