Heaven : Heavenly interactions

Every believer hopes and prays that loved ones, when they die, are safe and secure in the arms of Jesus. But, losing a loved is tough on the most steadfast and faithful believer. It's like a part of you has been unceremoniously dissected away without anesthesia. And, in grieving, we want to maintain a closeness with our dearly departed. And, if we're not careful - that desire to maintain contact with deceased loves one can drift us - even innocently - into the occult.

For your own Bible Study, prayer and reflection, I'm going to wade into these waters with Scripture. And, when I offer my own opinion, I will designate it as my opinion.

Can people in heaven see us?

On the shelf in my office, I have photographs of all four of my deceased grandparents. I loved every one of them and each of them contributed to who I am today. They are all dead and gone, and I believe they are each in heaven. As I learn things about the two of died when I was a boy, the more I am at peace with them being in heaven.

But, the photographs make me wonder: Are they watching me from heaven? Are they disgusted by my life and decisions? Do they hurt when I hurt? When I laugh, does it make them happy?

Some believe that those in heaven can see us here on Earth. The Bible doesn't say they can't see us. Some anchor this thinking in Hebrews 12:1, which says, "Since we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses . . ." But, in my opinion, that verse is often taken out of context. I believe this "cloud of witnesses" is less about heavenly spies and more about remembering the lives of faith that serve as a testimony (or witness) to us today.

Revelation 21:4 reminds us that there is no grief, tears or unhappiness in heaven. If our loved ones can look upon us, living in a sinful state, would not our actions and words bring them a measure of unhappiness and sadness? Yes, it would. My Mema would be very distressed at some of the things that I say and do. Because that anxiety can't exist in heaven, I don't believe my Mema is watching me. I believe she is caught up in the fellowship of heaven and in fellowship with our God.

Others say that those in heaven are aware of some Earthly occurrences. In Luke 15:7, Jesus says, “heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God” implying that all of heaven will know of this activity on Earth and celebrate it. In Luke 15:10, Jesus says, “In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” Because humans are not angels in heaven (read below), Luke 15:10 implies that humans - in the presence of angels - experience joy over repentance.

My opinion is this: People in heaven are not watching us here on Earth, but when someone on Earth - through receiving the gift of salvation and knowing Jesus as Savior - comes to faith then all of heaven is aware of it. Celebration occurs.

Are people in heaven interacting with us here on Earth?

We know that angels can and have interacted with us here on Earth. In Luke 19:28-44, the angel named Gabriel interacted with Mary. in Hebrews 13:2, we read that there are "angels unaware" among us today.

But, you and I don't become angels when we die. Angels are spiritual beings created by God to be His servants and messengers. He's given them great authority and power to do His will. Psalm 8:5 says that God made humans "a little lower than the heavenly beings."

But, when people go to heaven, 1 Corinthians 6:3 says that we will judge the angels, implying that our heavenly status in greater than the angels. You and I do not become angels when we die.

Laying that issue aside, leads us to this one: Can we communicate with our loved ones who are in heaven?

These are dangerous waters.

I believe that you and I can have dreams and visions of heaven, and in those dreams we may be permitted by the Holy Spirit to see our loved ones. I've had those dreams, some of you have, too, and mine have brought me a great measure of peace and comfort that I know could only come from the Holy Spirit.

I believe, too, that there's nothing wrong with going to a family member's grave site and talking to loved ones as if they are there. There's nothing wrong with going to a grave site, and saying, "I miss you, and let me tell you what's going on in my life." Does that message get to heaven? I don't know. If communicating that way brings you peace of mind, well, I find nothing wrong with it. The peace is coming from the Holy Spirit knowing your pain and bringing comfort to you - not from an interaction with your loved ones.

In all of this, there is a thin veil that I believe is very, very dangerous.

Satan loves to intersect us in grief and feelings of despair.

Praying to loved ones is heresy. Asking loved ones to "do things" for you in heaven, to talk with God for you, to come down and give you "signs" on Earth - that's borderline occult, in my opinion.

1 Timothy 2:5 says, "For there is only one God and one Mediator (Jesus) who can reconcile with God and people. His name is Christ Jesus."

A good rule of thumb is to talk to deceased loves ones, but don't ask them to do anything for you (even to bring you comfort - only Jesus provides comfort that we need from the heavenly realm) or to communicate with you.

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 warns us that "anyone involved in mysticism is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord." I would even extend that to practices that call upon loved ones to “be with us” during this time – however innocent things might seem. I’d be very careful about leaving an empty seat for grandma at the Mother’s Day lunch table, and acknowledging that she’s sitting there. Hearing a loved one through wind chimes or a bird outside the door is mysticism, my opinion.

Satan will use anything he can, especially during times of grief, to look for peace and comfort anywhere and everywhere but the arms of Jesus.

My counsel to you is this: Celebrate and remember the lives of loved ones. Know that as a believer, you will be in the company of loved ones in heaven one day. Let them go enjoy heaven until you get there. Find peace in your Savior and comfort in the loved ones still here with you. Don’t get consumed with holding on to those who have died and gone in unhealthy ways.

Heaven: An introduction

There is a lot of confusion about what happens when we die, and many people have many different opinions. This lesson begins a set of lessons focused on heaven. I will brush by hell, and return to discuss hell through a set of lessons later this year. Both heaven and hell are real places, and every single human being born of this Earth will spend eternity in heaven and the New Jerusalem or in hell and the Lake of Fire.

I've been around a lot of death and dying over the past two years. I've preached funerals, I've attended funerals, and I've prayed over people who have lost friends and family. And, I'm perplexed at just how confused we are about what happens when we die, and specifically how confused we are about heaven. Most of what I teach in this lesson set about heaven will be in concert with the writings of Randy Alcorn in his book, Heaven. But, I will also cross-check Alcorn's teachings with Baptist teaching and with my own Biblical research.

Most of us, in the Television Generation, grew up with an image about heaven that we've maintained even today: Good people die and go up in the sky somewhere. They greet St. Peter at the gates of heaven. He checks a list like a bouncer at a night club. If that person is on the list, he or she is granted entrance into heaven. The new heaven-dweller is given wings, a harp and a cloud. Then, that person floats around in happy bliss, forever, occasionally coming down to sit on someone's shoulder to help that person make choices between right and wrong. Or, as in the case of the movie, It's A Wonderful Life, the person serves to protect a still-living human being from harm.

If you believe that is your future, and the future of the ones you love, I only ask you to research and present Scripture that confirms it. Because, honestly, that image is not true. The future of confessing followers of Jesus is so much more wonderful and "real" than that.

Before we dive into some of the myths and realities of heaven, I'd like to give you some disclaimers:

• First, I'm not going to plunge so deep into the theology about heaven that you and I get bored with all of the opinions and thoughts. I'm going to keep it simple, presenting what Scripture tells us. I invite you to go deeper on your own should you desire that. Reading Alcorn's Heaven is a great start. But, even then, I would take the Scripture passages, and read Bible commentary and chase Scriptural cross references. Personally, I use the Life Application Study Bible with its commentary supplemented by the complete Life Application Bible Commentary Series of the New Testament. Be very careful about chasing a lot of internet links related to Bible study. Many sites distort Scripture or supplant opinions for Scripture. If Scripture is silent about something - you should be silent about it, too.
• Second, Don't get so consumed with "tomorrow" that you fail to follow Jesus "today." People who get over-consumed with heaven and the next chapter of life, beyond death, won't have the necessary energy to build relationships today and help people discover Jesus. If we follow Jesus today, our future is secure. We don't need to worry about our future. This lesson set is simply to provide you with hope about where you will spend eternity as a believer.
• Third, I cringe when I hear people accept Jesus because they want to go to heaven. We accept Jesus because we need salvation from God's wrath up on sin. Heaven - and peace on Earth - is a benefit of that. My mama would not let me proceed with faith conversations because I wanted to one day be with my family in heaven. We receive Jesus because of the need to be saved from sin. Motive behind faith decisions is important.
• Fourth, We're not going to study The End Times though we will lean on Revelation and John's look into heaven. Revelation gives us a beautiful portrait of heaven. But, we aren't going to dwell on the end of the world. This set of lessons is about what happens if you die within the next 10 minutes.

What happens when we die.

John 3:16-19 reads, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him (Jesus) will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. There is no judgement awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgement is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil."

John 3:36 reads, "And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them."

