Prep For The Test

Do you work? Are you in school? Do you compete in athletics? If yes to any of these, odds are you will have a "Test" coming up soon. It could be an exam, a sale or idea to pitch, a deal to close, or a game to win. Well what about in the "game" of life? Are you being tested right now? Maybe the more important question is, "Are you prepared for The Test?"

In Matthew 4.1-11, Jesus was prepared for "The Test." The Spirit led him into the desert and the devil was ready to give the test. But like a winning quarterback for the 2-minute drill or the mind and hands of a gifted surgeon, Jesus was PREPARED!

Two Preparations
Jesus did at least Two things according to Matthew in order to prepare for the test.
1. He Fasted for Forty Days and Forty Nights
2. He knew God's Word forward and backward, up and down, inside and out

Three Test
Jesus was tested three times by the devil, and each time, Jesus quoted a passage from Deuteronomy. (I don't know about you, but this motivates me to want to study Deuteronomy :-)

Our Test
Are we prepared for the test that culture throws at us? Are we prepared for the test that the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life brings? Where is satan trying to pull you down? What temptations are you struggling with?

Jesus was prepared...Are We?

The Right Place - The Right Time

Do you want to be at the right place at the right time? Think about that with your work, school, relationships, etc...The Scholars in The Christmas story were...let's find out how we can learn from them...

Jeremiah 29.13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." I love this verse because it is an action verse...I sort of feel like Nicholas Cage in "National Treasure" or Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones," seeking treasure or perhaps seeking The Holy Grail...

The Real Treasure
But I love Jeremiah 29.13 because the "Treasure" that is being sought after is The Lord God Almighty. And the great thing about seeking Him is that all we have to do is seek him with all of our heart. His presence does not require an elaborate treasure map or the solving of certain clues, but what it does require is action on our part. It ties in with a few verses that I will touch on below:

The Right Place - Right Time
The Scholars from the East in Matthew 2 were "seekers" of The Christ Child. After Jesus was born, they went to seek Him. They arrived in Jerusalem and asked, "Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We're on pilgrimage to worship him."

And then I love what verses 2.9-10 show how they continued to follow the eastern star.."It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!"

Tie-Ins
Two passages of Scripture remind me about seeking Christ and being in the right place at the right time: Colossians 3.1-2 says "pursue the things over which Christ presides. We need to "Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective."

And then of course, the well-known A.S.K. verse from Matthew 7.7, which says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Bottom Line
We need to Wait Less and Seek More... Asking + Seeking + Knocking = Finding. The Scholars from the East did this and it led them to the right place at the right time...right in the very presence of The Christ. And I love what their main goal was: "We're on pilgrimage to worship him."

Seek God, Worship God, and like the Scholars, you to will "hardly be able to contain yourself!"

Strength For The Day and Your SCI

If you are like me, you need strength for each day...Raw strength, The Strength that comes from God's Word. And the great thing about meditating upon His Word everyday is the cumulative factor that comes with it...the consistency of digging into Prayer, listening to His Voice, and following His ways is like adding up a Spiritual Compound Interest (SCI).

So the investment this morning comes from the Word "Fortress" and the phrase "Greater Things."

Psalm 27.1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?"

Jeremiah 1.18 says, "My power will make you strong like a fortress or a column of iron or a wall of bronze."

John 1.50 has an account of Jesus speaking to Nathanael, and Jesus tells him, "You will see greater things than this.” Mark Batterson has an Amazing new series out on this passage...check it out, it's a great new Faith-Building series!

Attack today praising God for every breath (Psalm 39) you take, realizing He is your Fortress, there is no one and nothing to fear...believe in Him and believe that He wants to use you for His Plans, and as you follow His ways and become more and more like Him (1 John 2.6) you will add to your SCI and will see "Greater Things!"

Start Living It!

As I am taking two chemistry and one biology course this semester, I am focusing on how important it is not to only study the material, but also how important it is to go and have hands-on experience by working in the lab. We learn and then we do. We practice and then we play.

It is the same way in our lives as Christ Followers. It is not enough to only read or even meditate on The Scriptures...we must live them as well. Look how Colossians 2.6-7 says it:

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

So like the chemistry lab where I donn my cool goggles and lab apron, I want to in all of life, Put on The Full Armor of God and start living! "Letting my living spill over into thanksgiving!"

A price to be paid

In his book, "Tortured for Christ", Pastor Richard Wurmbrand makes a statement that ought to rock our world about our Christian faith. Our walk with Christ is serious and dramatic. How serious are we about it? Let's evaluate ourselves with the following quote and let's remember to pray for those who suffer for Christ as if it were us doing the suffering (based on Hebrews 13:3):

*Do yourself a favor: read this quote slowly and let the reality of it sink in. Even meditate on certain words...

"Christianity has become something dramatic with us. When Christians in free countries win a soul for Christ, the new believer may become a member of quietly living church. But when those in captive nations win someone, we know that he may have to go to prison and that his children may become orphans. The joy of having brought someone to Christ is always mixed with this feeling that there is a price that must be paid."

Are we willing to pay the price for being a Christian in our own culture? I'm wondering, what does it mean to "pay the price" in America for being a Christian? Example? Remember the title of this entire blog: "Wonderfully Significant"...Jesus is worth it all!

Hungry or Guilty?

A great preacher has commented on how The Holy Scriptures are analogous to great food. If we skip a few meals, we don't feel guilty, instead we feel hungry. So it should be with our reading of God's letters to us. If we miss time digging into The Bible, we should not feel guilty, we should feel HUNGRY!

A part of Psalm 119:97 says it like this:
Your words are so choice, so tasty; I prefer them to the best home cooking. With your instruction, I understand life; that's why I hate false propaganda.

Then back a few verses, we see in Psalm 119:17 :
My soul is starved and hungry, ravenous!— insatiable for your nourishing commands.

When we learn and achieve we become hungry for more. Our confidence increases and we enter a zone. That is what happens as we dig into Scripture. There is a 'snowball' effect and God's Spirit in us grows and grows and we are then able to understand Him which helps us to understand who we are in Him!

The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you've been hungry for more.
~ Colossians 1:5-8 ~

*above Scripture references have emphasis added.

Do Your Best

Colossians 3:22-25

Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work (emphasis added).

Worship

Worship: the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

When it comes to Worship, it's not that God needs to hear us tell Him how awesome He is, it's that we need to do it in order to remind ourselves of how Awesome He is!

Worship is a cause and effect relationship. What we believe in determines our behavior and our behavior leads to our actions. So if we Worship God, then our belief in Him is strengthened, our behavior is sanctified, and our actions will be blessed.

We want His Blessings, but do we Worship Him? The Book of Psalms is very clear on this point:

What a stack of blessing you have piled up
for those who worship you. Psalm 31:19-22 (emphasis added)

Worship God if you want the best;
worship opens doors to all his goodness. Psalm 34:9 (emphasis added)

We need to Worship God, constantly having Him on the front of our minds and thoughts so that our actions are driven by what He wants. And why is understanding what He wants so important? Because if we want to live our lives according to His Will, We need to learn more about how He works.

From Colossians 1.9-12 we are told this:

As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work.

Who or what do we Worship?