Following the Leader

To be a disciple maker one must build relationships with people. Jesus called his disciples to follow Him.  They walked with Jesus and not only learned from His teaching, but they watched what he did. Paul said to the church in Corinth, imitate me as I imitate Christ.  He told Timothy that he had followed  "my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my patience, my love, my steadfastness.  Discipleship is not only teaching people truth, but giving them an example to follow.

We learn how to pray by hearing and watching other people pray.  We learn to share our faith, by watching others.  We learn by example.  Whether you realize it or not, someone is following your example.  Ask yourself, what kind of Christian would someone be, if they followed me.  It is a convicting question, but a necessary one.  You never know who is watching you.

To make us better disciple makers, we should have three relationships.  We need a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy.  We need a Paul.  We need to follow some one's lead.  We all need to look to people who are further along in the journey then we are.  We need a Barnabas.  We need a co-laborer.  Someone we walk along side who encourages us.  We also need a Timothy.  We need to intentionally and prayerfully choose to pour into another person who is not as far along the journey as we are.  If I choose to tell someone to follow my example as I follow the example of Christ, we become a better example to those who we don't know are watching.  Who will you choose to follow?  Who will you choose to walk along side?  Who will you choose to lead?

The Disciples Path

River Rock Church is getting ready to begin a journey down "The Disciple's Path."  The interesting thing about this journey is that you cannot travel alone.  The only way to go down this path is to go together.  We will be discipling each other as we go.  Greg Ogden in Discipleship Essentials defines discipling as an intentional relationship in which we walk alongside other disciples in order to encourage, equip and challenge one another in love to grow toward maturity in Christ. Notice some things about this definition.  First it is a relationship.  We are in a relationship with Christ and with each other.  Second, it is intentional.  We have to choose to walk together on this journey.  We have to know the end which is maturity in Christ and do what it takes to get each other there.

Third, we must know what it takes to get us to that end.  We walk alongside each other to encourage one another.  We walk alongside each other to equip each other.  We walk alongside each other to challenge each other in love.

The path will not be easy.  There will be challenges along the way.  It will be uphill at times, there will be difficult terrain.  There will be times that some will want to give up.  But we will not.  We will make it together.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reminds us

     Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one
     will lift up his fellow.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift
     him up!  Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but who can one keep warm alone?  And
     though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him--a threefold cord
     is not quickly broken.

We have each other and we have the Holy Spirit.  We will journey together and by His strength, we will be closer to our goal.

Giving Thanks

I just returned from a community Thanksgiving Service at Eva Drive Baptist Church and wanted to express my thanks to God for such an awesome worship service.  We had at least 4 churches gathered together to lift up praise to our heavenly father for all that He has done for us in Jesus Christ.  We sang songs of praise that were a mixture of Gospel songs, hymns and contemporary.  We prayed, testified and heard one of  the most powerful messages about thanksgiving that I have ever heard.

What was even more special was that the message was given by my dad, Don Davis.  Dad is just a little over a month short of being 79 years old but had the energy of a 20 year old as he preached in the power of the Holy Spirit. His message was from Psalm 100 and it reminded us that Thanksgiving is an action.

So I just wanted to share a few things for which I am thankful:

I am thankful that Jesus said "It is Finished".  I am thankful that my salvation is not dependent upon my faithfulness, but upon His. I am thankful that my salvation was completed at the cross and sealed at the resurrection.  I am thankful to be able to say that I am saved, I am being saved and one day I will be saved.  I am thankful that the hope that I have in Christ is secured.

I am thankful for a wife that loves me and stands by my side.  I am thankful for her love for Jesus that is seen in how she loves me.  I am thankful that she is my prayer warrior.  I am thankful for our three children who each love the Lord and serve him in their own way.  I am thankful to be their dad.

I am thankful for parents who love Jesus and who instilled that love into their children.  I am thankful that they are still teaching others that you never retire from serving the Lord.  I am thankful for a brother and a sister that I can still look up to.

I am thankful for generations past.  I am thankful for the foundation that was laid in my families life through both mine and my wife's grandparents.  I am thankful for my mother in law, Frances who has gone home to be with the Lord.  I am thankful for how much she taught me to enjoy life.

I am thankful for a church that demonstrates the love and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I am thankful that they know that it is more important to be the church than go to church.  I am thankful that they have been willing to be a little different and to think outside of the box.  I am thankful that we have learned that outreach happens in the community and not in a building.

I am thankful for so much and I could go on and on.  But now it is your turn.  Take some time to write down and share with someone all the things for which you are thankful.

