Category Archives: Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – It’s All about Him

November 21, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. —Philippians 3:8

One of the best tools in a believer’s evangelistic toolbox is his or her own personal story. It’s a way for you to effectively put yourself in the other person’s shoes. You can say, “You know what? I used to be this way. And this is the way I thought. This is what I used to do. Then one day, someone shared the gospel with me [or however you came to faith], and here is what happened to me. . . .”

A lot of people don’t even know how others became Christians. They might think we were just born this way. They may be shocked to find out that we weren’t born this way at all.

How you came to believe in Jesus is your own story, but here are a few tips. When you share your story, don’t ever glorify or exaggerate your past. Sometimes we glorify our past. Sometimes the way certain people share their personal stories makes their past sound more appealing than their present. People start thinking, You know, maybe I will stop being a Christian and start doing what you used to do. That sounds like a lot of fun. If you were to really describe the way you were before you knew the Lord, you could acknowledge that you had some fun. You had some laughs. But then you also need to talk about the emptiness and the sin and the guilt.

Don’t make your past more appealing than your present. Don’t be defined by what you were. Be defined by whose you are. Don’t make it all about what you used to do. Talk about who you are now. It is about Him, not about you. It is about His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, and what He has done for you.

Greg Laurie – Start with a Bridge

November 20, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Change from the Inside Out

Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

— Ephesians 5:16

A problem that Christians often have when they share the gospel is going into attack mode on a person’s sin straightaway: “Oh yeah, I see that you are into this. Well, let tell me you something. . . .”

Wait. Hold on. Maybe you ought to try to bring that person to Christ first. I am not saying that you shouldn’t confront someone about his or her sin. But remember the example of Jesus as He talked with the Samaritan woman at the well? She had been married and divorced five times and was living with a man. But Jesus didn’t start by slamming her for her immorality. He spoke to her in a symbolic way: “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (John 4:13–14).

When possible, find common ground and build a bridge to your listener. Paul, when he stood before King Agrippa, began by saying, “I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders, for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies” (Acts 26:2–3).

This was not flattery on Paul’s part, but the truth. Agrippa was steeped in the ways of the Jews as their secular ruler appointed by Rome. Paul was respectful of Agrippa’s office. Agrippa was an immoral man, and Paul could have brought that out. Instead, he began building a bridge.

There is a built-in offense in the message of the cross. Let’s not make it worse. When we share the gospel, we need to build a bridge with people and not unnecessarily offend them.

Greg Laurie – Change from the Inside Out

November 19, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. —Titus 3:5

In the 1600s, author Matthew Mead published a great book called The Almost Christian Discovered in which wrote, “The outward change is often without the inward, though the inward change is never without the outward.”

People can go through the motions and not necessarily be Christians. You can pray and not necessarily be a Christian. You can be baptized and not necessarily be a Christian. To the best of your ability you can keep the Ten Commandments and not necessarily be a Christian. You can even believe that Jesus is coming back and not necessarily be a Christian.

People may even make visible changes in their lives and not necessarily be Christians. There was a rich young ruler who came to Jesus and said, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17).

Jesus told him, “You know the commandments,” and then He listed them.

The young man said, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth” (verse 20).

This guy was basically moral. He had kept the commandments to the best of his ability. Certainly he had broken them, but at least he tried. But then Jesus told him what to do, and he wouldn’t do it. He stopped short of Jesus.

It is not your works that make you saved. You put your faith in Christ, and then you will see the evidence in your life. While it is true that faith without works is dead (see James 2:20), it could be said that works without faith is also dead.

You may say, “Well, I went forward at a Harvest Crusade” or “I stood up and prayed a prayer.” That is good, but it doesn’t necessarily make you a Christian. There has to be a movement of your heart toward God.

Greg Laurie – Barriers to Answered Prayer

November 18, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

These people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men. —Isaiah 29:13

You may have heard the old adage that says there are no atheists in foxholes. Actually, I think there may be some. But when the chips are down, most people will pray.

Remember the story of Jonah? He ran from God and boarded a boat that was going in the opposite direction of Nineveh, where God had told him to go. A great storm came, and the terrified sailors started calling on their gods. Meanwhile, Jonah had found his way to the ship’s hold and was sound asleep. The captain found Jonah and said, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish” (Jonah 1:6).

