God is not a man that He should lie... Nor the son of man that He should change His mind.

In Numbers 22, Balak, king of Moab pays Balaam to curse the Israelites, "Please come an put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land." (22:6)

The LORD prohibits Balaam from pronouncing a curse and instead in four “oracles” pronounces a blessing on Israel. Balak frustrated with Balaam inquires, “What have you done to me?”… “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!” (23:11)

Balaam, rightly declares of God, “God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind.” (Numbers 23:19) Balaam ends his third oracle with these words, “Those who bless you (Israel) will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed.” (24:9b) This is exactly the promise God made to Israel in the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:3).

God is not coerced and cannot be bribed.

He fulfills His covenants.

God does not lie. God keeps His promises.

On Sunday many resolved to trust the promise of Philippians 1:6, “I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Be encouraged. God is commited to your growth in Him. The good work God began in you, He will complete. You have His Word.

More thoughts on Spiritual Growth

“We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (HCSB)

When the apostle Paul here describes us as having “unveiled faces” he is comparing the experience of our relationship with God to that of Moses. (Exodus 33:11) In Exodus 34:29-35 Moses encountered God on Mount Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments written on two stone tablets.

As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! They were afraid to come near him. But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the LORD had told him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever Moses went before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, and the Israelites would see that Moses’ face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the LORD. (HCSB)

What caused Moses’ face to become radiant? What changes did this bring about in his life and ministry?

2 Corinthians 3:18 makes the point that because of Christ we can approach God with “unveiled faces.” When Moses entered God’s presence he removed his veil. Why is this significant?

What does it look like for us to “mirror” the glory of the Lord in our everyday lives?

In 2 Corinthians 3:18, the phrase “being transformed” is in the passive tense indicating that God is the One who brings about this transformation. Why is it important to our understanding of spiritual growth?

Am I Growing?-- Questions for discussion and reflection

Throughout the book of Acts the word “strengthen” is used to describe spiritual growth, for example, “He (Paul) traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.” (Acts 15:41) To strengthen or strengthening is the Greek verb, “epistērizō”. The noun, “epistolē”, or English, “epistle” used to refer to the letters in the New Testament. How were believers strengthened in the following verses?

Acts 14:22 —

Acts 14:21-23 ---

Acts 15:31-33 —

Acts 15:40-41 —

Acts 16:4-6 —

Acts 18:22-24 —

What would it take for it to be said of NMBC, “And they kept evangelizing”?
How (and with whom) is the Holy Spirit leading you to tell/show the gospel this week?
Do you examine the Scriptures daily?
Are you doing life with others?
Are you considering your trials “great joy”?

ClubJAM Family Carnival Night, Feb. 22, 2012

My family has a great time last night at Club Jam's Family Carnival. The night kicked off with family worship and the video lesson, The Ultimate Challenge. I'm glad so many parents took this opportunity to experience this night with their sons and daughters. THANK YOU Karen Bottari, Carol Finlayson and the Club Jam Team for an excellent night. You rock!

Parents, here are some discussion questions that will help you follow-up with the video lesson.

--How does loving others deeply and honoring others more than ourselves show others who God is? (Romans 12:10)
--Would your life look any different if you truly lived like God was your only audience?
--Is honoring God the first thought in your mind? If not, why? How can you remind yourself to ask the question, "Will this make God look as good as He really is?"
--Have you ever been ashamed to honor Jesus Christ, like maybe in front of a certain group of people, or at a certain place? Why is that? What did you do?

More thoughts on belonging

Yesterday we examined some of the implications of being “called to belong to Jesus Christ” and “In Christ we, though many, form one body and each member belongs to all the others” Romans 1:6 and12:5 (NIV).

We belong to Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:20
We belong to the church. Ephesians 4:4-6
We belong to a local church. Romans 12:5

The concept of belonging is not exclusive to the New Testament. In Leviticus 22:33 God informs His people, “I am Yahweh who sets you apart, the One who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh.” In other words, “I rescued you from slavery in Egypt, you now belong to Me.”

In Christ, we have been rescued from much more than physical slavery. Apart from Christ, we are slaves to sin (John 8:34 & Romans 6:20); enemies of God, having the devil as our father (John 8:44). Christ has liberated us from our sin (Romans 6:22) and rescued us from bondage (1 Peter 3:19). Therefore, as 1 Corinthians 6:20 declares, “for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body (and in your spirit for you belong to God).”

1. How is the Holy Spirit leading you to express your belonging to Christ? (Romans 6:15-23)

2. How is the Holy Spirit leading you to express your belonging to the church? (Romans 12:3-8)

3. How is the Holy Spirit leading you to express your belonging to the local church? (Romans 12:9-16)

Here's the clip from Les Miserables shown yesterday at the end of the message.

Do I Belong?-- Questions for Discussion and Reflection

Acts 9:2 describes the church as those who “belonged to the Way.” Romans 12:5 declares, “So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (NIV) According to the following scriptures, what are some of the implications of us belonging to Christ and each other?

Romans 1:6; 12:5-8; & 14:8—

1 Corinthians 3:23; 6:15-20; 10:33 & 12:20-27—

Ephesians 4:25—

Galatians 3:29 & 5:24—

In order to fully embrace the biblical call to belong to one another, four choices must be made. Take time this week to evaluate your commitment to belong. What steps is the Holy Spirit prompting you to take in order to experience a deeper sense of belonging?

1. I choose to do life with others—using my gifts to serve and receive the blessing of being served. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
2. I choose to live authentically, allowing others to see my strengths and weaknesses. (Romans 12:3)
3. I choose to commit for the long haul, rather than settling for “relational shortcuts.” (Ephesians 4:2)
4. I choose growth over comfort. (2 Corinthians 7:9)

Upward Basketball-- Weeks 2 & 3

This weekend we're half-way through the 2012 Upward Basketball season. God is doing great things in the lives of children and families through this ministry. Pray for God's grace and endurance on all our Upward coaches,referees and leaders.

