Tag Archives: Greg Laurie

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Ancient Confessions

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In hallways of antiquity, a gathering of men called the Council of Nicaea commenced at the call of Roman Emperor Constantine in 325 CE. Bishops from around the world came together to unravel the mess of conflicting schools of thought and confession: the logistics of the Trinity, the two natures of Christ, the relation of Jesus to Father and Spirit. Up until this point, there were few formal means to sort through variant teachings and emerging groups, but church leaders recognized that they were at something of a theological crossroads.

Presenting the most formidable challenge to New Testament teaching was a theologian named Arius of Alexandria. Arius envisioned Christ as superior to creation yet neither fully God nor of one substance with the Father. The Council of Nicaea rejected such thinking. On grounds of Scripture, reason, and historical belief, they acknowledged Christ as the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”(1) The Council recognized in the affirmations of the earliest Christians (including baptismal creeds that spoke in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) a distinct acknowledgement of Jesus’s divinity. If Jesus was not fully God, of one being with the Father and Spirit, he was not really God at all and to worship him was idolatry. But, if Jesus’s own words were to be weighed, if the extra-biblical writings and the overwhelming affirmations of antiquity were to be taken seriously, then Jesus is indeed Lord, the very Word of God sent from the Father, illumined by the Holy Spirit.

Scriptural distinctions of each of the three Persons were thus affirmed, boldly answering variant teachings of who God is with the trinitarian affirmations of what would become the Nicene Creed, which is still confessed in community in many churches today. Each Person of the Trinity was confessed to have a unique role and relationship to one another and creation—though not without cooperation. For the work of God is not divisible; it is the work of one God who interacts with the world. Jesus was quite clear in his description of the cooperation and interrelatedness of Father, Son, and Spirit in his own life and mission. “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished” (John 5:19-20). Similarly, Jesus spoke of the interrelation of his role with that of the Spirit. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). In the words of one theologian, “[A]ll of God is involved in everything God does.”(2)

Yet what is it that Christians confess God does? Beyond ancient affirmations and long-uttered creeds, questions may still remain, and rightfully so. Who is this God? What are God’s attributes? And what does it mean for the world? Here, the divine community that exists between Father, Son, and Spirit remains, as it did for the Council of Nicaea, an illuminative source for answers. This community, bonded by love, having created humankind in God’s image, is a living illustration of God’s loving presence and action in the world, a relational reminder of God’s desire to bring all of creation into the life-giving fellowship of the Trinity. Looking into this image of unity in community, we discover more of who God is and what God does. We see qualities of God’s essential nature and action by considering the love and relationship God models in the Trinity.

The attributes of God are therefore clearest when seen as qualities arising from this divine community: grace and holiness, vulnerability and unconquerability, compassion and justness, omnipotent power and omnipotent love, omniscient wisdom and patience, omnipresence and free presence, eternality and glory. All rise from within a divine community with a unity of purpose and a diversity of actions to fulfill that purpose. For who God is is indelibly connected with what God does.

And in the same way, God’s action and identity are intimately bound up with God’s hope for the world. In the Christian view, when you experience certain virtues such as love, truth, beauty, and justice, you are experiencing a taste of God and God’s reign, the heaven for which we were intended and the one who called the heavens into existence. Attempts to explain such virtues and experiences apart from God remain unfounded. Yet for those drawn further into the restorative fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God’s action and attributes become something in which we come to participate, too.

To a creation groaning for glory, adoption, action, and redemption, the unique presence of each Person of the Trinity remains a gift of unfathomable proportions. Confessed centuries long before our own, the life-giving, redemptive relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit continues to take the groans of enslaved creatures and exchange them for the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) Excerpt from the Nicene Creed.

(2) Shirley Guthrie quoted in Donald McKim, Introducing the Reformed Faith (Louisville: John Knox Press, 2001), 32.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie –The Divine Paradox

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“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”—Luke 14:11

If we have learned nothing else from our culture telling us what we should do to be happy, we have learned this: It is just not true. We have realized where happiness isn’t.

Prior to becoming a Christian, I already knew the answer was not in the world. I knew it wasn’t in my mother’s world of hedonism and drinking and partying. I knew it wasn’t in my world, limited as it was at seventeen years old. So I was wondering where it was. And then I became a Christian.

