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When A Leader Sins

No Comments 07 February 2012

Scripture
If the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. Leviticus 4:3

Observation
The actions of a leader affect all on his team. It’s impossible to face the sun without casting a shadow. When a leader sins, it is not just him but all he leads who suffer.

When a leader takes responsibility for his sin, all benefit. What pleases the Lord is a heart that responds and returns to him. When that heart is in a leader then it will be in all the people.

Application
I want to be a leader who keeps short accounts with God. I want the influence of my leadership to be tenderness to the Lord.

Prayer
Father, I want to pray with a great leader of the past, Charles Wesley:

I want a principle within
Of watchful, godly fear,
A sensibility of sin,
A pain to feel it near.
I want the first approach to feel
Of pride or wrong desire,
To catch the wand’ring of my will,
And quench the kindling fire.

Quick as the apple of an eye,
O God, my conscience make;
Awake my soul when sin is nigh,
And keep it still awake.
Oh, may the least omission pain
My reawakened soul,
And drive me to that blood again,
Which makes the wounded whole.

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God Takes Forgiveness Seriously

No Comments 06 February 2012

Scripture
“I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.” Acts 13:22

For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. Acts 13:36-39

Observation
Even with adultery, murder and deceit written across his life, in the end David was considered a “man after my heart, who will do all my will” who “served the purpose of God in his own generation.” The cleansing of David’s record shows how seriously God takes the business of forgiveness. It also shows how thorough David was in bringing all of his sin into the cleansing presence of the Lord.

A man with a heart after God’s heart is a vulnerable man. David had an enormous capacity to spiritually connect with the Lord. That capacity can be easily abused to be satisfied with immorality. The sincere worshipper is the most vulnerable to sexual temptation because his soul is sensitive and and seeking communion.

These simple sentences about David iron over how God made redemption part of Jesus’ lineage. Jesus was a descendant of Bathsheba as much as of David. Her blood flowed through Jesus’ veins too. God takes forgiveness so seriously that even the sinner is part of his perfect plan.

Application
A heart after God’s heart is not a heart perfect in performance but quick to respond to him. Most of David’s life that response was in the form of worship. There were a few moments where he had to be quick in repentance too. God will evaluate the outcome of my life not by how perfectly I follow him but by how I return to him again and again.

Prayer
Father, I incline my heart toward yours today. Jesus take me over. My soul seeks you for what is missing within myself. I need you more. Amen.

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New at 80

No Comments 02 February 2012

Scripture
11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. Exodus 33:11

Observation
At the age of 80, Moses came into an entirely new relationship with God. He saw God in the burning bush. The Lord spoke to him as a friend. He met with God in a tent every day where the people watched. But this was a new experience. At the age of 80 he saw a brush fire and everything changed.

What brought the change? The gift of leadership and the challenge of leadership brought Moses to the end of himself and the beginning of the Lord.

Leadership demands time and can squeeze out prayer. Jesus and Moses discovered the power of retreat and solitude to make time with the Lord.

Application
The winds of leadership blow my life into the shallows. I must struggle to get out into the deep.

Prayer
Father, show me how to live ever deeper with you. Amen.

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Jesus Absorbed

No Comments 31 January 2012

Scripture
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55-56

Observation
A man can get through just about anything if he looks to Jesus. It was in his moment of dying that it became clear what Stephen had been living for all along. Because he had been looking for Jesus throughout his life he saw him clearly in his death.

I don’t want to get mystical here, as if what Stephen experienced is something only a few navel gazers can attain to. His revelation of Jesus is far more attainable. It is as simple as this: instead of looking to friends, family, or authority figures, look to Jesus. Look to what he desires. Look for his approval. Live for his reward.

Application
“Well done’ are the two words I’m listening for. Too often I look to authority figures and friends to be my final reward, instead of looking to Jesus only. It is as simple as any athletic endeavor or ministry goal that I see and achieve. Am I doing it for Christ or for someone else? I will run for him.

Prayer
Father, keep my eyes focused on Jesus. Amen.

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600,000 Horny Men

No Comments 27 January 2012

Scripture
14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. 15 He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.” Exodus 19:14-15 

Observation
Clean. Scrubbed. And 3 days without sex. 600,000 men waited for God to show up. And did God ever show up!  The mountain burned. His voice thundered. But even with all of their stringent preparations it still wasn’t enough to get them to the top to sit with Moses and God. 

Stories like this bring so much meaning to this verse:

12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:12

16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 14:16

Application
This day may I honor Jesus by using courageously what he did selflessly and enter into Abba’s presence.  

Prayer
Father, it is not by my self-discipline but by your Son’s sacrifice that I have won an appointment with you. I take it all. Amen. 

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The World’s First Sermon

No Comments 26 January 2012

Acts 2 is an amazing sermon, and not for the obvious reasons.

Obvious reasons? Oh, there are tons.

The question was answered. Every crowd has a question. Everyone is thinking of it, but no one has articulated it. There were two questions. First, what the heck is going on in your prayer meeting? Then Peter seized the other question that had been rattling around in hearts for six weeks: who was this Jesus we killed?

The answer grasped the will. Peter didn’t give information, he appealed to the emotions and to the will. He romanced them with the prophecy of Joel, and endeared them to the current experience of the Spirit. Then he defined Jesus with the punch line: God came, and you killed him, so deal with it.

Peter also used a little humor. He reasoned. He was agile like a boxer. In all, the sermon was a ten out of ten. It became the model for all Christian preaching.

But what made this message amazing was the lack of time Peter had to prepare it. Pentecost happened, people asked questions, and suddenly Peter was standing in front of the microphone to explain. This proves how much Jesus has to say and how much the Holy Spirit can help us to say it.

Application
Peter’s sermon is evidence that most of good preaching comes from God and not from us. The most important preparation Peter had done for the message was 3 years with Jesus followed with 10 days of prayer. When the moment came, the message flowed. Preaching is not the fruit of an intellectual pursuit. Preaching is the overflow of a journey through a leader.

Prayer
Father, preach through me this Sunday. It’s been a little rusty getting this one out of the scabbard. Please speak through me. Amen.

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Make Insomnia Holy

1 Comment 25 January 2012

Scripture
Because the LORD kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come. Exodus 12:42

Observation
When Jesus stayed awake all night before he died just to pray, he was fulfilling God’s passover promise. God stayed awake to protect the home of every Jew from the angel of death. So Jesus prayed through the night to drink the cup of our salvation.

Application
Giving up sleep for prayer is more difficult for me than giving up food for prayer. I would be with the disciples in snoozing. But if Jesus could keep vigil then when he asks of me, I will keep vigil too. This honors God, for in prayer through the night we fellowship with the Lord in the work of watchman that he undertakes for us.

Prayer
Father, I often awake in the night. Help me to make insomnia holy by filling these times with prayer. Amen.

I'm Phil McCallum, a husband, father and most of all one of the people Jesus loves. I'm privileged to serve Evergreen Community Church in Bothell, Washington as Senior Pastor where people love enough to believe "it's all about relationships." In 1982 I made a vow to read God's word daily and apply it to life. Each day I write out my reflections. Some days I post those on my blog. It's a little personal but it's my hope it will stir you to go deeper still. Learn how I do my devotions. These are my thoughts and not necessarily those of the ministry I serve. By the way check out the computer study Bible Glo. I highly recommend it.

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