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Was Jesus ever taken advantage of?

This may seem like an odd question, but it’s one I’m wrestling with in a very personal and practical way. You see, I just learned that I’ve been taken advantage of by someone. This person had been posing as someone with a chronic illness and in dire financial need. I and others rose to their alleged need by paying some of their bills, serving them and praying for them. This has gone on for a couple years. Now that their deceit has been exposed I feel violated, foolish and a tremendous sense of grief for them.

What should I have done differently? Did anything like this ever happen to Jesus? If so, how did he respond? How does he want me to respond? How do I guard myself in the future—or, should I? [Read more →]

If we ask a total stranger, “Are you a Christian?” that person’s response tells us nothing about their actual relationship with Christ.

The term Christian has come to mean everything and nothing in our day. The Barna Group reports that four out of ten Americans claim to be born-again Christians. Can that be so? What does that mean? Wouldn’t it follow that if forty percent of the population were following Jesus Christ our nation would be radically impacted for the better?

There is a serious gap between the terms Christian and follower of Christ in our day!

Jesus’ challenge both then and now is “Follow me!” The questions we need to be asking each other are, “Are you following Jesus? Is he your Leader? Do others see Jesus in you?” Because following Jesus is life changing! We cannot draw near to God and remain unchanged. How is he changing you? In what ways are you becoming more like him? What’s an area in your life that he wants to change?

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:3 NLT

© 2010 Rob Fischer

Five Tips to Get the Most from Reading the Bible

1. Always read God’s Word expecting to meet with him. Approach God’s Word relationally. Listen for his voice. What is he saying to you personally? What do you see from his Word that reveals God’s character and ways? Where do you need to align your life with his character and ways?

2. Set aside a regular time to read God’s Word. I don’t know about you, but I need the discipline of a schedule. It helps knowing that I always spend this time listening to and conversing with God. Self-discipline is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We do not cultivate self-discipline by always being spontaneous or only reading and conversing with him when we feel like it. [Read more →]

Recently we challenged the men of our church to a New Testament read-thru using the schedule below. The point of the challenge is to get to know God better by spending time with him in his Word. And as we draw near to him and get to know him better, we cannot remain unchanged!

Already, men are reporting how God is meeting with them and changing them as they spend time with him in his Word!

Let me challenge you too, to draw near to God and deepen your relationship with him as you simply read his Word. If you’re not a reader or simply prefer another alternative to reading, check out the free tools for listening to the New Testament on your iPhone, Blackberry or MP3 player: www.sccprimed.org. [Read more →]

1. Recognize that marriage is hard work, so stick with it and give it your best efforts! When our kids were little we were having a discussion about marriage around the dinner table. Our older two children indicated that, yes, they wanted to get married some day. When we asked our youngest son (who was about six at the time) whether he would some day marry, he pondered that question thoughtfully and stated, “I don’t know if I’ll get married. Marriage is hard work! I think I’ll get a job instead.” Linda and I pray that it wasn’t our marriage that gave him the idea that marriage is so hard! Anyways, after the laughter subsided, we had to agree with our six-year-old psychiatrist—marriage is hard work! So roll up your sleeves and put into your marriage the work required to make it great! [Read more →]

For 40 years God led Israel through the barren wilderness of the Middle East. In spite of their repeated grumblings and rebellion, God continued to love, lead and provide for his people. Even when they were unfaithful to him, he remained faithful to them. In all those years, God sustained this massive company of people by miraculously providing them with manna. Manna was a food substance like bread that God caused to appear on the ground each morning. The people of Israel gathered manna as their staple food through all those years.

 In year 39 of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness two men woke up one morning. One man got up, put on his outer garment and lifted the flap over the door of his tent to step out into the desert morning. As he ducked under the tent flap it dumped a load of sand down his neck. He cursed under his breath and angrily shook out his clothes muttering, “I am sick and tired of this infernal sand! I’ve got sand in my bed, sand in my hair, sand in my food! Everywhere there’s sand! I hate this life of constant moving and upheaval. And guess what’s for breakfast? Manna—again!”  [Read more →]

Right after high school I attended Multnomah Bible College in Portland, Oregon. Now you might think, “Wow, Bible college, pretty holy dude!” But unfortunately, if it’s possible to hang out with the wrong crowd at Bible college, I did just that. I was neither serious with my studies nor with my relationship with God. You see, I had accepted Christ as my Savior, so I was “in”. I had my “ticket” into heaven. What more did I have to do? What more did God want from me? I had a relationship with God, but he seemed somehow distant and irrelevant to my everyday life.

Still, there were aspects of Bible college I really enjoyed—especially the relationships I had built with friends. So after the first semester, when my money had run out, I was crushed because I couldn’t continue. I remember wondering why God didn’t provide for my tuition like he had for other students. Having to leave school just didn’t make sense to me. Why would God allow this to happen? Isn’t going to Bible college a good thing to do? [Read more →]

Others have a profound impact on us, whether for good or bad. The Scriptures remind us of this in a variety of ways. Proverbs 27:17 NLT says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” And the apostle Paul urged us, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV) But we’re also warned, “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

The other day I began thinking back over some of the key people in my life who had a profound impact in modeling Christlikeness for me. My parents played a huge role in demonstrating the lifestyle of a Christ follower for me. They were human, sinners and had weaknesses just like everybody else, but their lives were also on a continual upward trajectory of growth in Christ. Who they were in private at home was who they were in any and all other settings. [Read more →]

When I was 12 years old our church launched a campaign to raise pledges for missions for the coming year. The church leadership challenged us to spend time asking God what amount he would have us trust him for. Our leadership also led by example. God had given me a vision for reaching the lost around the world and I knew that he wanted to use me in a small way to see that vision accomplished. I prayed and sensed that he wanted me to trust him to give $4.00 per week through me.

As a 12-year-old I received a dollar per week for my allowance, so I couldn’t simply divert what was already coming in to my giving. I prayed that God would give me opportunities to earn enough to meet my pledge of $4.00 per week for the next year. I still remember how excited I was that morning in church when I turned in my pledge card. I knew I was embarking on an adventure with God and I could hardly wait to see how he would work in my life! [Read more →]

When I was twelve years old I went to camp for the first time. One of the highlights of camp for any twelve-year-old boy was swimming in the lake on a hot summer day. But the oversight of a couple hundred high-energy boys is a huge responsibility for the camp staff! They knew there were too many boys and too few staff to provide a safe swimming environment.

So, to make swimming safer they established the “buddy-system”. We were not allowed in the water without our buddy. And when the whistle blew we grabbed each other’s hand and raised our hands high to show that we had our buddy and that everyone was safe and accounted for. [Read more →]