That is the way most people are. When we are in danger, we will call on God. But it is possible to pray all day long and never communicate with God. We can fervently say our prayers and never be heard. In Luke 18 we find a story Jesus told about a Pharisee and a tax collector who went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee “stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men’ ” (verse 11). Meanwhile, the tax collector prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” (verse 13). Jesus said that God heard the prayer of the sinner rather than the words of the self-righteous Pharisee.

You can pray and never really have a relationship with God. You can offer up prayers and never really pray. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” You can pray with all the passion and consistency in the world, but if your sin has not been confessed to God, then it won’t do you any good.

Greg Laurie – Why Jesus Had to Die, Part 3

November 16, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Last weekend we looked at Jesus in Gethsemane. Today we look at Jesus on the cross.

On the cross, Jesus gave seven statements—each one significant and necessary. One of the most arresting is “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” No fiction writer would have his hero say words like those. They surprise us, disarm us, and cause us to wonder what He meant. In many ways, this is virtually impossible to fathom.

No man has ever experienced loneliness and isolation as Jesus did at this point. First Judas betrayed Him, but His other disciples still stood with Him—until Gethsemane; then they too fled. But Simon Peter was still following, albeit at a distance. Then he too turned away from the Lord, openly denying Him.

But there was still the Father, who was always there. In John 8:29 Jesus said, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone.” Jesus said to His disciples, “Indeed, the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet, I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16:32).

But at the cross, God the Father turned away His face from God the Son. Why? Because God, in all His holiness, could not look at sin. So holy is God that we are told that He is “of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness” (Habakkuk 1:13).

So the holy Father had to “turn His face” and pour His wrath upon His own Son. Understand, for Jesus that was the greatest sacrifice He could have possibly made. It is my belief that His greatest pain occurred at this moment.

He felt forsaken of God because this is the consequence of sin. For a person to be forsaken of God is the penalty which naturally and inevitably follows separation from God because of sin. Jesus was forsaken of God so I don’t have to be. Jesus was forsaken that I might be forgiven. Jesus entered the darkness that I might walk in the light! Jesus was forsaken of God for a time that I might enjoy His presence forever!

As Christ hung there, he was bearing the sins of the world, dying as a substitute. To Him was imputed the guilt of our sins, and He was suffering the punishment for those sins on our behalf. The very essence of that punishment was the outpouring of God’s wrath against sinners.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the punishment for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4–5).

Greg Laurie – What Makes a Christian?

November 15, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. —2 Corinthians 11:26

I once went to a children’s ministry event at our church dressed up as Noah. No one knew it was me, which made the whole experience a lot of fun. I was pretending to be someone I really was not. I was playing a little game, actually.

There are people today who do the same thing with the Christian faith. They pretend to be something they really are not.

So how do we know whether someone is a Christian? “It comes down to what they believe,” we might say. There is truth to that, but that is not all there is to it. You can believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is the only way to God, and that He is coming back again and still not necessarily be a Christian. Now, if you are a Christian, you will believe what I just stated. But just because you believe that in and of itself doesn’t necessarily make you a Christian.

We may say, “Well, a Christian is judged by the way he or she behaves.” But that is not necessarily true. You can pray, keep the Ten Commandments to the best of your ability, attend church regularly, and even be baptized and not necessarily be a Christian. Those things should be a part of your life if you are a Christian. But those things, in and of themselves, don’t make you a Christian.

It is not enough to be exposed to the truth. You also need to act on it. You need to make a choice. It means recognizing that you have sinned (see Romans 3:23), turning away from your sins, and trusting in and receiving Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and Savior. That is what makes you a Christian.

Have you made this choice? If you are not sure, please click here

Greg Laurie – Finally in Focus

November 14, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. —Hebrews 13:14

Think back on the best moments of your life so far—those times with your loved ones or that gorgeous sunset or that precious thing your child said to you. These are just glimpses of what is to come.

That is why C. S. Lewis described earth as “the shadowlands.” You see, we tend to think of heaven as something surreal, while earth is real. But heaven isn’t a lame version of earth. Earth—the best moments of it, at least—is an incomplete version of heaven. Earth is like a copy of heaven, not the other way around.

