Finding Hope For Today and Tomorrow

Nobility

2012-01-28T07:23:00.002-06:00

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, " he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men (Acts 17:1-12).

As Americans, we don’t think much about nobility. Nobles are the kind of people you find in Great Britain, people who have been granted the title of "sir" or "lady" by the royal family. They are respected as being a cut above everyone else; people look to them for an example of how the best and brightest conduct themselves.

America doesn’t have royalty; we don’t have kings or queens, barons or duchesses. And yet, in a very real sense, we do have nobility in this country. They just aren’t identified as such. We have people who are given a lot of respect. We have people who get special privileges, even if it’s under the table and out of sight. We have people that we look to as an example of how the best Americans should live. We have many people that are treated like nobility.

Who are these people? They include political families like the Obamas and the Bushes. They include movie stars like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They include sports figures like Eli Manning and Michael Jordan. They even include singers like Madonna and celebrities like Paris Hilton. These types of people get preferential treatment; their words and actions have influenced many lives.

Why are these people as influential as they are? It’s wonderful that Angelina has adopted several kids and given them a privileged upbringing, but what about all the other children who are still dying from malnourishment and neglect? What kind of role model is Paris being to teenage girls? How many public figures support a cause purely out of concern for others, and keep on supporting it even after the cameras have gone someplace else? Have any of America’s ‘nobility’ touched your life personally and changed you for the better?

Noble people are supposed to act a certain way. What kinds of behavior do you think of as noble? Should these kind of people be proud of their achievements, or should they be humble? Should they be on the cutting edge of fashion, or should they be secure enough that they don’t need to worry about what’s trendy? Do you expect nobility to show off their wealth, or do you expect them to be generous with what they have? Do you prefer them to be sophisticated and reserved, or do you prefer that they be down to earth and accessible? Should the nobility have refined tastes, or is better that they are able to appreciate beauty and happiness wherever it may be found?

Humans may have contrasting ideas about what nobility should be like, but God has His own views on the matter. In Isaiah chapter 32, the prophet describes noble character by contrasting it with the behavior of foolish and evil men. The fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil. He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the LORD; the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water. The scoundrel's methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands. According to Isaiah, God views as noble those people who speak wisely and keep their minds occupied with good thoughts. They follow God’s laws and share His truth with others. They give food and drink to the hungry and thirsty. They are concerned with doing things the right way, and they devote time to projects that help the needy.

Jesus talks about noble behavior as well. In the Parable of the Sower, He compares His word to seed, and human beings to different types of soil. Some are just not interested in what Christ has to say, and the devil snatches God’s word from their lives—just like crows make off with seeds that are left on the ground unwanted. Others are curious about Christianity, but they give up on faith when life gets hard—just like a seedling is easily killed when it is planted in soil that is too shallow for roots to take hold. Then there are those who love Jesus, but get so distracted by life’s worries and pleasures that they never attain spiritual maturity—just like a plant that is choked out by growing among a bunch of weeds. But there is a fourth type of soil—Jesus says, the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop (Luke 8:15). By Jesus’ definition, people of noble character are those who listen to God’s Word, build their lives around it, and work hard at honoring the Lord with everything they have.

In the fourth chapter of his letter to the Philippians, Paul talks about how we should occupy our minds. Listen to what he says: whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things…And the God of peace will be with you. According to Paul, nobility includes an interest in what is true, pure, lovely, and excellent.

And in the book of Acts, Luke also describes noble character. He says, the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. When Paul and Silas came with the message of God’s salvation offered through Jesus Christ, the Thessalonians listened politely. But when enemies of Christ came to town with words of hate, many were quick to believe their lies and get enraged. As a result, Paul and Silas had to quietly slip away so that things would cool down. But the situation in Berea was different. There, the message about Jesus was received with great interest, and they spent time every day studying God’s word so they could evaluate the truth of Paul’s words. By Luke’s estimation, people of noble character get excited about God’s word and want to understand it better.

Many people that we treat as nobility don’t act noble at all. They boast about their achievements. They are slaves to every change in fashion. They spend their money to make themselves look good. They sneer at ordinary pleasures; they are never satisfied with anything less than the absolute best. They act as if they are better than most other people; they expect to be catered to, and when they speak, they assume that right-thinking people will agree with them.

Christ is different. Jesus is true nobility—Son of God and descendent of King David. Jesus is the rightful heir to both the throne of earth and the throne of heaven. And Jesus embodies nobility of spirit. He is humble, not arrogant. He is dependable, not pushed around by trends or pressure from lobbyists. He is generous, not selfish. Although He had the finest of everything in heaven, He was willing to leave it all behind and live with us in our poverty. Jesus came to serve us in our need, washing His disciples’ feet as an example for us to follow. He did not insist on being treated as royalty; instead, He submitted to the judgment of church and state, both of which condemned Him to death on a cross. Jesus is nobility personified, and that nobility led to giving up His life so that our sins could be forgiven.

Jesus calls on us to act like nobility. He wants us to be humble, steadfast, generous and open. He wants us to love His Father, love His Word, and love our neighbors as ourselves. He wants us to hunger for a deeper, more committed relationship with God. But we are sinners through and through—how can we possibly be of noble character?

For such a thing to happen, we need Jesus. In Jesus, God loans His nobility to us. Jesus is not the kind of celebrity that comes to the ballpark to throw out the first pitch or sing the national anthem. He did not come to be the Grand Marshall in a parade, waving to the cheering crowds. Jesus came to save us. He teaches about God’s law, so we can know what makes God happy. He teaches about sin, so we can understand how much we’ve angered God by our misbehavior. He lived a life of perfect obedience for us, so that the Law might be fulfilled in spite of our sin. He died in our place to spare us from God’s awful judgment. He rose from the dead to open heaven for all who believe in His power, love and mercy. He’s not like Angelina Jolie, who can only adopt a few children and give them a better life; through Christ, billions of humans are adopted by God as His beloved children, and are rescued from sin and the threat of hell.

We can show nobility—with God’s help. Relationships that are shallow and superficial can benefit from an investment of time—time to listen, time to get involved, time to care. So imitate the Bereans—get to know God more personally through frequent worship and a commitment to Bible study. As you grow closer to Him, the Spirit of God will equip you with other noble qualities—the ability to stay positive, honor God’s law, share the Gospel with others, offer good advice, serve others with willing hands and wallet, and appreciate beauty wherever you find it.

Although America may not have royalty, we are still influenced by people who act like nobility. But you don’t have to be famous or good looking or wealthy to act nobly; just follow the example of the Bereans. Their noble character came from their devotion to Christ. Because of it, we are still talking about those devout people two thousand years later. If you want to be remembered, be of noble character—dedicate yourself to a deeper relationship with Christ, and follow where He leads you.

A lifetime of perfect scores

2012-01-26T06:58:00.002-06:00

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin (1 John 3:4).

When you play darts, you want to hit the bullseye. When golfing, your goal is to get the ball into a very small hole. In basketball, you must get the ball through the hoop in order to score points.

Life is about hitting the target. Managers give targets for the sales staff to aim for; if you are a failure at reaching target numbers, you can expect to be shown the door. Soldiers who can’t hit a target wind up stuck behind a desk or working on a carburetor in the motor pool. Fail to aim your car properly, and you’ll end up stranded in the ditch or lying dead from a head-on collision.

Hitting a target requires accuracy and precision. It’s not enough to hit the sweet spot every once in a while; a good baseball pitcher must be consistent in his performance. Only the best hit the mark dead on, time after time after time.

God expects us to obey His laws perfectly. He demands 100% accuracy and 100% precision. Think about that. Imagine scoring a 300 every time you bowl. Imagine pitching nothing but perfect games for an entire career. It is just as impossible to impress God with your spot-on behavior.

Way too often, we miss the mark. Our efforts fall short; our successes are scattershot. The Bible has a word for this failure—that word is sin. To sin means that you didn’t hit the target dead center; to be a sinner means that you average a pitiful score when it comes to being a good person.

In baseball, weak batters can be sidestepped by putting in a pinch hitter. That’s what God did when He sent Jesus down to earth centuries ago. The Son of God is our substitute batter. Jesus has the accuracy and precision that we lack; where we fail to meet God’s lofty standards, Christ has succeeded. He takes the stat book of our lives, erases our miserable scores, and replaces them with His own. Because of this substitution, God awards us a trophy we do not deserve—the trophy of everlasting life in paradise.

Dressing warmly

2012-01-24T07:44:00.002-06:00

I delight greatly in the LORD…For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and dressed me in a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).

When the weather becomes chilly, it forces a change of wardrobe. As much as you might love wearing shorts and tees, they are impractical when the wind is cold and overnight lows drop near freezing or below.

Maybe you are one of those stubborn sorts who won’t let the weather dictate how you dress. I know the type—wearing sandals while walking through snow, going bareheaded in sub-zero temperatures because hair spray and stocking caps don’t mix.

I’m a practical man. If the weather is cold, I bundle up. For me, being warm and dry trumps any concern over how I look. But I know that a lot of people are willing to suffer and even risk getting sick for the sake of fashion.

I’ve seen this same mentality at work in how people think about God. It’s not fashionable to be a Christian. You don’t turn heads by being humble. You don’t draw attention for watching your tongue. If you are devoted to Jesus over everyone else, you won’t be the life of the party.

The world is a cold place to live, and it’s getting colder all the time. A person can be attacked on the street, and those who see what’s happening just watch instead of helping. Celebrities make the news for bad behavior, yet their popularity increases instead of shrinking. This kind of coldness deadens the heart and extinguishes the warmth of goodness.

Jesus offers you warm clothing to wear, so the chill of sin does not numb your heart and kill your soul. This garment of salvation is a robe made of His righteousness. He offers to cover sin with the shelter of His forgiving love. But many people reject Christ and His generosity. Despite the frigid situations they find themselves in, they would rather be fashionable, cutting edge. They push Jesus to the side so they can be the center of attention, even as they turn pale and shiver uncontrollably.

Don’t be that person. You can be warm and safe in Jesus’ arms. Don’t suffer for the sake of appearances. There is nothing more attractive than a face warmed by God’s love.

Religious buffet?

2012-01-21T08:08:00.002-06:00

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:1-10).

I don’t know about you, but I like buffet-style dining. Why be forced to order a few things from the menu when you can sample all sorts of different things without restriction? Not only that, but for one fixed price you can eat as much as you want of the foods you like best. Of course, there are a couple of drawbacks to this kind of dining—buffets are generally more expensive than ordering from the menu, and when you can eat as much as you want, most people consume more calories than they should.

Buffet-style dining is just one example of how the world has changed to offer us all sorts of variety. When I was a kid, there were little grocery stores scattered all over town; you never had to walk more than three blocks to pick up canned goods, fresh meat, and dairy products. Of course, your selection was limited; these mom-and-pop stores only stocked the basics. I remember how excited my parents got when the first big grocery stores began opening; there were only a few of them in town, but they offered an amazing variety of fruits, meat, and freezer items. Of course you had to use the car to go shopping; the stores were too far away to walk, and you probably bought more than you could carry home anyway. But there was a down side to the big food stores. When you walked to get your groceries, you made several trips each week—good exercise for the heart, and it saved on gas. And as the big stores grew more successful, the little corner shops eventually closed their doors and went dark—they could not compete with the large retailers.

When you go shopping these days, the amount of choices available to you is staggering. You can spend hours shopping in a mall or wandering through the departments of a super store. If you can’t find the exact item you want or the price you’re looking for, you can search countless stores and auction sites by logging onto the Internet. Almost every day, some company or another sends you their newest catalogue in the mail, making you hungry for something that you didn’t even know you wanted. But having all these options available to us causes some problems. We buy things that we don’t need. Our homes get so crowded with stuff that they are hard to keep clean, and soon we are buying bigger homes or putting up storage sheds. Worst of all, we spend money that should be saved for the future or donated to charity.

Multiple choice also extends to the field of higher education. By the time you’re a sophomore in high school, the guidance counselor is pushing you to think about your future and choose electives accordingly. By your senior year, there are any number of colleges, universities and trade schools that are waiting for your enrollment. These days, you can major in almost anything—some schools even encourage you to design your own course of directed study. Of course, these kinds of choices come at a price—huge tuition fees, and the need to prop up the bloated egos of some deans and professors.

Regrettably, our world also offers a great deal of variety when it comes to religion. There is Judaism and Islam and Hinduism. There is Mormonism and Scientology and atheism. And even Christianity is fragmented between Lutherans and Catholics, Baptists and Methodists, and so on. This variety encourages experimentation. We are so used to shopping around for the best deal that we treat religion the same way. A recent study showed than nearly half of the people in our country make a religious switch some time during their lives. We are so used to putting what we want on our dinner plate at a buffet that we treat spiritual teachings the same way. Many people assemble their own belief system by adopting bits and pieces from many different faith traditions. I remember a classmate in high school who grew up Lutheran, but decided that it wasn’t the right religion for him. He tried out several others, before settling on one that matched his views and priorities. That faith was Baha’i, a religion that combines elements of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.

We are used to having a lot of choices to pick from, but sometimes all those options simply overwhelm us. When this happens, we make decisions without fully understanding the long-term consequences. This is especially critical when it comes to religion—what we believe not only affects how we live today, it will also determine what happens to us when we die.

In a world of seemingly endless choices, few ask a very important question: what if one religion is right, and all the other religions are wrong? This is a very uncomfortable question for many to consider; they would prefer to see good things in all religions and cherry-pick the best from each, like a diner going through the buffet line. If you believe that only one religion is correct, your choices evaporate. This way of thinking does not sit well with the American consumer.

Most people aren’t comfortable with the idea of one religion alone being right. Modern thinkers claim that there is no such thing as absolute truth; what is true for you might not be true for me, and what is true for you now might change with the passing of years. For decades now, college students have been taught that the situation determines whether a certain behavior is right or wrong. For example, breaking into a grocery store and stealing food might be justified if you were living in New Orleans during the days following Hurricane Katrina. People with adjustable morals don’t want to hear Christians say that stealing is a sin, period.

Political Correctness is another problem. Some people are very uncomfortable when the claim is made that only one religion is correct. These days, there is more pressure than ever for individuals to be tolerant of each other, and labeling a religion as false seems very intolerant. Claiming that your religion is the right one can make you a lot of enemies. Just consider what happened to Stephen when he dared tell the Jews that they must believe in Jesus to be saved—he was lynched by an angry mob. No matter how gently you try to explain the truth, some will call you unloving, arrogant, narrow-minded, or a fanatic.

But how many paths actually get you into paradise? Are all religions equally valid? Jesus said, I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. Elsewhere in John, our Lord also said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Jesus leaves no wriggle-room—heaven is accessed exclusively through Him.

I am the gate for the sheep. Back when Jesus spoke these words, sheep pens did not always have a gate that you could close and latch. Many times the shepherd would herd his sheep into the enclosure, then lay across the entrance to sleep. In a very real sense, the shepherd was the gate for the sheep—access to the sheep pen was exclusively through him.

What about religions that do not recognize Jesus as the Good Shepherd who lay down His life for the sheep? Our Lord calls them thieves and robbers. Those religions try and steal us away from Christ and take us someplace else. Jesus warns that their goal is to kill and destroy. Religions are not all the same; they do not all lead to the same destination. Jesus is the only gatekeeper to the realms of eternal light.

What makes Jesus so special? How can He claim sole authority to judge the living and the dead? Jesus earned that right on the cross. We were spiritually dead because of the sinful thoughts and desires that rule our lives; hell awaits all who anger God by failing to love Him or obey His commandments. But Jesus accepted the moral responsibility for our sins, and God punished Him in our place—punishment so severe that it killed the Son of God. But by willingly doing this for us, God the Father rewarded Jesus—rewarded Him with resurrection from the grave and the authority to sit in judgment over every human being. Jesus alone decides who will be forgiven and who will be condemned—and He makes His decision based solely on one thing: faith in Christ. Jesus said, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16). Our Good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep, and now He is the gate for the sheep.

Jesus said the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them…his sheep follow him because they know his voice. Why should we follow Jesus, and not someone else? Psalm 23 gives us many good reasons. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Look at all the blessings! Our needs taken care of. Peace. Guidance through difficult decisions. Protection from the forces of evil. Support in the face of death. Eternal life with God in His kingdom. And it’s all free—it is by grace you have been saved, through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

No other religion offers its benefits for free. Every other religion demands that you do something to earn your blessings. But Christianity is different. Our Good Shepherd knows how weak we are, a truth that Paul affirms in Romans chapter 6: you are weak in your natural selves. Jesus knows that we are incapable of earning God’s favor, as Isaiah makes clear: all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (chapter 64). So Jesus took action to save us, without expectation that we could or would repay Him. He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy (Titus 3:5). Unlike other religions, Christianity is for people who know how flawed they are, and are fully aware that they do not deserve God’s love. We realize that we are sheep who desperately need a Shepherd.

