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Prepare the Way, December 7, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

The second week of Advent began in the most interesting times I’ve experienced. Of course, we all deal with the effects of the coronavirus here in the United States and abroad. The disease is wreaking havoc everywhere. Our healthcare workers truly exhibit heroic efforts in combating the progress, but they are exhausted and seem to take two steps back with every step forward sometimes. The virus is just a horrible enemy for the world at large.

I thought we would have a more focused Thanksgiving this year with many stores closed because of the virus. More people staying at home and enjoying a more intimate setting with their immediate family. But I was wrong. Store closed, but we experienced record shopping – $4.5 billion in online sales on Thanksgiving Day. Covid-19 did nothing to curb our appetite for materialism.

And although airports seemed a little emptier this year, I’m not so sure the roads were less crowded than I’ve seen them in years past. So, I think a lot of people headed for family gatherings away somewhere just to get away for a few days. We will find out in the next few days what that means for the multiplied spread of the virus. And please don’t blame the government for our failures to protect each other.

Here we are in a time of anticipation, but of what? More political upheaval? A miracle vaccine to stop the spread of the virus? An instant end to our economic woes? Christmas?

In our house, we definitely prepare for Christmas. To get in the mood, Carole starts watching Christmas movies in July. Decorations take a while. We might stop with the eight trees already up (I hope). Maybe there will be one or two more, but at least they won’t be the six-foot variety. Nativity scenes take prominent places in almost every room. Lights and garland go up on cabinets and shelves. Snow scenes and Victorian villages take shape as different rooms take on different themes throughout the house. Needless to say, our decoration preparation starts early in November and ends not many days before Christmas.

Then there are presents to buy. Carole is the master buyer. She begins finding just the right gifts for everyone starting in January and buys throughout the year, so our shopping is done before most people start. It’s also a great way to find bargains and spread the cost of presents. Of course, when buying just the right present in January, it’s easy to forget you have it, so you find another just the right gift in July. I’m not sure how much that saves, then, but it’s great to watch the kids and grandkids open gifts selected especially with their personalities in mind. Carole could be a great professional shopper, but she says that would take the fun out of it.

Last week, we talked about advent being a time of both looking back to the time of Jesus’ coming. A time of celebrating the fact of his arrival and remembering his life and sacrifice for us. We also talked about advent being a time of looking ahead to the time of his return. He promised to come again to be with those who believed in him for salvation for eternity.

The huge question Christians in the first century and Christians today continue to ask is when? When will he come? Our adversaries point to the 2000 year delay and say it’s a hoax. He broke his promise. He never rose from the dead. He never could because when you’re dead, you’re dead. Our faith is a farse and we might as well admit it. As believers, we know otherwise. We know God’s delay demonstrates grace, not failure. 2 Peter 3 reminds us in these words:

But we look forward to what God has promised—a new heaven and a new earth—a place where everything that has God’s approval lives.

Therefore, dear friends, with this to look forward to, make every effort to have him find you at peace, without ⌞spiritual⌟ stains or blemishes.Think of our Lord’s patience as an opportunity ⌞for us⌟ to be saved. This is what our dear brother Paul wrote to you about, using the wisdom God gave him. (2 Peter 3:13-15 GW)

God’s patience in coming is an opportunity for us to be saved. Paul writes about it, Peter writes about it, John writes about it, Jesus says he will come as a thief in the night when no one expects him. So, we patiently await his coming. His delay is not failure or a broken promise, it is for us. God wants to rescue us from sin and delays his coming because when he comes the opportunity for rescue ends. When he comes again, he comes for justice and judgment. God delays his coming to delay his judgment against humanity.

How, then, should we wait? What should we do? Peter points to some of it in these verses. First, be patient. Remember, he will come, but at his choosing, not ours. In the meantime, make every effort to have him find you at peace. What does that mean? I think we need to find ways to engage our fellowman with love. Not what we see spewing out of Facebook and Instagram, but with the fruit of the spirit Paul enumerates in Galatians – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we exercise these characteristics in dealing with others, we will be at peace with others.

We should also make every effort to be without spiritual stains or blemishes, Peter says. What does that mean to us? John reminds us we are all sinners, but we have an advocate who will forgive us and cleanse us from every sin. So, we do everything we can to follow in Jesus’ footsteps of righteousness, knowing that without his spirit in us it is an impossible task and even then, we are bound to err on occasion. But we have an advocate that will help us along the way and we can become more like him each day as we confess our wrongs, ask forgiveness, and strive to not repeat those same mistakes again. We can be better with his help.