Where to From Here

Now that our government through the actions of 5 men and women in black robes, has changed the definition of marriage, where do we go from here?  First, we need to recognize where we are.  We now find ourselves, where the majority of Christians have lived throughout history, our values are at odds with the dominant culture.  Our culture has shifted from a Judeo-Christian foundation to a neo-pagan mindset.  Rights are now more important than duty and responsibility.  Those rights are no longer seen as unalienable because they are endowed by our creator, but our now given by government. The church’s voice is now marginalized in our culture.  Our voice no longer carries the day.  Even in this moment, however, we do not despair.  God was not surprised by today’s decision neither is he intimidated by it.  Although this decision was made by the highest court in the land, they are not the ultimate court.  God’s judgment is still the final judgment.  His definition of marriage has not changed.  His view of marriage did not carry the day, but it will carry for eternity.

Second, we must pray.  Our enemy is not the judges of the Supreme Court, politicians, nor anyone whose desire it was to destroy marriage by changing its definition.  We do not fight against flesh and blood, Paul says but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)  Our enemy seeks to destroy individuals by giving them what they think they want.  Our weapon in this battle is prayer. We are to be praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication (Ephesians 6:18).

Third, we must invest in people’s lives so that we can share Christ.  The wages of sin is death.  Death is not just eternal death, but death and destruction here in now.  The good news is that Jesus has conquered death.  He can bring life and transform lives.  Romans 1 does speak of homosexual sin but it also reminds us of other sins such as covetousness, malice,  envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossip, slanderers, insolent, pride, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  All these sins lead to destruction and pain.  But we have a message of hope to hurting people and we must put ourselves in a position to share that good news.  As Tim Keller reminds us, “the more hostile the culture, the easier it is to communicate the difference of Christianity.”  We have an opportunity show forth the clear difference that Christ makes.

Fourth, we must renew our commitment to each other.  As Christian brothers and sisters, we need each other now more than ever.  Jesus said, they will know you are my disciples by your love one for another.   We must hold fast to all those who believe the fundamentals of the faith.  We may differ on secondary issues but we can love all those who have called upon the name of the Lord Jesus.  We need each other.

Finally, we must invest in our own marriages.  The reason that the definition of marriage could be changed so easily today is that we have already changed its definition.  God’s definition of marriage is to be between a man and a woman, but it is also a lifetime commitment.  No marriage is perfect, because no person is perfect but we must strive by God’s grace to make our marriages all that they can be.  Let us allow this decision today to help us take the log out of our own eye, to recommit ourselves love our spouse and our children the way God would have us to.

You may feel shaken today.  But remember, God is still on his throne.  The culture of the first century was diametrically opposed to the Gospel, but the Gospel transformed that culture and it can do so again.  May we pray to that end.

For Want of a Pastor

I was listening to some comments this week from the pastor of one of America's largest churches.  I am not going to name him, but if I did you would most likely know him.  My sense is however that what he said is emblematic of the attitude of too many young pastors in America today.  In speaking to pastor's, this pastor basically said, "I have trouble with the term shepherd.  I am not a shepherd.  That term does not speak to me.  I don't live a pastoral life.  I am a leader."

I do not refute that one of the jobs of as shepherd is to lead.  What I have a problem with is that the term shepherd signifies the kind of leadership that pastors are to have.  It should not matter if we pastor a church in a metropolitan city, we are still called to shepherd the flock of God (1 Peter 5:2).  To say that we should not identify ourselves as a shepherd is to say that the word of God is not timeless.  God chose the word specifically.  There are other words for leader in the Greek language that could have been employed.  But the Bible uses the word shepherd to describe the work of the pastor.   Just because I don't live in a pastoral setting does not negate the truth that I can learn what it means to be one.

Rather than becoming shepherds, too many pastors are becoming leaders.  Instead of learning from the good shepherd how to lead the flock of God, we learning from the business world how to lead "The Church Inc."  Instead of feeding the sheep, we want to lead the sheep to fulfill our vision.  Instead of protecting the sheep, we want to build a big church.  Instead of healing the sheep, we want to discard any sheep who do not get behind our vision.  Instead of serving, we want to our vision to be served.  Jesus reminded us long ago, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,  and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,  even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:25-28

The best book on leadership for pastor's does not come from Peter Drucker or the Harvard School of Business.  It comes from the Bible.  We would see healthier churches and healthier pastors, if we spent more time learning from the Great Shepherd than from any other source.

Idols, Idols everywhere

John Calvin famously said, "from this we gather that man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols."  We in the west would scoff at this quote for most of us don't have little wooden or gold statues hanging around our house.  We Christians would scoff and say that we don't have idols, we worship the true and living God. When we think this, we forget what an idol is.  An idol is anything that we place ahead of God in our hearts.  Our idol can be good things in our lives when we place them in the category of ultimate importance.

