Category Archives: Devotional

origin_6867829242

To Bind Up the Brokenhearted

Leave a reply

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1–3, NASB95)

A powerful portion of Jesus’ anointing… but it kinda sound weak. Don’t get me wrong, we’re going to unpack it. But this is the portion of Isaiah 61 that sounds like Jesus came to help sixth grade girls deal with the fact that they’re not going to marry Justin Beiber. But it is indeed so much more.

Have you ever been crushed? Have you ever had a moment that took the wind out of you? I’m not talking about disappointment, but devastation. I remember a moment a few years ago that I sat in my office devastated.

It’s not unusual for a minister to have a tough Sunday and causally peruse the open church listings on Monday… trust me, it’s incredibly therapeutic. But this day was different… it wasn’t even a Monday.

We had just moved to a church slightly south of Memphis, TN. It was a fairly young church, it was growing quickly and was looking for a worship pastor to take them to the “next level.” The only problem was next level in the interview was extremely different than next level when we were on the payroll. To this day, I don’t know why this church would have ever offered me a job… I was a terrible fit for their ministry objective. They wanted me to be what they wanted me to be and there was no room for anything else. I was miserable. I could go into a long blog about the gritty details of my short time at this church… and maybe one day when I’m in a bad mood I’ll go for it… but not today.

So, I walk into my office one day and I type something into google that I had never typed before. I didn’t run a search for open positions in churches… instead I typed these words. Good jobs for former music ministers. I thought I was done. Not that I thought the church or the pastor could end my carrear. I just didn’t think I wanted to do it anymore… I was an emotional and physical wreck. I hated being a worship pastor.

In this passage the word brokenhearted comes from two Hebrew words NISBERE (broken) and LEB (hearted). This word LEB can be interpreted a few ways that bring the meaning out… attention, conscience, imagination, inspiration, intelligence, pride, skill… 

This brokenhearted is more of a completely damaged in places no one can fix. Just look at these words… imagination,  inspiration, intelligence. So hurt that you can’t see any good, nothing awakens joy inside of you and you feel like an absolute fool all the time. Totally worthless.

But Jesus reaches down and and makes a deposite of value in us that nurses us back to life… and life to the full mind you. Look at this…

“When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.” (Mark 9:25–27, NASB95)

Just as everyone thinks the boy is dead… Jesus takes him by the hand and raises him up.

So for me, I did not leave the ministry. A few days later I took some time and I sat down with my computer and asked the Lord to show me what I valued in ministry. After several hours, I had a document I call my “Philosophy of Ministry”. And when I looked at the pages I had written I was inspired… the Lord showed my my value.

He healed my broken heart… and He will heal yours in Jesus’ name.

photo credit: kevin dooley via photopin cc

origin_2781329487

To Bring Good News to the Afflicted

1 Reply

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1–3, NASB95)

My upbringing was a tough one. I’m not foolish to think I had the epitome of an awful childhood, but it was rough none-the-less.

When I was first introduced to the love and acceptance of God through Jesus, it totally rocked my world. Like… I’m a first generation convert and first generation minster today… because it rocked my world!

My rough home life in the perfect Sunday Morning testimony would go like this, “When I gave my life to Jesus everything changed. My parents got right with God. Their marriage was strengthened and they devoted themselves to our family and the ministry. My parents have Pastored a wonderful church since 1998 that is flourishing with new converts every week.” You get the picture…

However, that’s not how it went. I got saved and home got worse. As a matter-of-fact, most of the big stuff happened AFTER I had become a Christian. But while home was getting worse, something glorious was happening inside of me.

Philippians 4:7 speaks of a peace that passes understanding. That’s the only was I know how to describe it. The gospel gave me peace.

Now, you would think that “good news” really wouldn’t be enough… but rather relief. If I’m afflicted what do I really want other than to stop being afflicted? However, ‘news’ gives us a sense of what is coming and our senses give us a perception of reality. Your perception then gives you perspective and your perspective determines your approach.

So while I didn’t see anything necessarily improving around me, I was approaching my life from a new perspective… the perspective of an overcomer! And when life was tough, I was encouraged by this good news. The good news that through Christ… we win!