Finally, as we wait, we have a mission to perform. Mark reminds us of that first Advent when John the Baptist went about the wilderness preaching about the coming Messiah. The gospel by his name begins this way:

This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The prophet Isaiah wrote,

“I am sending my messenger ahead of you

to prepare the way for you.”

“A voice cries out in the desert:

‘Prepare the way for the Lord!

Make his paths straight!’ ” (Mark 1:1-3 GW)

That was John’s mission, to prepare the way for the Lord, the first time. But Jesus gave us the mission to spread the good news, too. And part of that good news is his promise to return. We, too, prepare the way for the Lord’s coming. We should share the good news that he came, but he is coming again to take those who believe in him for salvation to be with him forever.

I don’t think God expects us to where camel hair clothes, eat honey, and live in the desert, but he probably wouldn’t mind us giving up some of the luxuries we gather around us. He probably would ask us to remember the poor and those who are unable to care for themselves. He probably would ask us to be more generous, think less about our earthly future, and more about our future with him.

Advent comes around every year and it gives us an opportunity to stop and think about Jesus’ coming – past and future. We marvel at the nativity story and how God appeared on that first Christmas in those most humble beginnings. We should stop and think just as much about what his second coming will mean. It won’t be humble and quiet next time. He will come to rule the nations. He will bring justice and judgment to the world.

Remember during this Advent, his delay is for us. As Christians, he gives us one more opportunity to share the good news with someone else who needs to hear the message. For those who have yet to believe in him, he gives one more opportunity for salvation. He is coming and it may be very soon. Be ready.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Time to Teach, October 21, 20190

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

I learned early in my military career that one of my responsibilities was to train my replacement. Eventually, I would leave my position through transfer, promotion, or at some point, everyone departs the service. If I failed to train someone to take my place, the service would suffer, and soldiers would suffer. Not that I was indispensable or anyone else was, but we had a responsibility to make sure none of us were by ensuring we had someone ready in the wings to take our place.

Paul knew the importance of doing the same as he embarked on his missionary journeys. So he groomed Timothy and Titus to take his place in the early churches he formed in his mission work. He knew he would need a replacement at some point, and the way things had been going for him, that time would probably come sooner rather than later. He’d been shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, run out of town, and imprisoned. He knew his days were numbered. So, while in prison, Paul penned instructions to his two proteges.

My instructions to the officers that came behind me centered on how to treat soldiers, how to make decisions, how to carry out the tasks given by higher commands, how to determine priorities of work with limited resources. Some of the training I provided to those who would come after me in the service I hoped would save lives on future battlefields, and as I’ve heard from some of them and read accounts of current conflicts, I think some of those lessons paid off.

Most of the training I passed on didn’t make it into documents that I expect to survive for centuries, though. In fact, if they last another decade, I will be astonished. Those bits of knowledge will last a season and be gone. Some will trickle down another generation, maybe two, but then warfare will change, tactics and doctrine will evolve, and the lessons passed on thirty years ago will seem pretty meaningless to anyone who might care to hear about them in another generation.

But Paul’s words to Timothy are a completely different story. We read them, memorize them, absorb them into our being. We do so because we understand the depth and truth of his words. He writes these words to Timothy in the second letter addressed to him in the New Testament:

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17)(NIV)

We know from these few sentences, Timothy was a student of God’s Word. He learned from his mother, Lois. He studied from Paul. He poured through the scriptures personally to discover all he could about the God he served and loved. What we often forget as we read these words from Paul, is that the “scriptures able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” did not include any from our New Testament. That should cause us to give pause to any who might discount the Old Testament as unimportant to the Christian life or its statutes as ancient and no longer applicable to modern society.

What can scriptures do for us? Timothy knew, and Paul reminds him. They teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness. And why are those attributes important to followers of Jesus? Because he gave us a mission. He told us to go and make disciples. Teaching them all the things others taught us in his name. How can followers of Jesus share knowledge if no one shared with them in the first place? It goes back to what I learned as a new Army officer. I need to start preparing my replacement. If I don’t, there may not be a replacement when one is required.

Have you thought about that in your Christian walk? What if you were the only link to carrying the message of Christ to the next generation? How well has your replacement learned to place his or her trust in God based on what you taught? Is the next generation of disciples ready to pass on what you know because you taught them well?

The next words from Paul often used to provide the charge to ministers really apply to all of us who follow Christ. Jesus didn’t differentiate between any of those gathered on the mountain when he gave the command to go and make disciples. He told all of them the same thing. What Paul told Timothy, reminds me of the importance of my role in sharing what I learned from others. Paul continues his letter with these words:

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)(NIV)

It tells me that whenever I have the opportunity, I must be prepared to correct, rebuke, encourage, teach with great patience and careful instruction. The time when people will not want to hear sound doctrine came a long time ago. They didn’t want to hear it from Timothy or Paul or even Jesus. With all we see around us, those statements could not be any more accurate today. People run to what they want to hear instead of the hard truth of God’s Word.

