I was reading in Matthew 26 this morning where Peter is confronted two times by several individuals in the courtyard and accused of being associated with Jesus. Each time he denied being with Him. The third time some other bystanders came to Peter and said, “you must be one of them because we can tell by your Galilean accent.” That last accusation arrested my attention and is where the Holy Spirit gave me pause. Here are some questions I sensed Him asking me:

Will I ever be accused of being one of them because I was closely associated with Him?

Can people tell that I am one of them based on the way I talk, my Christ accent? No, I am not talking about using the right Christian language, but the way I respond to all of life, no matter how strange it gets.

Will they be able to tell that I am one of them based on the way I respond during difficult, disappointing and frustrating moments in my day?

Will they be able to determine if I am one of them by the way I use my words to build up, encourage, create, give life, and inspire.

Will they know that I am one of them based on the way I talk to my hurting spouse, my active children, my unfair boss, and my unruly neighbor?

Will bystanders know that I am one of them based on the way I forgive those who offend me, love my enemies, suffer well without and within me, listen and give to the marginalized and disenfranchised consistently?

Will people around me ever accuse me of being one of them based on the way I rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep?

Will I ever be accused of being one of them because I loved and lived like him?

If you are follower of Jesus, can people tell that you are one of them? Is there any language or behavior that may prevent people from ever thinking or believing that you are one of them? What do you need to change?

Popularity: 8% [?]

I was traveling down the highway today on my way to worship service, when I began thinking about some of my fondest childhood memories. The nostalgia flooded my mind, and I couldn’t help but make a list. Check out this list and see if you can identify:

1. Childhood games – Hide and Seek (we called it hide and go seek), Catch a girl kiss a girl, Mr. Freeze, Mother May I, Running Bases, Piggy,

2. Sitting on the porch getting my hair braided (I know you all will find this hard to believe, but I got proof)

3. Block parties during “clean up” week

4. Playing spades and straight and bid whist (ran a couple Bostons, with no signals)

5. Staying outside after the street lights came on

6. House parties and school dances

7. Home Run Inn Pizza, Lake Shore Drive, and Rush Street on Friday nights

8. Rehearsing for Black History plays at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church until 1 or 2 in the morning

9. Friday night choir rehearsal and youth church

10. Watching Creature Feature and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery under the covers

11. Watching Saturday morning cartoons with a cake bowl full of Fruit Loops, Trix, Super Sugar Crisp, Rice and Cocoa Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, or Honey Combs. You just couldn’t watch cartoons eating Wheaties or Corn Flakes.

12. Going to the McVickers or Oriental on Saturday morning (You couldn’t go to those theaters without your shoes sticking to the floor and somebody yelling “RAT!”

13.  Kiddie Land, Adventure Land, Fun Town (Sing it with me: Fun Town Fun Town for the kids and you, 95th and Stoney Island Avenue – Fun Town), Great America

14. Big Wheels and Schwinn Bicycles

15. Kangols, name buckle belts, Augie Silk Shirts, and blowout kits

16. LPs and 45s

17. Unlimited barbeque ribs and chicken at family reunions

18. Playing practical jokes on drunk uncles at that same reunion

19. Seeing who could stay up the longest (There’s nothing new under the sun. My sons and their friends do this when they have sleepovers)

20. Baseball games and Cub Scout camping trips

21. Red Legs Baseball and neighborhood football in the snow

I know there are more memories, but these are the thoughts that were prominent in my mind today. Associated with these memories are many people that God used to shape me into the person that I am today.

What are some of your fondest childhood memories? With which memories on my list can you identify? How have these memories shaped you into the person you are today?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Introduction to the African Children’s Choir from Max Clements on Vimeo.

On Tuesday, April 20th at 7:00 p.m., Trinity Church, located 3355 Dunckel Rd., will be hosting the African Children’s Choir. This is a free event. If you are in the Lansing area, please call the office for tickets and join us for an evening of worship and celebration. I am praying that God will use these kids to speak into our lives and inspire us to love and serve Jesus better.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The one thing I desire in ministry and in life is to give God the best that I’ve. I don’t always succeed, but I aspire to give him my best. How can we be sure that we are giving God the best we’ve got? Here are three very important questions that can help us to achieve maximum effectiveness in ministry and life.

Question #1: What is the motive of  your ministry? Service? Life?
Answer: Always choose the approval of God over the praise of people.

Question #2: How are you mastering your ministry? Service? Life?
Answer: Always choose excellence over mediocrity.

Question #3: What is the measure of your ministry? Service? Life?
Answer: Always choose the eternal over the temporary.

Which question(s) and answer(s) spoke to you the most? Which will you choose focus on over the next seven days?

Popularity: 6% [?]

I am always looking for powerful questions I can use or that my closest friends can use to edit and vet my life. Though I will add to this list, here is a list of questions that I think am going to settle on for a while. These questions were produced by the Church Multiplication Association.  The ten questions are as follows:

1. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?

2. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not your spouse this week?

3. Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?

4. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this past week?

5. Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind their back or face-to-face?

6. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.

7. Have you continued to remain angry toward another?

8. Have you secretly wished for another’s misfortune so that you might excel?

9. Did you finish your reading this week and hear from the Lord? What are you going to do about it?

10. Have you been completely honest with me?

What do you think about these questions? Are there others you can add to this list? Do you have someone in your life who can edit your life with these questions?

Popularity: 13% [?]

My ten year old son asked us if he could have friends over. We usually say yes. But, this time we said no and reminded him that he had not been responsible in the small every day, normal things:

cleaning up his room
separating the recycling
picking up his clothes
helping with other household chores
going to bed on time

Because Micah had been irresponsible in smaller things, what made him think that we could and would trust him to be responsible in greater things. When he showed greater responsibility in smaller things, then we would be more apt to give him greater responsibility in bigger things. I think we miss opportunities of greater things because we cannot be trusted with the smaller things.  

However, sometimes I think God gives us greater responsibility, not because we are deserving or even because we are the most responsible people he could have chosen. Sometimes I think he gives us greater responsibility simply because he is a gracious Father and desires to bless us. But, I think he also gives us greater responsibility to expose our inability to handle the greater responsibility without him and to move us to break ourselves on his unconditional grace, creating the habit of humility.

I am readmitting today that, without God, not only can I not do the greater things, but I can do nothing. His help is not just nice, but it is absolutely necessary.

What assignments have you been given? How responsible are you in carrying out those assignments? What do you need to do to be more dependent on God in carrying out those assignments?