When I lived in Washington State, the church I attended was shepherded by a man whom everyone affectionately referred to as “Pastor George.” Pastor George had this routine of stepping down off of the stage every so often to deliver what he called a “George-ism.” He always pointed out that when he stepped off of the stage during a teaching, it meant that what he was saying at that particular time was not from the Bible, but rather from his own thoughts. These “George-isms” tended to be rather provocative statements, truth be told, and this particular one that I am reminiscing on right now is no exception.

Pastor George was talking to the congregation about the fact that every time the church set their collective mind to raising money for missions work in some faraway part of the world, like India, there was an overwhelming abundance of giving on behalf of the congregation, but every time the church leadership made a push to have members reach people from their own community instead, very few responded. Pastor George ended his George-ism with the line, “I guess it’s because you can’t really smell the people in India from here.”

Now, as you might imagine, a lot of people reacted to this comment with indignation: “What a horrible thing to say!” But as I think on that statement now, it’s my guess that many of those people were using that indignation to smokescreen the fact that Pastor George had nailed them (and me) right between the eyes. Sharing the Good News with someone in person can get messy. For many reasons, people can find it awkward and uncomfortable to share their faith on their own initiative. It is often so much easier to just drop a check in a basket and let someone else do the footwork of evangelism. Not that the latter is a bad thing in and of itself. I strongly believe that everyone should give of their financial resources to mission and outreach work. It’s just that many times I think our fears and discomforts in dealing with the messiness of humanity lead us to turn “walk across the room” into “send a check across the world instead.” I know I have been guilty of this in the past.

One thing to bear in mind in all of this is that the Bible teaches that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and are in need of salvation. God, being God, could have saved us in any manner of His choosing. He could have saved us from afar, in a manner of speaking, but He chose instead to have his Son “become flesh” (John 1:14) and personally enter the messiness of humanity (it doesn’t get any messier than a cross, folks). That is what those workers and missionaries in India, and Haiti and Kenya are doing with our money – becoming the Good News in flesh to the people around them. And that is what we are called to do in our own community. For today’s devotion, I am asking you to join me in asking God who it is that each of us might become the Good News in flesh to today and for Him to then give us the courage to take that “walk across the room.”

No matter what that room might smell like.

- Chuck Deitch

Sin surrounds us. Nearly every message we hear during the course of a week promotes tolerance of sin. I’m not talking about subliminal or coded messages that trick us into sinning. I’m talking about life the way society sees it. Every day we are taught how “normal” people behave, and we call it entertainment.

To say that you aren’t influenced by it is to say you are perfect. It takes a struggle every day to keep from diving headlong into activities that society openly encourages. Sex: premarital, extramarital, whenever you want and whoever you want. Wreck a marriage? Just make sure to adopt some orphans. Money: get it at any cost. Cheat, steal, oppress; just give some to charity when you hit the big time. Gossip: the juicier the better. What’s Britney doing? Paris did what? Everyone loves a good scandal. And on and on and on it goes. We are immersed in sin, the kind that sticks to your mind, heart and soul. It’s sticky because part of us wants it. We want to be able to separate our soul from our body, to be able to live the “What happens in Vegas. Stays in Vegas” lifestyle and expect no major consequences for our soul.

If we continue to live a life full of physical pleasure, still claiming to be Christian, how does that make our Lord and Savior feel? To me, it would be like saying, “I appreciate the whole crucifixion thing Jesus, but I’m busy having fun here.” Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can use Jesus’ sacrifice as a Get Out of Jail Free card. Trying to embrace the ways of the world, in hopes that you can pull out a last minute conversion - completely used up and worn out, does NOT work. Willfully choosing to disobey in hopes of abusing the saving power of Christ’s love to your advantage will NOT fool the Almighty God.

We are sinful by nature, but the goal is to be white hot for God. Can we ever truly attain the level of spiritual maturity where we can say we have arrived? Being sinful in nature, can we stay white hot our whole lives? We need to continue to aim for White Hot. The effort does count. We need to strive to become more like Jesus.

American Olympian and world-class runner Steve Prefontaine said, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” He was referring to physical gifts. Imagine how much more true that is when you consider the gift of Life and the sacrifice of the Father and Son.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2: 15-17 (NIV)

The following is a poem from when I was in college. It is meaningful to me because it represents a period in my life when my spiritual heat got turned up a notch:

My soup is cold
and I complain
“this lousy food
drives me insane”
I paid good money
I want good food
you get what you pay for
I’m not being rude
but wait, what’s that?
as I ponder my stew
a voice from above
“this soup tastes like you”
does Jesus think this
with each taste of me?
having paid my great price
when He hung on that tree
does he get what he paid for
or am I getting cold?
by His blood I’ve been purchased
but each day I’m still sold
I sell out to the world
and it’s pleasures so cheap
it feels good for awhile
but then pain’s all I reap
in need of a plan
and one that won’t fail
put a sign on my heart
“no longer for sale”
I’m already owned
by the King of all kings
and I want to be hot
so hot His mouth stings

“So because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelations 3:16) (NIV)

It is my prayer for all of you that, as this Ignite series draws to a close, it will be a time that you will be able to look back on and say that your spiritual heat definitely got cranked up.