Ignoring the truth in his word does not fix our sin problem, though, any more than ignoring cancer will repair those runaway cells in our body. We must do something about the disease. When we find out about cancer, we go to the oncologist and seek a cure. When we find out about sin, if we are to find release and relief, we must go to God and seek a cure. Listen to Paul. Do the work God calls each of us to do in reproducing disciples through sharing what others entrusted to us. It’s how God’s kingdom grows. It’s plan A and surprisingly, he never developed plan B. It’s up to you and me to make it happen.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan.

Expect obstacles to change, October 29,2018

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Expect obstacles when you begin to change things around you. We’ve mentioned change is hard. We’ve talked about the importance of change, though. We are constantly changing, sometimes for good and sometimes for not so good. When we can help direct some of the change we experience, we can influence which way it will go, though.

We talked last week about that phrase that sometimes paralyzes us, but we’ve always done it this way. That’s one of those roadblocks we have to get past to effect change. Whenever you want to change something, especially if you are making monumental shifts in direction or thought or action in organizations or even in yourself, you will come up against some fairly large obstacles along the way.

Just getting the momentum to start is a big one. Inertia is one of those terms we think about in physics. It takes a lot more energy to get something moving than it does to keep it moving. That’s true of change in organizations, too. It’s hard to get things moving. You have to “sell” enough people on the idea and get enough enthusiasm behind the journey forward to get it going. It’s easy to let things move along as they’ve always gone, because it’s comfortable. It’s something we already know and people are reluctant to learn new things. Not everyone wants to be a full-time student and change requires us to be a student again.

Change sometimes seems overwhelming and when you look at the mountain of things that need to be done it can stop us cold. But how do you move a mountain? One shovel full of dirt at a time. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. The mountain can be moved the elephant can be eaten. It might not happen in a day or a week or a month. But change can happen and we can get to the goals we set if we stay on track and remember why we are making the changes we are making.

Funds can get in the way sometimes. Where are we going to get the funds to do what we think we need to do? Money is always an issue in every church I’ve attended. I’ve never had the experience Moses had when he told the people to stop giving because they had too much. Most every church could. If everyone in every church actually gave as God directs, churches probably wouldn’t have money issues, but most people don’t give as God asks of them. If most people’s tithes and offerings actual reflect their income, then most churches are filled with people who are living like the very poorest in the Comoros Islands and Ethiopia, the poorest countries in the world.

Today’s culture asks, “What’s in it for me?”, before they give up funds. We are a selfish society. We are so often selfish individuals. I asked the question last week, “Am I willing to sacrifice for the lost?” That includes the resources God has given me. Am I willing to give up a larger portion than I have in the past to see that the work God has placed on me and my church is carried out. God’s math is really strange. I’ve always found that when I give him a tithe, one tenth of my income, he can help me do more with the remaining nine tenths than I could do with all of it. I’ve never fed five thousand men with two small loaves of bread and a handful of fish, but I’ve never been hungry either. God comes through when we are faithful to him. Funds somehow appear out of nowhere.

Change takes time. When you plant an apple seed in the ground, you won’t get apples next week. In fact, you won’t get apples next year. It can take 10 to 12 years for that seed to sprout, grow to a mature tree, and produce its first apples. Change takes time. There’s not much worth while that happens quickly. We live in an instant gratification culture, but if you think about it, you’ll find that most of that instant gratification just doesn’t last. It’s just a splash of pleasure and then it’s gone.

Change also requires grief. It’s sometimes hard to grasp the concept that doing something that will improve things includes grief, but getting that new thing means you give up something you already have. Whether it’s the familiar music or the order of service you’ve used for the last decade or your favorite parking spot or whatever it might be. When we give something up, the grief cycle is involved. Certainly, losing a parking space isn’t the same as losing a friend or loved one, but the cycle is the same. And we go through it. When there are major changes in an organization, there may be many routine things that change in a relatively short period of time. It might mean we lose several things at once. The loss of several things at once can overload our emotions as we go through that grieving process. It is especially true for those who have just experienced other stressful or grief producing events in their lives. Those leading the change must be sensitive to those facing the change and help keep everyone focused on the prize at the end.

Remember the mission? Seek and save the lost. We must keep our focus. We must continue to keep first things first. We must remember what we have that the unbeliever does not have. We have forgiveness. We have grace. We have Jesus’ legacy of peace. We have his spirit in us. We have his continuous presence. We have hope. We have eternal life. We could keep going with the list of things we have that the unbeliever does not have, but now lest stop and begin the list of what the unbeliever has. I think when I get past separation from God I hear crickets.