We have a different paradigm to follow, given to us by God in His Word. We could call it the divine paradox, because in God’s economy, if we want to be great, we must learn to be humble. If we want self-fulfillment, we should seek the fulfillment of others.

Regarding this divine paradox, Malcolm Muggeridge pointed out, “Where, then, does happiness lie? In forgetfulness, not indulgence, of self. In escape from sensual appetites, not in their satisfaction.”

The way to happiness is sadness. By that I mean we are sad over our sinful state, so we turn to God, ask for His forgiveness, and enter into a relationship with Him. Jesus gave us the beautiful beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Another way to translate this would be, “Oh how happy are the unhappy.” There is no greater example of this upside down life than Jesus Christ Himself.

We want to find our happiness and our joy in the right place, or more specifically, in the right person, which is God. As we come to know and walk with Him, we will find something better than happiness, and that is joy. We will find joy in our circumstances, regardless of what they are.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Our Example to Follow

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Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.—Mark 9:2–3

The miracle of the Transfiguration wasn’t that Jesus shined like the sun; the miracle was that He didn’t shine like the sun all the time. When Jesus came to Earth, He never gave up His deity. But we might say that He shrouded His glory and laid aside the privileges of His deity.

Jesus Christ is God. He is a member of the Trinity, coequal and coeternal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was God before He was born, and He remained God after He became man. His deity was prehuman, pre-Mary, and pre-Bethlehem.

Jesus laid aside not His deity, but the privileges of deity, to model what it is to be a servant. Paul told the believers in Philippi, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5–7).

We are to follow His example. If Jesus could lay aside the privileges of divinity, then how much more should we, as human beings with sinful hearts, be willing to put the needs of others above ourselves?

This isn’t easy. In fact, we could say that it’s virtually impossible—apart from the power of the Spirit. This is not so much about imitation as much as it is about impartation—Christ Himself living in us and giving us His love and power. It’s the only way we can put the needs of another person above our own, love people whom we really don’t like all that much, or effectively die to ourselves. It seems impossible. But this is the way God has called us to live.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Root of the Problem

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What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? —James 4:1

I think we could safely say that so many of the problems we deal with are because of our selfish human natures. Selfishness is at the root of many sins.

It is amazing how even little children have this trait. Have you ever noticed when two children are playing and one child doesn’t care about a certain toy until the moment the other child picks it up? Suddenly both children want it. They scream and pull, and they will destroy the toy in the process. It’s all because one child wants what the other has. That is just human nature. We are born that way, and we carry this trait with us through life.

James pointed out, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?” (James 4:1). That’s really it. We want our own way.

How many problems in our society are because of selfishness? When marriages are falling apart, by and large, it is because of selfishness. People have sex before marriage because of selfishness. At the root of adultery is selfishness. Name a problem, and for the most part you will find selfishness rearing its ugly head.

Paul urged the believers at Philippi, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). So don’t be controlled by selfishness.

Dwight L. Moody once said, “I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any other man I’ve ever met.” As Moody recognized, it’s our obsession with ourselves that is at the root of our problems.

We need to constantly ask the Lord to transform and change us. I know I have a long way to go. And guess what? I know you have a long way to go, too. We all do.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Contentment Is a State of the Heart

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The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want —Psalm 23:1

I heard a story about a wealthy employer who overheard one of his employees remark, “You know what? If I had $1,000, I would be perfectly content.” Knowing that wealth had never brought him contentment, he walked over to that employee and said, “You know, I have always wanted to meet someone who is perfectly content. So I am going to grant your desire.” He pulled out his checkbook, wrote a check for $1,000 and gave it to her. As he walked away, he overheard her say rather bitterly, “Why didn’t I ask for $2,000?”

That is the way it works. It’s called human nature.

Getting more stuff does not bring happiness or contentment. One psychologist who has conducted research on what brings contentment said, “If people strive for a certain level of affluence, thinking it will make them happy, they find that in reaching it, they quickly become habituated to it and are at a point when they are hankering for the next level of income, property, or good health.”

The apostle Paul was someone who found satisfaction, who found inner contentment. And in the book of Philippians, he reveals the secret of happiness and contentment.

