Reading of the day: James 1:9-12

There was a man who loved money more than anything. He worked all his life and hoarded as much as he could. Just before he died, he told his wife, “When I die, put all my money in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the afterlife with me.¨ She promised him that she would.

“Yes¨ she said, “I wrote him a check.¨

Today’s passage reminds us that all that we have accumulated in this world will one day be worth as much as that check.  If you are anything like me, possession have a certain allure to them.  Things are seductive.  Our world has made us believe that there are certain things all humans are entitled to…and though this is true when it comes to basic needs of humanity (food, shelter, water) it is far from the truth when it comes to the right to accumulate wealth or things.  James writes this set of verses in a way to remind us to be aware of how easy our possessions can actually possess us.

Here are a few questions that come to mind to help us understand our own drive for things…

1.  Do my possessions control my time?

2. Am I neglecting my own spiritual life because I am consumed by the need to accumulate more?

3. Is my family suffering so that I can can maintain a certain lifestyle?

4. Do I have trouble giving to your church or to people in need?

5. Does money or conversations of money dominate my time with my spouse? Others?

James gives us a radically different understanding of wealth.  True wealth is really found in our own relationship with Jesus. It is the treasure of salvation that should occupy our minds.  When we grab onto the truth of Jesus and find confident faith in Him, it will change our understanding of wealth and possessions.  Therefore, do not give into the spell of having more…rather, be content in the one who is the giver of all good things.  Don’t try to fill your voids with things, but seek the One who can satisfy the longings of your soul.

Have you ever spent much time thinking about what it really means to be human?  Perhaps even more specifically have you spent time thinking about human limitations.  Maybe this is something that seems a little odd…trust me there is a reason.  As I begin I want to begin by asking two questions…

1.  Do we as humans have limitations?

2. If we have limits, where did they come from?

The first of the two questions is an easy one to answer…of course we do!  All human beings have limits.  The harder part is then to figure out where those limitations came from.  Did they come from God or did they result from the fall (our rebelliousness to God)?  Though some limitations I do believe have come about from the fall, for example: sickness and disease are a limiting factor born out of the fall.  However, many of our limitations have come about because God intended them to be there.  God is limitless as the Creator.  Humanity deal with limitations just because we are the created.  Therefore, if limitations were birthed from God then they must be good.

The fact is we get ourselves in trouble when we try to do more than God intended us to do.  The miracle of how God works is that he chooses to use those who are limited to accomplish His overall purpose.  That in and of it self is absolutely amazing, and nothing short of miraculous.

Now we all are limited by the factor of time.  Humans are finite beings having a beginning and an end.  Practically speaking not one human being has more than 24 hours in a day either.  This truth becomes a stark reality of our limitations on a daily basis.  Therefore, we must learn what it means to leverage our time in a very God honoring manner, knowing that having limitations are for our protection, and violating them brings ruin.

How do you handle your time?  Do you feel as though there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get all the things crossed of your list?  Feeling overloaded and tired?  Here are some questions to help you evaluate your use of time:

1. Do you plan ahead to make the most out of your day or do you just simply “let life happen?”

2. Do you make most of your decisions by going with your gut or by asking for God’s direction? (specifically through reading your Bible and prayer)

3. Do you attempt to evaluate things based on Biblical authority and priority or do you do whatever is necessary to climb the ladder?

4. Do you ask God what He would have you do or where He would have you serve or do you try to please everyone?

5. Do you leverage your talents and finances to bless your church and family or do you use them for your own self gratification?

I hope that these questions have brought some light to how you leverage your time.  Furthermore, I hope that they made you think about your own limitations and how to leverage what little time you have to fulfilling God’s role for you!  If you are still feeling overwhelmed here are some practical things to consider as a means to taking back your time.

1. Be discerning…differentiate between what is a concern and what is a responsibility.

2. Set boundaries…”No” is a good word to have in your vocabulary.  you can’t set priorities until you can say “no.”

3. Tame technology…it is ok to unplug from your computer, cell phone, email, etc.  You have more control than you think.

4. Prioritize your commitments…most of us have more to do than we can actually do.  Therefore, prioritize!

5. Cut activities…in other words, prune your schedule of things that really don’t belong.

6. Guard your dinner hour…family dinner hour has seemingly disappeared and I think it hurst our families.  Not to be too legalistic, try to incorporate 4 or 5 regular meals together per week.