Are we willing to sacrifice and get through the obstacles that come our way to keep focused on the mission Jesus gave us? Are we willing to grab a shovel and attack the mountain? It may not be easy, but we are not alone. It may take time, but every day that goes by more of those unbelievers are leaving this world for an eternity without God. Every day that sneaks past us is another opportunity to lift up Christ to a world that needs to hear the message of hope and mercy and grace that he told us to share with those outside the church walls.

If your son or daughter were in a house engulfed in flames, what would you be willing to do to get them out and save their lives? There are those right next door that are on their way to a destiny Jesus described as worse than the garbage heap outside Jerusalem that was always burning. The fire never went out. The flames never ceased. The stench of the burning garbage was terrible. The hell Jesus described as worse than that burning garbage he said was the place for all those unbelievers around us. They are God’s creation just as you and I are God’s creation. We were them until God’s mercy reached us. That was us until we experienced his grace. Except for our saying yes to Jesus’ call, we are just like those blind, lost, unbelievers all around us.

Do we care enough to break through whatever obstacles Satan might put in our path to keep us from doing the mission God gave us to do? We talked about that simple mission. The church is the body of Christ. His mission and so our mission is to seek and save the lost. He didn’t let anything get in his way. Can we do any less? Can we allow tradition or routine or comfort or anything stop us from carrying the message to the lost? The message never changes, the method does. Jesus is the way. Our job is to point other to him. We can’t do that from the comfortable seats inside our churches. We must go…and make disciples. We must go…and baptize them. We must go…and teach them his ways. We must go…if we think we are to seek the lost.

That is a change the church and its people must make since the lost will not come to us. How about it? Are you ready for the change? It’s about time for a real revival. It must happen first as a change in me and you and our churches. Let’s do it.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

But we’ve always done it that way, October 22, 2018

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We’re still talking about change, and this one phrase can disrupt your ability to change more than any other. Here it is: But we’ve always done it that way. It can deal a death blow to any efforts you may undertake for change.

I’m sure you’ve heard someone say that phrase more than once in your life. In fact, you might be guilty of using it a time or two yourself. But what does that phrase really do for you except keep you stuck in the past?

My church just went through a mission and strategy review. Every business and church and really every individual should do that every once in a while. It’s healthy to figure out where you want to go in the next few months or years. What you want to look like by a certain time or what you want to accomplish in a certain span. We all need to examine entities at different levels to make sure our resources are used wisely.

Some in your church and mine will jump up and vigorously fight the process and tell you that God will lead whatever he wants done and we don’t need to make such long term plans. We don’t need to try anything different. We don’t need to waste time and energy thinking about what we should do next month or next year because God will just take us where he wants us to go.

I would argue that God inspired the book of Solomon which instructs us to plan and prepare throughout the book. Jesus talk about the wise builder and the wise king. They planned ahead to avoid disastrous results. God gives us a brain to use, not just to sit in that protective shell of bone and such up nutrients. He expects us to use resources wisely and to do that we need to plan and prepare for the days ahead.

So looking at our mission and vision and strategies to do those things is important. So where am I going with all of this. Well, with every vision for every church or business or person, I would hope it encompasses something larger and grander than the present state of things. That seems reasonable, doesn’t it? If our church has 200 in attendance today, we would like to be reaching another 200 unchurched in a few years, right? We’d like to know that we are making a difference in the community and helping win others to Jesus, right?

But there is a problem. What if over the last ten years we have only grown by two or three people a year? To reach another 200 would take us a hundred years. That seems a little unreasonable, doesn’t it? But that’s the result of doing what we’ve always done. That’s the pattern of the church for the last decade so it will not change unless we do something different. And almost every church across the nation has that same problem, not just my church. That’s why half of the United States citizenry doesn’t claim to adhere to any religious organization. Not just Christian, but any religious organization. We Americans bow to the god of self.

So understand some of those dynamics, there are a few questions a congregation and each member of that congregation must answer truthfully before we can embrace a renewed sense of mission. Just for the sake of argument, we will use a universal mission for all churches that I think all of us can hopefully agree on. Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost. That’s a very clearly stated, simply worded mission. I think every church could agree, as his followers, our mission, then, is to seek and help save the lost. Before you blast me with the truth that we can’t save anyone. I agree, but as we share the gospel, the Holy Spirit can. The church, you and me, are instruments of God’s saving power. We bring people to him, share the gospel, so he can do his work in them. We are instruments of salvation. We don’t do it, but we help. So for arguments sake, let’s accept that short mission statement for just a moment. We seek and help save the lost.

