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.

Men: Committed To Your Family, Wife

In 1998, I had opportunity to attend a week-long leadership event at The Gallup Institute in Lincoln, NE. These are same Gallup folk who do all the Gallup Research projects. While they were putting students through a series of tests, interviews and personal assessment, Gallup was also using what they learned as research.

A part of our week included a visit to the University of Nebraska, where we heard a lecture about former Cornhusker head coach Tom Osborne, who had retired after 25 years. Osborne went on to serve in Congress and served as Nebraska’s athletic director before retiring last year.

In 25 years of coaching, Osborne’s Cornhuskers never won fewer than nine games in a season, finished in the top 15 for 24 or 25 seasons, finishing 24th in 1990. They won national championships in 1994 and 1995 and shared the 1997 crown. They won or shared 12 Big Eight conference titles and one Big 12 conference title. His record was 255-49-3 giving him an 83.6 percent winning percentage. He won 250 games faster than any coach in Division 1-A history.

Here’s what I learned about Osborne’s success. He coached play-by-play, series-by-series, believing that if he won plays, accumulated x number of rushing yards in a game, had punts that averaged x number of yards, his team would likely win the game. He coached play-by-play, trusting that the cumulative of small successes would end with a scoreboard victory. If you take care of the day-to-day, the scoreboard will take care of itself.

Men, it's the same with our marriages. And, spiritually healthy marriages lead to spiritually healthy families.

In Ephesians 5:22-23, Paul writes, “Wives, submit to your husbands, as the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.”

Men, if you keep reading down through v. 30, you will see that Paul overwhelmingly writes to husbands, who must serve as the spiritual leaders of their homes. We read this passage of Scripture and snicker at the notion of submissive wives, but Paul's words are really for men in the role of husband. I believe the husband is the spiritual leader of his home, and I believe that as he leads his family according to fullness of Scripture, loving and respecting his wife, the family should respect and follow him. Ephesians 5:22-23 is not a privilege for men, but a responsibility for men.

Healthy marriages begin with a man who is committed to Jesus and who is committed to leading his family in faith. The Lord leads the husband to lead his family and the man's leadership will always be squared with Scripture. Public opinion won't affect his leadership. And, the man's leadership will always begin with love for his wife.

All too often, we get focused on the big picture of a successful marriage. What's needed is less scoreboard-watching and more day-by-day love of our spouses. I just believe that if we can string together enough great days in marriage, the long-term health of my marriage will be just fine. And, as a man, that day-to-day investment in a great marriage begins with me. So, here are some thoughts for all of us spiritual leaders:

1. Love your wife as Christ loved the church. (Ephesians 5:25). How did Christ love the church? No-limit sacrifice without looking back. You do anything you can for your wife and you don’t worry about what she does for you. Your sacrifice is a gift.
2. Love your wife as you love yourself. (Ephesians 5:28-33). You care for your body every day, brushing your teeth, eating your meals, exercising, reading . . . every day should begin with this question, “Sweetheart, what can I do for you today?”
3. Be considerate as you live with your wife, with respect (1 Peter 3:7). The Bible also says if men neglect this command their prayers will be hindered. How do you show respect to someone? Don’t speak badly about your wife in casual conversation. Don’t embarrass her. If it gets on her nerves, stop doing it.
4. Do not be harsh with your wife. (Colossians 3:19). If you have a sensitive wife, take a deep breath before you lose your temper or speak harshly. Think about how you feel when employers or supervisors at work treat you that way.
5. The husband’s body does not belong to him alone, but to his wife. (1 Corinthians 7:3-5). A good lover starts with the other person’s sexual satisfaction. Make it about her; romance always wins the day.
6. Rejoice in your wife (Proverbs 5:18-19) – Your wife and your wife alone is the only woman in your life. She is the queen of your life. You should look on no other woman – friend or stranger or porn star – in the same way you look on your wife.
7. And that women may be dressed in simple clothing, with a quiet and serious air; not with vanity about her hair and gold or jewels or expensive clothing (1 Timothy 2:9). Your wife should not be another man’s stumbling block in thought or deed, and you should love your wife without the makeup just as much as you love her with the makeup.
8. Call your wife ‘blessed’ and praise her. (Proverbs 31:28-29). Don’t take your wife for granted, praise her sacrifices and actions for the family.
9. Tell your wife how captivated you are with her body. (Song of Solomon 4:7). God made your wife. God makes no mistakes. Love every part of her. If there’s something you want to change about her, start first with yourself.
10. Honor your marriage; keep it pure by remaining true to your wife in every way. (Hebrews 13:4) Matthew 5:28, Jesus reminds us that where your treasure is located there is your heart. Make sure your treasure begins with your wife.

Win each day and win the game.

Does anybody know this guy?

By Chuck Cordovano

Does anybody know this guy?

This is 19 year old Joey Prusak, a manager at a Hopkins, MN Dairy Queen.  Tuesday, a week ago, a regular customer, a man visually impaired, came into his store and dropped a $20 bill.  An elderly female customer picked up the bill and put it in her pocket.

Joey served the man and, when the female who picked up the money tried to place her order, Joey asked her to return the $20 bill.

According to the TheBlaze.com:

Prusak took matters into his own hands.
“She walked up to the counter and I asked her to please return the $20 bill to the gentleman. She looked at me like ‘what are you talking about,’” Prusak said, recounting the incident to TheBlaze. “I asked her again to return it and she said, ‘No, it’s mine I just dropped it.’ I told her I’m not going to serve you if you are going to be disrespectful as you are stealing someone’s money like that.”
The woman then allegedly became disorderly and began cursing at Prusak, who remained both firm and polite.
“She started getting really angry … started swearing and whatnot. I stayed relatively calm; I deal with customers on a daily basis. She kept swearing though and I asked her to leave the store. I told her if you aren’t going to return the money, you need to leave right now.”
She then “stormed out,” Prusak said.
“What happened next I would have never expected,” an anonymous customer wrote to Dairy Queen, which was later posted on Reddit, sending the story viral. “Your employee approached the young man and took out his wallet and said, ‘Sir, on behalf of Dairy Queen, I would like to give you the $20 that you happened to drop on the ground as you walked away from the counter.’”
“I was in shock by the generosity that your employee had, taking his own money out of his own wallet to give to the customer because some other lady decided to steal something that wasn’t hers,” the customer continued in the letter.
Prusak said it was the right thing to do.
Well, this boy is all over the news for doing the right thing!

I guess that’s the world we live in.

Years ago, when I was a Methodist, before I was immersed through grace to become a Southern Baptist, I attended a church study group.  An older gentleman in the group was convinced the world was coming to an end based on all the bad things happening in the world.  I told him that bad things have always happened in the world, we just see more of them today.