Referring to the priests who would offer sacrifices according to the Law, Hebrews 8:5 says, “They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: ‘Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.’ ”

Our problem is that we start with earth and reason up toward heaven when we ought to instead start with heaven and reason down toward earth. This little span of time on earth is what the Bible describes as a “vapor” or “a morning fog” (see James 4:14) or a story that already has been told. Life isn’t just a date of birth to a date of death. Life goes on. God’s plans toward you are good, and the ultimate plan is heaven. When you get there, everything will come into focus for you. When you get to the other side, you will see things clearly.

God knows where you are at this very moment, and God has a future for you. And it is going to be beyond your wildest dreams.

Greg Laurie – His Work, His Timing

November 13, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. —Philippians 1:6

I am an “artist”—kind of. Actually, I am an artist with very limited skills. But sometimes when I’m spending time with friends, they will ask me to draw something. So I’ll pull out a felt-tip pen and draw little cartoons.

Then someone inevitably says, “Draw me! Draw me!” They like me to do caricatures of them, but the thing about caricatures is they are never flattering. If you ever look at political cartoons, they always exaggerate a person’s features. If someone has a nose that is slightly long or ears that are somewhat big, the cartoonist exaggerates everything. That is the whole idea. But people don’t like that.

I’ve also noticed that when I’m drawing, people don’t see what I see. As they are looking over my shoulder, almost breathing down my neck, they want to know what I’m doing. They may see only a circle, but in my mind’s eye, I already see the finished work.

Sometimes when we look at the blank canvas of our lives, we ask, “What is going on? What is God doing? Where is this going? This doesn’t make sense. I don’t even know whether I agree with that.” But God, as an artist, is at work. And as Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

God’s work will be done in His time. He sees the expected end. He knows what it will look like before He has finished because He is God. He knows how your life is going to turn out.

So don’t put a period where God has put a comma. He is not done with you. No matter your age, you are a work in progress—and He is still working.

Greg Laurie – Thinking of You

November 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. —Psalm 40:5

One of my favorite verses about what God says concerning the future is Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Contextually these words were given to the Israelites while they were in captivity in Babylon. They saw no future. They thought they would be captives forever. But God was saying, “No, actually not forever. It will last for seventy years. I warned you. You kept turning to idols. And now you are reaping what you have sown. But one day you will get out of Babylon. You will return to your homeland. So I know the thoughts I think toward you, . . . thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

I love that for so many reasons. For one, notice that God doesn’t say, “I know the thought I once had toward you.” I don’t know about you, but the realization that God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, would have a single thought about me would be more than enough. Just one thought. Just one! I thought about Greg. I am done with him now. I am on to other things. But He did think about me for a moment. And He says, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you”—more than one.

Also, they are thoughts of peace, not of evil. They are good thoughts to give you a future and a hope. The word future in Jeremiah 29:11 also could be translated “an expected end” or “a ground of hope” or “things hoped for.” There will be an outcome.

God’s will for you is far better than your plans for yourself. Will you believe that?

Greg Laurie – Standing By

November 11, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? —Romans 8:31

We tend to think that when we are in the will of God, the doors should fly open, birds should be singing, the sun should be shining, and everyone should be applauding. But it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes when we are in the will of God, so-called bad things happen. They seem bad, but in reality they might actually be good things.

I think sometimes that what we define as good may in fact be bad. And some of the things we think of as bad in turn will ultimately turn out to be good.

Acts 23:11 tells us that while Paul was in prison in Jerusalem, “The following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.’ ”

Here is what God was saying: “Paul, look. I told you what was going to happen, and you went for it. And I want you to know that you are doing what I wanted you to do.” You see, when a person is really walking with the Lord, it will impact other people. It will cause a reaction.

Paul felt that God wanted him to go to Jerusalem. The prophet Agabus warned him that if he went there, he would be arrested. Other believers begged him not to go. But Paul said, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13).

So Paul went to Jerusalem, and sure enough, he was arrested and found himself in a prison cell. Yet God still had a future for Paul. And guess what? God has a future for you, too.

Greg Laurie – Why Jesus Had to Die, Part 2

November 9, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Hebrews 12:3 (NKJV) says, “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Consider means to “think over, ponder, or compare.” So let’s consider what the cross was to Jesus Himself. For Jesus, the cross was a fate worse than death. Indeed it was death, and a very cruel one at that. It can’t get much worse than that, but for Jesus it was.

Can you remember the most painful moment of your life? There are different types of pain. There is physical pain. Perhaps you’ve had a horrible fall and broke an arm or a leg, or worse. It’s an interesting thing how the human body will sort of shut down temporarily when it’s in a state of shock, so that it doesn’t feel the pain as severely.

