tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10921350276143056482024-03-05T20:42:34.701-06:00Living The ExperienceDr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-91002014816183151922016-08-31T16:02:00.001-05:002016-08-31T16:06:13.656-05:00Excited By Another's Sin...From A Certain Point Of View<div align="center">
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"Awake, you who sleep,</div>
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Arise from the dead,</div>
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And Christ will give you light." (Ephesians 5:14)</div>
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This is going to sound a bit weird, but I am very excited about the future...and it has begun by the conscious sin of another person (group of persons). Let me explain.<br />
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In recent months a movement within our denomination (The United Methodist Church) made the decision to deny Scriptural principles concerning human sexuality and relationship, to defy the Discipline of our denomination, and to display a lack of integrity when it comes to keeping their own sacred vows of covenant. The issues, was the election of an openly gay bishop by the Western Jurisdiction. This decision was the crowning "achievement" (disgrace) of a 40 year movement within Methodism.<br />
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For me personally, this was a sin for all the reasons I mentioned above. And I am glad it has finally happened. Why...because now those of us who believe in the authority and power of God's holy Word must wake up. The evangelical believer's within United Methodism must rise from the seeming dead and experience the life that Christ has waiting for His faithful Bride.<br />
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The verse I began this post with spoke of waking up and rising form the dead; it spoke of receiving the light from Christ. But interestingly enough, it comes after the Apostle Paul has been writing about walking in the light (vs. 8); about finding out what is acceptable to God (vs. 10); and about not having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness....but rather about exposing that darkness (vs. 11). God is calling the church to WAKE UP. And perhaps, just maybe, this is the wake-up call the Church has been needing.<br />
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For those who have been faithful stewards, let me ask you a question. Do you truly believe that God is God, and the He is able? If so, then know that He knows exactly what the Church needs. And sometimes, it needs a spiritual kick in the b.......well, you know what I mean.<br />
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I have shared with many that instead of wanting to break away from The United Methodist Church, I am excited about the possibility of revival that this conflict has brought to us. It is my heartfelt belief that The United Methodist Church stands on the cusp of two possibilities: <br />
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1. The destruction of Methodism's continued testimony in the world. <br />
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2. A great and new spiritual awakening within Methodism. <br />
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I choose not to give up on what God can do through His faithful servants. <br />
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I have come to be excited about the revival my children can inherit within The United Methodist Church. Will the Church look different for my children than it does now...sure. Will there be the need for God to do a cleansing of His Church...sure. Will God's people have to endure a separating of the chaff for a healthy harvest to grow...sure. But my God is able, and I believe His people must fall on their face, pray, turn from their sin and seek His amazing, grace lined faced. God can heal His Church, and I am excited to see what the future holds during this time of revival.<br />
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So yes, I am excited about the catalyst that this sin provides within The United Methodist Church. I am excited for the revival that is just waiting to happen. And I beg those who are heartbroken by the "brokenness" of our connection, don't leave, or turn away...become part of the revival to come. Get excited about what God is going to do.Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-42071814039275212182016-03-02T09:55:00.000-06:002016-03-02T09:55:08.410-06:00To My Children...I Am Sorry<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I have watched what is happening in our society I feel the overwhelming urge to apologize to my children. Let me explain.</div>
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As a parent it is my heart felt desire that my children inherit a world, a country, a church that will nurture them, give them hope and be something healthy and strong. Instead we are giving them exactly the opposite; or at least so it seems.</div>
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Scripture states that:</div>
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"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34, NKJV).</div>
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Or, as one paraphrase version words it:</div>
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"God-devotion makes a country strong; God-avoidance leaves people weak" (TMSG).</div>
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I am sorry to my kids that our nation has become weak. Weak in its morals. Weak in its willingness to stand up for what is right. We try so hard to not offend anyone, that we avoid standing on God's Word or His standards. We have worked so hard to take God out of every aspect of our society and daily lives that we have become morally bankrupt as a people; and then want to blame God for our distress. </div>
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I have watched the recent political discourse, and just as in past political environments, I am amazed at the naivety. We have people saying that their moral goodness or compromise won't effect their decision making processes; after all we are not electing a Pastor-in-Chief. But it seems to me that what you hold dear; what you consider to be of most value cannot help but to influence the choices you make and the issues on which you are willing to stand. As our leaders become more and more spiritually bankrupt we bury our heads in the sand and hope for something better. The problem with burying your head in the sand is it leaves you in the perfect position to be squarely kicked in the.....well you get the idea. We avoid the expectation of moral uprightness and godliness and so we become weak. So, to my kids I say, "I am sorry."</div>
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Another area where I must tell my kids I am sorry, has to do with the divided world we are leaving them. You turn on the TV and what you see and hear is a nation tearing itself apart. We argue over who is the most racist, when the reality is racism is rampant in all areas of society; red, yellow, black and white. We argue over whose lives matter most. We become antagonistic when one side dares to disagree with our stance on this issue or that. We yell that we are so angry with the establishment, but then proceed to divide our society even more.</div>
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In the Church we talk and debate about which sins are hurting our people the most. Which is kind of silly. It is like saying; "which is making us more dead; murder or decease." Friends, dead is dead no matter how you get there. We divide our congregations along political and societal morays; and in turn become more focused on our divisions than we do on God's call to unity in the Church.</div>
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In 1858 in an address to the Illinois Republican State Convention, Abraham Lincoln reminded the people of the words of Christ when he spoke of the "house divided." Jesus said it this way:</div>
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“Every kingdom divided<sup> </sup>against itself is headed
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and a house divided against itself falls" (Luke 11:17, HCSB).</div>
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Lincoln saw, even before he ran for President, that if our nation continued down the road of division it was doomed. So what have we given our children, a nation that is growing more and more divided with every political speech, every new social movement, every new way to be offended. We have given our children a nation of hate, distrust and division, and for that I am sorry. We have left for our children a Church more interested in political, social and personal agendas than being a people of the Book; letting God's standards draw us together. And for that I am sorry.</div>
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I so desperately want my children to have the future that God has promised them (Jeremiah 29:11). I deeply want them to know what it means to be the people of God seeing the blessings of God. Perhaps it is time for God's people to start living God's purposes in our lives, our homes, our communities. After declaring that God is Lord and that we should love Him with all that we are, Scripture goes on to tell us that we should make God's words a part of our heart and then:</div>
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"...teach them diligently to your children,..talk of them when you
sit in your house, </div>
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when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you
rise up. </div>
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You shall bind them
as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets </div>
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between your eyes. You shall write them on the
doorposts of your house </div>
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and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:7-9).</div>
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To my kids I am sorry for what we have left you. But to my kids I also declare; "It does not have to remain this way." In our home, our Churches, our community we must place God back on the throne of our lives, nation and society. As parents we must live, teach and make a priority out of being a God-focused, God-honoring people. As the people of God we must "pray, seek" His "face, and turn from" our "wicked ways" (2 Chronicles 7:14) for it is only then that we will see the hand of God heal our land.</div>
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I am tired of being sorry for what we are leaving our kids. Perhaps instead of living in a state of constant "sorry" it is time for us to live in a state of proactive faith.</div>
Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-45682268677692611852014-04-18T10:51:00.000-05:002014-04-18T10:53:33.596-05:00Thank God It's Friday<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Thank God It's Friday! How many times have we said, or thought, those words? I mean, these words are so popular there is even a modern restaurant chain called T.G.I.F. People seem to live for Friday. So, what's the big deal with Friday?</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">I remember an old spiritual that had these words: "All my trials, Lord, soon forgotten." And that kind of sums up Friday. We have stresses that have built up throughout the week. Yet, no matter what the week throws out at us, it's OK because Friday's coming. And with it will come hope and rejuvenation. Let's face it, many of us live for the weekends. We love the freedom from the stresses of the "work" week. We love spending a couple of days with no real expectations. We need our batteries recharged. So yes, Friday is a big deal. So we all cry: "Thank God it's Friday!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Yet, this Friday is a special Friday, because this Friday is "Good Friday." It is the day that we remember the death of Christ on a cross. It is the day we remember the sacrifice for our sins. And you know what? Thank God it's Friday!</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">In Romans 5:6-11 we read:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>6</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">For when we were
still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>7</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">For scarcely for a
righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare
to die. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>8</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>9</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Much more then,
having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through
Him. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>10</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">For if when we
were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>11</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">And not
only </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i>that,</i></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> but we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
the reconciliation.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">In this passage we see an exciting statement of TGIF.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Just like the life of the hectic work week, we all have those times of struggles and pain. For some it is the pain of illness or relational discord. For others it is the pain brought on from our own sinful choices. For others the pain might be harder to define. Yet one thing is sure, we have times in our lives when we are "without strength." In the midst of this difficult life God has made promise, that in our struggles, His death shines. It was on Friday that He fulfilled His promise that even though we are sinners, He would still die for us. When we are without strength He would die for us. For those of us who needed the weekend of salvation to arrive: Thank God it's Friday!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">As we struggle through our lives we find, that just like the one living for the weekend, we need relief from the ravages of life. We need freedom from the pain; freedom from the stress; freedom from the power of sin in our lives. It was the blood of Christ shed on that fateful Friday that justified us and freed us from sin's dark sway. In our bonds, His death releases. For those of us who need to experience freedom that only God can give: Thank God it's Friday!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Life is hard and the trials severe. Because of sin in our lives we live struggling to experience the relationship with God that we were created to have. It is exciting to think that on that momentous Friday, God reconciled us to Himself and gave us the life we so desperately need. At the end of the work weak we are tired and worn, similarly we find that life wears us down and we are weak. Yet, in our weakness His death, and resurrection, revives. For those of us who need to be rejuvenated and reconciled we find that it is only possible through that death of Christ on Friday: Thank God it's Friday!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Because of Friday we have life. Because of Friday we have forgiveness. Because of Friday we have hope. Because of Friday we can face tomorrow. Thank God It's Friday!</span></span></div>
Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-8783963469557280202014-01-08T10:58:00.000-06:002014-01-08T10:58:11.282-06:00Table Scraps And The Beggar God<div style="text-align: justify;">
Imagine with me a great estate during ancient times. You have entered into a large dining hall filled with guests, and at the front of the room is a raised dais upon which sits the head of the household and the special guest for this banquet. As is customary, when the main meat of the meal is served the host stands and carves for the honored guest the choicest cut of the meat, serving him with his own hands. Once the guest of honor has been served then the meat is carved and served to the rest of the evening's guests. At the conclusion of the meal, whatever is left over is taken outside of the estate and given to the beggars. This is done for two reasons: as a means of disposing of what is left over, and as a way for the lord of the home to assuage his guilt and be able to say that he has done his duty and given to others.</div>
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This scene was the norm in ancient times, and, for me, is a poignant image of the lives of many Christians today. Think of our lives as being served up as a great banquet. Then, ask yourself this question: "What part of my life do I serve up to the Lord?" Do I give Him the first, and finest cut of my life, or have I reduced Him to the role of the beggar God who is only worthy of my left over table scraps.</div>
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When we who have claimed Christ as Lord and Savior allow our lives to become consumed by our families, jobs, recreation, social status, social media, and so forth, and then try to fit Christ into what is left over in our schedule, we are giving Him the table scraps. When God is what we try to make time for rather than the first priority in our lives, then we have turned Him into the beggar God of our lives. </div>
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There should never be any doubt about whether we will worship in His house on Sunday. For if He is truly Lord, then we will remember His day "to keep it holy." We will not "forsake the assembling of ourselves together." We will give Him the first cut, not the left overs.</div>
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There should never be any doubt about our commitment to discipleship and growth. For if He is truly Lord, then we will "deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him." We will give Him the first cut, not the left overs.</div>
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There should never be any doubt about our love for, and ministry to, others. For if He is truly Lord, then we will have "love for one another, and thus show the world that we are His disciples." We will give Him the first cut, not the left overs.</div>
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The list can go on and on. But, to put it another way, let's look once again at the great statement of faith for the Jewish people, the SHEMA, which Christ declared to be the greatest commandment.</div>
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<em>"Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord,</em></div>
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<em>your God </em><em>with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."</em></div>
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-Deuteronomy 6:4-5</div>
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Dear Lord, I pray, let me never reduce You to the role of my personal beggar God. May I not be guilty of just fitting You into my timetable, but rather fit my timetable around You. Father God, please be the honored guest of my life to whom I serve the first and finest cut of myself. Be the One, Lord God of my life each and every day. Amen.</div>
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Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-19696896009174914032012-02-08T10:06:00.001-06:002014-01-08T10:59:19.086-06:00The Beginning of Victory (Ephesians 6:10)<div align="justify">
I have recently begun a study series at our church entitled <em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">SWAG: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God</span></em>. In preparing for this series I have, of course, gone back and revisited God's Word on the topic in my own personal times with God. Over the course of the next several blogs I wanted to share what God is teaching me.</div>
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In Ephesians 6:10-18 we see God's insights on spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare is real and until we accept that fact we can never truly experience victory over our temptations and sins. Each of us have areas in our lives in which we are going to be under attack from the evil forces around us; and that attack will depend on where we are most vulnerable. I know that for me spiritual warfare is a reality that I can never escape. But what has bugged me the most is why it seems that when I have finally gotten victory I turn right around and succumb to the same old temptations and weaknesses. So I decided that I needed to address this issue for myself before I even thought about teaching these lessons to the young adults in our group. With that said, let me share what God has taught me is the foundational building block to victory during spiritual warfare.</div>
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<em>Finally brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. - Ephesians 6:10</em></div>
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This simple verse hit me like a ton of bricks when I read it, for it lays bare my own worst enemy...self. Notice that the Apostle Paul provides for us two clues to victory in this passage that I know I needed to come to grips with.</div>
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<strong>Be Strong In The Lord</strong></div>
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Wow!. When I look back at the times that I have sought to experience victory over my areas of weakness and eventual sin I have made one big drastic mistake. I have stood strong...in myself. "I am a 'man of God' so certainly I know what it takes to beat the devil," I would say to myself. I would read the Bible and pray, while all the time being confident in my belief that I was strong enough to stand against all that this world and the devil might throw at me. And so naturally I would fail time and time again. Simply put, when we are standing in our own spirituality, confidence and personal pride we will lose the battles. </div>
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We must "stand strong in the Lord." It is He who fought the grand battle for our souls on the cross. It is He who descended into hell and took the power of life and death from the grave. It is He who rose and assured the victory. And it is He whom we must trust. To stand on Christ is to stand on the Solid Rock of salvation. To stand on self is to stand on the shifting sands of weakness and unworthiness.</div>