Occasionally, we even get to see the good things in the world…

God wants good things for us.

This lesson started out as a discussion of love and I believe through Jesus we have a new covenant with the father based on love.  But, anyone who speaks publicly or preaches, or teaches Sunday School goes through a process to write a speech or develop a sermon, or create a lesson.  For Christians that involves prayer and soul searching and listening for the Holy Spirit to nudge you in one direction or another.  For me, it also requires a lot of research.  As those of you who try and share with the class know, what you want to say, and where God takes you in the process, are sometimes two different things.

Pastor Mike’s lessons on worship and how we worship and why we are called to worship as well as our lessons here, from Scott, and our discussions on serving others within our Sunday School  class have weighed on me this week.  So, I start out looking at “love” in my Life Application Bible and on line and I’m led to Romans 12: 9-21:

“ 9 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. 13 When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. 14 If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. 19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. 20 Instead, do what the Scriptures say: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you." 21 Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.”  NLT

Just getting to Romans 12: 9-21 wasn’t enough . . . I had to put that into context so I had to back up to verses 1-8:

“1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice -- the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. 3 As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. 6 God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. 7 If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”  NLT

What do I find out about Romans 12?  Well, I find that Romans was written by Paul to both Jews and Gentiles in Rome.  It is an outline for living a Christian live and is as relevant for us today as when Paul wrote it to the Roman Church.

As we search for ways our class can learn to share our problems with one another and love each other better; be better Christians generally, Paul gives us this outline in Romans 12.

• Give yourself to God daily – think of what Christ has done for you and give sacrificially
• Don’t fall into the traps of this world and allow God to change you by changing the way you think
• Be honest with yourself
• Find your gift and give back
• Don’t just pretend to love others – really love them – genuinely love
• Stand up to what is wrong
• Work hard and be patient in hardship
• Keep praying
• Help God’s people
• Be hospitable
• Don’t curse people, bless them
• Share sorrow and happiness with others
• Live harmoniously with people, enjoy their company
• Don’t be a know it all
• NEVER pay back evil to anyone, live honorable
• Live in peace with others
• NEVER avenge yourselves, leave that to God
• If your enemies are hungry feed them
• Don’t let evil get the best of you, conquer evil by doing good

19 year old Joey Prusak seems to have it about right.

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.

Is God ashamed to be called my God?

By Chris Hammett - Think in your own mind the things of which you are ashamed. Things you or someone you know have been a part of that you don’t want anyone to find out; Skeletons in our closet so to speak.

Now think of the things of which you are proud. Pride can be something you have accomplished in school, the workplace, sports, and many other areas of your life. Pride can also be an emotion that we had no part in achieving. Coming off this week’s holiday you look around and see images of pride and freedom in our country, but really how many had a part in securing and defending our freedom? I was not in the country after 09-11-2001, but I heard stories of a great outpouring of national pride and commitment to freedom. Flags were being flown everywhere, bumper stickers were on almost every car and truck and so on. For these who have served for me to have freedom I want to say thanks. PRIDE or being proud is a deep emotion. My question for myself and each of us today is this "Is God proud of me”?

Most of us have those family members we just don’t want to be seen with. You know the ones with unspeakable baggage. I have a brother who spent eight years in federal penitentiary. If I brought him in here none of you would know it and I would be comfortable. However, when there is a family reunion  the family knows his past and there is a sense of embarrassment when he comes around. I also have a family member who has chosen to live a homosexual lifestyle. When she and her friend come to family events it is very uncomfortable for most. I know if you ask the parents in both cases they will tell you that they love these two family members, but they are not proud of them. They are even embarrassed of them and their choices.

I have shared of times in my own life when I have not been proud of things that I or my children have done. I have also shared of times when I have been very proud of my children. These are my children and yet they cause me both pride and embarrassment. I don’t love them any less. And the hurt from embarrassment is very real.

At this point I want to make a clear distinction that I am NOT talking about Salvation. Salvation is when you put your life in Christ’s hands and confess your are lost without Him. You acknowledge your lostness and ask for forgiveness. Just as a child has an earthly father we can have that relationship as Children of God and that relationship can never be broken. When I speak of pride and embarrassment, I'm speaking of how we live our lives out in faith.

I am sure God sees me as I see my children. Some of my choices have pleased God and then other have embarrassed Him. Look at Exodus 32:7-10. This is the account of the First Tablets God had given to Moses. While Moses was on the mountain with God the people became restless and built the Golden Calf and worshiped it. You see God’s displeasure. You see how God is feeling? Does it sound like He is proud to be called their God? 

What does it take to have God proud of us?  First I want to make sure you understand perfection is not required. Look at the people God with whom God is ashamed. Hebrews 11 is not a listing of people who always did everything God asked them to do. Hebrews 11 is a list of people who had faith and it was credited to them.  In Hebrews 11:5-6 the writer speaks of Enoch and because he pleased God, God took Enoch away. 

Ask yourself these questions:

Why should God be proud of me?

How do I live out my faith?

When I see God face to face will He welcome me as in the parable of Matthew 25: 21 or will there be awkwardness as I am welcomed into the kingdom?

WILL God Ashamed to be called My GOD?

Lucy's Story - A Parable

In September 2008, our German Shepherd, Queen, died after being bitten by a snake. Normally, a single snake bite would not kill a 100 pound, healthy German Shepherd, but it was the right bite in the right place, and she could not recover from it.

Matthew had never known a day of his life without Queen. And, it was his first encounter with the death of anything beloved. So, he was heartbroken. When I went to pay the veterinarian’s final bill, I took Matthew with me so that the veterinarian could console him – helping him understand what had happened and why death was a relief to Queen’s agony.

In the few days after Queen’s death, I thought it best to get another dog pretty quickly. But, none of us wanted another German Shepherd. It would be impossible for us to replace Queen, and another Shepherd would keep reminding us of her. So, I asked the veterinarian to recommend a good dog for a boy of nine, and she recommended that we get a beagle. Yes, I know, a howling, digging, and overly-playful beagle. “Every boy needs a beagle,” she said.

Not knowing anything about beagles, I asked her where Mathew and I might go see one and learn more about them. She directed us to an area breeder who raised beagles, taught them to rabbit hunt, and sold them across the country. I called him, and Matthew and I, on a Monday evening, went for a beagle visit.

It was a first-class operation. I learned more about the personality and temperament of beagles in 30 minutes than I suppose most beagles owners really understand. As we received an education worthy of The Discovery Channel, he pointed to female and said, "If you want one, I can let you have her for $100. She's a year old and completely up to date on shots. I can give you her health history.” And, he only wanted $100.