Circumstantially, Paul had nothing to be happy about. He wasn’t writing from the luxury of some pleasant surroundings. He probably was writing his epistle to the believers in Philippi as he was chained to a Roman guard. He was under house arrest. He had lost his ability to move about. Yet Paul was an active kind of guy. He was an outdoorsman. He worked with his hands and was someone who liked to get things done. For him to be cooped up in one place would have been very, very difficult. Plus, his future was uncertain. He had appealed to Caesar as a Roman citizen, and he was waiting for the time when he actually would be able to see the emperor. He didn’t know what would happen in his future.

To make matters worse, he was a very controversial figure. Even in the church, some believers were against him. Despite all of these difficult circumstances, however, Paul wrote these words: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:8 NKJV). Paul wasn’t speaking on the subject of contentment from some ivory tower or mere theory. He was speaking from the school of life, from the school of hard knocks. Paul had experienced pain and pleasure, health and sickness, weakness and strength, and highs and lows. He was a hero to some and a villain to others. Yet he was saying, “I have found that you can be content.

I read about a man who was very proud of his beautifully groomed lawn. It was absolute perfection. But one year a heavy crop of dandelions came in, and he couldn’t figure out how to get rid of them. He tried everything he knew and still they kept growing and destroying his pristine lawn. So finally he wrote to the school of agriculture at a local university, telling them about all the things he had tried and asking if they had any suggestions. In response, he received a very short reply, which read, “We suggest that you learn how to love them.”

Sometimes we find ourselves asking, “How can I get this problem to go away?” “How can I get this irritating person out of my life?” “How can I change my circumstances?” And sometimes God will get us out of that problem. Sometimes he will take the problem away. But sometimes God will say, “You just have to learn how to love them.”

So what was the secret to Paul’s joy? What was the secret of his contentment? Paul found the secret of contentment is not in what you have; it is in whom you know. And the “whom” to which I am referring is Jesus. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you'” (NLT). It is because God is with us always that we can say, “I have found contentment.” No matter what happens, no one can take that from you. No one can take God’s presence from you. And knowing that, you can face whatever comes your way in life. Maybe it will be the greatest challenge ever that will be difficult and hard. And maybe it will be untold blessings that would turn many a head. But you will be able to keep your balance in all of that, because you recognize that God is the provider.

Happiness and contentment do not come from stuff; they come from a relationship with God.

As David said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1 NKJV). When the Lord is your shepherd, you won’t be in want. And if you are in want, one might ask whether the Lord really is your shepherd.

Contentment is not the state of your accounts; it is a state of heart. Contentment is found in making the most of the least. That is what the apostle Paul was saying.

So despite what adverse circumstances you may be facing, you can have joy and contentment in the midst of a troubled world.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Surprising Reward of Humility

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Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.—Matthew 5:5

We might think of humility as a form of weakness, but it is actually the very opposite. Humility is connected to meekness. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” What is meekness? A literal definition of the word is power under constraint.

For example, if you were to see a person riding a magnificent, powerful stallion, and he is clip-clopping along, that horse has submitted his will to the rider. He has more than enough power to resist the direction of the rider and do what he wants. But because that horse has effectively humbled himself, or has been meek, he’s putting his power under constraint. He’s surrendering his will to the person who is riding him.

In the same way, when the Bible speaks of humility and meekness, it means surrendering our will to the will of God. Philippians 2:3 tells us, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

If you want to experience real joy, then put the acronym JOY into practice: Jesus. Others. Yourself. Put Jesus first. Put others second. Put yourself third. That is the joy we can experience. It is so simple, but I am amazed at the fact that very few people practice this. Many believers find themselves in the doldrums. They are down. They are depressed. They don’t have this kind of joy.

If you want real success, if you want true happiness, if you want to experience a deep and abiding joy instead of the fleeting happiness of this world, it is found in following Jesus and loving others.

Think about someone in need and start doing something for that person. Then watch how joy will appear in your life as a byproduct.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The First Step to Joyful Living

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Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.—Philippians 2:2

Conventional wisdom says that you must always look out for number one and do whatever it takes to succeed. But that is not how the kingdom of God works.

Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose” (Philippians 2:1–2).

The Message puts it this way: “Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”

This goes against conventional wisdom about how we are to succeed in life, but this is what the Bible says. Some people may say, “I don’t know what planet you’re from, but that won’t work in my situation. You don’t know what it’s like in the world that I have to live in.”

What we are talking about is the way that a Christian should live. The Bible says the first step to joyful living is to put the needs of others before yourself. Paul said, “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” (Philippians 2:4).

