The Power of Words

“One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4

My wife and I took our grandchildren to a theme park for our granddaughter’s birthday. Though we were exhausted by the end of the day, it was a lot of fun and we were glad we went. It was fun to watch our grandchildren ride the rides, meet the characters in costume and eat lots of foods we might not normally eat at home.

Because we live in a very diverse part of the country, many of the other families there spoke languages other than English. One family was sitting next to us chatting away in another language but almost every sentence had an English word or two mixed in. Apparently there is not a perfect translation for “face paint” or “roller coaster” or “ferris wheel” in their language. The children, who were bi-lingual, easily inserted English words when needed into a sentence in their heart language, and the parents understood it just fine. It was a great example of communication even when concepts do not quite fit the language we are used to speaking.

What does this have to do with the church?

Churches often speak a language that those outside the church cannot understand. We think that our non-churched friends are uninterested in the things of God when in reality, they simply do not know what we are taking about. We need to learn how to blend ancient theological concepts with modern language so our people can understand what we are talking about. If we refuse to use words that make sense to those around us, we will continue to see the church shrink and drift toward irrelevancy. Like the children at the theme park, we may be surprised how easily we can insert one word for another so others can understand the concepts more clearly.

Here is an idea, make a list of theology concepts important to share with the non-churched people in our lives. Then think of at different ways to express the same thoughts, but using simpler words. Then do again and see if we can make it even simpler. We might be able to speak more clearly than we realize, if we would just try!

Lord, help us learn to communicate Your truth in ways that others can understand. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY   

The Value of Mentoring

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

When I was the pastor of a local church, my wife and I invested a lot of time with young people in the congregation. Almost every Sunday we would take young people out to lunch. It was often the place where ministry was done that could never be accomplished from the pulpit. One Sunday after church a group of ten of us went for lunch.

Lunch that day still stands out in my mind because of what I witnessed in the lives of those young adults. They laughed a lot. They talked about school, teachers, music, movies and other things that are critically important to young adult happiness. They occasionally whispered to each other about things my middle aged ears could not quite catch. There is a game room at the place we had lunch with one of those crane games where you put in some money and get to drop a toy crane onto an item in hopes of winning the item. Somehow our group managed to win one stuffed animal after another from that machine. After lunch the group went swimming at a local watering hole before eventually ending up back at our house to watch a movie.

What is so remarkable about a day like that? Many people think that young adults can only have fun if they are having wild parties that feature drugs, alcohol and sex. I am not naive. I know that plenty of young adults engage in those kinds of activities. I know that sometimes even Christian young adults make bad choices. But that particular day as I watched that group, I was reminded that there are many Christian young adults who are trying to live a life of purity before God. The group that day had a lot of fun without all the negative influences of the world. No one in the group had to wake up the next morning and wonder where they spent the night, or had to rush to the bathroom to throw up from drinking too much. It was a wonderful day with a great group of young adults. We celebrated many such days with that group of young adults.

If Christians would like to see more groups of young adults make right choices, we need to offer ourselves as mentors to them. Young adults need mature Christians to offer them a safe place to laugh, a living room in a drug and alcohol free home where they can hang out, and the influence of some mature Christians who know how to be present but not overbearing. If more young people had such an environment, they would not need drugs and alcohol in their lives. They would have all the joy and happiness they needed. Those of us who are more mature must be willing to be mentors and provide safe space. It is part of our duty to pass on our faith to the next generation.

Lord, help us be the mentors in both faith and daily life that young people need. Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

What Foundation is Your Family Built On?

Matthew 7:24-27 - Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!

I saw him staggering across the sand as I packed up our chairs at the end of a great day at the beach. Soon the young man was not just staggering; he was vomiting onto the sand dune. He slowly made his way over the walkway through the sand dunes, stopping to relieve his lurching stomach every few steps. He finally sat down on the steps to the boardwalk and continued to discharge the contents of his stomach off to the side, in full view of others passing by. The young man’s father finally found him and tried to move him over to a more discreet place where he could finish emptying himself of the massive amounts of alcohol he had consumed. The conversation between father and son was hard not to overhear. It was very tense. The son did not seem to understand that his father was trying to help him. The whole scene was sad to watch.

