You’ve got your shopping done on Black Friday right? What do you mean no? Don’t you know how important this is? I’ve got news for you though; it’s not really that important. The important part of giving or getting gifts is how they are appreciated and used.

Do we appreciate the gifts we are given? Do we use them properly? We are incredibly blessed with so many things beyond our needs and sometimes we fail to appreciate them. More notably we fail to use them. Specifically, to God’s glory.

I’m not really talking about the video games or dolls. When God has given us a gift we need to use it to glorify him. Can you sing? Sing his praises. Can you teach? Teach his word. Do you have a special ability to comfort those who hurt? Use it. Take your gifts or talents and use them to the best of your ability to magnify the Lord of all creation who gives those gifts freely.

Throughout my time at the gym, I notice there are two types of people there. The first are those who are focused. These people know what they want to accomplish during their time there and they get it done. Then, there are the distracted. These people have an idea of what they want to accomplish but can lose focus easily. They will work out for a few minutes, then find something that distracts them, whether they start fooling around on their phones for an extended period of time or they start talking to someone else who is distracted. While the focused and the distracted are different, they do have a similarity. Both show up to the gym because they strive to be physically fit and to live a healthier life.

As Christians, we should stay focused on improving ourselves through Christ each and every day. The Bible discusses the importance of being focused in Proverbs 4:25-27 when it says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Distraction can be harmful to an extent. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

When we become distracted, we lose focus. When we lose focus, we are not as productive as we should be. A loss of focus can be harmful to our relationship with God, our jobs/careers, our relationships with families and to others.

While the distracted people in the gym have the right intentions, their focus is not where it fully needs to be. Just because we go to church services or live the life of a Christian, are we fully focused on what we need to do to improve ourselves as well as bringing more people to Christ?

For several years we have asked God to show us the ripe fields. As a result, we stepped out in faith – during a few different campaigns. But, alas, we did not see the results we were praying for.

So, why should you believe this time will be different? Maybe it was because we did not see the ripe fields that Jesus was talking about. For the first time, in a long time, I have seen the ripe fields. I am seeing tangible results before we even begin.

• As of today, we have one person ready to be baptized.
• One cold member being taught.
• Forty-one classes being taught.
• And three campaigns being launched:
  • South Africa (already funded)
  • Nicaragua
  • And Northern Kentucky (this one will be funded)

At Summit we dream of a day Satan will fall and Christ will rise. Luke 10:17–19 (ESV) — 17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

Jesus sent His disciples on a few campaigns. And every time Satan took a beating. Maybe we did not see the visible results we were looking for in the previous campaigns – but I believe Jesus did. But now the training is over. All that is before us is a big sad wasteland of lost souls.

Yesterday I watched Lethal Weapon on my DVR. Briefly, the hero is a policeman that lets a thief go. Why? Because they were childhood friends – and he owed his friend. What did his friend do for him? After breaking the law and crashing an expensive car, our “hero” comes home to a dad who is overly enthusiastic about disciplining his son (mind you, not by Old Testament standards). While the dad is abusively beating his son, the friend murders the dad by shooting him in the head. If you were watching this, you would have rooted for the son. But, if you were grounded in the Bible you would have seen a different picture. Or, for that matter, if you reversed the clocks to what would have happened from creation till about 40 years ago.

Church, it is time to turn off the world and turn on the light. Won’t you consider joining the Summit Church of Christ mission?  Or should I say, Jesus Great Commission? Go, into all the world, and make disciples of all the nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them all things. And lo, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.

Friend, simply speak up and say “I Am In”.

Recently my wife’s car broke down on a local expressway while she was on her way to an appointment during the nightly rush hour.  Fortunately, she was able to pull the vehicle off the road without incident.  While she missed her appointment, we quickly realized how fortunate we were in that a serious accident was avoided.

In situations like these, where our normal routine is interrupted, it is easy to get upset.  Our schedules usually cannot handle an unexpected change in plans like this and we feel an increased level of stress.

