By Gobel Brockman
In Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost, the 120 who were gathered in the Upper Room were filled with the Holy Spirit. The crowds outside wanted to know what was happening, and Peter preached what was the first sermon of the New Testament church. In Acts 2:34-36 we see that he ended his message with this:
“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.' Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
The Bible goes on to say that about 3,000 people were added to the church that day. A short while later Simon Peter was summoned to the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, where he preached what was the first message about Jesus to the Gentile world. He ended that message with this:
"And God commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is Jesus who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:42-43)
The Bible says that all who were there were filled with the Holy Ghost and were baptized. The church was off to a blazing start!
One of the things I find interesting in these stories is the simplicity of what took place. The apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost, they spoke the simple truth that salvation and hope are found in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost then drew men and women to that salvation. No gimmicks, no trickery, no keyboards playing softly in the background. Just the Spirit of God doing in people's lives what ONLY the Spirit of God could do. Here's the great news:
He's still doing it today.
Each week I am both pleasantly surprised and humbled not only by the number of people who read this devotional, but also by the number of countries that are usually represented. I am also just a few days away from being part of a ministry team that will be going to two different nations to proclaim the Gospel. I am grateful to God beyond words for these opportunities. I want to be very careful, however, that in my writing and in my preaching that I present the simple truth of the gospel: salvation is found ONLY in the name of Jesus. Regardless of what nation you live in, and what specific situations your nation currently is facing, my prayer is that the Holy Ghost will enable me to clearly proclaim no other hope than the hope found in Jesus Christ - for without Jesus THERE IS NO HOPE. I do not offer you any solutions through politics, self-help, or positive thinking. I proclaim to you Jesus Christ and Him crucified, resurrected, and forever King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No matter where you're reading this, Jesus is what you need.
Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
We all live in one world, we all only have one hope, and it's only found in one name. Whoever you are, and wherever you are, I proclaim to you no other hope of salvation but in Jesus Christ. You will truly find that He is all you need!
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Saturday, October 20, 2018
My Dirt's Cleaner than Your Dirt
By Gobel Brockman
Several years ago I heard a minister make a point that I'd never thought of before. He said he was at home eating supper, and dropped a potato chip on the floor. Without giving it any thought, he bent down and picked up the chip, blew it off, and popped it in his mouth. He then thought of the times he had been at someone else's house and had the same thing happen. What did he do with the chip? He put it on his plate to be thrown away. He then thought to himself, "Why? Same chips, same carpeting, same type of people walking on it." He went on to make this observation: "I guess I think my dirt's cleaner than yours."
(This proves that you can find life lessons anywhere.)
If we're honest with ourselves, I think we've all been guilty of "Dirty Chip Syndrome." It's interesting that we can always at least defend our motives when we mess up, then castigate everything about the other person when they let us down. We seemingly have two standards: things that we expect from ourselves, and things that we expect from others. Amazingly, the standards we set for others always seem to be much higher than the ones we set for ourselves. I think it's good to remind myself on a regular basis of a simple yet profound truth:
We're ALL messed up.
One of the first Bible verses I remember being asked to memorize as a kid in Sunday School was Romans 3:23, which says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." That "all" includes me - and you. None of us can say we are without sin. We also like to play the comparison game: "Yeah, I've messed up, but at least I'm not as bad as ...." Once there were a group of men who tried that with Jesus. They brought a woman to him who was guilty of adultery, and demanded to know what He thought. I'm paraphrasing, but He basically said to them, "Let the one who's dirt is cleaner than hers throw the first stone." If you're familiar with the story, you know that no stones were thrown. Jesus then proceeded to deal with the sin in her life, but He dealt with it in a way that only He could.
I think what I'm trying to say is simply that deep down, we're all the same. We are flawed, and we are all born with a sin nature. We are ALL in need of a Savior. So rather than thinking too highly of ourselves and too poorly of others, perhaps we could all start realizing that we all need to be thinking about how gracious and compassionate our Savior is - and then try to model that grace and compassion in our own lives. Yes, God demands repentance and obedience. As Christians, we are called to live holy lives. In this politically correct society we're still expected to call sin "sin." What we are NOT called to do is consider the sins of others greater than our own.
To say it another way, it's not to up to determine whether or not it's safe to eat the potato chips off someone else's floor.
Several years ago I heard a minister make a point that I'd never thought of before. He said he was at home eating supper, and dropped a potato chip on the floor. Without giving it any thought, he bent down and picked up the chip, blew it off, and popped it in his mouth. He then thought of the times he had been at someone else's house and had the same thing happen. What did he do with the chip? He put it on his plate to be thrown away. He then thought to himself, "Why? Same chips, same carpeting, same type of people walking on it." He went on to make this observation: "I guess I think my dirt's cleaner than yours."
