What We Can All Learn From Bill Gates

Today I saw on the news that Bill Gates is giving away another $100 million. Apparently he's donated $100 million more than once!! This time around he's planning to eradicate polio worldwide. I found this interesting because Bill Gates understands the biblical concept of stewardship, whether or not he realizes it. He has leveraged his resources to do the most good he can in the time he's been given. And that's exactly what we're supposed to do as stewards of the time, talent and treasure God has given to us. The goal is to leverage what God has given us in order to make the biggest difference we can for the kingdom of God. What am I doing with my time? How am I using it to advance God's kingdom? What am I doing with the talent God has given me? How am I using the gifts God has given me to advance his kingdom? What am I doing with the treasure God has given me? How am I using my wealth to see God's purposes be accomplished on this earth?

Believe for More

In 2006 Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, turned down an opportunity to sell Facebook to Yahoo for one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000). Against the advice of many people, Mark said no. He was believing for more. He believed Facebook could be bigger than a billion dollars. And he was right! Estimates are that if there were an initial public stock offering today, Facebook would be valued between 35 and 50 billion dollars.

I want to dream BIG when it comes to the things of God. Specifically, when it comes to pointing irreligious people to Jesus. When others have "a billion" mentality, I want to think fifty billion. When others think we've reach the goal, I want to see so much more in the future. I pray God helps me and New Day to have more faith and dream bigger than ever before.

Sunday Reflections

Today was awesome. Here are some of my reflections on Sunday.

• Our worship team is really coming along. Our worship arts director, Lester, is doing a great job, as is our new band leader, Frank Rocca. I wish newcomers could see where we started and where we are now. We have improved sooo much. Don't get me wrong. We still have room to grow, and I anticipate where we'll be a year from now, three years from now, ten years from now, etc. But I'm also celebrating the progress we've made so far. Praise God!
• Today we had 240 people at New Day (188 adults and 52 kids). Again, it's amazing to think how far we've come. I remember being so pumped when we finally reached 50 people in total church attendance (adults and kids). Now we have over 50 with just the kids alone!
• To my knowledge we have the highest number of people signed up for a growth group that we've ever had (currently 78 with two more weeks of sign ups to go). How amazing would it be to have 100+ people involved weekly in Bible study and prayer... Sign up here.
• Our growth group leaders training went awesome. Bethany, our growth group director, did an incredible job preparing our leaders to lead their groups. I got excited all over again for another round of growth groups. It's a great feeling to know you're a part of something that will help people grow spiritually.
• I was thinking today how great it is to be a part of something that's alive and growing. We're reaching lost people, we're having a blast doing it, we're making a difference. And I'm so grateful to be a part of something like this.
• I'm looking forward with anticipating to our switch to two services (starting Sunday February 6th 2011). We'll have a 9:30am service and an 11:00am service. I feel confident that we'll quickly fill up both services. I think before we know it we'll be trying to figure out what to in order to accommodate the people God continues to send our way.
• I'm challenged to dream bigger. We serve a big God and I want to believe for big things in 2011.
• I'm grateful for all the volunteers who partner with me and the staff of New Day to make possible what we do each week.

God Centered Living

Numbers 2:1-2 says, "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting..." The tent of meeting was the portable sanctuary of the Israelites while they journeyed in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. Some tribes camped on the east side of the Tabernacle (Numbers 2:3), some on the south (Numbers 2:10), some on the west (Numbers 2:18), and some on the north (Numbers 2:25). The point is, God and his Tabernacle were in the center of the camp, just the way it should be.

This morning I'm asking myself: Is God at the center of camp in my life? Is He the focal point of my life, my marriage, my family, my finances? May God help me and you to set up our lives in such a way that God is at the center.

Anti Legalism Not Anti-Law

Legalism is trying to achieve right standing before God through keeping the rules of the law (the do's and don'ts of the first five books of the Bible). And as Christians, we are anti legalism. We believe we have right standing before God by his grace through our faith in Jesus, not by keeping the rules of the law. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift of God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." But just because we are anti legalism, doesn't mean we are anti law.

The law of God is a mirror of sorts, showing us our sinful state. Through the mirror of God's law we see that we are sinners and under the curse of the law. But you cannot wash your face with a mirror! Cleansing can only come through the water of God's grace through our faith in Christ. But just because the mirror of God's law cannot cleanse from sin, doesn't mean it's not profitable for other things.

On the contrary, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Remember that when Paul wrote this he was thinking of the Old Testament, because at this time the New Testament had not yet been compiled. Based on this verse we see that the law still has value to instruct and inform (instruct us in God's truths and inform us of God's ways). Just because the law cannot help us obtain right standing before God, doesn't mean it has no value at all.

The law was never given as a means of salvation. It was given to reveal sin and show sinners their need for grace and to instruct and inform God's people on what to believe and how to best live their lives. Look at Deuteronomy 6:24, "The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today." The law cannot save from sin, but it was given for our prosperity and preservation. Or look at Deuteronomy 10:12-13, "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" The law can't save from sin, but it was given for our good!

I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to cast off something that was intended for my prosperity, my preservation and for my good! We are not bound to the letter of the law, but as we read the Old Testament we should invite the Holy Spirit to teach us the spirit of the law. Remember, while the law cannot cleanse us of sin, it still has value to instruct and inform.

Here's just one example of what that would look like. Leviticus 13:4 and 13:31 both teach that if an Old Testament Jew had an infectious skin disease, he was to remain outside the camp for seven days. Remember, in those times they were traveling through the desert, so outside the camp simply meant “away from everybody else”. Now obviously, today, if you have some kind of contagious infection, you aren’t legalistically bound to climb up a mountain and live in isolation for seven days away from everyone else. You don’t have to follow the letter of the law. But following the spirit of the law, you might want to stay home from work if you’re sick so that you don’t get others sick. Or if your kids are sick you might want to not bring them to church, so they don’t get the other kids sick.

So in summary...Legalism is trying to earn salvation by keeping the law. As Christians we are anti legalism, because salvation is by grace through faith. But while we are anti legalism, we are not anti law. Just because the law of God cannot obtain us right standing with God, doesn't mean it has no value whatsoever. The law was given for our prosperity, our preservation and our good. When we read it we aren't bound to the letter of the law, but we'd be wise to invite the Holy Spirit to show us the spirit of the law, because the law still has value in instructing us in God's truths and informing us of God's ways. The law can't save us, but that doesn't mean it's not still useful (2 Timothy 3:16-17) for other things.