“These (things) are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31, ESV)

We talk about God. We sing God bless America. We proclaim God is good. We put our faith in God as our refuge and strength. But who is God?

If we only talk about God in the generic, he becomes this anonymous and nebulous figure. He is out there somewhere in the universe looking down upon us. This is the “god” of many Americans. But it is not the God of the Bible.

Recognize that God is not generic. God is not anonymous. He is not out there in the universe. God came as a man. God has a name and his name is Jesus.

Sometimes I will have people tell me that they are not sure if God loves them. They might feel as if God has given up on them. They are not sure if God hears their prayer. They fear he doesn’t understand their struggle. Or worse, they think God is out to get them.

It is easy to think that way when we have a generic and anonymous God. A generic God is a God who is removed from us and is not concerned with our daily affairs. But when we look to a God who has a name, everything changes.

It is easy to say God does not love me. It is much more difficult to say Jesus does not love me. Jesus loves me so much that he died for me. How could I ever claim that someone who died for me does not love me? There is no greater love!

Everything changes when we recognize Jesus as God. We come to know the love of God. We can live in the confidence that Jesus hears and understands our struggles. And we hold to the truth that Jesus is for us and not against us. It is much easier to expose heresy and expose the Devil’s lies we’ve been made to believe when we call God by his name.

You can believe in God but not have Jesus. You can believe in God and not have hope in God. There are many people in this world who believe many different things about God that differ from the truth found in Jesus. Being a Deist (believer in God) is not necessarily the same as being a Christian.

Does your God have a name? Is his name Jesus? Or are you a Christian without Christ? Which really is not a Christian at all. God wants to know you and to be known by you. Give God a name!

“You shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31, ESV)

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” (Psalm 146:5–9, ESV)

Our God is a God of justice. When we think about the word justice, we often think about the idea of punishing a wrong-doer. That is to serve justice. But there is another side to justice. Justice is also lifting up those who have been abused, exploited, and overlooked.

Scales are often used as a symbol of justice. With justice, there is an equaling of the scales. The lowly are lifted up. Those who exalt themselves at the expense of the lowly are brought down.

As followers of Jesus, we have the role of bringing justice to this world. One of the best ways to do that is by serving the least of these. God has a special place in his heart for the widow, the orphan, the refugee, and the poor. He has given us much. More than we realize! He calls us to use what we have been given to serve the needs of those who cannot provide for themselves.

There are many ways which you can help the cause of justice. I would like to ask you to help me to serve the cause of justice by helping to support our church’s effort to feed children in Haiti.

Our church is hosting a meal packing event on Saturday, June 1 to pack 75,000 meals for children in Haiti. After these meals are packaged, they will be sent to Mission of Hope Haiti where these meals will be distributed to those most in need. I have been to Haiti several times and have personally seen the meals delivered. I can testify how this is a great thing.

It costs 30¢ to provide one meal. $65 will feed a family for two months. I recently took my family out to dinner and our bill was more than $100. For less than what it cost to take my family out to dinner for one meal, I can provide two months of food for a family in Haiti. It is incredible how so little can do so much. All donations are tax-deductible and go to Numana so they can supply the food. Every 30¢ is one more meal for a child in Haiti. 

And if you are in New Jersey on June 1, we would love to have you come and join us for this event as we will be looking for 400 volunteers to help make this happen. Thank you for your partnership in the gospel!

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24, ESV)

Follow your passion! We are told that if we follow our passion that we will find fulfillment.

But there are millions of people who struggle and feel unfulfilled in their work. We are told the antidote to this problem is to muster the courage to leave the job we hate and pursue our passion. This may seem impossible. But the idea is to put our faith in our passion. If we have enough passion, we will get through. Passion is made out to be the savior.

The problem with this is that we are rarely passionate about things that contribute values to others. When I recently asked a group of Middle School kids about the things they were passionate about, they responded with things like sports, video games, music, and friends. They revolved around things which they did for enjoyment. They did not mention things that contributed value to others. 

As adults, that does not change. We are passionate about things like golfing, fishing, football, and our favorite TV shows. We are passionate about the things that we enjoy doing. Rarely does our passion translate value to others where we might earn and income. If we only lived our passions, we would go broke and find ourselves in want.

However, there is a great misunderstanding about what passion is. Passion is not about what we enjoy. Passion is what we are willing to suffer. The word passion comes from the Latin word “padi” which means to suffer. The Passion of Christ is a description of Jesus’ suffering on the cross.

There is always going to be work that is strenuous and taxing. There are days where I have to do things I would rather not do. But Galatians 5:24 tells us to crucify our passions and our desires. That is to set aside what may bring us temporary and fleeting satisfaction for something greater – the joy of Jesus. Life in Jesus gives us the passion for living out these words and making sacrifices. Passion is about sacrifice for the benefit of others and the glory of Jesus’ name.

“So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 25:28–29, ESV)

When we fail to put to work the things God gives us, we miss out on fulfillment. We will also lose out on the continued use of those gifts. The principle is to use it or lose it. God gives us what he gives us to put it to use. That is part of being a steward. We use what the master gives us in the way the master intends. God entrusts us with spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, and resources to carry out his work. Those gifts are not meant to be hidden.

In the Parable to the Talents (see Matthew 25:14-30), the third servant buried the treasure the master had given him. He kept it to himself. He hid his talent (a talent was a measure of money) from the world. When the master returned, the master took the talent and gave it to the servant who had put his talents to work.

If we don’t use what God gives us, he will take it back and will give it to someone else who will put it to work. Whether it is money, good health, or abilities – these are all good gifts from God. When we make use of these things for God’s glory, he will often pour out greater gifts so we can accomplish more. But when we keep these things to ourselves, we will eventually find ourselves running short.

The good news in this is that we don’t need to hold on so tightly to all that God gives to us. When we are generous with what he gives, he is generous with us. It takes away the fear that causes us to hoard our talents and possessions. We know that with God there is always more. As much as we give, we can never out-give God.

I spent this past weekend with our Church Confirmation Kids at a retreat at the Crossroads Camp and Retreat Center in NJ. We had a great time. We went exploring and hiking along with all the other things you do when you go camping. Can anyone say s’mores? Yum!

Our Bible lessons during the retreat were about empowered servanthood. I shared with the kids how God gives us spiritual gifts and blessings to be a blessing to others. He has uniquely gifted each of us to fulfill the purpose for which he created us. But what happens when don’t use the gifts he has given to us? That is a topic I would like to explore this week.

The first thing that happens when we fail to use our gifts is that we miss out. God gives us gifts to live fulfilling lives. Last week, I shared with you that a fulfilling life does not come by acquiring more things. The truth is that fulfillment comes from putting to work the things we already have in the way that God intends. The ironic truth is that fulfillment happens when we empty ourselves for others.

Self-absorption and apathy hinder us from fulfillment. We think that fulfillment comes from filling our lives with more. But the thing is that fulfillment comes from pouring out ourselves more. When we are faithful, giving ourselves God’s purposes, he will give us more. More than we realize! Not necessarily material things, but greater things.