Blessed Are the Compassionate

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” — Matthew 5:7

Normally, when we think of mercy, we think of withholding someone’s just punishment. Our 5-year-old deserves a swat, but in mercy … we only give him a scolding. We deserve a ticket after blowing through a stop sign, but in mercy … the police officer lets us off with only a warning. A convicted felon deserves three years in prison, but in mercy … the judge only gives probation.

That’s normally the kind of thing we think of when we hear the word mercy. But that’s not what Jesus focuses on in Matthew 5:7 when he says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” As he delivers this fifth beatitude in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ main focus in is on active kindness and compassion shown to the poor and the hurting.

In Matthew 9:27, two blind men called out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” They desperately needed a healing. So, they cried out for mercy … and Jesus gave them mercy.

In Matthew 15:22, a woman whose son was demon-possessed cried out to Jesus, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” And of course, Jesus did. In Matthew 17:15 a father whose son suffered greatly from seizures knelt at Jesus’ feet and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son.” And once again, Jesus did.

Time and time again, Jesus showed compassion, kindness and mercy to those who were poor and hurting. And he did this because mercy is one of God’s greatest character traits. Psalm 103:8 says: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8). “The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made” (Psalm 145:9). “[God’s] mercies never fail. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23). And because mercy is one of God’s greatest character traits, heaven is full of mercy. So, as you and I are called to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth, one of the most important things that God calls us to bring to our corner of the world is—you guessed it—mercy.

We must show that we are followers of our heavenly Lord by extending undeserved mercy to those around us. I emphasize the word “undeserved” because mercy—by definition—is ALWAYS undeserved. How can you possibly give a second chance to those around you who don’t deserve a second chance? Because Jesus gave YOU a second chance when you didn’t deserve it. How can you find the time and energy to show compassion and mercy to the broken people around you? Because Jesus showed YOU compassion and mercy when you were broken. How can you muster the motivation to help a homeless man who smells like urine, or a family member who does nothing but complain, or a freeloader friend who doesn’t even say, “Thank you”? You can do it because you know that Jesus showed you kindness and mercy when you smelled bad, complained and were ungrateful.

Pastor John Piper says it so well: “Mercy comes from mercy. Our mercy to each other comes from God’s mercy to us…. The key to becoming a merciful person is to become a broken person. You get the power to show mercy from the real feeling in your heart that you owe everything you are and have to sheer divine mercy. Therefore, if we want to become merciful people, it is imperative that we cultivate a view of God and ourselves that helps us to say with all our heart that every joy and virtue … of our lives is owing to the free and undeserved mercy of God.”

If we are followers of Jesus Christ, you and I have both stepped out from under the storm clouds of heaven to be bathed in the mercy of God. And everyone in your little corner of the world needs to experience that same slice of heaven: to be bathed in God’s mercy—through you. Our world needs less of our judgment and more of our mercy. Our world needs less of us giving people what they deserve and more of giving people what they don’t deserve: kindness, forgiveness, and compassion.

In Christ’s kingdom, poor and hurting people are a higher priority than us getting enough sleep. Poor and hurting people are a higher priority than eating three square meals a day. And poor and hurting people are a higher priority than our precious schedules. Showing Christ’s mercy to poor and hurting people will cost you—a lot. But show them mercy anyway. And as we do, guess what? What goes around comes around. As we forgive others, God will forgive us. And as we give others undeserved kindness and mercy, God will give us undeserved kindness and mercy. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service tomorrow at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Jesus Is Mighty God

  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  – Isaiah 9:6

Wow! That was fast, wasn’t it? If any part of 2020 could be considered short, it was the Christmas season. I hope you were able to bask in the enjoyment of the Christmas lights, the music, the movies, the gifts. All of those things are a fun part of the season, and they were much needed this year. But most of all, I hope that Christ was at the center of your Christmas celebration.

While Christmas 2020 is on the books, the Christ of Christmas is eternal. So, I’d like to spend just a little more time contemplating the nature of Jesus, foretold in Isaiah 9:6: our “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The second title of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, “Mighty God,” highlights Jesus’ power.

“Mighty” is a translation of the Hebrew word “Gibbor,” which is defined as “strength; power; hero; warrior.” Isaiah 9:6 tells us that Jesus is El Gibbor: the God of Strength, the God of Power, God our Hero, and God our Warrior. Do you need strength in your life? Do you need a hero to deliver you? Do you need a warrior to help you fight and win your battles? Jesus is your man, because Jesus is El Gibbor—Mighty God. The New Testament confirms that Jesus is, in fact, the mighty, all-powerful God who created the universe. “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). And “all things were created by him and for him…and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17).

So, how should you and I respond to our Mighty God, Jesus Christ?

1. You should TRUST our Mighty God. It’s not enough to just believe in Jesus Christ. You have to trust in him. After all, Satan believes in Jesus, but he refuses to trust in Jesus. As a consequence, he will never experience the power of Jesus’ goodness and grace. Jesus Christ isn’t just wise enough to give you the solutions to your problems; he is strong enough to carry out those solutions. He is strong enough to deliver you from your problems, strong enough to heal you from your diseases, and strong enough to save you from your sins. So, trust him. Jesus Christ is mighty to save.