Jesus is the gate for the sheep; whoever enters through Him will find pasture. No other religion truly offers God’s forgiveness, rescue from hell, and life everlasting. Is it unloving to speak of this uncompromising truth with other people? No—the true act of love is to warn people of hell and introduce them to the Savior, before they die and are condemned eternally. Of course, we must offer the truth as gently and winningly as possible—no one likes to be told that what they believe is wrong, and we must respect other people, even if their beliefs are dangerously flawed.

We have grown up with all sorts of choices to make. But when it comes to our relationship with God, there is only one choice to make—accept Jesus as Your Lord and Master, or reject His outstretched hand of welcome. Don’t listen to the false shepherds calling out their lies to you. Don’t let them trick you into wandering away from the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for you. Jesus is the only gate that opens into eternal happiness. Remember His promise in Revelation chapter 2: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

The chase

2012-01-19T08:08:00.002-06:00

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2).

I was watching my cat chase something the other day, and I got to wondering why objects in motion fascinate cats the way they do. I think it has to do with the thrill of the chase, the challenge of catching something that moves quickly and unpredictably.

In some ways, we’re like cats. We also find thrill in the chase. When playing together, children spend much of their time chasing each other. Some guys like it when a girl plays ‘hard to get’; it makes dating seem like pursuit. We love to watch ball games that turn into shoot-outs, but lose interest when one team completely dominates the other. When stores offer door-buster sales, early-bird shoppers feel good about beating everyone else to the best deal.

Why doesn’t church elicit the same kind of enthusiasm? On Sunday morning, I don’t see people rushing to get the best seat. Is it because Jesus has done all the work for us? When Christ died on the cross, His lifeblood washed away the stain of every bad thing you’ve done. When the Son of God stepped alive from the grave, He inaugurated a new way of thinking about death—that it is a temporary aggravation, not an eternal curse. In Jesus, God has solved our biggest problems—the corruption of sin and the decay of death. Thanks to the LORD, we don’t have to chase after satisfaction or security—the good life is His free gift to us.

Maybe knowing that Christ has done it all takes the thrill of the chase out of religion. Perhaps we’d be more interested in the outcome of life if it was uncertain, still up in the air. Personally, I am relieved to know that I have a place in God’s home as Jesus’ guest; I wouldn’t want to spend my life worrying that, in the end, I might fall short and be unwelcome in heaven when I die. I like having the security that Jesus gives to His forgiven people.

Christianity is hardly boring. The devil works tirelessly at getting in your way, distracting you, making you stumble and fall. He wants to you take your eyes off the prize. Don’t let Satan trick you into stopping when Christ has secured the prize for you.

Body armor

2012-01-17T07:26:00.001-06:00

Put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11).

When I was a kid, going to the museum was pretty boring. But there was one display that did fascinate me—they had a metal suit of armor from the European Middle Ages.

The history of body armor goes back to ancient times. When war broke out, soldiers needed protection from being stabbed. The earliest armor was made from leather. Of course, man is always inventing new and better weapons to kill with, so armor had to be improved as well. At first, bits of metal were attached to the leather to help deflect attack. Later on, whole coats were made from links of chain. Eventually blacksmiths started making full suits of armor that covered a warrior from head to foot in solid metal.

But turning a soldier into a walking turtle made him slow. With the advent of reliable firearms, speed and mobility changed the battlefield. Heavy armor keeps its wearer from diving for cover when bullets start to fly, and makes it impossible to chase down a fleeing sniper. Modern body armor must balance weight and flexibility against overall protection. A soldier must always be aware of his surroundings and move with caution; his armor might save him from the first salvo of an ambush, but it cannot protect him from sustained enemy fire.

Each of us lives with a sniper taking aim at us from the shadows. That sniper is the devil. He uses a wide assortment of ammunition. He often tries to bring us down with bullets of guilt. Sometimes he launches grenades of half-truths and lies to disorient us. He plants roadside bombs of pride and fear, so we lose precious time arguing with each other about the best way to proceed. He strafes us with prejudice and mistrust, so we scatter in all directions as we dive for cover. Satan has the tactical advantage—the world is his battlefield. We try to armor ourselves with education, self-discipline, and psychological counseling—sadly, these limited defenses cannot protect us for long, and the devil has no trouble outflanking us.

But we can survive the journey through life if we have the superior body armor that is issued by God’s Son. Jesus deflects the attacks aimed at you by using the truth of His words, the hope of His promises, and the power of His unshakable love. When you wear the body armor of Christ, the devil cannot bring you down.

The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

2012-01-13T22:27:00.003-06:00

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, `The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ) (John 1:29-41).

This reading is an interesting one. It tells us who Jesus is, and His purpose for coming among us. Yet these verses can be a little confusing, so today I’d like to help you make sense of them.

Some names are more common than others—there are lots of people named Chris or Dylan or Ashley, for example. In Jesus’ time, John was a popular name. Two men named John figure prominently in Jesus’ life. One is John the fisherman, brother of James and son of Zebedee. The other John was the only child of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth; this man was Jesus’ older cousin, although the two boys grew up in different towns.

John the fisherman was called by Jesus to be a disciple. John was one of the three disciples who were closest to Jesus; he was permitted to see the Lord’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. John was the only disciple with enough courage to approach the cross and stay with Jesus as He suffered. John was the disciple who cared for Mary after her son Jesus had died. John was one of the first disciples to find Jesus’ tomb empty on Easter morning. John wrote the story of Jesus’ life in the Gospel of John; he also wrote three letters that are preserved in the Bible, and he was given a look at the future which he recorded in the book of Revelation.

John the cousin of Jesus was something of a miracle baby. His mother Elizabeth had gone through life unable to conceive; it was only after an angel visited Zechariah that the elderly woman became pregnant. Like his father, John grew up to be a religious man. When he turned 30, he went out to the wilderness along the Jordan River and began a ministry of preaching and baptizing. John gave up the trappings of civilization; he dressed like an Old Testament prophet and ate what he could find growing wild in the area. He preached a powerful message—repent and be baptized, because the kingdom of God was close at hand. He became something of a celebrity—people traveled miles to see him, and some stayed to learn from him as disciples. But John’s outspoken ways rubbed some people the wrong way; he got thrown into prison for criticizing the morals of the royal family, and was eventually put to death by beheading.

John the Gospel writer was a fisherman by trade, but he had a sharp mind; after three years being taught by Jesus, John became quite the philosopher. Of the four Gospels, John’s is by far the most thoughtful. John the baptist was a prophet who heard God’s voice; as such, he too would speak of mysteries beyond the ken of human minds. So when John the Gospel writer tells us about John the baptist, it’s not surprising that deep thoughts are involved.

John the baptist did not lay eyes on Jesus until the day when they met as adults at the Jordan River. John was sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah; John says the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel. ‘Messiah’ is the Old Testament name for Christ; both titles refer to the one special person sent by God to free mankind from sin. John had no idea who the Messiah was; all he had to go on was what God had told him: The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel writer John does not give us the details of Jesus’ baptism. Of the four Gospels, John was written last; as a result, John did not feel the need to rehash what others had already written. Matthew, Mark and Luke each tell us of how Jesus was baptized by John and what happened immediately afterwards: as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21-22). John the baptist was one of the few people to hear the Father, touch the Son and see the Holy Spirit, all at the same time!

The coming of the Holy Spirit convinced John that Jesus was the Messiah. I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. So the next day, when John saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" For any foreigners in the audience, this would have made no sense. But the Jews who were there immediately understood what John was talking about.

The first time a lamb in mentioned in the Bible is back in Genesis chapter 22. Abraham was an old man before God blessed him with a son. Abraham waited so many years for that boy that he was tempted to prize Isaac over everything else in life. But God is our maker; God is the source of all good things in our lives. Because of this, God demands first place in our hearts; Jesus said, Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37). So God put Abraham to the test; He said Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. As father and son climbed the mountain, Isaac asked an important question: where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." When they reached the spot God had chosen, Abraham steeled himself to go through with the sacrifice—he loved and trusted God above everything else in life, his son included. At that moment, God gave Isaac a reprieve; Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. This is the first reference in the Bible to a lamb.

Hundreds of years later, God’s people found themselves as slaves in Egypt. God sent Moses to lead them to freedom, but Pharaoh refused to let them go. On the last night of their captivity, each family was instructed to choose a spotless lamb and slaughter it. The blood was to be painted on the doorways of their homes. During the night, the angel of death killed every first born son in Egypt, but he passed over the homes marked by the lamb’s blood. The next day, a grieving nation allowed the Israelites to leave. Forever after, lamb’s blood reminded the Jews of God’s deliverance from captivity.

All of us are by nature slaves to sin. All of us need deliverance from captivity. That is what Jesus came here to do—rescue us from sin. Jesus was pure and without sin; it is His blood that protects us from eternal death, blood that flowed from His sacrifice on the cross. When we are marked by the blood of Christ we are protected from God’s judgment, like the lamb’s blood protected the Israelites from the angel of death. Jesus was offered to God as a sacrifice to spare us from eternal death, like the ram was offered to God in place of Isaac. And so John calls Jesus the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is verbal shorthand that any Jew would instantly understand.

John went on to say this is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' In one sense, Jesus came on the scene after John. John the baptist was older by most of a year; he had been preaching for months before Jesus made His public debut. But Jesus was far older than John; although born of a woman, Jesus had God as His Father. Jesus was old when the world was young. Daniel referred to Him as the Ancient of Days; the prophet Micah spoke of Jesus as someone whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Jesus Himself said, before Abraham was born, I AM (Jhn 8:58). Because Jesus is so much older—eternal, in fact—John recognized that the Messiah surpassed him in every way. John said, He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie (John 1:27).

John the baptist wraps up his testimony about Jesus with these words: I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God. John is God’s prophet, and these are the most important words of his career. If Jesus is only a man, then He’s just another prophet or priest or future king. His life would eventually end, and while it might send ripples through history, He could accomplish nothing of lasting permanence. But Jesus is more than just a man—He is the Son of God as well! Jesus would only live on earth for 33 years, yet He would change history forever. Sin is mankind’s ultimate problem—it separates us from God, turns us against each other, and results in death and hell. Only the Son of God could fix this. Only the Son of God could offer His life to free us from sin’s curse, visit hell to tell Satan that he’s defeated, and rise from the grave to lead us to heaven. Our Messiah has reunited us with God, and teaches us to forgive each other so that we don’t have to go through life bitter and alone. Jesus changes the hearts of killers, cheaters, liars and thieves; He takes hearts wounded by hatred and fills them with love; He takes souls quivering with fright and gives them hope for a better tomorrow. Only the Son of God can forgive sins, and correct the problems caused by sin.

John the baptist had disciples of his own, but now that Messiah had come, it was time for them to leave and learn from the Master. The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus…They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." The career of John the baptist was over; soon he would be arrested and put to death. But he had carried out the task God had given him; he had prepared the people for Messiah’s coming, and pointed them to Christ. Now it’s your turn. Will you follow Jesus and eagerly learn from Him? Will you tell others that He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world? I hope that you will be moved to spread the message of Andrew with everyone you know: "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).

Have you done enough?

2012-01-12T07:58:00.002-06:00

Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18).

How do you know when you’ve done enough? After a big fight, your wife seemed happy with the flowers you brought her, but has she forgiven you completely? You’ve been careful to attend every school activity that your son participates in, but does he still resent the fact that you divorced his dad?

Some people are quite willing to let you know how much you’ve disappointed them. But most of us keep our feelings bottled up inside. It could be that you want others to see you as a person who is always nice and pleasant to be around. Or maybe you don’t want to give anyone the satisfaction of knowing how deeply they have hurt you. And there are many people who have a hard time talking about their feelings.

The point is, most individuals guard what they say, especially when relationships are tense. So when you are trying to mend fences, how can you know if you have done enough to resolve the problem between you? Although you might be told what you want to hear, resentment may still linger beneath the surface, slowly festering into bitterness.

You never have to worry about this with God. In the Bible, the Lord has clearly explained what makes Him angry. He hates it when we waste time craving stuff we don’t need. He hates it when we lie and cheat and break promises. He hates it when we are rude and hurt each other. Most of all, God hates it when we ignore Him or treat Him disrespectfully.

The Bible is also clear on this point: there is nothing you can do to make things up to God. He created everything—what could you possibly give Him that is not already His? The Lord expects us to live every moment of our lives in holiness; you cannot extend your life somehow to make up for all the minutes you have foolishly misused.

Thankfully, God does not demand that you make things up to Him. Instead, to bail us out of an impossible situation, He sent His Son to make restitution on our behalf. On the cross, Jesus suffered the punishment and death that we deserve from God. He took care of it all; there is nothing left for us to do except fall to our knees in gratitude to Christ.

Jesus changes you

2012-01-10T07:43:00.003-06:00

We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).

When Jesus takes hold of your heart, things change. Your guilt is lifted. Your panic is brought under control. Your bitterness is eased. Your emotional hurt is soothed. You have peace for today and hope for the future.

The changes do not stop there. Jesus is the Great Physician, but He does more than just cure what ails your soul. Patients are released from the hospital so they can return to work. Christ heals you of sin so you can go out into the world and do something productive with your life.

With Jesus’ help, you can be patient. When others start to annoy you, remember that you angered God with your sin, but He spared you from hell by sending Christ to be your Savior. Jesus suffered for every evildoer, including the person who is causing you aggravation. You show the love of Christ when you heed the words of Paul who said be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2).

With Jesus’ help, you can show kindness. Instead of frittering away your time on things of no importance, you can bring joy to others or offer help where needed. You might visit residents confined to a nursing home. You might volunteer at a school. Remember that Jesus said, Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me (Matthew 25:45).

With Jesus’ help, you can pray. Thanks to Christ, God listens to your prayers. Prayer can be done anywhere, anytime. You can pray from bed, pray while taking a walk, or pray in the shower. You can pray for reconciliation with people that don’t like you. You can pray for our leaders in Washington and for our troops overseas. You can ask God to soften the hearts of unbelievers, and bring to heel those who attack the Church. Paul writes, pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (Ephesians 6:18).

The Bible tells us that God works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). Jesus changes you, and He wants to show His love to others through your words and behavior.

Fulfilling all righteousness

2012-01-07T07:44:00.002-06:00

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:13-17).

If you are driving someplace you’ve never been before, it’s essential to have a map of some kind. Roads are unpredictable. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, a street can change names without notice as you cross a township line. In Wisconsin, every county road is identified by a sign because stubborn German farmers would not let the county run pavement through their fields, resulting in roads that twist and curve around any number of property lines. When you’re out driving, you never know when you’ll be stopped by a river with no bridge or a street that dead ends at a city park. It’s hard to find an address when some city streets are laid out on a grid, others cut through town at an angle, and still others curve this way and that because of hills. Trying to navigate without a map can make for a very frustrating trip.

County commissioners don’t have an easy job. No one wants their property condemned so that a road can be laid in a straight line. When I was in high school, a four lane was being planned that would join Milwaukee with Green Bay; the route cut through many farms, and some people were so upset that, during the night, they would tip over caterpillar tractors and put sugar in the fuel tanks of the trucks. City planners don’t have it any easier. People don’t want their trees cut down in order to widen the street; business owners fear losing business if traffic is routed through another part of town. People are selfish, and many times their selfishness results in road design that is hard for visitors to navigate.

God hates disorder. Disorder can make lives unnecessarily hard and steal the joy from living. From the very beginning, God has been bringing order out of chaos. Describing our world at the beginning of time, Genesis chapter one says the earth was formless and empty. Our world was in utter chaos; the first thing God did was to establish order. He separated light from darkness and land from water. He put the heavenly bodies in their place, and arranged the stars to mark the passage of time. It was only after everything had been organized that God created man and woman.

Even in paradise, there was a sense of order. Genesis chapter two says, The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. From the very beginning, it’s been our job to keep God’s creation in good order. And there was Law in the garden, too. The LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17). All this is because God hates chaos; chaos makes life stressful. Our God desires the peace that results from order. 1st Corinthians chapter 14 says, God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

Of course, perfection did not last long. Although they had only one law to respect, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and that act of chaos ruined the peace of God’s perfect order. Every harvest was made difficult because of weeds and bad weather. Animals that used to get along peacefully began eating each other and attacking man. Within a generation, Cain murdered his brother, and in time the spread of chaos made things so bad that God flooded the world in an effort to wash sin away. The only people that God spared were Noah and his family, but within months of planting a vineyard after the flood was over, a night of drunken behavior caused problems for God’s chosen family. As their descendants repopulated the earth, sin and chaos spread once more. God even wrote His laws on stone with His own hand, but humanity continued to choose chaos over God’s order.

