There seems on the surface to be a contradiction here, but there is none. The contrast here is between an inheritance and a possession. The land of Canaan was their inheritance but they had to claim it by faith. The same thing is true in our lives today, we have untold riches in Christ but we must claim them. All of God’s economy works this way, there are two sides to everything.

There is a reality gap in the church today just as there was in Israel. The Bible says “we are seated in the heavenlies”, “more than conquerors”, “free from worry”, but in most cases Christians don’t appear to reflect that at all. The reason is, they have not appropriated their inheritance in Christ. We must conquer the land by obedience and appropriation. You cannot receive your inheritance through your own strength, it must be in the strength of Christ. You must learn the meaning of Christian rest (Zech 4:6). It means we cease to try to do what only God can do and we submit ourselves to Christ and His power. It is a far cry from most activity most of us engage in daily.

As you see dirt being moved around our campus at Mobberly, it’s not just about buildings – its about building lives – its about shaping the next generation! The latest soil moving in the back of our campus is to reap souls. Lord willing, by this summer we will see hundreds of children and families using the recreational field space through ministries like Upward football, soccer, and cheerleading. We are responsible for every ounce of soil God gives to us.

I’ve been a fan of Upward ministry for years as I’ve witnessed God use it to reach many young lives for Jesus! Even this year, I had the joy of coaching my own son’s Upward basketball team. The Lord placed 7 boys before me (and their families) so I could share Christ with them and make an impact on them for God’s glory. Sharing in the shaping of these boys, blessed my own life as well! When God invites us into the shaping process, there is great joy in the sowing and the reaping! It is my prayer that every opportunity God gives us to impact lives for Jesus is potentially the opportunity to literally shape the next generation for God’s glory. And as I’ll soon get to see personally, Thessalonika was where Christ’s early followers were “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). May God allow the generation that we are shaping, to do the same in their world!

As Christians, it is easy to say there is no such thing as luck, but to actually believe that God is intricately involved in the details of our lives – that’s the litmus test. This type of faith is not so easy. I know that God is always at work. In fact as I was reading the opening lines of Joshua, I was already contemplating this truth. The complexity of that truth was not on my mind, however. Not only is God always at work, but God is always using today, to prepare us for tomorrow. As you know from the book of Joshua, Moses was a servant to God. Joshua was a servant to Moses. You could say, that before you get into leadership you must be tested with followship. Some of us do not know how to follow so we cannot lead. Wherever Moses was, Joshua was right along with him. God prepared Moses for his purpose. Remember he was on the Nile River in a basket and ended up in Pharaoh’s palace. He was raised in royalty but was tending sheep when God called him. Moses knew what it was to be rejected when he was put in the basket. From rejection he went to royalty. He had to be raised in the palace because he had to go to Pharaoh and speak his language. Every event in your life is preparing you for a greater purpose. Moses had the spirit of a possessor and that same anointing was on Joshua. God made a divine deposit on Moses so he would be a possessor. If you follow someone who is going nowhere you will go nowhere.

Preparation is an act of faith. If we really believe God is going to do something, we get ready for it. God gives what we are prepared to receive. While it is God who gives the reward, remember, that it is also God who gives the preparation. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Being prepared to obey God’s voice is the evidence of our faith. No need to wait for the roll of the dice; be ready for action now!

Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” None of us can do life in isolation. When you hear of how God strengthened one family to persevere, it helps you find the tenacity to keep on keeping on. When God brought me to East Texas, I had the privilege to listen to the story of Dr. Laney Johnson. Each week, for 3 months, we met together for prayer and fellowship. As I listened, my predecessor recounted time and again how God sustained and strengthened the family of faith at Mobberly Baptist Church. If every incoming Pastor had such a privilege, the potential of smooth pastoral transitions would be exceptionally better than it is today. Now, in my 5th year as Mobberly’s pastor, I continue to see our same God creating new stories of sustenance and strength.

Every week, I am blessed to hear these stories through our Small Groups, in our decision rooms after worship services, through our family services ministry, or coming out of our Celebrate Recovery Ministry. When we hear stories of 2nd chances, we find encouragement for reaching our own God-given potential. Onesimus was the 1st century runaway slave whose return to his master was the very reason for the New Testament book of Philemon. Onesimus had been a slave in Philemon’s household but ran away (this was during the time while the Colossian church was meeting in his home). As a fugitive in Rome, Onesimus met the apostle Paul, who led him to Christ. As he repentantly returned to his master, Paul wrote to urge Philemon to forgive Onesimus. Although Onesimus was a runaway slave, Paul describes him as “a faithful and beloved brother.”

When a person comes to faith in Christ, the past is no longer an issue. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Onesimus is a testimony to the power of God to transform a life. In Christ, there’s neither slave nor free (Galatians 3:28). Here’s a man with no possessions, no rights, no inheritance and of no regard to the vast majority of the people – yet Paul giving him a 2^nd chance can illustrate our own potential today.