Here's what we know:

1. There is life beyond this life and it lasts for an eternity.
2. This life is available to everyone who trusts Jesus as the Savior from God's wrath upon sin. Everyone is born into sin. Not everyone will choose Jesus, and for those the wrath is in their future.
3. Eternal life pointing toward heaven and the New Jerusalem begins at the moment a person accepts Jesus as personal Savior. My metaphor is this: At the moment a person accepts Jesus' sacrifice for them, they literally "jump the track" to a "new track" and become a new supernatural being. They are literally and figuratively "born again." The sting of death is removed. They are now "aliens and strangers in this world." Death becomes a door through which we live on.
4. What does John mean, in v. 3:36, when he writes that believers must "obey" the Son. To "obey" the Son means to believe in salvation; to believe in salvation means to confess it and live it before men. (Romans 10:9).

What you and I must stop doing is falling into the funeral parlor cliche,where we say things like "Well, he's in a better place" or "At least she's not suffering now." The truth is that that unbelievers are not in a better place and the suffering is a lot worse. If I don't know a person's heart toward Jesus, and I use cliche that's not true, I become a false testifier. I give people hope that does not exist. That's not good. If you don't know, personally, having heard someone confess Jesus as their Savior, it's better to be quiet about their future beyond death. You don't know. However, if you know someone knew Jesus and is saved, well, it's your responsibility to make that known to everyone and to use the above Scripture to make it known. That's standing up for Jesus.

Upon death, a believer's soul and spirit immediately go to be with Jesus.
We are saved, but Jesus reviews our lives with us. He died for us; He has that right.
We enjoy heaven until The End Times are complete. Then, we are given new bodies. We join God in building the New Jerusalem, which will be this Earth remade without sin and the ravages of it.

In 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, Paul writes that we are away from our Earthly bodies and at home with the Lord. Even believers will have to stand in front of Jesus and be judged according to the good and the evil we did in our bodies. This won't affect our salvation, but we will give an account. (Matthew 16:27, Romans 14:10-12, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 that "we will all be transformed . . . when the trumpet sounds, Christians will be raised from the death with new bodies." Listen to Paul's words, "But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die." He goes on to write, "Death is swallowed up in victory . . . O death, where is your sting?"

John writes in Revelation 21:1 and 20:11-15 about these new reunited and glorified bodies - now with our soul and spirit - entering the new heavens and the new earth.

One other note. The new bodies will not be the old bodies. Those old bodies have rotted and decayed. Those who are cremated or who die in fire and water are not left without heavenly bodies. No, all believers are given a new body. 

Heaven is actually a temporary place for a believer's soul and spirit. It's the place of God's throne. It is the place where Jesus is today. It is the real, physical place where believers go when they die. But, at the very end - with the last trumpet - God will move all of those with him in heaven to the New Jerusalem, which will be this Earth remade without sin and the damages of it. While the New Jerusalem and Heaven are different places, the New Jerusalem will be quite heavenly by my Earthly definition of it.

My Jesus: Jesus Is For Everyone

Please read Luke 19:1-10

Zaccheus was one of the hated tax collectors.
During the days of Jesus, certain Jewish men worked for the Roman government as tax collectors. With the full strength of The Empire behind them, these men collected Roman taxes from the Jews. These men were also permitted to collect "extra" and keep it for themselves. These tax collectors got rich off the backs of their fellow Jews.
It's easy to see why Jews hated the tax collectors.

Imagine you and I are great friends and neighbors. There's a third neighbor who begins taking advantage of you, legally, and even oppresses you at times. This oppressor then hires me to keep an eye on you, and you know it. What does all of this do to the relationship between you and me? I'll tell you what it does - it destroys the relationship. You see me as a traitor. Even though we are neighbors, you see me as "on the other team" and a part of the oppression.

It wasn't that the Jews were angry at the tax collectors. No. They hated the tax collectors.

And, like every good pyramid scheme, the tax collectors had a supervisor: The Chief Tax Collector. This individual, another Jew, taxed the Jews directly, but also took from the other tax collectors, forcing them to collect more from the Jews. The disciple Matthew, before he was called to follow Jesus, was a rich tax collector. Zaccheus, the subject of our story today, was a chief tax collector. Zaccheus was filthy rich.

In Luke 18, we read that Jesus, just outside the city of Jericho, had healed a blind beggar. This stirred up the people and everyone came running to see Jesus and to know more about what had happened. Zaccheus, like others, was curious. But, Zaccheus had a physical problem. He was short. Historians tell us that the average Roman male was about 5-5, and that Jews were a little shorter than the Gentiles. So, let's say the average Jew of that day was 5-3. Zaccheus was perhaps shorter than even that. So, he couldn't see above everyone in the crowd. Thinking stratetigcally, he ran ahead and climbed a Sycamore tree. The Sycamore was a lot like an Oak, but with branches low to the ground and more vertical for climbing and roosting.

When Jesus approaches the tree, he see Zaccheus and calls him by name, and then says, "Come down, I must be your guest tonight." Scripture says Zaccheus enthusiastically responded.

Do you see subtle messages here? Jesus came for both the blind beggar (Luke 18) and the rich tax collector (Luke 19). He came from everyone. Jesus knew Zaccheus name before they were ever introduced. You and I can never escape the fact that Jesus knows us - He knows our thinking and the motivations behind what we do. And, He is calling us to join Him.

Do you stay in the tree or do you get out of the tree? Many, I'm afraid, stay in the tree.

Imagine the crowd's reaction to Jesus' calling Zaccheus to fellowship. The crowd goes crazy. They aren't just mad; they are angry.

Zaccheus realizes the supernatural Holiness here. How did Jesus know his name? He can't explain what's happening deep within his spirit. What caused him to run and climb the tree? He is overcome and cries out, "Lord, Lord!" as he recognized Jesus as His Lord.

Is Jesus your Lord? We talk about Jesus as our Savior from God's wrath upon sin, but is Jesus your Lord and Savior? Are you a slave to Jesus? Is your purpose for living to serve Jesus? Does everything you do turn back to Jesus? Is every decision you make squared with Jesus' call on your life? Believers claim Jesus as their Savior from sin, and THEN live as if Jesus is their Lord and Master. That's what Zaccheus supernaturally affirms.

Unlike the story of The Rich Young Ruler, who could not claim Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and could not give up the things of Earth, Zaccheus gushes, "I will give half of my possessions to the poor and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay them 4 times.” In his response, Zaccheus repented – He turned from what the world called important. He turned from the stumbling block keeping Him for fully engaging Jesus and faith. He walked away from the world's call on his life. He slipped free of the chains of this world – of sin and selfishness.

Jesus says, because of Zaccheus response, “Salvation, today, has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Jesus acknowledges that because of Zaccheus heart-felt turn from self, He is indeed saved from the wrath upon sinfulness.

• Salvation did not come to Zaccheus because He was Jewish and did all the correct religious stuff, like attend temple gatherings (church).
• Salvation did not come to Zaccheus because he did good things. All the good things you do, don’t mean anything. A lot of great community clubs do great things. You and I are called to do these great philanthropic things toward a goal: To build relationship with others for the chance to share Jesus.
• Salvation came because Zaccheus sought Jesus, Jesus called Him, He responded, He repented – He removed from his life what would keep him from following Jesus. He claimed Jesus and not money, prestige, influence as “His Lord.”

We don’t know what became of Zaccheus after this. John The Baptist, baptizing tax collectors, had charged them with collecting only what was required and no more. We can assume that if Zaccheus remained as a tax collector - he was a changed man in that role.

Questions before us:

• Is Jesus your Savior? If I said, "Give me the names of 100 people who know you well." And, then I gathered those 100 people together. I give each of them a piece of paper and say, "Tell me about my friend." How would those 100 describe you? How many would write, "follower of Jesus"? How many would write "follower of Jesus" as the first thing on that paper? I think people would know me as the father of four boys, a good person, or someone who should be in chains. I'm not completely confident how many people would say, "Scott is a follower of Jesus." That's convicting. Our goal should be for someone to hear our name and think, "Jesus" because they see Him reflected in us. They hear us talk about our faith; they hear us say the name of "Jesus." I think it's the true measure of a person's salvation: Not what I say that I am, but what others see in me.
• Who do you know that is climbing the tree to see Jesus? We live in an affluent community. Everyone of us knows someone who wants to climb that tree and see Jesus. Who can I help? Who I can I talk to about Jesus? Who needs me as a friend in faith? Who can I invite to join me at church? 
• Can I seize the moment to introduce someone to Jesus? Can I share my faith story with them, knowing that I don’t know all the answers? Can I walk with them to talk to someone who might fill in the blanks for me?
• What does having Jesus as my Lord do to my life? How will I respond when people shun me, whisper about me, and become angry with me? Am I prepared for the lonely walk with Jesus? Jesus calls me to it as my Lord and Master. Will I follow or I will hang my head and turn from Him?

My Jesus: Making Faith A Priority

Jesus is calling you and me to make Him the priority of our lives.
We say we "know" Jesus. We say we believe the Bible. The Bible is clear that "knowing Jesus" means He is the centerpiece of our lives. Yet, each of us - in part or in whole - rejects Him daily as the Lord and Savior of our lives. Yes, He is our Savior, but following Jesus means He is our Lord as well. Lord means "master" or "owner."

