Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Luke 4:1-13

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Luke 4:1-13

“How Do You Answer When The Devil Comes Calling?”

February 21,2010

Lent 1

The Season of Lent that we begin today is the most important Season of the Church year as we reflect upon what Christ has done for us and what God calls us to do for Him.  Since the very early days of the Church Christians have observed the 6 weeks before Easter as a time for solemn reflection, greater commitment, and prayer.  The early Church used the 6 weeks before Easter as a time for teaching those who wanted to join the Church what it meant to be a Church member, much as we continue to do today as we hold Confirmation classes during Lent. Lent is indeed an important time for us as we seek to become better followers of the One who calls us to follow Him in lives of love and service.

We begin this Season today by looking at one of the things that keep us from being better followers of Christ – that being how we respond to temptation.

How we respond to temptation is one thing that – many times – keeps us from being a better disciple of Christ.

When we are presented with temptations, I see that we have 2 options — we can respond by overcoming it or by being overcome by it.

We can overcome it or we can be overcome by it.

When we overcome temptation we are going in the direction God wants us to go. When we are overcome by it we are not.

Letting ourselves be overcome by temptation is what we call sin.

We know that God does not want us to sin.

We know that sin separates us from God.

Some of us may know the definition the Westminster Shorter Catechism gives:

Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God

Sin is being overcome by – or giving in to – temptation instead of overcoming it.

So – if we know  that giving in to temptation is sin – and if we know that sin is going against God’s will for us – why don’t we just overcome temptation instead of letting it overcome us?

Easier said than done, is it not?

“I can resist anything but temptation”

That line is attributed to Oscar Wilde, but it is certainly true of me – and most probably you also.

I think that we all understand what temptation is.

There is a story told about a little boy in a grocery store that I think  illustrates the nature of temptation. The boy was standing near an open box of peanut butter cookies. “Now then, young man,” said the grocer as he approached the boy. “What are you up to?” “Nothing,” replied the boy: “Nothing.” “Well it looks to me like you were trying to take a cookie.” The grocer replied.

“You’re wrong, mister!” The boy replied “I’m trying not to!”

That’s temptation!

How many of us have shrugged and used the old Flip Wilson line:

“The Devil made me do it!”

when caught doing something we weren’t supposed to?

It’s a convenient defense — but there’s one problem:

the devil can’t make us do anything.

The devil may be clever, but the devil is not all powerful. It may feel that way when we’re being tempted —  but it is not that way.

But the devil sure knows how to lay out the bait, doesn’t he? The devil  knows us like a skilled angler knows fish. He knows our habits. He observes our hangouts. Then he prepares a tailor-made lure and drops it right in front of our noses.

The devil can’t make us take the bait and become overcome by temptation. He can’t make us bite, but he does know what happens inside us when we catch a glimpse of that tantalizing bait. Our fleshly nature draws us to it. We linger over it. We toy with it. We roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination.
Then, the struggle begins.

Immediately, our conscience might jab us in the ribs, warning us of the danger. We know it’s wrong to let temptation overcome us. We may even see the consequences. But the devil’s invitation looks so good.

What do we do?

Well, the temptation ends and the consequences begin with our response.

We either overcome temptation and follow Jesus into a victory – or we let the temptation overcome us and go into the spiral of sin.

Anyone who has overcome temptation knows the feeling of freedom that decision brings. On the other hand, we all know the feeling of emptiness that follows and the pain of the hook in our cheek when we let temptation overcome us and we sin.

Temptation and sin are as old as creation itself. Ever since the creation story in Genesis people have been sinning.

But – here’s the thing to remember – even though sin is as old as creation itself, the love and grace of God is older than sin. Even though we are tempted and many times let temptation overcome us, God continues to give us ways to overcome temptation.

The devil comes calling every day – in fact many times every day – tempting us with many options – just as he tempted Eve and has tempted every person ever since – but God can give us a way to answer when the devil comes calling that will not lead to being overcome by temptation – but overcoming it.

Our scripture passages for today give us 4 temptations that we face – and ways to overcome them.

One temptation we face is to forget about God and what God has done for us.

Our Old Testament passage for today from Deuteronomy 26 refers to this temptation.

