Several years ago I heard the story of a young brilliant concert pianist.  He was giving his first professional performance of his career.  As he played skilfully and brilliantly the audience sat in rapt attention, absorbing every note.  Finally at the end of a magnificent performance the audience exploded to a standing ovation.  In the midst of the ovation the young pianist left the stage shoulders downcast, crest fallen and dejected.

The stage manager came to him full of congratulations and praise but the young musician remained despondent.  “I am no good” the young man exclaimed.  “It was a failure”.  The stage manager responded, “Nonsense.  It was tremendous, everyone was on their feet and applauding, except for just one old man.”  The young concert pianist replied, “Yes, but that old man is my piano teacher.”

This story should remind us that our service to Jesus Christ is to be motivated by one factor and one factor alone; Our love for the Master, His Word and His approval.  For there are many in their Christian walk, who look for and seek the approval of men and those around them.  For you see, society wants and measures success by power, position, prestige and numbers.  They seem to say if you dress just so, drive this make of car, join the right health club, live in the right part of town, or are seen by just the right people you will be considered accepted and “in”.

God is not looking for the right address, or the right clothes in the latest styles, or even the right vocabulary.  God’s eyes are searching for the right heart.

Therefore, in our obedience, our worship and our service the applause and approval of men really means nothing.  Only what Jesus says will be the deciding factor.  Under the threat of imprisonment, the apostle Peter responds in Acts 5:29, “we must obey God rather than men.”

So as we travel this highway called life under the umbrella of Christianity, we must remember that “the master is in the audience.”  As Christians we are called to follow the Master, Jesus Christ.  Yes, not even the government, when it goes against our Lord Jesus or God’s Holy Word.  We are not to follow man-made traditions, philosophies or even religions.   As Christians we are called to listen and follow ONE voice.  The MASTER!
(PASTOR LEONARD NAVARRE)

Have you ever noticed that some of the saddest words  in the  English  language  begin  with  the
letter D? For example, disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despondency, depression, despair and death.

Human hope is a fragile thing, and when it withers, it’s difficult to revive. We need to note the number of people who take their own life because despair and discouragement have sucked the last bit of hope out of their lives. When someone you love and care for is overtaken by a serious illness, which goes on, and on, despair sets in. It almost becomes impossible to hope for recovery. You may even be afraid to hope because you believe that you cannot cope with another letdown.

On the road to Emmaus, as the two men walked along, a Stranger joined them. The Stranger asked them what they were discussing. And so they poured out their story to Someone who seemed willing to listen. They tell the Stranger all about their hopes and their disappointments. The last thing they needed was a brisk “cheer up” talk, or being told to “snap out of it”. He simply provides a listening ear. We know that the Stranger was Jesus.

Isn’t that a great picture – Jesus walking along the road with His despondent and confused disciples sharing their troubles? Suddenly this 2,000-year-old story is brought into the present. When disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despondency, depression, and despair fill our lives, Jesus is the unseen “Stranger” walking alongside us, listening to us, and if we are willing to hear His voice, revealing Himself to us.

When disillusionment, depression and defeat dominate our lives, Jesus walks with us just as He walked with the two men on the road to Emmaus. He points us to God’s Word of promise in the Bible that tells us again that we are God’s dearly loved children and that He will stand by us through thick and thin. He turns our despair into hope.

The road to Emmaus is a symbol of the Christian life. This story is about ordinary despair, and ordinary Monday-morning drudgery. It is a story about meeting a Stranger, hearing His words of comfort, sitting down at the table and sharing a meal. It enables us to see that the risen Lord gives hope and joy, when all we see is disappointment, discouragement and despair. It enables us to see the world not as a place of death, decay, and defeat, but as a place waiting, groaning toward God’s final victory.

This story is a story for everyday life in 2016. If you are walking the Emmaus road right now or when you will walk it in the future with those sad Ds – disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despondency, depression, and despair – let’s remember we are not walking alone. The unseen “Stranger”, the risen Jesus is walking with us.