What are some of the idols that we in the church have today:

Acceptance and Approval -- when we long for the acceptance and approval of others rather than living in the acceptance and approval that God has given us we are worshipping an idol

Our Families -- when our family takes first place in our lives and put them ahead of God, our family is an idol.  "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes even his own life, he cannot be my disciple."

Our Church or Pastor, or Favorite Preacher on Television -- when we choose to believe what others tell us the Bible says rather than reading it for ourselves, we set them up as idols in our lives.  We turn to others rather than turning to God.

These are just a few but the list can go on and on.  The good news is that we are not saved by the quality of our worship for if it were, we would fail.  Our acceptance by God is based on the fact that Jesus never had an idol.  He worshipped the Lord perfectly and died in our place.  Take time to check your heart, ask God to reveal your idols.  Then turn from those idols and worship the one true God.

Why we cry at funerals

Over the last several weeks, I have seen friends and family face serious health issues, terminal diseases and the death of loved ones.  I have shed tears and tried to comfort many who are grieving the loss of health and life.  Some would ask, why do you cry?  As Christians we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in Him, though he die, yet shall he live.  (John 11:25, ESV)  We believe to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8, KJV). So why would we cry?

The answer to this question is found in 1 Corinthians 15.  Paul remind us that the immortal and imperishable kingdom of God cannot be inherited by perishable mortal beings.  Therefore, when Christ returns, those who are alive will be changed. That is God will transform our mortal bodies into immortal ones, our perishable bodies into imperishable bodies.  At the same time, the bodies of those who have died will be raised and made immortal and imperishable and their spirits that have been with Him, will be reunited with their bodies. Paul says when this happens, "then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

'Death is swallowed up in victory.'
'O death, where is your victory?
 O death, where is your sting?'"

We cry because even though death has lost its fatal sting it still has a sting.  Even though it has lost its final victory it still has some temporary victories.  We cry because death still has a physical sting.  Death can cause so much physical pain that we weep over the hurt that our loved ones face and that we will face one day.  We cry because death has a relational sting.  Death separates us from the ones we love.  The pain of that separation causes us to weep.  Death cannot separate us from God but it does separate us from people we care about deeply.

Jesus understood the pain that death causes.  Even though He knew that he came to defeat death ultimately for all and temporarily for Lazarus, He wept at the tomb of His friend.  He experienced the pain we too often feel, and he cried.

The good news is that as we cry, we cry with hope.  For one day, death will lose all of its sting and will have no victory.  The sting of physical pain will be gone, for our new bodies will be free from sin, perfect and Jesus will wipe away every tear.  When he raises us up, we will have a great reunion with all of our loved ones, never to be separated again.

It is right and normal to cry now at funerals.  Don't be ashamed and certainly never think your tears are a sign of doubt.  Tears are not a lack of faith but a real faith that weep with hope.

A Ragamuffin Father

Tonight, I watched the movie Ragamuffin on Netflix (c).  The movie tells the story of singer songwriter, Chris Mullins.  Chris was different, his talent made it difficult for his father to communicate with him.  Chris' father died without ever really telling his son that he loved him.  This caused so much pain in Chris' life as he longed for his father's love and approval.

What made watching this movie so powerful to me, was reading an article today by Tim Challies entitled, "God, Protect My Girls."  In the article, he says one of the things that he prays for is that God would protect his daughters from himself.  No that does not mean he is abusive, but that we fathers are sinful people who do sinful things.  Our selfishness and pride can harm the people who are closest to us.

But I believe it goes deeper than this. God has chosen to reveal himself to us as our Father.  I recognize that we should never judge our heavenly father by the actions of our earthly father, however, it is very easy to do so.  I have met so many people who find it very difficult to call God their father, because of how their earthly father treated them.

Knowing this I try my best to be a good dad, but I know I am at heart a "ragamuffin."  I am a sinner, I make more mistakes than I could ever count.  And so I pray God protect my daughters from me.  Help them to know that even if I fail them, you never will.  Even if I let them down, help them to know You never will.  And so I not only pray, I have to make sure I tell them that their father loves them, but he has and will continue to fail.  I am a sinful man, but I have a heavenly father who loves me and He loves them too.  I have to ask them to forgive me and then point them to the one who loves them perfectly.