Here’s the first question. Do you believe God’s word? That might sound like a silly question, but it’s not. The Bible is the foundation for that mission statement. It says Jesus is the only means for our salvation, the only path to heaven. It says there is a heaven and hell. It says every person will end up in eternity in one of those two places based on their acceptance of sacrifice for sin. Those statements are clear. If you believe God’s word to be true, Islam, Buddhism, whatever other path you might take doesn’t get you there. The only path to heaven is through Jesus. So do you really believe God’s word?

The next question is this, do you care about the lost? All hands go up in the air and some wave vigorously. Sure I do. What kind of question is that? Look hard at your church and yourself. Do you really care about the lost? When is the last time you shared what God is doing in your life with an unbeliever? When is the last time you invited an unbeliever to your church? When is the last time you invited an unbeliever to your house? Now chase the money. What percentage of your church budget goes toward reaching unbelievers instead of taking care of the congregation? 50%, 25%, 10%? Did you know the average church spends less than 5% on activities to reach the unchurched? Do we really care about the lost? Should we wonder why the unchurched think we are hypocrites? Ouch.

The next question. Am I willing to sacrifice to win the lost? Jesus said take up our cross and follow him. But what crosses am I talking about? What sacrifices do we have to make to win the lost? Here are some things with which my church leadership and my congregation must struggle over the next months if we are to meet the goals our vision put before us. Remember that phrase we used at the beginning? But we’ve always done it this way.

Well, many of the unchurched in today’s society, even in the Bible belt, have never been inside a church. Hard to believe for those of us who grew up in a church and go there several times a week, but it’s true. We often forget that’s true, but it is. And my church, like many others, maybe yours, doesn’t think about guests. Sure we greet them with a smile and hand them a bulletin, which they call a program, by the way. See, they go to the theater or ball games or other events and get programs, so a bulletin doesn’t mean anything to them. Then they have to ask the embarrassing question of where things are because even though I know the men’s room is just around the corner, there is no sign when you come in that tells you where to take your little boy who has an urgent need after the drive to get here.

Then as the service is about to begin, “Ms. That’s My Seat and You Can Have It” makes visiting family climb over her and her purse and her bag with her giant print Bible, Sunday School literature and gift for her friend to get to the empty seats beside her. The people on either side of family have shades of a smile as they sing “Victory in Jesus”, but give the new family an icy glare when they don’t immediately jump to their feet when the music starts. The last Amen is said and the family exits as soon as they can get past “Ms. That’s My Seat”. No one talks to them. Everyone is already in their own little clumps deciding where they are going for lunch. So will those first time unchurched visitors be back? Would you come back? Do we care about the unchurched or the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice for them?

Maybe we could give up our favorite seat. Maybe we could act like they are visitors to our home and welcome them. Maybe we could show them around and make sure they know where everything is so they don’t have to hunt for things. Maybe we could give them some hints about what is about to happen so they’re not embarrassed as the last people to get it when something changes in the service. Maybe we could at least act like we’re really glad they are with us. Maybe we could make the atmosphere of the church more pleasing and comfortable for guests instead of for us. Maybe we should think like Paul, as he said in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”

Am I willing to sacrifice the music I most enjoy to reach the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice the décor I’ve always thought was most sacred to win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice chatting with my friends for those few minutes after the service to win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice my church language and change bulletins to programs, platforms to stages, foyers to lobbies, and all those words that separate us from unbelievers to help win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice my routine, my comfort, my time and energy to win the lost?

If the mission is to seek and save the lost, then I have to be willing to do those things. That’s what we are called to do. Jesus said, “Go make disciples.” To do that, I must first be changed by the power of his blood. Then I must change. I cannot do things the way they have always been done and expect the outcome to be different. If I am to meet the call of the Master, I must be willing to sacrifice for him and his kingdom.

Are you ready to throw away the phrase, but we’ve always done it that way. The past is not bad. We can learn from the past and we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water as they say. But also, if we are really want to reach the unchurched, the lost, they will not come to us, we must go to them. And when they walk in our doors, we must be inviting enough for them to stay. Take a look at the place where you worship. I gave you a glimpse of the atmosphere of 95% of all the churches in America. If that glimpse were not true, all of our churches would be overflowing every service. Except for that very small percentage, they are not. Chairs are empty. Parking lots have plenty of space. We do not weep over the millions in our land headed toward an eternity separated from the one who can save them from that destiny.

Are you ready to change? Now is the time.