Of course, the Bible has the answer!  In 1 Thess 5:18, we are told to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  This attitude adjustment is just what we need to overcome our displeasure to interruptions with our schedules.  Perhaps God had a reason to send that interruption; perhaps we are not doing what He would have us do in that moment.  Whatever His reasons are, we can have confidence He has our best
interests at heart.

For the next two months, celebrative carols will be heard in most stores in America. Two thousand years ago the same thing happened just outside of Jerusalem. A large group of disciples started to chant: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest (Luke 19:38)!

And as some get irritated by early Christmas carols, so to a group of Pharisees were upset at the spontaneous celebration that erupted around them. And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples (Luke 19:39).

How do you think Jesus responded? He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:39). Correspondingly, even though most Christians are silent over their love for Jesus, the huge stones that make up American Malls are shouting praises to Jesus.

Christian, are you telling your family about Jesus? This week a distant cousin responded to a simple WBS request I had sent out. What joy filled by soul! Why not use these next two months to get the message of Christ out? Simply sign up to WBS and share your direct link with all. Alternatively, study with me (neville-buchanan.worldbibleschool.org).

Acts 4:32 – Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

Psychologist David Caruso wrote in The Atlantic, “American culture demands that the answer to the question “How are you?” is not just “good,” but sometimes “great.” “Okay” means I’m deeply troubled and there’s things I want to talk about but you’re not actually even asking me that question.  It’s more of a greeting.  It’s polite.”  As a society, we are often too busy or too uninterested to interact more deeply.  As Christians, our relationships must be much more than this.  True Christianity demands a deeper level of intimacy.  Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)

Author Jia Jiang proposes “the question that can likely predict whether you will be alive and happy at age 80.  “Is there someone in your life whom you would feel comfortable phoning at 4 in the morning to tell your troubles to?””  This is the type of relationships we should be striving for in the church.  Spending time together and developing meaningful relationships like the 1^st century church that is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.  The bond we share in Christ should unite us, as it did them.

William Rawlings of Ohio University says we have “3 expectations of a close friend:  somebody to talk to, someone to depend on, and someone to enjoy.” We should find all of these in our Christian brothers and sisters. We should be striving to have a deep love for one another, the agape love of I Corinthians 13, that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”, a love that “never fails.”  It’s strong and it’s deep.  It doesn’t give up on people, or write them off. It allows us to “be patient” with one another, and to bear “one another in love.” It’s the bond of a family that connects us together and connects us to Christ.

This world is not my home
I’m just a-passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue.

This beautiful old song comes to my mind whenever things get difficult.  It reminds me that the experience of life is a blink of an eye compared with eternity.  It is comforting to remember that there is so much held in store for me when the few short years here are finished.  I can count on the home in heaven that Jesus is already working on for me.  What a great hope to hold on to!

But, what about the times when things are going pretty well, when I feel good, I’m having fun, and trouble seems far away?  I don’t usually sing this song as I drive down the road during times of plenty.  But I should…  I think times of plenty are the most perilous for our souls for this very reason.  I can get comfortable in the world, confident in my success of navigating the challenges of life and secure in myself.  In so doing, I lose my edge, become complacent, perhaps even proud.

Pride and self-satisfaction are the enemies of a meaningful relationship with God. The secret to living in this culture of plenty without losing the longing for home is two-fold.  First, we must continually renew our minds with the words of God to wash away the seeds of the world before they take root.  Second, we must see the world through the eyes of God: corrupted, broken, misguided and lost.

We should rejoice in the blessings of God without growing lazy and self-fulfilled.  Only in Christ can such a balance be kept.

In Colossians 3:12-17 Paul offers a game plan to help us live for Jesus each day:

1. Imitate Christ’s compassion by showing kindness and having a forgiving attitude (v. 12-13)
2. Let love guide your life (v. 14)
3. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart
   (v. 15)
4. Always be thankful (v. 15)
5. Keep God’s Word in you at all times (v. 16)
6. Live your life as a representative of Jesus Christ (v. 17)

As a Christian, “doing it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” means you represent Christ at all times.  What impression do people have of Christ when they see or talk with you? What changes can you make in your life to reflect Christ to others? Start by reading Colossians 3:12-17 and “put on love, which binds all other virtues together in perfect unity”.