Jan 23

Fulfilling One of the Hardest Commands Ever Given

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Group Pic 1This past weekend several of our high school students, along with myself and a couple other adults, traveled to Savannah, Tennessee for a youth conference totally devoted to evangelism. This was the 14th year of this conference and it continues to get better each year. It is the one event I always look forward to attending.

Over the course of this weekend, I watched as over 1,400 students spent time learning and discussing ways they can be more evangelistic in their schools, communities and youth groups. It never fails, everyone always leaves Evangelism University (EU) excited to implement the things they have learned over the weekend. This year was no different. I am excited to see what happens as the students and adults begin to put into practice the ideas that were discussed.

However, as I walked away from EU this year, perhaps for the first time in all my years of attending and teaching at this conference, my heart and mind were truly opened to how many people in the world around me are lost and dying in sin because they have never come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and acted upon their faith in Him.

Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Did you catch what Jesus said? There are many people in life who are walking down an easy path but the problem is this path leads to destruction. Only a few people have chosen to walk down the hard, narrow path that leads to life.

I don’t know about you, but this verse disturbs me and it should. It should disturb me to know that more people will spend eternity in hell than in heaven. It should disturb me to know that some of the people I love most, may be some of the very people who are walking down a path to destruction. Friends, it should disturb us to the point we are willing to do something about those who are lost and dying in sin. It’s time we acted upon the command left behind by Jesus before He returned back home to the Father. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). It’s time we did our part in making disciples of Christ.

If those of us who claimed to be Christians were half as passionate about evangelism as we are our favorite sports team, band or movie star, perhaps we would make more of an effort to bring people to Jesus. It’s time we developed a passion for something that truly matters in life! It’s time we took Jesus’ command seriously.

Take a good look at the people around you today. How many of those people are you willing to ignore and allow to continue down a path that leads to destruction? My hope and prayer is that it’s not many!

QUESTION: What can YOU and the congregation you attend do to make 2013 the year you reach out and evangelize those who are lost in sin? I’d love to hear your ideas. Please leave your comments below.

Jan 15

At the Close of the Day…

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prayer meeting_t_ntWe live busy lives. There’s no doubt about it. Just take a look at your monthly calendar or weekly schedule, and it will become evident how busy you really are. We go to work, church, take care of the kids, sporting events, church activities, practices, musical lessons, school activities, etc. and that doesn’t even account for the things we have to do around our house each day. We are busy.

I don’t know about you, but there are many nights when I finally finish a long day’s worth of to dos and I just want to crash. I usually do this by either watching television so I don’t have to think much or I might read a book which requires some brain activity on my part. However, as I was doing my Bible reading this morning I came across something Jesus did that might be a good indication of how He spent time at the close of each day.

“Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone” (Matt. 14:22-23).

Jesus had a pretty emotional and eventful day. He had learned of the death of His friend and family member, John the Baptist; He had healed a large crowd and He fed a group over 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. That’s a busy day for anyone. And yet, did you notice how He closed out the day? He went up on the mountain alone to pray (v. 23). Jesus wanted to close His day in prayer to the Father.

What a wonderful example for us to follow. In the midst of living such busy lives, let’s make it a practice to spend time at the close of every day alone, in prayer to our heavenly Father. If it was something Jesus practiced, why shouldn’t it be something we practice as well? Who knows, it just might help take some of the chaos out of our busy lives.

What do you do after a busy day? How can spending time in prayer help to take some of the chaos out of our lives? Leave your comments below.

 

Jan 11

The CHALLENGE: Day 1 Reflections

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Yesterday, the Student Ministry at Karns began our challenge of reading through the New Testament in only 90 days. The nice thing about beginning yesterday is that last night we had our Thursday night Bible study and 15 kids and 4 adults were able to discuss the reading for the day.

In this post I want to share with you a few things that we talked about last night.

