The Greatest Book In History

The Greatest Book In History

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

            Dr. Nathaniel Van Cleave,  author of Foundations of Pentecostal Theology (and long-time friend) once said, “I’ve discovered that when a person’s Bible is falling apart, their lives are coming together.”  In an age of Kindles, MP-3's, E-Bibles and more, God's Word is less apt to fall apart in the old fashioned way but the affect it has on us is still as powerful. The world’s best-selling Book has always been and will always be transforming to those who build their lives on it.  Consider these stats:

Number of verse: 31,102

Number of words: 775,693

Longest Chapter: Psalm 119

Shortest Chapter: Psalm 117

Shortest verse: John 11:35

Longest verse: Esther 8:9

Longest Book in the Old Testament: Psalms (150 Chapters)

Longest Book in the New Testament: Luke (24 Chapters)

Finally, if you were to open your Bible to the very middle verse of the Bible, it would open to Psalm 118:8, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”  Why not make it the center of your life today?

Terry Risser

Questions:

1)   What is your favorite verse in the Bible?

2)   Why is that verse special to you?

Copyright 2016- Terry Risser

Get Going

Get Going

"Mortals make elaborate plans but God has the last word." Proverbs 16:1

God is into goals.  I’m sure of it.  He had a goal to form a nation called Israel which still stands today.  And most importantly, He fulfilled the goal to bring salvation to mankind through the person of Jesus Christ.  Goals are different than desires, wants, wishes and intentions.  They are purposeful intentions to complete an established course. 

           

Years ago, Mike McCormick did a study of Harvard Grads in the MBA program who were furthering their education.  For the most part, all very successful people to have achieved what they did so early in life. He asked them a simple question, “How many of you have written down goals in your life?”

He received an interesting response:

3% had goals and plans

13% had goals but no plans

84% had no goals and no plans

                              

Years later, they evaluated their lives and came to a revealing discovery:

The 84% (who had no goals and no plans) had limited success

The 13% (who had goals but no plans) on average were making 2x’s more than those in the 84% category

The 3% (who had goals and plans) on average were making 10x’s more than the 13% group (who had goals but no plans)

                     

While surveys of this nature tend to be finance-oriented, there is an important principle that is revealed in that the greatest results and purposes come to people who see and develop a plan in life.  In Nehemiah 1, we find the Cupbearer-turned-Contractor had both a goal and a plan to reconstruct Jerusalem’s walls. Within 52 days, he changed the face of his nation.  

Author Brian Tracy  said, “If I could do one thing in 5 minutes that will change your life more than anything else it is this:

    

Write down goals

Make a plan

Work on your plans each day

This year can be different.  Set a goal and make a plan…watch what God can do through you.

Question:

1)    Name one goal you would like to see happen?

2)  Break it down into 3-4 parts and start today

Copyright 2016 - Terry Risser

Digging In Or Getting Your Digs In

Digging In Or Getting Your Digs In

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…” 2 Timothy 3:16

5 simple words.  That’s all it takes to give a good dig at your church (or someone else’s for that matter) this week. People use them across America and around the world daily.   Say them with me, “I…am…not…getting…fed.”   They are the best words to use when you want to make a church transition or simply want to ruffle things up a bit.

Years ago, a pastor I know had a first time visitor come to his church in Southern California.  She seemed very positive about joining the church he led.  After a service, she shared how she had attended another local church but wasn’t being fed.  Turns out, the church was pastored by Chuck Swindoll, one of the foremost authors and speakers in America.  He told her, “If you weren’t getting fed there, it probably won’t happen here.”

I know hundred of pastors.  Hundreds of them.  And the “I am not being fed” mantra is the most transcendent assertion used to negate what God wants to do in churches across America whether the messages are topical, verse by verse, or exegetical.  However, there is an answer to reverse the trend.  The problem is not necessarily with the  “feeder” but our ”feeding.” In order to have a growing and vibrant relationship with God, it requires the personal ability to nurture your life with God’s Word.  Someone said, “Seven Days Without The Word Makes One Weak.”  It’s true with prayer and many other areas.  While pastors aren’t exempt from putting in their time, neither are we.