That seems like a recipe for disaster and failure in today’s culture. But here’s what the Bible says: “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor” (1 Peter 5:6).

If you want to be a happy person, then you cannot be a self-absorbed person, because a self-absorbed person will be a miserable person.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A New Paradigm

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Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. —Romans 12:4–5

We have a tendency to want to build our own private universe where the world revolves around us. We are the main characters in our own little movies, and everyone else is a member of the supporting cast. We think it is all about us.

There is just one problem, however. There are other people in our universe, and a lot of them really bother us. But here is something to consider. You might be someone who really bothers another person. We always think that another person is really an irritant. I hate to break this to you, but you might be an irritant to some other people.

However, as followers of Jesus, we need to remember this isn’t a solo effort where we only hang out with the kind of people we personally like. Some Christians may think this way when it comes to church: Well, I only want to be around people who are cool, like me. . . . I only want to be around people who are my age. . . . I only want to be around people I can relate to.

Newsflash: It is not about you. God puts all kinds of different people together. Sometimes they are people we never would have hung out with before. Yet God puts these people in our lives and tells us to love them. And He puts you in others’ lives and tells them to love you. That is because we are a family. And sometimes in a family, you find yourself related to people you don’t always understand. But when the day is done, they are still family.

God says that we need a new paradigm. The way to success, according to the Bible, is through humility. The way to self-fulfillment is thinking of others first.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Christian’s Life Purpose

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For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. —Romans 14:17

Years ago during a visit with Billy and Ruth Graham, I noticed while we were outside that their dog was continuously going around in circles.

“What’s wrong with this dog?” I asked them.

“He’s chasing his tail,” they told me.

I had heard about dogs chasing their tails, but I had never actually seen one do it before.

Like that dog, some people are effectively chasing their tails in life. They are chasing after happiness. But the best way to not be happy is by trying to be happy.

Our purpose in life as Christians is to know God and bring Him glory. If you will do that with your life, if you will get up every morning and say to yourself, “I want to know God, and I want to bring Him glory,” then you will find the happiness that has eluded you. You will find the satisfaction you have always wanted by having your priorities in order.

Anything short of this ultimately will disappoint, because true and lasting happiness never will be found in the things this world tells us to look for.

The Bible offers something better than happiness, and that is joy. Happiness largely depends on good things happening. When things are going reasonably well, we are happy. If things aren’t going so well, we are not happy. But we can have joy despite our circumstances.

The problem with happiness is that it’s generally derived from accomplishments, accumulation, and, to some degree, through escape. The trouble with that is we won’t always be able to accomplish something or escape somewhere. And the things we have accumulated will go out of style, break, get lost, or may be stolen.

If we live for happiness, we’ll never find it. We’ll be like that dog, constantly chasing his tail.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Unity, Liberty, and Charity

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“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one–as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” —John 17:20–21

Have you ever noticed there are some people who like to fight? They like to argue, and they are unhappy when they are happy. So they find something to get worked up about, something new to debate. They love conflict. It’s a sad way to live.

When I was a younger Christian, I felt that it was my job to set everyone straight. I had been a Christian for about a year and had been reading the Bible and going to church almost every night of the week. I thought, I’m going to set everyone straight. That was the way I was.

I knew everything. I had the answer to every question. And if you held a view different from mine, then I was going to talk you out of it and into mine.

I don’t feel that way anymore. Obviously, I want everyone to believe in Jesus. But if you have a slightly different take on a theological truth than I do, I don’t feel that it is my job to convince you. I like this statement regarding believers: “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” The word essentials refers to the most important theological doctrines like that of the Bible being the Word of God, Jesus Christ being the only way to the Father, and salvation coming through Christ and Christ alone. Those are the essentials. In essentials, unity. We don’t ever flex on essentials.

But in nonessentials, liberty. What are nonessentials? Things like the style of music. Some people like it loud. Some people like it quiet. Some people like a certain style. Some people like another style. These are secondary issues. We should never divide over them. In nonessentials, liberty.

Finally, in all things, charity, which is another word for love. Be loving.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Prayer—A Conditioned Reflex

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Men always ought to pray and not lose heart.—Luke 18:1

Have you ever been gripped by fear? You know the feeling. Your blood goes cold. You get a shiver down your spine. Your stomach sinks. Your hair stands on end (in my case—that is singular, not plural). All of these are emotions associated with fear.