But God never gave up. And so, two thousand years ago, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law (Galatians 4:4-5). Jesus came into our world holy, and He never sinned during the years He was growing up. Finally at age 30, Jesus was ready to begin His work in earnest. He came out to the Jordan River to be baptized by His older cousin John. This request surprised John; he had been telling the people that they needed to repent of their sins, and he baptized them to show that God had accepted their change of heart. But John knew full well that Jesus had never done anything wrong; there was no reason to baptize Him. So John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

Fulfill all righteousness—that’s what Jesus came here to do. God the Father has high expectations for us—be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2). Sadly, being perfect from cradle to grave is completely beyond us. So although it did not apply to Him, Jesus chose to obey the Law perfectly on our behalf. In order to do this, the Son of God left heaven to become the Son of Man. Jesus was born to represent mankind in its totality. Through His perfect life, each of us gets credit for living perfectly even though we haven’t. When He died for our sins, each of us is credited with having suffered God’s punishment even though we haven’t. Jesus makes everything right between God and us. This was only possible because Jesus took God’s Law seriously—He was determined to fulfill all righteousness. This even included baptism, the baptism that we need but was otherwise superfluous to Him. For Jesus, no aspect of the Law was overlooked.

What about you? How do you feel about fulfilling all righteousness? Do you think that it is done by showing up at church occasionally, dropping something in the plate, and praying the Lord’s Prayer? What does God’s Law really entail? Doesn’t the Law tell you to love God with all your heart and mind and strength? Aren’t you to love your neighbors as yourself? God expects you to love Him so much that you want to be in church at every opportunity, because you enjoy spending time listening to His Word and singing His praises. God expects you to value Him so much that you are praying to Him throughout the day, just as the disciples chatted with Jesus wherever they were and whatever they were doing. God wants you to love other people so much that you go out of your way to bring them to Christ for salvation. God wants you to love your neighbors so much that you would never hurt them, use them, or ignore their needs. God wants you to respect Him so much that you would never dream of breaking even one of His commands.

But we want to get by on the minimum, don’t we? We take shortcuts with righteousness when the whim moves us, when we are tired, when we are bored and want some excitement, when we’re scared or grasping at straws, when we’re being pressured by others or are trying to keep everyone happy. God’s ways don’t always mesh with our lives, and so a choice needs to be made. Then we act, sometimes forgetting that God says, "My Way or the highway."

Actually, God’s Way is the High Way. When we turn away from God, we end up taking the low way. Do you know where the term ‘highway’ comes from? In ancient times, good roads were elevated to prevent them from being washed out. Ordinary roads were little more than tracks in the dirt; highways were built on a lasting foundation. This is the imagery of Isaiah chapter 35, where the prophet speaks of the perfect world that Jesus will bring about: a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God's ways; fools will never walk there. Lions will not lurk along its course, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it. Only the redeemed will walk there. Of course, a system of highways takes work to establish and maintain—consequently, such roads are few and always lead to an important place. If you want the safety and comfort of highway travel, your choices are limited; you must follow where the road goes. If you want more freedom in your choice of direction, you have to get off the highway and drive along the back roads. Now, you might find that some of them go nowhere because a bridge is out or they are not maintained; gas stations might also be hard to find. Or if you want complete freedom of movement, abandon your car and start walking through the fields. You can go any direction that you want, but you risk turning an ankle, getting poison ivy, or becoming lost.

I’m sure that at some time or another, you’ve had the experience of taking the wrong exit from a highway and getting lost. You could still see the highway in the distance, but couldn’t find an ‘on’ ramp. That happens to us spiritually as well. We make some foolish decisions and end up traveling a low way, a muddy and rutted path that makes everything in our lives filthy, and threatens to get us stuck somewhere by ourselves with no help to be found. Thankfully, in baptism Christ gives you a promise—whenever you repent and seek His aid, He will wash away your sin and restore you to the path of righteousness. This is why Jesus had to fulfill all righteousness—without a perfect life having been lived for us, we would be lost eternally, seeing the highway but not knowing where it leads or how to get up on it. We need Jesus’ perfect life to satisfy God’s requirements for us, and we need His atoning death to protect us from God’s anger at our sins.

No ordinary man could do this for us. Psalm 49 says, no one can redeem the life of another by paying a ransom to God. Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough to live foreverand never see the grave. No human being can redeem another. God expects 100% perfection from each of us; how could anyone be more than perfect, so that he or she had leftover goodness to share with others? Anyway, all of us are terribly sinful, never performing at even a fraction of what God expects. So Jesus had to be more than just a man—He needed to be infinite God, so that His perfect life would have infinite value, value enough to satisfy God’s requirements for all of humanity. Jesus needed to be a man in order to live as a subject under God’s Law—but He also needed to be God so that His perfection could be credited to all believers. Paul writes, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might have the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus took seriously every one of God’s laws—early in His ministry He said, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished (Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus took God’s Law seriously because 1) He loved and respected His Father, 2) if He did not satisfy the requirements of the Law for us, we would be utterly lost, and 3) He hates chaos and disorder. Jesus took the High Way seriously because He is righteous. Through baptism, Christ offers that same righteousness to you. Please, take it seriously as He did.

The purpose of the Church

2012-01-05T07:40:00.002-06:00

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105).

Two thousand years ago, the Son of God came to live among us for a brief time. He was put to death by those who hated Him, but shortly thereafter He rose from the dead and returned to heaven. But before Jesus departed, He founded the Christian Church, a legacy that remains with us to this day. Why did Christ train a small group of men to establish the Church? What is the church supposed to do?

Some people think that the purpose of the Church is to make sure that a nation is governed in righteousness. Certainly we want God’s law to be respected by the courts and the leaders who are in power, but steering national policy is not the chief purpose of the Church. If the Church does its job, every citizen will know who God is and what He says to us, but Jesus did not establish Christianity to run this country or any other.

Many people think that the purpose of the Church is to care for the poor and free the oppressed. These are good objectives, but they are not the chief purpose of the Church. If the Church does its job, the poor will be blessed and the oppressed will experience freedom, but this is a happy consequence, not the main objective.

Most people think that the purpose of the Church is to shape children into good adults, members of society who are productive, respectful, caring and generous. But while such a goal is worth pursuing, it is not the chief purpose of the Church. If the Church does its job, many people will become wiser, more polite, faster to offer help. But change in personal behavior only happens in response to the work that Christ gave the Church to do.

Jesus established the Church for one main purpose—to share the light of God’s message with a world that is lost in darkness. The message is this. You have broken God’s laws. You are guilty of sin and deserve punishment in hell. But God sent His Son to suffer that punishment for you. He died so you can live in paradise with God forever. Lay yourself at Jesus’ feet, sorry for doing wrong and trusting in His love. That’s it—that’s the purpose of the Church. If the Church shares this message, people will change, society will change, the world will change. But the Church does not make this happen; it is the Word of God that changes lives for the better.

Deserving of criticism

2012-01-03T07:40:00.002-06:00

There is…no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

How many times have you been criticized? How often have you been told that you did something wrong, said something hurtful, or failed to come through when your help was needed? I would guess that you’ve been told such things many times over the years.

I’m sure that on some occasions, those criticisms were unfair. But more often than not, those harsh words stung because you knew they were true. You have let people down. You have spoken cruelly to others and about others. You have gotten into fights, broken things, took stuff without permission. You have been selfish, stubborn and wasteful.

As the years go by, the guilt you feel over past mistakes eats away at you like stomach acid. It can make you bitter. It can make you desperate. It can make you feel worthless.

Sure, you’d like to fix things, but how can you take back words that should never have escaped your lips? What can you give that would erase the hurt caused by the promise you broke? How can you apologize to a friend who has moved to parts unknown, or to a parent who has died? How can you ever be rid of the guilt?

You may not be able to fix what you’ve ruined, but there is hope for things to improve. In fact, there are three things I’m about to tell you that can change everything for the better. First, you can be forgiven. God sent His Son to suffer for your dark thoughts, nasty words and negligent behavior. On the cross, Jesus took responsibility for the punishment you deserve. Then He rose from the dead, so He can lift the guilt that weighs you down. Second, you’re not in this alone. Christ is always near; although you cannot see Him, He is close by and willing to lend you His strength and patience, His wisdom and courage, His compassion and His peace. It’s yours for the asking. Finally, this too shall pass. Friends of Jesus are assured a welcome in heaven when they die, a place where there is nothing to fear, nothing to get angry about. The problems of life will not go on forever; in paradise you will be able to enjoy life as God intended it to be.

You and I, we’re failures. But thanks to Jesus, our failures no longer define us. What defines us now is love—the love of God, which is shared with us through His Son.

Building for the future

2011-12-30T23:56:00.002-06:00

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27).

Nowadays, a lot of people have gutter guards on their homes. A gutter guard is designed to keep leaves and twigs from collecting in your gutters and eventually clogging the down spouts. Several years ago a young man lived in a house that was equipped with them. He didn’t give the gutters much thought until one day when he was walking in the yard after a heavy rain. As he passed by one of the down spouts, he noticed something lying in the grass nearby. It was the remains of a bird’s nest.

A few days later he was pulling into the driveway after work. Looking up, he saw birds going in and out of a hole in his gutter guard. He took out a ladder and climbed up for a closer look. Sure enough, the birds were building a nest in the gutter, a place that was up high and in the shade. Those birds had no idea of the disaster they were inviting. They did not realize that the next time a rainstorm came, all their work would be flushed into the down spout. All they were trying to do was build a safe and permanent home.

In this life, each of us wants to build a safe and permanent home. But like the birds, we often build in places that invite disaster. Some people build where there are mud slides, while others prefer living near shorelines where hurricanes threaten destruction. Some people build on top of old landfills; some even make their homes close to volcanoes! It is amazing how stubborn people can be—they are warned not to build in a certain place, but they do it anyway.

In the same way, people build their spiritual nests in places they never should. They think that a safe and permanent home can be created here on earth. For the Christian, such a home is found somewhere else—a different place that cannot be seen by human eyes. Although we live here on earth, we don’t think of it as home. We think like Abraham; Hebrews chapter 11 tells us, by faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents…because he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Speaking of God’s faithful people, Hebrews goes on to say: they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth…they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.

We are citizens in the kingdom of God. Our safe and permanent home is not found here on earth. Jesus walked this world for 33 years, yet He never considered it home; He said, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). When He was standing trial before the Roman governor, Jesus said my kingdom is from another place (John 18:36). Jesus always kept His focus on heaven, and He encouraged His followers to do the same: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

Jesus warned about building your life on the wrong foundation. Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

After the pouring rain, gushing floodwaters and howling wind, what will remain? That is the question that needs to be answered. The lessons of this world teach us something about our relationship with God. No one in their right mind would build a permanent house on sand. In the same way, why would anyone try to build a life that does not have the truth about God as its foundation? There are many opinions about who God is, what His priorities are, and how He interacts with mankind. But the truth can only be found in the Bible; all other opinions are distortions and lies. Yet astonishingly, we are quick to build on teachings not found in the Bible. We fail to see that we are building nests in the gutter.

Throughout the Christian life, there is constant tension between our everyday experiences and what we are looking forward to in heaven. The problems and pleasures of today have a tendency to overshadow what lies in the future. The issues that come up in our daily lives don’t seem to have anything to do with God, because our future with Him is somewhere off in the distance. You might find yourself wondering, “what does believing in Jesus and heaven have to do with the things I’m dealing with today?” There are times in your life when things aren’t very pleasant; it is tempting to think that faith in Christ doesn’t actually do you any good. We know that God has the power to make things better, yet many times He doesn’t. This kind of thinking leads some to conclude that God and Church are only a waste of time. When this happens, people start building on sand. They build their lives on misunderstandings, half-truths and outright lies about God. They think they know who God is, but they really don’t.

When God becomes less important, the future becomes less important too. When building a life on faith in God loses its appeal, building on shifting sand looks more and more reasonable. What kind of sand do people build on? Looks. Money. Education. Family. Career. Yet all these things are fleeting; a disaster can wash them away in moments. And when you die and stand before God’s judgment, how valuable will these things of sand prove to be? When You are facing the storm of God’s anger at your sins, a sandy foundation will be swept away; your life will end in ruin.

When God calls you to give an account of your life, you need a strong foundation to stand on. That foundation is Christ. With Jesus supporting you, God’s anger will not sweep you away and throw you into hell. If your life is built on Jesus, your sins are forgiven and God will be pleased to welcome you into heaven. So you need to build on the truth. You need to anchor your life in the Word of God. You need to think about the future and build accordingly.

I’m sure that you’ve heard the expression, “home is where the heart is.” We live in many places over the years, but not all of them are home. You might have lived in a dorm room or an apartment, but it didn’t feel like home. You might have moved to another city or state, but it didn’t feel like home. If you live some place that you don’t like, it can affect your attitude about nearly everything—how much you enjoy the food you eat, how you feel about the work you’re doing, your opinion of the people that surround you. All of us have experienced times of wishing that we were someplace else.

When we think about our relationship with Christ, we must realize how flawed by sin we are and how much we need Jesus in our lives. We need His forgiveness. We need His wisdom. We need His protection, strength and patience. We need a home that is safe and permanent, a home that our sins cannot mess up and cannot be ruined by anyone else. When we realize that life in this world will be tainted by sin until Christ returns, it changes our perspective on what is truly important. When our focus shifts to Jesus and heaven, the things of this world start to lose their attraction. Building for the future becomes more important than building for today.

We are just passing through this world as we travel to a much better place. Like Abraham and other people of faith, we are looking forward to a heavenly home—a home built on a foundation that will last forever. While we live in this world, we frame everything on that foundation, resisting the temptation to build on sand. We build on the eternal Rock of our salvation. That Rock is Christ, the Son of God who promises the end of sin and death, and a new life that can stand the test of time. The world around us can’t understand such things; building on promises of future glory seems foolish. But we know better. We have Jesus’ personal guarantee. By faith we can agree with Paul when he says, our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

In Luke chapter 16, Jesus tells a parable that illustrates the importance of keeping your priorities straight. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, `Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, `Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

How can any of us think for one minute that a sand castle on a beach is in any way superior to a magnificent castle of carved stone built upon a large and majestic rock? As we find ourselves at the beginning of a New Year, it is a good time to evaluate where we are headed. Do you think that home is here, or are you on a pilgrimage that won’t end until you’ve arrived in heaven? Are you building on the Rock that will last forever? May God keep you from building your nest in a dangerous gutter.

Flipping the calendar

2011-12-29T08:12:00.002-06:00

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

When the calendar flips to a new year, people have varying reactions. Some get nostalgic for the past, figuring that their best years are behind them. Others get depressed as they realize how many goals were not met over the past twelve months. Some get excited about the possibilities a new year brings. Others are fed up with the problems of the past twelve months and are anxious to just move on. Some people are pessimistic—they don’t get excited about the coming year because they don’t think anything will really change. Others are scared to death of the future because they dread the possibility of change.

Will the future be an improvement or a disappointment? That largely depends on you. When your life goes through an upheaval, will you seize the moment to make things better, or will you let trouble crush your spirit? When an opportunity for change presents itself, will you charge ahead thoughtlessly, hide in fear, or pray about what to do?

No one knows what the future holds—no one except the Lord. Horoscopes don’t reveal what’s going to happen. No investment counselor or meteorologist can be 100% sure of what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone a week from now. Only the Maker of heaven and earth can see what’s in store for you in the months to come.

It’s hard to face tomorrow when you are still troubled by yesterday’s mistakes. Psychologists can try to teach you coping mechanisms, but no amount of therapy can erase the bad things you’ve done. Thankfully, God can. Jesus paid the penalty for all your mistakes when He suffered on the cross. If you are His friend, He will lift the guilt from your shoulders so you can face tomorrow with renewed energy.

At New Year’s, we can feel paralyzed by past mistakes and uncertainty over the future. Thankfully, the Lord of heaven and earth takes a personal interest in your life. He offers forgiveness through faith in Jesus. He offers the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help you navigate the weeks ahead. When troubles come, He will give you peace. Going from one year to the next doesn’t have to be stressful, if you put your faith in the Lord.

The greatest gift

2011-12-24T07:53:00.002-06:00

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:15-17).

The tradition of giving Christmas gifts dates back to a real person who lived in the fourth century. His name was Nicholas, and the gifts that he gave to European children were small by the standards of today—fruit, nuts, candy, and simple toys. Europeans brought this tradition with them when they settled in America; by the 19th century gift giving was widespread, and took on a more lavish approach that has grown into what we experience today.