Here in Deuteronomy 26 Moses is addressing the people of Israel before they were to enter the Promised Land. It had been 40 years since God had brought them out of Egypt, and now they were about to go into the land God had promised them.  But – God knew human nature.  God knew that the people would occupy the land – plant and harvest crops – and do well in the land. God know they would be successful. God also knew that – particularly as those who knew the struggle they had experienced in Egypt and while wandering in the wilderness died – the people would be tempted to forget how God had blessed them and brought them to this land of promise.  God knew that they would be tempted to think that they had come to the land and done well there by their own powers and their own abilities. God knew that they would be tempted to forget what God had done for them – so God commanded them to take the first of their crops to the priests every year and recite the creed that reminded them of how God had blessed them and brought them to the land of promise.

Why did God command them to bring the first fruits and recite what God had done for them?

Did God need to be reminded of what He had done for them?

No – but God knew that they needed to be reminded.

God knew that they needed to be reminded of what God had done for them and how God had blessed them.  God knew that – without the reminders – they would forget what God had done and begin to think that they had come to live in the land and have the crops because they were smart or they were powerful or they were resourceful. Without the reminders, God knew that they would forget what God had dome for them.

We are a lot like the people of Israel – aren’t we?

If we are not careful, the devil can tempt us into forgetting what God has done for us. If we are not careful, the devil can tempt us into thinking that we have what we have because we are smart or powerful or resourceful – instead of acknowledging the truth that all we have is ours because God has blessed us.

Yea – one temptation we face is to forget about what God has done for us.

We need to find ways to remind ourselves that all we have is from God.

We need to find answer when the devil comes calling with the temptation to forget about what God has done for us.

We need to celebrate what God has done for us – all God has given us –especially our salvation through Christ.

Look for ways to remind yourself that all you have is from God – and that your salvation is from God.

The ancient Israelites had their creeds and faith statements that helped them remember what God had done for them.

Find ways to remind yourself of all God has done for you.

Find ways to answer when the devil comes knocking so that you can overcome the temptation to forget what God has done for you.

The passage from Luke 4 shows us how Jesus was tempted in other ways – other things the devil came knocking and tempted Jesus with – and tempts us with also.  It also gives us ways to answer so that we can overcome the temptations the devil comes calling with.

First – there is the temptation to do things our way instead of God’s way.

Jesus has been fasting in the desert 40 days after His baptism, and in verse 3 the devil says to Him:

“If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

The statement is a supposition instead of a affirmation.  A better way to translate it might be:

“since you are the Son of God,” or

“in view of the fact that you are the Son of God.”

The temptation would be no temptation at all if Jesus were not indeed the Son of God. The devil is well aware that God exists and I don’t think that he expends a great deal of effort trying to keep us from believing in God. He does, however, try to convince us that our way of doing things is better than God’s way of doing things. The devil entered into the Biblical picture at creation by tempting  Eve into believing that her way of doing things – eating the fruit she wanted – was better than God’s way of doing things.  In essence he said:

“Do you really believe that God is good? He has told you not to eat from that one tree because he knows that the moment you do so you will be as wise as He is. He is not your friend. He is holding out on you”.

The temptation sounds innocent enough, doesn’t it? You could almost sense the innocence in the devil’s presentation of this temptation –

“just make these stones into bread” – what’s the big deal?”

“You the Son of God – you know you can do it — just do it!”

“There is no law against turning stones into bread. It won’t hurt anything.”

Jesus had been without food for six weeks! Because he was the Son of God he could invoke His supernatural powers. The temptation was very real. Jesus could have done it in an instant and his hunger was screaming,

“Do it.”

The devil is suggesting to Jesus that there must be something wrong with the Father’s love since “His beloved son” was hungry. He was tempting Jesus to disobey the Father’s will by using his divine power for his own purposes. He was tempting Jesus to believe that his way – changing the stones into bread – was better than God’s way.

John Piper says that sin …”gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be happier if I follow it than if I follow God. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier.”

If you watched our saw clips of Tiger Woods’ news conference the other day you may have noted that he said he had felt he deserved to be happy and have everything he wanted. He now realized that was a temptation he should have overcome instead of letting it overcome him.

So – how did Jesus answer when the devil came calling with the temptation to do things His way instead of God’s way?