But there are other kinds of pain that can actually be worse than physical pain: the pain of rejection, betrayal, or abandonment, for example. When a husband says to his wife, “I’ve been unfaithful to you.” When a wife says to her husband, “I want a divorce!” When the child says to the parent, “I don’t want to live the Christian life!” Or when you are betrayed by a friend, perhaps someone you’ve done so much for. It cuts like a knife.

When we think about the most painful moment in the earthly life of Christ, our minds immediately race to the act of crucifixion itself—the crude spikes that were driven through His hands and feet, or the cruel lashes on His back, or the physical abuse he took from the soldiers. And all of that was truly horrific.

But, as horrible as that was, I believe that none of those things were Jesus’ most painful moment. The most painful moment for Jesus was when He bore the sin of the world. This is what He recoiled from in Gethsemane, this “cup” of God’s wrath. Understand that He had never spent a single moment out of fellowship with His Father. Now He would, for a time, be completely separated from God.

And that, for Jesus, was a fate worse than death. This, His worst moment of personal pain and anguish was our greatest moment in its effect. In essence, His lowest moment was our highest.

His pain, our gain.

Greg Laurie – A Heavenly View

November 8, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. —2 Corinthians 4:16–17

In his final words to the elders of the church at Ephesus, Paul essentially laid down the principles that really mattered to him and said the desire of his heart was to finish his race with joy (see Acts 19:24). It was an emotional good-bye, and Paul left, sailing on to Caesarea. When he arrived there he stayed with the evangelist Philip, where he encountered the prophet Agabus. Agabus tied his own hands and feet with Paul’s belt and warned him, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles’ ” (Acts 21:11). In other words, “Don’t go. Danger is waiting.”

Paul responded and said, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (verse 13).

Now, what kind of a statement is that? That is the statement of a man who has been to heaven (see 2 Corinthians 12:2). Paul left this earth, went into the presence of God, and was called back to the earth again. That is why Paul was able to say that he had “a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:23).

If you had been to heaven, it would change everything about you. It would change the way you see everything and the way you respond to everything. And certainly, it would change the way you view death.

I don’t think that Paul had a death wish, but I do think he recognized that what was waiting for him on the other side was far better than what he was experiencing. The same can be true for you and me.

Greg Laurie – A Need-to-Know Basis

November 7, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. —Acts 23:12

There was something Paul didn’t know as he sat in prison in Jerusalem. More than forty men had taken an oath to not or eat or drink until they had killed Paul. Now, that is what you don’t want—a bunch of hungry men chasing you. Don’t ever deprive a man of food for too long.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Aren’t you glad that you don’t know everything? I am. I am glad that I don’t know the things God knows. Jesus would often blow the cover of the religious leaders and confront them about what they were thinking. He is God, and Jesus knew what was in their hearts.

Sometimes it is good that we don’t know what is coming, that we don’t know what is around the corner. We don’t know what kind of threats are aimed at us right now or even what is happening in the supernatural world. All kinds of things are going on that we have no clue about. But God is at work. God reveals to us as much as we need to know, when we need to know it—not necessarily more and certainly not less.

In the military they have a term they use for sensitive information: need to know. They will say, “This is on a need-to-know basis.” In the same way, if you need to know something, God will tell you. If you don’t, then He won’t.

C. H. Spurgeon said, “The Lord knows your troubles before they come to you; he anticipates them by his tender foresight.”

If you are feeling lonely, if you are feeling hurt, if you are feeling betrayed or abandoned, or if you are feeling physical pain, know that Christ has been there. And He knows what is ahead of you as well.

Greg Laurie – Never beyond His Reach

November 6, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:15–16

Awhile back I met a man named Michael Franzese, who was once involved with the Colombo crime family. In fact, in the mid-1980s he was dubbed one of the fifty most wealthy and powerful mafia bosses. At his peak he was making $6 to $8 million a week. Then he ended up in prison.

While there, Michael came to Christ. A guard had given him a Bible, and he started reading it. He told me that he listened to our radio broadcast, A New Beginning, every day in his prison cell. Much of that time he was in a place called The Hole, which he said was even worse than solitary confinement. But it was there he would listen to the Word of God, and when he had light, he would read the Word of God. The Lord changed him, and he did something unthinkable for someone in his situation: he walked away from the mob.