(This proves that you can find life lessons anywhere.)
If we're honest with ourselves, I think we've all been guilty of "Dirty Chip Syndrome." It's interesting that we can always at least defend our motives when we mess up, then castigate everything about the other person when they let us down. We seemingly have two standards: things that we expect from ourselves, and things that we expect from others. Amazingly, the standards we set for others always seem to be much higher than the ones we set for ourselves. I think it's good to remind myself on a regular basis of a simple yet profound truth:
We're ALL messed up.
One of the first Bible verses I remember being asked to memorize as a kid in Sunday School was Romans 3:23, which says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." That "all" includes me - and you. None of us can say we are without sin. We also like to play the comparison game: "Yeah, I've messed up, but at least I'm not as bad as ...." Once there were a group of men who tried that with Jesus. They brought a woman to him who was guilty of adultery, and demanded to know what He thought. I'm paraphrasing, but He basically said to them, "Let the one who's dirt is cleaner than hers throw the first stone." If you're familiar with the story, you know that no stones were thrown. Jesus then proceeded to deal with the sin in her life, but He dealt with it in a way that only He could.
I think what I'm trying to say is simply that deep down, we're all the same. We are flawed, and we are all born with a sin nature. We are ALL in need of a Savior. So rather than thinking too highly of ourselves and too poorly of others, perhaps we could all start realizing that we all need to be thinking about how gracious and compassionate our Savior is - and then try to model that grace and compassion in our own lives. Yes, God demands repentance and obedience. As Christians, we are called to live holy lives. In this politically correct society we're still expected to call sin "sin." What we are NOT called to do is consider the sins of others greater than our own.
To say it another way, it's not to up to determine whether or not it's safe to eat the potato chips off someone else's floor.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
You Are Not a "Justa"
By Gobel Brockman
It's interesting how often we identify ourselves by what we do. The problem with that is that if we perceive what we do to be minimal or unimportant, it can cause us to view ourselves - and life in general - in ways that we're not intended to. In these times we may get what may be referred to as "Justa" Syndrome:
"I'm "justa" retail employee."
"I'm "justa" janitor."
"I'm "justa" fast-food worker."
"I'm "justa" housewife."
"I'm "justa" pastor of a small church."
When we begin suffering from "Justa Syndrome", it can cause us to go through our days feeling as though our lives and our contributions to the world are insignificant. Many times we may be tempted to feel as though we can easily be replaced. The problem with all of this is that it flies in the face with what is probably the most well-known Scripture in the entire Bible:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
I'm sure most of you reading this can quote that Scripture from memory, but when we're very familiar with something we can sometimes forget the power and significance behind it. In the case of this verse, we can't let the message escape us: the Creator of Heaven and Earth; the eternal, powerful God, loved you and me enough to come to this world in human form and lay down His life for us. Let me say it in simpler terms:
God doesn't consider you a "justa."
So how does God view those who believe in Him and surrender their lives to Him? We are:
"A child of God." John 1:12
"Justified by faith." Romans 5:1
"A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." I Peter 2:9
"More than conquerors." Romans 8:37
"Never left or forsaken." Hebrews 13:5
I could go on (and on) but you get the idea. In the eyes of God, you are not a "justa". You matter to Him and you are loved by Him. But we must also remind ourselves that all of the promises available to us have one thing in common: they are all free gifts from the Father that we could never earn or deserve on our own. God does not consider us a "justa" only because God has chosen to freely share His love and goodness with us. In Exodus 33:18 Moses asked God, "Show me Your glory." God's response in verse 19 is interesting: "I will cause My goodness to pass before you..." Moses asked to see God's glory, and God showed Moses His goodness. It is that goodness that gives us hope and helps us realizes that regardless of how we view our position in life, He desires to show His glory to us as well. However, we must also remember that to receive this glory and goodness, we must respond in faith and obedience to the God who extends them to us.
The point in all of this is simple: we may make our livings scrubbing floors and toilets, typing away on computers, making sandwiches, stocking shelves, working with our hands, or doing our best to serve in our roles in our churches, but if Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life, those things are simply what we do - they're not who we are. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God. We're recipients of the grace and goodness of a loving Heavenly Father. We have an inheritance from God that the Bible calls incorruptible and that can never be stolen from us.