We became beagle owners.

Perhaps I was the victim of shrewd salesmanship because I believe he intentionally talked of the sale with Matthew’s ears on full alert. But, Matthew was happy, and our family is very comfortable with dogs. And, so we left with a one-year-old, full-blooded beagle that we named Lucy. When I completed the ownership transfer with the American Kennel Club, I learned that Lucy’s sire was paid royally for his stud services.This further added legitimacy to the man’s rabbit-hunting operation and to Lucy’s pedigree.

Let me add a bit of disclaimer. We love dogs. We are not indoor dog people. Vicki and I have had beloved dogs all of our lives. My family even raised full-blooded Cocker Spaniels. But, we are a family that understands dogs are dogs and people are people. We don't ever get that confused.

Lucy, just like Queen, was going to be an outdoor dog. Well, sort of.

As soon as we got home with Lucy, we noticed something was wrong with her. Though the September temperatures were warm, she was noticeably shivering – her heart racing out of control. As the boys moved in to love her, she retreated. I understood that all the noise was probably overwhelming to a dog with very limited human contact, and so we wrote it off to first-day jitters. I put her in Queen's extra large kennel box that night so she could stay indoors with us. I didn't want to put this terrified dog in our back yard for the night.

Over the next several days, the fear did not go away. In the back yard, Lucy went behind the shed, cowered in the underbrush, and stayed there all day. Where was the playful beagle? Where was the diggingest dog? Where was the howler?

We decided to continue bringing her in the house at night, if for no other reason but the human contact. So, at night, I went out to get her. I would approach her and she would run from me. She would not let us get near her. She did not threaten to bite me. She never snarled or growled. She didn't whimper. She just ran and hid - and hid well. And, she trembled. We tried everything.

Hoping to connect with Lucy, we tried everything to approach her in the yard and point her, at night, to the light and warmth of the house. But, she would not respond. Finally, I took a lesson from my childhood around the hog farm. We developed a system of corrals, forcing Lucy into smaller and smaller spaces until we could pick her up and bring her into the house.

When we brought her in, one of us would sit in the floor, holding her, consoling her as she trembled. We noticed that she never once soiled the kennel box, and so one night we left her out of the box. The next morning, she was in the exact same place we had left her the night before – a comfortable pet bed on the floor. She had not moved, or explored. And, no accidents. I opened the back door and she ran outside, and hid. In fact, let me interject here: In five years of coming in - or being brought in - at night, Lucy has never explored another part of our home. Once inside, she goes to her bed, curls and rests . . . and never moves until the next morning.

Days, weeks and months passed. We watched Lucy get more comfortable with the back yard, playing by herself. She took an old tennis ball, nudged it forward and then chased it down. We had a big oak tree cut down and she would perch on the stump like the ruler of the back yard. She owned the back yard, and we would spy on her through the window blinds. But, if we ever opened the back door or she saw us in the window, she would run behind the shed and hide.

And, at night, even on rainy and cold nights, she would not come inside. We physically had to bring her inside. Some nights, I can walk to the far corner of the yard, leave the back door open, and she will run inside on her own. But, she will not run inside if any of us are near the door.

Once inside, she curls up on the floor. One of us will often sit by her, love on her, and offer her a dog treat. She doesn't love back. She just rests.

Last year, Matthew and I built a small patio and fire bit. We are out there a lot, and I thought surely she would come up to the patio and sit with us. Nope. As we sit around the patio, she is hiding over behind the shed or under the shed. I even went to her one evening, and brought her to the fire pit. As soon as I let her go, she ran away.

This past winter, on a particularly cold, wet and miserable day, I looked outside to see Lucy cowering under the shed. I went to get her. I opened the door to our home and moved far from it, but she would not run inside. I went to the shed, and lay down on the ground, looking at her. I began talking to her.

“Lucy, why won’t you come inside?” I asked her. “Inside, it’s bright and warm, and we all love you. Out here, you are all alone, it’s dark, and it’s cold, and it’s lonely. Why are you so content to stay out here? Why has this gotten so comfortable for you?”

She just looked at me.

“Lucy, we aren’t trying to clean you up before we bring you in. Not one time in five years have we tried to give you a bath as a requisite to coming inside the house,” I said. “It doesn’t matter to us." (We do bathe her,  obviously, but as therapy it's always in the tub with warm water.)

She just looked at me.

“Inside there are people who genuinely love you. Even big Richard loves you though he doesn’t show it like Matthew shows it,” I said.

Finally, I got far enough under the shed that she let me get a foot, and then I inched her to me until I carried this mentally wounded, dirty, wet dog into the comfort of our house.

As I hope you understand . . . this is not a dog story.

I look around Lexington. I see hundreds if not thousands of people who would have gotten comfortable in the dark, cold, and lonely world that we live in. They have gotten comfortable with the lie that being a follower of Jesus is limited to an hour of dress-up on Sunday morning. Nothing about this world loves you and me – not one thing of this world loves us. Only in faith with Jesus, can we experience love that can't be defined. John 15:19: “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

I don’t understand why these good people won’t come inside of faith, where the pressure and pain of this world is made joyful and peaceful and hopeful. I don’t understand why people value this world more than they value Jesus, and, yes, they do, we do – all the time. I know people inside of faith are noisy, imperfect, and do stupid things – but it’s still a better place than living in the dark.  John 3:19: “ And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” (Any deed grounded in self-fulfillment is evil).

God doesn't expect any of us to come to Him in perfection. He doesn't ask us to get squeaky clean before we come to Him. He sent His son to us just as we are, and Jesus just says "follow me." Jesus never says, "take a shower, and then follow me." As the old hymn reminds us, "Just As I Am, I Come." You and I cannot get clean enough for a Holy God, and God knows that. He judges sin, yes, but he loves us enough to send Jesus to be with us. Psalms 130.3-4 – If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness… I don't understand why people put up barriers, preventing their own faith from taking root.

I don’t understand why people can’t see that God loves us so much that He sent His son to save us. God didn’t say, “Find me on your own or go to hell.” No, he sent his son to crawl under the shed and be with us – to find us where we are and to love us right there. John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus is still in the business of coming to us every day and saying, "Follow me."

I don’t understand why a loving God never gives up on us. No matter how much we resist Him. No matter how much we resist His love for us, God never gives up on us. He is always opening the door and calling us inside. It breaks my heart that people can’t let God love them the way He wants to love them.  Philippians 1:6: "God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns."