Now he devotes his time to speaking and bringing encouragement to others. Here was someone who was in the mob, and the Lord got hold of him. There in that prison cell, the Lord came to Michael Franzese.

There are different kinds of prisons that people live in today. Some endure the prison of isolation in a hospital bed or convalescent home. Others may find themselves in the prison cell of mourning because of an unexpected death of a loved one.

Yet Hebrews 4:15–16 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Whatever pain or prison you are experiencing, the Lord is there, and He understands what you are going through. You can come to him “and find grace to help in time of need.”

Greg Laurie – His Loving Presence

November 5, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” —Isaiah 43:2–3

Have you ever felt as though everyone has let you down? Have you ever felt abandoned or forgotten or forsaken?

Paul the apostle felt that way. Imprisoned at Jerusalem, Paul must have been feeling discouraged, because we read in Acts 23:11, “The following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul.’ ” God reminded him that he was not alone.

The great British preacher C. H. Spurgeon put it this way:

If all else forsook him, Jesus was company enough; if all despised him, Jesus’ smile was patronage enough; if the good cause seemed in danger, in the presence of His Master, victory was sure. The Lord who had stood for him at the cross, now stood by him in prison. . . . It was a dungeon, but the Lord was there; it was dark, but the glory of the Lord lit it up with heaven’s own splendour.

It comes down to this: I would rather be in a jail or in a storm or in a hardship with Jesus than anywhere else without Him. Better yet, I would rather be in a nice, happy place with Jesus—that is good too. But the thing is, He is with us wherever we go. That is what the Lord was saying to Paul: “You are not alone.”

God says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. . . . For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:2–3).

He is with us in the good times, and He is also with us in the bad times. And as someone wisely said, “He can compensate by His loving presence for every earthly loss.”

Greg Laurie – Just in Time

November 4, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. —1 Corinthians 10:13

In her book, The Hiding Place, Nazi concentration camp survivor Corrie ten Boom recalls the story of how, as a young girl, she struggled with the prospect of having loved ones die.

Her father wisely took her aside and asked, “Corrie, when you and I go to Amsterdam—when do I give you your ticket?”

“Why, just before we get on the train.”

“Exactly,” her father said. “And our wise Father knows when we’re going to need things, too. Don’t run ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need—just in time.”

Sometimes we wonder, What if I am tested above my ability to endure? What if I am tempted above my capacity to resist? You never will be because God knows your breaking point. As far as temptation goes, 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” There is always a way out. Sometimes it is as simple as the door.

But what if God sends me a trial that I can’t get through? Often I talk to people who are going through very difficult suffering, and I ask myself, Would I have the attitude they have if I were going through that? Here is my response: If God would ask me to do it, then He would give me the strength to do it.

God will give you the strength to face what you have to face. You will have what you need when you need it. So don’t worry about it. Just trust God. He is in control.

Greg Laurie – Why Jesus Had to Die, Part 1

November 2, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ—next to His arrival in Bethlehem, these are, without question, the most important events in history.

It was here that God and man were reconciled once again. Here at the cross, God’s righteous demands were satisfied. Here, what was lost in the garden was regained again. Here, a crippling and decisive blow was dealt against Satan and his minions. It was here at the cross that our salvation was purchased.

We can never talk about it too much or contemplate it too often. Because of these historical events, we know there is truly life beyond the grave. This is what sets our faith apart from all others—Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and all the rest. You can go to the tombs of their prophets and gurus and pay your respects, but if you go to the tomb of Jesus, you will find it empty! He is alive!

But the question begs to be answered: Why did Jesus have to die? Why did He have to be beaten, and suffer, and die such a cruel death? Because there was no other way to satisfy the righteous demands of God. God plays by His own rules, and He said, “The soul that sins shall surely die,” and “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” In the Old Testament, all those animal sacrifices only foreshadowed something to come—someone to come. That someone was Jesus.

Calvary shows how far men will go in sin and how far God will go for man’s salvation. Jesus knew He was going to die from the very beginning and spoke of it often. In fact, technically, no one took His life from Him. He laid it down of His own accord. He lived in the shadow of the cross from the moment He entered our world.

For some, the cross seems like an aberration, a mistake, a tragic turn of events. That is how it must have seemed for the disciples as Jesus was arrested and murdered. How could this be a part of any plan? How could something so senseless, so cruel, have any purpose?