FLAME ON!

- Chuck Deitch

As discussed over the past three days, Acts 2:42-47 tells us about the first church – the fellowship of the believers. Verse 42 tells us, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Devoted themselves. Notice that it was an individual decision to become the church. Each believer submitted themselves to full devotion to Christ. What did that look like? How did they keep the fire burning white hot inside themselves?

I see four distinct ways in which they devoted themselves - the first is to the apostle’s teaching, the second is to the fellowship, the third is to the breaking of bread, and the fourth is to prayer.

Intimacy with God doesn’t happen any other way. Prayer is speaking with God and listening and watching, and often times waiting, for His answers. Full devotion to Christ requires a healthy prayer life, and it was a cornerstone of the first church.

Often our fires become dull as a result of a waning prayer life. Just like exercise, everyone needs to choose a routine that works for them. When I exercise, I need a consistent time slot that doesn’t leave wiggle room for excuses, but a routine with a lot of variety to keep me interested and to bring about a number of different results – toning, endurance, cardiovascular health and weight loss.

The same is true to keep my fire white hot in my relationship with God. I need to meet with God in prayer and in study the same time each day, without wiggle room for excuses but with a variety of methods to keep me engaged. Sometimes it’s journaling – writing out my prayers in a conversation with God. Sometimes there are specific needs I plead with God about boldly in prayer. Sometimes I pray through a Psalm by responding to God when something applies directly to my life. Occasionally, after I pray for God to speak to me, I fast in order to keep myself tuned in to listening to His answers. Sometimes my prayer is made up of thanksgiving and praise for who God is and all that He’s done. Whatever the methods, I want to stay faithful to the one who is more faithful than any human being ever could be.

Why wouldn’t we want to pray – to talk to God about everything and anything in an intimate relationship with Him? It heats me up just recalling the times I’ve seen God work in answer to prayer or when He’s conveyed something to me during my prayers. How about you - how do you stay motivated to pray continually, as the Bible directs? What methods can you use to try to stretch yourself in this area? Ever considered a prayer partnership to address these needs in your journey toward full devotion to Christ?

In closing - if we choose to live out being the church as the first believers did in Acts 2: devoting ourselves to the apostle’s teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer, what difference might it make in our lives? In our relationship with Christ? What kind of impact would our lives have on others in our family, our church, our neighborhood, our community, our state, our country, our world? I leave you considering the blessing that the first church was given as a result of their full devotion:

“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:47

How does that stoke your fire?

~ Kay Evenwel

Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver” NIV

This verse puzzled some people in a Bible study and they wondered what this
statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and
get back to the group at their next study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch
him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest
beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire
and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to
hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to
burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she
thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier
of silver.” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit
there.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver,
but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the
fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be
destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do
you know when the silver is fully refined?”

He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in
it.”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his
eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

~ Author unknown; submitted by Marilyn Liguori

In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells us we will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and exhorts us to be His witness in Jerusalem, all of Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

Unfortunately, spiritually speaking, most of us never leave town. We’re still caught up in our own lives here in Jerusalem. Furthermore, as we grow in our faith and mature as Christ followers, our circle of friends and those we choose to interact with begin to look just like us…maturing Christians with whom we have comfort and commonality. We tend to isolate ourselves from a world of lost souls living without knowledge of God’s love for them.

Jesus’ ministry was a living example of living in a world of non-believers and seekers. His last three years were spent interacting with a great cross section of His society…the rich, the poor, the holy and the unholy, the strong and the infirm. In fact, if you wanted to spend time with Jesus, just throw a party and He would be there!

Suggestion- today, ask God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, for a divine interruption. Then, be receptive and open to interacting with whoever God leads your way. You will be amazed at how quickly people respond to your interest in them. Let’s be proactive in stepping out of our comfort zone to engage God’s children in our little corner of Jerusalem.

~ Bud Llewellyn

Have you ever seen someone who was consumed by a burning desire? Think of a kindergartener at school with their hand waiving in the air and a burning desire to speak.  Or a person like Martin Luther King Jr. who was compelled to speak out about injustice.  You’ve probably experienced this yourself - where something inside moves you to the point where you feel you must say something.  People who are white-hot for God have a burning desire to talk about Him with others.

Visit the sermon blog/podcast to listen to the teaching online, review and reflect on the sermon notes, and consider the next step in your spiritual journey.