2. You should LOVE our Mighty God. When Jesus was asked in Matthew 22:36, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the [Old Testament] Law?” Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” And how exactly do we do that? Well, remember that love is not an emotion, although it includes emotions. Love is a choice. Love is a decision. Love is an action. We choose to love Jesus Christ by spending time in his word and in prayer every day. And the number-one way we can show our love to Jesus Christ is by obeying Jesus Christ. We must do what he says. Jesus tells us plainly in John 14:15: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

3. You should SERVE our Mighty God. One of the greatest Christians in the New Testament was the Apostle Paul. He was a great leader in the Church. But more than anything else, he just wanted to be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. He wanted at the end of his life to hear Jesus speak to him those six glorious words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Paul understood that Jesus came to earth as a baby not to be served, but to SERVE. And Paul urges us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as a servant. As he wrote in Philippians 2:5-8, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant … he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

Jesus Christ was born here on earth to be the lowest of the low, to be the servant of servants, because he loved us and wanted to set an example of how we should humbly serve each other. But make no mistake about it: Jesus Christ is our Mighty, All-powerful God. He is our God Warrior. He is our God Hero.

There is no obstacle in your life too big for Him to move. There is no disease in your body that is too advanced for Him to cure. And there is no sin in your life that is too sinful for Him to forgive. As you trust, love and serve him, you can stand and say with the Apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). What a Mighty God we serve!

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service tomorrow at 10 a.m. at greaterimpact.cc, on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church), or on Facebook. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

 

Me and My Big Mouth!

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

- Proverbs 18:21

I can only remember one time in my life when I was slapped by a girl. I was a senior in high school, and there was a certain sophomore girl who was looking for a boyfriend, and for some reason she set her sights on me. I wasn’t interested, so when I found out that my friend Rusty liked her, I opened my big mouth and gave him her phone number. This might not have been a big deal were it not for the fact that most girls found Rusty to be…well, less than a catch. He was socially awkward, and, honestly, he looked like a younger version of Orville Redenbacher.

Well, the following Sunday as I was standing in front of the youth room at church, the girl in question spotted me from across the parking lot. She walked up to me, called me a name that I can’t repeat in The Daily Press, and smacked me upside the head. As far as slaps go, It was a “10 out of 10.” Excellent form, good follow-through, and a large red mark on my cheek to prove it happened. As a 17-year-old high school student, I learned a very important lesson: My mouth can get me into a whole lot of trouble.

Nowhere is this lesson made more clear than in the New Testament book of James, chapter 3. In verses 2-12, James paints a vivid picture of how influential and powerful our tongues really are. In fact, he teaches us that our tongues are powerful in three key ways.

#1: OUR TONGUES HAVE THE POWER TO DIRECT (vs2-4). Just as a one-pound bit in the mouth of a one-thousand-pound horse can direct him wherever the rider wants to go, our two-ounce tongues have the power to steer and direct our entire lives. James is very honest with us in these verses. He basically says, Hey, Christians! Face the facts. We’re all screw-ups. Every one of us stumbles in many ways, not least of which is with our mouth. In fact, whenever you reach a point where you can successfully keep your big mouth in check, you’ll be able to keep the rest of your body in check as well. Because as goes the mouth, so goes the body.

#2: OUR TONGUES HAVE THE POWER TO DESTROY (vs5-8). James gives us an illustration to convey the destructive power of the tongue: he compares it to a single spark. Do you remember the Ranch Fire? In the summer of 2018, the Ranch Fire destroyed 410,203 acres across four counties in northern California. It was the largest wildfire in California history. Do you know how the fire began? It began with a single spark that flew from a hammer as a man was driving a metal stake into the ground. Isn’t that remarkable? A single spark grew into the largest fire in California history.

Similarly, a single sentence—even a single word—can destroy countless lives. Consider this: Adolf Hitler’s manifesto, Mein Kampf, contains 153,750 words and takes the average reader about ten hours to read. Someone has calculated that for every single word in Hitler’s toxic book, 125 lives were snuffed out by the Nazis during World War II. How tragic! Over the course of human history, hateful words have caused wars and destroyed nations. We know this! But we tend to think that our tongues can’t do nearly as much damage. Well, don’t be so sure.

#3: OUR TONGUES HAVE THE POWER TO DEFILE (vs9-12). In verse 10, James offers a strong rebuke to every Christian with a mouth: “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” Point well taken! We shouldn’t be singing praises to God with our mouths on a Sunday morning and dropping “F-bombs” with these same mouths an hour later when someone cuts us off on the drive home. We shouldn’t be saying, “God bless you!” to strangers one minute and saying, “I can’t stand you!” to our family members the next.

Just like on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), God desires to set our tongues on fire for His purposes with the flames of heaven. But far too often we allow our tongues to recklessly burn with the fires of hell. And when we do, a few seconds of hell-bent language can completely defile days, weeks, even years of good, heaven-bent language. Consider how many marriages have been destroyed by a few hateful words and how many people have left churches because of a few careless comments.

But there is good news. If we allow God to take the reins of our tongues every day, He can use our tongues for great good. Our tongues can be used to speak peace, kindness, and hope into the lives of others. And if God holds the reins of our tongue, He can help us keep our big mouths shut so that we don’t defile the good things that we’ve already said and done.

In closing, let me be bold enough to suggest that you incorporate the following twelve life-giving words into your vocabulary every day. These are twelve of the most God-honoring words that could ever come out of your mouth: PLEASE and THANK YOU. These three words never grow old. Use them every day. I’M SORRY. Don’t be stubborn. Let God use your tongue to sincerely apologize and bring healing to the relationships you’ve strained or broken. YOU ARE LOVED. Whether you’re talking to a family member or a stranger, everyone needs to know that God loves them. I’M PRAYING FOR YOU. Don’t just say, “I’ll pray for you.” Make it immediate. Make it definite.

Yes, your tongue can cause a whole lot of damage. But, praise God, in the hands of God it can do a whole lot of good—more good than you’ll ever know. 

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service Sundays at 9:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd., Victorville, or on Facebook Live at www/facebook.com/greaterimpactcc. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Strangers on Earth

“All these people … did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.” - Hebrews 11:13

Last year the movie “I Can Only Imagine” took Hollywood by storm. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should. The film is closely based on the life story of Bart Millard, lead singer of the Christian band Mercy Me, and how he came to write the double platinum song “I Can Only Imagine,” the most popular Christian single of all time.