Not every story you hear is going to mirror the hall of fame heroes of faith, but those who most closely know Christ will most vividly reflect Christ. Paul calls this “Christ in you the hope of glory.” As you begin this year, take time to inquire of others. If they know Christ, He shines brighter. If they don’t know Christ, it yields opportunity for you to share Him. Or, what are people learning from your story? If your closest friends summarized your story, would it be a story about Christ? “He must increase, but we must decrease.”

Having been a senior pastor now for 10 years, I have seen the same occurrence happen each year. The attendance on the last Sunday of November is less than normal in small groups and in worship, the offering is significantly lower than what is needed, and the tenor of the worshippers is noticeable disconsolate. I pray the American church can reverse this trend.

As I understand the Bible, what is acceptable worship is worship that results in God being pleased and the worshipper also gets blessed. God desires that we offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, but that includes having clean hearts and then clean lives before God. Only when our hearts are clean can our lives become clean, then God will accept our worship and then God will bless our worship.

What is the reason we are most often frustrated and lacking productivity? For the returning Israelites, it was the sin of comprise, and their sin resulted in a curse. But, when the people began to obey God and build the temple, God took pleasure in their worship. When God is pleased with our worship, His pleasure manifests itself tangibly. Even so, when God is pleased with us, He expresses His pleasure tangibly. God was no longer frowning on His people. Frowning means chastisement and curse, but now God turns His face toward them in love and delight, and gives them peace. Acceptable worship always results in God blessing us. Look at Haggai 2:18-19 in The Message, ‘Now think ahead from this same date—this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields—vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree—failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.’

Repentance and obedience always result in God blessing His people. This promise of God is for us this day as well. Do you want to be blessed by God? Let me warn you: If you want God’s blessing, you must be interested in true repentance and forsaking of sin. Remember, every promise of God is conditional. If you want to receive God’s blessings, you must first examine yourself and see if your frustration is a result of your sin.

This coming Sunday is a celebration of the Lord’s Supper at Mobberly. How thankful I am for public opportunities to get right with God! I hope many of you can join us this Sunday! Worship is more exciting when we come clean, when we come prepared to give, and when we come seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

WHAT’S THE GOAL OF YOUR PARENTING?
        You can tell where a society is headed and where a culture is going by looking through the prism of the family. And while God established the home long before He established the church, most families still have no goals, and their greatest strategies are simply to keep up with their neighbors. For two years, we have seen God work wonders through what we at Mobberly call: “MERGE: combining the influence of church and home.” The resources of MERGE will help you learn how to develop and implement a strategy of modeling, mirroring, & mentoring your children.

MODELING – Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” actions are louder than words. The famous basketball player, Charles Barkley, once said, “I don’t want to be a role model.” Charles Barkley doesn’t have a choice and as parents, neither do we. Parents, we are role models to our children. Character is not taught to your children. It is caught by your children. How we live screams so loudly that many times, our kids can’t hear what we ARE saying.
        I want to say particularly to fathers here, there is no substitute for a father who shows his child by the way he lives, by the language that he uses, by the places that he goes, by the television programs that he watches, by the books that he reads, that he truly fears the Lord. Professor William Frankena who teaches philosophy in the University of Michigan stated that when he was a boy, his father read at least 1 chapter from the Bible after every meal, and that they finished the Bible every year for 16 years in a row.

MIRRORING – Deuteronomy 6:6 ”These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.” It is not enough just to teach your children there is a God and that God is real, you must teach them how to have a relationship with the real God. If you don’t believe it, then you can’t teach it.
        Do you know why so many church-going parents turn out children who leave the church after high school and turn their backs on Christianity? It is because many parents don’t understand the difference between being church-going parents and God-loving parents. What kind of mirror are you for the people in your life who are looking up to you? I believe we have a lot of foggy mirrors or cracked mirrors, but very few clear mirrors.

MENTORING - Deuteronomy 6:7-9 teaches us that in the planned or in the spontaneous times of life, parents can lead their kids to walk with the Lord. In one sentence Moses shows them the only thing that separates a living faith from a ritualistic orthodoxy. It’s the one word: LOVE. Moses was warning the people about the danger of passing down rules without the context of a loving relationship. His statement is more about God’s character, than God’s commands. Moses is giving a terrific parenting tip here: God designed our children as a part of God’s story. Home is the place of mentoring our decedents with what is happening in our own spiritual lives. What we discover can become what we own. Then what we own, can become what we lead others to discover. The rhythm of life provides the natural ferris wheel of discoveries.
        As reported in Think Orange, the average church-going child spends:

• 40 hours a year at church. This means that church leadership, staff, and pastors have very little time to influence your children for God.
• 1000 hours a year at school – But we all know it’s not just about education (knowledge may be power but only if you know how to use it). The real education occurs at home.
• 3000 hours a year at home – No one has more time to influence your children for Christ than you. How are you going to use that time? What’s your plan? Merge is not the strategy – it’s the structure that provides the cleanest canvas to map out your own strategy. [click here for more on MERGE]

As I watched the incredible new movie, “Courageous” it made me think of Jim Elliot’s famous statement about raiding this next generation: “Children are arrows in a quiver and they are to be trained as missionaries and shot at the Devil.” (And please, go see the movie, “Courageous”!)