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10, NASB95)

photo credit: just.Luc via photopin cc

origin_38393034

When Forgiveness is Preached, Glory Falls

Leave a reply

““Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.” (Acts 10:43–44, NASB95)

In our charismatic circles we talk often of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I have books on my shelf that I have studied in hope of helping people receive this wonderful gift. How do you bring someone to the point that they would be thrust into a supernatural moment that leaves them speaking in a language they were never taught? The interesting portion of Peter’s experience at Cornelius’ house was that he didn’t even try.

What a picture of grace! Oh… I’m not referring to the fact that Peter had an effortless ministry success, even though that is a wonderful demonstration of God’s grace. But instead, when the Holy Spirit touched this group in such a powerful way.

Notice this, as Peter is finishing up his final statement on the goodness of God, the free gift of righteousness that is available to all… he doesn’t even have an opportunity to add a story, joke or antidote. As Peter says forgiveness of sins, the Holy Spirit is poured out in a mighty way. Why? Because the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the finished work of Christ. (John 16:14)

No matter our persuasion of theological details, we must remember that we preach Jesus who finished our work for us and we can be completely forgiven. Everything else will come effortlessly!

photo credit: Martin LaBar (going on hiatus) via photopin cc

Grace Empowers

Leave a reply

One of the wonderful attributes of God’s grace is that it empowers us to do His will, fulfill our “God-dreams” and even find great success in life! Look at what Apostle Paul said…

1 Corinthians 15:3-10 NASB

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Paul gives us this list of great-men in the kingdom. Cephas (Peter), the rest of Jesus’s personal disciples, James… an impressive group. Then Paul recognizes himself as last and least… even citing his unfitness to be a minister.

Don’t you feel that way sometimes… or more like, often? Unfit… the least. I know I feel that way. I honestly know that I’m less talented than my creative friends, not as eloquent as my preacher friends, not as smart as my educated friends… and my “godliness” is far behind most of my friends. I constantly feel behind, lacking and under-qualified.

However, I am constantly amazed at how God is using me. I have a fruitful ministry, abilities that I don’t remember acquiring (they just showed up) and much favor with man. The former (what I am) doesn’t produce the later (what I have).

I’ve always been fascinated with music. I love music. As a boy, I never had an overwhelming amount of musical talent… my family isn’t musically talented… actually most of them are musically challenged. A few months after becoming a Christian, I started learning how to play the electric bass… which I never mastered… but something about the instrument came so natural. The next year (when I was in the seventh grade) I woke up one morning and I could sing. I know that sounds funny, but I went to bed unable to sing (I would talk the words to songs) and I woke up able to sing! Music theory, which most find difficult, has always been like a second language to me… I just understand it. Even now, I’m not a master-musician, but God has given me favor with many master-musicians.

Isn’t that weird… While I didn’t have the makings to be a musician… it just happened for me. It’s a grace that God has given me.

I use my musical background to illustrate, but honestly… I’ve seen this in many areas of my life.

You know, God never created you to be qualified. God’s big plan wasn’t, “I’ll create man and see if they can make something of themselves.”

No, Romans 8 says…

20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

God has created us in such a way that we must depend on Him for our qualification!

That’s what Paul and myself have experienced. We are what we are by the grace of God! The product of my life is not a result of the seed of natural flesh… but God has graced me into an honorable life, though my make-up deemed a dishonorable life.

Against all odds, Paul didn’t only, “labor even more than all of them,” he eventually had more influence. The least qualified has been the most influential person to Christianity, second only to Jesus.

I can only imagine what God, through His grace, will empower you and I to do.

Praise the Lord!

Blessings…

Deliver Them to Satan 2/2

Leave a reply

In this post I’m going to answer my friend’s question, “What about the scripture that says, ‘Give them over to satan?’ Does that mean to kick them out of the church?”

In 1 Corinthians 5:1 we are given a very specific instance that Paul is dealing with…

It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife.