Pray also for the spiritual impact of the weekly practice devotions. Here's a sample devotional taken from the Coach's playbook:

Verse: Zephaniah 3:17, "The Lord your God is with you... He will take great delight in you." (NIV)

-- Review this verse several times with your players.

-- This week's mystery word is "DELIGHT."

-- Ask, "What are some ways that your family celebrates special occasions? How do you celebrate birthdays? Do you celebrate when someone accomplishes something terrific?"

What sort of things do we celebrate as a basketball team? (winning a game; scoring points, make a good pass or rebound...")

What kind of things causes God to celebrate? Is He pleased when you get an "A" on your report card? Is He happy when you win a contest? Does He rejoice when we win our basketball game?

While those things are all very nice at the moment, God celebrates most when we do things taht have a long term impact and put others first. What if you told the truth, even when it's easier to lie? What if you showed forgiveness to a friend? Those are the things that make God celebrate! God is pleased when you make right choices-- even when it's something very small.

Acts 14:21-28 Questions for Discussion and Reflection

Look back over Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-14:28). What stands out to you as major successes? What setbacks do you observe?

In Titus 1:5 Paul instructs Titus, “The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town.” In Acts 14:23, before returning to Antioch, Paul and Barnabas “appoint elders in every church.” What are the biblical qualifications for an elder (overseer or pastor) given in the following scriptures?

1 Timothy 3:1-7—

1 Timothy 5:17, 22—

Titus 1:6-9—

1 Peter 5:1-4—

Acts 14:27 states that when Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch they “rehearsed all that God had done with them and opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles” (KJV). Why is it important for us to “rehearse” what God has done? (See also Luke 10:17-18; and Psalm 103:2).

Take some time now to rehearse what God had done in your life and family.

Men's Breakfast-- This Saturday, February 11th @ 8:00 AM

In his book Wild at Heart John Eldredge poses the question asked by many women in the church, “Where are all the real men?”Eldredge’s response is simply, “Why you’ve asked them to become women.”

My life has been enriched by older "real" men who have mentored and discipled me. Last week I spent some time catching up with my high school pastor, Dennis Boel. I shared with him my first year ministry experiences at NMBC and updated him on my family. Our conversation ended with him praying for me over the phone. I hung up with a renewed awareness of God’s many blessings in my life and greater boldness for ministry. I experienced again the truth of James 5:16, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (NAS)

Listen to this recent message by John Piper given at the Desiring God 2012 Conference for Pastors entitled, “The Frank and Manly Mr. Ryle” — The Value of a Masculine Ministry. The final point in Piper's message is, "A masculine ministry models for the church the protection, nourishing, and cherishing of a wife and children as part of the high calling of leadership." Whatever personal fulfillment we receive from the pursuit of our masculine call, our greatest motivation is the fulfillment of our duty to protect and provide for those God has entrusted to our care. Enjoy.

Finishing Strong

Giants’ fans, rightly so, will talk about Mario Manningham’s catch for a long time to come. For most of us what makes the catch memorable is that the Giants finished well and won the game. If the Giants had lost Manningham’s catch would likely only be remembered by a few diehard fans and analysts. Great plays only count when you finish well.

In 2 Timothy 4:7-8 the apostle Paul writes, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.” Paul’s life and ministry is filled with great achievements for the advance of the gospel. His legacy however, is great because he finished well.

This Sunday we’ll explore examples of finishing well from the report Paul gives of his first missionary journey in Acts 14:21-28.

Here’s the video of David Tyree’s testimony. Enjoy.

Acts 14:8-20 Questions for Discussion and Reflection

In 1 Corinthians 15:8 the apostle Paul writes, “And last of all He (the resurrected Jesus) was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” The other apostles spent time with Jesus immediately after His resurrection (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 21 and Acts 1). Paul did not encounter Jesus until the Demascus Road in Acts 9, between 33 and 36 A.D. In Luke’s account of Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:4-14:20) he emphasizes some similarities Paul’s ministry shared with that of Jesus and Paul. What might have been Luke’s reason for doing this?

Read Acts 13:4-14:20. What are some of the similarities between Paul’s ministry and the ministries of Jesus and Peter?

Jesus—Luke 4:1-30; 4:38-44; 5:17-26—

Peter—Acts 3:6-8; 4:1-3—

Contrast Herod’s response to the worship of the crowds with that of Paul and Barnabas Acts 12:21-23 with Acts 14:15-17.

The culture encountered by Paul and Barnabas was made up of many different superstitions and religious ideas. After the lame man was healed the crowds referred to Paul and Barnabas as “gods” (Acts 13:11-12). Paul called on the crowd to repent, and “turn from these worthless things to the living God” (Acts 14:15). In essence Paul was calling their god’s Zeus and Hermes worthless idols. What are some of the idols worshiped in our culture?

What “worthless things” is God calling you to turn from in order to embrace the true and living God?

Upward Basketball at NMBC, Week 1

This past weekend, January 27-28 Upward Basketball hosted its first games of the season! 349 players and their families piled into the Family Ministry Center Friday night and Saturday. Each game began with prayer and paused during half-time for a short message from the Bible lead by Steve Colantino. There are still opportunities for you to serve.

Games are every Friday 8:00 to 9:00 PM and Saturday 8:00 AM to 6:20 PM now through March 17th. Needed:

Game Scorer/Time Keepers
Concessions
Bagel preparer—pick up 3 dozen bagels early Saturday morning and prepare them with butter and cream cheese. Wrap and drop them off at the FMC by 8:00 AM.
Coach—there is an opportunity for one more coach.