Why did St. Nicholas give gifts to children at Christmas time? We assume that he was motivated by the gift God gave us all by sending His precious Son to be our Savior. When we give presents to others, it can symbolize God’s generosity to a sinful world. Those gifts under the tree can represent The Greatest Gift Ever Given.

It was the last present opened on Christmas day. It was from his mom and dad. Billy ripped the package open to see what was inside. There in the box was a gold coin, large and shiny. Billy’s father tried to explain how valuable the coin was and what it could buy; he also told Billy that Jesus was like gold but much more valuable. Billy was hardly listening; he was fascinated with how the coin sparkled as it reflected the lights of the tree. Seeing this, his father told him, "The world will lose it’s shine, but the shine of Jesus and His gifts will never fade away." Nevertheless, Billy played with the coin as if it was just another toy, and within a couple of days he lost it somewhere.

We all have precious things in our lives, yet so often we take them for granted. We misuse, abuse or lose them. One example is how we treat our relationships. You met a person who was wonderful to be around, but as time went by you misused or abused them until they walked out of your life forever. It is especially easy to treat our relationship with God this way. We know that Christ is a treasure of priceless worth, how the holy Son of God lived and died so that we could be forgiven our sins and have the hope of eternal life. But we misuse this incredible gift. We cheapen the love of God by stubbornly pursuing wickedness, until our faith dies with a whimper and we lose the gifts that were most precious to us. Just as a gold coin is not a toy to be played with, the salvation won for us by Jesus’ suffering and death is not a gift to be treated lightly. But treat it lightly is something we frequently do anyway.

Our relationship with Jesus is valuable—as valuable as eternal life in paradise. Yet so often we treat it as something of little importance. We trade Christ for things that we think are shinier. Maybe we hunger for a lifestyle filled with shiny expensive goods, or we crave the sparkle that comes from being someone who is famous or powerful. Or maybe we decide that Christianity has lost its luster, as we deal with one tough struggle after another. Regardless, the most important gift of all is ignored and eventually lost.

Jesus once told a parable about a lost coin. He said, suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? (Luke 15:8). Being lost is something every Christian should be terrified of; without Christ there is no release from the guilt of past mistakes, no hope for a better tomorrow. It is a sobering reality that on any given day there is a risk of becoming lost; no Christian is immune to the temptations that would make us forget about God’s Son and the hope that He brings. And so God must work hard constantly; like the woman in the parable, He shines His light into our dark world and searches for the lost ones. It is only through His efforts that we are found and kept safely as His prized possessions.

When we participate in an office gift exchange, everyone tries to give presents of roughly equal value. The same holds true between friends and lovers. But when it comes to children, that standard of equity goes out the window. Children can’t match their parents in gift giving, nor are they expected to. It is the same between God and us. We have done nothing to earn His favor; all that we deserve from Him is punishment for our sins. But in spite of this, God the Father chose to send us the Greatest Gift Ever Given. God loves us despite our sinful condition, so He gave us a gift we can never repay—the life and death of His own beloved Son. Paul speaks of how sin and death seek to destroy the shininess of God’s beautiful creation. But the gift of God changes things completely; Paul says that this gift has brought justification.

This fancy word is very important because it summarizes The Greatest Gift Ever Given. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to shine us up. Sin creates scuff marks; it hides beauty behind ugly scars and prevents the light from being reflected. But Jesus reverses this damage. He was born into our world to do for us what we cannot. He came to live a perfect life for you. He came to suffer hell on the cross and die, so that you might enter heaven and live. The Holy Spirit brings you these gifts through God's word; He finds you and declares you righteous for the sake of Christ. Polished by Jesus, His light shines in our lives and is reflected to others as well. Whoever believes in Jesus will not be condemned but will enjoy eternal life in paradise.

At this time of year, the word of God points us to the manger. As we peer down at the holy Child, we are confronted with a great mystery—the Word of God made flesh. Underneath the wrapping paper of His humanity, that baby is the Son of the living God. Since Jesus is both God and man, He is our perfect substitute. Because He was a man, Jesus could live the life of obedience and love that God expects from all people. Because Jesus was God, what He did for us back then has the power to change our lives today. Because He was a man, Jesus could suffer, die and be raised from the dead; because He is the Son of God, His suffering, death and resurrection frees us from sin and guarantees our welcome in heaven. Son of God and Son of Man—only Jesus can bridge the gap between sinful humanity and holy God.

At Christmas, Jesus comes to us. From our current vantage point, we cannot see His face—for now, we only see the wrapping of preaching and teaching, of baptismal water and communion bread and wine. One day the wrapping will be torn away and we will see Him as He is. But even though we only see the wrapping, The Greatest Gift Ever Given is ours even now. There is nothing that can possibly be shinier than that. So when we are tempted to think that other things are more attractive, or when hard times make us wonder if the Gospel has lost it’s luster, it is time to reflect on all that we have been given in Christ—freedom from guilt, protection from the devil, strength to endure hardship, the forgiveness that fixes broken relationships, and a passport to heaven when we die. We have something far greater than anything earth can offer; we have hope. And so we can join Peter with joyful hearts and say, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Three months after Billy lost his shiny gold coin, his mother died in a terrible car accident. Three years after that, his father passed away after losing a fight with cancer. Billy became a bitter young man. Nothing could ease his grief or give him peace of mind. He frequently found himself in trouble with the law, and struggled with anger and depression. Finally, the day came when he was old enough to receive his inheritance. At the end of all the legal hassle, the lawyer handed him an envelope. Inside he found a set of keys for a safety deposit box that was set up by his father before the cancer took him.

Billy was alone in the vault when he slowly opened the box. The artificial light reflected off of something shiny—it was the gold coin he had lost all those years ago! He had pretty much forgotten about that coin, but the sight of it took him back to the Christmas when he got it. Underneath the coin was a letter from his father that began with these words:

Dear Billy: By now you are a young man. I wish I could have been there for you. I hope life has been good, but under the circumstances, it probably has been hard. When your mother died and I found out I had cancer, I lost all hope and hated God. One day, I was cleaning up the house and found your gold coin. I remembered the words I said to you when we gave it to you. Do you remember? I said, "The world will lose it’s shine, but the shine of Jesus and His gifts will never fade away." I hope you haven’t forgotten that, like I did, but if you have, I pray you will find it again as you have found your gold coin today.

Jesus Christ, the baby in the manger, puts shine in our lives now and for all eternity. He is The Greatest Gift Ever Given. Nothing is or ever will be greater than the birth and sacrifice of God’s one and only Son. So when everything seems to lose its shine, remember what a treasure you have in Him. His shine fills our dark days with the sparkle of God’s love, and guides us towards a bright future in heaven. That is the blessing of Christmas. As Peter says, it is a gift that will never perish, spoil or fade.

Merry Christmas!

God with us

2011-12-22T07:41:00.002-06:00

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

The true meaning of Christmas. Some would say it is love. Some would say it is generosity. Some would say it is peace and fellowship. Christmas is all these things, but it is also something far more. The true meaning of Christmas is Immanuel, which means ‘God with us.’

God designed humanity to be perfect in every way—loving, generous, peaceful. Tragically, we have all listened to the devil’s lies and are tainted by evil; as a result, the world is filled with hate, selfishness and conflict. Our sinful nature makes us the exact opposite of what God intended. God hates sin, and so He ought to hate us.

Amazingly, though, God does not hate us. Despite our flaws, despite our mistakes, God still loves us and wants the best for us. He wants us to be close to Him always, but for that to happen, our sin must be removed. So God sent His one and only Son to deal with sin personally.

God caused Mary to become pregnant and give birth to a very special child. That boy was Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. Jesus lived the kind of life that God expects from each of us, a life uncontaminated by evil. Jesus never disobeyed God in what He thought, said or did. But Jesus did even more than keep God’s Law for us; He also died for us. Sin is punishable by death; the Son of God offered His life in place of our own. On the cross, Jesus suffered all of God’s punishment that we deserve for being sinners. Jesus lived for us, and He died for us.

That’s the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. In Jesus’ birth, we see how much God loves us and how much He hates sin. In Jesus’ time among us, we see how far God was willing to go to rid us of sin so we can be close to Him forever. Christmas is about love, generosity, and peace—these are God’s wonderful gifts to us. But most of all, Christmas is about Immanuel, God coming to be with us. We don’t deserve His presence or His gifts, so let’s be sure to let Him know how grateful we are.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas music

2011-12-20T07:37:00.002-06:00

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music (Psalm 98:4).

Music is all around us, but I wonder if we appreciate the effect that music has on us?

Some of the time, we burrow into music like a warm and comfy blanket. A man who’s going through a breakup might find solace in a bunch of ‘she done him wrong’ songs; although depressing, such music gives comfort that he’s not alone with his pain. An angry teen might prefer music with a hard beat and aggressive lyrics, the kind of music that reflects her mood. Music can echo how you feel.

But music can also take us on an emotional journey from where we are to where we want to be. Someone who is lonely finds solace listening to songs about love. Someone who is worried or depressed can find relief in songs that are filled with happiness and joy. Music can change how you feel about things, at least for a little while.

Music can manipulate emotions, and corporations make use of this knowledge. Some office buildings play music in the background that is designed to keep the workers attentive and moving at a brisk clip. Medical centers use music to give anxious patients a tranquilizing effect. And stores use music to encourage shoppers to spend time browsing the aisles, filling up their carts with lots of things to purchase.

This is especially noticeable during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Everywhere you go, the air is filled with music chosen to make you feel nostalgic, so you’ll buy pretty things to dress up home for the holidays. Songs about dinner parties and gift giving encourage purchases of food and merchandise.

But when you are out and about, you don’t hear many of the older Christmas songs—the ones about Jesus. Songs about the Christ Child coming to bring us peace with God don’t encourage shopping—such music draws us to Church and the worship of God’s Son. The old songs remind us that we are sinners who would be cursed to an eternity in hell if God had not offered His forgiveness through the Messiah who came to die for us. Those old Christmas Carols are still the best holiday music available; listen for them, because the message they carry changes lives forever.

Preparing for Christmas part 4

2011-12-17T07:57:00.002-06:00

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write `The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written" (John 19:19-22).

An ornament is defined as "something that lends grace or beauty." It is hard to pinpoint exactly when people started to hang them on Christmas trees, but it’s been going on for a long time. An ornament can be anything from a gingerbread cookie to some of the most colorful and intricate glass structures imaginable. The choice of material seems almost limitless, and the meaning that one attaches to an ornament usually depends on the social and religious views of the people who hang them.

If I were to visit your home and look at the ornaments on your Christmas tree, what would I see? Perhaps I would find something that celebrates a baby’s first Christmas, or one from a special vacation, or maybe even an antique handed down from a relative. The point is that you put them up because they have meaning, or they remind you of something important that you want to remember. We hang such ornaments so that everyone can see them.

Today, we remember our Savior. We remember by reflecting on a most unusual ornament—the notice of execution that was hung above Jesus’ head on the tree of Calvary. For Pontius Pilate, that sign was not intended to lend ‘grace or beauty’ to the situation; he had the notice put up to aggravate the religious leaders of the Jews. But God allowed that sign to be hung on the tree as An Ornament For Everyone To See. It has meaning; it is a thought-provoking ornament.

That notice was written in three different languages, and so far as we know, it contained the very first words written about Jesus during His 33 years on earth. Those words are recorded in all four Gospels. The words written on that notice not only spoke about Jesus on the cross, they echoed the same words spoken by wise men from the east who came looking for the Christ child. And so, whenever we place ornaments on the tree, it would be good to remember these words that ornament the tree of Calvary: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

This statement is packed full of meaning. What I would like to emphasize today, however, is the thought of Jesus being our King. Since humanity fell from grace into lawlessness, God has established kings to keep evil in check and maintain a degree of order in the world. Sin, death and the devil are like a river at flood stage; good kings are like sandbags that can only do so much for so long. Nevertheless, they are evidence of God’s loving care for us in this chaotic world. They are kind of like a spare tire that we can get by on until the real thing becomes available. Like a spare tire, earthly kingdoms only last for a short while. If you’ve ever used a spare, you know that it is limited in the distance it can go and the speed it can withstand. And so it is with all earthly kingdoms; they collapse under stress or from the passage of time. None of them ever last and achieve the goal of a perfect society.

We live in the midst of these temporary kings and crumbling kingdoms. There is no political solution that will fully and permanently shield us from sin, death and the devil. We must contend with these three enemies until the very end of time. Unfortunately, while confronting the problems they cause for us, we sometimes lose sight of the cross and the sign fastened over Jesus’ head. Sometimes we forget why Jesus was born. We start to believe that everything is spinning out of control, wondering if God is far away and unconcerned with what we’re going through. Whenever we despair over the conditions of the world and start living as if God has left us to be eaten by the dogs, we show that we have forgotten why Jesus came to Bethlehem. We are tempted to think that it is up to us to solve these problems on our own. Such thoughts only lead to a pit that is deep and dark.

Some of the most thrilling moments in human history are those when a king rises from obscurity to do battle against the seemingly insurmountable forces of evil. People are elated when he wins the victory and then rules over them with love and kindness. In the Old Testament, David stands out as a powerful example of such a man. Stepping from obscurity, a young sheepherder faces a giant professional soldier, one on one. Armed only with a sling and some small stones, David kills Goliath, setting in motion a string of events that would eventually lead to the royal throne. During David’s subsequent reign, God made a significant promise: although David would eventually die and be buried with his ancestors, one of his descendants would be a king who will rule over God’s people forever.

According to His human nature, Jesus is a descendant of David. He was born in a lowly stable, King Herod tried to have Him murdered, He faced Satan in the wilderness, the religious leaders of the Jews flatly ejected Him, and people laughed at Him as He died on the cross. He grew up in Nazareth, prompting one person to ask "Can anything good come from there?" (John 1:46) When brought to him for trial, Pilate could scarcely believe that the man standing before Him was a king; but Jesus made it clear that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). Indeed, as Jesus died on the cross, only a handful of followers remained at His side.

It is at the cross that we clearly see what Jesus is all about, and what the ornament above His head really means. The most amazing thing about Christ is that he comes to establish His kingdom through death. From a human perspective, this makes no sense at all. Yet the Bible says that the foolishness of God is greater than human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:25). Hidden in lowliness and defeat lie greatness and victory. Jesus is a king, a king who rules the hearts of those who love Him. He is the mighty King who defeated sin, death and devil, and lives to tell the tale. His throne is in heaven, and earth is His footstool. We who serve Him will live in His kingdom forever, where we will be safe and happy and content.

As long as we live in this world, we will continue to confront sin, death and Satan. There is a wonderful Calvin and Hobbes comic strip that illustrates this. Calvin has had a horrible day. His mother nags him. His teacher criticizes him. The bully at school threatens him. Bad weather prevents him from going outside to play. His father corrects him. And, at the end of it all, his mother tucks him into bed, gives him a kiss and says, "Have a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s another big day!" The lights go off, and all Calvin can do is shake his head and sigh. Yes, in this world there will be much trouble. In that comic strip, Calvin is left alone in the dark. We, however, have a conquering hero on our side.

Sometimes it seems that evil has the upper hand, but whenever we are overwhelmed, we need to ponder these words of Paul: he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14). This is the greatest comfort anyone could ask for. No matter what, we have been freed from sin, death and devil by the holy and precious blood of Christ, blood that offers us forgiveness and peace.

Things are not spinning out of control; by the power of God, everything is working towards our salvation. When we question or doubt God’s concern, we need to remember how He has rescued us by sending His one and only Son. And when we find ourselves slipping into despair over the condition of this world, we need to remember that God has not abandoned us but has given us the victory that lasts forever. All of this is a wonderful gift that we did not deserve. It has been graciously given to us by God, who chose to enter the battlefield for us, to overthrow sin, death and the devil. Knowing that we could not achieve this for ourselves, He fought and saved us to be His beloved subjects forever.

Not everyone looks forward to God’s eternal rule. Many people refuse to acknowledge that God exists; they are terrified by death because at that point all control over one’s life is gone. Satan and his minions fear God as well. Do you remember when Jesus freed a man from being possessed by a legion of demons? They begged Jesus to let them go into a herd of pigs, because they desperately wanted to avoid the punishment that awaited them in hell. Both unbelievers and devils wage war against Christ and the Church. But Psalm 2 reminds us, The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." As you can see, it’s as good as done. The raging of both unbelievers and demons is like a fly trying to move the universe. Their efforts are absolutely futile.