Now, we know that this is inspired by the Holy Spirit and can give us guidance and application today… but let’s not use this passage of scripture for just any old sin. We’re talking about something fairly extreme and of a sexual nature – which is different than all other sin (see 1 Corinthians 6:18).

That being said, I want to give you my practical answer to my friend’s question… under the mandate of “seek the Holy Spirit’s counsel in all manners of discipline.”

There are really two classifications of people that we deal with when it comes to any kind of church discipline… whether that be business, character or moral correction. These people need to be identified before classified. The first identifier is that they are proud of their sin… but the real harm starts coming when others aren’t even uncomfortable with it, which is the second identifier.

Understand me… we accept and love everyone… but anyone who loves God should be uncomfortable around proud (and/or flamboyant) sin.

Now the two classifications…

Classification 1 is a RASH. With a little tender love and care, a rash can be healed. It may even spread, but probably won’t do any major damage in the long run. Be proactive… but not proactive with your excommunication contract.

These people will be healed with more grace! Grace produces transformation!

Classification 2 is a TUMOR. Tumors are lethal. Once a tumor is connected to something in the body, that thing begins to die. A mentor and friend who has been struggling with cancer for the last few years recently had the cancer tumor touch one of his vertebrae… and he went completely paralyzed in an arm (they got that taken care of praise God!).

Tumors bring death and destruction everywhere they reach. If you are dealing with someone in your church who is causing multitudes to morally decay, or doubt, or turn away, or die spiritually… then you deal with them like you do a tumor. You eradicate them.

Like a tumor though, these people aren’t extremely common (though they exist). In his book  Antagonist in the Church, Kenneth Haugk suggests that you will most likely never encounter a true antagonist in the church. In the same way, you will most likely never encounter someone with such abominable sin problems and such influence that you will need to excommunicate them from the church.

In all of Paul’s letters, even though he occasionally warns his readers about a certain individual, this kind of dealing (turning over to Satan) only occurs once. Once. ONCE!

The other day as I was walking through my thoughts on this passage, I initially thought that these “tumors” needed to be confronted with the law… to show them their own wretchedness. So, I did what I always do when I need to thrash out a thought… I called Tony Sutherland.

Tony reminded me of what I already know… and then he said, “just like Paul, you can’t let one person discredit the truth.” And the truth is that grace is not the solution for some people’s sin problems… it’s the solution for all people’s sin problems. There is no transformation apart from the glorious grace that comes through Jesus!

Even though this course of action seems both unloving and dramatic… it requires leaders to unleash that which causes grace to be most effective… trust.

That’s right, this requires trust. Look at the last part of the passage:

1 Corinthians 5:5

I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Doesn’t this remind you of a story that Jesus told…

Luke 15

11 And He said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. 13 And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.”

In the end, when this son had lost everything, hit rock bottom, started living in the state that he found repulsive… he “came to his senses.”

That’s what we do in this senario of church discipline. We turn an individual – who is bringing harm into the body – over to their own foolishness. So that they may come to the end of themselves and start living like God has accepted them in Christ… because He has!

And when the time comes that this person returns… we meet them with open arms… just like the Father!

Deliver Them to Satan 1/2

Leave a reply

I was asked the question earlier today, “What about the scripture that says, ‘Give them over to satan? Does that mean to kick them out of the church?”

Thankfully this was an honest question. As a side note… I’ve found that people who fully embrace God’s grace start asking honest questions. Those who do not fully embrace God’s grace tend to ask accusing questions. This was an honest question. And, just FYI, the question was a little more thorough than that…

Let’s look at this passage in context.

1 Corinthians 5:1-8 NASB

It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4  In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

6  Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Let’s talk about what’s going on in the Corinthian church.

Here we have a group of people who are extremely carnal and yet they “are not lacking in any spiritual gift” – obviously there is some sort of dysfunction.

Notice that Paul tells the Corinthians, “You have become arrogant…” and “Your boasting is not good…”

HYPOTHESIS: The Corinthians were seeing so many supernatural manifestations that they had probably concluded that they were able to call the shots on their own morality. That, essentially, they had reached a point of maturity that they could do whatever they felt like. They were treating the grace of God as a license to sin.