During Bart’s childhood, his dad, Arthur, was, in Bart’s words, “a monster.” Bart’s dad had a nasty habit of losing his temper over the smallest things, and when he flew into a rage, Bart was his punching bag. During Bart’s childhood, Arthur beat him over and over and over again. But when Bart was a high school freshman, Arthur was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Around that same time, he gave his life to Jesus Christ, and Arthur was absolutely transformed by the power of Christ.

Bart’s dad died on my 18th birthday: November 11, 1991. Seven years later as Bart was thinking about his dad—completely healed and forgiven in heaven—it only took him about 10 minutes to write the words to this amazing song. As Bart Millard wrote those lyrics, he was doing what the word of God says every man and woman of faith should do: Fix our thoughts on heaven.

Hebrews 11 tells us about several great men and women of faith. We read that they did not consider this world to be their home: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth” (vs. 13). Or, as the Living Bible translation puts it, “they agreed that this earth was not their real home but that they were just strangers visiting down here.” That’s such a great way to put it!

I’d like to share with you three powerful insights from this verse about true faith:

Faith Insight #1: True faith keeps living even as our bodies are dying. Except for Enoch, who was taken straight to heaven without dying, every faith hero was still “living” by faith when he or she died. In other words, true Bible faith is unfazed by death. You see, your faith is something that involves your physical body but is not tied to your physical body. It resides deep in your soul and spirit. And since your soul and spirit never die, neither does your faith. If you are a man or woman of faith, when your body dies, your faith will live on.

Faith Insight #2: True faith sees and welcomes God’s fulfilled promises even when those promises haven’t been seen or fulfilled yet. God promised Abraham and his family the land of Canaan, but Abraham died before his family took possession of it. God promised Moses that he would lead his people to the promised land, but Moses never got to live in that land himself. As the world looks at these men, it might say that their faith was in vain. What they believed would come to pass didn’t come to pass until after they were dead, so it seems like a waste. If the world only knew how foolish that reasoning is! Faith in God is NEVER in vain! Faith in God is NEVER a waste! If you only live for what you yourself can see and experience, when your body dies, your impact on this world will also die. But if you live by faith, your influence and impact in this world will carry on long after your body is in the grave.

Faith Insight #3: True faith admits that we are strangers and temporary residents on Earth. Our true home is in heaven. My favorite part of Hebrews 11:13 is the final part: “And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.” If you’re a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, did you know that you’re an alien here on earth? You might not have green skin, gigantic eyes or an antenna, but you are an alien. This is NOT your home planet, is it? Heaven is. If you are a faith-walking believer and follower of Jesus Christ, here on earth you are a temporary resident, and you are really, really strange. You don’t think like the world. You don’t talk like the world. You don’t act like the world. Your priorities are different. The way you handle tragedy AND success is different. They way you handle death is different. There’s no doubt about it. If you are a man or woman of faith, you’re a space cadet here on earth!

If you’re a true follower of Christ, frankly, you’d be much happier back in your homeland. But you and I must wait—because God still has work for us to do until He calls us home. He has us here on earth—at this time and in this place—for a reason. There is so much work for us to do. There are so many lost people who need to be found so they can go to heaven too. There are so many hurting people who need to be touched by the mercy and compassion of Christ working through you and me. We dare not stop working until God calls us home! If our lives were just about you and me, we should have gone home to heaven yesterday. But since our lives are about loving and serving others, we must continue loving and serving them in faith.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our Worship Service Sundays at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

From Good to Great

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” – Matthew 20:26-27

About three months ago, I met in my office with two of our amazing staff members: Patrick, our Worship Director, and Christie, our Children’s Ministries Director. Our congregation had just voted to move our church to a more central location with a new name and new determination to make a greater impact in our community. I said to Patrick and Christie, “We do some really good ministry here at First Christian Church. But as we make this big move and launch Impact Christian Church, we need to move from good to great.”

But what is “great”? In Matthew 20, two of Jesus’ disciples learned an important lesson about what true greatness looks like in Jesus’ kingdom. James and John, using their mother as a messenger, basically asked for the two best thrones in Christ’s kingdom—one on Christ’s left and one on his right. They wanted the seats of honor and authority right next to Jesus. Now, that takes guts! And Jesus’ answer was … “No! Not gonna happen!"

You see, the path to greatness in Christ’s kingdom is much different from the path to greatness that we are accustomed to in our culture. The path to greatness in Christ’s kingdom requires sacrifice and suffering. “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” The word “cup,” as it’s used here and elsewhere in the Bible, is a metaphor for suffering. So, Jesus asked James and John, “Are you willing to sacrifice and suffer the way I’m going to sacrifice and suffer?” Both men immediately answered, “Yes.” But they had no clue how much Jesus was about to sacrifice and suffer.

Afterward, Jesus seized this teachable moment to pull all twelve of his disciples together and teach them about true greatness. His words in verses 25-28 are so important for every Christian to grasp: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus was God in human flesh. That being the case, he had every right to ask his followers to wait on him hand and foot. But he freely relinquished this right because he so loved the world that he came to seek and save the lost. Paul says it so well in Philippians 2:5-7. He writes, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Here in Matthew 20, as Jesus had his sights set on the cross, his message to his disciples was loud and clear: “I’m not asking you to serve ME. I came to earth to serve YOU.”

Most of you have probably heard the famous words spoken by President John F. Kennedy at his inauguration. He said, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” These are some of the most enduring words ever spoken by a U.S. president. But when you think about it, President Kennedy—whether he realized it or not—was basically just asking us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as citizens of this great nation.

