When Evil Tries to Invade Us, What Should We Do?

A Special Note from Pastor Rick...

Last week our nation faced the tragedy of another senseless, hate-filled shooting. As you know, a 21 year old gunman shot and killed nine people who had gathered for a Wednesday night Bible study at the Emmanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina.

How do we respond to such evil? The answer is that we must do the exact opposite of what the gunman wanted to accomplish. That way he doesn’t win.

The gunman’s intention was to divide people,
so we must unite in our grief.
His intention was to show hatred,
so we must show love.
His intention was to kill,
so we must protect life – all of it. Every life matters.
His intention was to do evil,
so we must respond by doing good
His intention was to start a race war.
We must be peacemakers.
His intention was to further segregation,
so we must model integration in our churches,
His intention was to do an injustice,
so we must stand for justice.
And his intention was to do harm,
so we must be agents of healing.

When we do the opposite of what the gunman wanted to see happen, evil ultimately loses and goodness wins. Even many of the family members of those murdered have modeled this response, offering forgiveness to the man who took the lives of their loved one, even while feeling gut-wrenching grief and anger. Romans 12:21 says “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Today, hatred is strong in our culture. But love is even stronger, and it is the only thing than can overpower evil.

There Are No Shortcuts to Spiritual Maturity

By Rick Warren — Jun 24, 2015 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6 NLT, second edition) It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christ-like character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time. Billy Graham associate Lane Adams once compared the process of spiritual growth to the strategy the Allies used in World War II to liberate islands in the South Pacific. First they would “soften up” an island, weakening the resistance by shelling the enemy strongholds with bombs from offshore ships. Next, a small group of Marines would invade the island and establish a “beachhead”—a tiny fragment of the island that they could control. Once the beachhead was secured, they would begin the long process of liberating the rest of the island, one bit of territory at a time. Eventually the entire island would be brought under control, but not without some costly battles. Adams drew this parallel: Before Christ invades our lives at conversion, he sometimes has to “soften us up” by allowing problems we can’t handle. While some open their lives to Christ the first time he knocks on the door, most of us are resistant and defensive. Our pre-conversion experience is Jesus saying, “Behold! I stand at the door and bomb!” The moment you open yourself to Christ, God gets a “beachhead” in your life. You may think you have surrendered all your life to him, but the truth is, there’s a lot to your life that you aren’t even aware of. You can only give God as much of you as you understand at that moment. That’s okay. Once Christ is given a beachhead, he begins the campaign to take over more and more territory until all of your life is completely his. There will be struggles and battles, but the outcome will never be in doubt. God has promised that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”(Philippians 1:6 NIV).

Your Choices Control Your Calendar

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Life's Healing Choices

By Rick Warren — Jun 23, 2015 “We are each responsible for our own conduct.” (Galatians 6:5 NLT, second edition) Your choices are far more powerful than your circumstances. You may not like how complicated your life has become. But with few exceptions, no one is forcing you to keep your life complicated. You have the power to simplify your life. In fact, God expects us to assume responsibility for our lives and to carefully choose how we spend our time. You have just enough time to do God's will while you’re here on Earth. You’ve been given just enough time to fulfill your purpose. When you try to do more than God planned for you, it’s only natural that you will find yourself constantly out of time or stressed over your schedule. My prayer for you is that you will find relief from stress and a new sense of satisfaction as you do only the things God created you to do. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over Make a list of the activities and responsibilities that are causing you stress. Ask God to help you determine the things on your schedule that he never intended for you to do. Where do you believe God wants you to focus your time and energy? What choices do you need to make that will help you focus more on what God has planned for you?

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The Greatest Thing

June 7, 2015

Read: Luke 10:38-42 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 28–29; John 17

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Mary . . . sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. —Luke 10:39

During a church service I spotted an infant several rows ahead. As the baby peeked over his father’s shoulder, his eyes were wide with wonder as he looked at the members of the congregation. He grinned at some people, drooled, and chewed his chunky fingers, but never quite found his thumb. The pastor’s words grew distant as my eyes kept sliding back to that sweet baby.

Distractions come in all shapes and sizes. For Martha, distraction took the form of cooking and cleaning—trying to serve Christ instead of listening to Him and talking with Him. Mary refused to be sidetracked. “Mary . . . sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word” (Luke 10:39). When Martha grumbled because Mary wasn’t helping her, Jesus said, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (v. 42 niv).

Jesus’ words remind us that our relationship with Him is more important than any of the good things that might temporarily capture our attention. It has been said that good things are the enemies of great things. For followers of Jesus, the greatest thing in this life is to know Him and to walk with Him.

What do you think Martha’s distractions were? Was she wanting to be seen as a good host? Or was she jealous of her sister? What attitudes cause you not to make Jesus your top priority?

Teach me, Lord, to get to know You, for that’s when I’ll learn to love You more than anything.

INSIGHT: 

The “certain village” mentioned in Luke 10:38 is Bethany, a small village on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives (Mark 11:1), about 2 miles from Jerusalem (John 11:18). It was home to three siblings, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (Luke 10:38; John 11), and Jesus probably stayed at their home when He was in Jerusalem (Matt. 21:17; 26:6; Mark 11:11; 14:3; John 11:1; 12:1). Bethany was where Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11) and where Simon the leper held a feast to honor Jesus (Mark 14:3). It is also where Mary anointed Jesus with an expensive perfume to prepare Him for His death (vv. 3-8). Jesus’ ascension, it is believed, also took place in Bethany (Luke 24:50-52).