  1.  The genealogy of Jesus mentioned in the book of Matthew is from Joseph’s family history (Matt. 1). One of the students found this interesting because Mary was the one chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah. However, Matthew writing to the Jewish people included Jesus’ family’s kingly history. Read Luke’s account for the genealogy through Mary’s family.
  2. A lot of the people mentioned in Matthew’s account of the genealogy of Jesus aren’t the kind of people you would expect to find in the family history of the Messiah (Matt. 1). We concluded this is important because it shows two things. 1) It shows Jesus’ family tree is a lot like ours today and 2) It shows failures and sinners were the whole point of the birth of Jesus even among His own earthly family.
  3. We discussed the righteousness of Joseph; particularly the fact that he wanted to put Mary away privately and not make a big deal about what had happened (Matt. 1:19). This is interesting when you consider how most people would have responded if this were to have happened today. By God choosing Mary to be the mother of Jesus, He was in turn picking Joseph and his righteous character to be the earthly father of Jesus. Amazing!
  4. When considering the temptations of Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11), it’s worth noting that 1) This wasn’t the only time Satan tempted Jesus (read Luke’s account) and 2) Jesus demonstrated the best means of dealing with temptation is by keeping the Word of God in the forefront of one’s mind. What a great reminder for us all.
  5. The first apostles called by Jesus left everything “immediately” (Matt. 4:18-22). They walked away from their livelihood and followed Jesus not really knowing what was going to happen. How many of us are willing to walk away from almost everything else in order to follow after Jesus? This takes an extraordinary amount of faith.

Last night was incredible. Singing, praying and discussing the Word of God with the teens was both encouraging and uplifting for me personally. I am looking forward to continuing in our challenge together to become the image of Jesus. What a great year this is going to be!

What has stuck out to you during your daily Bible reading over the last few days? Leave your comments below.

 

Jan 10

The CHALLENGE

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The ChallengeThis year our Student Ministry program at Karns has decided to take a challenge to help make 2013 the best year it can be. The challenge that has been placed before our students, as well as some of the parents, is to allow God to work in and through us to mold us into the image of His son.

As children of God, our desire should be to walk, talk and represent Christ in the same way He would if He still walked the earth today. We want our level of discipleship to deepen to the point our family, friends and neighbors notice we are different people. Our desire is for others to see the image of Jesus in our lives.

In order for this to be accomplished, our students are going to try and do things they have never done before. Thomas Jefferson said, “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” This is what we are going to do in 2013. This year we are accepting the challenge to be who God has called us to be, both in and out of the church building.

Last night each student was given details of this challenge. After going over what the challenge consisted of, each student spent a few minutes in prayer and then decided whether or not they wanted to participate. I explained by accepting the challenge each student would be accountable to the others. We are going to have one another’s backs throughout this challenge. I am thrilled to say every student prayerfully considered and decided to accept the challenge.

Here are a just a few things our challenge will consist of…

  1.  Participate in monthly service projects (both as a group and as an individual).
  2.  Send an encouraging text, Facebook message, Tweet, email or card to someone each week.
  3. Find one or two people to pour your heart into and work to help them find a relationship with Jesus.
  4. Pick one of the other students and help mentor them (HS students help mentor MS students, MS students help mentor the elementary students).
  5. Participate in the big project we will be undertaking in the fall. I’m pumped about this.
  6. Read through the New Testament in 90 days and keep a notebook. We are participating in this together as a group. Our readings start today. I’ve even had some parents ask if they could be included in this part of our challenge. I truly believe this experience will be a blessing in the lives of all the participants.
  7. Allow God to work in and through your life to deepen your relationship with Jesus and to bless those around you.

I am super excited to see what God will do in our lives through this challenge. Each student understands the impact participating in this challenge could have. My prayer is that the impact will be far greater than anything even I have dreamed of.

Please take a moment and pray for all the students and parents who have accepted this challenge. Ask God to do incredible things in the lives of all those who are participating so their relationship with Jesus is deepened.

What are you doing this year to deepen your relationship with God? I’d love to hear from you on this. Leave your comments below.

 

 

 

 

Jan 05

Happy Birthday, Caden!!!

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imageOne year ago today, my life forever changed. We arrived at the hospital and a few of hours later, I was holding one of the greatest blessings in my life, Caden Lee.

From the moment I first held him, it was over; I was in love and knew my life would never be the same. I mean, how could it, he brings my life such great joy.

The last year of my life has been amazing. Watching Caden grow, learn and interact has been something I will never forget for as long as I live. He has a smile that melts my heart every time I see it. Listening to him play and laugh is music to my ears.  Whenever I have a bad day, seeing Caden makes it all better. The way his face lights up when I arrive home is priceless. He is the best son a dad could ever ask for.

Today, Caden is 1 year old. I don’t know where the last year has gone, but it has been the greatest year of my life. I hope and pray that God will bless our family with many more wonderful years together. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Caden and the Morton family.

Happy 1st birthday Caden, Dada loves  you more than words can say.

Love, Dada