21 Days of Faith Day 1 The Big Idea "Jesus believes in you!" "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19 (NIV) In Jesus’ day they had a saying, "may you be covered with the dust of your rabbi." Here in the 21st century the whole concept of following a rabbi is totally foreign to us, however, in Jesus’ day to have a rabbi invite you to follow him was the greatest honor one could ever experience. It was every person’s dream to have a great rabbi come by and invite them to follow him. These great teachers would go around looking for people they believed had what it took to be what they were and do what they were doing. I have dealt with every personality type imaginable in my many years of pastoral ministry and I have never met a single person who didn’t want and need affirmation. Having Jesus, the Rabbi, who in the words of scripture “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the Devil,” say, "I believe you can successfully follow me and be what I am" was just unbelievable. So, think about this when you meditate today. This isn't just about you believing in Jesus, this is about Jesus believing in you. Jesus thinks you have what it takes to do be a lot more like him than you think. This really chokes me up because I know about all the bonehead things I have done and the sins I have committed. I am so unworthy to be covered “with the dust of my rabbi.” Do I expect your metamorphosis will be necessarily instantaneous? Of course not, but I know because of Christ love and power you are starting an amazing journey of transformation. Get this one thing straight, “you belong to Christ and he is happy with you.” You don’t work for grace, you work from grace. So start each day confessing that you are a child of God who shares the heavenly father with his son Jesus Christ. The door to this new relationship with God was opened up by Christ life and sealed by his death on the cross. Take a few seconds right now and pray that Jesus will show you what He is up to today, so you can follow Him and learn from Him. You will be glad you did. Grace & Peace, Pastor Phil 21 Days of Faith Day 2 The Big Idea: Jesus the judge who loves you We were those who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is ordained of God to be the judge of all -- the living and the dead. He is the one the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name. Acts 10:41-42 You have probably never heard it taught that Jesus was ordained of God to be a judge; but that is what Simon Peter, one of Christ closest associates, understood. Now, you might very well be thinking, "I haven't done anything really bad, why would I need to stand before a judge?" That's a really good point. Most people I know make some attempt at being kind and helpful to others, but can any of us really look at the 10 commandments and say that we have never broken any of them. Of course, there are really more than 10 commandments, that's just an overview of what a Holy God expects. Here's an illustration that helps us to understand the futility of trying to get to heaven on the strength of our own goodness. Suppose a group of us decided we were going to swim from Boston Harbor to London. The most athletic among us would certainly outdistance the rest, but none of us would make it. That's the way it is with the high standards of a Holy God, none of us measure up. We all deserve judgment. The word gospel means, "good news". Now, here's the good news. Our judge is our savior. Don't make the mistake that so many people do, which is to say, "no one has a right to judge me". Pride will keep you out of the presence of the righteous judge. In fact, let me urge you to "rush to judgment". Be quick to admit that you have broken God’s laws, and let Him decide the seriousness of your offenses. The Bible says, "The person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God's laws". James 2:10. This simply tells us that there is as much mercy for the one who has broken all of the commandments as for the person who has only broken one. If you will bow (figuratively) before Christ and admit your failure to perfectly keep God's law, He will come down from the judge's bench put His arms around you and say, "all is forgiven". Let me close with a passage that illustrates my point. Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: `I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, `O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored." Luke 18:14 21 DAYS OF FAITH Day 3 I hope are growing in you faith. Today we continue to talk about who Jesus is. Christ is the cornerstone of Christianity. Without Christ there would be no Christianity. Now, I don't pretend to understand all the complexities of God's plan but that still doesn't allow me to simply dismiss it. Do we refuse to turn on the lights because we don't understand the concept of electricity? Of course not; we simply enjoy the benefits of electrical current, content in knowing that the people who need to understand are available when we need them. Today I want to talk to you about why Jesus Christ died on the cross. THE BIG IDEA: Our debt is paid. Jesus was given to die for our sins, and He was raised from the dead to make us right with God. Romans 4:25 (NCV) You may have heard this story in a recent message I preached, but I think it bears repeating. A couple years ago I was reading to my daughter Elyse, she was 5 year old. We read about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Elyse wanted to know why Jesus had to die. I explained to her that, Jesus had to die to pay the penalty for our sins. I could tell that this wasn't making a lot of sense to her, so I pointed to the reading lamp beside us. I said, "Elyse if you were to break that lamp I would forgive you, but that wouldn't replace the lamp. I would have to go out and buy a new lamp with my money since you don't have that kind of money." I went on to explain to her that she does not have the power to get that kind of money. I told her, that’s why Jesus had to die. Someone had to pay for the damage that Adam and Eve's sin had inflicted; plus the damage that we add with our own sin. You and I cannot possibly fathom the anarchy and sinfulness of what Adam and Eve did when they turned their back on God and gave the control of the world that God had created over to Satan. Basically, God had given them authority over creation in return for their friendship and worship; instead they made an agreement with an imposter to no longer need God and to no longer honor Him as God. They bought into the universal lie that they could be God. Now, it's easy to say, “Why didn't God just forgive them?”, but can you think of any civil society where there is no penalty for breaking the law. When laws are broken, whether they be civil law or God's law a sentence must be meted out. The criminals don't get to set the sentence, the judges and lawmakers do. Read Genesis chapter 1 thru 3 to refresh yourself on what we call, "The Fall." Have you seen the movie, "The Passion of the Christ"? If you did, wasn't there something inside of you that said, "This man Jesus, He did a noble, loving and necessary thing when He died on the Cross." Now, I know that everyone doesn't agree that we need a savior; in fact, you may be struggling with that concept yourself.