And so we laugh with the One who laughs. Christ is King, and everything must work for the good of His kingdom. We are His kingdom, so there is nothing for us to fear. We need to remember that when we hang our ornaments on the Christmas tree. Remember the ornament suspended above Jesus’ head on the bloodstained tree, a sign that read JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. The baby whose birth we celebrate is the King who gives us victory. No matter what happens down here, no matter how things might appear to be, we are safe in His hands for all eternity. As it is written in 2nd Timothy chapter 4, The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The best gift

2011-12-15T07:25:00.002-06:00

Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).

Shopping has become the Great American Pastime. Our national economy rises and falls based on how much consumers are willing to spend. Shoppers brag about the good deals they’ve gotten, as if buying stuff is some form of competition. Bargain hunters spend hours clipping coupons or searching out the best deal. Going shopping has become just as popular a way to spend time as playing games, going out for dinner, or taking in a movie.

To be sure, getting new things is fun. But most of us have to live on limited resources; most of us have to plan for retirement. When you use shopping as a way to have fun, you put your financial stability at risk. Advertisers are experts of manipulation; they know how to make a product so attractive that you feel as if you have to buy it, regardless of your bank balance.

At this time of year, the problem is compounded by love and guilt. We have been raised to believe that in order to show love, you have to spend money—money on gifts, money on parties, money on travel. And if you can’t spend as much on friends and family as you did last year, you start feeling guilty. Love and guilt can push you into making purchases that you really can’t afford.

Christmas is a holiday that has become massively abused by corporate America. Yet Christmas also points us to a different way to think about money, love, and gift giving. On the very first Christmas, 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 (John 3:16). The shepherds brought no gifts. When the Wise Men showed up, they gave their gifts to the Lord, not to each other. There was no dinner party; Mary and Joseph and their guests were in a stable, their attention focused on worshipping the Son of God who came down to earth to save us from our sins. There in Bethlehem, the focus was on one thing only—love.

There is no better gift than love, because love draws God and man, woman, and child all together in perfect happiness. You can’t find that kind of happiness by going shopping. No amount of money can ever purchase love.

Snow

2011-12-13T07:40:00.003-06:00

Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered (Romans 4:7).

For many people, snow is something you see in pictures but never experience in person. Snow is not part of the Christmas landscape in Florida or the major cities of California. Children in Iraq and southeast Asia don’t have any snow capped mountains nearby that they can go and visit. For a lot of people, snow is something of a fairy tale.

Now I realize there are times when you might wish that snow only was a fairy tale. Snow can be a nuisance to shovel. Large amounts of snow can interfere with your plans by closing roads, cutting off power, and forcing events to be rescheduled. Snow can be expensive when slippery conditions result in car accidents. Snow can be an annoyance.

Yet children always have fun with snow. They make snow angels, snowmen, and snow forts. They sled and slide and jump into snowdrifts. A lot of the time, kids see what adults do not—that snow is beautiful.

I think it’s a tragedy that some people will never experience snow, and that so many others have lost their appreciation of it. Snow is a wonderful thing. Snow is a great illustration of how God shows His love to human sinners like you and me.

Everyone is a sinner. Each of us has nasty thoughts, speaks hurtful words, and does things that are selfish and irresponsible. Sin makes life look like a field where everything has dried out and turned brown. Sin makes life look like a grove where all the leaves have withered up and fallen to the ground. Sin makes everything look drab and dead.

But snow covers up the fields and groves with soft and gentle whiteness. Snow picks up the rays of sunshine and sparkles in response. This illustrates what God does for us; He covers up our flaws with His righteousness, a pure white covering that makes everything look wonderfully new. Jesus offers to take away our sin and cover us with His perfection; if we accept this gift, our lives can sparkle with new beauty as His holy light reflects on us.

With enough snow, anything ugly can be covered over and become pretty; through the gift of forgiveness, Jesus can do the same for you.

Preparing for Christmas part 3

2011-12-11T07:53:00.002-06:00

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

Jenny was excited to help her mom decorate the tree. Like most four-year-olds, she would help for a while and then get distracted. Trying to keep the little girl focused on what they were doing, Jenny’s mom said, "my favorite decoration is the snow-white tinsel—it just makes everything beautiful."

As they decorated, mother and daughter sometimes had to step over Rusty the family dog. He didn’t mean to get in the way; he was a good dog, most of the time. But that Saturday afternoon was an exciting day with all the activity and things to sniff. Although he was housebroken, Rusty got so excited that he had an accident, right there on the living room floor.

"Rusty!" Jenny’s mom shouted. Angrily, she stormed out of the room to get her cleaning supplies. When she return, the scene in the living room stopped her in her tracks and made her break out in giggles. Jenny had covered Rusty’s mess with a heap of snow-white tinsel. Clearly Jenny had been listening when her mom said, "it just makes everything beautiful."

Many people like to put some snow-white tinsel on the tree; it creates the same dramatic contrast that real snow brings to the trees outside. Why do we like the cold white stuff so much that we look for ways to decorate our homes with it? Part of the reason is that snow changes how everything looks. With just a little snow, the world seems transformed into an entirely different place. Tinsel and snow fill areas that are bare and discolored. The whiteness covers up imperfection, and gives everything an appearance that is soft and peaceful.

God says, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Those are wonderful words to hear as we celebrate Advent and Christmas. It is easy to think of Snow-White Tinsel as a symbol of Christ. Like white snow or tinsel, Jesus changes everything; He can even change scarlet sin and make it white.

Scarlet is a bright, garish red. It is a type of color that can easily be overwhelming. If you were to enter a room whose walls were all painted scarlet, it would quickly strain your eyes. If that scarlet room had a mirror, when you looked into it even the whites of your eyes would be tinged with red. Some of you reading this might be familiar with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter. Set in New England 300 years ago, it tells of a woman who cheated on her husband and was made to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her clothing to mark her as an adulteress. The letter "A" was in scarlet to make sure everyone in town could easily see her disgrace.

Our scarlet sin is a glaring reality that is impossible to hide. It shows itself in our thoughts—thoughts that waste time in endless daydreaming, that are consumed with plotting revenge, that find pleasure in the discomfort and humiliation of others. It shows itself in our words—words that make unreasonable demands, put other people down, and distort the truth. It shows itself in how we act—ignoring people who need our help, wasting money on luxuries, and taking foolish chances with our health. We look at the law of God and we see failure—failure to love the Lord above everything else, and failure to love our neighbors as ourselves. Our sin is a redness that discolors our appearance and paints a letter of scarlet shame on our clothing that is impossible to anyone to ignore.

TV reality shows are quite popular these days. What if a camera crew injected you with truth serum, asked you to reveal you most secret thoughts and desires, then aired the result on national television? Just the idea makes us squirm with discomfort. But God knows it all. Nothing escapes Him, and He will punish those who sin. Paul says that the Lord will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts (1 Corinthians 4:5).

As we shudder at these strong words of Law, we also need to hear powerful words of Gospel. Deep down inside, we know who we are and what we have done—the thought of it all being brought to light makes us want to crawl into a hole so that no one can see us. And so we breathe a huge sigh of relief when we hear these comforting words from God: I am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more (Isaiah 43:25). This short verse is rich in the power of God’s love and mercy. For those who feel terrible about their sins, the words and remembers your sins no more are like a breath of fresh air to a person who is drowning. These are words that we need to hear over and over again.

Even though we have offended God with our scarlet sin and deserve His eternal punishment, He has decided to blot out our transgressions. To blot something out is to cover it up completely and permanently; it’s like making a mistake in ink, then covering it up using White Out. Imagine a thick book that tells the story of who you are and what you have done, down to the finest detail. As you leaf through that book, you find that it is written in red ink—every moment of your life has been made scarlet by sin. Although God does not owe us anything, He chose to blot out every speck of red through the saving work of His beloved Son. Because Jesus lived a perfect life for you and me, and because He suffered the punishment for our sins on the cross, Christ has the power and the authority to blot out all record of sin that is written in your book. By grace, through faith in all that Jesus has accomplished, your sins are remembered no more.

In the last book of the Bible, John uses picture language to describe the head and hair of Jesus; he says that they appeared white like wool, as white as snow (Revelation 1:14). The color white represents holiness. The head and its hair are symbols of authority and strength. Put these elements together, and you see Jesus as the holy one who has the authority and strength to make others holy as well. Because He is both God and man, His holy life was lived for our benefit, and He is able to touch us and make our scarlet sin as white as snow.

Bleach is used when washing clothes to remove stains and color, leaving the garment white. In baptism, the Holy Spirit applies bleach to us—the bleach of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Miraculously, Christ is applied to us in such a way that our scarlet sin becomes as white as wool. In 1st Corinthians chapter six Paul writes, you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Having been washed in the name of Christ, we are bleached clean of sin and are regarded as children of God. We have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ, so that when God the Father looks at us, He no longer sees our sin but only the holiness of His Son. We are members of the great multitude that John sees in the book of Revelation chapter seven: These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

But these words from Revelation speak of more than just hope—they also warn of trouble. These are they who have come out of the great tribulation. The Christian lifestyle is not easy. As long as we live in this world, there is constant danger from scarlet sin. It confronts us everywhere we turn; it haunts our thoughts and twists our desires. Sin clamors for our attention and results in many sleepless nights. Sin causes stress and tribulation every day of your life. Thankfully, God sends His Spirit to give you strength, and in baptism you have Christ’s promise to forgive every red mistake that makes you hang your head in shame.

The book of Revelation also warns of a scarlet beast. On his back rides a prostitute who is dressed in purple and scarlet. These colors symbolize royalty and sin. The beast and prostitute are opposed to God’s authority and purity. They hold up sin as something to enjoy and be proud of; they invite God’s people to embrace evil and call it ‘good.’ We must not listen to their lies or desire the pleasures that they offer; instead, we need to make prayer a daily part of our routine, confessing our sins to Christ, begging for His mercy, and seeking His guidance. Only Jesus can save us from the scarlet beast and the prostitute dressed in garish red.

The days ahead will not be easy for the people of God. The struggles and tribulation will only get worse as we get closer and closer to the end of time. But we have hope to cling to; Jesus says, Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer…Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life (Revelation 2:10). Sin and Satan are terrible adversaries, but Christ overcame them on the cross; so long as we trust in the Savior, they do not have the final authority over us.

A day is coming when the Lord will call you from this world to stand before Him in judgment. When God looks at you, what will He see? He will see white, because you will be covered with righteous purity of God’s Son, as Isaiah tells us (chapter 61:10): he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness. That is why Snow-White Tinsel is a good symbol for Christ. Our scarlet sin has been covered over by the perfect whiteness of our Savior. And so, whenever you look at Snow-White Tinsel during this advent and Christmas season, remember that it is Christ who makes us clean. He covers up our scarlet sin and makes us white as snow. He makes everything beautiful.

The road less traveled

2011-12-08T08:20:00.001-06:00

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14).

It has been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In other words, the ends never justify the means. Your actions are just as important as your motives.

Take the ‘white lie’ for example. How often have you tried to spare someone’s feelings by telling them what they want to hear instead of speaking the uncomfortable truth? But a lie spoken in love or sympathy remains a lie, regardless. If that person finds out that you lied, she might be grateful; she might also become furious with you. And regardless of what she says, she will always wonder, deep down inside, if your word can be trusted. ‘White lies’ can destroy relationships.

Another example. Many people hold strong views on politics, religion, and our society. They are fearful of things going in the wrong direction and are always ready to argue their position. For the sake of the common good, they feel compelled to take a stand. But good intentions are derailed when the desire to win a debate leads to unfair generalizations, assumptions about motive, and constant fixating on worst case scenarios. The result of such bitter talk is fear, anger, and an inability to work together with others in pursuit of common goals.

Or consider this statement attributed to Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." In order to avoid giving offense, we often keep our mouths shut when something needs to be said. How do you respond when a friend tells you that he’s having an affair? Do you accept his behavior without comment, even though he is hurting himself as well as others? When the group at your break table starts telling mean-spirited jokes at the expense of others, do you keep your peace, even though prejudice shreds the dignity and respect that all people deserve?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The path to heaven is less obvious, the road less traveled. You cannot find it on your own. Let Jesus take you by the hand and lead you. He can teach you how to link good actions to good motives, and forgive you when you fail.

Who is your pilot?

2011-12-06T07:42:00.001-06:00

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory (Psalm 73:24).

Imagine that you have boarded a large jet for a lengthy flight. The cabin is filled with people—some excited and noisy, others quiet and alone. You have a comfortable seat and the cabin is at a pleasant temperature. After a smooth departure, your plane quickly climbs above the clouds and levels off. The voice over the intercom assures you that everything is as it should be. Stewards are constantly making sure that you are comfortable and have something to help you pass the time—drinks, food, magazines, or an inflight movie.

The passengers around you are a mixed group. A few are very good-looking and fashionably dressed; most look rather average, and a couple are the kind of people you’d just as soon stay away from. Some chat with each other, others tune everything out while they read, listen to music, or work on a laptop. Every now and then, you hear a baby cry or a voice raised in anger. Over all, however, there is nothing remarkable about your flight. Until you land.

When the plane drops beneath the clouds on final descent, you glance out the window and quickly realize that you’re not where you planned to be. As the aircraft comes to a stop and the door opens, armed men rush the compartment. As fear takes control of the passengers, word quickly spreads that the pilot was working with terrorists—you have all been betrayed and are now hostages. The flight that seemed ordinary and secure was actually a journey into terror, but you had no inkling of the danger you were in.

You might be on such a journey right now. You are flying through life, but do you know where you’ll end up? Who is your pilot? Is it a terrorist who plans to take you hostage when you land? How can you tell? The world outside your window is blanketed with clouds of confusion and uncertainty, which make it hard to see clearly. Look at the people sharing the cabin with you—they look quite ordinary, for the most part. The stewardesses work hard to keep you happy and distracted. The voice from the cockpit assures you that everything is going well. But who is really behind that cabin door, flying your plane? If it’s Satan, he’s taking you towards hell.

Don’t wait until the final descent to find out where you’re going. Make sure that Jesus is your pilot, before your trip through life comes to an unexpected, horrifying end.

Preparing for Christmas part 2

2011-12-03T07:57:00.002-06:00

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7).

Immediately after setting up the Christmas tree, most people string the lights. It may surprise you to know that the custom of arranging lights on the tree comes from a time before electricity was discovered. There is a tradition that the first Christmas tree lights were actually put up by Martin Luther.

As Luther was walking home one winter evening, his mind was occupied with thoughts about Jesus. Looking up at the night sky, he was taken with the twinkling stars. The scene was so beautiful and moving that he wanted to reproduce it in his home. When he got to the house, Luther set up a tree in the main room, then used wire to fasten candles to the branches. When he lit the candles, he explained that they were to be a reminder that Christ is the light of the world.

Christmas tree lights are more than just holiday decorations. They are a symbol of the Savior! We love to sit and gaze at the glowing lights on the tree, don’t we? But today we move beyond a simple string of lights and the warm feelings they stir in our hearts. Today we consider the topic: "Our Dark Night, God’s Bright Light."

Darkness and light—they are daily facts of our existence. You can consult any encyclopedia for an explanation of the physics involved; we, however, want to understand what light and darkness mean for us spiritually. For those answers, we turn to the Bible. Think back to the first verses of Genesis. What was the universe like in the beginning? We are told that the earth was formless and empty, and everything was shrouded in darkness. The first thing God did was to fill the universe with light; it was only later that He gave our world form and filled it with life.

In the account of creation, darkness and light are powerfully contrasted. Darkness is associated with the time when things were undefined and lifeless. Light is God’s creation that confronts the darkness and paves the way for life and purpose. As we now live in a world corrupted by sin, this contrast takes on further spiritual significance. Darkness has come to represent sin and death, while light represents truth and life.

Prompted by the Holy Spirit, the prophet Jeremiah illustrates this in an eye-opening way. The people of God had become faithless and deserving of punishment. On account of their rebellion against His Laws, God was going to exile them in Babylon. That exile is a picture of eternal punishment. Their sin and exile are described using terms that point back to Genesis. Jeremiah writes (in chapter four), I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. As you can see, God’s punishment takes us back to a time when things were formless and empty; as a result of sin, light is taken away and creation falls apart.

We love ourselves, and the goodies of creation, more than we love God; we deserve to have everything taken away, to be left in the darkness with only ourselves for company. It is foolish in the extreme to love creation and put ourselves on a pedestal, while forgetting about the One who made it all and gave it to us as an expression of His great love. Instead of viewing things correctly, mankind has become skilled at doing everything wrong. No one knows how to please God, and so we ought to have everything crumble and disappear. We all deserve to be left alone in utter darkness.

Each of us has had this experience, I’m sure. You woke up in the middle of the night. Everything was quiet. Your eyes strained to see anything in the darkness. Maybe you wanted a drink or needed to go to the bathroom, but you couldn’t make yourself get out of bed. You couldn’t make a sound. Your nightclothes were sticky with sweat. The darkness was so intense, so smothering, that it pinned you to the bed and would not let you move.