What about you?
Are you living in the light or are you comfortable in the darkness?
Perhaps you have even experienced the light, but still find a lot of contentment in the world. You can't serve two masters.
What’s stopping you from going into the dark places and talking to people about Jesus?
What’s stopping you from running to faith, full throttle, and discovering what God needs to do through your life?
How long will you live this life, day after day, living tomorrow just like today, knowing it’s better on the inside of faith, but unable to fully commit to it? How long will you waste the precious time that God has given you on this Earth to reflect the Savior who loves you?
Today, do something. Turn to Jesus. Come inside and fear no more.

God will discipline those who are His

Does God punish us?

As I have told you before, I was especially rebellious in my 20s, leading to some ugliness in my life as I reached 30. My mama, who had introduced me to Jesus and followed my Christian journey all my life, said to me one day, “Scott, God will not let ONE OF HIS continue to rebel like this.” Those words penetrated me and caused me to pause. She did not speak those words in anger. In fact, it was her lips moving, but it was the voice of God speaking to me. That is why I can tell you that God will not let us call Jesus, Lord, and then continue to purposely live our lives with self-indulgence. If I do that, I will be disciplined by God. If you live that way, you too will be disciplined by God.

But, let's start this discussion elsewhere and come back to that.

We all sin, and we sin (love self more than we love God and others) throughout our lives. We sin by putting our plans ahead of God's plans. We sin when we choose the smart action rather than the right action. We can't escape sin. Sin is with us from birth to death. And, because God is sinless, and all of creation belongs to God, God must punish sin.

It's like we're born on Death Row. But, there's hope! God sent Jesus to free us from Death Row. Those who confess Jesus as their Lord & Savior from sin are spared God's wrath. As a follower of Jesus, my sin - past, present and future - were punished on the cross, where Jesus was crucified. Paul writes in Romans 8:1, "So, now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." Because of Jesus' sacrifice, God sees only the righteousness of Jesus when He looks at believers. Our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus, and we will never be punished for them. That's why we call Jesus the Good News. It is Good News to be freed from Death Row.

The unbeliever, sadly, does not have a relationship with God through Jesus. He or she is not saved from sin. The unbeliever may live a good life with what they perceive as rich blessing, but the unbeliever remains on Death Row. Dying on Death Row, the unbeliever receives God's death penalty, and spends eternity in a real and literal place called hell. God doesn't send people to hell; people choose to be there.

Let's now turn our attention back to the believers, spared from the God's wrath on sin. Though forgiven and saved, sin remains in our lives. But, believers have the Holy Spirit living within them. And, the Spirit cries out when we sin, telling us to avoid or flee from the sinful behavior, or thought, or action. As we are counseled by the Spirit that we are involved in sin and we don't repent of the sin, continuing to take up the sin, God will step in and discipline us in a divine way.

It's a parent-child relationship.

When the boys were little, if I told them to stop doing something, and they kept doing it out of defiance or neglect, I whipped them. I certainly loved them, and the whipping was to shape them into the men that Vicki and I wanted them to grow up and be. It was not a spanking to hurt them, but to get their attention and shape them. My preferred discipline style was a whipping. Other parents choose isolation punishment or the removal of activities. I preferred whippings because I could take care of business in less than three minutes, correct the behavior, and not have to keep up with how long someone had been in timeout, and I was not going to punish an entire baseball team by keeping my son out of practice. But, the point is this: As we discipline children for rebellious behavior, we can expect God to discipline us for continued rebellious behavior. That’s what my mama meant when she said, “God will not let ONE OF HIS continue to rebel like this.”

If you don't ever feel God's discipline - through the Holy Spirit, the words of others, or through a situation - you may not be saved from sin. I say this because I can't imagine a Holy God who loves you ignoring your desire to do, and act, outside of His plan for you as a follower of Jesus. I believe that all believers are regularly disciplined. I know I am, and I can't imagine that other believers are any different than me.

In Hebrews 12:7-13 (NLT), we read, "As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening - it's painful! But, afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So, take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong."

We should be thankful that God loves us enough to discipline us, shaping us as stronger followers of Jesus.

Why is the discipline necessary, you ask? Well, to make us more like Jesus, yes, but read again Hebrews 12:13. You and I have a responsibility to live lives that encourage the weak in faith. We will be disciplined when our lives have a negative impact on the weak in faith. The next time you socialize with friends, please keep that in mind. People are always watching. Believers must reflect the One they claim to follow. Failing to be conscious of the weak is grounds for discipline. It will sting.

God's discipline is designed to turn us from rebellion to obedience. It's to open our eyes more clearly to God's calling on our lives. Read what David writes in Psalms 32:3-5, "When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord." And, you forgave me! All my guilt is gone." So, God's discipline is from a place of love. It is a shaping of our lives to a more peaceful, hopeful, and loving existence.

Okay, Scott, how does God discipline us, specifically? Well, none of us are God, none of us can understand the ways of God, and God can choose to discipline as He sees fit. But, here's some thoughts for you:

1. The discipline will be from a place of love. It will not be from a place of hard-heartedness or cruelty. My analogy. God's discipline will be more like a spanking; not a torturous event like cutting off your fingers. But, the spanking will have sting to it, it will get our attention, and it will cause us to confess sin and turn from it. When we do that, God promises peace.
2. The discipline will fit the sin, and you will be able to recognize that it does so. This is how God teaches us.
3. The believer will know he or she deserved the discipline. Because of the Holy Spirit within us, there will be brokenness and repentance. David wrote that he groaned all day under the weight of God's discipline. Come on, as a follower you know - you know to your core - when you have done wrong, acted wrong, said something wrong, and taken the low road. You know when you've been ugly. I do, and I know you do, too. And, because I belong to God - as a follower of Jesus - I can expect discipline for regular and unrepentant selfishness.

Very personally, I hear God's discipline through Vicki. I hear it through my dearest friends. I feel it to my core. God will take me to the desert to teach me, too. For me, personally, God takes His hands off my life and I start sinking. I'm restless, I'm not at peace, I'm worried, I'm frustrated, I'm sleepless, and I'm mildly depressed. Then I cry out, beg forgiveness, and peace is restored. That's how God's discipline works for me.

What inquiring minds want to know, because we are all sinners, is this: When do "they" get their discipline, and can I watch? We have this fascination with wanting to see others punished for what "they" do, specifically if "they" are doing it to me and mine. That's a very sinful attitude, because it inserts "me" in the discipline of others by a Holy God for my satisfaction. The prayer should not be, "Sic'em, Lord" but instead, "Use me Lord to love them into a stronger relationship with you." Big difference.

