Answer the following questions, based on claims found in the Bible.  George Barna, the Christian pollster guru, used them in surveying those who claim to be born again Christians.  It is a good quiz for us to consider.   

 Did you answer yes to these?  But what’s more important that your yes to these questions is whether your life shows it.

One thought is that we all have some kind of passion in our lives.  Maybe it is NASCAR or horses or fishing or recycling or even gardening.  Whatever it is, we seem to go through a process of first BELIEVING it is good, then actually making it a part of our lives (LIVING IT) every day, then SHARING it with others either through our model or our words.

It seems to me that God uses best those folks who make Christ's message a passion. I might note, that we can each have only a limited number of true "Passions".

We have raised a generation of very brilliant, but mostly godless investment bankers, attorneys,  and MBA's that have been manipulating billions and billions of dollars of the American economy.  Add to this dishonest mortgage brokers who made millions on sub-prime lending, people who lied to get a mortgage thinking they would be able to "flip" houses and become overnight millionaires and you have a formula for a global financial upheaval. 

 What should we do?  Remember that God owns everything.  Give generously.  Do not trust in your riches.  Ask God for wisdom. 

 Take a look at the first 11 verses of Proverbs 11 below.  Notice the promises to the righteous and the warnings to the wicked.  

 Firmly in His Grip,

 Bruce

 Proverbs 11:1-11 (NASB)

 Contrast the Upright and the Wicked

 1A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

    2When pride comes, then comes dishonor,  But with the humble is wisdom.

    3The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.

    4Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.

    5The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

    6The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,  But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.

    7When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong men perishes.

    8The righteous is delivered from trouble, But the wicked takes his place.

    9With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor,  But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.

    10When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.

    11By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.

1. What impressions would you like to share with others concerning the meetings.

2. How do you think it will impact your life two months down the road? 

Just wondering.

If we are to experience a fresh fire in our hearts from God we must be combustible material.  Is that true for you?  Is your heart ready to blaze?  Or is it too insulated to burn?  Could it be said of you that the fullness of God is spilling out of your life on the lives of others?  Has that become a reality for you?

The Christian martyr, Jim Elliot, wrote in his journal; "God deliver me from the dread asbestos of other things.  Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame...Father, take my life, yea, my blood if Thou wilt, and consume it with Thine enveloping fire.  I would not save it for it is not mine to save.  Have it, Lord, have it all.  Pour out my life as an oblation for the world...make me Thy fuel, Flame of God!"  (quoted by Robert Coleman in The Spark That Ignites, p. 68)

Could we at Grace Church make this prayer of Jim Elliott's ours for the next two weeks?  Would we be willing to blaze for God?   I am looking forward to participating with you at our revival Summit which starts on September 28.  May Grace Church be ablaze with the manifest presence of God!

Pastor Ed