2 Tim. 4:2
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

These words from Paul, scratched on parchment by the light of a flickering candle, deep within Nero’s death dungeon, remain vital to everyone in Christian leadership today. There are many accolades you can ascribe to the Apostle’s ministry, and one of those is relevance. Relevancy doesn’t have as much to do with methods as it does with principles. Methods can be like Saul’s armor; the suit may fit the king but it’s excess baggage on the shepherd boy. Principles are transferable. Such as this one: What is the stated, printed, well-known philosophy of your ministry? Is it clearly understood by one and all what you are trying to do?

When I was a young pastor, decades ago, this concept of fully understanding what I was trying to do was drilled into my mind by a highly successful and caring pastor. I learned quickly that if I did not have a God-given plan for almost anything in my life, my activities for the Lord quickly meandered into meaninglessness. A well-known pastor helped me the most when he said, “Dan, you have to be able to answer three basic questions about your work for God: 1) What are you trying to do? 2) How do you plan to go about it? 3) What motivates you to stay on course?

The first of those questions (the “what”) is your philosophy of service to God. The second question (the “how”) is your vision. The Bible warns flatly that without vision people die. Most Christians will tell you most sincerely that they are trying to reach their area for Christ. Fine. But HOW do they plan to do that? Such success in evangelism doesn’t just “happen.” And the third question puts in place very firmly your reason for ministry unto God (and yes, we are ALL ministers unto God!). If our motivation is not to exalt Christ and give Him the glory, then we are wasting our time as far as the Judgment Seat of Christ is concerned. Read very carefully I Corinthians chapter 3.

Prayer: O God, help me to understand my mission in life. Teach me how to accomplish it. And help me examine my motivation for everything I do. If it’s for my own pride, forgive me. If what I do is truly for You, help me! Amen.

Exodus 25:3 4
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, [4] And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair…

When 80-year-old Moses ascended Mount Sinai, God gave him the Ten Commandments and the plans for the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. Moses was to challenge the people of Israel to bring supplies for the construction of the Tabernacle. Those supplies included “fine linen.”

As a pastor for nearly four decades, I am extremely concerned about Christians doing their best for the Church. I am not addressing “style” of worship here, because that is open to all kinds of likes, backgrounds and needs. But I certainly am addressing quality in God’s house. God requested “fine linen” for the Tabernacle, not throw-away junk. The very least we can offer God is our best. All-too-often I have personally witnessed far, far less than fine linen offered in church. For example: church services that have not been prayed-through and thought-out. Just kind of “winging it,” you know? I speak in scores of churches every year, primarily in missions conventions. Many of those churches are dirty or unkempt. The bathrooms would not pass any health code requirements. The lobbies are less than clean and pleasant and the church grounds are untended. The church neighbors must find it embarrassing to have the building there as it downgrades everyone’s property values. What kind of testimony is this?

The way we keep God’s house is a reflection of our deepest inner thoughts of Him. If our concepts of God are noble, lofty and majestic, as they well should be, then His house will reflect those values. No, the church does not have to be some multi-million dollar facility. The singers do not have to be from the Metropolitan Opera House. But our offerings to God should be fine linen, that is, the very best we can offer our precious Lord.

Prayer: O God, forgive me if I ever think in less-than-noble thoughts about You or Your house of worship. As David and Solomon, let my first thoughts be about Your temple and thoughts about my dwelling place be subsequent to that. May I want and pursue the acquisition of fine linen in all my dealings with Your Church. Amen.

Matthew 22:37
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

I take second place to no one in my love for sports, especially those games I can still play in this my 8th decade of life. But I also have a great love for football and baseball. I used to do chapel services for my beloved Cleveland Browns before they were unceremoniously hied away to Baltimore. To sit in old Lakefront Stadium in December, with the winds howling outrageously off Lake Erie, indicates that one truly is a supporter of the team.

But some fans cross the line of sanity! Take for example the fellow who follows a professional football team (whose name I shall not indicate here) who decided to have his bald head tattooed to match the helmets worn by the players. He had his hairless pate painstakingly (underline “pain”) turned into a facsimile of his team’s helmets, including the quarterback’s jersey number stenciled onto the back of his neck. Little children, upon seeing this apparition, will run for their mothers! So why did he do this? In his own words “I’m a fan!”

