Who does not want to be great? We all do, even those who say they don’t want to be the best at something. However, most fail to ever become the best at something. God has an amazing verse in the Bible, Matthew 18:4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
This sounds great, but people will say there can only be one who is the greatest at any one time. So how can Jesus say anyone could be at the same time. Is there competition in Christianity then? That is a good point, so we need to see how this can actually be.
God made everyone of us unique. God also says we all have spiritual gifts. In the Bible there are 21 unique Spiritual gifts. It is also possible for someone to have more than one gift. The parable of the talents explains this in Matthew 25:14-30. One man received 5 talents, one 2, and one received just one. What is not mentioned is what the talents were made of. Talents were forms of money. Most commonly they would be made of gold, silver, or bronze. So, let us bring it to a modern-day equivalent using cash. Imagine the first one was given 5 $2 bills, the second 2 $5 bills, and the third a $10 bill. How much did they all receive? $10
Let us relate this to spiritual gifts. The one with one gift was really good with that one gift from the Lord, an expert so to speak. The one with 5 would be someone God blessed with more gifts to use in different areas, but not focused on just one.
Both people are needed in the world to reach people for Jesus.
Since God gave out His gifts in any combination He likes, there are 1.7 trillion possible combinations. Until the world reaches 1.7 trillion in population every single person has a unique gift combination.
This means that everyone can become the greatest in what God has called them to do. We are not in a competition. We do not need to look at another Christian and go I wish I had that. God has something absolutely special for you. Since no one else will have the same gift combo you have the ability to become the greatest at what God has given you. It is up to you.
To be the greatest, however, you must do something with what you have. If you are football fan, you may remember Johnny Manziel. He was called Johnny football when he was at Texas A and M. Everyone thought he would be the greatest ever. When he got to the pros, he failed. Not because he did not have the talent to be the greatest ever, but because he wasted his talent. He did not practice hard, did not study hard, he did not stay in shape, and he did not listen to his coaches or those who cared for him. He decided to party and do whatever he wanted and then just expected to be great on the field.
We must realize that God has given you something very special. The question is will you use it? When you do amazing things will happen because did not give it to you to be average, but to be the greatest. He wants to show you off so others can say wow and come to Jesus. The best part is God has something amazing for them too.
God wants you to be the greatest and is highly motivated to help you achieve that. When you do, then His greatest desire is fulfilled, for people to hear about Jesus!
Go for it. Find out what God has made you to do. Some people will say that gift is not important. Do not listen to them. If God gave it to you, it is incredibly important. I am always amazed how people say something is not important, until they need it.
Yes, some people will not appreciate your gift, but in the end their vote does not matter. What will God think of you and your gift. And when God goes “Well done, great is your reward” you will have the feeling of being the greatest for of all eternity. Cannot wait for that!
Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome! (and meant to be more awesome than you can imagine).
In Star Wars the return of the Jedi, there is a line I love. “The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come.” As Christians we should be on the offensive, not to destroy anyone, but to save them so they can live forever in heaven. An opportunity has arisen!
The devil has made critical error, and we need to take advantage of this. The error is in how we now date things. The world is changing from BC and AD to BCE and CE. This is especially happening at the college level and is not trickling down increasingly to the high school level.
Most people know BC means before Christ. Most do not really know what AD means. AD represents the Latin words Anno Domini meaning “in the year of our Lord.” Many scholars want to get rid of AD because they do not believe in Jesus in the first place, and they are concerned about offending what others believe among other things.
Now they want to use BCE and CE. BCE means before the common era, and CE means the common era. By using these abbreviations, they attempt to take Jesus out of time. To make Jesus’ life and ministry less important. However, they have done the opposite.
Those in college and in High School are asking lots of questions. They question everything. They do want to know the truth. With BC and AD, they did not ask questions, because well that was the way it always was, but the change to BCE and CE gives rise to a critical question. Every time there is a change, people will wonder why. We can exploit this with one amazing question that will bring Jesus into the conversation.
What is that question that is a game changer? What started the common era? This is amazing question. Something had to. There is no astrological event, or natural event, or political event where suddenly there was a change from before the common era to the common era. The only significant event that changed the world’s thinking was the birth and life of Jesus Christ.