Wishing to be in the other man’s shoes (John 21:22), May 4, 2017

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Music intro
Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Have you ever thought it would be better to be in someone else’s shoes? Be careful what you wish for!
Music intro
You can subscribe to the podcast, send me comments to let me know what you think, and listen to past devotionals at richardagee.com. That’s richardagee.com.
Music intro
Scripture
1. John 21:22
2. Jesus: If I choose for him to remain till I return, what difference will this make to you? You follow Me!
Devotional
1. We sure think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence sometimes, don’t we?
  1. Different job
  2. Different place
  3. Different circumstances
  4. Life would be so much better
  5. Just look at the life of that guy over there compared to what I’m going through right now
2. Big problem with that thinking
  1. We only see what’s on the outside and what his external circumstances allow us to see
  2. Never know the struggles, heartaches, difficulties going on behind closed doors
  3. We all tend to wear smiles in public when we can and put our best foot forward for those around us
3. Example of promotion in the military
  1. Thought it would be nice to be a colonel when I was a lieutenant
    1. Set your own calendar
    2. Driver to get you places
    3. More pay
    4. Secretary
    5. Best seats in every gathering
  2. With every promotion I figured out lieutenant wasn’t so bad
  3. As a colonel
    1. Eight to ten hours of every day spent in meetings or preparing for one
    2. 200-300 emails to answer every day
    3. A ream of paper to go through every day
    4. My secretary made sure my inbox was emptied and all those papers sent to the right place after I reviewed them; she deconflicted meetings so they didn’t overlap
    5. I had a driver so I could read email and talk on the phone while going from one place to another and not waste those precious minutes
    6. Best seats? Only because my eyes are getting bad and those seats are the best targets for all the question and answer sessions from the generals
  4. As a colonel, I knew a lieutenant’s life was great
4. Jesus reminded Peter and us, What difference does it make to you, just serve where you are and follow me.
Music exit
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”
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Perfectionists never get to perfect, but Jesus did (John 19:30), April 26, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Perfectionists have a hard time determining when they are done with a project. Something always needs a little more work before it’s ready to go public. Not so with the perfect man.
Scripture
1. John 19:30
2. Jesus: It is finished!
Devotional
1. I’m not a terrible artist, but I don’t haven’t painted in a while and when I pick up the hobby, I don’t do it very long at a time.
  1. I have a problem
  2. I start working on a painting and don’t know when to stop
  3. Always one more thing I can do better
  4. Make one more correction
  5. Finally end up with a hodge-podge of corrections that make the whole thing a mess
2. Same with some other hobbies and projects
  1. Want everything to be perfect but can never get there
  2. Never know when to stop and say this is right, this is done
  3. Need it to be just a little better
  4. Need one more thing to make it right
  5. Want things to be a exactly right but in our flawed state we don’t really know what perfect looks like because we’re not perfect
3. Jesus had a job to do
  1. Share the message of God’s love
  2. Tell of the reconciliation He wanted with His highest creation
  3. Came to pay the penalty for the sins we committed
  4. God told us the penalty for sin was blood spilled; death
4. Moses gave the Israelites the laws concerning blood sacrifices to atone for sins
  1. Every year sacrifices made
  2. Scapegoat took on the sins of the community as representation of their repentance
  3. Blood spilled and sacrifice made
5. Jesus came
  1. He became the scapegoat for us
  2. Penalty for sins committed still death; sacrifice; spilling of blood
  3. But the scapegoat was imperfect; had to return every year and do it again
  4. Jesus didn’t sin; His was the blood of man, but a perfect, sinless man
  5. He intervened as man to God and God to man and sacrificed Himself for our sin
  6. The perfect sacrifice spilled His blood to atone for our sins
6. Jesus knew what He came to do
  1. He knew what the outcome was to be
  2. He took all the punishment and abuse we could dish out
  3. With His last breath He lifted His brush from the canvas of humanity’s future
  4. It is finish – a perfect plan of salvation
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Crew and Christianity (John 17:16-23), April 17, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Here is a question for you to consider for a few moments: How is crew like our Christian mission?
Scripture
1. John 17:16-23
2. Jesus: Like Me, they are not products of the corrupt world order. Immerse them in the truth, the truth Your voice speaks. In the same way You sent Me into this world, I am sending them. It is entirely for their benefit that I have set Myself apart so that they may be set apart by truth. I am not asking solely for their benefit; this prayer is also for all the believers who will follow them and hear them speak. Father, may they all be one as You are in Me and I am in You; may they be in Us, for by this unity the world will believe that You sent Me.

All the glory You have given to Me, I pass on to them. May that glory unify them and make them one as We are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may be refined so that all will know that You sent Me, and You love them in the same way You love Me.

