Jesus chooses and designs a better life for you.

Do you believe this is really true?

Life Jesus is just dying to save you, lead you, and love you. Are you dying to believe him, follow him, and trust him with everything you've got?  Here is a sequence of statements Jesus made that will inspire your commitment to him today. "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead" (Matthew 8:22). Jesus confronts disordered love, when one of his followers excuses himself because of his father's funeral.  He either needed to plan it or participate in it. Whatever the circumstances, Jesus knew them, knew the man's conditional commitment better than the man knew it himself, then called him out. Because Jesus wanted the man to truly live, with more life than his earthly father or family could give him. Do you believe this? What do you love so much in your life that it holds you back from Jesus? What occupies your thoughts? What ignites your fears? What takes your time and attention? "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25). This is more of a promise than a command. Notice the "will" in Jesus' words. He is saying that there is a life waiting for you, and you will not find it if you choose it or design it. You will—WILL—find it if you don't choose it and instead Jesus chooses it for you. You will live it fully if Jesus designs it for you. By the way, Jesus did for you exactly what he is asking you to do for him. "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (John 10:17,18). No matter where you are in your life, Jesus has a place for you in his. And it is out of this world. His crucified life sacrificed everything for you. His resurrected life guarantees you a new life forgiven of past mistakes, a chance to start over again, and a hopeful future. So follow him more than anything. PRAYER: Dear Jesus, no matter where I am in my life, you have a place for me in yours. You choose it and design it for me better than I ever could. Give me the faith to find it and follow you. Amen. FURTHER MEDITATION: Spend time today and over the weekend in Matthew chapter 8.  Before reading, say a prayer, asking for God to grant you new understanding and appreciation for what he wants you to learn.  Read it all the way through. Mentally note anything you are noticing. Read through it again, and meditate on this: What are the people in need looking for in life? How does Jesus respond to them (as in, pay attention to the things Jesus does and says to draw them closer to his life of grace, forgiveness, and healing)? Daron Lindemann Pastor Daron pastordaron@crosslifepf.org 512-808-6052 Copyright © 2019 CrossLife Church, All rights reserved.

Who is filled with the Spirit?

And how to avoid uncontrolled living.

Filled with the Spirit Joshua, the courageous commander of Israel, was filled with the Spirit (Deuteronomy 34:9). The powerful prophet Micah was filled with the Spirit (Micah 3:8). John the Baptist—and both of his parents—were filled with the Spirit (Luke 1:15,41,67). The disciples who spoke in different languages on Pentecost were filled with the Spirit (Acts 2:4).  The crowds who heard these disciples speaking in unfamiliar languages accused them of drunken gibberish. Peter refuted quickly and clearly,"These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning" (Acts 2:15)! To be filled with the Spirit is to be under the influence of God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the divine Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). To be intoxicated with the Holy Spirit so that your impulses, decisions and actions are not totally under your own control anymore.  Get the picture of comparison? The Bible drives it home further, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). "Debauchery" means "wild or uncontrolled living." Alcohol, which is a depressant, deadens part of the rational brain. It loosens a person's grasp on realities like common sense, or even fearful circumstances or pain. Basically, the happiness (and the foolishness) a person experiences when they are drunk comes because they are less aware of reality.  The Holy Spirit, however, makes us more aware of reality. The Holy Spirit tightens our grip on what is really true. The happiness (and the "foolishness") we experience when we are filled with the Spirit is because we are not in control. The truth is in control. God's character and his promises are true, but more than true. The become very real to us. "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Romans 8:16).  NOTE: I don't believe drinking alcohol is wrong or a sin. I don't believe that anyone who drinks alcohol is a drunk or unfaithful to God. Jesus created wine for a wedding reception. But I do believe that alcohol has power in multiple ways, over time, to control anyone. Even Christians. Even those who aren't clinically addicted.  There is a greater power than alcohol, however, and when that power is being filled with the Spirit, then the need for alcohol will be replaced with the need for the Spirit.  Being filled with the realities of God's grace, of joyful confidence, of peaceful forgiveness, of strength to say no, and all the other "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22) becomes more important than a drink. When that is real and true and consistent in your life, you can drink responsibly. Be thoughtful, prayer-ful, and careful about those choices. The Spirit is willing and able to help. PRAYER: Holy Spirit, God and Lord, fill me up with the realities of your grace, power, forgiveness and peace. Whatever threatens these in my life, take away for the good of my soul. Amen. FURTHER MEDITATION: I recently heard Christian pastor, author and speaker Max Lucado talk about being filled with the Spirit. He compared it to a hand fitting into a glove. The glove takes the shape of the hand, the hand does not take the shape of the glove. So, the Holy Spirit is the hand and you are the glove. Meditate on this. Ask some reflective questions, such as, "What kind of glove do I picture? Where do I need to let the Spirit shape me? How am I trying to be the hand instead of the glove?" Read Galatians 5:22 and rejoice that the Spirit wants to fill you with these.    Daron Lindemann Pastor Daron pastordaron@crosslifepf.org 512-808-6052 Copyright © 2019 CrossLife Church, All rights reserved.