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<strong>In The Power Of His Might</strong></div>
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Closely related to the truth that we must stand on Christ if we are going to experience victory is that we must also trust in His power and not our own. I do not know about you but one reality has hit me hard in recent days, I am not strong enough in and of myself to win the battles. For my own personal battlegrounds I find that when I stand on my own pride and trust in my "inner strength" I will fail every time. Oh, I might have victory for a season, but ultimately I will fail because my strength and power reserves are limited. God's strength and power is not limited!</div>
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If we are going to find victory in times of spiritual warfare it must begin with the Lord. We in and of ourselves cannot win these battles, but He has already won the war. And when we put our trust in Him, stand on His assurances and fight with His might then victory is assured. There is one simple truth that we must never forget. GOD ALWAYS WINS! Victory in spiritual warfare begins and ends with the Lord and so we must choose to begin our march towards victory with Him.</div>
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<em>Dear Lord, You know that I am weak. Yet I know that You are strong. I struggle on a daily basis with the spiritual warfare that threatens to overwhelm me. Please help me to get out of the way and to stand on You, and trust in Your power to defeat the temptations in my life. I need You to win these battles. So here I am Lord, I choose to trust Your battle plan as You go before me into the land that You have given me. Thank You Lord for being my...Lord. Amen.</em></div>
Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-38309772305871519042011-08-07T20:26:00.000-05:002016-08-31T17:17:34.329-05:00The Shepherd, The Sheep and A Shrub<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recently I was writing the second chapter of a new book about a Christian life that is Built 2 Last. In this chapter I was writing about the foundation of our life being built on Jesus Christ. At one point I was talking about the hope that is found in Christ, and especially the role of the Shepherd with His sheep. During this time God taught me a valuable lesson. Isn't it amazing that when we are trying to write lessons to teach others God goes and decides to make it personal for us instead? The lesson had to do with the Shepherd, the sheep and a shrub.</div>
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Have you ever thought about what a shepherd really does for the sheep? He nurtures them when they hurt. He protects them from harm. He disciplines them when they stray. And he leads them to green pastures. And one thing about the leading of the sheep to pasture that struck me was that the Shepherd will always lead the sheep to the pastures that he has determined to be best for them at that moment. Sometimes the pastures are lush and green, and sometimes they are full of nothing but shrubs. Either way, the shepherd always seeks to lead the sheep to what is best for them at that time.</div>
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Now that truth hit me kind of hard. I look at those times in my life when God has led me to a life with plenty of resources to live comfortably. Life was good. But then I think of times when life has not gone as planned. There have been times when we did not know how we were going to pay the electric bill that month, times of want and uncertainty. It seems that God at timers leads us into a time of shrubs and not so tasty grass. But the real lesson that needs to be learned is that even the shrubs are good. Why? Because the Shepherd has led me to them. When you are following the Lord He will always lead you to what is best for you at that time. The real challenge is to trust His plan enough that even in those times of shrubbery and tasteless grass you can say...life is good. Because life is always good when you are where God intends you to be at that time.</div>
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<em>Father God help me to trust Your plan. As I learn to live on the means You have provided, help me trust Your plan. As we live a life of faith that is challenging and even at times discouraging, help us to trust Your plan. When it does not make sense, help me to trust Your plan. Thank You for all the times when my family and I have had to trust You to be our provider. May we never forget that need, even when, or if, You finally lead us to lush green pastures. Wherever You may lead us, help us to trust Your plan. Amen.</em></div>
Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-637827188787143612011-03-29T22:42:00.002-05:002011-03-30T16:22:21.552-05:00The Humble Prophet...Is That an Oxymoron?<div style="text-align: justify;">It seems that God is constantly seeking to teach us new things. And sometimes those lessons are not easy ones to accept. Perhaps that is because His lessons always meet us where we are, and if where we are is not where He wants us to be, then it is us who must move. Lately, one of those difficult lessons has been warring within my soul. Let me try to explain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whenever I have had the opportunity to take one of those spiritual gifts inventories or questionnaires the same two gifts from God always appear at the top of my list. Now God has allowed me to see Him develop other gifts in my life as I have matured or changed in my journey. At the same time there are other gifts that I wonder if they were even on the inventory, mainly because I simply do not have those gifts in any measure. But these same two gifts have remained a constant for me for the just under 30 years that I have been saved. These are Prophecy (which usually has scored within a couple of points of being maxed out) and Evangelism in a close second. I have also noted that these two gifts often times go hand in hand, especially for someone God intends to be serving Him in that intimidating field of the vocational evangelist.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me the acceptance of these two gifts, especially the one of Prophecy has been difficult. You see, to say that I have the gift of prophecy sounds almost arrogant. And I truly do not want to be known as an arrogant man (believe it or not). Now, for the New Testament church the prophet is one who has been gifted by God to speak forth His mind and counsel concerning His church. Literally, when I go into a congregation it takes almost no time before I begin to see and sense issues and needs. Most times I will become overwhelmed with the desire to stand up and say "don't you see, God's word speaks to this. Why are you not seeing it?" What is clear to a prophet may not be so clear to others, and for the prophet that is very frustrating. Inherent in this Christ given office is a passion for proclaiming God's word to His people, clearly and effectively. The prophet is driven by the need to see God's people catch that vision of what God can do in their midst if they will only respond to His call. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the gift of prophecy comes an unfortunate side-effect.....arrogance and pride. Or at least the appearance of arrogance and pride. Before you judge too harshly remember that anyone who has been placed in a position of influence and responsibility must guard against this very temptation. And as if that is not hard enough, God then turns around and commands us to be humble. In Proverbs 29:23 we read:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The humble prophet. It can literally seem to be an oxymoron. But that is the very need and call that God has had me wrestle with for years. Today I found myself on my face at the altar of my home church (no lights on or watching eyes to be impressed) simply crying out to God to give me a humble spirit. For any minister that has to be our deep prayer. If humility is not at the forefront of our hearts and minds, then when someone responds to God's call to salvation...then for our minds it is a short step to seeing that obviously it was because of our great powers of persuasion. If humility is not a primary element of our ministry then the addiction to the praises of the people when we preach, sing, teach or whatever we may do "for the Lord" can and will grow. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To be humble, according to the dictionary, is to not be proud or arrogant, to be modest. And here is the challenge I face. With all my heart I plead with God to make me a humble man, seeking to be all that He has called me to be. At the same time, I have to pray that God will also never let me be afraid to stand and preach His message, even when others do not want to hear. God has plans for His people, and sometimes God sends His prophets into our midst to lead us back onto His course and His plan. I pray that God will give me the ability to speak His words without reservation and fear, but to do so with a humble spirit and a modest attitude.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dear Lord, humble my heart and ministry. May it never be about the message <em>I</em> preach but always about the <em>Message</em> that is from You and You alone. May Your people hear Your words, spoken by Your servant with humility and grace. Here am I, Lord, send me.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-36061282306041546142011-03-22T22:57:00.001-05:002011-03-23T07:36:46.575-05:00The Man of God...What Ministers Tend To Forget<div align="justify">Let me share with you something God has placed on my heart. I honestly wish that God would allow me to stand before a group of seminarians someday and preach this simple message. I was thinking about the call of the ones who call themselves Pastor, or some other vocational minister. What exactly is our call? For that matter, are we living up to our call? Of course there are passages of Scripture that come to mind when talking about God's expectations for His servants. Such passages as the call for every believer to be about the business of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, making disciples (not just converts) of the Lord. Then there is the gift of ministry from Christ found in Ephesians 4:11ff, where each of those gifted by Christ for the gospel ministry are expected to be about the business of equipping the saints for ministry. And who can forget Paul's challenge to young Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, challenging him to preach the word, be ready in season and out of season and so forth. God has certainly placed a high calling on those whom He has set aside for vocational ministry.