Today's Supreme Court's Non-Ruling and What it Means to You

The Supreme Court today refused to hear cases involving appeals by states who had their bans of Same Sex Marriage overturned.  Unless they take up a future case which seems unlikely, every ban of same sex marriages will be overturned and homosexual "marriage" is effectively the law of the land.  What does that mean for Christians?

1.  We must teach by precept and practice, God's definition of marriage.  Our children and our children's children have and will continue to grow up in a society where the definition of marriage is radically opposed to God's definition.  God's definition of marriage is that our marital unions should picture the union between Christ and the Church.  That is marriage is to picture Chris,t the groom, loving his bride, the church, so much that he sacrificed everything for her, and his bride, the church, responding to that love.  Obviously we cannot model perfect marriages, but we can model marriages of love, respect, forgiveness, and patience, where a man and woman work through their differences and struggles to forge a life long marriage.

2.  We must recognize that even though we may hold up God's standard for marriage, we fall short of holding up all of God's standards.  As Jesus said, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone."  It is not my job to condemn those who support or live in a same sex union.  It is my job not to agree but to love.  I realize that often times is a hard position to take in our culture.  Too often, people believe tolerance is not simply agreeing to disagree, but having to support and condone their behavior.  While we cannot condone, we can in humility and love genuinely care about people.

3.  We must recognize that in the end same-sex marriage leads to brokenness and hurt.  This is true not because it is "same-sex" but because it is a violation of God's standard.  My sins, which are many" lead to brokenness.  My brokenness was healed by a God who says, you don't have to meet all my standards because I know you can't.  So I have met them for you in my son Jesus.  Believe, trust and find healing now and complete restoration one day.  The Bible says, there is a way that seems right to men, but in the end it leads to destruction.  The more our society condones sinful behavior, the more people will be hurt by it.  The good news, there is a healing balm for our wounds, and we as followers of Christ must put ourselves in a position to bring that healing to hurting people.

Measuring the Right Things

As many of you know, I have begun walking in preparation for participating in a 5K event.  As I walk, I use a pedometer to keep up with how I am doing. Since my goal is to run the 5K and not be in last place, I have to measure myself against certain criteria.  If all I measured was distance, I would not achieve my goal.  I have to also measure my time.  I want to make it 5 kilometers but I also want to run it faster as I progress in my training.

In the Christian life, too often we measure our success by the wrong things because we are not clear in our goal.  We measure how much we read the Bible, how long we pray, how well we witness, how often we attend church.  These are admiral measurements, but a person can do all these things and still not achieve the goal of the Christian life.  The goal of the Christian life is not to develop Christian disciplines.  The goal of the Christian life is to love God and enjoy Him forever.  One can read their Bible every day just to say they did it, without their Bible reading helping them love Jesus more.  One can pray and check it off their list of things to do each day, without it helping them to fall in love with Jesus.  One can witness, attend church or develop any other discipline but fall in love with the discipline rather than fall in love with Jesus. 

Reading our Bible is good, but every time we read it we must ask ourselves how does my Bible reading help me to love Jesus?  I can read the words on the page without falling in love with the person the book is about.  When I pray, am I praying to get to know and love Jesus more?  When I witness, am I telling people about the one that I love more than anything else in the world?  When I attend church, am I falling in love with Jesus more and more?

The goal of our discipleship is not merely to obey commands, but to love the one we are following all the more.  After all Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.  So how do I measure my love for God?  How can I tell if I am loving Him more and more each day?  Jesus said, by this all men will know you are my disciples by your love one for another.  The Apostles John said, “How can you say that you love God whom you can’t see, if you can’t love your brother that you do see.”  The measure of how much I love God is how much I love my brother.  Think about it.

Satan's Best Weapon

When I looked at Facebook© this morning, I saw everyone responding to responding to Victoria Osteen’s recent comments.  I especially enjoyed this video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00-6OyXVA0M 

As I heard her comments I wondered why so many people are fooled by her words.  The answer is that Satan’s best weapon is a half-truth.  There is some truth in her words, being obedient to God does bring us joy.  Jesus promised us both joy and abundant life.  Stephen Nichols said, "We were made for God, made with a singular purpose, to glorify Him. And as we glorify Him and as we live for and live toward Him, we find our soul’s true joy."

Victoria Osteen’s problem is that she makes the byproduct or result of living out our purpose, the goal and purpose itself.  God wants us to have joy, obedience brings joy so be obedient not for the glory of God but that it brings you joy.  We are obedient to God because it is right to be obedient and it is our purpose to bring Him glory.  If I do it for my joy, I become God and ultimately lose joy.  If I live for his glory, I recognize Him as God and in the end I have joy.