This is only a picture of what we deserve for putting God in second place behind us and all the things that we want to do. It gives us a glimpse of the terrible reality that is hell. During the time of the exodus, the Egyptians got a taste of such hellish darkness. It is written that Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. The darkness was paralyzing. Such darkness is what all of humanity deserves, not for just three days but forever. All of us should be afraid of the dark and looking to Christ to spare us from Our Dark Night.

Many youngsters—and maybe some adults—would agree that the night-light was a great invention. That small light reveals that there is something out there in the darkness. It gives just enough illumination to reassure you that a monster isn’t standing there waiting to pounce; it gives you the security of knowing that someone, somewhere, is awake and sending electricity to your home. You have no reason to hide under the covers in fear. Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). These are beautiful words of comfort.

A light shines through the darkness of sin and death; that light is the light of forgiveness and life. That light is the light of truth—of who Christ is, what He did for us years ago, and what He continues to do for us today. That light still confronts the darkness; it gives shape to our formless lives and fills the empty void inside us. And even though the stars will fall from the sky and the earth will be consumed with fire on the last day, the light of Christ is the promise of a new creation that will last forever. If you have any doubt or worry about light overcoming darkness, look to the cross of Christ. For three long hours, He suffered the darkness of hell, darkness so intense that even the sun stopped shining. On that cross, Jesus experienced our hopelessness, yet He never lost hope. When He declared His work finished, Jesus looked up to heaven with complete confidence and said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46). With that, Jesus died and the light returned—He had conquered the power of darkness forever. Our sins are forgiven and we have the light of life. The monsters of sin, death and hell have been chased away forever, banished by the light that Christ shares with those who believe in Him. Paul writes, God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Jesus is Our Bright Light. He provides a miraculous escape from darkness and dazzles our eyes with a glorious vision of heaven. During the years of travel in the desert, God told Aaron to bless the people with these words: The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In John’s revelation of heaven, these words of promise are fulfilled: There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light (Revelation 22:5). Every day that passes, we draw closer to this glorious, unending light. This is our comfort in the face of darkness and the approach of the end of time.

But as we wait for Christ’s return, we need to remember our purpose. The light of Christ has begun to change us already. Because of this, we are considered vessels of light. In the gospel of Matthew chapter five Jesus reminds us, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. What an amazing thought, that God has made us instruments of light to shine in the darkness of other peoples’ lives! Knowing how terrible the darkness is that we’ve been rescued from, we should be seizing every opportunity to talk about Our Dark Night and God’s Bright Light.

Luther gazing at a starry sky, then hurrying home to fasten candles to a tree. We can understand why the light affected him as it did. It really is incredible to think of what God has done for us through His one and only Son. As you wrap strings of light around the Christmas tree this year and enjoy the sparkles of brightness filling the room, remember that they symbolize the Savior who has rescued us from everlasting darkness. The best gift you can share this Christmas season is the same gift God has given you—God’s Bright Light.

Thanksgiving part 4

2011-12-01T08:13:00.002-06:00

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness (Psalm 7:17).

If you stop and think about it, you will see that God is very generous to us. Martin Luther gives us the following list—food and drink, clothing and a place to live, money and goods, the means to earn a living, a family devoted to God, Christian friends and neighbors, good government and good weather, peace and health, self control and a good reputation. While some have more and others less, all of us have received these blessings from God.

Even better, the Lord has given us the gift of His Spirit, who blesses our lives with all sorts of spiritual gifts. Listen to Paul’s description in Galatians chapter five: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the gifts that fill our lives with joy; these are the gifts that connect us to each other in bonds of love and mutual support.

Best of all, we have God’s gift of salvation given through His Son, Jesus. Christ lived a perfect life on your behalf so you can be forgiven for not measuring up to God’s righteous standards. Jesus suffered and died in your place so you can be spared God’s terrible punishment for being a sinner. Jesus rose from the dead so that when a loved one is laid to rest, you have the assurance of a new life together in paradise. And Jesus returned to heaven to open its gates for you, promising that any friend of Christ is welcome in His home.

God has blessed you richly, and His generosity is all the more amazing because we have done nothing to earn it or deserve it. We are disappointments through and through; our thoughts are often vile, our words frequently hurtful, our actions riddled with mistakes. Yet in spite of all this, God still loves us and cares for us. Paul writes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24).

How do you respond to such unmerited generosity coming down from heaven to fill your life with goodness? Martin Luther said it best in his Small Catechism: "For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true."

Thanksgiving part 3

2011-11-29T09:15:00.002-06:00

Do not covet (Romans 7:7).

It’s in our nature to whine and complain. We see advertisements for new products and immediately want to go shopping, then get irritated when the money just isn’t there. We become envious when a friend or relative or coworker gets something shiny and expensive. We get bent out of shape because we can’t have the best of everything.

In His commandments, God tells us not to covet. To covet is to want something so badly that it dominates your thoughts and affects your behavior. A child might covet a new toy so much that he throws a temper tantrum in the store, trying to force mom or dad to get him what he wants. A teenager might want the position of head cheerleader so much that she starts spreading vicious rumors about any girl that stands in her way. A businessman might be so attracted to his secretary that he can’t concentrate on getting his work done.

Constant desire for things that you don’t have wastes time and makes you unpleasant to be around. Coveting interferes with the things God wants us to be doing—loving and serving. If your mind is consumed with wanting something, you’re not going to notice when a loved one is unhappy and needs your attention. If you are competing with another person for the same thing, your desire will be to push him aside instead of finding out which of you actually has the greater need. If you can’t get something that you want, you’re likely to be sullen or irritable, the kind of grumpy person others stay away from. You might even get so frustrated that you lash out at others, hurting them with nasty words or physical violence. Coveting destroys relationships and leaves you alone with your bitterness.

In 1st Corinthians chapter seven, Paul tells us how to view the things we covet: those who use the things of the world [should live] as if not engrossed in them. Easy to say; difficult to do. But try to put things in perspective: when you’re sick in a hospital bed, which do you want more? A room filled with things, or a room filled with people who care about you?

It’s nice to have things, but nothing bought with money can give you lasting happiness. That’s why it’s so wonderful that Jesus gives us love and salvation absolutely free.

Preparing for Christmas part 1

2011-11-26T08:20:00.002-06:00

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse (Revelation 22:1-3a).

Where did the idea of Christmas trees come from? Researchers believe that this custom dates from 8th century Germany. At that time, Europe had two major religions. Druids worshipped the oak tree; Christians worshiped Jesus. Boniface was a monk from England; he came to Europe to do mission work among the Germanic tribes. One year he was preaching about the birth of Christ to a group of Druids outside the town of Geismar. In order to convince them that the oak tree was not sacred, Boniface took an ax and chopped one down. The tree fell, crushing everything in it’s way—except for one small evergreen. According to legend, Boniface interpreted the little tree’s survival as a miracle and said, "Let this be called the tree of the Christ child." Ever since that day, the Christmas tree has symbolized Jesus Christ.

During this Advent and Christmas season, we will explore the theme "More Than Just Christmas Decorations." Every year, most people put up a tree with lights, tinsel, and a star on top. We put presents in boxes and wrap them in attractive paper. We decorate using red and green. When we do these things, we hope to generate a certain mood or feeling that will give us pleasure during the hustle and bustle of the season. We may even have a few religious thoughts about these decorations. But it is only rarely that we consider what these Christmas trimmings communicate about the Babe of Bethlehem. Many of them can be understood as symbols of the Savior. And so, as we start the Advent season this Sunday, we begin with "Putting Up The Tree."

Whether the legend of Boniface is true or not, one thing is certain—most people in our country put up a Christmas Tree. It’s only a tradition, but connecting that tradition to our Savior is a good thing to do. In fact, it ties in beautifully with God’s holy Word.

Trees are significant in the Bible. Consider the two trees that God planted in the Garden of Eden. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represented God’s holy Law. Adam and Eve were clearly prohibited from eating the fruit of that tree, and were warned that doing so would result in certain death. The other tree, the Tree of Life, represented God’s wonderful promise. The fruit of this tree offered eternal life to those who ate from it. Both trees expressed the will of God for the people that He loved. When we think of Jesus the Son of God, we see both trees represented in Him. He is the fulfillment of God’s Law, and in Him there is eternal life.

In the Garden of Eden, these trees were an opportunity for Adam and Eve to live in the image of God. But for them, the creation became more important than the Creator. They chose to oppose God’s Law; this act of rebellion doomed not only them but all of us as well. Paul says in Romans chapter five, When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Every man, woman and child is cursed with sin and deserves both death and God’s eternal punishment. If only we could go back somehow and try to undo what has been done. But none of us can ever go back. Those who are imperfect are not worthy of paradise and are banished as a result. And so those two trees can no longer be found. Pleasing God by good behavior has become impossible, and no human is capable of making life last forever. Left to ourselves, we are sentenced to suffer the consequences of sin now and forever.

To one degree or another, all of us have felt the blazing heat of the sun. We begin to sweat, our mouths dry out, and we start feeling woozy. Some pass out from the heat; others die if left unattended. In the book of Isaiah, the suffocating heat of the desert and the merciless baking of the sun are used to picture the terrible reality of sin and death. When the sun is beating down on us, it is impossible to find rest.

Life underneath the blazing sun is a vivid picture of the troubles we have caused for ourselves. No one can entirely escape the suffocating heat of sin and death. Oh sure, you can try and build some air conditioned rooms for yourself; a part of your life that is hazy from heavy alcohol or drug use, a room in your life filled with the distraction of movies or books, a work place where keeping busy helps you to avoid thinking about spiritual matters. But no matter how hard you try to avoid it, from time to time you have to step out outside and feel the heat. Angry and disrespectful words, lies and broken promises, crime and betrayal—we are all sinners who suffer as a consequence of our bad behavior. We cannot build lives that guarantee happiness. The air conditioners of wealth and power and family will all eventually wear out and fail. The consequences of sin cannot be avoided forever; we all die and must stand under the blazing light of God’s holiness, sweating as we face His judgment. Who will rescue us from the blazing sun of sin and death?

In Deuteronomy chapter 21, take note of Moses’ important words: If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. Compare this to what Peter said to God’s people in Acts chapter 5: The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. In five different places, the New Testament refers to the cross of Christ as a "tree."

Taken together, these passages of Scripture paint a dramatic picture. We read about Jesus hanging on a tree at Calvary. He is the perfect Son of God, yet He is under a curse. On Good Friday, Jesus became cursed with our sinfulness. He suffered for our sins and died the death we deserved, so that we might have forgiveness and eternal life. Do you remember what I wrote earlier? If only we could go back to the Garden and try to undo what has been done. Going back is impossible, but Christ did just that. Combined in the tree of Calvary, we see both trees of the Garden. We see both law and promise. By hanging on a tree, Christ becomes a curse for us. He fulfills the law, and embodies the promise of forgiveness and eternal life. He does what we cannot do, and becomes our tree of salvation.

Jesus died at a place called Calvary, the "place of the skull". A skull makes us think of death and evil. Jesus hung on a tree that stood in a place reminiscent of sin, death, and the power of the devil. There in the midst of death stood the promise of new life. On that remarkable tree, Jesus crushed the devil’s head, ended the curse of sin, and destroyed the power of death to hold us captive. And think about this. When Jesus spoke to the criminal dying next to Him, our Savior used language that takes us back to the Garden of Eden: Today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). Wasn’t humanity kicked out of paradise after falling into sin? But now, through Christ, paradise is reopened to all who believe.

Think back to a time when you were roasting under a hot sun and you found relief under a shady tree. Do you remember what it was like? Resting under that shady tree was almost like being in a different world. Your eyes can relax, your skin stops burning, you can even feel the light breeze that you didn’t notice before. What a wonderful moment that is. In the same way, we have shade under the tree of our Savior’s cross—and what a blessing it is to have that shade! Christ is the air conditioner that will never wear out or fail. He is our salvation from the burn of sin.

Being under the shady tree of the cross means that we have seen two things: we have seen the depths of our sinfulness and the wonders of God’s forgiveness. We find comfort in God’s undeserved mercy and cling to it every day of our lives. The sun will continue to blaze down on us in many different ways, but underneath the shady tree of Christ we will be able to endure whatever comes our way. We will even be able to face the heat of God’s judgment on the last day. We will not be sent away from paradise, we will not burn up in hell’s fiery furnace, because we are under the tree of Jesus, which protects us from the punishment that we deserve. Christ chose to hang on the tree and suffer God’s burning anger so that we might escape unharmed. And so we sit under that tree by grace through faith in Jesus. We look forward to sitting under that soothing tree forever. John writes: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.

"Putting Up The Tree." We do this tradition every year before Christmas. And what a wonderful tradition it is, when we are reminded by it that Christ came into this world to die on a tree so that we might have shade and rest. From that tree we gain fruit that nourishes, leaves that heal, and the end of the curse. It’s more than just a Christmas decoration. It’s a symbol of our Savior that helps us to remember all that He has done.

Thanksgiving part 2

2011-11-23T08:04:00.002-06:00

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5).

God is generous with us; He blesses us with everything we need to live and love and serve, and often much more besides. Sadly, we tend to abuse God’s generosity. We take His gifts for granted, we constantly whine for more, and we let our love for stuff get in the way of our love for God.

God fills our lives with good things that we rarely thank Him for. When’s the last time that you woke up and thanked God for giving you another day of life? How often do you tell God thank you for a clear blue sky or sparkling white snow? When’s the last time that you thanked God for your home or your job? And when the Lord forgives your sins, how hard do you try to resist temptation as a way to show Him your gratitude for His mercy? Or do you think to yourself, "It doesn’t matter what I do—Jesus will forgive me anyway?" Do you take God’s generosity for granted?

We also have the bad habit of never being satisfied. You see it at Christmas when someone is disappointed that there are no more gifts to open, even though the floor is covered in shredded paper. We are a nation of overeaters, because we always want just one more helping. People trade in perfectly good cars because they want something newer. People file for divorce when they think that another partner can better meet their needs. How satisfied are you with the things that God has given you?

Worst of all, we lavish more attention on what we have than on who gave it to us. How often is lying in bed more pleasurable than going to worship the God who gave you that bed? How often do you spend so much money on yourself that there is nothing left to give back to the God who filled your wallet in the first place? The Lord says You shall have no other gods (Exodus 20:3), yet how often do you let work or family or leisure time distract you so much that you forget about prayer or reading the Bible?

Thankfully, God is also generous in dealing with sinners. When we go to Him for mercy, He does not treat us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10). If we trust in the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood, He will wipe away our guilt and focus our attention where it should be—squarely on Him.

Thanksgiving part 1

2011-11-21T07:18:00.002-06:00

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

What do you have to be thankful for?

A lot of people are feeling glum going into the holiday season. Although the economy is starting to pick up, unemployment remains high. People like to invite family over for big fancy meals at this time of the year, and have lots of gifts to open when Christmas arrives. But with money as tight as it is, who can afford lavish dinners? Who can afford to travel? How can you afford the kinds of presents that you’d like to give?

I would like to suggest that the holiday season is not dependent on money. Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what we have; that attitude of appreciation should set the tone for the weeks leading up to Christmas. Instead of worrying about the things we don’t have, why don’t we celebrate the things that God has blessed us with?

A popular holiday gift is something fashionable to wear. But I wonder how many clothes and shoes you already have stashed in your closet? Are you grateful for having something warm to wear when the wind starts howling at this time of the year? Are you grateful that you have a choice of outfits to wear? Are you grateful for the washer and dryer and indoor running water that make it easy to keep your garments clean?

And let’s talk about food. Sure, it’s nice to have an expensive cut of meat on the serving platter. Sure, it’s nice to eat out at a fancy restaurant. But how grateful are you for the produce that grows in your garden? How grateful are you for the canned goods that fill your cupboards? How grateful are you for the stove and microwave that make cooking so easy?

Most importantly, how grateful are you for the relationships in your life? The closeness of family? The support of friends? The respect of coworkers? The love of Christ that forgives your mistakes, gives you peace of mind, and encourages the best from you?

My friends, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You have much to be grateful for.

Which way are you headed?

2011-11-19T07:53:00.003-06:00

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).

How much do you think about the future? Are you putting money away to send your kids to college? Do you have an IRA set up for retirement? Have you decided where your body is going to be laid to rest when you die?

If you’re like most people, I doubt that you’ve given much thought to the future. When life gets hectic, it’s hard to make plans for anything more than a few weeks in advance. When money gets spent as fast as it comes in, it’s hard to make savings a priority. And most people don’t really want to think about death; decisions about cemetery plots get put on the back burner for as long as possible.