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Then I realized that among the many other passages concerning God's servant there is one that stands as an indictment on many of us. It is a simple one verse passage found in Habakkuk 2:1. It says:</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>I will stand my watch </em></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>And set myself on the rampart, </em></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>And watch to see what He will say to me, </em></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>And what I will answer when I am corrected. (NKJV)</em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Within this passage are four aspects of the man of God that we tend to forget, or at the very least neglect in our ministries. Let's look briefly at these four challenges.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">First...The Man of God will be a <strong>Watchman</strong> (<em>I will stand my watch</em>) When I first thought of this idea I was drawn to Ezekial 33. God tells Ezekiel that he as been made a watchman. The duty of the watchman was to be faithful to keep up the watch, looking for what threatens the people. And when that threat arises, they are to speak out with all their mighty voice. When the watchman calls out, if the people do not listen then they suffer their fate, and it is on their own heads. But God warns Ezekiel that if the watchman does not stand their watch and warn the people, the people will still perish, but God will require their blood at the watchman's hand. Wow! How many ministers are so busy being popular and non-threatening that they are sitting by passively and watching thier churches crumble and the people around them die without Christ? Habakkuk's statement was one of intentionality. I WILL STAND MY WATCH. It is so much more than writing an elloquent sermon, or doing some deep blog for your people to read and go "Gee look how great our Pastor is." It is about being faithful to do your duty, which will supercede your comfort zone. Can God count on us to do the same?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Second...The Man of God will be a <strong>Warrior</strong> (<em>I will set myself upon the rampart</em>) I have always loved the image in Nehemiah 4. As God's people were working to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem they worked with the one hand while holding a spear or sword in the other. No matter the task they found themselves engaged in they were always ready to do battle with the enemies of God. Sometimes we as ministers forget that we are called on by God not to be popular or avoid conflict, but to fight for God, His people and His word. Too many ministers are cowards, unwilling to rock the boat, unwilling to take a stand on something that might cost them tithers for the collection plate. Tell me Pastor, are you ready to be a warrior for God; not just fighting the devil in the great battle scenes of history, but fighting his smaller battles in the trenches of your congregation and community?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Third...The Man of God will be a <strong>Wise Man</strong> (<em>And watch to see what He will say to me</em>) So often ministers will reach a point where they are so convinced of their "expertise" they forget to be teachable. They can become convinced that they have the knowledge they need...often times even forgetting to listen to God. I know a minister who's church has been in a state of steady decline for over 15 years. From worship to Sunday School, people have been leaving out the back door far faster than the church is winning new believers. In a conversation with him one day he basically informed me that he was a guru of church growth, knowing just how to grow the church. I sat there stunned, wanting to ask him if he had looked at his congregation recently. Job 12:13 tells us that: "with Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understadning." Tell me oh man of God, are you actively looking for what God may have to teach you? A wise man never stops learning and growing.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Fourth...The Man of God will be a <strong>Willing Servant</strong> (<em>And what I will answer when I am corrected</em>) Have you ever considered the fact that a true servant has to always be willing to adapt and change, meeting the needs and desires of their master? I have known way too many Pastors who would never be willing to admit when they might be wrong, or have failed in some way. No, they will assume that it is someone else's fault, or that the devil just won a victory today. But the true servant of God is always ready to be remade and reformed by God. We must be like the clay in the potter's hand that Jeremiah 18 speaks of. When we fail or are marred, God must be able to remold and remake us into whatever He may choose. It is curious to note that Habakkuk states that what he is most anxious to know is how will he respond when those times of chastisement and challenge from the Lord come. Are we, as servants of God, willing to let God change us; remold and remake us? Are we willing servants of His?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">God has placed a great call on those who serve Him fulltime. But perhaps greatest of all deals with their integrity as men of God. We are called to be Watchmen, Warriors, Wise Men and Willing Servants. Dear Lord, make me into the man of God You have called me to be. Here am I, send me.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-34605073054045164952011-03-20T22:30:00.003-05:002011-03-20T23:55:13.992-05:00Forgiveness, Holiness and Peace With God<div style="text-align: center;"> <em>Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. - Hebrews 12:14</em></div><br />
<div align="justify">Over the past years God has been working in me to learn how to seek forgiveness for when I have wronged people or when my thoughts towards them have been unkind and uncharitable. There are times, even when we mean well, that it is possible to allow our thoughts and attitudes to become unloving. When we realize this it becomes vital that we seek forgiveness from those whom we have judged, perhaps unfairly. For every believer there is the need to stop and ask the question...do I need to seek forgiveness from someone else? Or, do I need to forgive someone for the hurt they have caused me?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Why?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">It is really very simple. As God says in Hebrews 12:14 - unless you are at peace with others and living a life of holiness you cannot truly experience the Lord. When you mislead, or slander, or in some other way fail to treat someone else with a Christlike spirit, then you harm you own relationship with God. When you have unholiness in your life, be it in your actions, attitudes or agendas, your relationship with God will suffer. Why do churches struggle to grow and see God's hand moving in powerful ways in their midst? I believe one of the reasons is that they are not living in peace with others and exemplifying a holy lifestyle. The church will get caught up in its programs and, dare I say it, policies and forget peace with God and man. The minister, myself included, will become wrapped up in their own feelings, fallacies and focuses and forget faithfulness to their call. And when we fail the Lord then we will miss out on so many of His blessings for our lives.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">I most definitely do not want to miss out on the many great things He has in store for me and my family. So, I have come to realize that each of us must be willing to swallow our egos and pride and seek forgiveness and the power of God to live at peace with others and Him as well as to be living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. Notice that the writer of Hebrews talks about pursuing peace. It is a conscious choice, a proactive form of Godliness.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Dear Lord, make me pleasing in Your sight, holy in my walk and allow be to live at peace with those You have called me to serve.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>enemies to be at peace with him. - Provers 16:17</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-74958836730139769972011-03-19T22:56:00.002-05:002011-03-21T22:14:10.799-05:00God Always Wins<div style="text-align: justify;">I had the privilege of interacting with one of my former youth this week. She contacted me with a question of how to discuss salvation with someone of a different Christian faith group. I have prayed and thought long a hard about this and keep finding myself being drawn back to one passage of Scripture. So, let's hang out for a few minutes in Ephesians 2 as we seek to answer a couple of her questions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first question that she mentioned had to do with the belief her friend has that assurance of salvation and grace is wrapped up in his acts of religious service, works and sacrifice. the belief goes that if they do not confess their sins to the priest, or do certain religious works then they can fall from the grace of God. Now before we are too harsh on this individual think long and hard about it. How many of us treat church attendance, missions projects, financial giving and so on as some kind of spiritual check list to prove to ourselves and others that we are really saved? It is a trap that any can fall into. So we must be oh so very careful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With this first question in mind I am naturally drawn to Paul's word in Ephesians 2. He reminds us in the earlier portions of this passages that we were all people who have been confronted with being dead in our trespasses and sins. Everyone is a sinner. The real challenge is in what can be done about our sins. Paul tells us that it was in Christ that we are alive, by way of God's great mercy. Then there are those great verses:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em> it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. (vs. 8-9)</em></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lock this in my friends. You can do nothing to earn, win or guarantee in your salvation. It is only through faith (a trusting in God - giving yourself without reservation into His hands) that salvation happens and is assured. You will never be able to do enough religious acts to gain or hold onto salvation. What God looks for are people who will walk by faith, living lives surrendered to Him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This brings me to her second question. This friend of hers has found that they suffer from great spiritual oppression. There are nightmares and fears of @#!*% and suffering. So many times people who are seeking for God will find that spiritual warfare will rage around them, after all the devil does not want to lose even one soul to the powerful grace of God. Which brings me right back to Ephesians 2. You see, Paul goes on to talk about how when we truly experience salvation through faith in the blood of Christ we become a part of His people. He talks about being strangers and aliens who were without hope, being without God having to live in this sinful world. Then these words:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been </em><em>brought near by</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em> the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace.... (vs. 13-14a)</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the blood of Christ is peace, victory and the true wonder of the grace of God. Sometimes those of us who call ourselves "evangelical, born again believers" forget that. It does not matter what the world might try to throw at you...if you are in Christ you are apart of something much larger than the world and its evil forces. Remember one basic truth whenever you are being oppressed by this evil world...GOD ALWAYS WINS!!! Do Christians have struggles that seek to overwhelm them? Sure. But God Will Always Win (and so will we when we walk in Him). Do you desire to have victory over the trials of this life? Then become part of His family.