We could just as easily apply Jesus’ instruction about serving to our marriages, to our friendships, to our work life and to our church. “Husbands, ask not what your wife can do for you. Ask what you can do for your wife.” “Wives, ask not what your husband can do for you. Ask what you can do for your husband.” How much healthier would our marriages be if we asked this question every day? “Ask not what your friends can do for you. Ask what you can do for your friends.” “Ask not what your coworkers can do for you. Ask what you can do for your coworkers.” If you and I will follow in Jesus’ footsteps and serve others without expecting them to somehow repay us for that service…it will transform our marriages, our families, our friendships, our workplaces, our church and our community.

Who would have thought that the path to greatness would be the path of serving and humility? Jesus, that’s who. The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life. As we launch Impact Christian Church, I pray that we will follow in Jesus’ footsteps. I pray that we will humbly serve each other and serve our community. As we do, there’s no doubt in my mind that we will have a greater impact in the Victor Valley for Jesus Christ. And best of all, lots of people are going to come home to Jesus.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our Worship Celebration every Sunday at 10 a.m. at the new Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Live Up to the Name “Christian”

“The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

– Acts 11:26

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is in 1 Samuel 17: the story of David and Goliath.

You know the basic details of the story. The Philistines were the archenemies of the Israelites, and their greatest warrior, Goliath, stood over nine feet tall. He was one tough hombre.

As the Philistine and Israelite armies met on the battlefield, Goliath offered the Israelites a proposal: “Instead of our armies killing each other, just choose one Israelite warrior to fight me one-on-one. If he kills me, we will become your slaves, but if I kill him, you all will become our slaves. What do you say?” Well, all of the Israelite soldiers said in unison, “No way, Jose! I’m not fighting that guy. He’s huge! He’ll squash me like a bug.” No Israelite soldier had the guts–or the faith—to face Goliath … except for a wet-behind-the ears teenager named David. David alone stepped up and accepted the challenge to fight Goliath.

David had guts. David had great faith in God. But something else I love about David is that he thought outside the box. Every Israelite soldier thought the only way to fight Goliath was in hand-to-hand combat. And they knew they were no match for Goliath. But David refused to think the way every soldier in that army thought. When fighting Goliath, he wouldn’t need a sword. He wouldn’t need a spear. He wouldn’t even need armor, because he wasn’t going to use them. With God’s help, all he needed was his trusty old sling and a smooth stone. Who says he had to have a sword fight with Goliath? He would just stand back—out of arm’s reach--and chuck a rock at his forehead. And afterwards, if he needed a sword, he would just borrow Goliath’s, since he wouldn’t be needing it anymore.

You know who won that battle. And just as David walked in faith and thought outside the box, so did Christ’s followers in the city of Antioch (see Acts 11:19-30). With a population of half a million people, the city of Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire. It had a very diverse population and a booming economy. But sadly, its citizens had a penchant for drinking, gambling and playing cat and mouse with temple prostitutes outside the city. 

Antioch was the Roman Empire’s “Sin City.” Yet it was there, in that Roman Sin City, that Jesus’ followers initiated the Church’s mission to take the gospel of Jesus Christ beyond Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, to every group of people on earth. And it was there in that Roman Sin City that Jesus’ followers were first called “Christians.” Now, Christ’s followers in Antioch didn’t receive this glorious nickname overnight. There were three distinct, out-of-the-box steps that the believers in Antioch took on the road to being called “Christians.”

Step 1: They reached out to share the message of salvation (vs19-21). In the months and years leading up to the founding of the Antioch Church, churches only shared the Gospel with people of Jewish descent. But, in God’s view, that just wasn’t going to cut it. Why? Because when Jesus told his followers that they would be his witnesses in the uttermost parts of the earth, he didn’t mean they would be his witnesses only to the Jews. He meant they would be his witnesses to everyone. The Antioch Church reached out to witness to the “Greeks” who knew next to nothing about God, Jesus, or biblical morality. And the results of their bold outreach are plain to see in verse 21: “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”

Step 2: They reached out to encourage new believers (vs22-24). The Antioch Church was very good at out-of-the-box witnessing. But that by itself wasn’t going to make them into a great church. Next they needed to reach out to encourage. And Barnabas—whose nickname means “son of encouragement”—was just the man for the job! In verse 23 we read that when Barnabas arrived at the Antioch Church, he “encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” Don’t forget: It’s one thing to see lots of people come to the Lord once. It’s quite another for large numbers of people to continue coming to the Lord day after day, week after week, month after month. I believe that without Barnabas’ encouragement and faith, the out-of-the-box evangelistic impact would not have lasted very long.

Step 3: They reached out to teach new believers (vs25-26). Barnabas realized that as well as the church in Antioch was doing, it needed more than he alone could offer. In order to take the church to the next level, Barnabas humbly set out for Tarsus to find Saul, the murderer turned evangelist. That was a trip of some 100 miles. He convinced Saul to come back with him to Antioch, and together, Barnabas and Saul taught “large numbers of people.” It wasn’t once-a-week teaching. It wasn’t light teaching. It was out-of-the-box discipleship which included solid, meaty, daily teaching. And as a result, “great numbers of people” were taught the word of God. And then and only then do we read: “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

Like Christ’s followers in Antioch, Jesus calls us to reach out to share the Good News with those who are far from Christ, to lovingly encourage young Christians, and to teach God’s word to all who will listen. We are “Christians.” And these are things that Christians do.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our Grand Opening at 10 am Sunday, October 6^th at the new Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:42 & 47

There are certain things that people say to me every once in a while that make me light up on the inside: for instance, when one of my daughters says “I love you, Daddy!” Or when someone I admire says, “Dane, I really respect you.” Those words touch me deeply. But when it comes down to it, I live for six words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Those words, spoken by Jesus at the end of my life, are the six greatest words my ears could ever hear. But how can you and I hope to hear them? This question has been on my mind lately as our church prepares to re-launch as Impact Christian Church the first week in October. And for answers, I’ve been turning to an inspiring example: the original Christian church in Jerusalem.