Devotional
1. I have to admit, there are not many Olympic sports that I like to watch. I enjoy the finals of several of them when the final competitors face each other to determine who is the best in some category. Those are usually exciting.
  1. Most competitions through the preliminaries are relatively boring to me
  2. I’m not much of a sportsman
2. But I like to watch crew
  1. Team sport in which rowers compete
  2. Consist of 1, 2, 4, 8 person teams plus or minus a coxswain
  3. Men’s and women’s competition at collegiate, olympic, and international levels
  4. A lot of factors in winning but one of the most important is unity of the team in their strokes
  5. Coxswain or one of the rowers sounding as coxswain keeps rhythm so every oar goes into and out of water simultaneously
  6. Unity in every stroke breeds success, by their unity in rowing you can almost pick the winner
3. Jesus wants His followers to have that kind of unity when it comes to fulfilling His purpose
  1. Doesn’t mean we’re all alike
  2. Doesn’t even mean we agree on everything
  3. Means we all work toward a common purpose – His
  4. To go and make disciples; to share His message; to help others know He came to forgive sins and bring eternal life to all who believe in Him
  5. Even prayed for our unity, that we would be one in Him and in the Father just as He is, one purpose, one direction, one most important thing – God
4. How do we have such unity?
  1. Let Him consume you with His love
  2. Love Him back for what He has done for you
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

What stories do you tell? (John 8:49-58), February 28, 2018

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
What stories do you tell those you want to win to Christ? Are they believable? Sometimes Jesus’ stories weren’t very believable. So what should we do?
Scripture
1. John 8:49-58
2. Jesus: I’m not taken by demons. You dishonor Me, but I give all glory and honor to the Father. But I am not pursuing My own fame. There is only One who pursues and renders justice. I tell you the truth, anyone who hears My voice and keeps My word will never experience death.

Jews: We are even more confident now that You are demon-possessed. Just go down the list: Abraham died, the prophets all died. Yet You say, “If you keep My word, you will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died; remember? Prophets—are any of them still alive? No. Who do You think You are?

Jesus: If I were trying to make Myself somebody important, it would be a waste of time. That kind of fame is worth nothing. It is the Father who is behind Me, urging Me on, giving Me praise. You say, “He is our God,” but you are not in relationship with Him. I know Him intimately; even if I said anything other than the truth, I would be a liar, like you. I know Him, and I do as He says. Your father Abraham anticipated the time when I would come, and he celebrated My coming.

Jews: You aren’t even 50 years old, yet You have seen and talked with Abraham?

Jesus: I tell you the truth; I AM before Abraham was born.

Devotional
1. I grew up in the church. I’ve heard these scriptures all my life. I believe them. God’s spirit touches mine and I know they are true because of it. He has proven Himself to me over and over. But imagine hearing these words coming from Jesus for the first time.
  1. These men didn’t want to believe Him
    1. Uneducated carpenter’s son
    2. Doesn’t follow their rules
    3. Disrupts the religious order of the day
  2. He’s talking about something they cannot comprehend
  3. Everyone dies, so His words don’t make sense to them
  4. Compares Himself with God
2. Sometimes we forget most of the world today has not heard the story
  1. Less that 50% of Americans claim any religious affiliation
  2. Christianity pushed into the background and even considered hate speech in some circles
  3. Stories are still confusing and unbelievable as they were in Jesus’ day
    1. Miracles
    2. Resurrection
    3. Never die
3. Why do I mention this?
  1. Our mission is to go and make disciples
  2. Need to know the mindset of those to whom we speak
  3. They will sometimes be unaware of the language you speak
  4. They may have no concept of the things you take for granted as a believer
  5. They may think your stories about Jesus are fantasy and as real as Star Wars
  6. They need to hear about the change in your life and see the difference He makes every day for you
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Emissary or ambassador, do you know which you are? (John 7:28-29), February 13, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Do you know the difference between an emissary and an ambassador? Jesus calls us His emissaries and Paul identifies himself as an emissary in most of His letters. So what’s the difference?
Scripture
1. John 7:28-29
2. Jesus (speaking aloud as He teaches on the temple’s porch): You think you know Me and where I have come from, but I have not come here on My own. I have been sent by the One who embodies truth. You do not know Him. I know Him because I came from Him. He has sent Me.
Devotional
1. So what is the difference between an ambassador and an emissary?
  1. Our government uses both as do most governments.
  2. Ambassador is an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country
  3. Emissary is a person sent on a special mission, usually as a diplomatic representative
  4. Did you notice the difference?
  5. General representative for a country versus a person sent on a special mission
2. Emissary
  1. Can act like an ambassador when on a diplomatic mission in a foreign country
  2. Always given a specific mission to complete
    1. Message to carry
    2. Negotiation to broker or attend
    3. Expert representative on behalf of sender for meetings or project
  3. Carry the authority of the person who sends them
3. Jesus sent the twelve out into towns and villages as His emissaries
  1. Specific tasks from Matt 10, Go … to find and heal the lost sheep of Israel. 7 …, preach this message: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse those who have leprosy. Drive out demons from the possessed.
  2. In the verses just before this, Matthew says Jesus endowed them with the power to do these things
  3. Jesus gave them the authority and responsibility to carry out the tasks He gave them to do
4. We are His emissaries. He gave each of us the same command
  1. Go
  2. Make disciples
  3. Baptize them
  4. Teach them His practices
  5. Teach them to follow His commands
  6. Gives each of us tools, gifts to accomplish the tasks He gives us to do
5. Didn’t make us ambassadors with no specific thing to do or mission to accomplish; made us emissaries with specific purpose and mission in mind
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Are you doing your part? (Luke 13:18-21) November 26, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 19-20