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. (vs. 19)</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those of us who are willing to have faith and trust in Jesus Christ (not the religions, religious laws, machinations of churches and saints - who are ordained by God but not infallible) we are part of His household, and God will fight for His own. And GOD ALWAYS WINS.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-68512394369680559242011-03-17T20:00:00.001-05:002011-03-17T22:54:14.954-05:00His Workmanship<div style="text-align: center;"><em>"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" - Ephesians 2:10</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I, like so many ministers before me, have always used this verse to speak of the fact that God's intention for those who have been saved by grace, is that they serve Him. We are called to make a difference in people's lives. Yet, this morning, during my personal time with God something else just kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. You see, this verse has another truth built into it beyond just the call to serve God. How does the verse begin...We Are HIS WORKMANSHIP.... God is constantly at work in our lives and has been doing so since we first called upon Him to be saved. Actually He has been at work drawing us to Him even longer than that, it is what the United Methodist doctrine calls "prevenient grace." God was/is at work drawing you to Him so that you could be saved and then serve Him. You are His Workmanship...created the way He intended you to be created.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Have any of us ever made mistakes or sinned...yes? And with that sin comes guilt, hurt, the punishment of God. And then His grace kicks in and we can turn to Him and find hope, renewal and a fresh start. And not only for the new believer, but for us believers who have made mistakes too. Why would God impart grace to us when we have blown it? Because we are His workmanship, and He is not through with us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do you ever suffer from insecurities because of your looks, body type, socio-economic group, race or so on. Well guess what? You are His workmanship. You are who He intends you to be. He knew before He ever gave you life the choices you would make. He knew before you were ever born exactly what you would look like. He knew exactly what His call was for your life before you ever sinned. Why? Because you are His workmanship. And through His grace the work continues.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This has really hit home with me over the past 15 years of watching my home denomination and the churches I come to telling me that I am a divorced minister...so I am no longer called of God to ministry. But wait a minute. I am His workmanship. That means through His grace He still is at work in me and has a call for me. That truth holds for all of us. God's workmanship in our lives is not selective, giving grace to those of us with only certain sins. His grace and foreknowledge of our path and call, are all encompassing. If you have repented and placed yourself totally into His hands...then the work continues. After all, He has already invested so much into you, even to the point of the death of His Son for your future. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Friends. May we never forget or allow the biases and judgements of others cause us to doubt that we are "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I praise God that He isn't through with me yet. And I stand in confidence that He has a place for each of us to serve. Here am I Lord, send me.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-32098236864514231142010-08-29T19:46:00.001-05:002010-08-29T19:56:06.722-05:00Bath Time....Spiritually Speaking That Is<div style="text-align: justify;">Whew. Have you ever had one of those times when you had been doing something especially nasty, filthy or dirty and you (or your family) decided that you really stink? I have had times when I had gotten, in all honesty, quite dirty. I got home and decided I needed some clean fresh clothes on. So I went into the bed room, stripped off those filthy garments and then put on some nice freshly washed clothes and they smelled so nice. For a brief time. For you see, there is one big problem with taking of the filthy clothes and putting on those clean clothes...if you do not bathe your body you will just carry the stink over to the clean clothes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I share this for a reason. Tonight at worship the passage was from Ephesians 4:22-30. Even though the minister's message was about replacing the bad with something holy, I had something else that just kept coming back to me. Verses 22-24 state:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>"...that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now verses 22 and 24 speak about putting off the old man and putting on the new man that is created by God to be righteous and holy. But I think for many of us, I know it is for me, the real challenge is found in verse 23. You see, once we put off the old man we have to be "<em>renewed in the spirit</em>" - or to put it another way, we need to be spiritually cleansed in our inner most person. I know I need to fight the bad habit of trying to replace the old man with a new one, without truly letting God cleanse the who I am deep down. I realized, again, that just as in real life, we need to continually return to the cleansing power of the Spirit of God for our spiritual bath time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Titus 3:5 we read:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>"not by works of righteousness which we have done</em> (changing our outer self)<em>, but acdcording to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." </em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In other words, dear Lord, wash, cleanse me and renew me that I may truly put on the righteousness that is from God. Help me not be one that soils the new man and grament of righteousness that You have clothed me with. Amen.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-17774201476818378002010-08-23T09:01:00.000-05:002010-08-23T09:03:24.495-05:00Having The "Want To"<div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”</em> (John 5:5-6)</div><br />
<div align="justify">I was in church last night and the story of the man near the pool of Bethesda was explored. Throughout the message these two verses kept gnawing away at me. "<em>Do you want to be healed?</em>" Ouch.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">How many of us are hurting? Perhaps it is the pain of a lost loved one, like the hurt Michelle and I feel over the death of Janie Beth. Or it could be over the loss of personal health, or financial stability or whatever our illness, injury or pain is. And yet Jesus, who "<em>knew that he had already been in that condition a long time</em>" is keenly aware of our hurts and struggles and offers to us healing and victory. And with that thought in mind it seems as if the question Jesus asks is kind of one of those "well duh" moments. </div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">But is it.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">For so long one of the things that has helped me deal with the loss of our job has been the ability I have had to point a finger at those who did (and continue to do) us wrong. It is easy to blame our denomination for its judgementalism and lack of grace. To hold onto that pain and hurt (and the accompanying blame game) as a life line. And then Jesus has to go and ask me - "do you want to be healed?" If we are truly wanting His touch and healing how are we ever going to know how it feels to get up and walk? If we do not have the willingness to confront our excuses and hurts, how can we even hope to see victory in our lives?</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dear Lord, hear I am, a man with many hurts and struggles. A man with dreams crushed and pain that runs deep. But You are still an amazing God who wants to heal my life and give us a future and a hope. Help me to have the "want to" that will allow me to see Your healing power. Confront my excuses and pains and make me whole. Do I want to be healed..........YES! And again I say YES!</span></em></div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-56692236268477053432010-02-22T08:34:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.891-05:00Speak Lord, Your Servant Hears (John 3:31-36)<div style="text-align: justify;">God is talking to us . . . are we listening? Ordinarily I would say sure, I am listening God. But am I really? I do not know about you, but it seems that I constantly find myself screwing up this "holy" lifestyle that God has called us to live. So, why is it that I have such problems? I believe there are some strong cues that can be found in John 3:31-36:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now really look at what is being said here. Jesus, who came from God is above all things, thoughts, temptations and so on. And this Jesus, who is above all, is constantly trying to teach and guide us. And, according to this passage, it is when we are truly listening and "receive" His words that we find the truth of God certified, or sealed, in our lives. It is in making the lessons of Christ a very real part of our lives that we find total surrender to the Spirit of God possible. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have often found myself praying that God would send His Spirit to fill my life and guide me. I will pray that God's Spirit would inhabit my life. The thing is, when God gave me His Spirit at the point of salvation, He gave me all of His Spirit. There is nothing more of the Spirit for me to get. The real issue has to do with surrender to His Spirit. When I have surrendered all to the Spirit of God then He does have access to all my weaknesses and can strengthen me. At that point of total surrender God can enable me to find victory in life's struggles. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That brings us to the real rub. How do I find myself experiencing total surrender so that I can hear His voice in my life? I think John has given us the key in verse 36. Remember that to believe is to have proactive faith and trust in God. When I live out my faith in a real way, I find life and all the blessings that come with it. When I am not living in faith then I experience His wrath. The word used here for wrath in the original language can mean to not only experience His punishment for our sins, but to also incur His righteous indignation for our lack of faith. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Personally, I would prefer to live in the wealth of His blessings and presence, than in the wrath of His displeasure. I would rather know that His Spirit fills every nook and cranny of my life, and not just the public areas that everyone sees. To do that, I must be listening to His voice and receiving into my life the lessons He has for me. My testimony of the truth of God must be found in the attitude of young Samuel. "Speak Lord, for your servant hears."(1 Samuel 3:10)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Father God, help us to truly surrender all by not only listening to Your voice, but also by taking those lessons and living them out in a proactive life of trust. Amen!</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-56592929685487565532010-02-20T08:07:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.899-05:00A Whole Lot More - A Whole Lot Less (John 3:22-30)<div style="text-align: justify;">Today's post is short and simple. What will it take for us to see God do great things in our lives? I used to think it would only take God giving me the opportunity to do what it is I do. I used to act like it was all about what I wanted, could do with my talents and gifts, or what I felt I deserved given my training and education level. Well, it is amazing how God can disabuse us of such notions. Of all the men in Biblical times that had the right to expect more, I believe John the Baptist was the man. He was a miracle babe who had a large following. He was a fulfillment of prophecy who had a commanding presence that people were drawn to. Hey, he had a baptism record that would make any modern Baptist pastors envious. Yet, when pressed about his priorities he gave a simple, straight forward answer. We read it in John 3:30:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>He must increase and I must decrease.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's it. For John, his success had nothing to do with himself, it was all about Christ. It was about his ministry getting smaller if that meant Christ was even more renowned. How hard it is for us to actually be willing to say that we want Jesus to become so important that we will take a cut in popularity, prestige or power if it means that Jesus is proclaimed. Sometimes God has to remind us that success as Christians is actually measured by how Jesus is lifted up, not by how we are lifted up. After all, Jesus said it best:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” (John 12:32)</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">May we be about the business of lifting up Christ. It is my prayer that God will continue to teach me and mold me into the kind of man of God that is constantly lifting up Christ rather than myself. It is my prayer that there will be a whole more of Jesus and a whole lot less of me. That is what I call the increase-decrease principle of Christian success.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-50331028331310835422010-02-19T12:54:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.900-05:00The New Birth (part 3) - Lurking in the Dark, Living in the Light (John 3:16-21)<div style="text-align: justify;">I found it very interesting that when we come to Jesus it is more than just "being saved." It is also learning not to lurk. Most of us know that great expression of the gospel message in one verse, John 3:16:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."</em> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I noted in my last post; the word "believe" used here means to have active faith. . . to trust Jesus completely. God provides this life not because we deserve life, but simply because His love is ever so massive. When I was a Youth Minister I made up a word that I eventually had the entire youth group using; "mongambi." The word basically meant anything that was huge, beyond big and so on. I guess you could say that God has the mongambi of mongambi of all loves. And that loves is for anyone who will trust His Son with an active faith.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And then comes the kicker, at least for me. Jesus does not leave it with simply believing in Him. he then has to start with talking about condemnation. And the condemnation is found to be on a select group of people, John 318-21 says:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to this verse the condemnation is basically on those who continue to lurk in the darkness, rather than live in the light. To lurk means that we hide in the shadows with the intent of doing something wrong. I find it interesting how many times Christians lurk, no they are doing something they should not be doing (of course they do it in secret). We are called to come out of the dark places and live in the light, and we can only live in the light when we are believing (active faith) in Jesus. I have to wonder, even though I have trusted in Jesus for my salvation, am I living like it. Too often, we as Christians seem to think that we can get our "fire insurance" from hell and then live mostly however we desire. But the truth of the matter is, if I have believed on the Son of God. . . I will live like. Perhaps it is time for Christian to stop lurking in the darkness and and start truly living in the light. The Apostle Paul once stated in Acts 26:20;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>...repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lord, help me to live like one who has truly trusted in You, repented of my sins, and am living in the light. Amen!</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-55210954078336057012010-02-16T09:31:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.902-05:00The New Birth (part 2) - Snakes and Old Chairs (John 3:9-15)<div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes it amazes me how Jesus just seems to know what it will take to help us understand. We struggle with His lessons and teaching and yet here He is, loving us and meeting us where we are. As we pick up the story of Nicodemus, we come to a very interesting point. Jesus seems to be a little bit frustrated with Nicodemus' inability to understand, or sheer stubbornness. And then, almost as if He takes a deep breath and starts over, Jesus gives the following seemingly simple illustration. In John 3:14-15 we read:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.</em> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For any good Pharisee like Nicodemus this simple reminder from their past would speak volumes. You see, in the time that the Israelites where in the wilderness there came a point when the people rebelled against God (again). This time God allowed "fiery serpents" to enter the camp and begin poisoning the people. Of course they cried to Moses who talked to God on their behalf. God's response is listed in Numbers 21:8. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Notice the conditions. For those bitten by the serpent (a metaphor for sin) they had to not only believe God would heal them, they had to actually look at the serpent on the pole (the image of what was killing them). For us Jesus would become that serpent on a pole, a Savior on the cross. And like the Israelites of old, we must not only believe that God will save us from the poison of sin, we must act on that belief by trusting ourselves to Him. The word "believe" in John 3:15 is an action verb meaning to trust in an active way. I once used the illustration of an old chair, to help people understand. Have you ever seen a chair that you needed to sit in. You have seen that chair used by many people. You have complete belief that the chair can hold you up. But, until you actually sit in the chair you have not demonstrated faith. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Salvation, or for that matter forgiveness from any kind of sin, takes not only knowing you have been bit by the poison, or your desire to be healed of it; it takes more than just believing that God can heal you of the poison; it must involve an active faith. In Proverbs 28:13 we are told...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We cannot just lay there and let sin's poison wreak havoc on our lives. We must look to the serpent on the pole, the cross of Christ, and move from belief to active faith. Only then will we truly know the wonder of God's forgiveness and healing in our lives. May we move from snakes in the grass to the rickety old chair of faith.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-7637974761008192492010-02-15T10:30:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.903-05:00The New Birth [part 1] - The Techno Geek (John 3:1-8)<div style="text-align: justify;">One of the great passages in Scripture is the story of Nicodemus visiting Jesus and learning about the New Birth. As I was looking at this passage I find that there are a few things that I should be pointed out about the lesson Nicodemus needed to learn. So, I have decided to break this passage into three parts over the next three posts. The first lesson for us is taken from John 3:1-8, which says:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”</em></div><br /><div align="justify">We have all heard the rather straight forward statement by Jesus - "You must be born again." Yet, when sharing my faith with others I have noted that it is not uncommon for people to wrestle with the same question: "How does God give a person a spiritual birthday?" or "How can God truly save me?" In these instances I point people to verse 8 in this passage. Jesus describes the wind blowing where it wishes, and we have no idea how that happens, yet we still see the effect. Let me try to use another way to explain it, with a modern example. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">One of my favorite past-times is working on computers. I am admittedly a closet techno-geek. I was doing work on my in-laws' computer recently and tried to explain what I was doing to them. And yes, my father-in-law developed that thousand yard stare. You know the one; that stare that goes out of focus because he understands nothing I am saying. The technical details are beyond his knowledge base. At the same time, I know computer techs who can begin to talk about even more details in the working of a computer; and guess what happens when they talk to me - I get the out of focus thousand yard stare. Most of the people I know have different levels of understanding about the inner workings of a computer. But you know what I have also noticed. The computer programs and games that I play, work no better for me than they do for my father-in-law. My six year old son plays his games and he knows nothing about the computer. We do not have to know all the details to be able to enjoy the bennefits. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">The same holds true for God's working in our lives; be it salvation or just His works of grace. A big part of the lesson about the new birth is found in the simple fact that I do not have to have some great theological understanding to be saved, I just need to be able to trust Him. I need to allow His Spirit to work that great work of grace and regeneration in my heart and life. I do not need to be a spiritual techno-geek to be born again. Just a man of faith.........more ont hat in my next post.