It is a heart-breaking story that is replayed in American household after household.What comes between a person and following Jesus?

• People say "I love my home" and demonstrate it by yard work and remodeling and refinancing.
• People say "I love my family" and demonstrate it by investing full-time energy and money in their children.
• People say "I love my job" and demonstrate it by working 80 hour weeks and celebrating a "climb" in business and prestige.
• People say "I love my Jesus" and demonstrate it by . . . an occasional hour on Sunday morning and perhaps a check to the church.

Jesus says we have it all backward. The planning and priorities of our lives should give the "first fruits" to the work of the Kingdom - to following Jesus. Then, we give to home, family and job whatever is left.

Read the story of the Rich Young Ruler.

This story isn't so much about money. It's about priority and the place of Jesus in our lives.
Too many people say, "Whew, for once I'm glad I'm in the middle class. I'm not a rich person with a lot of influence and so this doesn't apply to me." No. This story is about each of us who put what the world values over following Jesus. I'm guilty; so are you. All of us are - at times and perhaps all the time - found wanting in this regard. But, because "we all do it" excuses none of us.

• The Rich Young Ruler came to Jesus, knowing him as a teacher .  .  .  but not as God.
• Jesus says, Why do you call me “good – only God is good." Jesus is not separating himself from being God; He is saying that all men are self-centered and evil.
• The Rich Young ruler wanted eternal life, and Jesus said, “Well, you know the commandments” because Jesus knew the young man was looking for a check-off list. Jesus quotes the commandments out of order just to show the silliness of the check-off list. You and I can't do anything to receive eternal life.
• The young man says, "Well, I do those things. I keep the commandments."
• Jesus loved the young man because he was eager. Jesus says, "Well, there's one thing left to do." He tells the Rich Young ruler that he must go and sell everything that he has, and give it all the poor. AND THEN, "follow me." Jesus is saying, 'You must strip your life down to nothing so that in having nothing, you must have Me to make it day by day. Place Me at the top of your priorities."
• The Rich Young ruler’s face dropped and he went away sad because he could not give up the things of the world.
• Jesus says, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!” Exclamation – sadness. Then, he said it again.
• The disciples said, “Well, who in the world can be saved then?” Jesus said, "No one." What Jesus is saying is that the rich young ruler would not have eternal life because he gave his stuff away. We can’t earn salvation. He would have eternal life because he would clear away all the distractions, forcing him to live each day dependent on God to see Him through. And, surrendering to Jesus, to God, would give him eternal life.

How do we begin the journey of making Jesus a priority?

• Slow down.Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God."
• Calendar the things of faith . . . first. Take your calendar, and write "Attend worship and Sunday School" on each Sunday; put small group and mission activities on the calendar. Then, add the family calendar, being careful and thoughtful about removing the things of faith that help you grow.
• Invest in a few others. Segregate your "friends in faith" from your "friends who need faith" and invest in both groups.
• Use the name of Jesus. The more you talk about Jesus, specifically, the easier it becomes. 
• Study Scripture and have regular times of daily devotion.
• Pray. If you don't know how to pray, ask a friend in faith to help you.

In the story of the Rich Young Ruler, there's one thing to consider that is rarely mentioned.

When the young man turned and walked away. Jesus did not chase after him.

Jesus allows you and me to make our decisions. He wants us to freely choose to follow Him. He won’t chase after us. If you choose to value the things of this world over Jesus, He will let you. He will let you live in worry, fear, doubt, depression, regret, and sorrow. He will let you live that way that, hoping that in your deepest despair, you will turn to Him and cry out for the cup of water that only He can provide.

I do believe that we moved by the Spirit to sow the seeds of faith. Our burden is to tell the stories of Jesus – stories like the one of the Rich Young Ruler. We have a burden to share the gospel with people – to say, “Jesus is my Savior.” I believe it.

We have a burden – a responsibility – to live lives that protect our witness – lives that encourage people and don’t cause people to stumble. We have a responsibility to take a stand for what’s right in keeping Jesus and faith as the No. 1 priority in our lives; that stand will be in opposition to what the world calls important and the world will make us pay for it.

As we scatter these seeds of faith in our community and in our neighborhoods and in our work place, we will bump into “rich young rulers” with whom we can have conversations. They may turn away, but the seed will be planted.

We hope that seed was planted in the Rich Young Ruler, that He came to know Jesus one day and is in heaven today. Scripture never tells us. Our mission is simply to plant the seeds, knowing some will grow. So, this story speaks to us in two ways: Make Jesus the center of our lives, and then live lives that scatter the seeds of faith to others.

My Jesus: Moving Beyond Regrets

I've been with people in the last hours of their lives.
I've been with people who were in those last hours and were still cognitive enough to talk with clarity. Many people approach those final moments with lots of regret.

• "I wish I had not worked so hard. I worked to have things that I didn't need and to impress others who didn't even like me. I should have spent more time with my spouse and children, my parents and my siblings, and my friends."
• "I wish I had expressed my feelings more. I should have told people that I loved them, and that I appreciated them, and that I hoped for the best for them."
• I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends, especially those from my youth. I should have been a better friend; dying should not be the thing that pulls old friends together."

Sad, how death stirs the regrets in us.

And, yet, death can come at any second - at any moment. Ecclesiastes 12:7 reminds us of the hard truth about death, "and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." Each of us will one day be like dust, but our spirits will remain. For those who know Jesus as the Savior from sin, our spirit will be alive in the New Jerusalem; for those who do not know Jesus as the Savior from sin, the spirit will return to God for His eternal punishment upon it.

Knowing that death is imminent, there should be an urgency to take seriously the living of our lives and to avoid regrets. How do we avoid regrets? Well, we must make amends and apologize where we have hurt others. We must take ownership of poor decisions, and consequences and live forward. 

Easier said than done, right?

I don't lay awake at night regretting money I've not made. I've had enough. I don't regret the homes I might have owned. I've had a roof over my head and a comfortable rocking chair. I don't regret the places I might have gone. I've seen a lot of cool places and I'm content. But, despite taking apologizing to people I've hurt and despite taking ownership of poor decisions, I still find myself living in moments of regret. I regret not living a live that was completely devoted to following Jesus. I regret the 20 years or so that I I thought I followed Jesus, but did not reflect Him in kindness, thoughtfulness, forbearance and attitude. I regret - even moments today - failing to give more of myself away as Jesus did for me.

Satan is in the regret business. He uses regrets to draw us further from Jesus, and to draw us further from friends in faith through the local church. Satan loves to hold up the mirror, point to our reflection and whisper:

• "You aren't worthy."
• "You are a failure."
• "You have been away from church for so long - they will whisper about you when you go back."
• "It's too late to mend bridges with people."

And, Satan loves to move hateful, cynical people into our lives to remind us of our failures, our shortcomings, and poor decisions. He loves to get us looking in mirrors, and he loves when those hateful people hold up the mirrors for us.

Sadly, all of us live with regrets - even when we know they are forgiven. We haven't really forgiven ourselves. And, all of us are easily led into holding up mirrors for others. We do it under the disguise of giving constructive criticism, or counsel, or even - hack, hack - Biblical counseling.

When I consider "My Jesus," the Jesus that I love and the Jesus that I hear and the Jesus that walks with me, I think first about the story from John 8:1-12. I even love the mystery surrounding this passage. It doesn't appear in the ancient Greet manuscripts, but it does appear in most Bible translations, including the King James. It's generally believed that John didn't write this (it sometimes has appeared in Luke), but because it's about Jesus and forgiveness, it mostly appears in John. It's just this "mystery" that makes it so wonderful to me.

Read John 8:1-12. Do you see how the "mirror holders" had gathered around this woman? Do you see how Jesus came alongside her sinfulness? Do you see how Jesus "sent a message" to the mirror holders, and how they faded away in the fullness of Jesus message? Do you see how the woman recognized Jesus as "Lord"? Do you see how Jesus avoid condemning the woman? (Remember, Jesus came to save the world and not condemn it). Do you see how Jesus instructed the woman to turn from her sin and live forward? No regrets.

I love this story.

I've hurt people with my words and my actions. And, I regret it deeply. And, I've tried to seek people our and make amends. Still, when I wrestle with regret, Jesus steps in and says, "Regret no more the days of yesterday, Scott. Live forward in faith. Put an X on the sin of yesterday, live forward and sin no more." That message is why I love my Jesus so very, very much.

