MOVING FORWARD - pastor mike landry

HE IS ALIVE!

"When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins. He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross." Colossians 2:13-14 (NCV)

"For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:10-11 (HCSB)

GO TELL SOMEBODY!

The day after. What looked to be a journey of new hopes and dreams have now been destroyed. Everybody is gone. There’s no more laughter. You just can’t feel any worse than this.

The day after Good Friday has no semblance of being good. Jesus has been murdered. He’s gone! His followers are now in hiding and wallowing in a great deep funk. Now what are they suppose to do? Is life even worth living without Him? Those were just a few of the questions being asked. And it made them even more depressed the more they thought about it.

Some were saying that He still might come back…you know, like be raised from the dead. Those who said that were just living in denial of what had happened – right? But didn’t Jesus even say he would be killed and raised from the dead in 3 days? Ahhh, he couldn’t have meant that…or could he?

Think about it – Good Friday is associated with the day that Jesus Christ was falsely accused, tortured, and condemned and executed on a Cross. What in the world could be so GOOD about that?

While you’re thinking, let me give you three reasons.

1. Good Friday is the day God shouts out, “You are extremely valuable to Me.”

Jesus said that the reason He came to earth was to die for us and rescue us from our sin. (Mark 10:32-34) The Psalmist said, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14) Good Friday is GOOD because it is the day when God demonstrates how valuable we are to Him by paying the supreme sacrifice to redeem us.

2. Good Friday is the day God shouts out, “I love you.”

Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave is only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Good Friday is GOOD because it demonstrates the depth of God’s love for us.

3. Good Friday is the day God shouts, “Enough is enough.”
The reason Jesus had to die was because of our sin and how it separates us from God. Death is the mandatory sentence for sin. When Jesus hung on the cross, He said “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Literally those words mean, “It is now paid in full.” Good Friday is GOOD because it is the day when the debt was fully paid for our sin. All that’s left is for us to accept the payment that was made on our behalf.

GOOD FRIDAY was really a GOOD FRIDAY!

I just received an emergency email from a good friend of mine in Moldova requesting prayer. Valeriu Ghiletchi was just elected to the Parliament of Moldova. He is an evangelical Christian and former president of the Moldovan Baptist Union. This is miraculous in and of itself since the country’s leaders are predominantly communist.

Valeriu desires to use his influence as a follower of Christ among those who are the most influential in Moldova. The recent developments are alarming but could also prove to open doors that would never open under other circumstances. Please pray! Below is the email I received

Dear friends, Street protests erupted today in Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova. The demonstrations are a result of the huge disappointment that many people felt after the announcement of the final election results. The President and Parliament buildings have been vandalized. At this moment the Parliament building is under fire. The situation is out of control. Police withdrew from these buildings. Political leaders of the opposition met with the power, but so far the conflict has not been resolved. I addressed the protesters a public message in which I invited them to pray, have peace and faith in Christ. Our churches are engaged in prayer today. Toma Magda, the European Baptist Federation President, who is in Moldova these days, and myself urge you to pray for peace and stopping of violence. Pray also for me, so I can play a peace making role and be a witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these crucial days for our nation. Valeriu Ghiletchi

I’ve started blogging and tweeting. I even have a FaceBook page. Why in the world would I start adding things like that to my plate? Isn’t pastoring a multi-campus church in South Florida enough to keep me busy? The answer to that question is definitely YES. But I’m always looking for ways to help me improve and develop as a Pastor.

When I started tweeting and blogging, I kept wondering if it was a waste of time. The learning curve took me a while to see any kind of value. But now that I’ve used Twitter for about 8 months and blogged for 3 months I’ve come to the conclusion that both have added greatly to my effectiveness as a pastor. I have been amazed at the feedback.

Here’s the bottom line. Transparency and authenticity are more than current buzzwords. People want to know if what they hear from their pastor is for real. They want to believe what they’re taught from the Bible, but it’s hard when they don’t see examples of people actually living out these truths. Tweeting and Blogging are great ways to demonstrate the daily practicalities of Biblical Truth. It’s like supplementing the weekly sermon with daily illustrations from your life. The pastor gets to actually model it. Sometimes as a good example; and sometimes not.

Pastors need to be true to their calling and preach and teach the Bible. But we also need to find ways to practically demonstrate through our lives those things we preach and teach. Tweeting (using Twitter) a few times a day helps others see how we interact with our circumstances and the people we meet. It’s like adding a living commentary to the things you’ve been teaching. What a great way to apply personally, for others to see, the Biblical truths you and I believe. Some would call that MENTORING.

Warning though! You don’t want to just tweet whatever thoughts come to your mind. You want to use discretion, be wise, and constructive. Never forget that you are modeling behavior that you would want others to learn from or imitate. Be sure to keep asking yourself, “How can what I just saw or thought apply to a Biblical principle I’ve learned?” or “Am I speaking the truth in love?” or “Would this really help somebody?”

I think if this technology was available to the Apostle Paul, he would have used it. That’s one thing I think he was saying in his letter to the church at Philippi.

“Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.” Phil 3:17 (HCSB)