Then there is the emotion that is often coupled with fear, which is worry. There are a lot of things people can worry about today in our nation: the state of our country, our economy, terrorism, or the threat of war.

And of course, there are personal worries. We are concerned about our health. We are concerned about our family. We are concerned about our future.

When we feel worry approaching, we need to get into the habit of turning to God so that our reaction will be like a conditioned reflex.

A normal reflex is different from a conditioned reflex. A normal reflex comes naturally. For example, if you touch a hot iron, you will pull your hand away very quickly because it is hot. A normal reflex comes naturally. A conditioned reflex, on the other hand, is something you learn over time. You teach yourself to do it.

It can be compared to driving. When you are first learning to drive, you have to consciously think about everything you do. Key in the ignition. . . look over my shoulder before pulling out. . . look before making that turn. . . turn on the turn signal. . . change lanes. I am coming to a light—hit the brakes now. You had to think about it. But after a while, you get it down, and it comes naturally. You don’t even think about it anymore. You just drive.

Now let’s apply the same principles to fear and worry. Our natural tendency when we are in trouble is not to pray. Rather, it is to worry. Something happens, and we go through various scenarios that start stacking up like dominoes in our minds. What if this happens? What if that happens? What if this other thing happens? But here is what we need to teach ourselves to do: We need to teach ourselves to pray.

It is not what we naturally want to do. Often when we face adversity, our first instinct is to turn to people for help. God can work through people, of course. There is no question that he can provide through family and friends and help us. But ultimately, we should turn to God when trouble comes. And it will come.

One reason we should turn to God and pray is because Jesus told us to. He said, “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1 NKJV). Even if prayer were a difficult thing to do, which it is not, or an unpleasant thing to do, which it is not, we should pray, because Scripture commands us to do so.

Another reason we should pray is because prayer is God’s appointed way for obtaining things. That can sound somewhat mercenary. I am not describing God as some kind of celestial Santa. The fact of the matter is, the Bible tells me that I should go to God with my needs. And we all have needs. Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer,

In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:9–11)

Jesus taught us that we are to approach God with our needs. Do you have needs right now? Pray about it. Do you need his provision? Pray about it. Do you need his healing touch? Pray about it. Go to God with your request, and Scripture says that your Father who knows you have need of these things will hear you (see Matthew 6:32).

And listen to what James 4:2 says: “You do not have because you do not ask.” Think about this: You might wonder why it is that you never know the will of God for your life. Answer: You do not have because you do not ask. How many answers to prayer would be waiting for you if you would just pray about it? Ask God about it. The worst-case scenario is that God will say no. But what if God says yes?

Prayer is also the way God helps us to overcome our anxiety and worry. The apostle Paul wrote, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). He didn’t say, “In only the big, hairy, scary things of life, pray.” Or, “Just pull out the prayers when things get really bad. Otherwise, just sort it out yourself.” No, he said, “In everything. . . ”

Nothing is too small to bring to God in prayer. He is interested in even the smallest details. We sometimes only think about the big things, but little things can turn into big things. And little problems can turn into big problems. Nothing is too small or too big to bring to God.

There is nothing productive about worry. In fact, the word “worry” originates from an old German term that means “to choke or to strangle.” And this is exactly what worry does: It chokes you spiritually. It creates an emotional and mental stranglehold on your life. It doesn’t ever make anything better. In fact, it makes things worse.

When you worry about the future, you cripple yourself in the present. Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. So in times of trouble, don’t give in to your natural reflex of worry. Instead, condition your reflex to pray.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Pursuit That Will Leave You Empty

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But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.—2 Timothy 3:1–2, 4

Has there ever been a more pleasure-mad culture than ours today? It seems that we can’t be entertained enough. We have continuous media coming our way with constant imagery and sounds, all things that are supposed to bring us pleasure.

In fact, some people would say, “For me, life means living for pleasure. You know, it’s all about having a good time. It’s all about the weekend. It’s all about the next party. It’s all about the next thrill in life.”

That philosophy is nothing new. The apostle Paul’s contemporary, the emperor Nero, believed that the purpose of life was to live as an unbridled beast in pleasure, passion, and parties. And that is exactly how he lived.