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-57686218045156830532010-02-11T09:29:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.905-05:00Can Jesus Trust Us? (John 2:23-25)<div align="justify">Sometimes when we go before God to learn from Him, He does not just teach us, He hits us right between the eyes. We talk about trusting and believing on Him, but I have never really given a lot of thought to the question; "Can He trust me?" In John 2:23-25 we read;</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For many of us the main part of this passage has been that people were believing in Jesus because they beheld His miracle working glory. Yet, I realized today that the real story is found in how Jesus responded to them. Here are all these poeple "believing" in Him and the Bible tells us that Jesus "did not commit Himself to them." Some translations will say that He did not trust, or entrust, Himself to them. Hmmmmmm. I realized that this needed some more investigation. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is interesting to note that the word used here, commit, is the Greek word "pisteuo" which is the verb form of the word "pistis" or faith. In other words, Jesus did not have active faith in them, enough to give Himself over to them. Of note, this is the same word used in the previous verse, and elsewhere in John's writings, to describe believing in Him. We talk about believing in Him for salvation, trusting ourselves into His care. But in this passage the same word is used to say that Jesus could not believe in these who were believing in Him. WOW! Why is that?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next verse states that Jesus knew them, meaning He could see into their hearts and minds. I think back to the times in my life when I believed in Jesus, yet I still committed willfull sin. Jesus teaches us that God is a discerner of the heart. He knows when we hide those little acts of rebellion from Him. He knows when we do not truly trust Him with all of ourselves. He knows the truth about us, and so, there are times when He cannot truly trust us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Psalm 139:23-24 we read:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting</em>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My prayer is that God will truly look into my heart and mind, and if there be any wickedness or sin there, that He will purge me. Or as the chorus goes....</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Change my heart, O God, make it ever true.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Change my heart, O God, may I be like You.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Courier New;">You are the Potter, I am the clay.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Courier New;">Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Father God, please change my heart. Cleanse me, mold me, make me and use me for Your glory. May I be a man of You that can truly walk in his integrity. Make me into someone You can trust and commit Yourself and the gospel message to. Amen!</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-60360694783673575402010-02-10T08:16:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.907-05:00House Cleaning (John 2:13-22)<div style="text-align: justify;">With spring not too far away, I must ask...how many of you have times when you just do a good old fashioned house cleaning, or as it is called - a spring cleaning? Most of us do. We go through the house, garage, closets, attic, and so on and so on ....... What we are doing is getting rid of the junk that is not doing us any good. Now keep that in mind as we explore the thoughts for today.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There have been times when I have gone to church and quite honestly, left feeling unfulfilled. I would blame it on the Preacher, the music service, the lady with the big hair in front of me, or whatever else I can find to gripe about. But how often is the problem really me? The question needs to be asked...why am I going to church? Is it to be seen? Is it to impress everybody with my great spiritual maturity (or lack there of)? Is it because it is my job or any other of a multitude of reasons? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I find it interesting that on two occasions Jesus is seen going into the temple and "cleansing" God's house: at the beginning of His ministry and at the end of His earthly ministry. When I look at the early account I notice a couple of things. First, look at verses 16-17:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wonder, when was the last time that my "zeal" for God's house ate me up? Just being so full of being in His place, that place that is meant to be a house of prayer, that all the trappings and doings are purely secondary. We get so caught up in what is being said, done, or not done that we forget to worship. We get so caught up in the business of the church that we forget to see the purpose fo the church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second point that I would like to make about this passage is found in verse 15:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables</em>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jesus' response to the junk in the temple was fairly straight forward...He drove it out. No compromise, no debate...this stuff is spoiling the purpose for which God gave us His house so it must go. The same can be said of the spiritual temple that God has given us...our selves. When was the last time I truly did a good old fashioned house cleaning of myself? To go in and find the junk, tucked away in closets, the attic, the garage of my life...and then to take that junk and throw it out. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">God promised that if we "confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrigtheousness." (1 John 1:9) When we allow God to clean us out, and do it with authority and totality, we will experience the ability to get all out of worship that God intended us to get. We will enter a temple that is once again consecrated for God's purpose. Not just our local church, but God's temple in us. Dear God, please begin today to clean out my temple and make it once again a house of prayer. Amen!</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-48671614575453487952010-02-08T08:40:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.908-05:00Just Do It (John 2:1-12)<div style="text-align: justify;">Why is it that so many Christians do not seem to get the blessings they should from living the Christian life? I mean, we do the Bible Studies; we do the Spiritual "disiplines"; we do Worship. We do the things that God has told us to do, yet for some reason we still find ourselves struggling with motivation and fulfillment. Ok, so maybe that isn't you, I may just be the only Christian around who finds that he sometimes wrestles with it. So I will allow this post to be for me instead of you other spiritual giants out there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I was doing my quiet time the other day I found what I believe to be part of the answer to my question. I was reading in John 2:1-12. Most of you will recognize the story of Jesus' first recorded miracle. In this passage we find ourselves placed at a wedding feast in the small village of Cana. They have run out of wine to give the guest and the bridegroom is about to be humiliated. Mary, the mother of Jesus, tells Jesus about it. I have always loved this picture of Jesus' mom. After she tells Him and He tells her that it is not time for His glory to be revealed, she goes on as if He had not said a word. Now I know none of you mothers out there ever do that to your child. Do you? Anyway, Mary then turns to the servants at the wedding feast and simply says:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>"Whatever He says to you, do it."</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, after that Jesus performs the miralce of turning the water into wine. But, in the midst of this story I came to realize that the real story is not the miracle, Mary's complete belief that Jesus could do it, or even Jesus' willingnes to obey His mother. The real story here are the servants. Let's look at this more closely. Jesus, after what I am sure was a sigh because of His mother's assumption, turns to the servants and tells them to fill the six waterpots. Much can be said about the significance of the waters of purificaion and so on. But what jumped out at me was that when Jesus said fill the pots, the servants filled them..."to the brim." When Jesus said dip a pitcher into the pot of water and take it to the wedding feast master, they dipped the pitcher "and took it." The passage even says that:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (<strong>but the servants who had drawn the water knew</strong>), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.</em> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Notice that the servants did not do as many of us do. Sometimes what God tells us to do does not make sense. I could just see the servants wanting to look at Jesus when He said to fill the water pots with water. "What kind of wacko is this?" They might have thought. But, instead of questioning the wisdom of this, they simply did what He said to do. When they drew out the water I can imagine that they might of thought that this was going to be interesting when they gave the wedding director a bunch of water. But instead, they took it...because Jesus had told them to do it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What the servants did was the simple act of faith working in obedience. God's will does not always make sense to us. What He tells us to do can seem tedious and even nonsensical. But when we act on His words in faith, not out of simple obedience we begin to see Him do miracles in our lives. We need to, like the servants, act out of faith that God knows what He is doing and can see the end result. Our obedience does not need to come from some sense of obligation. Our obedience to God's will should come out of our faith in Him, knowing that He can see the next step, even if we can't.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next time you find yourself complaining about what God is doing, or seeming to not do, ask yourself if you trust Him. Faith is trust. And when I trust His judegment, then I can find fulfillment in doing the simple acts of obedience, because I know that He is working all things together for my good. May we never forget that simple lesson. Father God help us to trust You and find the joy that comes from living out that faith in the works that we do. Help us to just do it Amen.