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Growth = A Two Way Street

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:13:44 -0500

“Beloved, now we are children of God,
and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.
We know that when He appears, we will be like Him,
because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone
who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself,
just as He is pure.” I John 3:2 & 3

We are called to be conformed to or reflect the image of Christ. In this life, the reflection is a little distorted, but our goal should be to grow more like our Savior each day.

Discussions of Christian growth often focus on what we should be more like, but growth is actually a two-way street. Growth consists of things we should grow away from as well as things we should grow toward.

Gal. 5:19-21 provides an example of the things we should grow away from: “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing and things like these, of which I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Gal. 5:22-23 provides examples of what we should grow more like:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

How Do We Grow?
• Grow in your knowledge of the Word of God II Timothy 3:16 that you may learn to think and speak Biblically.
• Train to be Godly  I Timothy 4:7
• Work on your intimacy with Christ I Cor. 2:16, Rom. 12:1& 2
• Commit to growth
• Make a plan for growth
• Have an accountability partner

Allow NO Excuses.

The Body of Christ in Action

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:37:15 -0500

It's already been a full week since I turned my scoot toward I-35S and Austin for the 2009 edition of the Republic Of Texas Rally. This was my sixth year at ROT and my sixth year flying BFC Colors. I couldn’t help thinking that just four years ago, there were only three BFC members who were able to come. We had no booth and limited resources, but we used what we had.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and I left with great anticipation as I considered the challenges we would face and the blessings God would work on our behalf. What I saw this year was the Body of Christ in action through new eyes. We had close to 30 members show up and serve in a wide variety of ways. We all road and labored in the heat, humidity and dust that marks ROT. These present large obstacles that must be faced and overcome. Those who are honest will admit that they were pretty miserable conditions with the heat index ticking up around 114 degrees each afternoon.

Despite the conditions, folks denied themselves and took up their crosses. For some this meant faithfully replenishing water so that we could offer refreshment to weary visitors to our booth. For many of us, it meant standing with strangers and offering up prayers for loved ones, family and friends who were in need. Still others hauled $5.00 bags of ice or wandered the vender booths in twos and threes where I saw them engaging in conversation with friends they just met. A word of encouragement, an offer of a track, the sharing of personal testimonies of the power of God to redeem that which is broken, and lots of small red “blood stones” as people learned of the Grace and Mercy represented by one small drop of blood that is sufficient to cover a lifetime of sin.

There were many opportunities to get acquainted and build relationships with our biker friends, both 1% and 99%s. Some of us learned that even when club friends get saved, God may not necessarily call them out of that life where they can have influence that we could not.

Our members came and went throughout the weekend, serving according to what God put on their hearts. We saw a fellow named Harry come to us and offer to sell us something illegal only to make a profession of faith while holding a glass of alcohol in his hand. I don’t think he expected to hear a presentation of the Gospel when he approached this rag-tag bunch of bikers. Some hit the highway early Saturday to attend to ministry needs at a memorial service for a club member in San Antonio, while others visited soldiers recovering from their wounds at an Army medical facility. Some also visited a young girl and her family at the hospital as they trust God to heal a brain bleed that has left her immobile.

These are just some of the things I saw, but I know that much more happened as we went about serving. Conversations at gas stops, while waiting in line for food (next time we should call ahead and make a reservation), praying and having meals together. I am reminded again that even when we think our work is done, the Holy Spirit takes our meager offerings and multiplies them for God’s purposes and for His Glory!

I know we were not perfect by any measure. I heard some griping and criticizing of fellow servants in the spirit of Martha and we failed in some ways to welcome and mentor new members who were serving with us for the first time. No, we were not perfect and there are some things we can improve on for next time, but I came away blessed and encouraged as one who has been witness to the grace of God in and through our ministry.

In Matthew 14:14 to 22, we see the familiar story of Jesus miraculous feeding of the 5,000. Recently, verses 17 & 18 have caught my attention. “And they said to Him, ‘we have here only five loaves and two fish.’ And He (Jesus) said, ‘Bring them to me.” I am struck by this because Jesus asked only that we give Him what we have, and He’ll take care of the rest.

So in the goodness of our heats and our desires to spend ourselves for Him, we give Him what is flawed and frail and He takes care of the rest! Praise God!!

I’ll be posting photos on the state website so please take a moment to go and look at them there. If you are missing out on these events, you are missing out on God’s blessings in your life. I know that not everyone can make every event, but please pray and come to the ones you can. You will come away a new person.

Blessings,
Rod

Maintenance vs. Yeild

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:01:43 -0600

I once had a bike that I had worked hard for many long hours just to earn the money to buy. I was proud to own such a nice looking bike. The guy that I bought from had really done a nice paint job on it, put the sickest rims and tires on it, all the neat accessories and what a seat! I would often just catch myself dreaming about the trips that I was going to take on that bike. I was a young dude then and still single and chasing the gals. This bike was going to change my life, the gals were going to chase me. Even the guys were going to envy me. I approached a club and showed them my new bike and they asked me to join up with them. I was one proud dude. The world was slowing down just for me to get on, and it was all mine.

Well, as time on the road was short along with riding time due to breakdowns, one thing after another, it seemed like I was spending much more time repairing the bike than riding the bike. It got to the point that people would not just say, “Let’s go riding.” But would say, “If your bike is running today, do you want to try and go for a ride?” You see the difference?
My ol’ bike was down more than it was up. It had become a high-maintenance, low-yield bike. There was no profit in having the bike. The amount of my time, labor, resources, and money that I was putting into the bike were not giving me the return that I wanted. It was like all I could do was talk about having a bike and could not experience riding the bike.