What about those who claim to love Jesus, but seem to sin their entire lives? Well, this leads us back to conversations of The Narrow Gate, right? If someone perpetually sins, and never turns from it, there’s a strong chance that person does not know the Lord at all – regardless of what they say and do. Why? Because a follower of Jesus is going to be disciplined, will realize it, and turn from the sinful behavior. So, our responsibility is to build relationship with that person toward the opportunity of sharing Jesus with them. We can’t turn from them, nose in the air, and give them the middle finger.

Some people have addiction problems. I understand that. While we all have a sin problem, in some believers sin has rooted and manifested into addiction – sexual, alcohol, chemical to name some. If the addict is a believer, God’s discipline will drive that person to seek professional help, including, possibly, Christian counseling.That’s why there is always hope for every person – even those whose sinful nature has gotten out of their control.

But understand something. It all begins with Jesus. Know Jesus as your Savior, and escape God's punishment on sin. Know Jesus and lean on the Holy Spirit for right direction in daily living. Enjoy today – and in eternity – the love, hope and peace that comes with Jesus victory over your sin. Thank God for the continuous shaping He does with me and you through His divine discipline.

The Narrow Gate

In Matthew 7:22, we read the words of Jesus, "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But, I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.'

Every human being on this planet was and is and will be born without salvation from sin. Please understand that. All of us are born sinful and live our lives in sin. We die as sinners. We are born on a road with hell - a real place and an eternal separation from God - as our deserved destination. God loves us, He is with us, but, outside of faith in Jesus, God has no relationship with us because we are 'born in sin' and he is sinless. (John 14:6 - Jesus says, "No one can come to the Father except through me.) Knowing that we are born with hell as our eternal destination helps us understand what we read in John 3:17, "God sent His son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him."

There is not one thing that you and I can do that will make hell more of a destination. We were born ticketed to that destination. It's ridiculous then to lower ourselves to the judging of others' sinfulness except between believers and in a spirit of protection and love for that person. (If my close friend is beginning to flirt with women outside his marriage, I'm going to confront him for his own good and because I love him). Likewise, there is not one thing that you and I can do to save ourselves from hell as a destination. In the Scripture passage, above, from Matthew 7, Jesus says people will claim they did great things in the name of spirituality, but none of it saved them.

Because God loves us, despite our sinfulness, and desires a relationship with each of us, He provides an escape - salvation - from our road to destruction. He sent his son, Jesus, to die as a substitute for each of us. Jesus bore each of our sins, died on the cross with them, was cleansed of them, and rose again to join God in heaven. Those who believe that Jesus made this sacrifice will be filled with the Holy Spirit for daily guidance, and be restored to a relationship with God. These believers will die and God will not see their sin - God will see Jesus and pardon the individual. That's the gospel presented by the apostle John in John 3:16.

Only Jesus saves. Only Jesus. None but Jesus.

In Luke 18:16, Jesus says, "Then Jesus called for the children and said to his disciples, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child (acceptance, faith, trust, and innocence) will never enter it." It takes a child's faith to respond to Jesus. That's why adults have such a struggle coming to Jesus. Adults try to logically figure it out. But, we aren't God. We must acknowledge that we need Jesus, that we have a void in our innermost being that nothing of this Earth can fill, and that only Jesus can fill that void. We acknowledge Jesus and respond - we let go of what the world calls logical. The world is a deceitful place.

Jesus tells us that most people can't or won't accept Him as their Savior.

Many of the people that I know will not be with me in heaven. That's not an indictment of their lifestyle because all of us are sinful. It's just that I know, from the words of Jesus, that only a few will enter the Kingdom. The indictment is on me to be bold in my faith and point people toward salvation. And, that indictment eats at me day and night, night and day. Who is coming to Jesus because of my life? Because of your life?

It's uncomfortable and messy to believe that many of the people I know will not be in heaven. We like to think of our comfortable little Bible Belt, where people gather in churches, have lunch afterward with mama, sign up children for Vacation Bible School, read devotion books, and revere Billy Graham. We like to think that everyone on our left and right will be with us in heaven, but the opposite is true. The question is not whether people are good or bad because many of the lost are really good people. But, being a good person doesn't lead to eternity with God - only a confessed faith in Jesus does that. If being a good person was all that's important to salvation, we could buy our salvation and that's not Biblical.

My studies and travels lead me to believe that people fall into three very loose categories:

1. The carnal lost. Those that have completely turned from faith, and have rejected it.
2. The Cultural (Carnal or Consumer) Christian. Those who believe they do the right things that "Christians are supposed to do" and by default they are saved. These people - regardless of what they do in the name of church or religiosity - are not saved. 
3. The Conversion Christian. Those who can and do publicly confess, "I love Jesus; my life stands for Jesus, and nothing else in my life matters when compared to Jesus."

The overwhelming majority of people who have lived, live today and will live tomorrow fall into categories One and Two. Jesus says in Matthew 7:13, “You can only enter God’s Kingdom through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.” How much is a few? Well, it's not a majority. A few, in the great scheme of the universe, isn't very many.

What does a Conversion Christian look like? They will have or long to have these attributes.

• There is a confessing love of Jesus, an acknowledgment of personal sinfulness and that only a faith in Jesus covers sin in the presence of Almighty God. There is an understanding that life is worth living only because Jesus lives. (Mark 8:38)
• There is an accepting that following Jesus is costly and painful to this human existence. Every believer that I know has suffered in this Earthly life because of a faith in Jesus. It is ridiculous to believe Jesus died on the cross and that we can follow Him without suffering. A believer will lose friends, lose customers, be at odds with family, be cut from the team, have children cut from the team, be laughed at, ridiculed, and struck down by this world and its forces of evil. (Matthew 5:10-12)
• There is a hunger to produce other disciples. Following Jesus is not a precious gift we lock away in a safe for our own admiration. There is a hunger to have eyes and arms wide open for people who need Jesus, and to point them toward the cross. I believe the Conversion Christian grows to a place, where he or she no longer sees people, but sees souls who need to know Jesus. Following Jesus is about "going and doing" with intention. (Matthew 28:19)
• There is a desire to be "workers" in a fellowship community - the church. There is a seriousness to the place of church in God's plan and in our lives. (Acts 2:41-47)
• There is an understanding that Salvation is not a transaction, but a conversion.It involves change. We are literally new creations manifested by repentance, love and obedience toward God and our neighbors. (James 2:14-26). To believe otherwise is to believe in a cheap grace. Salvation occurs within the heart; not within the trappings of church-based protocol or rituals.

