As followers of Christ we are on a great journey for God, and we have every right to be excited about it. God has called us to Himself, to join with Him in reaching people for Jesus Christ.

We are a part of a world-wide group of people who believe that Jesus is God’s response to the deepest needs in the human heart. We want everybody to know who Jesus is, why He came, how He loves, and what life exhilarating thing He wants to do in them.

What a wonderful time to be alive, to share the love of God with people. People are looking for spiritual answers, and the people of God are ambassadors of Christ, sharing the Good News with a watching, searching, and hurting world.

God never calls His people to a work in which He is unable to empower them. God is able; always, and without exception. A situation may seem impossible but with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). God is not limited.

God is all powerful. The prophet, Jeremiah, prayed “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (Jer. 32:17). Embraced by the amazing power of God let’s enter the arena, make the attempt and do our best.

Jesus is Lord! He is enough.

When Dr. Phineas Bresee was in process of becoming pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church in Pasadena somebody asked him what he intended to do there. He said he intended, by the grace of God, to make a fire that would reach heaven.

What would our answer be if someone asked us what we intend to do in Pasadena? Personally, I like Dr. Bresee’s answer, and I’m not sure it can be improved on. John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize people with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11). In that case, let’s light the fire.

Do we have what it takes to light the fire of God in our town? A good question, but first we ought to ask ourselves whether or not the fire of God is ablaze in our own heart. If it is aflame it is because the Holy Spirit has been set free in us to do the work of God; and when the Holy Spirit is free to do the work of God, watch out because we will find ourselves in the marvelous wonder of divine intervention, guidance, power, revival and, yes, even “the greater works,” Jesus promised His Church would do (John 14:12).

Dr. Bresee’s ministry in Pasadena ended in 1890. Later he would lead an effort to began a new church that would be called, The Church of the Nazarene. Today the work goes on, but I wonder if the fire is still burning. Is it burning with the glorious intensity of the Holy Spirit? Whatever the answer, may God help us to make sure that we are a people who will keep the fire kindled.

Get in touch with God and let Him ignite the fire in fresh new ways. Then let’s do all in our power to be faithful so that the fire will reach heaven.

Have you ever wondered what you might do for God at this particular time in your life? You love Him, you want to serve Him, you want to bring honor to His name. What might you to do put feet to that desire?

Sometimes we think sacrifice is the answer. We’ll sacrifice something just for God, and in that act bring praise and honor to Him. As important as sacrificial living is, however, the Bible sees something more important. I Samuel 15:22 says, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Isn’t that interesting?

God wants our obedience and faithfulness more than what we might sacrifice for Him. God wants us to live in His love, giving our lives for what His loves means to us. Sometimes its easier to sacrifice something than it is to live in His love.

How can we best live in the love of God? That’s the question. If I love someone I will do the best I can to honor and to esteem that person. It might mean sacrificing something. It might mean encouraging them or supporting them in something. It might mean coming alongside them and helping them to carry a heavy burden of some kind. What ever the act might be the motive behind it is just as important as is the act.

How do we transfer this kind of love to God? How can we honor Him and esteem Him, and be there for Him? The answer is simple. Love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; do what love calls us to do, and be what love calls us to be.

My love-for-God-questions have come to be, “What I can do for my God today?” What can I do just because I am desperately in love with God? How can I reflect that, with all my heart, I want to live for Him and Him alone?

I look at my world and realize how much it needs a Shepherd and how it doesn’t seem to have the foggiest notion about what it means to pursue the ways of God. On top of that, I look at my world and see that in the way things are now, it seem like it is falling apart.

Psalm 4:2 asks the question, “How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?” That’s a probing question isn’t it? “How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?”

I hear that question and realize that we live in a world where some things are worthless and rooted in lies and falsehood, and those things need to be jettisoned from our lives; dropped out of our life experience because they steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10a). Can’t you almost hear God saying, “Let them go. They are no good for you. Drop the dead weight and be free in your soul”?

Psalm 14:2 says, “The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” There are many people who simply don’t believe in God or who don’t believe God has a claim to their lives. The Bible says there are people who have “turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Ps 14:1-2). It’s a haunting thought, and it may be the reason behind the fact that God is looking down from heaven for people who understand and who seek after Him.

The question seems to come down to whether or not we will love what is worthless and aim at deception or will we seek after God. That’s about what it comes to, isn’t it? I think people need to ask themselves, “Do I want to live a life that is enveloped by the grace and love of God or am I content to go through my days pretending that everything is okay when deep down inside my life I know things aren’t okay.

Jesus invites us to be enveloped by the grace and love of God.

In a startling statement one day Jesus spoke of certain people whom He said, “..while hearing they do not hear” (Matt. 13:13). It’s a paradox to say the least. To hear but not to hear – there’s the rub.

I've been guilty of it, I'm sorry to say. Somebody said something to me and I said, “Uh huh.” Then a few minutes later reality sinks in and I say to myself, “What did I just say ‘Uh huh” too? I heard but I didn’t hear. The truth is that this aspect of human life may be the most important destructive factor in the breakdown of communication between people.

In Matthew 11:15 (in just one of several places) Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Why would He say this? Could it be because having ears doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is really hearing what is being said.

In Matthew 15:10, at a critical point in a teaching He was giving, Jesus said to the Pharisees and Scribes who were the audience, “Hear, and understand.” I think Jesus knew these people were going to hear the words but that they were not really going to hear what the words were saying. They had ears but they had a most difficult time hearing.

I would suggest that many of us, in some way or another, needs to work on our spiritual hearing -- learning to hear until what we are hearing seeps into the very fiber of our souls and becomes a part of our life experience.

God is saying to His people today, “Hear My Word. By that He doesn’t simply mean “check it out. Peruse it. Glance at it.” He means hear it until it becomes a part of our lives. Hear it out (examine it, scrutinize it, study it, analyze it). Hear it through. Hear it until we know it. Hear it until its ours and we can act upon it.