In verse 4 Jesus says:

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

We often brag that we are “people of the Word.” But are we really? The question is not how much Bible do you know but how much of the Bible that you know are you applying in your life. Jesus lived by the word. The key phrase in each of his answers is to the devil is “it is written.” He did not allow the situation or the circumstances or even the enemy to dictate the truth. The answers to all three temptations came right out of scripture.

Jesus in his answer was saying,

“ I will not complain. Neither will I take matters into my own hands. I will trust my Father and His word and trust His plan.”

We may not be tempted to turn stones into bread — the impossible does not tempt us– but the temptation to believe that our plan is better than God’s plan is still very strong. The devil still tempts us to believe that if we want something done we need to do it ourselves and follow our plans — not trust in God or seek His plan. We regularly are tempted to go outside the confines of God’s plan for us to satisfy our personal needs or desires. We often promote ourselves because we are sure that God will not do it. We scheme and we plan for our well-being, because we assume that God does not care or maybe does not know about our needs. That attitude can not  be further from the truth, and that answer to the devil when he comes calling with the temptation to do things our way instead of God’s way could not be further from how God would have us live.

Jesus found a way to answer “no” when the devil came calling with the temptation to do things His way instead of God’s way.

Jesus can help us find ways to do the same thing.

The second temptation the devil came calling with was the temptation to take the easy way instead of God’s way.

The devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world – and told Him that He could give Him authority over all these if He would worship him.

He was offering Jesus a kingdom without the cross.

Why go to all the trouble and pain to win the world when it can be handed to you on a silver platter?” is what the devil was saying.

No suffering, No struggling, No sacrifice.

Easy for Jesus — but without meaning for us. If Jesus were to accept the crown without the cross there would be no forgiveness for our sins.

Thank God Jesus had an answer when the devil came calling with temptation to take the easy way instead of God’s way.  Thank God Jesus answered:

“Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

We do not have to look far to see how the devil comes calling with the temptation to take the easy say instead of God’s way. Our world  teaches us to avoid pain, to take the easy way, the path of least resistance. Avoid sacrifice.

Why give all that money to the Church?

Why do things to help others?

Why go out of your way to come to Church on a nice Sunday morning or Sunday night or Wednesday night?

Why not spend your money on something you want?

Why not just let others find help somewhere else?

Why not come to Church if and when it suits?

You only live once!

You deserve to be happy.

No – we are called to love and serve God and others – and although that may not be the easy way – it is God’s way – and it needs to be our way.

Like Jesus, we need to say “no” when the devil comes calling with the temptation to do things the easy way instead of God’s way.

The third temptation the devil came calling on Jesus with was the temptation to not believe God’s love until He saw it.

The devil took Jesus to the point of the temple roof that overlooked the Kidron Valley, about a 450 ft. drop to the ground. Whether he took him there physically or in a vision we do not know, but once there he made Jesus very tempting offer. Having seen Jesus defeat him two times by quoting Scripture, the devil now quotes it himself, but for his own purposes:

“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. (10) For it is written:‘He shall give His angels charge over you,To keep you,’ (11) and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up,Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

Actually, the devil misquotes the promise of God. It was right as far as it went, but he did not quote it all. For Jesus to have supernaturally survived a fall from the pinnacle of the temple in the full view of the people would have immediately identified Him as the Messiah. But Jesus would have been insisting that God “show” Him His love. It would have been testing God. It would be the equivalent of saying to God –“I won’t believe in You until I see You show me Your love on my terms.”

But – just as He did for the other 2 temptations the devil came calling with – Jesus had an answer for this temptation also.

“It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”

Jesus understood that starting His ministry by dramatically jumping from the pinnacle of the Temple would be completely contrary to the will of God. To do so would be to test God. Jesus refused to take this shortcut.

Jesus said “no”  when the devil came calling with the temptation to not believe God’s love until He saw it.

There are many subtle ways that the devil comes calling to us with the temptation to put God to the test – to not believe God’s love until we see it. We may not be tempted to jump from the top of the church – but we are tempted to do it in other ways.  We do it when we dive into a path of our own choosing and then cry out to God to bail us out. We do it when we test the boundaries of known sin. God says: “Here is the line,” – but we see how close we can get to that line and are surprised when we fall. Then we blame God. But it happened because we tested God.