This then leads to other obvious questions. Why did everything change because of Jesus. Is that important? Is there something more to Jesus than they previous thought? Most scholars do their best to undermine Jesus, yet Jesus’ life is the fulcrum where time changes and now they have inadvertently highlighted it like never before.
This is now a legitimate question, what started the common era, which can even be posed in schools. What a way to get Jesus into the classroom where the devil has tried hard to remove Him. There is no other answer than Jesus to this question. No matter who the teacher is, the answer that must be given is Jesus. They can make fun of that answer and try to belittle Jesus answering it, but still all time revolves around Jesus is something this will make young minds think.
As Christians when we heart BCE and CE being used, we need to pay attention and take full advantage and use this question to introduce Jesus into our conversations without being pushy. This is amazing game changer. A huge one, that is easy to exploit. When people talk about it, ask what makes this the common era. And there is only one answer. When Jesus is the only answer, you are not pushing your faith into the conversation, just answering the question. Then allow that to sink into people and see what happens.
We live in extremely exciting times. The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come.” As BCE and CE becomes more and more common, which is academia’s goal, it should open the door for a simple question that allows Jesus to be in the conversation.
Let us find ways to allow Jesus to be in our conversations in unique ways so all the world can hear!
Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!
The world loves to focus on Christmas and the world knows it is celebrated because Jesus was born. Yes, there are other holidays celebrated now for those who don’t believe in Jesus, but everyone and I mean everyone knows that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. That is also the problem, everyone knows it is Jesus’ birth, but what about the rest of the story? Without the Easter story then Jesus’ birthday at Christmas means absolutely nothing.
We need to take advantage of the fact that everyone knows this holiday is because Jesus was born. We need do our best Paul Harvey impression and tell, “the rest of the story.” Jesus was born to die, and not just die, but die in their place to pay for their sins, and then not stay dead, but come back to life to defeat death for all of us so we could live forever in heaven. That is the whole message that needs to be proclaimed at Christmas.
At Christmas we do a fantastic job of retelling Jesus’ birth. We have nativity scenes, we have Christmas plays and cantatas, candlelight services, and so much more. If you ask someone to be a part of these most will say yes and consider it an honor. People will show up for these, especially the ones the kids put on whether they are good or not just because their kids or grandkids are in it.
The problem is at Christmas the story stops once Jesus has been born. We let people leave without telling them the best part, the why Jesus was born. Tell the rest of the story. People need to hear the Real Good News!
Which story is more important? They both are equally important. You cannot have Christmas without Easter and you also can’t have Easter without Christmas. The solution is we need to share both stories with the same vigor.
The world loves Christmas. Easter not so much. Which is more celebrated, Easter or Christmas? Christmas is by and far. People think about Christmas all year round. There are even Christmas stores open 365 days a year. Have you ever heard of an Easter store? At Easter do you see people having parties, decorations, lights, pageants? Nothing anywhere close to Christmas. At Christmas time you have so many more gifts given than at Easter as well. Stores don’t count on Easter to save their bottom line. For those of you who work, have you ever heard of an Easter Bonus? Nope, but it sure would be nice to have one. Christmas lasts pretty much for a whole month from Thanksgiving till December 25th, Easter just for a few days.
Christmas is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, just do not forget to tell the whole story! People already know it is about Jesus’ birthday, why not go all the way and tell them the rest of the story. They could then accept the best gift of all, Romans 6:23, the gift of eternal life paid for by Jesus Himself!
The sad thing is that the entire world does not celebrate Easter, but the Good News is the entire world does celebrate Christmas. This is a wonderful opportunity, use it! Tell the ones you love and care about the whole story of Jesus. You can start by telling them about the birth of Jesus, but then when Jesus is born, do not stop there but go, “BUT THERE IS MORE SO MUCH MORE!” and tell them the rest of the story. Then they will see why this birthday is so important.
Merry Christmas and Happy Easter! He is Risen Indeed!
Remember Jesus loves you, I love you, and you are awesome!