You can see why the number are few, can't you? You can see why many buy into the deceit of the Cultural Christian that salvation can be purchased only by doing good things, connecting to a church, knowing some Scripture, attending prayer breakfasts, giving money and using influence for good, and making baptisms and confirmation classes synonymous with salvation? It's a wide gate. Some will even quote John's vision in Revelation 7 of the "multitude" in heaven, and use that to dismiss the Narrow Gate. Yes, many will be in heaven; but, still that number will only represent a few of all humanity that has ever and will ever live. Don't be deceived by the wide road. We see a lot of people on this wide road, and it feels comfortable. It's even fun. We can join the herd and be content - never even calling on the name of Jesus. But, Jesus provides the painful reminder of The Narrow Gate. Nothing about faith is ever really comfortable.

Many who read this will be confronted with the reality of Jesus' position in their lives. Non-existent, a cultural icon, or a personal Savior. For those who have not confessed Jesus as their Savior from sin, I invite you to contact me at scott@svministry.com. I invite you to attend our Sunday morning class, The V Class, at Lexington Baptist Church. God has put on my heart the need to share the gospel every week, and to stand with other believers in making disciples. We don't have it all figured out; we need others to be on the journey with us. We invite you to join with Jesus, and then join with us.

For those who are Conversion Christians, I need to speak with you here.
We can no longer assume that everyone is saved from sin by the blood of Jesus. We must assume that everyone is lost - continuing from birth on that broad road to an eternity without God. We must ache for people, not judging them, but judging ourselves. If you are a teacher, the classroom and the families behind the students become souls who need to know a Savior. If you are in sales, the customers become souls who need to know a Savior reflected through you. If you are a mechanic, a banker, a doctor, a lawyer, a coach, a dad, a mom, an aunt, an uncle, a grandmother, a grandfather, a brother, or a sister - all who come in and out of your life are souls, needing to hear about Jesus from you. This is not the pastor's job. This is not the Sunday School teacher's job. This is not the church's job.

As a Conversion Christian, this is the holy order you have been given: Make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them about Jesus. Our holy order is to see people loosened from this world's values and knotted to faith in a risen Savior. As Christian soldiers, the Holy Spirit will teach us when to be bold and when to work in stealth.

We may not trumpet Jesus on every street corner, but we can pray daily this way, "Lord, put one person in my path today - one person - and then the courage to tell them, 'I love Jesus and I want you to know my Jesus.' Give me this divine appointment, Lord, knowing that you will give me the exact words to say."

Maybe you feel this burning inside you to stand up for Jesus, but you just don't feel equipped. No church ever equipped you. That's the future chapter of our Sunday School class. We are going to equip people who want to testify for Jesus, knowing that the Cultural Christians will be converted or slip away. I pledge to you that I will stand with you, and we will learn together. I've not yet fully arrived myself and that is not a false modesty. I am still growing as a follower of Jesus. I will not be fully made until I see my Savior in eternity. My life's calling is to share Jesus with others and to help others share their own faith.

Friends, this is what we call the Weight of God. It's heavy business that is uncomfortable.
You and I live a life that will end with judgement. This world is a temporary place for temporary bodies.
There is an eternal, supernatural world going on all around us and it's in our future. There is no denying it. There is no escaping it. There is no prolonging it. It is here, it is now and it is forever.

You and I were born separated from a God who loves us, and wants a wonderful unimaginable eternity with each of us. He sent his son, Jesus, to die for our sinfulness and restore us to God's love. Few accept this gift. Most don't. Some become deceived that they have when they haven't. None of us have the vision to see a person's deepest relationship with Jesus, but each of us - to the core - knows the truth of our salvation. Only the few will enter the Narrow Gate. Please be in that number. If you are among the few, please join me - though imperfect and sinful - in pointing others to the arms of our sweet, sweet Savior.

Jesus. Name above all Names.

           

             

Love, Honor & Cherish

Marriage is important to God. It is serious business.

You and I were created for relationships, and the Bible is all about relationships - our vertical relationship with God, through Jesus, and our relationships with others.
St. Augustine made the statement, “our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.” We were designed for a relationship with Him.
God created us to have relationship with others – people we could live and learn with. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:18-21,  “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” In preparation for this lesson, I read this statement, "If God deeply desires to place us in relationship with the body of Christ (the church), doesn’t that mean He also desires to place us with the spouse of His choice?"
Do you see that shift? It's not about who we want to marry - or arrange for our children to marry - but who God desires to place us with.
Marriage then, for me, becomes a supernatural, God-valued, serious part of our lives.

But, why would God create marriage? Why is it important?
Marriage is the most intimate (closest) of human relationships. Of all your Earthly relationships - all of them - the closest, the most intimate, the most endeared is the one with your spouse. No relationship trumps the relationship with your spouse. If others - even children - have come between you and your spouse, your marriage is in trouble.

Why is the marriage relationship the most precious? In Romans 8:29, Paul writes, "For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His son (Christ-like)." We know from Jeremiah that God knew us before we were born, and God desires us to be conformed to the image of His son, Jesus. Marriage - being bound to someone for a lifetime - forces us to care for someone other than self, to consider someone other than self, to love someone more than self. What better than marriage sharpens us toward putting self aside and being more like Jesus? Remember the traditional vows: Love, Honor & Cherish (putting spouse ahead of self) Until Death Do Us Part?

Marriage is God's way of teaching us to be more Christ-like. Knowing this about marriage helps us understand why we should be praying every day for our spouse. Single folk should be praying for their future spouse. Parents should be praying for the future spouses of their children . . . and grandchildren. Who do you have chosen, Lord, and hear and direct my prayers for them?

The problem in our culture, friends, is that we don't take seriously the things of God. We have reduced church - the bride of Christ - to another organization through which to impress our friends. We claim to pray for others, but never do it. We've trivialized marriage. Many marriages are doomed to fail before they even begin.

In some faiths, marriage (Matrimony) is a Holy sacrament. Even in Baptist services, pastors and officiants will refer to Holy Matrimony. Matrimony is a union; wedlock means joined or locked together. Holy means "set apart." And, so marriage is a bound - locked - relationship that is set apart by God - set apart from all the other relationships in your life. Because it is a relationship set apart by God, God has His hands on it. It's a covenant with God - a solemn and binding relationship meant to last a lifetime. God is so serious about His covenants with us - including marriage - that He sees them as a Walk into Death. God sees these covenants as a walk all the way to death. In the Old Testament, when two people made a covenant with one another, a goat or lamb would be slain and its carcass would be cut in half. With the two halves lying on the ground, the two people forming the covenant would solemnize their promise by walking between the carcass halves. That's how serious God sees marriage.