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-24578296619330825412010-02-05T10:03:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.910-05:00Come And See (John 1:43-51)<div style="text-align: justify;">Do you ever find yourself wrestling with doubt? I mean, after all, we were not there to see the miracles, love and resurrection of Christ. When we admit that sometimes the doubts will arise, then the next logical question becomes - how do we overcome our doubts? Well, let's look at what God taught me a couple of days ago when I hung out in His word once again. In John 1:43ff we read the story of Jesus calling Philip and Nathanael to be His disciples. Once Jesus had called Philip to follow Him we read these words:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I do not know why Nathanael was incredulous about Philip's statement (perhaps his brother had a tendancy to be excitable or something), but whatever the reason he still doubted. And then Philip gave that great response - well, come and see for yourself. The word used here for "see" literally means: to know, percieve, consider, or to understand. Now think about that for a moment. When we truly let ourselves see Jesus then all doubts will be washed away.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the Chronicles of Narnia books there is an account of when the world of Narnia was first created. As Aslan (the Christ figure) speaks Narnia into existance there is a man who is seeing this happen. But this man is full of doubt. And as the event carries on the man gets further and futher away from Aslan until all he hears is a lion roaring, instead of God talking. The statement is made that when we try so very hard to be stupid, we will often times find that we have succeeded. We can become so engrossed in our doubts and questions that we forget to see Jesus.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The more I behold His story - the more I see the truth. The more times I hear testimony of lives changed by this Savior - the more my doubts are quenched. The more I allow myslef to know Him in a personal way; to perceive His love for mankind (and me in particular); to consider the works which He has done; and to understand the awesome glory that is Christ - the more I find my questions answered and my faith established.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dear Lord, help me to truly "come and see" Your Son and the glroy of His presence. May I know what it is to truly experience the Savior of the World, the One who has called me to be His disciple.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-15115181671430117712010-02-02T09:29:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.911-05:00Open My Eyes That I May See (John 1:35-42)<div align="justify">I have developed a bit of a mantra that is part of my prayer before I delve into God's word for devotion and study. The mantra is basically this: "open my eyes that I may see, open my ears that I may hear, open my mind that I may understand, and open my heart that I may be moved." While hardly an earth shattering prayer, it is still from the heart. Well, during my devotional time this morning part of that mantra took on another meaning. In John 1:35-42 we read:</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the story of Jesus' calling of His first disciples. As I was reading this passage I noticed one word, used twice, that spoke to me. In verse 36 we read that John was "looking" at Jesus. In verse 42 Jesus "looked" at Simon. Now this may sound a bit odd, for this simple word to jump out at me. But think about it for a moment. We "look" at people all the time. But when we do, what do we see? How they are dressed? What they generally look like? The car they drive? And so on. So often we look at the cover without seeing the book inside. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The word used here for looking/looked is the Greek word "emblepō" which has some interesting meanings. It can mean to "observe fixedly," to really focus on someone or something. It can also mean to "discern clearly." Jesus taught that while we may look at the outward appearance of a man, God sees the heart. When John truly focused on Jesus he saw the Lamb of God, the One sent for the pardoning of our sin. When Jesus loooked at Simon He saw not the gruff fisherman who would make so many mistakes in his life. Jesus saw the one who would become known as the Stone (Peter). Jesus saw what Simon Peter could be when God truly got a hold of him. By the way, in the language usage here, Cephas mean "The Rock," while John translates it "A Stone." Peter was not the ROCK on which we build our faith, but rather a piece of that Rock, a Stone usable by God.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is amazing to think that God sees our hearts and potential. And He has a plan for each of us. When we find Him we can see with a whole new set of eyes. When Andrew went and followed Jesus, and really saw Him he gained an understanding of who Jesus is. Or as Andrew worded it "we had <em>found</em> (the word means to perceive) the Messiah." Let me ask you the questions I had to ask myself this morning. When I look at Jesus do I really focus on Him and perceive who He is and what He can do in my life? And, when I look at others, do I look with God's eyes, discerning clearly who God has created them to be rather than if they meet some criteria that I have set up?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dear Lord, please open my eyes that I may see what You see. Amen!</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-4891103171505265552010-02-01T11:09:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.913-05:00Sin and the Lamb of God (John 1:29-34)<div style="text-align: justify;">Let me start of by saying, I hate it when I find out that I have been misquoting Scripture for my roughly 30 years of ministry. You see, during my quiet time this morning I was hanging out in the gospel of John again and I was hit with one of those moments. In John 1:29-34 we read:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;">For most of my life I have been quoting this passage, saying that when John saw Jesus he said; "Behold! The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." Do you see the difference? John did not say "the sins" [plural] he actually said "the sin" [singular]. So what's the big deal? For those of us who have grown up in the church we have heard the classic definition of the Greek word for sin - "missing the mark." But interestingly enough, the Greek word used here is slightly different than the one traditionally used for sin. The word here means - "offense" rather than missing the mark.</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;">That is when it hit me. You see, when we bring our sins before the throne of God and ask His forgiveness for each of them (1 John 1:9) several things actually happen. First, if true repentance is behind our confession, God forgives us our sins absolutely. Second, He then washes us white as snow - cleansing our lives of that sin. But thridly, and this is where John's statement of Jesus' ministry comes into play, God also wipes away all record and personal hurt that our offense has caused Him. Calling Jesus the Lamb of God is God's way of reminding us that when the sacrificial lamb was offered for the sins of the people that lamb provided attonement, or pardon, for those sins. Jesus, the Lamb of God, offered His blood so that I could not only be forgiven and washed clean of my sin, but that my <em>SIN</em> and the offense/harm caused by that sin would be espunged from my heavenly record, as if it never happened. In Titus 3:4-7 we read:</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;"><em>But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.</em></div><br /><br /><div align="justify">John said Jesus would baptize us (that is to make us fully and totally engulfed) with the Holy Spirit. When we immerse ourselves in the Spirit of God we are regenerated and renewed, jusitfied by the grace of the Lamb of God who takes away the <em>sin</em> of the world. Prasie be to God for His grace and new hope.</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092135027614305648.post-53755732485373953482010-01-30T10:21:00.000-06:002010-03-18T21:26:43.915-05:00Preachers, Pedestals, and the Preferred (John 1:19-28)<div style="text-align: justify;">As a minister and a preacher I have had to ask myself a hard question; do I ever find myself being caught up in the accolades and focus of others? One of the dangers for any man of God is to become caught up in the adoration of the congregation, after all - what an amazing ego boost that is, and we all like to feel good about ourselves. In the midst of this struggle I came to John 1:19-28, where we read:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;">There are a couple of things that I woudl like to point out in this passage. First, understand that John had a presence about him that drew the crowds. He had, as we would say today, a certain amount of charisma that people would become enthralled with. Look at your own church. Is there a minister there that just seems to draw your attention, they have a certain something about them that makes you focus on them and their ministry? Often times I have gone into a chruch and encountered church members who were so in love with the previous Pastor that they almost blamed me for following after him. </div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;">The danger that we as Christians face is that it is easy to take our pastors and put them up on a pedestal. In the world of ministry it is called "Pastor Worship." And when we become Pastor followers we look at the man as if he can do no wrong. And, speaking as a man who has spent the better part of the last 30 years in ministry, that can be quite addictive for the preacher. And quite dangerous for both the clergyman and the congregant. In fact, in the case of John, people had become so engrossed in the messenger that many had forgot to hear the message. So what happened, instead of listening to John's message of hope, there were those in the crowd who just wanted to know how special John was. "Are you Elijah or the Prophet?" - in other words, "hey Preacher, are you a miracle and the voice of God made flesh?" </div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;">Yet, I do love John's answer. He gave them the greatest of messages...he said; "no." Ok, maybe he had more to teach them than to simply say that he was not the voice of God made flesh. He went on to say that he was nothing more than a voice in the wilderness preparing the way. John knew that it was not about him, his followers, or his preaching style...it was and always would be about Jesus. You see the second notable lesson in this passage that I would like to touch on is that John understood that "the Preferred" One was the whole point. John would have said, don't look at me - look at Him. </div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;">I found one statment of his particuraly intersting. John stated that "there is One among you whom you do not know." Notice, he does not say that there is One coming. Jesus was in their midst, in the world, and they had no idea...after all they were too enamered with the messenger to hear the message. How many times have I missed the presence of Christ because I was focused on the messenger, wether it is the preacher I am listening too or myself and the accolades of being the preacher?</div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: justify;">Dear Lord, may I never forget that it is about Christ, the One who is Preferred above all, the Savior of the world. May it never be about the Preacher and the Pedestal. May it always be about JESUS. Amen!</div>Dr. Joey Karrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05433138270722842021noreply@blogger.com0