7. Get back to having a Sabbath…God from the very beginning introduced the Sabbath day of rest.  Not only that…He rested from Creation to be an example of the way to live.  Maybe our churches, our schools, our work places, and our nation would be different if we learned to rest 1 day in every 7!

8.  Remember who is really in charge…Maybe the one thing God needs from us is to trust more and to do less!

- First, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to invite someone to Harvest the last two weeks. We put the challenge out to you and like always…you more than met it. Last week for our 1 year anniversary we had a record number of kids in the children’s ministry and nearly 400 people total for the day. Great job and keep it up!

- This coming Sunday we are starting a new series called “Pivotal.” This will be a fresh look at spiritual growth as we spend the next 4 weeks walking through pivotal passages in James.

- These 4 passages in James have changed my life and I think they will change yours as well! Don’t miss it!

- Yesterday’s Life Group Test-drive went well. If you missed it you can go this Sunday during the 9:30 service.

- Pray for our teens and our leaders as they kick-off our mid-week youth program once again. Furthermore, pray for our church leadership as we look at the possibility of hiring someone to work with our youth. (Did you realize that Harvest is positioned strategically in a place where we have 3 high schools and 3 middle schools all within 4 miles of our church?

- Awesome to see how God used your generosity to touch 7 different schools and there families in the area! Great job in reaching our community!!!

- Excited for this Saturday as College Football gets kicked-off! Oh, yeah…

- Lastly, I love my CHURCH and I can’t believe I get to do what I do every week! Thanks for making things so enjoyable. Have a blessed week.

Melissa and I have been pondering the grace of God quite a bit the last few weeks.  I think that it is the fact of Harvest being a year old that has us pondering His grace…because frankly, outside of God’s grace the year would not have been what it was.  Even though Harvest is only one year old, the process has taken much longer.  In reflecting over the past year I have asked myself the question, “What would I tell a future church planter about what to expect in the first year of starting a church?”  Here are 7 things that I have come up with…

1. Walk by faith and not by sight! (2 Cor. 5:7)  The process of seeing a dream become a reality will require one step of faith after another.  And some of those steps will seem huge.  If you aren’t willing to walk confidently with God, trusting in his provision…the dream will not become a reality.

2. Get use to feeling financial pressure! Financial pressure always requires faith.  Therefore, you can expect that when you pursue God’s vision that it might just require faith in the financial department.  Another observation is that the financial pressure easily and usually hits those in leadership as well.  However, to quote Perry Noble (another church planter), “The question you must constantly wrestle to the ground is, ‘Is THIS what God wants’ and not, ‘Can we afford it?’  Remember…if it is God’s will then it is God’s bill!  What the King wants the King pays for!”

3. Spiritual Warfare is real! Over the past year, the spiritual battle has become more real and threatening than I had ever experienced.  However, if you feel attacked it is probably because you are a threat.  When it comes to the battle, I have noticed in ministry that Satan seems to use two things to distract and to derail the church: discouragement and disunity.  Therefore, as the leader you have to spend time praying and fighting for your leadership, volunteers, and the church.  Doubters of the vision will creep in (especially Church people).  However, not only will you have to fight your outside critics, you will have to fight your own internal doubts.  In those times I hold close to Proverbs 3:3-6 as a place of strength!

4. Focus on God’s Vision for your community! It is easy in the day of great megachurches and the web to want to copy things that have already been successful.  Even though there might be appropriate times to imitate a program or strategy, never neglect your time in seeking God’s vision for your community, church, and His people.  God’s has a specific vision and strategy for you and your church…find it while spending time in the Word and prayer!

5. Keep the creativity alive! It is easy once the ball gets moving to get sucked into doing what works.  However, things around us are constantly changing.  When things get hard and things don’t seem to be moving…it is time to be creative!  Obstacles are usually the best motivation for creativity!  Therefore, have fun with it…because there is no doubting that God is creative.

6. Celebrate the wins! Church planting is full of wins and life transformation.  If we don’t celebrate those things well, we miss out on a great worship party celebrating all that God has done…and more importantly what He is still going to do!

7.  God is more passionate than you! As passionate as you might be for your community and the vision of the church, God is exponentially more passionate.  Therefore, let Him drive the ship and you just try to hold on!

Lazy Monday from Harvest Community Church on Vimeo.