http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/04/super-bowl-prostitution/5207399/

One of the sad lowlights (as opposed to highlights) in the article linked above is this:

"New York police arrested a Florida mother Wednesday for allegedly traveling to Manhattan to prostitute her 15-year-old daughter."

What would cause a mother to carry out such an offense? It can't be that they just need the money, can it? I've known impoverished moms who would never think of such an idea.

As a Christian, I know that we are called to come along side people who are at risk and to share with them the love of Christ. This takes on many forms. Yours may be a big ministry obvious to all, something nearly invisible (but not invisible to our LORD), or something in between. Whatever your calling may be, to not follow it is to deny God and that is one uncomfortable place to sit.

There is a largely hidden world of pain, desperate pain, right within our midst. It is in the secret corners of your family and my family. Anguish assaults all of us. No one is exempt. Could it be that this mother, who represents untold thousands more similar to her, is only acting out on her desperation? That doesn't make her actions acceptable at all but it does give us a starting place from which to come along side her as Christians and find ways to fulfill Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens and in so doing you fulfill the law of Christ."

Whenever I have found myself in the privileged role of burden carrier, I have found it to be inspiring for a couple basic reasons. First, to carry another person's burdens means that the other person trusts me enough to hand off that which she or he has been carrying alone, perhaps for a life time. Second, as the one carrying the burden with them, my focus is beyond me. I see that I am not alone in this world in my personal sufferings. In some way I don't understand, when I carry another person's burden with them, my personal burden becomes easier to carry, even if that person knows nothing of my burden.

Are you carrying a burden alone? There's no need to do so. There are people near you who would like to carry your burden with (not for) you.

OR

Are you leading such a self absorbed life that you have no time to carry another human being's burden? If you're in this category, I pity you because you are missing the greatest privilege of all. Take your life's focus off yourself and find someone who needs you to help carry their burden. Chances are great this person won't just appear. But then again, as happened to me recently, they appeared out of nowhere, and for a brief time, I was able to carry their burden with them. That was an absolute privilege! Peace.

Unhealthy Faith (another great devotional from New Life Ministries)

Unhealthy Faith

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of
this world rather than on Christ. 
Colossians 2:8

I once heard a story about a first-grader who handed his teacher a note on the first day of school. It read, "The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents." I thought that story was funny, but it also got me thinking about our heavenly Father. Perhaps He sometimes feels like pinning that note to some Christians.

It's so important that we represent God accurately! And one way to do this is by avoiding what I call beliefs of unhealthy faith. Here are a few examples: "When tragedy strikes, true believers should have real peace about it." Does that mean if someone really close to you suddenly dies in a tragic accident that I should feel at ease and at peace? That's crazy!

How about this one: "Material blessings are a sign of spiritual strength." So men like Hugh Hefner, who created the Playboy em­pire, is a spiritual giant? I don't think so! And here's a real classic: "More than anything else, God wants me to be happy." Help me find that passage in Scripture.

Be careful of these simple little proverbs that people try to pass off on you as Spiritual truths. Read and study God's word regularly so you can discern statements of an unhealthy faith.

- Steve Arterburn

"We need the gift of discernment again in our pulpits. It is not ability to predict that we need, but the anointed eye, the power of spiritual penetration and interpretation, the ability to appraise the religious scene as viewed from God's position, and to tell us what is actually going on." - A.W. Tozer

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=ee700b29-45eb-483f-9bce-7445e5440f1c&c=d3973de0-c47c-11e3-9839-d4ae52a68661&ch=d39d3150-c47c-11e3-9839-d4ae52a68661

To Whom Will You Surrender?

Another Newlife devotional...

To Whom Will You Surrender?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

Does it seem as if everyone wants something from you or expects you to do something? Pressure has become a regular part of our lives today. And these will be times when you're forced to choose between surrendering to the pressure of others and doing the will of God. 

Scripture remembers Saul as a man who didn't choose well. Israel was at war. In the midst of battle it was customary to have a priest offer sacrifices. Samuel had promised Saul that he would come at an appointed time to do this. Saul waited for a while but began to feel pressured because his troops were leaving him. He knew that it was against God's law for him to offer the sacrifices because he was not a priest. But Saul decided he couldn't take the pressure any longer. He offered the sacrifices himself. 

Just as he finished, Samuel arrived. "'How foolish!' he said. 'You have disobeyed the command of the Lord your God. Had you obeyed, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your dynasty must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.'" (1 Samuel 13:13-14)

If Saul had waited just one more hour, he would have kept his kingdom. Surrendering to God means that you resist surrendering to those who pressure you to disobey His commands. When you surrender to ungodly pressure, you pay the consequences. When you surrender to God, you benefit, and your family benefits for generations to come.

- Steve Arterburn

"You're born. You suffer. You die. Fortunately, there's a loophole." - Billy Graham

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=349a2356-2b0b-438e-bf1e-7075f923b3f9&c=d3973de0-c47c-11e3-9839-d4ae52a68661&ch=d39d3150-c47c-11e3-9839-d4ae52a68661

Why Do We Experience Setbacks In Life

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=5007f37c-f5eb-44c4-8179-e0a1b5b48844&c=d3973de0-c47c-11e3-9839-d4ae52a68661&ch=d39d3150-c47c-11e3-9839-d4ae52a68661

Hope in the Midst of Tragedy

Click here for another great message from New Life Ministries.

Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts

There's a real danger in thinking your spiritual gifts are blessings God has given you for your own benefit. The problem with this selfish viewpoint is that you see your use of these as an option or luxury that you neglect or use according to your will alone. That's a far cry from a biblical understanding, which sees your spiritual gifts as expressions of gratitude God wills for you to use in service to others. 

The Bible teaches that God gives us spiritual gifts so we can give to others. We use our gifts to continue Christ's work on earth. The apostle Paul wrote: A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church. His point: your gifts aren't your possessions. Yes, they've been entrusted to you, but actually, they belong to the community of believers. The truth we need to think about is that God has woven a unique design into each of our hearts. And our spiritual gifts are part of that fabric.

So, what are your spiritual gifts? Not sure? Read the Bible's teaching on spiritual gifts in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. Then ask yourself where you've felt the greatest satisfaction serving the Lord. Carefully thinking through that question will go a very long way in clarifying this issue; because when you do what you love in order to show God's love, you'll find spiritual fulfillment and renewal. 

- Steve Arterburn 

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me."- Erma Bombeck

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Relevance

Cindee, my wonderful wife, and I recently joined a casual choir at Elam United Methodist Church.  We have received the words for our first several songs that we will sing, one per month, to a professionally recorded music track.

We had a guest at our house recently who started looking through the three ring notebook that had these words.  She began to read the words out load.  She didn't recognize the songs but did say with delight and amazement "Wow!  These words are so relevant to life!  They really touch me where I am these days!"

What made this statement all the more powerful was her earlier conversation with us of a new activity that her church was doing that she didn't understand and seemed to have no place in her life.

Once again, as they so often do, my Dad's words came back to me:

“We need to set our sights high, 

but all of our labor will be in vain unless 

we begin each new effort on our knees before God’s altar.

A worshiping community -

A community in which the sacramental life is central, 

is the strong and powerful one. 

The Lord Jesus Christ must be at the center of the lives of the laborers 

if this church is to make the transition, grow, 

and meet the real and essential 

needs of the people coming into this community.”

Relevance in the life of a church is defined in large part as meeting the real and essential needs of the people in its community.

I am thankful for a Church such as Elam that is doing so with such joy...