Answer: It was to have the ultimate purpose and meaning. God was the Master of Ceremonies at the cross: “It was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10 ESV). God “did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all” (Romans 8:32 NKJV). God put Christ forward “by His blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25 ESV).

In the New King James Version, Isaiah 53:10 says, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him.” In what sense was God the Father “pleased” by the death of God the Son? He was pleased by the redemption that was accomplished. He was pleased by the plan of salvation that was fulfilled. He was pleased by the sacrifice of His Son, who died so others might have eternal life.

For all the evil in the crucifixion, it brought about an infinite good. In fact, here was the most evil act ever perpetrated by sinful hearts—the sinless Son of God, tortured, slaughtered, heartlessly murdered in cold blood—and yet, from it came the greatest good of all time: the salvation of countless souls. Your salvation and mine.

Greg Laurie – Another Kind of Courage

November 1, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. —1 Corinthians 16:13

What is courage? Courage has been defined as bravery. It also has been defined as fear that has said its prayers. Mark Twain said, “Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.” A courageous person is not someone who is fearless. (That is, effectively, a stupid person.) A courageous person is someone who can control his or her fear and then do the right thing. It is overcoming the fear that we naturally have.

We no doubt see courage on display among those who are first responders. Certainly the brave soldiers serving our country display courage every day. And we read periodically of acts of heroism, although I wish we could read more often about them because they happen all the time.

But there are other kinds of courage too. There is moral courage, which is the ability to do right in the face of opposition or discouragement. Having moral courage means being an honest person. It means having integrity. It means that you don’t cheat on the test. You don’t cheat on your taxes. And you don’t cheat on your spouse. Moral courage is honoring the vows you made to your wife or your husband when you said, “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish. . . .”

It also takes courage to follow Jesus Christ. We are living in an ABC culture today: anything but Christ. People are fine with whatever you believe, until you say, “I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe the Bible is the Word of God.” At best you become persona non grata. At worst you are public enemy number one. It takes courage to stand up for Jesus Christ, wherever you are. We need more moral courage today.

Greg Laurie – His Power Gives Courage

October 31, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” —Luke 8:48

Everyone wanted a piece of Jesus. But a determined father named Jairus had a daughter who was on the brink of death, and he begged Jesus to come to his house. As they made their way to Jairus’ home, the crowd pushed and pulled and screamed and yelled.

In that crowd was a woman with some type of physical ailment, and she thought Jesus could heal her if she could only reach him. She bled constantly, and because of that, she had been decreed unclean under the ceremonial law. She spent all of her money trying to find a cure. Ostracized and isolated, she lived in loneliness. She thought, But if I could just touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed. So as Jesus walked through the crowd, she managed to get her hand through and touch the hem of His garment.

Suddenly Jesus stopped and said, “Who touched Me?”

Everyone denied it, and the Bible tells us that Peter and the others said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” In other words, Who didn’t touch You? Everyone touched You!

But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”

So the crowd parted, and there stood the woman. She probably thought Jesus would rebuke her or humiliate her or embarrass her. But instead He told her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.”

“Be of good cheer” also could be translated, “Be of good courage.” Jesus was saying, “I want to commend you for your faith and put it on display for everyone else to see.”

In this case, His power gave courage. And His power will be there to help you in your time of need.

Greg Laurie – Forgiveness Brings Courage

October 30, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” —John 8:36

Sometimes people have a hard time believing they have been forgiven by God. They walk around with guilt and feel almost as though they will be able to pay some kind of penance by continuing to beat themselves up over their sins. But they need to accept the forgiveness that Christ has given to them and start behaving like a forgiven person, realizing that “if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

In Matthew 9 we find the story of a paralyzed man who was carried by his friends into the presence of Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of his friends, he said to the man, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you” (verse 2). This is the first time we see Jesus’ use of the phrase, “Be of good cheer,” and He used it when he was assuring a man that his sins were forgiven.

Now, it doesn’t seem like they brought him to Jesus to have his sins forgiven; it seems like they brought him to be healed. So Jesus went on to say, “For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (verses 5–6). And the man did.

Jesus forgave this man of his sins, and in this case, God’s forgiveness brought courage. God does His part, and then we must do ours. You see, God gives His forgiveness to us, and we must accept that forgiveness.

Are you living in God’s forgiveness? Or, are you living in guilt because you are unwilling to accept it?

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