In Acts 2:42, we read about four of the Jerusalem church’s five top priorities: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” In a nutshell, that breaks down to: 1) studying scripture; 2) caring for and sharing with each other, or fellowship; 3) worship, including communion; and 4) prayer. A fifth priority is implied in verses 41 and 47. In verse 41, we’re told that 3,000 were added to their number in one day. And verse 47 says, “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” This reveals priority number 5: Witnessing to nonChristians.

These were the Top 5 priorities of the first church in Jerusalem, and I believe they are the top priorities for any church that aspires to impact a community for Jesus Christ. These five purposes can be summed up in three little words, which we’ve adopted as our church’s mission statement: Love. Learn. Serve.

God has called us to LOVE Him and love people. God has called us to LEARN His word and hide it in our hearts. And God has called us to SERVE Him and others. As we put those words into action at Impact Christian Church, here’s what it will look like.

Love. Most people who visit a church for the first time will visit on a Sunday morning. That’s our point of entry for people beginning their Christian walk. So the main purpose of a Sunday morning service can be summarized in that single word: Love. Sunday morning is about loving God and loving people. Every week as visitors come in, we must introduce them to the Savior who loves them, and we must give them an opportunity to accept him and begin loving him in return. For those of us who are already saved, Sunday mornings are about expressing our love to God through the worship service, as well as loving everyone who walks through the door—Christian and nonChristian alike.

Learn. The process of spiritual growth requires more than just love on Sunday mornings. It requires additional learning: learning God’s word better, learning how to be accountable to other Christians and learning how to care for others in their times of need. And this learning can best be done in a small group. So, it’s important for a church to build a small group ministry: groups of around eight to 12 people who study God’s word together each week. In the process, they will learn more about shouldering each others’ needs and ministering to other believers.

Serve. To take our spiritual growth to the next level, every Christian needs to be serving in an important ministry on a weekly basis. Examples include volunteering in the nursery, serving communion, visiting shut-ins, helping out at a food pantry, even participating in community clean-ups. Volunteer opportunities such as these are about serving. Christians can take part in a ministry area they enjoy and make a positive impact on others. And as you serve, you will grow.

At Impact Christian Church, this will be our clear path to spiritual growth. And I guarantee you this: If you follow this path, you will grow in your faith; you will develop deeper, more meaningful relationships with other Christians; and you will be used by God to serve in some very impactful ways. Best and most important of all, you will be well on your way to hearing those six words I so want Jesus to say to you one day: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of Impact Christian Church (formerly First Christian Church of Victorville). Join us for our Grand Opening at 10 am Sunday, October 6^th at the new Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Pray for Greater Impact!

“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

– Acts 2:47

In our church secretary’s office, there is a little record book. It contains the names of all the people who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior and been baptized at First Christian Church between 1925 and 2015. We ran out of pages in 2016, so our secretary bought a second book.

Last week I spent some time going through the pages, looking at the names of those who’ve given their lives to the Lord over the last 94 years. As I made my way through the years recorded in those two little books, I recognized more and more names. Many have gone to be with the Lord. Many have moved on for one reason or another. And a whole lot of them are still at the church—loving God, learning God’s word and serving Christ and our community.

It’s quite a story. Back in 1925, 55 Christians were used of God to form First Christian Church. For the next 69 years, we called downtown Victorville our home. During most of those years our church family met every Sunday in a little chapel on the corner of 6^th and B streets, a short block from the downtown movie theater. From that location, we reached many people for Jesus Christ. Last week, going through our little book, I added up the number of baptisms during the first 69 years of our church’s existence. There are probably some names missing, but I discovered that at that little church in downtown Victorville, in those 69 years, God worked through us to lead 297 people to Christ. What a blessing!

Then, in 1994, our church family made a decision that I like to describe as “a brilliant act of lunacy.” We moved to the chapel on the decommissioned George Air Force Base. It seemed like a great idea at the time: a big, beautiful chapel in an area that was surely destined for future growth. But little did we know that the once-booming residential area would turn into a dilapidated ghost town. And little did we know that a federal penitentiary would be build right down the street. We’ve never been able to get enough visitors through the front door to experience sustained growth.

But then I consider what I see in those two little books. During our first 69 years, God graciously worked through our church to save 297 souls. But in the past 25 years in the ghost town—right up the street from a federal penitentiary—God has graciously worked through our church to save 581 souls! My friends, logic can’t explain that. It’s a God Thing.

And if that’s what God has done through us in a ghost town, with very few visitors coming through the front door, I’m so excited to see what comes next. On October 6^th, FCC will become Impact Christian Church—and we’ll begin meeting at the brand new Dr. Ralph H. Baker 21^st Century Learning Center at Mojave and El Evado Roads, right in the middle of growing neighborhoods in Victorville.

Within a 5-mile radius of our current facility at George Air Force Base, we have about 12,000 neighbors. Within a 5-mile radius of our new meeting place, there are—wait for it—78,647 residents. Can you even imagine what God will do through us as we move toward the center of town? I’m no prophet, but I’ll tell you what I think. God has used our church to save 878 souls in the past 94 years. I believe God is going to use us to impact tens of thousands and save at least 1,000 souls in the next 10 years.

The founding members of this church felt led to come together with other Christians to worship God, learn God’s word, and make an impact in our community for Jesus Christ. And that story is about to enter an exciting new chapter. There are a lot of pages left in Volume Two of our baptism record book, and I can’t wait to fill them. How many lives will you impact in your next chapter?