I don't like television shows like The Bachelor because it takes a God-breathed covenant like marriage and dumbs it down to our culture. Marriage is not a whimsical affair. We focus more on rings, dresses, flowers, parties, showers, bachelor parties, registering and honeymoon trips than we focus on the Holiness of what we are entering - a lifetime commitment with another human toward the goal of sharpening one another into deeper followers of Jesus. I refuse to officiate a wedding that, in planning and delivery, replaces holiness with culturalism. That's not to say that you can't have all the fun - I love a good wedding reception - but the celebration should be the union of two people and their covenant with God. What would a wedding reception look like if families of the bride and groom circled them for prayer before the party began? Many people enter marriage with a focus on the ceremony and parties - not the lifetime commitment that follows when all the guests go home.

The covenant is for a lifetime - until death do us part - because God doesn't go away and neither should we. God expects the covenant to stay around, too. And, marriage doesn't get easier as you grow older nor does a 25- or 50-year Anniversary translate into an immunity from problems. Many empty-nesters find their marriages have "lost purpose" once the children are grown, and spouses begin to look for new territory. As we get older, we begin to think about "bucket lists" that we want to accomplish without our spouses along. Satan hates God, and God is at the center of marriage. No marriage - until death has claimed it - is secure from Satan's attacks.

What about divorce? Clearly, and without question, divorce is not a a part of the marriage equation. That's why so much due diligence is required before marriage. It's why parents must coach children toward dating / engagement that involves prayer, faith conversations, parental counseling and formal counseling. Young people must know that marriage is serious business and divorce is not an option. But . . . certainly divorce is a reality in our broken world. Divorce is inevitable because of our broken world. Even in the Old Testament, Moses permitted divorce provided the two parties wrote a letter requesting it. Even in Moses' day it was relatively easy to get a divorce, but Moses required the letter to ensure the parties had thought it through.

Jesus was asked about divorce in Matthew 19:5-6. He responded this way, "Haven’t you read Scripture? God made them male and female. This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into ONE. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them for God has joined them together.”
Someone asked Jesus, “Well, what about Moses and that letter-writing business?”
Jesus said, “Moses permitted divorce as a concession to your hard-hearted wickedness, but it was not what God originally wanted. And, I tell you this, a man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery – unless his wife has been unfaithful.” (And, in our culture, that goes both ways)."

In fact, Paul, in 2 Corinthians, implies that if you aren't going to take marriage gravely seriously, it’s better to remain single.

So, what are the purposes of a marriage:

1. Cooperation – Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Comparable to him means similar and equal to him, compatible, to help and support one another in all things. It’s a partnership because two heads are better than one. Cooperation toward what? Making disciples of Jesus . . . not pooling money or working together for a better economic status.
2. Procreation – Procreation is about preserving humankind from extinction. But, understand this, Christianity does not make procreation or children the primary purpose of marriage – the primary purpose is cooperation. That’s why childless couples should not grieve God’s plan for them. Procreation – producing children from a sanctified home - is equivalent to generating missionaries into a hopeless world. God wants these children raised in faith so they can go marry someone who is a believer, and continue making disciples.
3. Sexual Intimacy - It's the sexual intimacy that protects the marriage against adultery and fornication (consensual intercourse between two non-married people). In 1 Corinthians 7:1-16, Paul writes that "the wife’s body does not belong to her and the man’s body does not belong to him. Each should fulfill their marital responsibilities; not depriving one another except by mutual consent." If you start monkeying around with sexual intimacy in your marriage – using it as a weapon, being influenced by sinful self-esteem about how your body looks, allowing yourself to get so busy that you are too tired – I promise that your marriage will begin to unravel. We are sexual beings made aware of it by man’s fall in the garden of Eden. When sexual intimacy disappears from marriage, most people will give in to a lack of self control and find the intimacy in other places - pornography if not adultery. The door becomes wide open for Satan to bombard the marriage. Christian Marriage elevates the bodily union to become a spiritual union, through the Holy Spirit, just as the Holy Spirit works in the Baptismal water to make humans a new creation.  The Holy Spirit also works in the couple during the marital ceremony, through prayers and faith to unite them in the Lord.  Through the commitments made by the bride and groom in fulfilling the commandments of marriage, and the work of the Holy Spirit, the two partners become one.
4. Reigning – Genesis 1:28, “God said them – man and woman, whom He created separately and purposefully – be fruitful and multiply, and fill the Earth and subdue it.” We must be good stewards and good managers of God’s creation, and I like to further than by saying, “We must be reminded to lead our families in making disciples of Jesus so that all who are on the Earth hear the gospel.”

In closing, I want to give you a few practical things to think about and discuss with your spouse concerning your day-to-day relationship.

1. Love your spouse as God loves us. Sacrificially. What can I put aside to make my spouse’s day better? What can I sacrifice? What speaks love into my spouse: Quality time, encouraging words, gifts, a hug or hand-holding, acts of service? My life? My body?
2. Honor your spouse. 1 Peter 3:7, paraphrased, honor your spouse – be considerate and treat them with respect. Not because they earn it but because through your covenant they deserve it. Being considerate means considering your spouse's feelings and responses before you act; respect them by holding them up as revered – not chiseling away at their reputation.
3. Cherish your spouse. Cherish means “To cultivate with care – to make the person feel special – the most special person to you.” Here's how we cherish our spouse:
1. Sacrifice.
2. Listening.
3. Touching.
4. Being With Them In Public.
5. Saying Kind Things About Them In Public.
6. Sharing Responsibilities.
7. Never Allowing Children or Parents or Siblings To Come Between Spouses.
8. Admiration.
9. Respect.
10. Seeing Every Day As Valentine’s Day.
11. Opening Doors Of Possibility – "Where You Go, I Go."
12. Taking Time To Be Alone With One Another.
13. And, Men, Providing Spiritual Leadership. Men: Have you abandoned spiritual leadership in your home?

Marriage is serious business. Marriage is serious to God because it sharpens us as followers of Jesus and it produces disciples. It is a contract with God. And, God takes His contracts seriously.

Love The Unlovable

As I prepared this week, I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me and to all of us:
“You know the attitudes and sinful actions that hold you back from completely following me. I want to do greater things with you, but I can’t until you make some changes that free you to follow me more closely.” 
I don’t know what those changes are for you, but I’m pretty sure that you know what they are.
I know what they are for me.
One place of change for all of us is in loving the unlovable, and working to be more lovable ourselves.