• If you have regrets today, Jesus says “Live forward; sin no more” as you walk in faith with Him.
• If you have things that need to be said to others, get them said today, tomorrow, this week.Get those words said with a sense of urgency.
• If you are holding a mirror up to others, trying to shape them into your image rather than God’s image for them, I warn you: You are arm-in-arm with Satan – not with Jesus. If you are throwing rocks at people, the words in the sand are for you. Be very afraid.
• If you have lived through the regrets and now live in peace, be an encourager to others. Turn people to the comfort of Jesus and the faith family of other believers.

Sliding back in faith

Let’s not beat around the bush . . . it’s difficult to be a follower of Jesus.
In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus said, “If anyone comes after me – follows me – accepts me as Savior – he MUST (1) deny himself; (2) take up his cross; and (3) follow me."

These are the characteristics of a Jesus follower. There is no wiggle room, compromise or rationalization:

1. The believer must deny himself. That means I pray for God's plans for me and not my plans for me. What does God want for me? Where does God need me? 
2. The believer's life must take up a cross: It must produce other believers and as I talk to people about Jesus those conversations will cost me something. Sharing Jesus is often inconvenient, emotionally draining, expensive and leads us out of comfort zones. As it cost Jesus to die on the cross we must expect following Him will cost us something, too.
3. The believer's life is about serving others. It is about following Jesus' example to serve others above self.

It’s easy to see why many, many people won’t follow Jesus. They completely rebel against God's desire to be at the center of their lives through faith in Jesus. But, these good people can't admit they won't follow Jesus. No, they lie about it or rationalize it. Or, they divert conversations to church rather than Jesus. Or, they equate good, moral behavior with being Christian. It's funny how people work so hard to say the right things when they don't mean them.

Ultimately, all followers of Jesus have one thing in common: They build relationships with people, talk about Jesus within those relationships, and introduce people to Jesus so that some may follow Him. If my life fails to produce other believers it's really impossible to say that I am following Jesus.

Following Jesus produces what I call "mountain top" experiences for the believer.
When I am living close to Jesus and God's plan to make disciples through me, I see God at work around me. I see prayers answered and know it's the Lord's work. I wake up in the middle of the night, sensing that God wants me to pray, or study Scripture, or just be quiet and think about Him. I feel the nudging of God to do something or say something. I am convicted of bad attitudes, bad behavior and bad words. When I have any or all of these experiences, really feeling God's presence, there's a euphoria - a spiritual ecstasy. Spiritual ecstasy is defined this way: A state of consciousness characterized by expanded spiritual awareness, visions or absolute euphoria.

Yep, that's what it is like. For me, that euphoria is just being consumed with Jesus - not for my sake, but to be a missionary to others.

But, it's hard to stay on the mountaintop. It's really hard.

I try to eat well. I eat oatmeal every day for breakfast. I eat at least one salad as a meal each day. I lean more toward chicken than beef. I watch sugar very closely. And, when I'm eating well, I feel great - especially when I'm exercising, too.

And, then one of the boys will make brownies. And, I've never met a bad brownie. Brownies call my name, "Scott, Scott . . . here we are . . . eat all of us . . . with ice cream . . . and chocolate syrup."

And, I say, "I'll get back to the oatmeal and salads tomorrow. Today, I'm eating these dang brownies!"

You and live in a sinful world governed by human nature. Human nature is always going to defer to selfishness and sinfulness. We are surrounded by it in our relationships, media messages, and generations of "me first, me first" thinking. Human nature - sinful to the core - is always pulling us down from the mountaintop. Human nature is diabolically in opposition to following Jesus. Following Jesus is contradictory to human nature, and the pull off the mountain is hard. In the costliness of following Jesus, we get lonely, we get discouraged, we get tired, we get bored, and we worry about how relationships will change when Jesus is inserted in them.

We slide backward. We say things like, "Everyone else is living like they want to live and I'm falling behind" or "I need to stay in the group" or "Everyone is going to feel like I'm judging them." We stop praying. We stop studying Scripture. We stop being around other believers. We go through the motions of church attendance, but the joy and peace from the mountaintop just isn't there anymore. And, Jesus says, "Hey, where did you go?" We hide from Him.

I slide back all the time. So do you. We all do. That's not to justify it or to help you find misery in company. It's just to say, we all slide back. The people of God, in the Old Testament, might as well have been on a roller coaster with God. Look at David, he was up and down, up and down, up and down with God.

But, here's the dealt: Followers of Jesus are convicted by the Holy Spirit to turn away from sin and back to Jesus. Followers of Jesus ache at being off the mountain and crave to be back there. Followers of Jesus repent.

All of this high and low, creates a legitimate question: Can a true Christian slide back?
Absolutely. Sliding back is a regression into a spiritual dullness or lack of obedience. But, sliding back will always bring discipline from God in the same way a parent disciplines a child for being disobedient. Hebrews 12:5-11 says we can be encouraged by God's discipline as a reminder that we are His and He love us. Scripture doesn't spell out how God's discipline applies, but the punishment fits the crime and we never consider it unfair. We know we've done wrong, we see the punishment, and we think, "Yep, I deserved that." Thank goodness for God's correction because it reminds us that we are His!

In the life of Scott Vaughan, discipline usually comes in the form of God's hands being removed from me. That's a human interpretation of how I feel. I slide into the valley of "me" and begin to orchestrate my life according to my own will. I can sense God removing his hands and saying, "You want to be in charge? Have at it." There's a unmistakable cloud that comes, bringing an absence of joy and peace. My life feels out of tune. It's a blindness. Most times, I fall into prayerful repentance like a little boy who has been caught breaking a window in an old barn. (Yep, that happened). But, sometimes, I rebel further and then bad attitudes lead to bad decisions, which begin affecting relationships. Hard-heartedness is just around the corner. Somewhere in there, I will hurt someone I love and the shame of it all drives me into repentance, and hopefully (as I cry out to Jesus) to another mountaintop experience.

My spiritual goal is to narrow the gap between mountain top experiences from year to year. I like to say that I'm a "two steps forward and one step backward" believer who finds joy in gaining one step each year.

Want to read a hopeful story of sliding back and redemption? Read the story of Samson in Judges 13-16. Then, look over at Hebrews 11:32. For all his ups and downs in faith, Samson was ultimately listed with the great men of God.

Here are some practices that will help you and me from sliding back with regularity:

1. Examine your faith life regularly. 2 Corinthians 13:5
2. If you find yourself drifting, turn back to faith immediately. Call a believer. Hebrews 3:12-13.
3. Come to God daily for forgiveness and cleansing. 1 John 1:9 . . . Begin your day with prayer. Prayer before you get out of bed and surrender the complete day to the Lord's work through your life.
4. Come daily seeking the Lord with your whole heart. 1 Chronicles 28:9
5. Stay in Scripture. Keep studying and learning daily. Proverbs 4:13.
6. Stay close to other believers. Hebrews 10:25 . . . Lean into other believers for guidance, encouragement and correction. Have 2-3 believers you can talk to about the deep issues of faith. These are not casual friends, but those who use the name of Jesus.
7. Stand firm in faith. Expect difficult times. Matthew 10:22.
8. Persevere. 1 Timothy 4:15-17.
9. Run the race to win it. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25.
10. Remind yourself of what God has done for you in the past. Hebrews 10:32, 35-39.

Where are you?

I want to speak to the little boy or little girl inside each of us. I want to peel back the thick, cumbersome layers of adulthood that we pile on to mask our thoughts, feelings and emotions. I want to speak to the child in you – the innocent child that Jesus refers to when He says, in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me.” The little child who is afraid of the dark, afraid of thunderstorms, hates it when his parents fight, and does not understand why people don’t want to be her friend. Inside all of us, beneath the life-worn exterior of machismo and pride that child still lives within us. And, Jesus still speaks to that child: "Come."

In helping us understand God and the heavens, well-meaning adults pointed to the blue skies and white clouds and said, heaven is there and God lives in heaven. Even the Bible, in Isaiah 40:22, says God stretches out the heavens. We grew up with this idea that God is "up there" somewhere - somewhere far away. People stand in worship, face and arms lifted high, and for some they seem to be reaching upward to . . . somewhere. And, if we dig a hole deep enough, we'll come to a place called hell and the devil lives "down there." Good is up; bad is down. You've probably seen the old cartoons that reinforce this with an elevator. God is up there - far away - looking down on our lives and waiting on a few of us to join Him in the clouds when we die.

As a 12-year-old boy, I was hurting in 1971. I had a good life, lots of baseball, big farm to play on, parents who loved me, grandparents living just next door and they loved me, and all was well. When my grandmother died in 1971, as death often does to survivors, life got reshuffled. Nothing was the same. And, I was hurting. I've told the story many times: To ease the hurting, I used $10 of my birthday money to purchase a Bible, had my name stamped on it, and began reading it. Not long after, our pastor, Roger Williams, came to our Sunday evening Bible Study. He asked each of us (students) to be prepared to stand and read a favorite Bible verse in that evening's worship service. 