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville and the author of "Holy Huldah: Lessons You Should Never Forget from Bible Characters You've Never Heard Of." For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com, and join us for our Worship Celebration Sundays at 10 a.m.

Is Jesus Really the Only Way?

 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment.” – Hebrews 10:26-27

Perhaps you’ve seen the movie: God’s Not Dead. The 2014 film tells the story of a first semester college student named Shane Harper who enrolls in a philosophy course and experiences a formidable challenge on the first day of class. You see, he is a committed Christian, and his professor is a militant atheist who requires every student to sign this simple statement in order to pass the class: “God is dead.” One by one, all the students in the class take out a sheet of paper and sign the statement. All of them…except for Shane. He refuses to sign it, and as a result, the professor requires him to spend the next three class sessions doing his best to prove that God’s Not Dead.

As you probably know, by many measures Christianity is on a decline in America. Fifty years ago, the overwhelming majority of Americans identified as “Christian” and considered the United States to be a Christian nation. But as much as I hate to admit it, America is a Christian nation no longer. Each year hundreds of churches close their doors. More than ever before, Christians are marginalized and criticized. A large percentage of Americans don’t believe the Bible to be God’s word. And millions of Americans—even many professed “Christians”—proclaim, “If there is a heaven, Jesus is certainly not the only way to get there.”

In this age of inclusivity and tolerance, many Christians are hesitant or embarrassed to affirm the exclusivity of the gospel. They deem it to be a huge cultural blunder to declare Christianity to be true and every other religion to be wrong. Let’s face it: We don’t like to be labeled “intolerant,” “narrow-minded” or “bigoted” by our culture. Therefore, we find ourselves second-guessing what the New Testament teaches about heaven. We think: Perhaps Christians have been too narrow-minded with their doctrine of salvation. Maybe we have misunderstood what Jesus and Scripture teach about salvation. Could it be that our belief in “Christ alone” is illogical and doesn’t stand up to intellectual scrutiny?

Allow me to share something very important that Christians everywhere need to hear—three proofs that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Proof #1: Jesus revealed it. Throughout the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Jesus reveals this truth over and over. For example, in John 3:16-17, Jesus makes it clear that he is “the” Savior from whom we receive eternal life. In John 11:25, Jesus reveals himself as the “resurrection and the life.” In Matthew 28:18, Jesus tells his followers that he has “all authority in heaven.” In other words, Jesus oversees all of heaven, even the front gate. There’s no back door, and there’s no appeal to a higher power, because Jesus is the highest power. And Jesus couldn’t have been more clear than he is in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” So, is Jesus the only way to heaven? Yes! Jesus revealed it.

Proof #2: The New Testament confirms it. Time and again, the Book of Acts and the epistles confirm that Jesus provides the only path to salvation. In Acts 4:12, when the Apostle Peter is being pressured to stop preaching in Jesus’ name, he boldly proclaims, “Salvation is found in no one else [besides Jesus], for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Paul declares in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” And according to Hebrews 10:26-27, if we reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, there is no other path to salvation. Inevitably, all those who reject Christ will have to face the music: “judgment and raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

Proof #3: Logic proves it. Once we understand that Jesus Christ and the New Testament speak in harmony regarding salvation through Christ alone, it is completely illogical for any Bible-believing Christian to come to any conclusion other than this: Jesus is the only way to heaven. Now, Christians get accused all the time of clinging to beliefs that are too narrow-minded and too exclusive. But the fact is: All truth is narrow-minded and exclusive. Think about it: The truth that “two plus two equals four” is exclusive. Basic arithmetic doesn’t allow for any other conclusion. Two plus two can never equal three, five, seventeen or 38,000. Two plus two always equals four. Every truth is equally narrow-minded. Racism is wrong. Period! First degree murder is evil. Period! Incest, rape and armed robbery are always bad. Case closed! All truth and all truth claims are exclusive, narrow-minded and intolerant. Truth couldn’t care less about being politically correct. Truth doesn’t dabble in the “touchy-feely.” Truth is truth whether we like it or not.

In our culture where a growing number of Christians are more concerned with being politically correct than biblically correct, we need to embrace and speak the truth regarding salvation and heaven. We need to lock arms with Shane Harper and boldly proclaim the gospel. Pastor John MacArthur says it well: “As long as Christians are being duped or intimidated into softening the bold claims of Christ and widening the narrow road, the church will make no headway against postmodernism. We need to recover the distinctiveness of the gospel. We need to regain our confidence in the power of God’s truth. And we need to proclaim boldly that Christ is the only true hope for the people of this world. That may not be what people want to hear…but it is true nonetheless. [Therefore,] it is all the more urgent that we rise above all voices of confusion in the world and say so.”

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville and the author of "Holy Huldah: Lessons You Should Never Forget from Bible Characters You've Never Heard Of." For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com, and join us for our Worship Celebration Sundays at 10 a.m.

The Man Who Loved His Neighbor

“And who is my neighbor?” – Luke 10:29

Back in the 1950s and ’60s, there was a popular comic strip called Pogo. Even though Pogo was an opossum, he offered some wonderful insights about life. In one strip, Pogo was sitting beside a swamp fishing. Before long, a duck swam to the shore, waddled up and sat down beside him. The duck asked, “Has you see’d my cousin? He’s migrating north by kiddy car.” Pogo responded, “By kiddy car? Why don’t he fly?” The duck said, “Oh, he’s afraid of flying. He’s afraid he’s gonna fall.” A bit perplexed, Pogo asked, “Then why don’t he swim?” The duck responded, “Oh, he never swims. When he swims he gets seasick.” In complete frustration, Pogo looked at the duck and says, “When your cousin decided to be a duck, he entered the wrong business!”