But it is important to look ahead. Most people cannot retire comfortably without a sound financial plan. You cannot expect to graduate from college unless you declare a major and choose the right classes to go with it. And you cannot ignore the subject of death by hoping that everything will sort itself out at the proper time.

Like everything else, death must be planned for. It’s like taking a drive through unfamiliar country; if you don’t know where you are going or how to reach your destination, you’ll end up hopelessly lost. And if there is one time when you don’t want to be lost, it is when God calls you from this life to stand before Him in judgment.

We would just as soon avoid thinking about death, but focusing on other things won’t make it go away. Death is coming, and Paul warns us that it is something we must think about and plan for: we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Everything we do now will have repercussions down the road. Everything you say and do is shaping your future; it is dangerous in the extreme to live only for today. When you die, God will judge you. He will look at your life from beginning to end and measure it against His righteous standard of conduct. Based on that examination, one of two futures awaits you. One future is heaven; the other future is hell.

We throw these words around very casually. On one of her albums Anne Murray sang, "Heaven is that moment when I look into your eyes." Many songs echo this sentiment; for example, Belinda Carlise sings, "We'll make heaven a place on earth." People also pepper their language with references to hell, like answering a question with "hell, yeah." Comparing something to hell can even be a compliment: "buddy, that is one hellacious looking girlfriend you got there."

But heaven and hell are very real, and getting into the right one when you die should be extremely important to you. When you were a kid, you couldn’t imagine what life would be like 50 years in the future. But once you got older, you realized that childhood was just the beginning of life. Eternity is the same way. Our years on earth are just the beginning—we are children who cannot grasp what life is really all about. When we die, we enter the long stretch. I imagine that people in heaven look back on their earthly lives and shake their heads over how foolish and shortsighted they were back then. Most of your existence will be lived in eternity, so it is critically important that you arrive in the right place.

When your soul leaves this world, there are only two places it can go—heaven or hell. Heaven is the good place; hell is the bad place. Heaven is where God can be seen and experienced; hell is the place where God is not. Because God is love (1 John 4:8), heaven is filled with love, while hell has no love at all. Because God is light (1 John 1:5), heaven is filled with glory, while hell is shrouded in darkness.

Heaven is the kind of home you always wished you could have but never really experienced. There is no sin in heaven; imagine a family reunion where no one gets drunk, no one says anything thoughtless or mean, no one gets bored or feels left out, and no one ever has to leave. Jesus said, In my Father's house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you (John 14:2). Imagine a sprawling city where everyone has more than enough personal space, yet there is no rent to pay. You are close to all your loved ones; you never have to fear going outside because there is no crime and the city is completely safe from terrorist attacks. Imagine living in a place where there is no gossip, no bad news, no lying or promise-breaking. Imagine having enough to eat and not having to worry about stretching your paycheck. Imagine a life where there are no regrets, no hurts, no disappointments, no loneliness or sadness or fear. Imagine a place where you never get weak or lose your memory or have to take medicine.

But as wonderful as all this is, it isn’t even the best part. What will make heaven truly wonderful is that we will finally see Jesus face to face. We will hear His voice and feel the love radiating from Him like the warmth of sunlight. We will finally get answers to all the questions that have troubled us for years. And for the first time, we will know with absolute certainty that we are loved with an everlasting love.

Want to go there? I sure do. But if we are not careful, our lives here on earth can lead to a very different place. Hell was designed by God to punish evil. It is not a place where Satan and his demons torment you—hell was designed by God to make the devil suffer for being wicked. If Satan himself finds hell to be unbearable, can you imagine how terrible it will be for humans? In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus pictures hell as a place of fire, where the rich man craves just one drop of water on his tongue to ease his suffering. Isaiah describes it as a place where you are constantly suffering burns, but you never escape the pain by dying. He also describes it as a place of rot and decay, where maggots live in your body as they do in a corpse.

But hell is not only about physical pain; there is mental suffering as well. Jesus says that the people in hell will be in anguish because they know what they are missing by not being in heaven. They have no love; they have no hope that things will ever get better. Hell is filled with people, yet they cannot comfort each other or find relief from loneliness and fear. All they have are endless days of darkness and despair.

Certainly not a place that I want to go. And yet people like Billy Joel write song lyrics like these: "They say there's a heaven for those who will wait Some say it's better but I say it ain't I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints the Sinners are much more fun...you know that only the good die young." Songs like this show that most people have no idea how awful hell truly is. If you’re wise, you’ll give serious thought as to where your life is leading—is it heaven or is it hell?

Paul says, We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. So what can we expect when called to account? Does God have a giant spreadsheet? Does He have one column for good deeds and other column for bad deeds, then adds them up and calculates our net worth? No, it doesn’t work like that. When it comes to how we perform, God has only one standard: Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2). To be holy is to be perfect from conception to death, never once saying a mean word, never once telling a fib, never once breaking a promise, never once talking back to your parents. To be holy is to love God so much that you never once get crabby about going to church or putting money in the offering plate for God to use. When God looks at all that we’ve done in our lives, He expects to find not even one evil deed.

I hope that you are honest enough with yourself to realize what this means. Your life is pointed towards hell. It’s the only thing you deserve for all the sins that you’ve committed. You deserve hell, I deserve hell, everyone deserves God’s punishment for the evil that we’ve done.

So how can anyone end up in heaven? Although getting there is beyond our reach, nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37). He has provided us with a way to enter heaven despite all that we have done wrong. He sent His Son Jesus to rescue us from hell. Jesus was born into our world so that He could be subject to God’s righteous standards, just as we are. He lived the perfect life that God demands for access into heaven. Then He allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross; while He hung there in agony, He accepted all the punishment from God that our sins had coming. During that long day at Calvary, Jesus suffered hell for us. We know He suffered hell because the sun went dark and the light was hidden. We know that He suffered hell because He cried out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46) Jesus suffered in darkness, separated from God’s love—He suffered the hell that you and I deserve. Then he died and was buried.

For two long days the world held its breath—what had Jesus’ death accomplished? The first rays of light on Easter morning revealed the glorious answer. Jesus had risen from the dead! He had done everything needed to free us from sin, death and hell. Jesus had offered His perfect life to God in place of our sinful lives; He had suffered the punishment our sins deserved, so that we might avoid being sentenced to hell. Remarkably, God accepted this exchange—He proved it by raising Christ from the dead. All who belong to Jesus get credited with His perfect life and are spared the hell that He suffered.

So what happens when we die and God looks at the record of our lives? The spreadsheet will contain only a listing of good deeds. All entries mentioning something bad will be erased. When Jesus forgives our sins, all record of them vanishes; God says I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

Let’s be clear—entry into heaven is impossible without Jesus. We are flawed and unacceptable to God; only Christ can take away our sins. Jesus shares His perfection with us so we can stand before God without fear of rejection. He says, I am the LORD, who makes you holy (Leviticus 20:8). This is the Good News that filled Isaiah with joy—I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and dressed me in a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). We need Jesus at our side on the day of judgment; our Lord says, I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

It is vitally important to plan for the future. Every time you open your mouth to speak, every time you decide to do one thing instead of something else, that action points you towards either heaven or hell. So what will you say? What will you do? Jesus says, Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14). It is easy to wind up in hell—just do what you want and don’t think about Jesus. But in order to get into heaven, you must cling to the Savior the way a baby clings to its mother. I know that you don’t want to end up in hell; heaven is your goal. So keep your focus on the future. If you do, it will affect the decisions that you make today. Remember that every decision can have eternal consequences.

Christ--God's solution to our sin

2011-11-17T06:41:00.002-06:00

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The Bible urges, Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). In this we have failed, failed miserably. Every single day, we thumb our nose at God by violating His rules. Even worse, Scripture says whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10). Do just one thing wrong and you are a lawbreaker, a criminal, a sinner who deserves nothing from God but punishment and has no rightful place in His home when you die.

Yet amazingly your situation is not hopeless. God loves you despite your sin, loves you so much that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus was born into our dark world as the Son of Man to suffer the punishment for all human lawlessness. Christ died for those who struggle with pornography and inappropriate sexual attraction, those addicted to shopping and gambling, those who lash out because they are insecure or push others around because they feel entitled to. Whatever your failings, Jesus offered His life to spare you from God’s anger. The Savior of mankind has reopened heaven, and invites you to be His guest when this sorry life is over.

Through Jesus, God releases you from guilt. But He does more than that—He sends His Spirit to help you change and stop incurring so much guilt. John tells us, God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7). Thanks to the Son of God, the weight of our past mistakes is lifted and the prospect for our future has been rehabilitated in brightness!

So ask the Lord to change your heart. Ask Him to help you see how damaging sin is, and how ugly it makes each sinner. Ask Him to strengthen your resolve when given a choice between the righteous path or wallowing in filth. Pray for God’s mercy in Christ Jesus every day, knowing that You need forgiveness more frequently than you realize. Pray for God’s mercy every day, confident that because of Jesus, His forgiveness is unquestionably yours.

The ugly behavior that results from pride

2011-11-15T08:09:00.003-06:00

The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished (Proverbs 16:5).

Pride is the worst sin of all, because it pushes God out of the picture. Pride was the chief sin in the Garden of Eden. Remember how Satan tempted Eve to sample the forbidden fruit? He said, when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God (Genesis 3:5). The devil appealed to human pride, and rebellion followed—our first parents broke the only command God had given them, because they wanted to be His equal. As a result, God punished their newfound corruption with the terrible sentence of death.

Pride is a problem everywhere you turn. Politicians grandstand during Senate hearings and on the floor of the House, sure that they are absolutely right and the opposition is dangerously wrong. Pride moves commentators in the media to mix editorializing with news reporting. Pride leads sports stars to talk trash about their opponents and even take shots at their teammates. National and religious pride can lead to war, terrorism, and rioting in the streets.

But pride can sweep you up unawares, too. We all want to be accepted, admired, and respected. It’s easy to fall into a group of people that share common values—a taste for fashion, commitment to a sports team, or a shared cultural identity. Sadly, these groups can easily change into cliques. The fashionable girls laugh at other students who are overweight or socially awkward. The top athletes treat their teachers with disrespect, confident they are too valuable to be punished by the administration. A group of local kids pick on the few in the school who are seen as foreigners. This despite the fact that we are all God’s children, and equally valued in His sight.

Pride also sparks gossip. No one wants to feel like a loser, so when other people do something bad, it is easy to point the finger and start spouting criticism. Which is completely unjustified. You might not have done what they did, but you have done plenty wrong yourself. Scripture says, The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have become united in corruption; there is no one who does good, not a single person (Psalm 14:2-3). None of us can legitimately claim the moral high ground over anyone else.

When Christians are in love with their sins

2011-11-12T07:48:00.003-06:00

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

I know Christians who smoke. I know Christians who need to eat less and exercise more. I know Christians who consume more alcohol than their bodies can handle. They know that God wants us to take good care of our bodies so that we can serve Him effectively for many years. By smoking, overeating and drinking too much, they are living in sin—they are not taking good care of the bodies that God has given them.

I know Christians who gamble. I know Christians who spend money foolishly. I know Christians who have large bank accounts but are stingy when it comes to giving. They know that everything we have belongs to God, that we are only managers of the riches that belong to Him. By wasting money, ignoring the poor, and not funding the church properly, they are living in sin—they are not handling God’s gifts responsibly.

I know Christians who are living together but are not married. I know Christians who are divorced and have no interest in reconciliation. I know Christians who are gay and lesbian. They know that God’s design for sex places it solely within the marriage of a man and a woman. They know that God hates divorce. By going on this way, they are living in sin—they are deliberately ignoring God’s commands for intimate relationships.

All Christians are sinners—but have you really thought about what that means? Are some sins worse than others? What about a Christian who sins but doesn’t realize that he did something wrong? If you are a Christian, but you keep on committing a sin because you enjoy it too much to stop, will you go to hell when you die?

Let’s start with this question: are some sins worse than others? Some are committed in a moment of passion or weakness. For example, a man finds out that his wife is having an affair so he grabs a gun and shoots her. A woman discovers that she is unexpectedly pregnant and immediately schedules an appointment at an abortion clinic. But what about the alcoholic who keeps a bottle of liquor hidden in the cupboard? What about the man who puts a condom in his wallet before heading out on a date? These people are planning to sin; is premeditated sin worse than a momentary lapse of judgment?

Listen to the Word of God on this subject. Romans chapter three: There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. James chapter two: whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. Romans chapter six: The wages of sin is death. Scripture is clear—all sin is damning. Whether carefully planned out or committed on the spur of the moment, every sin invites God’s everlasting punishment in hell. This is because God has a high expectation for human behavior; He says be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2). Anyone who fails at being perfect is not welcome in heaven.

Thankfully, the matter doesn’t rest there. God made us and He loves us—loves us despite our sins. So the problem facing God was this—how to bring sinners into heaven, where no sin is permitted? God’s solution was unthinkable—He chose to send His perfect Son to bear the responsibility for our sins. Our guilt was transferred to Him; we were spared God’s awful punishment because it was inflicted on Jesus as our substitute. Jesus suffered and died so that we might be forgiven and live—live forever in the holy place where sin is not permitted. Jesus rose from the dead to make an astonishing offer: if we trust in Him for mercy, He will exchange our guilt for His holiness. This is what Paul speaks of when he writes, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

In Jesus, our sins are forgiven and we are put right with God. But what are the limits? Jesus said, Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:15) There are two things at play in Jesus’ command—repenting and believing. And we wonder: can a believer be sent to hell because he did not repent?

So we come to a second question: Can a person commit sin without realizing it? Absolutely! In Psalm 19 David offers God this prayer: How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. In Luke chapter 18, Jesus tells the parable of the Rich Man and the Tax Collector. Notice how Jesus describes the tax collector’s behavior as he prays in the Temple: the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' The tax collector did not try to list all his sins; he just owned up to the fact that he was a sinner through and through. Jesus goes on to say that this man went home at peace with God.

Early in his ministry, Martin Luther wrestled with forgiveness. He would go to the confessional multiple times each day, asking to be forgiven for every sin he could remember doing. But he was tormented by the thought that he was committing sins he wasn’t even aware of. Luther worried that God would send him to hell if there were some sins in his life that were left unforgiven.

Luther prayed and studied the Bible, and eventually he came to a realization—repentance is not an item on your daily schedule, it’s how you relate to God. Like the tax collector in Jesus’ parable, we come to the Lord acknowledging that we are sinners—it’s not just what we do, it’s who we are. Sin is like a cancer that has spread to every cell of your body. You may have days when you feel good, you may have days when you feel weak and sick—but every moment of every day, you are infested with cancer. And so you need remission from your sinful condition.

When Jesus forgives us, He doesn’t go down a checklist marking off sins one by one. When we ask for mercy He gives us His righteousness, which makes us completely acceptable to God. Listen to how Jesus promises salvation in John chapter three: 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…Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. Eternal life is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus alone. Listen also to Jesus’ words in John chapter six: they asked him, "What must we do, to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." The one essential thing needed for salvation is to trust in Christ. And Paul has this to say in Ephesians chapter two: because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. Did you get that? Before we even had the opportunity to repent, Christ had already done everything needed to bring us back to God! If you don’t seek forgiveness because you were unaware of your sin, that ignorance does not let you off the hook—but if you believe that you are a sinner who needs Christ’s mercy, that relationship built on faith saves you. This was the conclusion that Luther reached, and it freed him from the crushing weight of trying to confess every single sin in order to be completely forgiven.

Our third question is this: what about repeated sins? When we do the same bad things over and over again, does it mean that we are not really sorry for acting that way? A couple of examples: the alcoholic who swears to his wife that he’ll never touch booze again, yet comes home drunk a week later. Or the mother who feels terrible about screaming at her kids, yet has them hiding fearfully in their rooms again just a few days later. Although they feel bad about their behavior and want to stop, they don’t—does that mean that their repentance is not sincere? Not at all. Remember what Paul wrote in Romans chapter seven: I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul understood all too well what slavery to sin is like. It’s like an addiction. And that craving will be with us until Christ takes us from this world.

But now we arrive at the hardest question: what about people who believe in Christ as their Savior, but still choose to embrace a sinful habit? They know it’s wrong, but their love for that sin seems to be stronger than their love for Jesus. If a Christian lives knowingly in sin, is that person lost?

In the Gospel of Mark Jesus says "repent and believe". Jesus says that we are to turn away from a sinful life and start over, living a new way. There are many Bible passages that say the same. Romans chapter six: We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Ephesians chapter 4: throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Colossians chapter 3: now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. But no matter how sincerely we try to live this way, a day free of sin is impossible—regardless if the sin is known or unknown, regretted or embraced.

