risk leads to results :: Tuesday E-Devotion

Acts 15:26 (nasb) --- men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 16:4 (nasb) --- who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles ;

Two verses that I hold close to my heart. Why? Because the people they are talk about are typical, every day kind of folk. Kind of like you and me. All they did was step out in faith. They lived what God said, and other people got caught in the mix. That is what happens when you take risks. It leads to results.

Sunday afternoon one of my best friends called. He lives in the deep south (and I miss his family much). Some months ago he took a risk and begin to reach out of a teen guy having some serious, I mean serious, issues. It has been a long journey with lots of pain and little progress.

Well, back to the call. My buddy called Sunday and told me that he was handing his phone to this teen guy. In the next couple minutes this 17 year old dude told me that on Saturday, he asked Jesus into his life. He felt refreshed and was beginning to understand his situation a bit better. He talked about how different going to church was, and how there seemed to be freedom and relief. That is it.

Take some risks. Get some results. Yes, we take the risks, and God produces the results. (Kudos, to my friend....I am proud of you).

One step. One decision. One conversation. Or it may be many. Yet the risk may just change a life or many lives for eternity. Are we willing to take some risk?

Sunday I shared a message about Taking Risks with The Community Fellowship continuing our Chase the Lion series. Here are just a couple of the thoughts from the talk:

If you notice Success in genealogy it can be traced back to one or two risks that were taken.

Risk may be one of the most spiritual acts we can take.

Faithfulness is risk and risk is faithfulness. We have the tendency to think of faithfulness in defensive terms...maintaining.

The master expected a return (speaking of Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25) on what He invested (and so does our Master). What are we doing with what God has given us?

What will be our regrets at the end of our days? What we did or what we will not do? Most of the time the regret of what we did not do will haunt us the most. Ask yourselves some questions: Selfish or selfless? All of me or all of God? What is holding us back from taking risks?

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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