I’m curious. If Pogo looked at the life of the average Christian, what would he see, and what would he say? Would he see Christians who refuse to do the basic things that Jesus has called every Christian to do? I’m afraid he might say, “When you decided to be a Christian, you entered the wrong business!” Theologian Haddon Robinson summarized Pogo’s insights this way: “Blessed is the duck who, when he decides to be a duck, does what ducks are supposed to do!” We could say much the same thing about Christians: Blessed is the follower of Christ, who when he decides to be a follower of Christ, does what followers of Christ are supposed to do.

In Luke 10, Jesus gave one of his most memorable illustrations of what followers of Christ are supposed to do in the famous Parable of the Good Samaritan. An “expert” in the law had asked Jesus to interpret the Old Testament law, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). In Luke 10: 29, the man asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Evidently this legal eagle thought Jesus would say that his neighbor was the guy next door in his upper-middle-class neighborhood, or his fellow Jewish leader at the temple. Never in a million years would he have imagined that Jesus would single out a half-dead mugging victim as his neighbor.

You probably know the story well. A certain man was traveling alone on a dangerous road. Some robbers pounced on him, beat him up, stole his clothes and belongings, and left him for dead at the side of the road. Afterward two separate men, a priest and a Levite, came down the road and saw him lying there. But instead of helping him, each man scooted to the other side of the road and kept walking. After all, according to Jewish law, they would be deemed ceremonially unclean for a full week if they touched a man who ended up dying. Obviously, both of these religious leaders valued ceremonial cleanliness more the fate of a dying stranger. But when a lowly Samaritan came by, he had compassion on the injured man—and his actions proved it. He knelt beside the man and treated his wounds. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to the nearest inn and paid the innkeeper to take care of him for as long as needed.

After telling the story, Jesus turned to the Jewish legal expert and asked him the simple question: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The man responded, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus, in a nutshell, told him, “That’s what God means when he tells you to love your neighbor. Go and do the same thing that the Samaritan did.”

A marvelous insight can be gleaned from this parable. In the words of Chuck Swindoll: “What you ARE determines what you SEE, and what you SEE determines what you DO.” In the parable, all three men saw the half-dead man on the side of the road. But why didn’t the first two men do anything to help him? Because what we do is determined by what we see. And when they saw the man on the side of the road, they saw an inconvenience, a waste of their precious time, a blemish on their ceremonial purity.

And why did they see the man that way? Because of what they were. They were religious snobs. Their religion was all head and no heart. When their religion really could make a difference in someone’s life, they took a pass. The priest and Levite didn’t DO the right thing, because they didn’t SEE the hurting man through the eyes of Jesus. And they didn’t SEE the hurting man through the eyes of Jesus because they were not followers of Jesus. What you are determines what you see, and what you see determines what you do.

So, let me ask you: What are you? Are you a new creation in Christ? If so, you will see people as Jesus sees them. You will see them as his favorite creation, in need of his love—no matter who they are, no matter what they look like, no matter how undeserving they might seem. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ you will see every man, woman and child as your neighbor, someone who is fair game for Christ’s mercy and compassion and love to be extended through you. Like the Good Samaritan, you and I must see people the way Jesus sees people, because of what we are: faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville and the author of "Holy Huldah: Lessons You Should Never Forget from Bible Characters You've Never Heard Of." For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com, and join us for our Worship Celebration Sundays at 10 a.m.

God of the Midnight Emergencies?

“For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Luke 11:10

A woman who lived in a remote area of Wales made a big request: She asked the electric company to connect her home to the grid. It required a lot of hard work and a whole lot of money, but she finally convinced them to run power to her house. However, a few months after her power was turned on, the utility company noticed that she had barely used any electricity. They thought there must be something wrong with the hookup, so they sent a meter reader out to investigate. The serviceman came to the door and said to the woman, “We’ve just checked your meter and it doesn’t seem that you’re using much electricity. Is there a problem?” She answered, “Oh no. We’re quite satisfied. We turn the electric lights on every night so we can see to light our gas lamps, and then we switch them off again.”

What an odd thing to do! This woman missed out on many modern conveniences that could have been a big blessing to her and to her family. She had cheap, convenient light at her fingertips, but she only tapped into the power source for a few seconds every day. The same could be said about many Christians when it comes to prayer.

Every Christian believes in prayer. We’ve heard plenty of stories about answered prayer. But we use prayer’s power so sparingly. Perhaps some of us don’t pray very much because we believe God’s going to pretty much do what He’s going to do with or without our prayers. Others of us may not pray much because we view prayer as a last resort—a “Hail Mary” pass—when all else fails.  Still others of us don’t pray very much because we’re too busy or too lazy. We can come up with plenty of reasons for not flipping the prayer switch and tapping into God’s power grid, but none of the reasons are very good.

In Luke 11, Jesus tells his followers a parable to illustrate the importance of prayer. He tells about a man who has an unexpected midnight visitor—a friend who arrives tired and hungry from a long journey. The man has no food to offer his visitor, so he knocks on his neighbor’s door and asks for three loaves of bread. But the neighbor responds: “Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything” (v. 7).  However, in the end, Jesus says, “Though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (v. 8).

Now, some readers of this parable might assume that since the man who pounds on his friend’s door represents you and me, the sleeping friend must represent God.  But Jesus makes it clear that God is nothing like the sleeping, reluctant friend. You see, unlike the sleeping friend, our heavenly Father is not a reluctant giver. The reluctant friend feels inconvenienced by his friend’s request. But God never feels inconvenienced by His sons’ and daughters’ requests. The reluctant friend basically says to his friend at the door, “You screwed up by being unprepared for your friend’s midnight visit. It’s not MY problem!”  But God delights in sharing our problems, even when it’s our fault. Finally, the reluctant friend eventually does the right thing for selfish reasons—he wants to get back to sleep. But God does the right thing because He loves us.