We need to find ways to say “no” to the devil when he comes calling with the temptation to not believe God’s love until we see it.

The one thing common to all three temptations the devil came calling to Jesus with is that  he attempted to distract Jesus from His mission and destroy His relationship with His heavenly Father.

The devil is always looking for ways to distract us from our mission and destroy our relationship with God. He is always calling on us  with temptations to either forget what God has done for us, or do things our way instead of God’s way, or do things the easy way instead of God’s way, or not trust God’s love until we see it.  We need to find ways to answer these and all temptations the devil will come calling with. In all these things, Jesus can give us the answers God would have us give and the strength to be the people God would have us be.

Don’t miss the truth given in verse thirteen:

“Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

This verse says that “when the devil had ended every temptation” – the temptation was “ended” when he carried to completion and every avenue of attack was employed. When it says that the devil “departed from Him”.

The Greek is much more blunt — it says he “stood off.”

The devil will always be lurking in the shadows, watching, waiting for our next vulnerable moment – then he will come calling with a temptation.

When you are weak – you can expect the devil to come calling with a major temptation.

When you resist – you can expect the devil to try a different approach.

Martin Luther was once asked how he overcame the devil – and replied:

“Well, when he comes calling at the door of my heart, and asks ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out. Now I live here.”

When Christ fills our lives then devil has no entrance.

When we say “yes” to Jesus it’s easier to say “no” to the devil!

When we let Christ strengthen us to fight temptation, we can have an answer with the devil comes calling – we can overcome temptation – and we can be better followers of Christ.  Amen.

Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

Can We Go Before We Know?

February 7, 2010

Many of you know that I love gadgets and technological things.  I’m not real good at fixing them and I don’t really understand how they work  –  but I enjoy using them – or as Sally says – I like to “play with them”.  From my Black Berry phone to my laptop computer I enjoy gadgets – and I admit that sometimes my use of them can be described as “playing with them”.   At times I can even be distracted by them.  When I receive an e-mail and my Black Berry vibrates I want to grab it and see what the e-mail is – regardless of whatever else I might be doing.

Maybe you’re the same way. Technological innovations can be great and very helpful – but only if you use them the right way and don’t let them run your life.

One of my newest gadgets is my Garmin Nuvi GPS.  It helps get me where I want to go – and it’s Bluetooth enabled so I can use it as a speaker phone for my Black Berry while I’m driving – which is a big help!  If only I could teach it to display my e-mails while I’m driving!  I’m not sure that “there’s an app for that”, though!

GPS – or Global Positioning System – technology is truly remarkable!

I have it on my Blackberry also – but the screen in small and the “voice” hard to understand – so Sally and I gave each other the Garmin for Christmas. It does have a bigger screen and is easier to understand.

The beauty of a device with GPS technology is that you can enter in the address of your destination and it gives you directions on how to get there.  As long as you don’t mind the fact that there is a satellite “up there somewhere” that knows where you are it’s really pretty cool!

I have only had one experience where a GPS device didn’t help me get to where I was going.  Sally and I were going to the Big Tent Conference in Atlanta last June and using the Navigator application on my Black Berry to find our downtown  hotel.  The application worked fine as far as getting us on and off I-285 at the right spots – but once we got into downtown Atlanta it went haywire – continuously telling us to “make legal U – turn as soon as possible.”  The problem was – every time we would make a U turn (which is not easy in downtown Atlanta) it would tell us to make another one.  If we had followed the directions of the Navigator application we would have been going around and around on Peachtree Street – not exactly the safest thing to do!  I finally surmised that the tall buildings of downtown Atlanta were keeping the satellite that the Navigator was trying to communicate with from figuring out where we were!  We did finally get to our destination!

That experience aside, I do love GPS devices – and other technological stuff!

I used to think it was really neat that I could go to the internet on my computer – go to Google maps or mapquest – and print out directions to where I wanted to go – but that sounds pretty old fashioned now, doesn’t it? And using a real map from the highway department – well, who does that any more?

