More Than Bread

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Listen, I understand for some of us, parts of the Bible are hard to believe. You wonder if it's true. Some of it's even harder to understand and we run into all sorts of different interpretations of all the rules and the theology. Rules and theology which some people fight about so much, you wonder if they are even on the same team. I understand. 

God doesn't tweet or txt. He doesn't do facebook posts. He's old school. He  expounds and mystifies. Sometimes on purpose, I think, He's less than clear.  He shares stories that create questions and some of them are hard to read and some of them are hard to answer. He's not afraid of poetry or doubt or deep dark emotions. But I'm telling you that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. And life comes from knowing God and when we know God we love His Word. 

So, open the Book with an open heart and see what He might do!

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Is there any Psalm more loved than the one that starts with these words, "The Lord is my shepherd and I will lack nothing." But here's the deal...I can't say those words without embracing these words, "And I'm a sheep." Now of course you are more than a sheep. You are a child of God filled with the Spirit of God. You are God's beautiful masterpiece, created and called to make a difference in the world. But you are, I am also a sheep. That's where we started in episode #2 of "A Life Refreshed" our look at the Psalms.

And at the heart of the message are some thoughts on how we get from here (drained, discouraged, perhaps even a bit lost) to there, a life refreshed!

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Even if you are not sure you believe it, would you suspend your skepticism and consider the possibility that nothing's more important than hearing God's voice, letting His Words saturate our souls and if there is nothing more important than hearing his voice; no book is more important than His book, the Bible, the Word.  

I know some of us need to be convinced, but honestly some of us just need to be convicted. Because while we wholeheartedly agree about the Bible's value; we open it halfheartedly. So in this episode we will ponder the questions, "Am I devoted to God's Words? Are we a people of the book?

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How many of us understand that it isn't easy being the first one to start something big? It isn't easy to be the first one to go to a new place. It isn't easy to be the first one to explore new strategies or climb to new heights or go on new journeys. It isn't easy to be the first one to pray for or live for or sacrifice for an awakening? In the history of our country we've often called those 1st-Ones, pioneers. They're the ones who left their homes with a spirit of faith; aiming toward an unknown  destination. Some of the very best chapters of our story have come when we lived with a pioneering spirit.

Nehemiah 7 is a call to honor those who came before us, but it also asks us, "Do you have a pioneering spirit?"

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Nehemiah 7 contains a long, (kind of boring) list of names. But in this episode I just want to make it clear that no list of names is boring to God. Long ago, before all of the grand and awesome creation was even a gleam in Father God's eye, Paul says that God loved us and chose us. He created you in his image. He fashioned your heart with His heart as a model. At the beginning, the warrior-poet David wrote, as He formed you in your mother's womb, He dreamed dreams about your life and He looked forward to all your days. His plan for you has always been for good. 

Why? Because you are God's precious treasure. If you don't believe me, just listen in. 

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This episode is going to hit on a few of my favorite themes, calling, travailing prayer, revival, finishing well, and God's desire to do a new thing. You know I have found over and over again, that it’s difficult, to finish well, if we aren't willing to lean into new things. And it's almost impossible to lean into new things, without being done with the old things. So my question is, "Are we done with the old things?" As a church are we done with the old things? 

I long to see the church shine bright like a city on a hill. I long for us to be known as the hands and heart of Christ. I still believe that the church that Jesus is building is the hope of the world. I want to be part of that church and I'm praying for that church to be done with old things. Do you know what the Bible calls being done with old things? It's called repentance. 

That's where we will end this episode, with a call to repentance. 

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As I have been doing, on More Than Bread for awhile now, when I preach on Sunday at Calvary, Monday's episode is that message. So we are just starting a teaching series at Calvary called, "A Life Refreshed." It's a look at the Psalms with the theme of...you got it, a life refreshed. If you are feeling drained, damaged, or a little bit of hope-less, you may find this one encouraging. 

The next episode we will be back to Nehemiah! 

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Don't worry, we're still in Nehemiah. We'll be in Nehemiah all the way to the end of Nehemiah. But I'm changing the series title, because the first half of Nehemiah is more about rebuilding broken places while the second half is more about rebuilding broken people.  I'm calling the series Awaken Revival, because those are two words that signify a move of God that rebuilds people. 

When it comes to rebuilding broken people, the job is never done! But what we find is that when Awakening comes, God gracious hand is not just for broken places, it's for broken people!

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In this episode we will ponder what it takes to finish well. That's one of the themes that I take with me from the first half of Nehemiah into the second half. John Ortberg writes, "The capacity to finish well is what the New Testament writers called endurance or perseverance....any truly meaningful human accomplishment  will require perseverance. Bobby Clinton defined finishing well as coming to the end of my life being more in love with Jesus than I was in the beginning; having a sense of the unique contribution that God has desired to work through me, and not flaming out through moral sin.

None of that happens without perseverance. Finishing well requires a series of breakthroughs that only come with hopeful expectancy. What is the next step you need to take on the journey of finishing well? 

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So the wall was completed in 52 days. Pretty amazing, it so obviously involved the hand of God. No way they could do that, without the hand of God on them. So here’s my question, again, "What work are we working, that requires the hand of God?" What work are we working that if it is accomplished, will cause everyone to say, "There must be a God. Because they couldn't do that on their own. 

I want to be part of a move of God that makes it impossible to stay seated when the opportunity comes to give God a standing ovation.