I didn't have a verse. I wanted to shout out, "My life is upside down right now. God is far away in those clouds up there. I don't even want to be here tonight. Leave me alone!"

As I sat in worship, between my parents, Roger asked we young people to stand and read our verses. I didn't have a verse. As other children stood and read, I stared at my Bible. It might as well have been a rock - literally. Then, I opened it and the words of Joshua 1:9 jumped off that page at me, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." It was like a wave of peace flooded through me and over me. I stood and read that verse. Then, I sat down, buried my head in my mama's shoulder, and began to cry. God was not far away; God was right there. And, I knew it. 

As a follower of Jesus, God had spoke that verse into my broken heart, reminding me that He is not an absentee God, far away in story-book clouds. For those who love Him through Jesus, broken under the strain of life, He reaches out through the Holy Spirit in a supernatural way, and says, “Anchor your life in me. I will always be with you. Always. I will be with you wherever life takes you. Even in the darkest, loneliest, most confusing places – I am there.”

Most of us know that God is right here with us. But, that hopeful message slips away. We forget it. We ignore it. We wander away. I have lived a life full of valleys, some very deep, and in each of them, I still look toward the heavens and think, “Where is God in all this? Why does He seem so far away from me.” I completely forget Joshua 1:9 and all the other reminders in Scripture: God is right here. And, while I am saying, “Where are you, God?” God is saying, Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Come to me. 

While I am busy asking, "Where are you, God?" God is responding with, "Scott, I am here. Where are you? Come to me. I will give you rest." God is waiting on me and you to come to Him.

What’s wrong with me – what’s wrong with you – what’s wrong with us – that we can’t hold onto that truth? What’s wrong with our faith that we are tossed around like a rag doll in the wind? What's wrong?

God isn't fun.
I am reminded of the family that learns their child will suffer with a disease for his entire life. The child will never know the same life experienced by the neighborhood children. And, how does the family respond? Do they run to God? No, they post Facebook photographs, showing drunken parties. They say, without saying, "God, I just want to be normal and have fun. You aren't fun, God. I don't want to deal with anything 'heavy' like religion. I just want to escape the pain." And, their hearts grow cold toward the only one who can bring them peace.

God isn't convenient

I am reminded of the man who was invited to join other men on a mission trip to North Dakota. He stared back across the table and said, "Well, that ain't happening. Hell will freeze over before I do that." He failed to realize that this wasn't a friend who was inviting him to be on mission - it was Holy God extending that invitation through another believer. Each and every day, God is inviting us to join Him in a work to improve the lives of other people. But, we say, "God, you are so inconvenient. I have plans. I have goals. I have vacation time reserved for me. My children need me at every single ballgame for the rest of their lives. My life can't function without ME. Don't get in my way, God. You are an inconvenience." And, their hearts grow cold toward the only one who can bring them joy.

God isn't forgiving

I am reminded of the woman whose past came rushing up to meet her one day. Poor mistakes as a young woman were being lived out through her children. She said, "God, I know you are punishing me. I am not worthy to walk with you. I want to get things 'right' with you, but I am so unworthy. My chance is over." Feeling blighted, scarred and beyond repair, she had come to a place where she felt God no longer cared for her. And, her heart grew cold toward the only one who could bring her hope.

These are just three examples. I could write 100 more and many would apply directly to me. We turn and run from God, and then we ask, "Where is God?" And, God asks, "Scott, where are you? Where have you gone?"

For Jesus followers, God is right here - beside you, over you, under you, inside you - all the time. And He is constantly speaking, constantly calling you to serve, constantly calling you toward change, constantly reminding you that Jesus came to save and not condemn (John 3:17). But, our hearts have been hardened by the valleys; our hearts have grown cold toward love, peace, joy and hope. We can't hear God. We have listened to bank accounts, the counsel of unbelievers, family calendars, and the false belief that we are responsible for the happiness of our children. We wander, lost, hurting, confused . . . like little children afraid of the dark, but paralyzed to get out of the bed and turn on the light.

And, some of you can't hear from God because you don't know His son as your Savior. Only through Jesus, can you hear God's call to peace, love and hope. Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Have you made that commitment? Have you said, “I can’t do it anymore all by myself; I’m tired of it. I need Jesus.” If so, have you told others? Because you can’t keep the light under a bushel – it’s impossible. Have you been baptized in front of family and friends – maybe not in a big church service, but have you made that public statement of faith? Do people know that you know Jesus? Only you can answer that, but I promise you that you will never, never know the peace that comes through God until you acknowledge Jesus, surrender to Him, confess Him to others publicly, and allow your heart to be massaged by Jesus' comforting words: "But those who drink the water that I give will never be thirsty again." (John 4:14). 

Where is God? Where is God in the restlessness of our lives? 

Where are you? God is here. Where are you?

Make a decision today. Make a decision to surrender your life completely to Jesus, and if you have already done so, make the decision to step from life’s confusion and uncertainty, and hear from God: Do not be afraid, I am here. I am sovereign. I am God.

Tender heartedness

Richard and I were in Walmart recently, looking for an electric ice cream freezer. We were browsing through the small appliances when speeding out of an aisle came a little boy – maybe 4 – on a tricycle. He stopped, gave us a grin, and then sped off. We chuckled at the unexpected scene, and kept shopping. You just don't expect to get run down by a tricycle in Walmart.

In a few minutes, the little boy came slowly driving by, this time a more concerned look on his face. He was looking around, and Richard said, “I don’t think he can find his parents.”

Unable to find the ice cream freezer, I said, “Well, let’s go try Target.” Richard said, “I’m not leaving here until I make sure that little boy has found his parents.” And, Richard began to follow the boy on the tricycle, keeping his distance but keeping an eye on him.

About 10 minutes later, my 6-5 son joined me at the front of the store, “His mama found him in the shoes. I've seen that look in her eye. He's probably going to get a spanking.”

I propose to you that the Holy Spirit nudged Richard to care for the little boy, and that Richard was obedient to slow his life down and follow that nudging. And, in doing so, demonstrated a measure of tender-heartedness toward the situation. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:31 . . . “believers are to get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior and instead be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” We show tender-heartedness when we are kind, caring and forgiving of one another. Our hearts are tender to the needs of others. Further, we are tender-hearted when we are wide-eyed to the needs of others, slow our lives down to serve, and then practice kindness, caring and forgiveness.

For believers, tender-heartedness is not an option. In being tender-hearted, we are replicating how Jesus loves us, accepting His kindness, sacrifice, and forgiveness, and paying that forward to others, including strangers. We are following Jesus when we practice tender-heartedness.

But, let's take it step further. Because many, many good people - who don't follow Jesus - do good things for others. Community service organizations and philanthropies have churned out tender-hearted people for years and years. Most people, I believe, practice a measure of tender-heartedness, especially toward family and friends. In fact, any unbeliever could have responded - and may have responded - just as Richard did in Walmart.

At lunchtime on Friday, I met with three other men in our community for a time of prayer. We were from four different churches though that was not planned. One of the men, a runner, shared that every day he runs 2-3 miles. Along this journey, he often sees a neighbor and they wave at one another. Recently, my friend said his neighbor was at the mailbox when he ran by, and they actually spoke. Something in the neighbor’s eyes caused my friend to stop, turn around, and walk back for a handshake and an introduction. The neighbor then began to cry. His marriage was falling apart. My friend said his heart literally broke for his neighbor and ministry followed. “I pray this leads to a conversation about Jesus,” my friend said. “He may know Jesus, but I want to make sure; perhaps He just needs to turn back to Jesus.”

This is what it really means to be tenderhearted as a follower of Jesus. We see beyond the Earthly pain to the spiritual pain. We look for opportunities to build relationship with people toward a goal of talking to some about faith. Tenderheartedness, I propose, for the believer, is about pouring into a person's Earthly pain toward a goal of easing that person's spiritual pain.

In Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus talks about His own heart. It's one of the only times in Scripture when Jesus does this. In this passage, Jesus says that we will approach Him like (tender-hearted) children - unjaded and innocent. He calls Himself simple and gentle (tenderhearted) and in connecting with people that way, some find salvation and its peace through Him.

You and I are called to make disciples - not just to be good people. Being tender-hearted is the way we build relationship toward faith conversations. Many people do good things for others. Our heart breaks for those who struggle, who are lonely, who are hurting, whose marriages are crumbling, whose children are sick, who need a friend, and who need a cold cup of water. I am a tender-hearted person. My radar goes up for those kinds of needs, and I love to respond to people – often very privately.