Consequently, as a club member, not having a bike to participate with, I became a low-yield member. I wasn’t much good to the club or myself as a member. Not only was my bike low-yield but so was I.
I was forced to re-think things and make a decision. If I was going to participate in the club and be a high-yield member, I had to become low-maintenance. That experience taught me a great deal about life as well. I learned to put my money, time, labor, and other resources into high-yield/low-maintenance bikes and the same in regards to other things and efforts in my life.

It even later on helped me in ministry. I realized soon after going into ministry that there were always two kinds of church folk, high-maintenance / low yield (those who would seek to consume all your time and resources and not put much back into the church) and low-maintenance/high-yield (those folks who would ask very little of time and resources and put their hearts into building the church).  
Out of that experience, I have always taken time every little bit to do a self-check and see if my output matched my input, or in other words, was I being a low-maintenance/high-yield Christian or was I falling into the high-maintenance/low-yield category? In any case, it has been a good rule of thumb for me and I thought I would share it with you.

Yours in Christ,

Bro. Mike
Bikers For Christ
Elder, Central Coast

A Little Kneeology

Wed, 7 Jan 2009 08:57:42 -0600

Acts 1:7 (MSG)
1:7 He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business.

Several years ago, Ms. Cricket, my bride, a dear friend, Ms. Fitt and myself were driving down Rio Grande Ave. one evening when I noticed a Life Flight helicopter getting ready to land at Citizen’s Hospital. I heard God tell me to drive over to the landing pad, there I found a man and woman standing near the pad hugging one another. I walked up and asked them if they were connected to the patient. They stated that the helicopter had come for their son to take him to San Antonio. He had been burned badly in a oil well fire. I told them that God had sent me to pray with them. We prayed for him and I told them that God said that their son would be alright. I didn’t ask their names, just the first name of the young man.

This morning as I was reading email and drinking that great first cup of mud (coffee), a young man walked into my office and greeted me. He extended his hand and said that he had heard that I was at Victory and wanted to come by and let me know how his life was going as I obviously had an interest in it. He saw a puzzled look on my face and asked, “You don’t remember me, do you?” I agreed. He said, “I am the guy who got burned up and you prayed for me, God sent you to pray for me!”

It was hard to believe as the last time I saw him, he was so badly burned. Now, he has no scars, had to have no skin grafts, no signs that he had been burned. Praise God! He briefly recounted the incident and then began to tell me how his life had changed. As he had found Jesus through that appointment and time in his life, and gotten his life back together, he was picked up on a warrant and placed in jail for an offense that he did not commit and was in jail for three months due to mistaken identity. He said that he did not mind being there because it seemed that God had a purpose in his being jailed. It was a divine appointment.

During the time that he was in jail, he testified to many inmates about what had happened in his life and several came to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He was instrumental in assisting several in kicking their drug habit and after three months, he had a court date and they realized that they had the wrong person in custody, the last name being the same but the first name different. He said that he was not angry because he felt God put him there for a reason.

He thanked me for keeping the divine appointment with him so that he could meet Jesus, and then he asked me for a great big hug and said that he would be back to check on me and share some coffee.

I share this for two reasons: First of all, to praise God for His goodness and for allowing me to experience seeing the fruit borne out of seeds planted. We so often, as sowers, never get to see the fruit of the seed sowed. Secondly, to remind us (myself included) that God provides so many divine appointments for us to share His gospel, His love, His presence, but we, too often, are so busy that we miss those appointments or we just don’t listen to His voice.

Quite often, we walk pass the obvious opportunities to minister while looking for the opportunity to minister because we are defining those opportunities instead of letting God appoint us to them. We need to rise up each morning with no other agenda than keeping those appointments set by God, in other words, let the timing be His, not ours. We need to learn to work our agenda in between that of God’s instead working a little bit of God’s into our agenda.

Lord, give us ears to hear your voice, a sense of discernment to recognize that which is of you and that which is of the world, that which is of you and that which is only of us, that we might keep the appointments you set for us to open the door that would lead another to come to know You and Your awesome goodness. Please forgive us for the times that we allow our agenda to get in front of Yours.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
Bro. Mike
Bikers For Christ
Elder, Central Coast Region

One Rule

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:36:52 -0500

Summer is flying past and many of our brothers and sisters have been in Sturgis all week! I was sorry I couldn’t go, but as I have counseled many in recent days, family priorities trump ministry sometimes.

I have preached on this topic several times this year, but God has placed in on my heart again so I want to share:

In the garden, God gave us one rule to follow, “...Of the tree in the middle of the garden, you may not eat.” God meant this rule for our protection, not to be mean to us. Since we broke that rule, He gave us the Ten Commandments, again for our protection. After we immediately broke those, He gave us the Levitical Law which I understand is comprised of more than 600 rules, again for our protection.

Finally, while being questioned by a lawyer about “...which is the great commandment in the law?“ Jesus answered in Matthew 22:36 to 39, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In his book Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus pointed out that for us to love God is not a miracle. It is a logical response when we understand who God is and what He has done for us. The true miracle is when people actually obey the second of the great commandments! It is a miracle when we love each other.

To Jesus, this was so significant that He told us that the love we show each other is a distinguishing mark of our salvation. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 It was so important that this was one of the last things He taught the 12 prior to His death. He even called it a New Commandment in John 13:34.

Application
Those of us who are true followers of Christ, who proclaim His love and forgiveness of sins, MUST demonstrate that reality in the way we conduct ourselves toward one another. We MUST love each other, or our proclamations of faith and hope will ring hollow to those who observe us.