 Satan twists the truth by taking a kernel of truth out of context and makes it the whole.  We should know that this is his modus operandi, for this is what we see in scripture.  When Satan tempted Jesus, he quoted Jesus.  Satan pulls scripture out of context and twists it for his purposes.  He still does that today and as a church we must be careful to know the whole counsel of God so that we will not fall for half-truths. 

The Ice Bucket Challenge and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Every day for the past two weeks, I have seen a new video on Facebook© of someone taking the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money to find a cure of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Before you think I am going to criticize people for taking up this challenge, I want to state from the beginning that I am very happy that people want to do something to help those suffering from this terrible disease.  My prayer is that the awareness and dollars raised will help us find a cure.

My question is this, would a challenge to share Christ with people go viral like the Ice Bucket Challenge?  You may say that these are two different things.  They are but there are similarities.  People say that sharing your faith is both frightening and embarrassing.  Well the Ice Bucket Challenge is a little bit of both.  Dumping ice water on you is a little frightening because it can be painful and it is a little embarrassing because I have seen what people do after having the ice water dumped on them.  People have overcome those obstacles in doing the challenge rather quickly and easily but sadly too many believers don’t overcome these obstacles in sharing their faith.

We get frightened because we don’t know how or believe we are unable.  We get embarrassed because we don’t know how people will respond.  But we can easily overcome these obstacles when we realize that all we have to do is tell our story.  When Jesus changed the life of the woman at the well in John 4, she simply went back to her town and told the story of what happened to her (John 4:29).  That is all we have to do, tell people our story.  I can tell people what Jesus has done for me. 

We know the story.  God created us to live in harmony with Him, each other, ourselves and all of creation.  But because sin came into the world, our relationship with God was broken and so was our relationships with others and our world.  God desires for us to be restored to a right relationship with Him so he sent Christ into the world to live, to die and to be raised again so that if we believe in Him we will be brought back to Him.  And one day, Jesus is coming again to make all things new, to bring us back to the purpose for which we were created.

The challenge is, with whom can I share my story and His story.  We have good news to share.  We have a Holy Spirit is at work in people’s lives around us.  I can share the story in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God.  My prayer is that this challenge will go viral.

Random Thoughts on Today's News

It has been a long time since I have written, so instead of commenting on one news item, I feel the need to share a few thoughts about several.

Last week, Ann Coulter, wrote a blog criticizing an American missionary who contracted Ebola while serving in West Africa.  She basically said that it was idiotic to put yourself in danger in another country when there is needed missionary work here.  What is sad about her comment is that I have heard the same sentiment from people in the church.  "Why do we want to send missionaries over there when so much work needs to be done here" is a refrain that is heard too often among believers.  When Jesus said, "you will be my witnesses, in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" I am sure that he did not mean that we would finish in Jerusalem before we could move on to Judea and so forth.  We are called to go and to send missionaries both at home and abroad, not to the exclusion of either.

Speaking of Ebola, some have wondered including Coulter whether it was right to pay the expense of bringing the missionaries home.  I am sure if you would have asked the doctor and nurse, they would have told you leave us here.  I am reminded of the story of Father Damien, the Belgian missionary who served in Hawaii 150 years ago.  He served among the lepers, ministering to them every day for 15 years.  He risked his life and contracted leprosy.  Once he knew that he had contracted leprosy, he gathered the people for worship.  For 15 years he began the service, saying my fellow believers.  That morning he said, welcome my fellow lepers.  Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  These missionaries served like Jesus by laying down their lives for those they treated.  In so doing, they communicated by example the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I pray that in being brought home, they have raised the awareness of Ebola and the treatment that they received will now be used on all who have contracted the disease.

This week the attention has come to two stories.  First, we are hearing reports of believers in Iraq are being tortured and killed for their faith.  How do we honor the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We need to remember their friends and families and seek for ways to minister to them.  Just as important, we must never allow lesser things (the pleasures of this world) to make us compromise our faith.  I pray that we will stand firm to the end.

Finally, today we learned that actor and comedian Robin Williams has died of an apparent suicide.  At this point, this has not been confirmed, but if true my initial though still stands, how.  The picture I have of Robin Williams is full of life, vitality and joy.  It is a reminder that pictures can be deceiving.  We don't really know what is going on under our masks.  In the church, we should never take for granted the masks, we sometimes wear.  We must make sure that all believers in the church are in close relationships with someone else so that we can lean on each other and help each other.

Holes

I have been thinking a lot about holes lately.  No I am not thinking about donut holes, I am referring to the empty space that they left behind.   What gets bigger the more you remove?  The answer is a hole.  A hole does not have to be big in order to be significant.  The significance of the hole is found in what where it is found.  A large hole in a pair of jeans can make it fashionable; a small hole in a shirt can ruin it.