One of the best quotes I have ever heard in a quarter century of ministry is a woman who shared with me, “You know, Pastor, the more I read God’s Word, the better preacher you become.”  I still quote her ‘til this day.  A daily rationing of the Bible makes life deeper, our spirit’s stronger, and will even make your preacher better because you aren’t counting on him or her alone to be your only meal of the week.  You’ll be amazed how much improvement occurs in the pulpit next Sunday and the other days of the week for you.    

Question:

1)   On a scale from 1-10, how would you rank your daily devotional life?

2)   How can you take a step today to improve your love for God’s Word in 2014?

Copyright 2016- Terry Risser

Begin With The End In Mind

Begin With The End In Mind

“He who has begun a good work in you is able to complete it unto the day of salvation.” Philippians 1:6

2014 has come.  You have a fresh slate upon which to paint and untarnished snow on which you can step.  However, no matter how great your ambitions, God’s dreams for you are bigger.

In his book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen Covey has a chapter entitled, “Begin With The End In Mind." He shares that one of the key characteristics of people who are effective in life is that they have a way of starting from the end. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice.  There’s a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.  This is true whether in the construction of a house, the start of business, or the accomplishment of a goal.  You need to let God put the dream in your mind and then He can fulfill it in your life. 

As you begin this year, what do you desire to see happen before you finish it?  A stronger marriage, a completed work, or a renewed dream are all possible but we need to ask God to give us the vision.

As you begin this year, learn to live in 3-D:

          1)  Dedicate your life and year to Him

          2)  Dream along with Him

          3)  Determine that all you do will be for Him.

These are the kinds of people God truly gets behind. Most of all, let Him shape “Christ-like” character in you.  After all, it is the most important thing you will carry beyond this year…and this planet for that matter.

Questions:

1)    What is your greatest priority for 2014?

2)    What do you need to do to make it happen?

The History of the Christmas Card

The History of the Christmas Card

The custom of sending Christmas cards is now so well established that it is surprising to discover that it is only about one hundred years old.  Valentine cards were popular in the mid-eighteenth century, and New Year cards were exchanged in Europe a long time before Christmas cards became accepted, in the 1870’s.

Other early forerunners were the Christmas greetings that children brought home from school, done in their best handwriting on decorated paper, to present to proud parents.  Traders would also leave specially decorated visiting cards at Christmas.  But it is an Englishman, Sir Henry Cole, who is credited with the idea of the first Christmas card.

Cole was the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  He was a businessman with a keen interest in art.  In December 1843, he found he had little time to write individual Christmas greetings to his friends, so he decided to produce a printed card.  The artist John Calcott Horsley drew a design which Cole approved, and the first Christmas card was born.  It had a picture of a family enjoying the festivities, with two side panels showing acts of charity.  One thousand of the cards were printed and sold for a shilling each.

The idea was not an overnight success.  However, advances in the color printing process and the introduction of the halfpenny post for cards in the 1870’s meant that Christmas cards started to gain widespread popularity in England.  By 1880, the Post Office was having to broadcast it’s annual advice: “Post early for Christmas’, familiar to those who live in Great Britain.

At around the same time, Christmas cards were becoming popular in America through the work of Louis Prang, a German living in Massachusetts.  He introduced high-quality cars and helped to spread their appeal by organizing nation-wide competitions for the best design.  Many of the designs still seen today originated with the earliest Christmas cards.  Snow-scenes, pictures of festive feasting and nativity scenes were all popular.  Other early cards were more elaborate, coming in the shape of fans, stars, and scrolls.  Some even had silk finishes and pictures that could be ‘animated’ by pulling a tab.

This year, one of the best ways to bring someone Christmas cheer is to send them a card.  At the same time, take a minute to write a sentence of two of what they mean to you.  It’s one more way to show His love.

Reflections:

1)  How are you most encouraged through the Christmas season?  Music? Cards?

2)  Are Christmas cards a tradition for you?

Symbols of the Season

Symbols of the Season

There’s something different about Christmas!  Always has been.  The symbols, smells, and songs cry out the joyful reminder that hope is here.

The first Christmas day must have been a sight to behold.  As the faithful shepherds sat passing the time away, all heaven broke loose.  Luke penned the exciting event so eloquently in chapter 2 verses 10 & 11:  “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (NIV)

If the Bethlehem Times was in circulation, they would have scrambled to get such an earth-shaking headline.  Can you imagine the front page:  GOD ARRIVES IN BABY SIZED BODY or CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE WAS BORN IN A BARN?  But rather than using CNN, the Internet, AT&T, a Prime-Time Network, or a major newspaper, God handed the greatest news ever heard

to a handful of humble human heralds.  And He’s still giving that same message to anyone humble enough to receive it today.