It is dangerous to be so arrogant as to think that our own personal morality is “good enough.” While we are fully accepted through the finished work of Christ, we must never forget that it is by His work alone that we are saved. Our personal morality is, at it’s best, absolutely detestable before a holy God. When we forget this, the law can no longer show us our need for Christ.

So Paul closes the passage by telling us to celebrate the finished work of Jesus…

… not with the old leaven of the law. We are no longer under law, but under grace. We cannot gain God’s acceptance through our obedience to the law, but only by the glorious finished work of the cross. It is foolish for us to try to complete in the flesh what was begun in the spirit.

… not with the leaven of malice and wickedness. Grace is not a license to sin. If grace were a license to sin, then grace would be of the law… for it would need the law to permit our newly gained rights to do whatever we wish without the judgment of God. The wrath of God has not been removed, it has been absorbed. The wrath of God towards the believer’s sin was still poured out… but (Praise God!) it was poured out on Jesus!

… but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. We now celebrate this new life in Christ with sincerity, instead of pretentiousness, and truth, honestly assessing our own worthiness while living in the worthiness of Christ. While we are not under law, nor given a license, we are able to come boldly before the throne of God’s grace!

Praise God for His glorious grace!

Now… I know your thinking, “That didn’t even answer the guy’s question…” True! But I did answer his question… And you can read my practical answer in part 2 of this blog… it’ll be here in a few days!

Grace, Flexibility and Discipline.

Leave a reply

“I’m so glad you’ve become a Christian. Now that you’re saved… read your Bible and pray everyday.”

The above quote is the generic post salvation advice. It is, for some reason, the most difficult advice to receive and implement in our lives. I call these two things the disciplines.

Let me encourage you with a few thoughts…

Reading your Bible for 15 minutes daily will allow you to read your Bible once every year. This includes about 40 days you can miss.

If you pray for 15 minutes, you’re doing a lot better than most people.

You don’t have to read every word in the Bible. The whole thing is important and it’s all good, but most of us don’t understand the difficult stuff.

Failure to plan is planning to fail. A Bible Reading Plan will help you stay on track, even if you’re reading from cover to cover. The same thing applies to prayer… Without a plan to pray through, you’ll be done in 3 minutes. (I’m going to be releasing a prayer guide in a few weeks that can help with this.)

If you don’t pray or read today, you’re not going to Hell… don’t get discouraged.

The disciplines are very important. It is vital that you pray and that you’re hearing from the Lord through Bible reading. HOWEVER, I am not a big fan of the term daily. This is a wonderful goal and I attempt to do both of these things early in the morning… daily.

For the most part I’m doing good, but last week I was a sleep machine. As a matter-of-fact, I didn’t wake up on time one day last week. I actually woke up everyday with barely enough time to make it to work. Most of those days I still got in about a quarter of my daily Bible reading, but one day I didn’t. I don’t like to miss these things, but I’m not in depression and despair over it.

If you don’t allow yourself flexibility and grace you will not complete the disciplines in your life. Grace frees us from the rules and flexibility allows us to stay on track.

For instance, I’m the only person in the world that’s not a fan of the One Year Bible. Why? The dates. January 1, 2011 isn’t a flexible time frame. In addition to that, I don’t want us to have to wait until the new year to start reading our Bible. December 31 is a famous day for staying up late… and we’re gonna start reading the Bible the next day? Yeah right. To me it’s more flexible to have a “Day 1, Day 2, Day 3″ system rather than a dated system. I believe it gives me the flexibility to start when I want, keep me from feeling like I need to either catch up or skip days, and it doesn’t keep my failure in front of my face… like reading Jan 17′s day on Feb 3!

As I mentioned before, in the next few weeks I’m going to be releasing a prayer guide to help you have a pattern of prayer. This is something I’ve developed for myself personally and have decided to share it with my team and with you. As we gear up for that, please remember that slow and steady wins the race. Be prepared to have grace and flexibility as we embark on REGULAR prayer and Bible reading. Don’t attempt to read the Bible 18 times this year or pray for a collective 21 hours this week.