This week, I have been considering holes because there is a hole in the hearts and lives of our family.  Last year, my wife’s mother lost her short but valiant fight with cancer.  In March of 2012, she discovered that she had a brain tumor that had come from non-smokers lung cancer.  On May 02, she passed away.  Her passing has left a pretty large and significant hole in our family.

As you can imagine, this has been a pretty difficult year for our family.  That difficulty comes from learning to deal with the hole in our lives.  So you can understand why I have been thinking about holes.  The good news is that even though there is a big hole in our lives, we are not without hope.  Too often people live with holes in their lives and they don’t know what to do.  A loved one dies and the one left behind cannot keep going.  They live with the hole in their lives and they are so consumed by it that they just can’t seem to move beyond it.  Their lives become the hole.  So how do you learn to live with the hole?

If you have a hole in your jeans (and you don’t want to be fashionable), you patch them.  In order for the patch to be effective, it must be bigger than the hole.  When the patch is one, the hole is still there, but a repair has been made.  When a loved one dies and a hole is created, memories and even other people are not bigger than the hole.  They can fill but they cannot repair.  The only thing that is bigger is Jesus.  When Jesus covers the hole, you still miss the person, but your heart is repaired.  When Jesus is in your life, you not only find strength for today, but you have hope for tomorrow. 

If you have a hole in your life, Jesus can not only fill it, he can repair it.  Trust him today.

Terror in Boston: A Christian Response

I know its going to happen.  Some well intentioned but misguided person is going to put their foot in their mouth and proclaim that what happened in Boston today is God's judgment on America for ___________ (you fill in the blank).  I want to go ahead and apologize on behalf of all Christendom to you in advance.  When you hear someone say this, recognize they are not speaking on behalf of all Christians and I believe they are not speaking on behalf of Christ.  I know this because we read in Scripture Jesus' response to tragedy.

 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”  (Luke 13:1-5 NLT)

A tragedy occurred, Pilate had murdered some people as they were worshiping in the temple.  A tower had fallen in Siloam killing 18 people, another tragedy.  Did Jesus say that these events happened because of the sins of the people killed  Did he say that that these people were killed because God was judging their sin.  No, he did not.  In fact he said that was not the reason they suffered.  People in Jesus' day thought, as long as I go through life without anything really bad happening to me, I must be a really good person to be so blessed.  Jesus reminded them that we are all sinners in need of repentance. (even those people who proclaim that this is a judgment of God are sinners in need of repentance).  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Good things happen to all of us, and bad things can happen to all of us as well.  When good things happen to us it is not a sign that we are good, and when bad things happen to us it is not a sign that we are bad.  

The other reason I know that Jesus would not say that this is a judgment from God is because He said as he was heading to the cross, "The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this to indicate how he was going to die."  John 12:31-33  Jesus said God judgment on the world happened at the cross.  Jesus bore the wrath of God for sin. If we trust Christ as our Lord and Savior, our sin has been judged at the cross and we can be forgiven.  If we do not trust Christ, our sin will be judged on the day of His return and we will not find forgiveness. 

A Christian response to this tragedy is to weep with those who are weeping. It is to console and comfort and provide for those who are hurting.  A Christian response is to pray for those who are hurting.  A Christian response is to praise and pray for those who rushed in to alleviate the hurt.   A Christian response is to say this tragedy happened because sin is in the world.  A sinful person chose to do an evil thing.  But God loves this world even though it is sinful.  For He sent his only begotten son into the world that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.  For Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world, but through him the world might be saved.  (John 3:16-17)

Let us as believers respond to this tragedy like Jesus would.  Let us respond with a message of grace rather than a message of Judgment.  Yes, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.  Think about it. 

Responding to the Tragedy in Connecticut

As with most all of us, I have been struggling to get my mind around the events of this morning in Newtown, Connecticut.  It is truly hard to fathom, because before you can get your mind around what happened, you first must get your arms around your own children.  You thank God for them, and you thank God that they are safely in your arms.  But then, it dawns on you, there are moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas who will no longer be able to put their arms around their child again.  So you wrap your heart around those grieving families and a grief stricken school and town.  You cry and you cry out to God that He would somehow bring comfort to the comfortless.  And then you wonder, how can anyone find peace in this storm.  And you realize that the only peace to be found is one that passes all understanding.