But, as a believer, I’m not finishing the race if I just ease the Earthly pain. As I pour into a person, I’ve got to be looking downfield with a goal to talk about Jesus – to talk about my faith. Did you know that only about 50 percent of confessing Christians believe they have a responsibility to share their faith with others? That means 50 percent believe it’s someone else’s responsibility. That’s research from the Barna Group - a leader in research among evangelicals. Research from Campus Crusades for Christ suggests that only 2 percent of believers share their faith. This research speaks loudly about the condition of our hearts toward others and toward Jesus. If it's not our responsibility to share faith with others, whose responsibility is it? Do we honestly believe we can follow Jesus on the one hand and never discuss Him on the other? Impossible.

Those who share their faith, those who have a burden to share their faith, are those who are tenderhearted – tenderhearted to the gospel – tenderhearted toward following Jesus. Those who don’t – those who don’t feel the burden – are growing or have grown hard-hearted toward Jesus – even if their actions toward others include random acts of kindness, hospital visits and chicken casseroles.

So, how do we share our faith with others? It's not something I have a lot of experience with, but I am intentionally focusing my life on being more tender-hearted toward the gospel and toward others. Here are some of my thoughts and discoveries:

1. Be confident that you are a confessing follower of Jesus. It’s one thing to be saved; it’s another thing to claim that Jesus is Lord of your life and that you are following Him. Those who follow Jesus will find it impossible to ignore talking about Him. In the way that I love my boys and talk about them from that pool of love, I will likewise find it impossible to love Jesus and not talk about Him.
2. Practice using the name of Jesus. This has worked for me. It was uncomfortable at first because it draws a line in the relationship sand. Using the name of Jesus - as opposed to "the Lord" as if he's a faraway king - forces others to react. Some will be repulsed by the name of Jesus, but I'm learning that the name of Jesus opens unbelievable doors for ministry and my life is blessed because of my response to Him.
3. What do I say about Jesus? What are the right words to say? Do I need to search for words to talk about my Vicki or my boys? No. There are no right and holy words to recite. As you are asked about your faith, you tell your story with Jesus. You tell how your life was before, how you came to be broken by your sin, and what life is like now. Need help with your story? Click here.
4. What if people want to argue? Don’t. I never argue. I don’t have to argue. I can’t save someone from sin. My responsibility is to be tender-hearted, love people, want people to know Jesus, and talk about Him. The Holy Spirit will go to work and some will respond. Some will not respond. I'm not judged by God based on how others respond to Jesus. My calling is to be obedient in talking about Him and reflecting Him in my life.
5. What if people have questions that I can’t answer? That’s cool. You say, 'I don’t know all the answers. I’ll do some research and get back to you.' I use this website to help me with my own questions and to answer the questions of others: www.gotquestions.org. People are more likely to listen if you impress them by working to get answers.
6. What if someone says they want me to pray for them? Do it. Again, there are no "right words." The Holy Spirit will give you the words. They may be awkward, but they will not sound that way to the one needing to hear them. Honestly, I've prayed some of the most bungled-up prayers and when I finished the other person was in tears. So, it wasn't me - it was the Holy Spirit speaking to them. Remember, we are talking about supernatural matters here. You and I are just vessels through which the Spirit communicates.
7. What if someone says ‘What must I do to be saved?’ – If you declare with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead to be your Savior from the worship of self, you will be saved. Romans 10:9. Read the book of Romans. It will change your life and empower you to be bold with others.
8. Pray daily for God to send hurting people into your life. Give them cool water to ease the pain of the Earthly journey, and be prepared to help them drink the eternal water that only comes from Jesus. I promise that once you become tender-hearted to both men and to the sharing of the gospel, your life will be completely different. And, in that alteration comes unbelievable peace and joy.

When good people have hard hearts

People should be able to see a difference between those who follow Jesus and those who don’t. People should be able to clarify between a "good, Christian person" and a person who follows Jesus. 

Many people - most people actually - are good, honest, hard-working people who vote in all the elections, love their family and friends, attend church regular and prepare chicken casseroles when a friend has fallen ill. But, all of that does not make them a follower of Jesus. It is possible and very much a reality that many, many "good Christian people" do not know Jesus as Savior and many who do aren't following Him.

So, as God leads me into this study of hard heartedness, I want to look closely at "good people with hard hearts." Just as a reminder, hard heartedness does not mean mean or wicked. It means hard or cold to building relationships through which Jesus can be shared.

As many of you know, Vicki’s mama is in very poor health. Mrs. Bowen lived here in Lexington until January, when we moved her to Gainesville, GA where she could live with and be cared for by Vicki's sister, Kathy. Mrs. Bowen loved to cook. A big part of her identity was her cooking. But, as her physical and mental health deteriorated she could no longer cook anything. So, Vicki and were left with Mrs. Bowen's expensive mixers, bowls, pots and pans, and boxes of very good kitchen gadgets.

Vicki and I are good people. We love Jesus, we love our family, we are faithful to the church, we vote in all the elections, we pay our taxes, we work hard, and we don't live on credit - we generally pay cash for everything. But, now comes the question: What should we do with Mrs. Bowen's stuff? For that matter, what should we do with all of the stuff that used to be in our two outdoor sheds? In those sheds, we had some pretty high-quality stuff, including top-of-the-line baby furniture that had survived four boys and could survive four more. What should we do with expensive dresses and suits that we no longer wear? 

Some might say, "Let's have yard sale!" That would allow us to turn stuff into profit. But, who does that serve? Ultimately, self wins.

Some might say, "Let's donate it to a non-profit that resells the items very cheaply." That would be easy. And, it would benefit some . . . but it might not benefit those trying to rub two nickels together to produce dinner.

Jesus would say, "Open your eyes to families in your community and give your life away to those who need the stuff, and give it away with no strings attached." And, so that's what Vicki and I are systematically doing. The baby furniture and accessories have made their way to families experiencing crisis pregnancy, and to young and struggling couples. We've given some of Mrs. Bowen's cooking stuff to young people who are just starting out and need to outfit a kitchen.

The hard-hearted would say, "Oh, no! That's too much trouble. How do you know they really deserve it? How do you know they aren't turning around and selling your stuff at the flea market? That welfare bunch should have to pay something - they have to pay their way!" And, there my friends is the real rub of it. That's why it is so difficult to follow Jesus. Because though we believers live good and honest lives, Jesus says that even the ungodly live good lives. Jesus is calling us to live completely and radically different from the ungodly.

Look at Ephesians 4:17-19. In this passage, Paul makes some very strong statements: "Live no longer like the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. They have no sense of shame. They live for their own pleasure and practice every kind of impurity."

Let me talk to you about traffic. I was in the Chick-fil-a drive through last Monday with what seemed like 500 of my closest friends. It was insane. The Cathy family can make a chicken sandwich, but they can't design buildings and have no concept of traffic flow. I was in Chick-fil-a gridlock hell. An elderly woman had unwittingly parked so that she blocked the drive-through release and was stuck in the drive-through line. She couldn't move. People began blowing their horns and some rolled down their windows and started shouting at her. I sat by the drive-through window, drinking my diet lemonade.

Then, I saw a solution. I got out of the van and approached her. She was white with panic. I told her that I would stop traffic so that she could get out and release the gridlock. All I had to do was stop one car, she pulled out, and everything began working more smoothly. But, as I raised my hand to stop that one car, the driver looked at me in disgust because she didn't understand. Then, she saw what was happening, she smiled, nodded her head in the affirmative and all was well.

Now, here's the thing.

Those who did nothing but blow their horns and yell at the poor lady were hard of heart toward the gospel. I'm sure many of them are really good people 99 percent of the time. A few may know Jesus. But, at that moment, their hearts were hardened to the gospel. They did not value the relationship with the woman as Jesus would have. They valued a chicken sandwich and a hurry-up-to-be-somewhere attitude more than they valued that woman. Their hearts were hard. There's no way they could have been of value to the Kingdom in that moment, and that saddens our Savior.

But, even the nice woman who stopped for me and patiently waited was hard of heart, too. Why? Because even though she stopped when prompted, her heart was hardened not to see the opportunity. I suggest to you that her heart was not as hard as others because she came quickly to tenderness, but she is an example of how easily it is to toggle between good and bad, and how good people can become hard hearted. And in that instance, opportunity for relationship-building is forfeited.

As I was convicted of all this - because I'm guilty, too, for daily moments of hard heartedness - I suddenly found myself in the mindset of allowing anyone and everyone to turn in front of me in traffic. In fact, I spent the rest of the week, stopping for people to turn in front of me in traffic.

The hard of heart would say, "No! It's my turn!"

The hard of heart would say, "I've got somewhere important to be! Out of my way!"

The hard of heart would say, "Scott, I can see helping the old lady at Chick-fil-a, but I can't see letting everyone turn in front of you for an entire week."

Really? What do you think it means when Jesus says in Matthew 16:24:  “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways (deny your self), take up your cross (take up your own burden) and follow me (because I’m going to take care of you.)” 