When I was a child my family took a trip to California – by car, mind you –not plane – that took about 2 weeks. Needless to say, we had no GPS device and no google or mapquest maps. I still remember Dad driving the car while mom clutched the maps and the travel brochures – trying to figure out where we were and where we would eat and where we would spend the night and what sights we would see that day. If the “National Lampoon Vacation” movies had come out in the 1960’s I am sure my sisters and I would have changed our name to “the Griswalds”.

Technology has truly made it easier for us to plan trips or even run errands.

There is something in us that makes us want to know where we are going before we leave from where we are. Nobody gets in the car any more and just drives – we want to know where we are going – and on the way want to know exactly where we are and exactly how much longer it will take to reach our destination.

We want to know where we are going and how to get there before we go.

Many of us even want to make sure we can trust the map – or the GPS system.

Is the map the newest version?

Is the GPS updated with the most recent software?

We want to know where we are going before we go.

Even in making decisions we find it hard to commit to one course of action before we feel we have all the information we need and have weighed all the options before us.  We don’t want to “just rush into a decision” without feeling that we are fairly sure of what the outcome will be.  Much like the feeling that we need to know where we are going before we go anywhere, many times we might feel like we need to know what the outcome of our decisions will be before we make them.

I’m not saying that being careful is wrong – or that knowing where we are going before we go is a bad thing – or that it’s wrong to weigh all our options until we are fairly sure we know what the outcome of our decisions will be before we make them. Being careful and prudent is good – at times. But – then again – there are times we have to follow – times we need to go – even before we are really sure where we are going.

Can we do that?

It’s hard – but there are times we definitely need to go before we really know where we are going – or make decisions before we know what the outcome might be.

As much as we like to know where we are going before we go, there are times we need to “go” before we “know”.

Can we?

Can we “go” before we “know”?

Our scripture passage for today speaks to this. Here we have Luke’s version of the calling of the first disciples – Peter, James and John.

I found it interesting as I looked at this passage this week that Luke’s version of the calling of Peter, James and John is different from the version that Matthew and Mark relate. In Matthew and Mark the calling of the first disciples takes place fairly soon after the baptism of Jesus and His beginning of His ministry, so it appears that the disciples are making a dramatic decision to follow someone they barely knew anything about or may not have even heard of. In the passage we have before us today, however, Luke puts the calling of the disciples after Jesus had begun His ministry and His fame was beginning to spread.  Several times in chapter 4 Luke records that news of Jesus’ ministry was spreading throughout the countryside – when He came to Nazareth the people had already heard of what He was doing – after He was forced to leave Nazareth the news of what He was doing spread and chapter 4 ends with many people flocking to Jesus to hear Him and be healed by Him. As chapter 5 begins there is a large crowd of people listening to Jesus – so many that He must get in Peter’s boat and put out into the water to keep from being pushed by the crowd.

Luke’s version of the call of the disciples may not be the dramatic response to an unknown teacher that Matthew or Mark might have – but it is still dramatic and was a brave response on the part of Peter, James, and John.

Did they know who Jesus was?

Luke seems to lead us to believe that they did. In fact, Peter refers to Jesus as “master” when Jesus tells them to put out into the deep water and let down the nets – so he must have had some knowledge of who Jesus was.

But – did they know what Jesus was calling them to do – and everything that they were getting themselves into when they left everything and followed?

I doubt it!

How could they have known where Jesus was going to be leading them – what was going to happen to them – and what they were getting themselves into?

They could not have known!

But – even though they could not have known exactly where Jesus would lead them or exactly what was going to happen to them – they followed.

They left everything – and followed.

Maybe they knew who Jesus was – maybe they had heard stories of what He said and what He did – but they did not know everything about where He was going or where they were going when they followed.

But what did they do?

They left everything – and followed.

They didn’t know where they were going — but they had a sense of who was calling them – and they followed Him.

They didn’t have all the information they needed to know what the outcome of their decision might be – but they made a decision – and followed.

Even when they did not know – they decided to go.

Can we do that?

Can we go before we know?

Can we decide to follow Jesus – even if we do not know exactly where He is leading us?

Can we decide to follow where Jesus is leading us – even when we may not have all the information we need to know exactly what the outcome might be?

Tough questions, aren’t they?

Leaving everything and following someone when you’re not sure where they are going or what you’re getting yourself into is not an easy thing to do – even if that someone is Jesus.

