Jason Castro - Only A Mountain (Official Music Video)

Celine Dion - Thank You (Lyrics)

Getting Ready by Neil Kim

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Getting Ready
(Joshua 1)

Rev. Neil Kim

 I. Leaders don’t last forever (v. 1)
There comes a time in every ministry when God calls for a new beginning with a new generation and new leadership
When a change comes, do not resist.

 II. God commissions a new leader for His work which will continue on (v. 2)
It was God who had chosen Joshua.
God doesn’t completely abandon the past but builds on it as His people move toward the future
God commissioned Joshua to get three things done: lead the people into the Promised Land, defeat the enemy, and claim the land (inheritance).

 III. God’s promises to Joshua (vv. 3-5)
Then God gave Joshua three promises.  One for each task.
And God didn’t tell Joshua as to how He would do those things.

 IV. God wants Joshua to claim it (vv. 6-8)
Before God could fulfill His promises, Joshua had to exercise faith and claim it (v. 6).
God enabled him to do it. (vv. 7-8)

 V. God promises Joshua He will see through it (v.9)

 VI. When leaders receive God’s calling, they need to get others involved (vv. 9-15)
When God’s calling is clear, you need to march forward (vv. 10-11)
Joshua’s words to his leaders were words of faith (v. 11)
Joshua emphasized unity (vv. 12-15)

 VII. People need to respond to their leaders with obedience (vv. 16-18)

 VIII. Applications
The reason for Joshua’s success was his complete trust in the promises of God’s Word.  Have you experienced success when put your trust in God?  If not, what caused you to fail to trust His promise?
When you know what to do but God doesn't say exactly how to do it, what do you do?

God’s Hidden Scalpel by Daniel Darling

God’s Hidden Scalpel

God’s Hidden Scalpel

Relationships carve the shape of our character—in ways we often resist.

by Daniel Darling

I once considered myself pretty patient, compassionate, and loving—perfect husband material. Then a funny thing happened.

I got married.

I managed to convince a sweet, vivacious girl from Texas to walk the aisle and accept my hand in marriage. All of a sudden, I was forced to live side-by-side with another human being—another flawed, yet graced child of God like myself. And I realized that I wasn’t really as great as I’d thought. Marriage brought to the surface all of my sinful patterns as no other human relationship could. Holy matrimony exposed the areas of my heart that had been buried untested, hidden from the light of day.

Then another crazy thing happened. After a few years I became a father. Then I became a father again. And again. And again. Before having children, I had worked out a very straightforward, biblical, fail-proof parenting approach. I would not make the mistakes my parents made. I would avoid the pitfalls of all those hapless young families I’d witnessed in my chin-stroking single years of observation.

But when four sinful little human beings were suddenly thrust into my life, I realized I was not the patient, fun-loving sage I’d envisioned myself to be. No, this man was replaced with a short-tempered, lazy, sometimes unscrupulous dolt. I found myself making the same parenting mistakes I’d mocked in others.

Nothing caused the scales to fall from my eyes more than these close human relationships. It’s not that I was a great guy before I got married and had children. I was simply untested. The crucible of relationships reveals what is really there in our character. Human interaction—God’s hidden hand of sanctification—is one of the special tools He uses to bring about change in His children. The trouble is, we often miss what God is doing in the people around us, especially those we are forced to live with, tolerate, and love.

This isn’t true only for family life. It’s true in every walk of life. As a pastor, I found that the cranky old complainer in the back row was God’s instrument in teaching me patience. The know-it-all with the highlighted Bible and hair-splitting theological questions forced me to more thorough study and a discerning temperament. The tattooed and indifferent teen helped soften my apologetic.

We often pray, “God, make me holy. Make me more like your Son” but resist the tools He uses in the process, as if sanctification happens in a prayer closet or monastery. But isolated acts of personal piety, while beneficial for certain seasons, don’t form our character like daily, incarnational experiences with real people. It could be that God is teaching us the real problem in the world is not the wife we married, the kids we raise, or the employees we manage. Perhaps the biggest problem in our world is the person looking at us in the mirror. God might just be using the annoyances, habits, and even sins of someone else to forge us into the image of God’s Son, to equip us to live out our unique callings in the world.

When I look back on my life, I have to admit that without the relationships God has given me, I’d be much less of a man. I can’t imagine who I’d be without the patient, steady love of my wife. I can’t imagine the pride and arrogance I’d display without the humiliating yet rewarding experience of fatherhood. And without the collection of interesting individuals I’ve had the joy of leading in ministry, I might treat people as masses to move rather than souls to love.

Human relationships are not a problem to be solved. They are a grace given to us by a loving God. For it is in community, in the rough and tumble of daily life, that we are molded by the Spirit, conformed to the likeness of the Son, shaped skillfully by the Father.

Copyright 2014 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.