There also was a Greek philosophical group at that time who called themselves the Epicureans. Basically, these were people who lived for pleasure. And we still have people like this today. In fact, the Bible tells us that one of the signs of the last days is that people will be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4). What a waste to live this way, because the Bible says that “she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives” (1 Timothy 5:6).

The apostle Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Joy Davidman, the wife of C. S. Lewis, said, “Living for your own pleasure is the least pleasurable thing a man can do. If his neighbors don’t kill him in disgust he will die slowly of boredom and powerlessness.”

What do you live for? What gets your blood pumping? What would you say is the greatest passion of your life? Only the person who can say, “To live is Christ” can also say, “To die is gain.”

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Homesick for Heaven

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But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.—Philippians 1:22–23

Have you ever been to a really beautiful place that stayed with you long after you returned home? Maybe you have a picture of it as your screensaver, and you just sit and gaze at it. You love that place.

That is how Paul felt about heaven. He longed for it. It’s why he could say, “For I am hard-pressed . . . , having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:23).

Paul had already been to heaven at this point. At one time in his life—we don’t know when—he was killed and went to the third heaven. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 12 that he was “caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (verse 4).

Having experienced the sounds and sights of heaven, Paul was homesick. This doesn’t mean that Paul had a death wish. He just knew that when he died, it was ultimately a promotion.

When Paul said that he had “a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” the word he used for depart is an interesting one. One way it is translated from Greek is “to strike the tent.” It’s the idea breaking camp. On more than one occasion, the Bible compares the human body to a tent. And one thing we know about tents is they are not meant to last forever. So why did Paul say this was far better? It’s because he was moving from a tent to a mansion.

When Christians die, they go straight to heaven, because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The moment they take their last breath on earth, they take their first breath in heaven.

 

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Heavenly Minded

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For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.—Philippians 1:21

A quick look at history reveals that some of the greatest things that have ever been done have been done by Christians who believe what the Word of God says. They have done things to help others, from building hospitals to founding relief organizations.

As C. S. Lewis said, “The Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.”

Some people have been criticized for being so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. But in response to that, I would say there are far more people today who are so earthly minded that they are no heavenly good. And when you are truly heavenly minded, then you will be of the greatest earthly good.

The apostle Paul said, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). I think that statement could have been attached to any Christian in Paul’s day: “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Look at the church of the first century and the way they changed their world. Those first-century Christians didn’t outargue the pagans, they outlived them. They also outthought and outprayed the nonbelievers, and the world was a different place as a result.

That is the kind of Christianity we need today. I wonder what would sum up the lives of a lot of Christians today. Would it be “to live is Christ, and to die is gain”? Maybe it would be something more along the lines of, “Hey, what about my needs?” That seems to be the battle cry of a lot of people today. If we train people to be consumers instead of communers, then we are going to end up with customers instead of disciples. I think we need to get back to this first-century model.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Hide of a Rhinoceros

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The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains.

—Philippians 1:17

It is one thing to be criticized by nonbelievers. I expect that. But what is troublesome to me are those times when fellow believers are the critics. Now, I think there is a place for critiquing one another. If I have said something that is theologically incorrect or have done something that isn’t right, and someone brings it to my attention, then I certainly want to change. I think we can learn a lot by listening to our critics.

But criticism from other Christians isn’t unique to our time. It also happened in the early church. Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains” (Philippians 1:15–16). Paul’s critics were suggesting that he must be out of God’s will by being incarcerated. But Paul knew it was where he needed to be.

Here’s what I have learned. When you are doing a work of God, you are going to come under attack. Those attacks will come from the outside, but sometimes they will even come from the inside. Believers, as well as nonbelievers, can be used by the Devil. So what do I do? I take the advice of a great British preacher I heard years ago. He said, “Every leader has to have the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of rhinoceros.”

So I just press forward with what I believe God has called me to do. And instead of discouraging me and slowing me down, the criticism and opposition remind me that I am on the right track. These things can be a confirmation that we are doing the work of God.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – By Divine Design

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But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.—Philippians 1:12

The apostle Paul was the kind of guy who liked to get out and get things done. He took action and went out and accomplished things for God. But as a prisoner in Rome, Paul found himself stuck . . . immobilized . . . unable to move.

Perhaps you are immobilized in some way right now. Maybe it is some kind of disability. Maybe you’re stuck in a really tough marriage or in a job you really don’t want to be in. Maybe you’re living somewhere you wish you didn’t live. Whatever it is, you feel immobilized.