You see, we really don't believe that. We believe, "\God takes care of those who care for themselves." Well, hmmm, that phrase is not in Proverbs. That phrase is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, who most likely extracted it from Aesop's Fables.

No, you and I are to be unconcerned for self, completely putting all of our lives, hopes, dreams and goals into the hands of God through the Savior who loves us. And, as we do that, we are to be wide-eyed, open-minded and tender hearted to helping every single person on this planet above self and without prejudice. Do they deserve it? None of us deserves the sacrifice on Calvary, and so let's start there when we talk about what people deserve. When you can't love every single person above self, the end result is a heart that hardens to the gospel.

Do well today by others. You will find that as you do, your heart will become tender to the peace, joy, love and hope of our Savior. As we follow Him completely, in word and attitude and deed, He will massage our hearts to tender places and the answers to life’s questions will become crystal clear. Or, the questions just won't matter. And, that’s where we will go next week.

Hard Heartedness

Do these people seem familiar?

• The churchman who, faced with knee-buckling family tragedy, turns completely from faith and lives the rest of his days cursing God, and shunning everything about the church.
• The scolding family member who says, "You are becoming a Jesus freak; you are embarrassing our family." 
• The matriarch who says, "No, let's not pray at our 50th Anniversary dinner; it will make some feel uncomfortable. Let's just leave religion out of it."
• The couple, no longer having babies, that looks beyond young parents in need of free baby furniture to see a few dollars made at a neighborhood yard sale?
• The successful white-collar businessman who looks at a neighborhood and refers to everyone in it as "them," assigning a measure of superiority and societal blame with his words.
• The church volunteer who throws her hands up in disgust and says, "I quit! No one is helping, and everyone is happy to watch me work myself to death."
• The uncle (or aunt - fill in the blank) who knows his nephew doesn't know Jesus and washes his hands of any guilt by saying, "Well, if it's meant to be, God will get his attention."

All of these are but a very few examples of spiritual hard-heartedness.
For all of those examples, above, I can assign a very real person to each of them. I can even assign myself to one or two. I'm not suggesting any of these people are bad, immoral, un-Godly people. Each of them is a good person, and a follower of Jesus. But, each of them, too, experienced a measure of what Jesus calls hard-heartedness to the matters of faith, meaning their spiritual journey detoured. If unchecked, the detour can be costly.

Let's look at Mark 8: 1-21, and let's look at in several parts.
Part One: 8:1-10. Jesus has miraculously fed 4,000 people with a few loaves of bread and fish. And, in fact, there were even leftovers. That's pretty impressive. How could anyone close to the miracle be blinded to the reality of Jesus? After the feeding of the people, Jesus and the disciples got in a boat and crossed to another place.
Part Two: 8:11-13. When the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they confronted Jesus, and demanded that He show them a miracle. He sighed deeply. That's big for me - Jesus just gave a weary sigh. He refused to give them a sign, and he and the disciples got back in the boat to travel again.
Part Three: 8:14-21: Back in the boat, the disciples got hungry, but they had forgotten the leftovers. They had just one loaf of bread. Gee whiz. Jesus warned them, "Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod." The disciples ignored Jesus and began to argue with each other, blaming one another for forgetting the leftovers. Jesus was exasperated. They had seen but quickly forgotten that He had miraculously just fed 4,000 people from a few loaves. One loaf of bread to feed those in the boat was nothing. And, Jesus says, "Are your hearts too hard to take it in?"

Oh, my. Just like the disciples, we suffer from hard hearts. We suffer from Teflon hearts. We see and know and follow Jesus, but in the matter of seconds, minutes and in our everyday attitudes - we act no different than the Pharisees who hated Jesus. Drawing from yeast as a microorganism that enriches bread, Jesus warns us to not to have the yeast of the Pharisees growing within us.
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What is hardness of the heart? Well, at its core – it is sin because it puts the will of self ahead of the will of God. The will of God is always about loving Him and loving others ahead of self. With hard heartedness, there is an attitude of stubbornness, disobedience and self-will. When a child stands up against parental authority, we speak of the child as hard-hearted – a heart that is hardened to parental love. In our spiritual lives, hardness of the heart is choosing self and things of the Earth over loving and serving God, and following Jesus. What it makes it worse is that it is willful disobedience. We can’t excuse it away.

What are some of the effects and manifestations of a hard heart? There will be a spirit of defensiveness – a rejection of conviction of sin. Two believers were arguing over a photograph one had posted on Facebook. They asked me if I approved of the photograph, showing one believer - a leader in his church - at a roulette wheel on a cruise ship. I told them that the photograph did not personally offend me, but I could make a case for it tarnishing the witness of the believer. The person in the photograph became indignant, lashed out, and essentially told me to "mind my own business." Hard-heartedness always defends, justifies and rationalizes sin. Hard heartedness manifests itself, too, in prejudice, blunted morality, a limp gospel (that hell does not exist and God will usher everyone into heaven), mockery of faith, and a blindness to the social position of others.

What is the byproduct of a hard heart?
Just like the yeast growing in bread, a hard heart can grow so thick that a person can't hear from God, cannot hear the voice of God through others, and if the person is unsaved . . . well. You and I always stand on the precipice of hard-heartedness. For me, hard heartedness is like a veil that comes between me and God. It's like something blocking me from being in that sweet spot with Him. Fortunately, I can hear the Holy Spirit crying for me to acknowledge the veil exists, and to tear it away through my obedience to our Lord.

Having a tender heart for the gospel, and for others, is something that requires our constant focus and prayer. It also demands that we have people in our lives who can hold us accountable when our hearts began to turn hard.

Beware the Thief

By Monty Hope -- Growing up the son of a Southern Baptist Music Minister in a small town was always interesting.  My mother, ever the right brained, creative, emotional entertainer has always had a problem with time.  She never has been able to gage time and surely has an issue showing up on time.  One warm, summer, Sunday morning I was a good little eight year old and got myself ready for church.  With plenty of time to kill, I climbed into the front seat of our ‘74, Chevy, Impala and rolled the windows down.

Well, time kept on ticking and I got a little antsy.  Compared to the right brained personality of my mother, I am diametrically imposed.  Even as a young child, I was severely left brained (logical, not emotional, concerned about time, etc).  So, with time clicking away, what was a left brained little boy to do?  That’s right, get on the horn.  The first series nor the second series of honks brought any attention.  It was on the third series of honks that all hell broke loose.  My mama erupted out of the house with screen door swinging behind.  Her hair was done, her makeup was done, but she was only wearing a slip.  She extracted me out of the Impala through the open window and, before she planted my feet on the ground, there were at least three swats to the backside.

Why so much trouble on Sundays?  I dare say that during my childhood I got more beatings on Sunday morning that any other day.  While I will never blame my sinful actions on the old phrase “the Devil made me do it,” I do believe Satan, the Thief, was and is very interested in disrupting the Lord’s day.  This is especially true if that day is going to be a day in which the gospel is spread and lives are saved.  Revelation 12:12 says, “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!  But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!  He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

So, if you think the Thief is a little ticked and wants to disrupt a simple day of worship, imagine what he wants to do because of the revival that is occurring in our class?  According to Charles Spurgeon, “When the devil roars at anything, you may rest assured there is some good in it. The devil is not like some dogs we know of; he never barks unless there is something to bark at. When Satan howls we may rest assured he is afraid his kingdom is in danger.”

Revival is occurring because of one simple fact.  The Gospel of Jesus is being taught.  Even more importantly, the Gospel is being taken beyond the four walls of our class into the community and world. There is no doubt Satan must be shaken by this revival.  The more he is shaken the more desperate his actions may become.  We must be on guard for the thief.  Will we be so enamored with what “WE” accomplish that we forget Jesus is accomplishing it?  Will we be so focused on what “WE” need from this class that we forget our goal is to share what we receive with others?  Will our pride be hurt because we are not included in this group or that group.  Will we not recognize our goal is to include others and not worry about being included?

Take head, but also take heart.  Jesus says in John 16: 33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Yes, there will be trouble.  Anytime Jesus is using us to expand His kingdom, resistance and pain will be encountered.  The wonderful thing is that the same Jesus who is our message is also our deliverer.  He has overcome this word.  He has overcome the Thief.

Pleasing People v Pleasing Jesus

By Monty Hope -- Piles of financial data, spreadsheets built with cunning insight, sales reports loaded with client information, detailed cost reports showing where the money was going………these were the heart of six, super-duper, financial reports I spent an entire weekend constructing.  Each report was sent to my boss, our CFO, and the General Manager of the area studied.  Each was concise and contained detailed action plans for improvement.  As I went to bed Sunday night after emailing the last of the reports, a smug grin emerged across my face.  I drifted to sleep sure of the at-a-boy emails I would receive on Monday.