Jesus simply says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (vs. 9-10). I’d like you to ask yourself: Do these verses work both ways in my relationship with God? In all honesty, most of us would answer, “No.”  God ASKS us to speak for Him and do certain things for Him, but so often we don’t do it.  God SEEKS followers who will stand in the gap between our godless culture and the gates of Heaven and lead others back to Christ. God seeks followers like these, but quite often He doesn’t find them.  God KNOCKS on our hearts’ doors, asking us to let Him come in and spend quality time with us, but like the church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:20), so often we refuse to answer the door.

God comes our way asking, seeking and knocking, and so often—just like the sleeping friend—we turn Him away.  But thankfully, God is not like us. If we go to our Father and ask, we will receive. If we go to our Father and seek, we will find. And if we go our Father and knock, the door will be opened.

Friends, God is NOT a reluctant Giver. He is a loving, gracious, generous Giver. He delights in hearing and answering our prayers. He delights in meeting our needs when we bring our needs to Him. Don’t just go to God for the midnight emergencies. Go to your Father in Heaven every day, throughout the day with your needs and your requests. He will hear you and He will answer you. Now, will you do the same for Him?

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville and the author of "Holy Huldah: Lessons You Should Never Forget from Bible Characters You've Never Heard Of." For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com, and join us for our Worship Celebration Sundays at 10 a.m.

Know What’s Needed

“You are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is needed.”

– Luke 10:41-42

One afternoon a man looked out the sliding glass door of his patio and saw his dog trotting across the patio with something in his mouth. When the man went outside to investigate, he saw that Fido had a dead rabbit in his mouth. After the man said “Drop it!” about ten times, the dog finally let go. And when the man got a closer look, his heart sank. He recognized the beloved pet bunny that belonged to the little girl next door.

Well, the man felt he had to do something. He couldn’t bear for the little girl to find out that his dog had chomped her bunny to death. So, the man brought the rabbit inside, took it to the sink and carefully rinsed off all the dirt and dog slobber. Then he pulled out the hair dryer—or should that be “hare dryer”?—and got him all dried off. Finally, he climbed the fence into his neighbor’s backyard, put the dead rabbit back into its hutch and fluffed up the bunny’s fur one more time before closing the cage. 

Later that evening the man heard the little girl screaming in her backyard. He went next door and asked if everything was all right. The girl’s father told him, “Not really! You remember Cassie’s pet bunny? Well, he died a couple of days ago, and we buried him. But some SICKO came into our backyard while we were gone, dug it up and stuck it back inside the rabbit hutch!”

Have you ever done something kind for someone and afterward realized that it wasn’t at all what that person needed? I have, and I bet you have as well—just like Martha in Luke chapter 10.

In the final five verses of this chapter, Jesus and his disciples came to the home of Mary and Martha. Jesus had been doing full-time ministry for around three years, so he was probably tired—physically, emotionally, perhaps even spiritually. Jesus needed some R&R before moving ahead into Jerusalem. As best we can tell, the group popped in unannounced. So, imagine what you might do if 13 men suddenly showed up at your front door and asked if they could spend the day in your home. The Bible tells us, “Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was busy with all the things that had to be done” (Luke 10:39-40). Would you respond more like Martha, who probably burst into a frenzy of cleaning and meal preparation? Or would you respond more like Mary—ignoring the state of the house, but anxious to hear everything that Jesus had to say?

If your reaction would be more like Martha’s, you probably have a task-oriented personality. You are a worker bee with an eye for detail. You don’t just do things; you are determined to do things right. If your reaction would be more like Mary’s, you probably have a people-oriented personality. You work, but when guests come over, you think it’s more important to sit down and spend time with them, rather than serving them. If you’re people-oriented, there’s a good chance that when your guests get hungry, they’ll have to go into the kitchen and fend for themselves. Either that or you’ll make a quick call to Domino’s and have dinner delivered.

Martha loved Jesus. And because she loved him, she ran around frantically trying to clean the house and make him a four-course meal. Her intentions were good. But her priorities were messed up. Jesus didn’t NEED a four-course meal. As Jesus said to Martha in vs. 41-42, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.”

Jesus wasn’t scolding Martha. He wasn’t criticizing Martha. He was lovingly pointing out to her that she was running herself ragged meeting a need that he didn’t even have. Jesus was basically saying, “Sweet Martha, I don’t need a spotless house. Martha, I don’t need a four-course meal. What I most need is just to recharge my batteries and spend some quality time with you and your sister.” If you want to meet someone’s need, first find out what his or her need IS. Although it’s hard to do, we need to push aside our own ideas of how to show kindness to people and take the time to find out what their real needs are. And that determines what shape our kindness will take.

Also, consider these words from Warren Wiersbe, “What we do WITH Christ is far more important than what we do FOR Christ. Few things are as damaging to the Christian life as trying to work for Christ without taking time to commune with Christ.” Often, what is good is the enemy of what is best. Cleaning the house for Jesus was a good thing. Preparing a nice four-course meal for Jesus was a good thing. But Jesus made it very clear to Martha in that spending quality time with him was the best thing.

So, you and I need to ask ourselves an important question: Am I spending so much time doing good things for Jesus that I am neglecting the most important thing: to spend quality time with Jesus?

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church of Victorville and the author of "Holy Huldah! Lessons You Should Never Forget From Bible Characters You've Never Heard Of." Visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com, and join us for our Worship Celebration Sundays at 10 a.m.