• Are there people in your life who get on your nerves? If you see them in the grocery store you intentionally dodge them? 
• Are there family members or loved ones who have hurt you deeply?
• Have you been cheated by business partners or neighbors? Swindled?
• Deep down, do you loathe people because of their attitudes, their socio-economic position, the color of their skin, the worship of their God?
• Do you get tired of hearing about how wonderful life is for your neighbor?
• Do you get frustrated when people you love keep making the same dumb mistakes over and over and over again?
• Is there a supervisor or co-worker who just has your number? Oppressive?
• Betrayed? Lied to? Belittled? Ridiculed? Humiliated? Physically or emotionally beaten?
• Maybe it’s just people who walk around like “Eeyore” – woe is me all the time? Maybe it’s people who never smile. Maybe it’s people who are so manic and bi-polar you never know who’s coming at you? Jekyll or Hyde? Unpredictable personalities can just suck the life out of you.
• What about those who whine, complain and live in the drama of “you love them more than you love me.”

It goes on and on. People are unlovable. We are all unlovable.

But, as followers of Jesus we have a problem.
Two of the non-negotiable truths of our faith are these: We must love everyone, and we must forgive everyone. Everyone. No exceptions. Love and forgive everyone. Why? Because Jesus loves and forgives us beyond our transgressions toward Him, and as followers we must reciprocate that toward everyone else.

Mark 12:31 reads, "Love your neighbor as yourself." The New American Standard says it this way, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The International Standard says, “You must love your neighbor.” All translations identify this as a “command” from Jesus, and there’s no wiggle room in a command. Read Luke 10:25-37, the parable of the Good Samaritan. When hearing "love your neighbor," people began looking for wiggle room. Someone asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" In the Good Samaritan story, Jesus tells of the Jew who stopped to help his cultural enemy, the Samaritan. In this, Jesus said, "Everyone is your neighbor. Love everyone."

In Mark 5:43-48, we read, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." This is Jesus speaking.

In Ephesians 4:31-32, Paul writes, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in  Christ forgave you.” That’s why we have to love and forgive one another. If we are going to follow Jesus, we must draw closer to Him and be more like Him.

Okay, I can forgive the person who pulls out in front of me in traffic. Or, the person who is having a bad day and vents on me. I can even forgive the Sunday School teacher who forgot to call me when I was sick. But, what about those in my life who screwed me over, scarred me emotionally and sent me into therapy? Yep, love and forgive . . . everyone. No exceptions.

This must have bothered Peter, because in Matthew 18:22 the famed disciple came to Jesus and asked,
“How often should I forgive someone?” Rabbis were teaching you only had to forgive someone three times. Peter suggested, to Jesus, that His followers do the right thing and increase the number of cheek-turning  times from three to seven. I can imagine Jesus laughing at the idiocy of this request when he exclaimed, "No! Seventy times seven." Jesus chose 490 times, showing that such a large number would equate for us to infinity. You are commanded to love and forgive . . . everyone. No exceptions.

Jesus goes on to tell the story of the unforgiving debtor, in Matthew 18:23-35. A king was approached by someone in his debt. The debtor begged for mercy and the king extended the mercy. Then, the debtor turned around and confronted someone who owed him. When the debtor's debtor begged for mercy, the debtor had his debtor arrested. The king found out about it. The angry kind then had his debtor sent to prison to be tortured until he had paid his debts.

Do you get it? God is the king. We approach God needing mercy for our debts, and He provided Jesus. He extended grace beyond our understanding and grace beyond our deserving. He loved the unlovable. So, then we turn to see the unlovable in our own lives. When we don't reciprocate God's love for us, we put ourselves in front of God's law. In my own life, I know what's it like to be tortured by the Holy Spirit - to be out of fellowship with God - until my attitudes toward my debtors changed.

Remember the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). "And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. (v. 12). We chant The Lord's Prayer so much that we gloss over it, don't we?

When I talk about love and forgiveness toward everyone, I always have people who want to argue in order to justify hating someone. "Well, what if so and so isn't a believer? Doesn't all this apply only to believers? What if the person isn't sorry or repentant?" Jesus says "everyone." And, I choose to err on the safe side: I just love and forgive and move on. The alternative is to fester on negative attitudes that allow Satan to whisper in my ear.

Above, you read that Jesus says, "pray for those who persecute you." So, in loving and forgiving, we need to pray for the unlovable. But, there's more. At the Last Supper, Jesus is surrounded by men who said they loved Him deeply, but treated Him poorly. Thomas would doubt His resurrection; James and John had fought over who He loved more; Peter aggravated Him and would deny Him; and Judas would betray Him. And, the others, you bet they aggravated Him, too, never quite understanding who He was or what He was, and stumbling all over themselves.

And, yet, look at what Jesus did. They gather for the Last Supper – Jesus and this rag tag bunch – and in John 13:4 we read, “So Jesus got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash his disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.” Jesus loved the unlovable by serving them.

Love the unlovable? As followers of Jesus, we have no choice. We must love them and forgive them, completely. And, we must pray for them, and we must serve them. Why? Because we follow a risen Savior who has done and does the same for us. Followers of Jesus have no choice.

But, I have to add something, here, too. Each of us is a problem-child for someone else. Each of us, even if we don’t really know it, is one of the unlovable to someone else. It might not be anything you have done; might just be an attitude. It might just be unfriendliness or even the perception of unfriendliness. It might be aggravation. Perhaps you slip into melancholy and can't help but advertising to the world.

It’s tough to wander through this life and not be someone’s unlovable. I believe every single one of us is someone's unlovable, and perhaps we are unlovable to more than one. I know that there are some who don't love me because my actions and attitudes are unlovable. I know there are some who don't like me either.

And, so, in closing, I want to offer some things that I try to practice (with varying degrees of success) toward being more lovable. You can look at Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:3-10 for some of these: Practice humility, be merciful, be a champion for peace, do the right thing, and love and serve people. Here are some others from my own playbook:

• Point conversations to other people and their lives. What is your story? How is your family?
• Avoid complaining to those with whom you don't have relational credibility. Certainly, friends should go to friends with all kinds of concerns and problems, but chronic complaining to casual acquaintances and strangers does no one any good.
• Be genuine. Be the same at home as you are in public. If you can't do that, what should you be changing at home? Read Galatians 5 - the fruits of the spirit - what are yours? Be that person.
• Don't be the person who has ideas for others to implement. No one likes to be around the person who says, "I have an idea for you to do." Don't start something you can't finish.
• Be quietly kind. Ask yourself, "Do I love these people as Jesus loves me?"
• Practice hospitality. It doesn't matter where you live or even how clean it is. Opening your home to others is a genuine sign of loving people.

And, just remember, all of this love and service is toward one goal: Building relationship through which we can ultimately talk about our love for Jesus.