That's "justa" lot of great news.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
A Call to Worship
By Gobel Brockman
"The worship service." In some churches it may be nothing more than acapella singing. For others it may involve a piano and an organ. In some churches it may involve a full band with lights, top-of-the-line PA equipment, and fog machines. Regardless of the format, most churches refer to the music portion of the church service as "praise and worship." As a musician, I cannot put into words how much I enjoy singing and playing music in worship to the Lord. Whether it's at church or just in my little "man cave" at home, I love grabbing a guitar or standing behind a keyboard and "making melody unto the Lord." (Ephesians 5:19) Music is a great way to express thanks to God, pour out your heart to Him, lift a prayer, or express worship to God. May that grow and increase in our lives as individuals and when we meet together as the church. May we raise our song and our voices to God in worship.
But there's another aspect of worship I want to look at. In the book of Genesis, God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son, even though they were well beyond the years of having children. The Bible says in Genesis 15:6 that "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." After many years God fulfilled his promise and Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Then, a seemingly strange thing happened. In Genesis 22 God spoke to Abraham and told him to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice. The Bible says that early the next morning Abraham arose with Isaac and his servants and set out at once to the mountains of Moriah. As he arrived he said an interesting thing to his servants in Genesis 22:5:
"And Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."
There are two things that stand out to me in that verse:
1) Abraham, knowing that he was on his way to offer his son as a sacrifice, said that he was going to "worship." He wasn't going there with a guitar strapped to his shoulder, he was going with a knife and a fire - and yet he said he was going to worship. What does that mean? It means he considered obedience to God as worship. It's one thing to sing "How Great Thou Art" when God gives us things, but how willing are we to worship when He asks us to give something up to Him?
2) Did you notice Abraham's words in verse 5? "The lad and I will go yonder and worship, and WE will come back to you." (Emphasis mine) Abraham was committed to obey God's command because He believed God's promise. God told Abraham that through Isaac his seed would be known. In Hebrews 11:19 the Bible says that Abraham went to that mountain believing that if necessary, God would raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham was able to "worship" God with Isaac because he was able to "trust" that God was faithful to His word about Isaac.
I encourage us all to sing and make melody to the Lord - even if it's just a "joyful noise." I also encourage us all to walk in obedience to the Father's will, knowing that God always - ALWAYS - knows what He's doing - even when we don't.
We need to always remember that worship and obedience go hand in hand - even up the mountain of sacrifice. May we truly worship the Lord today.
"The worship service." In some churches it may be nothing more than acapella singing. For others it may involve a piano and an organ. In some churches it may involve a full band with lights, top-of-the-line PA equipment, and fog machines. Regardless of the format, most churches refer to the music portion of the church service as "praise and worship." As a musician, I cannot put into words how much I enjoy singing and playing music in worship to the Lord. Whether it's at church or just in my little "man cave" at home, I love grabbing a guitar or standing behind a keyboard and "making melody unto the Lord." (Ephesians 5:19) Music is a great way to express thanks to God, pour out your heart to Him, lift a prayer, or express worship to God. May that grow and increase in our lives as individuals and when we meet together as the church. May we raise our song and our voices to God in worship.
But there's another aspect of worship I want to look at. In the book of Genesis, God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son, even though they were well beyond the years of having children. The Bible says in Genesis 15:6 that "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." After many years God fulfilled his promise and Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Then, a seemingly strange thing happened. In Genesis 22 God spoke to Abraham and told him to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice. The Bible says that early the next morning Abraham arose with Isaac and his servants and set out at once to the mountains of Moriah. As he arrived he said an interesting thing to his servants in Genesis 22:5:
"And Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."
There are two things that stand out to me in that verse:
1) Abraham, knowing that he was on his way to offer his son as a sacrifice, said that he was going to "worship." He wasn't going there with a guitar strapped to his shoulder, he was going with a knife and a fire - and yet he said he was going to worship. What does that mean? It means he considered obedience to God as worship. It's one thing to sing "How Great Thou Art" when God gives us things, but how willing are we to worship when He asks us to give something up to Him?
2) Did you notice Abraham's words in verse 5? "The lad and I will go yonder and worship, and WE will come back to you." (Emphasis mine) Abraham was committed to obey God's command because He believed God's promise. God told Abraham that through Isaac his seed would be known. In Hebrews 11:19 the Bible says that Abraham went to that mountain believing that if necessary, God would raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham was able to "worship" God with Isaac because he was able to "trust" that God was faithful to His word about Isaac.
I encourage us all to sing and make melody to the Lord - even if it's just a "joyful noise." I also encourage us all to walk in obedience to the Father's will, knowing that God always - ALWAYS - knows what He's doing - even when we don't.
We need to always remember that worship and obedience go hand in hand - even up the mountain of sacrifice. May we truly worship the Lord today.
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