As we savor the sights and sounds of Christmas this year, let the symbols that surround us help us recall the hope that Christ brings:

THE CHRISTMAS TREE:  The beauty and fragrance of the Christmas tree are a lasting tradition that ushers in this unique time of year.  Much is often made of the pagan roots that accompany the tree yet hold no connection to the reason we celebrate.  We are reminded of another kind of tree, one that was used to construct a cross and its color which signifies eternal life.  The babe of Christmas would grow in stature and give Himself for mankind.  Philippians 2:8 says, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death-even death on a cross.”

THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS:  The bright and attractive glow of the Christmas lights can be seen on houses, trees and decorations.  Lights are always best displayed where darkness is most prevalent.  Such was the case when the Roman government brought a yoke of enslavement and the religious institutions bred lifelessness.  At that time, the divine light entered into a dark setting.  John 12:46 says, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

THE CHRISTMAS GIFTS:  The thrill and anticipation of giving and receiving gifts brings Christmas to a long-awaited culmination.  Whether a bike, doll, dress, or tool, the gift is not the point as much as the spirit it is given.  Ultimately, they remind us of the greatest gift ever given.  Romans 6:23 reminds us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

While we cherish the external signs that encompass our senses during this wonderful time of year, may we never lose sight of the internal meanings that truly make a difference in our spiritual lives.  Christ has a way of making Christmas special that way.  Always has.  Always will.

Savoring Our Savior,

Terry Risser

Copyright 2015 Terry Risser

Because of the Christ Child…

Because of the Christ Child…

Christmas has a way of pulling us in many directions.  For many, the driving forces of the season is about completing lists, attending events, and spending time with people.  All of these are good things but there is something deeper Christ wants to do.  After all, most of these are based on what we do rather than truly finding fulfillment in who He has created us to be.  As someone said, “We are not human “doings” but human “beings.”  See if the Christ child might help us to understand a little more of God’s plan as He brings security, acceptance, and significance that only He can fully offer.

I AM SECURE

Romans 8:1-2         I am free from condemnation

Romans 8:28          I am assured that all things work together for good

Romans 8:31-34     I am free from condemnation charges against me

Romans 8:35-39     I cannot be separated from the love of God

2 Cor. 1:21-22        I have been established, anointed and sealed by God

Col. 3:3                   I am hidden with Christ in God

Phil. 1:6                  I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me

                               will be perfected

Phil. 3:20                I am a citizen of heaven

2 Tim. 1:7               I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a 

                               sound mind

Heb. 4:16                I can find grace and mercy to help in a time of need

1 John 5:18            I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me

I AM ACCEPTED

John 1:12               I am God’s child…

John 15:15             I am Christ’s friend

Romans 5:1         I have been justified

1 Cor. 6:17            I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him

1 Cor. 6:19, 20      I have been bought with a price.  I belong to God.

1 Cor. 12:27          I am a member of Christ’s body.

Eph. 1:1                 I am a saint

Eph. 1:5                 I have been adopted as God’s child

Eph. 2:18               I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit

Col. 1:14                I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins

Col. 2:10                I am complete in Christ

  

I AM SIGNIFICANT

Matt. 5:13,14         I am the salt and light of the earth

John 15:5               I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life

John 15:16             I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit

Acts 1:8                  I am a personal witness of Christ.

1 Cor. 3:16             I am God’s temple.

2 Cor. 5:17-21       I am a minister of reconciliation for God

2 Cor. 6:1               I am God’s co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9)

Eph. 2:6                  I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm.

Eph. 2:10                I am God’s workmanship

Eph. 3:12                I may approach God with freedom and confidence

Phil. 4:13                 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Verses By Neil Anderson

We have been given a new identity because of the baby in the manger this Christmas.   We only need to kneel at the cross to find His answers to all that we need in our hearts.

Pastor Terry

Reflections:

1)  What area of identity tends to be most important (accomplishments, appearance, or accumulations)?

2) Which area of Christ offer speaks to you the strongest (security, acceptance, or significance)?