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 13:18-21
Jesus (explaining): Do you want to understand the kingdom of God? Do you want Me to tell you what it’s like? It’s like a single mustard seed that someone took and planted in his garden. That tiny seed grew and became a tree so large that the birds could fly in and make their nests in its branches.
Do you want Me to tell you what the kingdom of God is like? It’s like some yeast which a woman hid within a huge quantity of flour; soon the whole batch of dough was rising.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We don’t talk about heaven and the kingdom in our churches much these days. We hear a lot of sermons about ethics and moral values. We hear a lot of sermons about how we should behave and how we should improve our relationships with each other. We hear a lot of sermons about the state of the world today and how we should work to improve the nature of things around us. We hear a lot of sermons about the latest topic in the news and how it affects us spiritually and how to guard against it. But we don’t hear many sermons anymore about heaven or hell.

So it’s good to stop and think about Jesus’ words today and just ponder what He says about heaven and the kingdom of God. Most of the time when we think about heaven we think about the way it looks, the streets of gold, the mansions being built for us, the brilliance of the light, the music sung by choirs of angels, the indescribable beauty of the place we hope to spend eternity. But these words give us a very different picture of the kingdom of God. It doesn’t talk about the beauty or streets or even the kind of people who will populate heaven. Jesus gives a different description for us to think about and the description involves us.

He says the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed or some yeast, so what does that mean to us? We are getting to know more about yeast as more people begin to enjoy baking as a hobby. We still do more purchasing of baked goods than actually baking today, but the hobby is growing and you can find lots of people who bake bread, rolls, cookies, pies and cakes, etc. And in a lot of those things that need a dough in their preparation, they also need yeast to make the dough rise. So many today understand yeast, but not nearly as many as did in Jesus’ day.

Not so many understand Jesus’ comparison of the mustard seed with the kingdom of heaven because most of us haven’t seen the results of planting mustard seeds. Around the area where Jesus spoke, mustard plants grew wild and in fact were sometimes considered a nuisance plant. Just that tiny seed the size of a pin head grew into a bush fifteen to twenty feet tall, tree size with branches sturdy enough to hold birds’ nests.

So we aren’t quite so familiar with these illustrations today. The point I think Jesus wants to get across is that the kingdom of heaven, like that mustard seed starts small, but grows as we let God work through us and spread the good news He gives us. Others hear His word and accept Him as Lord and the kingdom grows more. Those share the message and the kingdom continues to expand. Then like those mustard seeds that grow into tree-sized bushes, they produce more seeds that are scattered across the land and more mustard plants take root and grow. The kingdom expands throughout the area as we let God use us and work through us to do His will.

Or the kingdom is like yeast when we let God work through us. He places us in a community to do His will in that community and like yeast, the good things we do for others spreads throughout the community. Others see us and watch the transformation in our lives because of His spirit in us. They hear the message He has for them and His resurrection power changes them, too. The good news spreads throughout the community and cannot be stopped just as yeast spreads throughout the dough when it is kneaded. And what does the yeast do to the dough? It makes the dough double or triple or quadruple in size, just as the good news causes God’s kingdom to expand exponentially through those that hear it.

Today Jesus might use one of those room fresheners you plug into the wall as an illustration. The odor starts at the wall when you plug it in, but soon the smell reaches every corner of the room. Or maybe he would like the kingdom to the foam insulation that goes in the walls of new homes. A five gallon canister of liquid is shot into the space between the walls of the house and that small five gallon canister is enough as it expands to fill all the outer walls of an average house with foam.

Whatever example Jesus or you might use to explain the growth of God’s kingdom, it still in part depends on one Christian, transformed by the power of God’s spirit in you, sharing the good news of what He has done with another person. Then that person sharing with one more and so on until the kingdom continues to grow at an exponential rate.

Are you doing your part to grow the kingdom?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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