After my family passed by, I said to my own adult son, who was about the same age as the other young man, "I hope we never have a conversation like that." He assured me that we would never have such a conversation because our family was built on a solid foundation. We saw that young man several other times during our vacation at the beach, and it became painfully obvious that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol was only one of that young man's issues.

As I reflect upon that situation, I cannot help but think about the story Jesus told in the Gospel of Matthew 7:24-27. That story illustrates in a powerful way that if we build our lives on the Rock of Christ, when difficulties come, we will find the strength to endure. But if we build our lives on the shifting sands of human opinion and what feels good in the moment, then when difficulties come, life falls apart. That young man, though barely launched into adulthood, was living a life that was already falling apart. This challenges those of us who know Jesus to build our lives on His Word, empowered by His Spirit and in a way that molds us to His image.

Lord, help us build our lives on the eternal Rock of Christ! Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:   http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Paul's Detour - Acts 16:16-34

Acts 16:16-34 tells the story of Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul planned to revisit all the places he had previously started churches at. God sent him a supernatural vision that told him to go to Macedonia instead. Paul obeyed the vision, changed his plans, and ended up in Philippi, which was a key city in Macedonia. There he met a business woman named Lydia, who became a Christian because of Paul’s ministry. Paul stayed in Lydia’s home and shared Christ with anyone in town who would listen. A closer look at each verse reveals some powerful truths.

Verse 16 - Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction and made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling.

Paul and Silas were on their way to pray when they encountered a demon possessed slave girl. This slave girl could tell the future through the demon that possessed her. The owners of this slave girl made a lot of money from her fortune telling. When people play with the occult, they open themselves up to demonic attack. Though the occult may at first seem to give a person special power, in reality it makes a person a slave to demonic power. Demons do not care about the people they possess. They only care about power and control.

Verse 17 - As she followed us she cried out, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”

This demon knew Paul was a man of God. It is fascinating that demons know the truth! Even though demons know the truth intellectually, they have refused to accept the impact of the truth. We must remember what the Apostle James said in James 2:19 - You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.

Verse 18 - And she did this for many days. But Paul was greatly aggravated, and turning to the spirit, said, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out right away.

The demon possessed slave girl followed Paul and his group around for days telling everyone who Paul was. The Bible says that Paul became aggravated about this and cast the demon out of the girl. The Greek word for “aggravated” is diaponetheis. The word can also mean “burdened.” Paul was not as much aggravated at the girl herself as he was burdened about her situation. She was after all demon possessed! When we minister to people whose lives are messed up by sin, we must be careful not to get aggravated at the person. Instead, we should be burdened for how the sins that bind them are slowly destroying their lives. We should be praying for God to deliver them from the chains that bind them. Paul decided to do something to help this young lady. Using the power of Christ, he commanded that the demon leave the girl. Notice he did not use his own power, but the power of Christ. The demon had to obey because Jesus Christ is on the throne and Satan is just a pretender. Satan only has power if we let him have it. Jesus’s power triumphed over Satan on the Cross! But we often let Satan convince us otherwise.

Verse 19 - When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 

The slave owners did not care if the girl was freed from the spiritual chains that bound her. All they cared about was money. When they realized they would not be able to exploit the girl any longer, they got very upset. What we get upset about reveals a lot!

Verses 20-21 - They said, "These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews, and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”

The slave owners distorted the truth. They said Paul was disturbing the city when all he had done was help a desperate little girl. People should have been rejoicing at this good deed, instead they called good, evil, and attacked the good doers. Notice they used a racial slur, “They are Jews.” Racism has been used to justify many sins throughout the ages. Notice they appealed to their customs and their laws. Their customs and laws allowed little girls to be enslaved for the profit of others. Whenever our customs and laws create situations where one person can be wrongfully exploited by another, it is time to chance those customs and laws!

Verse 23 - After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded.

Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten up and thrown in jail. The jailer was specifically told to guard them “securely,” which meant to put them in the maximum security section of jail. The world’s reaction to the things of God sometime seems severe. But remember, Satan was fueling this response because he had lost a major battle in the spiritual war. Remember what Paul said in Ephesians 6:12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of darkness and the spiritual forces of evil.

Verse 25 - About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Paul and Silas had been unjustly beaten by a mob and then chained to the floor in the maximum security section of the jail. Their response to their situation was praying and singing praise to God! How do we respond when we are treated unjustly?