If you have not already heard, the NIV 2011 Bible is basically an update to the controversial TNIV (Today’s New International Version) whose gender-neutral language is theologically problematic. As such, the TNIV was soon discontinued. However, the 2011 NIV has simply resurrected the TNIV without advertising a new name change. (Approximately 75% of the troubled TNIV text remains in the 2011 version). Please be aware that due to questions of doctrinal integrity, I do not encourage you to rely on the 2011 NIV Bible.  I am unashamedly convicted to my affirmation of the full inspiration and authority of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-16). It is humbling and alarming that such disintegration of God’s Word can be happening even while millions still have no access to God’s Word even once in their own language.

Without sounding too formal, here are some important notes about translations: (1) Anything other than the original Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic texts of Scripture (which comprises all the “original languages” used in penning God’s Word) is in fact, a human translation. God is the only author of perfection. (2) Any version that does not go back to the original source language in order to translate into another language, risks straying further and further from the original. (3) While the original autographs no longer exist, translations are made from ancient manuscript copies, of which there are today at least 24,000, whole or in-part, with which to compare. The first complete English translation was not produced until 1382 by the influence of John Wycliff. (4) English translations also differ in their approach to translation. Most English versions can be categorized as word-to-word translations, phrase-to-phrase, or thought-to-thought. This last option is where you find paraphrases like the Living Bible or The Message version. Certainly, a balance must be sought for a version that is readable but does not stray from literal translations in such an attempt. (5) While a different reading or a new perspective is helpful to understanding God’s Word, a student of Scripture does not want to lean on any version that alters the meaning or message of Scripture – whether overtly or subtly. (6) God’s Word was written and given to us by God for us to know Him and understand Who He is, to recognize who we are, and embrace His plan for reconciling us and the lost world to Himself.

Personally, I continue to memorize from the King James or NKJV primarily because it does not nor will it ever change. My consistent study is out of the Holman Christian Standard in that, as a Greek student, I believe it to be predominantly closest to the original languages in word-to-word translation. (The HCS is also the version I use most often in preaching). While the New American Standard Bible is academic in tone, its accurate adherence to the original texts is a comfort to me in my study as well. Another more recent version that is also enjoying favorable acceptance among conservative Biblical scholars is the English Standard Version for its accuracy and readability.

The Word of God is too precious not to take our time pondering and practicing every word of it. As I’m currently preaching through Colossians, I am reminded that His Word has all you need for all you are. It is my aim, then, to be true to every word of the text, not just the general idea of a text.

Whether you are planning to buy a new Bible for yourself, or purchase one as a gift, I recognize it is very expensive to buy Bibles just to try them out, but it is possible to sample most versions online for free using sites like www.biblegateway.com or www.blueletterbible.org

Above all: read it, study it, meditate on it, memorize it, live it, love it, and share it!

I love you for loving His Word!

Whether I’m preaching a topical series like “Elephant in the Room” (which I just finished preaching at Mobberly) or an in-depth exploration of Colossians (that I am currently preaching), God’s Word is the only anchor which provides our consistent and secure foundation. And for many of our children, this subject has become clouded through the influence of liberal media. Regardless of cultural pressure, parents still remain the greatest influencers of their children’s worldview. This is why MERGE: Combining the Influence of Church and Home is so critical to raising up the next generation of spiritual leaders. For more info check out www.mobberly.merge  (especially MERGE Parenting Conference on August 12).

There is too much at stake and eternity is too close for preachers to spend time to take their homiletical cues from pop psychology or “felt needs.” I’d rather be biblically correct and politically incorrect. As we tackle the excruciating demands of the Bible (every word of God from Genesis through Revelation) we have the advantage of holding the entire counsel of God’s Word in our hands and the weight of extending it just like Jesus did – saturated in a blood-stained, love-compelled fashion.

Even if we pay lip service to the divine inspiration and truthfulness of Scripture, will we place our lives under the authority of the Word of God? For example, when I was growing up, many Baptist churches had something called a “Church Covenant” either posted at the front of the sanctuary or printed in the hymnal. This Church Covenant summarized the biblical commitments required for meaningful church membership, including: tithing, personal evangelism, and even church discipline. When we stand on Scripture, we must understand our heart and soul is cemented in the unmovable convictions of Scripture which ironically then actually moves our feet and hands into action. We must be doers of the Word not just hearers only!