Yet notice how Paul, despite his circumstances, was able to rejoice. He wrote, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). Even under house arrest, Paul was looking on the bright side. He was saying, “I believe I am here because God wants me here. But this isn’t what I planned.”

And then Paul went on to talk about the guards: “It has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ” (verse 13). These weren’t just any guards; they were members of the Praetorian Guard, the elite soldiers.

How could you not become a Christian while being chained to the Apostle Paul? Apparently some of the guards did come to Christ, because later in Philippians Paul wrote, “All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household” (4:22).

This is never what Paul planned, but it is what God planned. Maybe you’re in a place right now that you never planned on. You are there by divine design. God has put you where you are for such a time as this.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Hope for America

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“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” —2 Chronicles 7:14

The first recollection I have of going to church was with my grandparents. I was a little boy, and I didn’t like it at all. I thought it was boring. My grandmother kept shushing me, and I drew cartoons on the church bulletin as the preacher droned on.

Later, when I was in military school for a while, going to chapel was mandatory. I didn’t really enjoy that either.

I remember they would give us money to put in the offering: 10 cents. The reason I remember that is because one Sunday, I decided to keep the 10 cents. I spent it at the canteen instead. We had our own money, but with that dime, I had twice as much: a total of 20 cents to buy the grape licorice I always bought. Even so, I do remember feeling very guilty about stealing God’s money from Him.

Other than these experiences, I really didn’t have a lot to do with the church during my childhood. It was not something I was familiar with. But after I became a Christian at age 17, there was a very persistent guy on my high school campus who made himself my friend. He walked up and told me that he noticed I had become a Christian. Then he said that he wanted to take me to church. I said, “I really don’t want to go to church. That’s OK.”

But he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was persistent in a friendly way. So I agreed to go to church with him. I still remember walking into Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California. It was during the Jesus Movement, and the place was overflowing with young people. There was almost an electricity in the air. It stopped me cold, and I didn’t want to go in. There seemed to be too much happiness in there, too much smiling and hugging.

Being raised in a very dysfunctional home, I didn’t hear “I love you” a lot. We didn’t hug in our family. And I thought, I don’t want to be hugged at all. So I approached the scene cautiously.

When I saw the place was full, I was relieved, because I thought we wouldn’t have to stay. So I said to my new friend, “Well, there is no room in there.”

But sure enough, someone in the front row saw me, recognized me from school and waved us over. So we ended up sitting in the front row. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that I had a front-row seat to a genuine revival.

Then Pastor Chuck Smith walked out—a middle-aged bald man. That is the last thing I wanted. I thought, He is like a teacher. He is like the principal. This is going to be so boring! But then, as he opened up the Bible and began speaking, it made sense to me. It was relevant to me. And my heart began to change.

I went from being uncomfortable in church to not being able to get enough of church. I went to every service possible and wanted to be a part of everything and learn as much as I could learn. Then, two years later, I found myself in the Southern California city of Riverside, planting a church myself.

However, I did not know I was planting a church at the time. I thought I was just teaching a Bible study for young people at a local Episcopal church. But it began to grow. And pretty soon, people were calling me “Pastor.” When they would address me as such, I would look around, thinking, Where? Oh, you mean me? I can’t be your pastor. I tried to find someone to take over the Bible study, but no one would. It was then I realized that God was calling me to be a pastor.

Fast-forward 40 years, and now I am the old bald guy. But I am as committed to the mission of the church as I was on that day I first discovered how wonderful church can be. And I believe that the hope for America is the church.

Some might be thinking, Now, Greg, wait. I thought you said the hope for America is a revival. Isn’t it really God? Yes, it is. The hope is God—working through His church.

What is revival? It is Christians getting back to what they should have always been in the first place. It is Christians coming back to life. Here is what God has to say to a nation that wants to be healed: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).

If we want to see our land healed, God says that it starts with His people. Christians need to live up to their name: Christ-followers. They need to be Christ-like. And if the church would be what it was meant to be, then it would change our country.

When Jesus walked this earth, He only started one organization, if you will, and that, of course, was the church. It was Jesus Himself who first used that word when He said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). Jesus was saying, in essence, “This church is here to stay. Against all odds, it will prevail.”