When our Emmaus road is filled with discouragement and despair, let’s walk it with Jesus. Walking with Jesus, our road will become a great highway of companionship, conversation, belief and hope.                (PASTOR VINCE GERHARDY)

AS WE GIVE, SO GOD GIVES TO US.
(Matthew 6:19 & 20; Philippians 4:14-20)

There is a cycle of generosity. First, God gives to us and this leads us to give in response. But Scripture also shows that God responds to our giving  –  that we are blessed by it.  We
need to be careful to avoid the ʻprosperity gospelʼ that suggests that this blessing will be earthly wealth, but equally we should not miss the point altogether. As we give, we receive – in the joy in the act of giving, and in receiving Godʼs blessings thereafter – in heaven (Matthew 6) and in His provision for our earthly needs (Philippians 4). And in this, we see again the overflowing generosity of God.

REFLECT:  Spend a moment reflecting on your own giving thinking about where you currently give – money, yes, but also time, or hospitality, or by using skills and talents God has given to you.

AS WE GIVE, WE GROW
(Matthew 25:14-30)

The Parable of the Talents has much to say, but today, let us simply focus on two points: That those who have been entrusted by the Master will one day be held to account, and second, the slightly surprising statement in verse 29, that everyone who has will be given more. The underlying truth is that as we invest time and energy in seeking to follow Christ, so we grow – in faith, in a greater perception of Godʼs blessings to us, and in a greater understanding of what we can do to serve Jesus both in and through the local church.

REFLECT:  Recalling back the areas of your giving, consider what the next step in your growth as a disciple of Jesus might be.

GIVING TO GOD RESPONDS TO WHAT WE HAVE RECEIVED
(1 Chronicles 29:1-20)

King David is known for many things, but one of his final acts is to give to the building of the Temple. He does so from the wealth of his office, and from his own personal wealth. The prayer in verses 10 to 13 is well known to us, but it is helpful to see it in its original context. One of the worldʼs most powerful and wealthy kings  ecognizes that all of his wealth and power is given to him by God, and that his giving back to God is in response to Godʼs prior generosity. The challenge of this passage is not so much to reflect on what we give, but on our motives for doing so – do we give out of thankfulness?

REFLECT:  Pause and reflect on the blessings that you have received. Give thanks to God for His generosity – for the daily blessings of good and shelter, for the blessings of loving human relationships.

Tyranny of the urgent describes a life that is unjustly run by pressing issues that require immediate attention. It is constantly being bogged down with situations and circumstances that pull for your TIME, and ENERGY. When living under “the tyranny of the urgent” life is a “Rat Race” and we are always behind. Our problem is not one of “time” but one of “priorities.”
•    We let other people’s demands drive us to a point of frustration, when quite simple we need to learn to “just say no.”
•    We let urgent things crowd out important things.

The urgent things that call for immediate action put extreme pressure on us every hour of every day. The important things like prayer, studying the Word, encouraging others in the Lord…these are the things that wait.

Is there any escape from “the tyranny of the urgent?” Let’s look at the life of Jesus for that answer. The night before He died He made a claim in John 17:4 “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” Keep in mind that His ministry was only three years old. There was much to be done yet, teaching, preaching, and miracles of salvation, healing and deliverance. Yet, with confidence and peace He could say, “I have finished the work.”

When we look at the life of Jesus we see a life of:
1. Perfect Timing
2. Wonderful Balance
3. Being in tune with God

Why were those things present in His life? I believe the answer can be found in Mark 1:35 which says, “In the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a lonely place, and there He prayed.” He talked with His Father.
•    He prayerfully waited for instructions and strength
•    He discerned the Father’s will for His life, day by day

As a result He was able to ward off the urgent and accomplish the important. A perfect case point is that of Lazarus. Jesus received the message that His friend was close to death and that He should go to him. Yet we see in John 11:6 that He stayed “two more days in the place where He was.” By the time He got to Bethany, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. The urgent thing was the demand for Jesus to go at once and heal Lazarus. The important thing was the thing that would have the most lasting impact: RAISING HIM FROM THE DEAD.