Once you do all that, you begin to try to come up with some reason for what happened today.  You read the news online, you watch it on television and you hear explanations.  We need new gun laws some say.  If we only had stricter gun laws, this tragedy would never happen.  Some agree, others disagree.  But ultimately this answer doesn't explain today. Especially, since in China today, a man slashed 22 children with a knife as they were going through the gates of their elementary school.  (Click Here for Article)  Children are hurt and killed, even when there are no guns.

The brother of the perpetrator says that he was mentally ill.  Reports are out that he may have been autistic or he had some other personality disorder.  That must be the cause.  Yet, there are so many others who live with these disorders who never commit such a heinous crime.

The only explanation that we come to is that there is evil in this world. And evil has been around for a long time.  As we celebrate Christmas, we often forget that there was evil in the original Christmas story.   Matthew 2:16-18 (ESV) says,

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

   “A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.  Who really knows how bad it is?" (NLT)  Evil and wickedness reside in the human heart.  We sin because we are all sinners.  Thank God that all of us are not murderers, but the seed of murder is in our hearts.  Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire."  The anger, the contempt we have for people in our hearts is where murder begins.  We cannot look at this young man and say you are guilty without looking at ourselves and saying I'm guilty.

Which brings me to the good news and the only hope that can be found for days like today and everyday.  Jesus came into the world to save us from evil.  He first saves us from the evil in our own hearts.  Evil will be punished.  When you trust Christ, that punishment is placed on Jesus at the cross.  When you are free from that evil, then you have the hope that one day you will be freed from the presence of evil.  One day, Jesus will return and He will make all things new. There will be no more sin, death, evil, tears for they will all pass away.  Everything will be made new.  It will be made the way God originally created this world, good.

Until that day, we grieve with those who have lost so much today.  The only comfort we can share, is the comfort found in the hope of the Gospel.  And we cry out each day the prayer of John, even so Lord Jesus, Come! 

Opting Out of Christmas

Today I read this article that says that 45% of Americans would like to opt-out of Christmas this year.  The reason is the financial pressures that the holiday causes.  We are living Tim Burton's A Nightmare before Christmas.  When you divorce Christmas from its real meaning, what you end up with is a nightmare.  Yes, Christmas is a time for giving but since we lost the original meaning of Christmas, giving has become how much can I spend to buy for everyone around me.

Christmas is about God giving His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth and the gift of eternal life that He represents.  The gift that God gave us was Himself.

The reason we want to opt out of Christmas is that instead of giving of ourselves, we give a lesser gift, which is what we can buy.  We think that the more we spend, the better the gift.  The real meaning of Christmas is the more we give of ourselves, the better the gift.  Instead of opting out of Christmas this year, why not receive God's free gift and then give of yourself.  Give someone your time, your love, your friendship, your self.  If you do you will not feel stressed out but blessed.

Eleven Years: Choosing to Remember

This morning, I participated in a local 9-11 remembrance ceremony.  There were not that many people in attendance, mostly local police, fire and ems personnel.  I am sure that in New York, New York and Shanksville, PA there were more crowds.  And I have to admit that I may not have been in attendance if I were not participating.  Our local ceremony was very simple but also very moving.  I wished more people could attend but I understand that people are remembering that day, eleven years ago.  I have seen on Facebook many posts reminding us not to forget.  That is good.  It is good to remember.

We need to remember those who lost their lives so that we can cherish life.  We need to remember the first responders who rushed into the World Trade Center to try to save others.  Some of these men and women died, some still live with the scars of that day.  We need to remember them so that we can be thankful for those who still serve.  We need to remember that people attacked us because they hated us and wished to bring this nation down so that we would be ever vigilant.  We need to remember the men and women who went to war so that we can remember that freedom is not free.  It is good to remember.

Remembering is a very good thing.  That is why Jesus told us to remember Him.  It was so important that Jesus gave us a ceremony, a meal to help us remember.  Some call it communion, others the Lord's Supper, but Jesus gave it to us that we might remember what Jesus did for us.  The meal involves all our senses.  We can smell the bread and wine, we can see it, feel it, taste it.  We hear the words, this is my body broken for you, my blood shed for you.  This makes a lasting impression, so that we do not forget.  We remember every time that we come to the Table that it is not I but Christ.  We are reminded that we are all sinners saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is good to remember, think about it.

Like many people, I went to the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises.”  I enjoyed the movie, went home to bed, got up the next morning and was shocked at the events that transpired in Colorado.  As I watched the television and listened to the radio about the reports of James Holmes heinous crime, I kept hearing the words, “not rational”, “how”, “why”, “unbelievable”.  I listened to President Obama’s response and I was heartened to hear him describe the act as evil.  I say that because many people today refuse to identify such heinous acts as evil.  When President Bush used the term in describing terrorists, some said he went too far.  After all one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.   But President Obama, declared the act evil and evil it is.  He also went on to say that we may never understand why.