How is the Bible rated?

These reviews say a lot.

God's Word About God's Word Finish this statement with the first description that comes to your mind: God's Word is ___________. What if I'd ask you to come up with 65 more descriptions? Could you? I think I might be able to offer a couple dozen, maybe, on a good day. Today I'd like to share with you a list of 66 words that describe the Bible. And here's the amazing part of it. These descriptions are found in the Bible itself. God giving us his word about God's Word.  Therefore, these descriptions are infallibly true. Each is a five-star testimony to the greatness, the completeness, the promise and power of God's Word. You cannot find a more reliable source for a review than the perfect and holy God himself. And there's more. The 66 descriptions represent all 66 books of the Bible—one description from each book. They are listed in a blog by Jared Wilson. You can find it here https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/jared-c-wilson/bible-says-book-book/.  When you read, keep in mind that these verses are describing God's Word. They will help you even more appreciate God's Word and its impact in your life. PRAYER: Dear God, you are committed to clear communication. You don't leave me guessing about life's most important questions. Open my eyes and heart to your life-giving and life-changing words in the Bible. Amen. FURTHER MEDITATION: Proceed through this list of the Bible's own descriptions of itself, book by book. As you do, give special attention to the different synonyms for God's Word, for example, "Scripture, laws, revelation," etc.    Daron Lindemann Pastor Daron pastordaron@crosslifepf.org 512-808-6052 Copyright © 2019 CrossLife Church, All rights reserved.

Little change

makes a big difference.

Small Changes Seeds growing. Learning to use a Mac. Growing in faith. Understanding another person's love language. Hearts mending. Fixing up a house.  These things take time. And our eternal God has a lot of it compared to us mortals. So take an inventory of how God has worked in your life so far. More by spoonfuls than truckloads, right? Little change. More by the 10,000 small moments you experienced, small decisions you made, and small promises you believed than by the magnanimous, life altering drama. Even if tragedy struck you, or you got married or moved or made a baby, that drama is encompassed in the thousands of little things. Moses saw the burning bush and led 2 million people to the promised land, but only after the small moments like his mother repeatedly whispering in his ear the promises of the Lord.  David conquered Goliath, but only after the small moments like knocking a lizard off of a log with his slingshot, and then a coyote, and then a lion and a bear—small change compared to a pagan giant mocking God.  You might be missing God's whisper if you're waiting for his thunder. You might be scared of the giant because you haven't dealt with the lizard. Let's say to our God, like Moses, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom … Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:12,14). That sounds a lot more like God's constant dripping of grace than a mountain top experience, doesn't it? God's work in your life is much more like compounding interest than winning the lottery. An investment.  I make most purchases with cash, but don't like dealing with coins jostling around in my pockets. So I don't carry around spare change. When I get home from the store, I empty out my change into a "change cup" in my drawer. Every couple months, that cup gets full and my wife takes them to the bank. I'm always surprised by how much money all that little change makes! Rejoice in the big work of all the little blessings and changes God works in your life!  PRAYER: Dear Jesus, you promised that faith as small as a seed is powerful enough to move a mountain. Inspire my faith to believe in the value of little changes in my spiritual life that will make a big difference. Amen. FURTHER MEDITATION: Meditate on Psalm 90 today. It's 17 verses. Read a verse, reflect for a few seconds, and then say a short prayer based on that verse, using our PRAY acronym. Let that verse inspire you to Praise God, to Repent in confession over a sin, to Ask God for something related to that verse, or to Yield to his work in faith. 17 verses with reflection and short prayers should take less than 17 minutes. Ready … go!   Daron Lindemann Pastor Daron pastordaron@crosslifepf.org 512-808-6052 Copyright © 2019 CrossLife Church, All rights reserved.