There is a big difference in doing a “good thing” and doing the “right thing.” And, there is a price to be paid in order to do the right thing, but the reward will be so sweet if only we do not give in to the pull of the “urgent.” God has promised that if we abide (hold and maintain fellowship, remain) in His Word, then He will instruct us concerning the truth. We will know the truth about:
1. What He desires   2. What He expects   3. What He accepts

We cannot be effective in our lives and ministries if we do not stay plugged in to The Source not only of the The One Who has all the answers but also The One Who has the ability to perform what needs to be performed in people’s lives.
(MELINDA LANCASTER)

To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable
because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

Eveyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they
have something to forgive.                         (C.S. LEWIS)

You will begin to heal when you let go of past
hurts, forgive those who have wronged you,
and learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes.

FORGIVE others, not because they deserve  forgiveness, but because you deserve PEACE.

It takes  a strong person to say SORRY, and an even stronger person to FORGIVE.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He
who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power
to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil
in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone
hate our enemies.                                    (MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.)

To be forgiven is such sweetness that honey is tasteless in comparison. But yet there is one thing sweeter still, and that is to forgive.            (CHARLES SPURGEON)

The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.   (MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

You have to learn to forgive
because EVERYBODY
makes mistakes.

Forgiveness is the fragrance the
violet sheds on the heel that
has crushed it.  (MARK TWAIN)

God has opened the door for me to ____.
I was pursuing something I really felt called to, but God closed the door.

That’s not in the Bible folks. It is a non-biblical, non-Christian philosophy called fatalism. I believe this little phrase, God opens and closes doors, has led to people falsely blaming God for missed opportunities. We put this philosophy of open and closed doors above biblical concepts like perseverance, patience, and long-suffering. Instead, many have bought into a mentality that it’s meant to be, God will open doors. If it isn’t meant to be, God will close doors. Again, that’s fatalism. That isn’t how God works. Nor is it how God’s people are asked to look at the world.

This is what God says about opening doors:
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

 Did David tell his friends, “Yeah, I was anointed as the next king, I don’t know though. Clearly, Saul doesn’t like me so I think God is closing that door?“
 I don’t think God cared too much about Jonah’s “closing the door” on going to Ninevah.
 And a ship-wreck was clearly a “closed door” if I’ve ever seen one. But did that stop Paul?
 Persecutions of the first apostles weren’t seen as God closing doors. The only door that ended their ministry typically involved lions.
 Pharaoh refusing to release the Jews for the first 9 plagues wasn’t God closing a door.
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had an open door to a fiery furnace. But that didn’t stop them, did it?
 Seems like the doors were closed around old Jericho, weren’t they? Did that stop God’s people from taking action?

On and on we see that Scripture is not fatalistic about vocation, doing good, doing right, or fulfilling our call! But God does work in us and through us when we persevere, when we are patient in affliction, when we long-suffer for doing right

God rewards the righteous. God smiles on those who seek justice. God hears and answers prayer. God wants us to seek wise-council. God’s calling is true. God can move literal and figurative mountains for the faithful. God calls us and asks us to depend on Him and Him alone. He could care less about our education. (Paul) He could care less about our abilities. (Moses) He could care less about our lack of faith. (Jonah) He could care less about our past failures. (David).

If He is asking you to do something He will make a way. Rather than worrying about if the door is open or closed we are asked to open the door. We may have to kick it in. And we may need to buy a sledge-hammer to make a way where there is no way. But waiting for doors to open or doors to close is meaningless, dangerous, and destructive. The only door you should be closing is on fatalism. The only door you should be opening is to Jesus, “Here I am, use me how you want. I am yours. You are my Savior and Lord.”                              (ADAM MCLANE)

Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. “Consider your ways!” (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.

Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It’s so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we’re going and where we should be going.

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1.     What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2.     What’s one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will  leave to your    children and grandchildren?

3.     What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this           year?

4.    In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about         it?

5.    What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6.    What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7.    For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8.    What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year       different   from last year?

9.    What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10.   What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity?
(DON WHITNEY)