Wonder why our culture’s morals are going bankrupt? Wonder why see all the violence in our country? Why does evil seem to rule the day? It can be traced to what we believe and read. Some alarming statistics:
Gallop Poll July 2022
20% of all US adults said that the Bible was actually God’s Word. Even worse of those who responded to the poll who claimed to be Christians only 25% said the Bible is actually God’s Word.
The American Bible Society Poll 2023
In a survey of people who claimed to be Christian they asked how often they picked up the Bible outside of church. Only 39% of Christians said they read the Bible outside of church. It is an all-time low.
State of the Bible USA 2023 Survey
It was found that the average Christian struggles to name (1) The four gospels (2) More than two or three of Jesus’ disciples (3) Even half of the Ten Commandments.
In the same survey non-believers were asked if they were curious about the Bible. 71% said they were curious about it, but they had a tough time finding someone who could explain it to them.
The Bible is God’s gift to us to show us that He loves us, how we can receive that love, the power that He wants to give to us, and how to live in the world and be happy and blessed.
Many Christians wonder openly where God is. They wonder why God is not doing things for them. They wonder why they are not successful. Why does there seem to be so many different ways to Jesus (there is not by the way). It is all confusing to them. The devil is good at causing confusion. Many just give up and hope they are on the right track. That is dangerous.
The Bible was given so you can find out for yourself, yes yourself if you are on the right track with no doubt about it. God wants to show you everything you want to know, all you have to do is sit down, read, and allow God to show you.
Did you know that you can read the entire New Testament in less than 16 hours? One half hour a day for a month. Length of one sit-com TV show.
If you read 3 chapters a day, about 5 minutes of time, you can read the whole Bible in a year.
Yes, it is a big book, but it is the most important book you will ever read. It is big because well God knows you have a lot of questions, and He has all the answers in there that you are looking for! Once you put it in your brain, God can then use that in your life.
There are churches that tell their people they shouldn’t read their Bible because they can’t understand it (that is a lie). There are pastors out there who are leading people who have not read the Bible. This past week I talked to 2 pastors who disagreed with me on something I said. I then asked them to defend their belief with what was in the Bible. They both said they couldn’t because they didn’t know where it was in the Bible. I asked them if they had even read the Bible all the way through, and they said no. How can they teach people about the Bible if they have not read it. It would be the same as going to English class and the teacher assigning you a book to read and testing you on it, but they themselves have not read it. How can they help you understand the book? It is simple, they cannot.
Tip: Whatever church you go to ask the pastor two questions. (1) Have you read the Bible all the way through (2) Are still reading the Bible again and again. A good pastor will be happy to answer both of those with a yes. If the pastor says no or hesitates to these questions FIND ANOTHER CHURCH!
An argument I get from people is, if I read it, I may have to change my life. Yes, you will change, but not because you must, you have free will, but because you will want to. You will find out that there are over 5400 promises of what God will do for you. God never lies and keeps all His promises. God does not want to keep you from what you want to do, He wants to give you a life that is amazing and one where there are absolutely no regrets.
God wants to show you what is right and what is wrong absolutely so you will know. Once you know you can live a life that is amazing, that makes you proud, and one that allows you to sleep peacefully every night knowing there is a plan, God loves you, and God has THE answer for anything that comes against you.
You want answers, you want real answers, then pick up your Bible and see how amazing your life can become. See all your questions answered. Your life and your family will be blessed as you see the promises. Your life will change before your eyes to the one you always wanted to have. God wrote this book so you can have that amazing life you always wanted to have. It was written with you in mind!
Yes, things will still happen in the world, but now they won’t affect you like they used to because, you will now know (not hope for) all that God will do for those who really believe.
Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!
PS – If you need a Bible ask, I will make sure you get one. Every day at noon on this page and our youtube page New Beginnings Church Punxsy we spend 5 to 10 minutes reading the Bible together you are free to join us. Right now, we spend one week in Acts, and the next on the Parables of Jesus. You can catch up on all of them on youtube anytime. If you are a new believer I suggest starting with the Book of Acts. Acts shows you what a believer has a right to do with Jesus! It is so awesome!
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