You can do this!

 

Seeing Only Jesus

Leave a reply

Matthew 17:1  Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2  And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4  Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6  When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7  And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, ”Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8  And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone. (NASB)

God’s word is incredible powerful. It has the power to focus us. Let me show you what I see in this passage.

In verses 1-4 Peter, James and John are seeing a situation… a situation that they have no idea how to respond to (as evidenced by wanting to worship Moses and Elijah).

And then the word comes in verse 5-7. The three hear God’s word, they honor it and Jesus gives a directive.

And in verse 8 the three are focused… focused on what we should all be focusing on in our situation whether good, bad or indifferent.

Matthew 17:8  And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

Lord, as we seek You, let us see only Jesus.

Blessings!

New Book from Tony Sutherland

Leave a reply

This article was taken directly from tonysutherland.com. I highly recommend this new resource.

[gn_divider top="0"]

When we pull the veil back from modern day ministry, we discover than an alarming number of ministers in the body of Christ today are deeply troubled, suffering burnout and eventually dropping out of the ministry all together. The research shows that 1,600 pastors leave the ministry every month due to moral failure, burnout, or contention in their churches. Ministers are in a very dangerous occupation! They are perhaps the single most stressful and frustrating working professionals, even more than medical doctors, lawyers or politicians. Nearly 80% of pastors are so stressed and burned out that they regularly consider leaving the ministry. I desperately want to do my part in helping put an end to this!

That’s why I am excited to announce the release of my brand NEW book, COVERED (Praying For Your Spiritual Leaders). This 256-page book is GUARANTEED to be a powerful and practical resource for Pastors and their families, ministries and churches! I am also extremely honored to have this book forwarded by my Pastor & New York Times Best Selling Author – Jentezen Franklin. The following is an short excerpt of his foreword along with the endorsements of some other friends and great leaders. Their remarks capture the theme and purpose of this book perfectly!

 

“Tony’s maturity in the Word of God is without exception. This book is a powerful extension of his loyalty towards me, my family, and our leaders here at Free Chapel. Anointing, integrity, sincerity, and leadership: all from someone who has the heart of a servant and fully knows his place in the Body of Christ. My family and I are forever grateful that Tony has written COVERED specifically to raise up people to pray for us. I know pastors everywhere will be greatly encouraged by it as well. Get it, read it, and put it into forward motion!” 

JENTEZEN FRANKLIN - Senior Pastor, Free Chapel – Gainesville GA & Irvine CA

 

“Through extensive study and mature Biblical insight, Tony powerfully and profoundly defines the call and role of the intercessor and provides detailed and practical insight to effectively pray for pastors and key leaders. Covered is a MUST for seasoned prayer warriors as well as newly forming prayer ministries in the local church. After reading this book, your prayer life and support for your leaders will be reignited and realigned”

TRACY PAGE – Executive Pastor, Free Chapel – Gainesville GA

 

“Tony Sutherland eloquently and passionately conveys the heart of a true intercessor while also poignantly identifying the deep, heart-needs of the leader. In COVERED, Tony powerfully articulates the leader’s regular struggles and his absolute necessity for devoted intercessors… He not only expresses in concept what effective prayer looks like, but also presents a detailed and practical plan to intentionally pray for leaders. I highly recommend this insightful book as a guide to any pastor, intercessor or prayer team desiring to seriously understand their role and take their intercessory prayer ministries to the next level.”

DANNY CHAMBERS – Senior Pastor, Oasis Church – Nashville TN

 

“COVERED will minister to you about one of the most important subjects known to all believers… prayer… particularly that of faithfully praying for your spiritual leaders. As you apply these principles to your life, not only will you experience new growth and greater maturity, but your leaders will also powerfully benefit from the labor of your prayers.” 

RICHIE HUGHES – Author “Start Here Go Anywhere”

 

[gn_highlight bg="#DDFF99" color="#000000"]To order your copy click HERE.[/gn_highlight]

 

View the VIDEO TRAILER

[youtube_sc url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuwT_wYunls&feature=plcp"]