Notice that the other prisoners were listening! Other people notice how Christians respond to unjust difficulties. We must resist the urge to be complainers and instead learn to use the power of prayer and praise in challenging situations.

Verse 26 - Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains came loose.

Though we might be tempted to think that the earthquake was caused by the terrible singing of Paul and Silas, it was actually caused by the POWER of their prayers and praise! Never underestimate the power of prayer and praise! When God’s people start praying and praising, the foundations of Satan’s deepest cells are shaken. When God’s people start praying and praising, closed doors of every kind are opened! When God’s people start praying and praising, the chains of every sin that binds us come loose! We need to be praying and praising God more, especially when we are treated unjustly.

Verse 27 - When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

In those days, if a prisoner escaped, the jailer would be executed publicly. When the jailer saw the doors of the prison opened, he assumed all the prisoners had escaped and he decided to kill himself and get it over with. 

Verse 28 - But Paul called out in a loud voice, "Don't harm yourself, because all of us are here!”

Paul saw that the jailer was about to kill himself and called out to stop him. Paul had been beaten by a mob, arrested unjustly, chained to the floor of cold stone cell and yet he still cared about the jailer, whom most would have considered his enemy. How we treat our enemies says a lot about the kind of people we are.

Verse 30 - Then he escorted them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Notice the change in the jailer’s behavior. He had chained them to the floor but now he was “escorting” them out of the jail. When God gets a hold of our lives, we often begin to change our behaviors without anyone having to tell us to do it. But an outward change of behavior is not enough.  We must not just have a temporary change of outward behavior. We must experience an inward change of spiritual condition. We must be born again. The jailer asked the most important question that anyone can ask, “What must I do to be saved?” We are all sinners and because of our sin we all deserve to spend eternity in hell apart from God, family, friends and all that we hold dear.

Many people ask why a loving God sends people to hell. The answer is that God does NOT send people to hell. People send themselves to hell as a result of their own wrong choices. No one forces us to sin; we do that quite well all on our own.

Verse 31 - So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

Paul answers the jailer’s question by telling him to believe on the Lord Jesus. If we want to be saved from a dark eternity separated from God and all that we hold dear, then we must believe in Jesus. Believing in Jesus means believing that Jesus is who He said He was and trusting Him to guide us in our lives. Notice that Paul calls Jesus, “LORD Jesus.” A “lord” is a ruler that tells others what to do. But Jesus is not a cruel ruler who tells others to sacrifice while He sits in a castle living well. Jesus is the kind of ruler that gave Himself for those who follow Him. Jesus is the kind of ruler we WANT to follow. Believing in Jesus is more than just an intellectual acceptance of the historical Jesus. Believing in Jesus is allowing Jesus to become the Lord, or ruler, of our lives. If we want to be saved from a dark eternity in hell, we must believe Jesus is who He said He was AND we must allow Jesus to become the ruler of our lives. If we have not yet been saved, we should consider turning from our sin and placing our faith in Christ. We might express that through a prayer something like this:

Dear Lord, I know I am a sinner and I deserve to be separated for all of eternity from You and from all that I hold dear. But right now I turn from my sin and place all of my hope in You. I want You to be the Lord of my life and help me know how to live. With Your help, I will do my best to follow You and serve You for the rest of my life. Thank you Lord, Amen.

Verse 33 - He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized.

As soon as the jailer made this personal commitment to Christ, his life was changed. The jailer took Paul and Silas home and washed their wounds. What kind of jailer does this for his prisoners? The jailer and his entire family were baptized as an outward of expression of their new faith. Baptism is IMPORTANT! Far too many people have treated baptism as if it was just a sweet ritual that we should go through to make our grandmother happy. Baptism is a public declaration of our inner faith and a shout of praise goes up from the angels of heaven every time a person is baptized in the name of Jesus. If we have not yet been baptized, it’s time.

Conclusion:

1. We are in a spiritual war against the forces of evil and should not be surprised when demonic forces oppose us and distort the truth.

2. There is power in prayer and praise that will overcome evil and give us strength to endure difficulties in life.

3. Outward behavioral change will only last if it comes from an inner spiritual transformation that begins with believing and following Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

4. Once we have had that inner transformation, we should be publicly baptized to proclaim that faith to the world.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

 http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY