USED
We kicked off a new campaign at the Ridge this week called USED. The motivation and inspiration behind come from 1 Peter 4:10 cev “Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well.” Which was also the inspiration behind the name change of this blog.
When I open myself up and allow God to use me where He is working it fullfills me. We were created to serve, Him and others. For a long time I had a void in my life. I lacked purpose, direction and drive. I tried to fill it with many things such as a successful business, caring for others, community service etc.
Now, don’t get me wrong, all of those things are a good thing but reason for doing them must be correct. Often we do these things out of guilt or for recognition or for personal gratification.
The reason we feel this drive to do these things for others is because God created us that way and in the absence of Christ in our hearts and lives we still have that desire or urge to serve. James 2:17 tells us “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” You can turn that around also because deeds without faith=death. We’re all going to die. That is an unavoidable end to this pysical life. But, if you don’t believe I’m sorry but you will die completely. John 20:31 says “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
That life is eternal life. Now we don’t know for sure what eternal life will mean exactly but it sounds a darn sight better than eternal death, or eternal seperation from God, or eternal damnation. Doesn’t it?? It does to me.
Anyway back to being used. God is an all powerful God. He can do anything He chooses to do. The cool thing is He chooses to use us to do it as His tool (if we are obedient to Him). Does that mean we can control and manipulate the outcome. No. Gods plan will happen regardless of whether we choose to obey His calling or not. But the blessings we can receive from our obedience are amazing. I don’t mean that to sound like we should do it to receive blessings that’s the wrong motivation too. But, by submiting to the rule of Christ over our hearts and lives we can experience the benefits of living in the kingdom of God now, not just in eternity.
So, are you used? Post a comment or email me direct at rphillips@ridge.tv
Vote for Pedro
This past Sunday I had the opportunity to hear an amazing testimony of the spiritual birth of Pedro Rivera. I don’t really know Pedro that well. I’d met him in passing at the church before. But, his story has touched my life. One thing to note typically we edit testimony videos down to about 3-5 minutes. When this was done filming it was decided that it could not be edited and we ran it in it’s entirety. We had to cut a song and Pastor Darrel had to trim his message a little but Pedros story fit and we felt God was telling us “this needs to be seen”. I see God doing big things in this mans life. The video is about 18 minutes long but please check it out.
pray for them…
Last Sunday I went to Arbys with my wife and a friend. I’m not particular fond of Arbys, as a matter of fact I think I said “let’s go somewhere else”. As often happens I was outvoted and we went.
While standing in line to place our orders my attention was drawn to a young couple with two children sitting at a table together. There was an obvious tension among them and a silence that was deafening. Occasionally I would see her fight back some tears. I’m not sure what was going on in their lives at that moment but my heart was broken for them. I began to pray for them at that moment and they haven’t left my thoughts or prayers much since then. I offered her a smile when I caught her eye as they left, which she painfully returned. At first I was kicking myself for not offering more, a kind word, an open comment to spark a conversation… but then I realized why I had been placed there at that time (I don’t even like Arbys, remember). I was there to pray for them… I got caught up in “what can I offer them” and almost forgot “what He can offer them”.
Interestingly enough, the week before, as part of the study “Experiencing God” that Jen and I have been taking for the last 10 weeks I recently prayed for God to break my heart for the things that break His. I’m not not sure what I’ve gotten myself into with that but wow, it didn’t take long for Him to start.
I’m not sure what has come of them or what will come of them but I will continue to pray for them as long as can and I ask that anyone reading this please take a moment and do the same… Thank you and God bless.
Pray…
Preaching at his 8 a.m. service today, Pastor Fred Winters was shot dead in the pulpit of First Baptist Church of Maryville, Illinois. According to reports, he was shot three times and other shots may have been fired had the gun not apparently jammed. The assailant then pulled a knife and injured himself and other congregants until he was forcibly subdued. No motive has yet been determined. A statement released by the church said, “Please pray for Dr. Winter’s family, our two brave members who were injured when they stopped the assailant, for the assailant himself and his family, and for our church members as they deal with this tragic loss. . . . To those who believe in the power of prayer, we covet your prayers right now.”
In the midst of all this chaos and turmoil this church has remembered and called for prayer for the assailant and his family. We need to remember this kind of action in our lives. We are not called to judge but to love others. Not just the people we like or the people that are like us or share our values and beliefs. More often the people who are the opposite of this need as much or more prayer.
This was obviously a person with problems or issues. We may never know what led him to this action and we truly don’t need to know. We simply need to lift him and his family up in prayer. Pray that he can receive the help he needs. Pray that he can open his heart and mind and find Christ through this and seek His forgiveness. Pray that his family can remain strong and supportive. That if they don’t know Christ that this event can bring them to Him. Pray for protection for them against those that may wrongly seeking revenge or redemption. Pray…
And of course pray for those present and those injured and Pastor Winters, his wife and children.
Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and Day with a Perfect Stranger
I recently had the opportunity to check out two new books by David Gregory. Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and Day with a Perfect Stranger. Both books explore the possibilities of modern day encounters with Jesus. I absolutely love the authors depictions of the conversations. They are exactly as I would picture them if Jesus made individual, personal appointments with each of us to discuss our faith or lack of faith. I truly believe He does do this through circumstance and others but these books illustrate it so clear, concise and entertaining. This is exactly what could happen if one could take an evening or a day and suspend their beliefs or mis-beliefs and just talk with Him, something I highly encourage, and these two books could begin your journey. For those who do believe these books are a great chance to reach your friends and family and spark those sometimes difficult conversations.
Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: You are Invited to a Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched. The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life. ………….. “You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe.” He leaned back off the table. “And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work.” …………. As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever. This book may be purchased here.
Day with a Perfect Stranger: What if a fascinating stranger knew you better than you know yourself? When her husband comes home with a farfetched story about eating dinner with someone he believes to be Jesus, Mattie Cominsky thinks this may signal the end of her shaky marriage. Convinced that Nick is, at best, turning into a religious nut, the self-described agnostic hopes that a quick business trip will give her time to think things through. On board the plane, Mattie strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger. When she discovers their shared scorn for religion, she confides her frustration over her husband’s recent conversion. The stranger suggests that perhaps her husband isn’t seeking religion but true spiritual connection, an idea that prompts her to reflect on her own search for fulfillment. As their conversation turns to issues of spiritual longing and deeper questions about the nature of God, Mattie finds herself increasingly drawn to this insightful stranger. But when the discussion unexpectedly turns personal, touching on things she’s never told anyone, Mattie is startled and disturbed. Who is this man who seems to peer straight into her soul? This book may be purchased here.
David Gregory is the author of the best-selling books Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and A Day with a Perfect Stranger, and coauthor of two nonfiction books. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion and communications, earning graduate degrees from The University of North Texas and Dallas Theological Seminary. A native Texan, David now devotes himself to writing full time.
Where did it all go so wrong???
Hi I’m Rick and I’m an addict… I started out with pagers when I was younger. I thought I could handle it and all. Then I got my first cell phone… I just used it a little back then to keep the wife informed and stuff like that. But it was never enough… I kept it at phone calls for a long time but then I started texting just last year and man was it sweet! I really thought I had it all under control. It was just a simple little Razor phone and again I was just trying to keep my wife updated and occasionally talk with my teenage daughter .. Sure I’d get on the web every once in a while but only for movie listings and the occasional peak at Twitter. “I could handle it!!” Then I tried my first Blackberry! I fought it for years. I’d see my friends with them and think “I’m ok with my phone I don’t need all those apps and other stuff like a full qwerty keypad and unlimited texting and maps and mobile email ooohhhh… Then one day in a moment of weakness I did it… I got one… I had it all under control for about half a day or so then, the Facebook app and the Twitter app they called me and ooohhh they were. Who would have thought how it could be… And then I discovered the WordPress mobile page and here I am laying in bed typing this blog… And to think it all started so innocently (but doesn’t it always) Curse you Verizon and Blackberry!!! Curse you!!! I want my life back!!!