There is a high level answer to the question.  No we may never know what caused this particular instance but we can explain on a philosophical and theological plane the reason why.  True, the answer sounds so unreasonable to many ears today, but it does not make this answer false.  The answer lies in the doctrine of original sin.  Yes, I said sin.  The doctrine of original sin teaches us that Adam’s fall effects us all.  That every man, woman and child is born with a sin nature, sin effects every part of our lives body, mind, spirit and will.  This does not mean that we are as sinful as we can be, but that sin touches every part of our lives. 

What makes this crime untenable is that most people are kept from being as sinful as we can be.  God has given each person in the world what is called common grace. Common grace includes both internal and external restraints upon our behavior.  We all have a conscience.  We know right from wrong.  The Bible teaches us that the law of God is written on our hearts.  This internal restraint keeps us from doing certain things because we know they are wrong.  Now, this is not always enough.  If you had to read the book, “The Lord of the Flies,” you remember the story is about civilized boys who engaged in horrendous behavior because they were stripped of God’s other common grace, external restraints. 

These external restraints include government.  Government is an authority established by god to promote good and restrain evil.  Laws are established to keep people from committing certain acts.  No, it cannot change hearts, but the fear of punishment can keep you in line.  When those external restraints are not there, people can engage in the most god awful behavior.  Just go to Daytona Beach on Spring Break when students are away from their parents.  When the cat is away, the mice will play. 

For most of us our internal sense of right and wrong and fear of punishment keep us from being as sinful as we can be.  However, some people refuse to listen to their conscience and are not afraid of punishment, so they give into their baser instincts and can commit heinous crimes.  We have seen this in history with men like Hitler, who were a law unto themselves and were driven to do what they wanted even if others would say it was evil.

Does that mean I am off the hook?  Does that mean that no evil lives within me?  The answer is no.  Jesus said, in Matthew 5:21-22, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”  Murder begins not as an external act but an internal attitude of anger, hatred, contempt and envy.  Because of God’s common grace we do not act on our feelings but Jesus said we are liable to judgment.  That is exactly why we need the gospel, we are all guilty.  If we have failed in one point of the law, we have failed in all.  We stand before God already condemned to judgment.  But God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but through Him the world might be saved.  Jesus bore God’s judgment for our sin on the cross.  If we put our trust in Christ, we will not perish but have eternal life.  Think about it.

Obamacare, the Supreme Court and Where our Hope Lies

It has been interesting to me to listen to the response from so many people about the Supreme Court's ruling on Obama Care.  Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding vote to rule that the Health Care Law was constitutional.  In his majority opinion, he made his ruling by arguing against what the administration said.  The administration argued their case under the commerce clause repeatedly saying that the individual mandate was not a tax.  Chief Justice Roberts rewrote the law saying it was a tax and therefore under the jurisdiction of congress.  Although she sided with the majority, Justice Ginsburg wrote a dissenting argument saying that the mandate was not a tax but fell under the commerce clause.

You may be able to tell by how I wrote the first paragraph, what I think of the decision.  I believe this is another decision that takes our nation away from the founders intent.  But that is not the point of this article.  What I want to write about is the response of so many people.  I have heard people say they are depressed, giving up, despondent and giving into despair.  As a Christian, that is not the way I look at this decision or any political decision or election.

When I vote, I vote my conscience which I hope is guided by my Christian convictions.  However, when the election is over, or when any law is passed, or when any decision is made, I do not give into despair.  I do not despair, because my hope is not in the political process but in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Some people say well why do you get involved? why do you vote and care about such things?   Well I vote and am involved in the political process because I am commanded to render unto Caesar, the things that our Caesars.  I recognize the government is an authority established by God and I am to respect that authority.  Since I live in a nation that allows me to have influence through my vote, I gladly am involved.

Yes, I want the candidates that I vote for to win, I want laws passed that are consistent with the purpose of this nation and I want judges to rule on the constitutionality of our laws.  However, when this does not happen, I will never give up hope, because my hope is ultimately not in the United States of America but in the Lord Jesus Christ.  If my candidate never wins an election, if our nation continues to drift from its founding principles, if judges continue to be activists rather than interpret the constitution, I will not despair.  I have hope, His name is Jesus.

In the last 2000 years many nations have risen and fallen.  With them the hopes and dreams of many have fallen.  But Jesus has stood the test of time.  Everyone who has put their hope in Him, have never been disappointed.  They may have been discouraged at times, but ultimately their hope has been secure.  Do you have that hope?  Think about it.