Are dump trucks really not responsible

if their gravel hits your windshield?

That's Your Problem "Not responsible for gravel projectiles smashing your windshield." That's what the sign on the back of the dump truck said. Or something like that. All I know is that every time I read those warnings on trucks hauling gravel, I have this discussion with myself: "Could it really be true that if any gravel from that truck damages my vehicle, the owner of the truck would not be responsible? Maybe I could hang a sign on my backside when I'm having a bad day that says, 'Not responsible for sarcastic putdowns or rude behavior caused by anger, irritability, or stress.'" As unfair as we think it is for a gravel trucker to claim that we are responsible for his unsafe hauling, well, we do the same thing when we make others responsible for our bad habits, hangups, and hurts.  After the very first sin when Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, she blamed Adam. Then Adam blamed God. And it's been going on ever since. Nobody is responsible for your sins, your mistakes, and your problems except you. The sooner you admit that, the sooner you'll be free from them. How does that make you free?  When you make your sins somebody else's problem, you think you've dealt with it. You've released the responsibility to another person. But that poses two problems. First of all, they may not know about this handoff. Secondly, even if you both know about it, that person can't remove the responsibility of your sin. The guilt. The shame. The price to be paid. "No one can redeem the life of another" (Psalm 49:7).  When you own your sins, then you quickly realize they're too much for you to handle. The burden is too great. So very true! God didn't create people with the ability to bear such responsibility.  So, if my friends, teammates, neighbors, coworkers, parents, or other drivers on the road can't take responsibility for my problems … and if I can't handle my problems … where is the hope? how can I be free? Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the tree … by his wounds you have been healed." Jesus is the only one who can make your sins, mistakes, and problems his responsibility. And the only one who will. All the time. Whether gravel or a pebble or a boulder that just won't move, Jesus will take it. And break it. Just like his tomb when he burst out of it alive. You're free! Now what? "Die to sins and live for righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). Find a way to haul your own gravel more safely. No need for any signs making others responsible for your problems. They're already taken care of by Jesus. And you're going to show others how true that really is. PRAYER: Jesus, you owned my worst problem of sin so that I am not burdened by guilt. Thank you for freeing and forgiving me, so that I can own all my other problems without fear. Amen. FURTHER MEDITATION: Read 1 Peter 2:18-25. It's part of a longer section where the apostle writes about faithful service in the callings where God has placed us in life, including citizens or even slaves. He points out that slaves may have a problem with their master. He encourages slaves to own this problem. This seems unfair, but what good comes out of it? How does it compare to an unfair problem in your life right now?   Daron Lindemann Pastor Daron pastordaron@crosslifepf.org 512-808-6052 Copyright © 2019 CrossLife Church, All rights reserved.

Jesus goes church shopping.

He's looking for these 4 features.