The word church comes from the Greek word ecclesia. Ecclesia is made up of two other terms, “out from” and “called.” Put them together, and the meaning of ecclesia, or church” is “called out from.” Called out from what? Called out from this world, this culture. So in using the word church, Jesus was saying that His followers should be separate from this culture.

If individuals would be what they ought to be as followers of Christ, what difference would it make in the church? And if the church would be what it ought to be, what difference would it make in a city. . .in a state. . .in a nation?

The hope for America is God—working through His church.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – What to Do When You Mess Up

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So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Romans 5:21

There is a game I like to play with my granddaughters that I call Squiggles. I will tell them, “Just put down anything you want on a piece of paper. Make any line—just a little drawing. I don’t want it to be anything.”

So they will draw some crazy little lines. Then I will take their squiggles, their lines on paper with no rhyme or reason, and I will turn them into something. Usually it’s a funny face or a character.

In a much greater way, God can do the same for you. Maybe you have messed up. Maybe you have made a mistake and have done a wrong thing. Guess what? We serve the God of second chances. So you can come to Him and say, “Lord, I have really messed up. Can you help?”

His answer is yes. God will come and redeem the mistakes we have made.

Even Christians can wander away from the Lord. Even Christians can make bad decisions and do really bad things. We are effectively capable of doing anything, even as followers of Jesus, because we still have free wills and old natures. However, if you are a true Christian, even when you have blown it or gone astray, you always will come home again.

Hopefully you will learn from your mistakes. Hopefully you will not go and repeat them again. Hopefully you can fail forward, which means learning from your mistakes, determining to live a more godly life, and helping others not to fall in the same area.

The good news is that God can forgive you and give you a second chance. He will complete the work that He has begun in you (see Philippians 1:6). So even if you have messed up, God still can turn it around.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – How Backsliding Starts

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Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. —Philippians 1:27

Stop and think for a moment about people who backslide spiritually. It doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t call up your mature Christian friend and say, “Hey, dude. Want to backslide? Seriously? Pick you up at 7:00.”

There might be some foolish person out there who has done that, but generally this isn’t the case. Backsliding usually starts with tolerating something that is sinful, something you never would have gone near before, but now you accept. You sort of put up with it and maybe even play around with it, thinking, Oh, it isn’t going to hurt me. I am so strong. I have walked with the Lord all of these years. I have memorized so many Bible verses.

Don’t think you can’t still fall.

Have you ever seen a baby rattlesnake? They have their little fangs and their little tails and their little rattles. It could actually look cute if you are into that sort of thing. But then it bites you. And the venom of a baby rattlesnake is more potent than that of an adult rattlesnake.

In the same way, backsliding starts with accommodating. You sort of turn a blind eye to something. Then you give in to it and legitimize it. And then you start making excuses for it and defending it. The next thing you know, you embrace it as a normal lifestyle. But that is not the behavior of a real saint, of a real follower of Jesus.

If you want to finish well in the race of life and live joyfully, if you want God to complete the work He has begun in you, then you need to press on as a follower of Christ. He will give you the strength to do it. But you need to ask for that strength every day.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Power of Integrity

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That you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. —Philippians 1:10–11

In ancient Rome, fine pottery was relatively thin and fragile and often would develop cracks after firing. Rather than remake the piece, unscrupulous shops would fill the cracks with hard, dark wax and then sell it as new.

So you would take your purchase home and put it outside, and in the blazing Mediterranean sun, parts of it would start to melt. Then you would take that pottery back to the shopkeeper and say, “What have you done? This isn’t right. I want one without wax.”

That is what Paul meant when he prayed that the believers in Philippi would be “sincere and without offense.” Sincere is sometimes translated “without wax.” So Paul was essentially saying, “Move forward in your life without moral failure.” He wrote in 1 Corinthians 10, “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. (verses 32–33). Another way to translate that is, “Don’t give an unbeliever a reason to not believe.”

Jesus saved his most scathing words not for struggling sinners but for hypocritical believers, those who appeared to be one thing but really were another.

So let’s make sure we are not people who bring reproach to the name of Jesus Christ. Each of us has a sphere of influence. Each of us has a group of people who are watching us carefully. They are scrutinizing every word and hoping we will mess up. When you walk with God, live a godly life, and do what He wants you to do, it drives some of them crazy. And so it should. It is the power of a good testimony.