Clarence Jordan was the son of a successful businessman in Talbotton, Georgia. As he grew up in Talbotton he became distressed over the poverty that so may people lived in – especially the white share croppers and the blacks. After graduating from the University of Georgia Clarence felt that he was being called into the ministry, and enrolled in Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Upon his graduation from Seminary he felt the call to go back to Georgia – but not to serve a Church as everyone expected him to do.  He and his family moved to a rural area outside of Americus, Georgia and established Koinonia Farms —  a community where the poor – both white and black – could come, work, and earn a living. Folks in the area called him a communist because everyone at Koinonia Farms shared everything equally.  Folks also called him a lot of other names and some refused to buy the products raised on the farm because the whites and blacks lived side by side and fellowshipped and worked together – not the most popular way for folks in southern Georgia to live in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Many people tried to intimidate him and his farm and house were firebombed on many occasions, but Clarence and his family continued to work the farm and work for justice in many other ways.

Clarence was once asked if he ever regretted his decision to work for justice for the poor and begin Koinonia Farms.  He replied:

“I have never regretted it.  It might be good that I didn’t know what God’s call was going to mean for me – but I have never regretted following.”

Clarence Jordan was a person decided to “go” — to follow Christ’s call – even though he did not know all it was going to mean for him.

So were Peter, James, John, and the rest of the disciples.

So were folks like Abraham and Isaiah – and so many others in the Bible and so many others throughout history.

God can use anyone who is willing to “go” – to follow Him – even if they do not know where it may take them or all it might mean for them.

Can we do that?

Can we decide to follow Jesus – even if we do not know exactly where He is leading us?

Can we decide to follow where Jesus is leading us – even when we may not have all the information we need to know exactly what the outcome might be?

Can we go before we know?

Jesus is calling us.

Jesus is calling us to take His love into the world and to touch people with His love in specific ways.

Jesus is calling us to “catch men” – and catch women and children – for Him.

How do we respond?

Do we say:

“Lord – I’m not too sure about this.”

“Let me think about it.”

“I’ll get back to you on that.”

Or do we go and do what Jesus is calling us to go and do – even when we are not too sure of what it might mean for us or where it might lead us.

I’m afraid that too many times when Jesus calls us we are too cautious – want to gather too much information – and take too long to respond.

Too many times – when it comes to following Jesus — we are just too careful.  Too many times we want to know exactly where we are heading and how long it will take us to get there. We want a map that spells out the exact route we will take – or better yet a GPS that will talk to us along the way to guide us around anything that might make us give of ourselves or do things we don’t want to do.

We might say we are willing to follow Jesus wherever He might lead us – but when it comes time to put actions to our words we hold back.

We might say that we are willing to do anything it takes for the Church to grow and for folks in the community to experience God’s love – but when specific actions are recommended – or – dare I say it – Jesus calls us to specific actions – we hold back instead of following.

We might want to appear to be good followers of Jesus – but not want to act like it.

Can we overcome this?

Can we get to where we are active followers of Christ – always ready to follow wherever He might lead and do whatever He might call us to do?

Can we get to where we – like Peter – James – and John and so many others in the Bible – and Clarence Jordan and so many others throughout history – can follow Jesus, even if we don’t know exactly where we are going or what we are getting ourselves into?

Can we get to the point – in our personal lives and as a Church –where we are willing to “go” – to follow Christ — even before we know what all it entails?

God can use us if we are willing to “go” – to follow Him – even if we do not know where it may take us or all it might mean for us.

Can we do that?

It’s the only way we are going to be the people God is calling us to be.

It’s the only way we are going to be the Church God is calling us to be.

Getting past having to know before we go is not easy and will take prayer. It will also take commitment.

Pray, friends.

Pray that you can become a person who does not respond to the call of Christ to show His love to others with:

“Lord – I’m not too sure about this.”

“Let me think about it.”

“I’ll get back to you on that.”

But that you can become a person who can respond:

“Here I am Lord.  Use me in any way you choose.”

Pray that we as a Church can become a Church that does not respond to the call of Christ with excuses – but with actions.

Pray that we can become individuals – and a Church – who can “go” before we “know”.  Amen.