Jesus Would Join This Church It's been rewarding to knock on doors in Pflugerville and talk to people. Some people are willing to spend a little time sharing what they are looking for in a church. And they graciously allow me to tell them about mine. So I imagined what the conversation would be like if I knocked on a door, and Jesus answered, and I got the chance to talk to him about church. What would he be looking for? Would he join my church?  One of the New Testament books of the Bible—Ephesians—says a lot about church life. Its main message is this: Church is much more about Jesus and his gifts to us than about us and our needs.  Don't get me wrong. Through the church, Jesus fills a lot of people's needs. But there is often a difference between what I want the church to do and what Jesus needs the church to do. Consider these: GOD'S GRACE—Like everyone on this planet, especially in America, we are consumers. And we have choices about IOS or Android, paper or plastic, dine-in or delivery. We like to have choices about church, too. But the most important choice for our lives isn't one that we make, but one that God makes. He chooses to love, save and forgive people who don't deserve it.  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). Jesus would join a church that prioritizes and preaches God's saving grace. When you find this kind of church, it is a gift of Jesus to you much more than you are a gift to it. OUR GROUP—Jesus has existed in eternity, along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, as a three-in-one God. He wants church to be a community, a family, a group united in spiritual harmony. Discover the strength, warmth, and hope of a group of friends at church, like a family.  As a church, believers are "fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:19,20). MY GROWTH—Church is like a hospital. You can come here to recover, to find healing. Church is like a gym. You can come here and become better fit for life. Church is like a school. You can come here and learn more about God, how to pray, and what the Bible says about parenting.  Jesus loves spiritual building projects that take place in every person's heart, faith and life, "being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). AND GRIT—Life is hard. Sometimes harder than we'd like. Where do you find the street smarts to know what to do, and the strength to do it? How do you deal with your bad habits and hangups? Jesus wants church to toughen you up, to give you a grit—spiritual resiliency—to bend but not break.  The apostle Paul, who wrote Ephesians as a letter from prison, courageously states, "I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles … ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you" (Ephesians 3:1,13). If you find it hard to serve or sing or contribute or converse at your church, it can be a good thing. Jesus may be teaching you grit. PRAYER: Dear Jesus, you bless people through the church, and want church to be a blessing to me. Guide me to enjoy a church that offers what is important to you, by making it important to me. Amen. FURTHER MEDITATION: Paul prays for the church in Ephesians 3:14-21. Read these words carefully, and ask Jesus to help you find the four features outlined above—grace, group, growth and grit. Where do these appear in Paul's prayer? What is Paul asking for, in prayer, about each? Repeat or paraphrase his prayer, and make it your own.   Daron Lindemann Pastor Daron pastordaron@crosslifepf.org 512-808-6052 Copyright © 2019 CrossLife Church, All rights reserved.

Why do I struggle with sin?

And where is God in this struggle?

Set Free Every human is naturally sinful with original sin. The Bible refers to this as our flesh (Psalm 51:5, John 3:6).  But every believer is born again, programmed with a new spirit that adds a second operating system, really. The Bible calls this the new self, or the spirit (with a small "s" see Romans 8).  But here's the deal. This second operating system deletes the first, natural operating system of sin, but then it stays in the "deleted items" trash folder of our heart and has a life of its own where it comes creeping back into our operating system like an undetected virus. All. The. Time.  Multiple times a day we ask questions like, "When will I conquer this sin?" "How can I keep doing this when I know it's wrong?" "Why can't I keep my internal promises that I make to be a better person?" In short, the Christian life is a struggle we don't want. Here is something really important: the struggle is a good thing.  If you are struggling, it's like taking a professional development class. Extra hours, extra work, saying no to some fun because you need to study, and discovering how much you don't know. Ugh! You could have avoided it all by just coasting through your job like everyone else. So the Christian life is a struggle. A good struggle. As you walk with Jesus and explore new growth, new opportunities, and new functions of your faith, the discoveries will be jaw-dropping, the wisdom and insight will be exponential, the intimacy with God and relational closeness in everyday life a higher level of loving and sharing. And in the effort itself—the journey—you will find a holy path of right choices that are good, and feel good.  Where is God in this struggle?  He says "no" to the curse and control of sin before you do. He promises that as you try, and fail, he won't punish you. He already punished his own Son, Jesus. He promises that sin isn't your master and can't bully you—unless you let it. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1,2). PRAYER: Dear God the Holy Spirit, create in me a birth of new, spiritual life every day. As my new life struggles against sin, be my strength and wisdom. In mercy, forgive me when I fail, and set me free again, as free as the wind. Amen. FURTHER MEDITATION: Read all of Romans 8. This is a big assignment, so give it time. Slow down. Bible translators have their own struggle, not always sure whether to translate the Greek word for "spirit" to be our new self (small "s" spirit) or God the Holy Spirit (capital "s" Spirit). Sometimes it is clear, but many times it is not. So pause when you read the word "spirit" or "Spirit." Meditate on this question, "Why did translators choose this form of the word here? What if it were the other one, would it be true, right, and mean something insightful for me?"   Daron Lindemann Pastor Daron pastordaron@crosslifepf.org 512-808-6052 Copyright © 2019 CrossLife Church, All rights reserved.