Monday came and went; no emails, no calls.  Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday passed with no acknowledgement of the work that surely could have earned a Nobel Prize in economics.  I made my way home for the weekend questioning the value of the sweat I put into those reports.  By Monday the disillusionment had worn off, but God waited until Wednesday to teach me a lesson.  As I opened my “Stand Firm” devotional on June 5, 2013, the title of the lesson read, “Seeking the Approval of Others.”  There is always a “Bottom Line” in this devotional.  It read, “Pursuing the fleeting, conditional recognition of others is like running in the wrong direction.  It takes us further away from God, never closer.”  While I did emit a slight chuckle at God’s sense of humor, it was done so through a shroud of shame.

In John 5:38-47, Jesus addresses the danger of seeking praise from others.  In his words to the Jewish leaders, “I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.  I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.  How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”

Here is the crux of the issue.  There is no sin or harm in pleasing others.  In fact, obedience taken to the max should be pleasing.  The harm and the sin occur when we please other so that we can receive the praise.  Pride is truly at the root of all sin and you can see its interface here.  Let us follow the advice of Paul in Colossians 3:22-25 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Go ahead.  Work hard so that others may be pleased.  Work hard so that Jesus will be glorified through you.  Take great comfort knowing Jesus has granted us all the reward we will ever need.  We have eternal life through Him.  What more could we ask?

Grace: The Baseball Card Locker

In 1969, life was all about collecting Topps baseball cards, and not just collecting, but how many you could collect. In our fifth grade classroom, you were only a serious collector when you reached 1,000 cards and owned every player on the starting lineups of the Braves, Cardinals and Tigers.

There was no E-Bay, where you could buy sets of cards for the cheap. There were no multiple card brands – just Topps - and not every store sold baseball cards. And, there was always the agonizing problem of buying packs of cards – with the hard piece of bubble gum – that contained doubles (cards you already owned). On the road to your 1,000-card goal, doubles did not count. Recess on the playground was all about the trading, and trading could get very serious.

The summer of 1969 was one of the greatest summers of my life.

• A friend loaned me the inaugural album of Grand Funk Railroad. Things were never the same after that. No more Richard and Karen Carpenter for me.
• My dad surprised us one afternoon with tickets to see the newly established Montreal Expos play our beloved Atlanta Braves, and I was interested to see what Canadians looked like. (I didn’t understand that most of these Expos were Americans, simply playing ball in Montreal.)
• For my 10th birthday, my parents surprised me with a “case of baseball cards” – not a pack or two or three – but an entire case of cards. A case of cards contained 25 individual packs. This easily threw me over the 1,000 card milestone and that moved me into the upper echelon of card collectors.

And then, just as my life reached a high-water mark, my friend Richard Webb burst my bubble. Through mail order, he had acquired – from the Lakeside Toys Company – a Baseball Card Locker. Now, rather than using a shoe box with post card team dividers, there was a cool, formal and hard plastic way to organize cards by team. The ante had been raised. I had to have a Baseball Card Locker. And, if you know me and my obsession over databases and organizing groups, well, the card locker ignited in me a frenzy. I had to have a card locker.

Richard provided the ordering information, and my heart sank. The card locker was $20. My birthday had passed. I had no money. My parents would not give me money nor would they order the locker for me until Christmas. So, I did the only reasonable thing I could. I went to see my granddaddy and we struck a deal. I would work Saturdays in his retail meat packing plant from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and he would pay me $20 per Saturday.

Yes, 20 samollians.

So Saturday came, and I staggered out of bed, ate a Pop Tart, rode my green bicycle down Brookwood Road to the "meat house", and met Papa R.C. as he opened the doors. Inside, he explained my duties. As customers came to the counter to request bacon, sausage, pork chops, pork loins, etc., my job was to run into the massive refrigerators and bring the products to the counter. When there were no customers, my job was to clean.

At 7 a.m., my intentions were good. I wanted to be all that I could be. I was a faithful employee through the morning. At lunch, my grandmother called me to the house for a sandwich, and I was more than eager to go see her. Back and forth trips to the big walk-in refrigerator had become monotonous for a 10-year old boy. And, let’s face it: I was only in this for the $20. And, as I figured it, showing up was the most important thing to do. He was my granddaddy – he was going to give me the $20 regardless of my work ethic.

After lunch, I slowly made my way back to the store . . . the long way. And, that afternoon, business was slow. I really didn’t want to clean and honestly thought it was a little beneath me to clean. So, I amused myself by hitting rocks with a dowel rod in the parking lot. I also tapped the Coca-Cola machine and drank the cycle . . . Coke, Sprite, Fanta Grape, and Fanta Orange. I drank the cycle three times. One customer showed up with a cute girl about my age, and being a confident flirt, I chased her around the parking lot for a while.  I was also watching the clock . . . 5 p.m. . . . $20 . . . Baseball Card Locker.

At the end of the day, my grandfather asked me empty the garbage cans. I did that, and when I returned to the store, I realized he had closed up and gone home. Where was my $20? This was awkward.

So, I went to his house, where he and my Granny were preparing to sit down to supper. I went inside, got a slow drink of water, giving him ample time to pay me. It didn’t happen.

Then, I was struck by a feeling. Had I really earned that $20? I had been a good employee at the start of my day, but after lunch I had not earned any money. In fact, I had drank a couple of bucks worth of soft drinks.

Dejected, I said "good-bye" in the awkward silence of their kitchen and left for the bike ride home. I walked outside under their carport and did the only thing I could do . . . I sat down on the steps and cried quietly to myself.

I had blown it. No $20. No Baseball Card Locker.

Finally, I stood, went to my bicycle, and prepared to ride home. And, that’s when the door opened. Papa R.C. walked out with my Granny standing in the door. She was crying, too.

He walked up to me and said, “I forgot to pay you” and he gave me $25 (more than our original deal). I looked at him, tears in my eyes and said, “Papa, I don’t deserve it.” Then, I just broke down crying.

“Well, you come back next Saturday,” he said. My Granny could not stand it any longer – that big woman almost jumped from the stairs to embrace me. She reminded me how much they both loved me, and I knew that they did. 

I went back the next Saturday, and the next, and many more Saturdays over the next three years. My grandfather never had a better Saturday employee than me. And, I was able to purchase my Baseball Card Locker. I own it to this day. It is a reminder about Grace.

This is not really about the Baseball Card Locker.

The Gospel writer Mark writes, in Mark 14:66-72, the story of Peter’s epic failure. Jesus has been arrested, and Peter is spotted by those in the crowd. He is accused of being a follower of Jesus – this revolutionary – and Peter denies that he is a follower. He denies it three times. The last sentence in the passage of Scripture is so very important and I don't want you to miss it: (v. 71) "Peter swore, 'A curse on me if I'm lying - I don't know this man you're talking about." (v. 72) And, immediately the rooster crowed the second time (as Jesus said it would). Suddenly, Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind: 'Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.' And, Peter broke down and wept."

You see that Jesus' prediction of Peter's denial has come through, but I want you to really focus on Peter's brokenness at the reality of failing Jesus - His Lord and Savior. Peter is crushed at failing Jesus.

Then, we read in John 21:15-17 when Jesus returns to the disciples after His resurrection. Jesus asks Peter three times (once for each denial) if he (Peter) loves Him. Each time, Peter says, "Yes, Lord, I love you." Finally, Peter says, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you." And, Peter then feels the whitewash of Grace, of forgiveness for his denial, as Jesus says, "Then, feed my sheep." 

Grace is receiving the gift when we don’t deserve it. None of us deserve to live in peace; none of us deserve eternal life with Jesus. You and I can do absolutely nothing to deserve the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us.

And, there is no easy way to come to Grace. The approach to Grace begins with the pain of knowing you don’t deserve it; the approach to Grace begins with a broken heart. Grace is available to but only belongs to those who approach it broken, ashamed, undeserving, and often lonely in despair.

And, because God loves us, He reaches out through the death of His son and the whisper of the Holy Spirit, and says, “I forgive you. Get up, and follow me.” That is Grace. It is beautiful, cleansing, and motivating. And, that's why there is no getting over it. People who are wishy-washy about faith don't have Jesus no matter what they say or do. Why? Because to recognize personal failure before the Lord and then to experience the Lord's Grace is life-changing. Like a little boy becoming the best Saturday employee ever, the touch of Grace is life-changing.

Have you done that? Are you living each day in Grace, knowing you don’t deserve it, and accepting it anyway.  And, how are you living in Grace undeserved? Are you passionate about loving and serving our Lord, and loving and serving others? Do you praise Jesus daily for His Grace on you? Are people coming to know Jesus through your life? If not, I beg you, in Jesus' name, to come fully to Him, broken, and experience only the Grace that He can extend.