Question. What is at the center of missions?

If we answer this from a cultural viewpoint or even a church viewpoint we will probably be off base. Is giving our money the center? Is traveling to a foreign country the center? What about someone getting saved? Is that the center of missions? How about skipping a few of our extras like snacks and eating out here and there so we have a little “extra” to donate to the missions “program”?

While all of these things have their rightful place, I would submit to you that they are not at the very center of missions. Let me list three findings from Psalm 96 that I believe are much closer to the very center of missions.

First we find that The Glory of God is at the center of missions. The word glory means splendor,beauty, honor, abundance . To speak of “the glory of God” is to speak of all these attributes, seen by others. In other words, God’s glory is a glimpse of what he is. At the center of missions is God himself, seen by humans through his glory.

Second, we find that the globe (or world) is very close to the center of missions. In fact, the Bible declares that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

I believe that we have failed to see the world. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard a fellow Christian say that we should not send our missions money over seas, but rather spend it here in America, I might very well be a rich man today! There are many problems with this flawed theology but let me just address one.

As of January 12, 2012, the United states has a population of 312,874,000 or 4.48% of the world’s population. Hold that thought. What we fail to see is that God is a global God. Psalm 96:5 tells us that all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. The “gods of the nations” are trapped to their locality, but the creator of the universe, God, is God in all the earth! Psalm 8 declares “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth.”

Simply put, to care only about the United States in our missionary endeavors is to care only about 4.48% of the heart of God. What about the other 95.52%?

Lastly, The Goal laid out in Psalm 96 is close to the center of missions. In v 2 we are told to shew forth his salvation from day to day. We are also told to declare his glory among the heathen (v 3). It is interesting that the word “heathen” here means “people group” or “nation”. Sounds a lot like what we find in Matthew 28:19 huh?

Missions is declaring God’s glory to all nations, or people groups. Or as I like to say, The goal is to take the glory to the globe!

How many time have we heard someone say (or said ourselves) that the problem is “we don’t want it bad enough”. So many times and with so many problems, we place the blame on a lack of want.

He doesn’t want that job bad enough or he would __________.

If she really wanted to change, she would___________.

The problem though is not a lack of wanting. Proverbs 13:4 says “the soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

Even the sluggard (extreme lazy person) wants. The real problem is not a lack of wanting something bad enough but rather a lack of diligence to see that desire come to fruition.

Everyone wants, few are diligent. Everyone hopes, few work.

Now let’s compare compare the above verse with Proverbs 13:19 which says “the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul”.

Final thought: diligence is the link between nothingness and sweetness.

Question: what do you constantly want but not have? Are you being diligent in that area?

Well, 2012 is officially upon us. This year I have a real excitement about it. I am excited that a chapter (2011) has closed, and that a new one has now begun.

I have never been big on resolutions. In fact this year I only have one of them. It does sadden me though that, up until recently, I haven’t been big on goals either.

This year I am big on goals.

I have read behind some great authors and now am convinced that without goals I will not achieve my dreams. The problem with this is that I am deeply passionate about my dreams.

So goals have been set. Now is not the time to discuss the goals however. Let’s discuss briefly the obtaining of the goals. Here goes.

First, the goals have been written down. According to Dave Ramsey in Entreleadership , “it is almost impossible to accomplish something big without a written blueprint”.

Secondly, they will be shared with my team. Not only will they be shared, but they will be tweekable. sometimes the team sees things that I just don’t. If what they see is better than what I saw, we will go with their goal. I do this because I want them to own these goals also. A team that’s not working toward the same goal is not much of a team.

Thirdly, they are specific goals. We are not shooting at the moon here. We need targets and bulls-eyes.

Lastly, our goals will have deadlines. A goal with no deadline is much like that weak resolution we have all
made before.

So, hopefully, we will all know the goals, own the goals, understand the specifics of the goals, and encourage each other to our deadlines.

Well, at least I have a plan. What’s your plan?

Does it seem to you that as each year passes, Christmas becomes less about Christ and more about shopping, deals, anxiety, and a whole host of other things? It sure seems this way to me. Here are some suggestions that might help us bring Christ back to the center where he belongs.

1. Limit the gifts to your immediate family. I know that might seem harsh but the truth is too many of us are looking for too many things. My wife brought to our children’s attention this year that Jesus received three gifts from the wise men. She said that if three gifts was good enough for Jesus, it is sure good enough for you! With cousins and other family maybe you could draw names or something.

2. Bake a cake and celebrate Jesus’s birthday. This holiday is about the birth of Christ. But have you ever had a party for him? my mother did this when we were kids and I still remember the focus it helped me to have. Don’t let HIS birthday slip away again without a celebration.

3. Adopt a family or give to another family. You don’t have to look very far to find a needy family. You may know someone yourself. If not, ask your church leaders for a lead or contact another ministry that helps people. The joy that comes from being a blessing to complete strangers by helping them at Christmas is just awesome. As we give to others we are more like Jesus and therefore we think about him more.

4. Don’t participate. I know I will be ridiculed for this one but, oh well, here goes. Black Friday has become a free for-all in many places. The constant thinking of “deals” is really just another trick to get us to consume more and more. Instead of camping out in hopes of saving a few bucks, how about budget throughout the year an appropriate amount and shop online or in the stores another day.

5. Read the story. Take time to read the Christmas story with your family. It is found in Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 2.

Have a great Christmas and let’s keep Christ in the center of our families!