Just A Thought!!

Do not remember where on the net I found this (did so long ago) but it is a thought!!!!!

This is a great video! thanks to the friend who posted on facebook

Have an Attitude

Philippians 2:5 - 11 (NKJV) ⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,  ⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  ⁷but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  ⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,  ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,  ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Not long after moving to Southeast Kansas, I had an experience with a rabbit which I will not forget! I was not hunting at the time but I and my wife were returning from a trip to the mall i a larger community.  We saw a pair of rabbits sitting in the road and as we approached I slowed to all them to get off the road.  The smaller of the pair did run into the ditch but the larger rabbit stood her, at least I assume a female, ground.  The rabbit began to jump straight up and in two jumps that rabbit was windshield high; attacking this thing, a 1995 Chev, coming to kill her and her baby.  Now that is an attitude!  This rabbit chose the wrong time to have an attitude but yet I have to respect her attitude of her ability to fight this two ton beast!

This passage calls us to have the same attitude or mindset as Christ.  The attitude is one of while knowing who He was Christ was willing to give up the godhead in order for us to have salvation.

What are you willing to give up so someone can find salvation?  Time?  Money? Reputation?  Position in society?  Your/my pew in church?  The style of worship we prefer?  The way the worship center/sanctuary looks?   For whom are we willing to die?  For what  are you (or I) willing to die?

Life styles

About two years ago I made a lifestyle change.  The cause was stepping on a bathroom scale and seeing the number "290" appear in bright red numbers.  It was my weight!  I knew I was over weight, I had been ALL MY LIFE!  I had been creeping up for 260 to 265 to 270 from a low of 220 back in the mid 90's.  I had high blood pressure; High cholesterol  and diabetes.  I was literally eating myself to death!  So I made a life style change.  I made up my mind that I would not every DIEt again; instead I realized I needed to go on a LIVE-IT (thank you Richard Simmons for the term).  By that I mean that I would live a life of healthy eating and exercise.  I knew I had to

1. Eat less
2. Eat healthy
3. Move more

Thank you to the person on Bike forum for the above simple but correct statement of a healthy life style.  To a point the change was simple; I began to log on a computer program what I ate, this helped in the area of eating less and the area of eating healthy.  I also started to walk on a daily basis.  The whole change thing is was also hard in that it required time; loging took time (my wife and I think that this is part of the reason a person loses weight!?!) and walking took time (this also helped in the eating less in that I did not have the food in the cupboards at home when I was out walking!!!!)  This lifestyle change is going/has gone well.  I am down to 180-185; most of my health issues are under control; as is my eating habits for the most part.  We will see if the change continues or not!!

As of last Sunday Morning I realized (again) that I have another lifestyle that I chose at around age 16.  That is the lifestyle of missional living; being an ambassor for Christ.

God made it clear that just as God had pointed out that I needed to have a lifestyle in the are of health; I also needed to have a lifestyle of missional living.  That I was called of God to be a missionary to the community in wich I live.  Not because I am an ordained pastor but becasue I am a believer; a follower of Jesus.  You see every person who claims the name Chistian has that call on their life. 

The question I ask myself and that I am asking you is " What are you willing to do with about this call?  We, you and I,  have two choices

1. Ignore the call of God and DO nothing while a world goes to Hell
2. Answer the call of God and get about sharing God's love with a world that is going to Hell

Now answering the call is up to us; what are WE GOING TO DO?

JESUS' Marching Orders

Matthew 28:18 - 20 (NCV) ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All power in heaven and on earth is given to me.  ¹⁹So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  ²⁰Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age.”

At the church I attend (and am also a member) we have been attempting to find God's mind on what our church, also known as the body of Christ that meets at 17th and Main in a certain community, needs  do to bring God glory.  I have seen a couple of things over the last week.

One is that we need to look at if those outside this group would "Know we are Christians by our love!" Both for those within and outside the group.  At times I am sorry to say that our love within is lacking and therefore OUR love without is not into good of shape either.  As I think about and pray about how we love those outside the group I have to say that we must not be doing a great job in that our rate of converts is not at all that good.  I we believe that the world is going to hell as we say we do and we chose a path that would keep us from going to hell; why would we not want to keep every one from going?  I am as bad as any other within the group about not having the passion to share (read the guts to share) Jesus with a dyeing world.  This leads to the second thing I have seen over the last week.

The second is that of Jesus' Marching Order to the Church; GO! Making converts of everybody!  Why? Because Jesus said; "All power has been given me in heaven and on earth.  This gives the people of God the energy, and ability as well as it should given us the desire to do what we are asked to do.  Jesus told his church to make converts; baptize those converts and then teach them to MAKE CONVERTS!  Jesus even goes on to say that He is with us to the end.  What are we waiting for?  We have the engraved invitation!  Why aren't we as a large group doing what Jesus (and God) has called us to do?  The reason may be we are scared?  We do not know how to make converts?  We may just simply not care!

So; if you have read this far into my non politically correct statements here and you claim to be a follower of Jesus the Messiah; I have one question: "What are you going to do about these orders?