Not long ago, 72,000 fans sat in an outdoor, uncovered football stadium where the temperature at kickoff time was -4 degrees with winds at 20 mph! Now if people came to church in that kind of weather, critics would say, “Those people are crazy!” Depends upon where your heart is, doesn’t it? Why, I know some professing believers who are ashamed to say grace before meals in restaurants.

Isn’t it sad that some folks don’t seem to love Jesus as much as some fans love football? I wonder if that doesn’t break His heart.

Prayer: O God, may I never – never! – give any indication of being ashamed of You or the Good News bought at such dreadful price! May I ever be a true “fan” – a follower of Him Who redeemed me! Amen.

John 20:25
The other disciples therefore said unto him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said unto them, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

I love to visit India, where the nation is seeing a great spiritual awakening among both Hindus and Muslims. Many of the evangelical leaders there point back to July 3, 72 AD when an enraged Hindu Brahmin speared the Apostle Thomas to death. They say it was the blood of “doubting Thomas” that fertilized the soil of India for the Gospel. In one church where I have spoken (Channai) the attendance that Sunday exceeded 40,000. One denomination alone plans to launch at least 25,000 new Christian churches before 2020!

To understand the greatness of the harvest in India, one has to try to comprehend the out-of-control population of there. At this moment, 1.2 billion people reside in the land. (In my own state of Florida we now have 19 million residents. If we had the same density of population as India, we would have over 190 million Floridians among us!) Each day there are 100,000 births in India versus 20,000 deaths. Thus the population of India increases by 80,000 each day. 800 million are Hindus and 200 million are Muslims. The poverty is breath catching: 77% of the population live on less than fifty cents a day.

Into this maelstrom of humanity come Spirit-filled Christians who are fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission: (Mark 16:15) “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” As you read this, 25,000 potential pastors are being trained in three-year Bible institutes. Each one will be required to start a church before being credentialed. The Thomas Factor is a reality in this strange land of strange people and even stranger gods. The apostle’s blood was not shed in vain.

Prayer: O God, may my heart be pierced today by the need to take Your Gospel to the ends of the earth. I have no right to hear the Gospel over and over until everyone has heard it at least once! Make me a missionary of supply and intercession! Amen.

Matthew 28:5 6
I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Red Square in Moscow is a must-see for world tourists. It is not named “Red” for any connection with the Communist “Reds.” Rather the word “Red” comes from an old Russian term for “beautiful.” Red Square truly lives up to its name in that regard. In the center of the square is the mausoleum which houses the mummified body of Vladimir Lenin, the Communist tyrant who overthrew the czars and put in place the brutal regime later headed by Stalin. It was on top of the mausoleum, a dark marble block of a building, that Stalin and Khrushchev and Malenkov and other Soviet leaders stood for so many years to watch the famous military parades.

Inside the mausoleum lies the body of Lenin who died in 1924 after a series of strokes. The lines of tourists waiting to see him are still long. You can wait for hours for your brief and very brisk walk through the tomb, or you can find an English guide, give him ten bucks, and go directly to the head of the line. That may be one of the best ten-spots you ever invested. No one is allowed to take anything inside, not a purse, not a camera – nothing. And you have to keep moving! You may be inside for two minutes, total. But there he lies: Vladimir Lenin, dead as a beached carp.

Compare that to the marvelous announcement of the angel at the tomb of Christ: “He is not here! He is risen!” A short 72 hours or so is all our Lord spent in His earthly repose before He was quickened by the Holy Spirit and resurrected. Ephesians 2:1 reminds us that we, too, have been quickened (resurrected from spiritual death) by the same Holy Spirit. We receive life through our Lord Jesus! Now – which tomb makes your heart beat a little faster? The full one? Or the empty one?

Prayer: O God, how grateful I am to know and understand that quite empty tomb just north of Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate. Your Son lay there once, for a short time, but death could not hold Him. Jesus was the prototype, the first-fruit, of all of us who will be quickened by Your Spirit! We encourage and comfort each other because of this promised future. We bless Your Name for this reality. Amen.