Chris Tomlin - Waterfall (Audio)

1 Girl Nation - While We're Young

Ordinary Presence by Winn Collier

God blessed the world with all kinds of people—each of them a beautiful example of what it means to be the salt of the earth.

by Winn Collier

A commandment and a blessing are not the same thing. I may grab my sons’ attention and insist they clean their room now. Or I can hold their gaze and tell them they are the delight of their dad’s heart. Both of these interactions have their place, but they are vastly different. Commands point us in good directions, but blessings tell us who we are.

Sometimes, however, we miss moments when God pronounces blessing, because we expect to hear “shoulds”—things we must do to earn favor or be found acceptable. That’s why the Sermon on the Mount must have sounded radical to the crowd on the mountainside: In contrast to common assumptions of that day, Jesus pointed out that kingdom blessings aren’t limited to the wealthy and religious but are also for the outcast, the sick, the marginalized; the only qualification was faith. And He chose the word “blessed” for the poor, the grieving, and the peacemakers—the ones most likely to get run over in this violent world. Then He spoke another blessing over His followers: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13).

Notice Jesus says that they are the salt of the earth. He does not say they are to be the salt. He does not plead with them to take on salt-like qualities. Rather, Jesus looks across this ragtag band, raises His hands over them, and pronounces the truth of things: You are the salt of the earth. Can you imagine the wonder that must have fallen over them? How must it have felt to be seen with such honor by Jesus, to hear these powerful words spoken over you? Hope, possibility, and joy must have surged through the crowd.

Several months ago my son Wyatt sat in the kitchen with me, and he made a witty observation. My laughter was immediate. He smiled, but the longer I laughed (and lost control—you know those moments when you laugh so hard that you double over and can barely breathe), the wider his smile grew.

When I finally settled down, Wyatt was still beaming. Something beautiful had passed between us. Our interchange was about something more than a well-timed joke. Wyatt felt my delight in him. My laughter told him there was something deeply good in him, just as Jesus’ blessing told those on the hillside of the deep good God had placed in them.

Salt had numerous uses in the first century. It provided flavor, served as a preservative, and operated as a purifying agent. Today, this pantry staple still occurs naturally—it simply exists as it is, where it is. And while the seasoning can be described in lots of different ways, we can all agree that salt improves most everything it touches.

I am amazed by the simple lives I encounter—people living in quiet ways, often unhurried and unnoticed, as they seek to devote themselves to the way of Jesus and be loyal to the kingdom of God. Faithful people spend their days at work and tend to their children; they love their neighbors and engage with issues they believe reflect God’s justice and shalom in the world. Students diligent with their studies prepare to give their lives to good work in Jesus’ name. Single moms hold down a job and hold together a family so their children will know the power of selfless love. Neighbors regularly stop by to check on the elderly widow down the street. Business owners create good jobs and contribute to an honest, stable society. Gardeners and painters, craftsmen and nurses, web designers, and retirees—all practice the art of ordinary presence. Each of them is the salt of the earth.

With our zealous addiction to gusto and our fascination with brilliance, we often forget that if we keep the long horizon in view, it is ordinary faithfulness—ordinary presence—that makes the deepest impact. I understand that we are Americans, so one thing we know is how to marshal a plan and get things done. However, most of us don’t need more to do; rather, we need to recognize the gift of our presence (and the gift of others’ presence to us). It is not duties that we need, but rather encouragement to listen and pay attention, to do our work and give ourselves to friendship. We should watch for the particular joys and stories that surround us. In other words, our frantic effort to be salt can keep us from actually living as the salt we are. Our stress and strain can keep us from offering our truest selves to others.

We must not miss the fact that Jesus spoke His words to a community, not an individual. The “you” Jesus blesses is plural. Frederick Dale Bruner makes this explicit by translating it as, “You folks are the salt of the earth!” This means that the pressure does not rest on any one of us to span the globe. Rather, we each are simply to do our own part. We are to live well in our little piece of the world, practicing ordinary presence on the soil God has given us to tend and dwelling among the people God has given us to love.

The body of Christ is vast and expansive; it exists across history and geography. The community of Jesus is sturdy and, empowered by the Spirit, equal to the calling God has given us. The work each of us contributes is significant, but not ultimate. Breathe easy. Be who God has made you to be—no less and no more.

When we live true to the blessing God has spoken over us, we operate in harmony with our truest selves. However, some of us live under a heavy burden, believing that we must constantly wrest ourselves away from our deepest longings in order to somehow become what the Lord expects us to be. Quite the opposite, God has fashioned us in His image and infused us with His own life. No wonder we’re salt for the world.

Jesus didn’t ask us to be salt. That matter is settled. Yet Jesus did warn of a tragic possibility, that God’s salt would “become tasteless” (Matt. 5:13). We have the option to reject the truth of our existence and our blessing. We can withhold the gift God intends to give through us. To do so, however, doesn’t mean that we are not salt. It means we have turned selfish and small-minded because we refuse to share our ordinary presence with others.

So rather than deny it, receive Jesus’ blessing spoken over you: You are the salt of the earth. Your sheer presence in the world is a gift to all of us. Be bold. Open your heart. Give yourself away. Allow your unique life to flavor us all with grace.

Copyright 2014 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.