Jesus died to forgive us. He invites sinners to Himself to share in His righteousness and thereby gain access to heaven. But here’s the rub—what if you don’t seek forgiveness? What about behavior that we know is wrong but choose to do anyway, not from a moment of weakness, but because the love for that sin is so entrenched that we don’t want to stop—sins like smoking or living together without getting married? Scripture tells us to repent, to change our attitude towards sin, to flee from temptation. The Bible also says that we are to love God above anything else; love for a favorite sin slaps God in the face on a daily basis. If a Christian doesn’t even try to correct sinful behavior, is that person damned?

In Isaiah chapter 42, the prophet said of Jesus, A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. Jesus said, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them…this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me…For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life (John 6:37-40). Jesus is patient and gentle with us, especially with those whose faith is weak. Just because sin dominates your life, it doesn’t mean that Jesus will give up on you. And if there is any doubt in your mind whether a sinner belongs to Christ or Satan, just listen to what that person says about Jesus. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 12: no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. He also writes, if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

To be sure, there are people who dabble in Christianity and then leave the faith; Jesus spoke of them in Luke chapter 8. Two kinds of short term Christians are mentioned—those who don’t develop strong faith and fall away in times of stress, and those who let the concerns of earthly life distract them so much that Jesus is ignored and faith dies. Therein lies the danger—although the Savior forgives every sin, living in unrepented sin can take over your life to such an extent that love for Christ is squashed and the saving relationship is lost.

Sin is the biggest problem any of us has to face. It exerts a powerful influence over us. So long as we cling to Jesus and acknowledge that we need His mercy, we are safe from everlasting punishment. But if we let love for sin distract us from Jesus, there is great danger. I urge you to give up your favorite sins, even though it will be hard. To keep on embracing them is like cradling a poisonous snake in your arms.

The insidious craving for money

2011-11-10T07:30:00.003-06:00

The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).

The love of money is insidious. How many career professionals put in long hours at work while ignoring the emotional needs of spouse and children? The love of money can lead to delinquency and divorce. How many entrepreneurs got successful in business by paying bribes, telling lies, or using unethical business practices in order to beat the competition? Look at all the people hurt by Bernie Madoff, people who lost their life savings because they were only numbers in his business ledger.

Sinful use of money can be a subtle, sneaky thing. Take gambling. How many people, desperate for cash, throw away what little they have in hopes of winning it big? Gambling can become addictive. Think of all the wedding rings have been pawned for a visit to the casino. Think of the children who have been left outside in hot cars while Mom or Dad were inside, focused only on gambling. The desire for money can be so consuming that even those precious to you are temporarily forgotten.

Or consider shopping. Shopping has become the Great American Pastime. Instead of gathering for an afternoon of playing cards or going to watch a sporting event, visiting the store has become a recreational activity. But if you go shopping when you don’t need to, problems result. Store managers take great pains to make sure you don’t leave the premises empty-handed. Placement, display, and pricing are all designed to make you want something desperately or at least make a purchase because you got such a good deal. But getting things you don’t really need diverts your money from other things—saving for retirement, giving to charity, or supporting the work of missionaries. Constant shopping only fills you with constant desire for more, making it almost impossible to be content with what God has given you.

Jesus warned, No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Matthew 6:24). Money urges us to spend our resources on pleasure; God wants us to devote our resources to honoring our Creator and caring for the needs of our fellow man. Don’t let money dictate your priorities—you cannot put a price tag on the relationships that give life its worth.

The lure of illicit sex

2011-11-08T07:25:00.002-06:00

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral (Hebrews 13:4).

One of the most powerful forces at work in our lives is sexuality. God made us male and female, and installed the desire to pair up and start families. Sex is a wonderful gift from the Almighty that gives special joy and satisfaction to married couples. But sexual desire has been twisted by sin into something dark and ugly. Prostitution turns sex into a business transaction, thereby cheapening it. Rage can turn sex into a weapon called rape. The craving for sexual intimacy leads men and women into straying from their marriage vows. Sinful desire makes some men crave the company of other men for sexual gratification—and the same happens among women. Deviant sexual urges lead some adults to prey on children. Even the beasts of the field are not immune to human abuse.

Such behavior strikes most people as repugnant—and well it should. But sexual misconduct is widespread. Our society tolerates much more than it should—to the point where some misbehavior is no longer regarded as sinful. Viewing pornography is one example; as an industry, it generates more dollars than any other type of Internet business. Viewers claim that it’s harmless, a victimless crime. But pornography has many victims. There are the models who degrade themselves in prostitution, risking infection with AIDS and other terrible diseases in order to make a product for others to watch. Also victims are the children who stumble across x-rated websites while surfing the web; they are exposed to images that have the power to permanently change how they think about human sexuality. Many viewers become addicted to Internet porn, wasting loads of money that could be better spent on other things, and leaving the person they married sexually neglected. Worst of all, pornography encourages the viewer to think of others as objects to be used and played with, not as individuals who need to be loved and respected.

God provided sexual attraction to draw couples into the life-long partnership of marriage, an arrangement where husband and wife find special joy in each other’s company, a passionate connection that can lead to the birth of a family. Any other use for sex is misguided and unproductive. When sexual desire tempts you to ignore God’s intentions, remember that the Bible says honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Grief

2011-11-05T08:25:00.002-05:00

I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow (Jeremiah 31:13).

People don’t handle death well. Some won’t go into a hospital room to visit a dying friend. Others cannot bring themselves to look into an open casket and say goodbye. Some people behave very badly at the funeral home, screaming at others instead of embracing them. Other people seem to disappear after the funeral; they hide in their homes and shy away from anyone who reaches out to them.

It all comes from grief—deep sadness over the loss of a loved one. Death tears us apart like nothing else in life—no betrayal, no tragedy hurts as much as the death of a person held tightly in the heart. The grief caused by death is something everyone goes through many times in life; it is devastating in the amount of hurt that it causes. And yet our society discourages grieving; you are supposed to get a funeral organized within three or four days, have a good cry with a group of friends, and then get back to work. If you want to talk about your lingering grief, people get uncomfortable; they try and change the subject, while wondering why you can’t just let it go and get on with your life. And so you hide your grief behind an artificial smile; you try to ignore the ache in your heart and pretend that everything is just fine.

My friend, grief does not go away in a week or a month; it takes time to sort things out and find happiness again. Some people are weighed down with grief for years, especially if they try to ignore the pain instead of working through it. Some people become so oppressed by grief that they lose all sense of purpose; they merely exist when they should be living. And the grieving process is complicated by other feelings that death stirs within us.

For one thing, death makes us afraid. As the years go by after a funeral, we start to forget things. You look at the calendar and realize that his birthday was last week. Your wedding anniversary slips by unnoticed. You have trouble remembering what her face looked like or how she smelled when you went out to dinner. You struggle to recall what his voice sounded like or how his skin felt when the two of you held hands. You are forgetting someone who meant the world to you, and the realization terrifies you.

Death makes us afraid in other ways too. We fear letting our grief show. No one likes to be the object of pity; better to hold the pain inside and pretend to be okay; that way, other people will treat you like normal instead walking on eggshells when they’re around you. Also, there are other people who are depending on you to be strong; you don’t want to show weakness when they need you to comfort them. Finally, we fear the truth—that the person we loved is really gone. Looking into the casket makes you face reality—that person is not away on an extended business trip or vacationing overseas. It is a truth that we are afraid of facing.

Jesus knows that death makes you afraid. Jesus knows how much it hurts to say goodbye as the coffin is lowered into the ground. When His friend Lazarus died, Jesus wept—He shed tears even though He had the power to raise Lazarus back to life (John 11:35). Jesus wept because death happened, and death is the enemy of everything that lives. But Jesus did more than just grieve at the tomb; our Lord and Master allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross so that He might die for us. His body was laid in a grave, but on the third day He rose from the dead to live once more. He rose to open heaven’s gates for us. By rising, He proved that He can lift us from our graves to live forever at His side. 2 Timothy chapter one tells us, Christ Jesus…has destroyed death and has revealed life and immortality to us.

You don’t have to be afraid of death. Heaven is real. Everyone who died while believing in Jesus is there right now, enjoying peace and happiness that we can scarcely imagine. Jesus has washed you of your sins by His blood shed on the cross; because of that holy cleansing, you are invited to join the saints in paradise when you die. Your loved ones are not gone forever; a reunion is coming and it’s really not all that far off.

I have one thing more to say about forgetting. At many funerals, you will hear someone say words along these lines: "So long as he lives in our hearts, he is never really gone." That idea was front and center in the movie Titanic and Celine Dion’s song My Heart Will Go On. Such words put a terrible burden on us; if we forget a loved one, are they lost forever? Most emphatically, the answer is no! Even though our memories get faulty with age, the blessed in Christ are safe at His side. So go ahead and treasure your memories; leaf through photo albums and put mementos on the shelf. But don't become trapped by the past; go ahead and make some new memories too.

Death also fills our lives with regret. You know that heaven is wonderful and that your loved one is better off being there than here. But you have a selfish desire; you’d rather have that person here with you, even though life on earth is far from perfect. And so you feel guilty, because you are putting your own desire for happiness first.

Maybe your dearly departed passed on after suffering through a long illness. If that’s the case, you might have felt relief when he died. You were worn out from watching him suffer day after day; you are secretly glad to be done with the role of caretaker. But these feelings bring a sense of guilt as well; you feel terrible for being happy that your loved one finally died.

Others walk away from funerals filled with regret over opportunities wasted. Why didn’t you visit or call or write more often? Why didn’t you mend fences after that last fight? Why didn’t you say "I love you" when you had the chance? And so you feel guilty for letting the other person down, and now it’s too late to do anything about it.

First of all, you need to remember that Jesus forgives you—forgives you completely. John tells us the blood of Jesus…purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7). No matter how selfish you have been, no matter how badly you have messed up your relationships, Jesus can take all the guilt away. You can’t change the past, but Jesus can free you from its burdens so that today is a new start and tomorrow is full of fresh possibilities. And there is one more thing that I want you to consider. Heaven is a place of perfection; no one living there is afflicted by sin in any way. That includes the sin of harboring a grudge. This means that not only are you forgiven by Jesus, but everyone in heaven forgives you as well. So you don’t need to feel guilty about the past; ask Jesus to take away your sins and to help you do better with the relationships you have today. Spend time with the people you care about, even when the situation is uncomfortable or the timing inconvenient. Patch up broken relationships now, not next week. Say "I love you" without hesitation or embarrassment.

There are situations where death fills people with anger. For some, it is anger over old hurts that were never set right; now that death has ended the relationship, you suddenly realize that you’re never doing to get an apology for the wrongs done to you. You have waited for closure, but death has stolen the possibility away, leaving you with hurt and anger and no resolution. For others, the anger is about feeling abandoned—how dare that man just give up and die, leaving me to deal with all this stuff on my own? In our grief we want to lash out in pain, and sometimes the target is the person whose death has caused that pain.

If you have anger in your heart for someone who has died, please consider this. Every one of us is a sinner from cradle to grave. Every one of us violates the laws of love and inflicts hurt on everyone around us, even those we cherish. The one who hurt you and died was no different. She was a sinner who needed God’s mercy in Christ, just as you are a sinner who needs God’s mercy in Christ. Sinners don’t treat us as we deserve to be treated, and they don’t necessarily give us closure when they leave. But Jesus died to forgive that person, just as Jesus died to forgive you. And so Paul tells us, be imitators of God…and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Ephesians 5, Colossians 3).

Forgiving others is hard, but terribly important. It is so important that Jesus put it into the Lord’s Prayer: forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. So long as you hold a grudge, you can never be free of the emotional pain; the only remedy is to let it go by forgiving the other person from your heart. Thankfully, Jesus helps—His love can soften the hardest of hearts and free us from sin’s deadly grip.

Very often, the death of a loved one leaves a person feeling disoriented. The old routines are disrupted. Sitting in church with no one beside you. Setting the table for one. Suddenly having to take over the checkbook, the laundry, the yard work, the repairs around the house. These kinds of changes can make you confused. What needs to be done? Who can you go to for help? Will things ever settle down to some semblance of normalcy?

In times of confusion, it is important to remember that God is in charge. He knows you personally; Jesus said, even the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Matthew 10:30). God has plans for your life; listen to what He said through the prophet Jeremiah (chapter 29): I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. God has tasks for you to do in His service, as Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 2: we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Even though you might be unsure of what the future holds, God has things for you to do. He can clear out the mental cobwebs; He can give you patience and hope and courage. These gifts come through His Spirit, and His Spirit speaks through the Word. So when death has left you feeling lost and unsure of what to do next, turn to Christ. Immerse yourself in God’s Word by attending church regularly and reading the Bible every day. Pray to God frequently for comfort and direction. Take time to grieve, but don’t wall yourself off from others; get out of the house and let God surround You with the love of your fellow Christians!

As you deal with grief, there are a couple of important questions to ask yourself. The first is this: do you regret the years you cannot share with your departed loved one, or are you grateful for the years the two of you did have together? The other question is: what will you choose to remember about the years you shared? Will you focus your attention on the good times or the bad? Feeling grief after someone dies is inevitable, but being a slave to grief can be avoided. How grief impacts your life depends on how you respond to it. If you try to deny grief and just soldier on pretending to be fine, it can eat away at your mental health like an untreated wound that eventually gets infected. If you wallow in your grief out of continuing self-pity, it can smother you and isolate you from everyone else. But there is a third alternative—trust in Jesus. Turn your regrets and fears and anger and loneliness over to Him; He will forgive you, He will dry your tears, and He will stay by your side as you go on living the life that God has given you. Grief is normal and it has to be wrestled with—but with Jesus at your side, grief will not dominate the rest of your days on earth.

Halloween part 4

2011-11-02T08:12:00.002-05:00

Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only' " (Matthew 4:10).

For the past few devotions, I’ve been comparing the fantasies of Halloween to the reality of God’s love shown us in Christ. Today we’ll wrap up this topic.

On Halloween, Satan gets a holiday. By that, I don’t mean that he gets a day off; I mean that he gets the kind of treatment that he wants from foolish humanity. Some people honor him by devoting time and money to thinks he promotes—astrology, magic, spiritualism. A very few even worship him directly. Others laugh at the supernatural and dismiss it as a bunch of make-believe. This pleases the devil, too—if no one believes that he exists, he can operate in plain sight without being recognized or opposed.

The deadliest enemy is the one you don’t see. Just ask any policeman who comes under sniper fire. Just ask any soldier who has tripped a roadside mine. Also dangerous is the enemy you don’t take seriously; how many angry young men have filled classrooms with blood because no one saw the warning signs? How many stalkers have ended up committing hideous crimes?

When we don’t take the powers of darkness seriously, we open ourselves up to terrible danger. This is why God warns us away from the devil’s playthings: Let no one be found among you who…practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). This is why Scripture urges us to regard Satan as a serious enemy: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

We must take the powers of darkness seriously. Yet at the same time, we must not be afraid of them. In the past, people who feared the spirit world tried to please the powers of darkness with their devotion. They became slaves of the devil because they feared his power. But we don’t have to share their fate; we don’t have to be controlled by fear. Jesus has defeated Satan, crushed the serpent’s head under His mighty heel. The light of Christ dispels all darkness, and unlike Satan, Jesus rules our lives with love and compassion. He gives us courage to face every situation with hope and joy.

Halloween part 3

2011-10-31T06:39:00.001-05:00

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19).

A big part of Halloween is fear. Fear causes an adrenaline rush, and we all like to experience a thrill every now and then. Haunted houses, spooky movies, scary books—these all provide a thrill.

But there’s another kind of scary thrill that has become very popular—the sexy, dangerous monster. The two most common are the vampire and the werewolf. Bloodsuckers and shape shifters are the romantic leads in countless books, movies, and television shows. They are portrayed as the ultimate bad boy/bad girl.

What makes these particular monsters so alluring? The risk of danger. The thrill of keeping a secret, a secret that only a few special people are privileged to know. Power is also a turn-on, and these creatures are powerful. And there’s an emotional connection, too—everyone understands how it feels to be filled with dark urges that are hard to keep in check. But monsters are dangerous—fool around with fire, and eventually you will get burned.

Sadly, we are all monsters. We all have nasty desires that must be denied—we crave forbidden pleasures, we get a twisted thrill from violence, and we enjoy the feeling of power that comes from making others tremble in fear. Look at how easily love can turn to hate—only a monster could have such a fickle heart. No matter how charming we manage to appear, time will eventually reveal how ugly we truly are.

Jesus understands the blackness that we try to keep hidden deep inside. Yet amazingly, He still wants to be part of our lives. Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to die for a monster like you and a monster like me. He suffered the punishment that our wickedness deserves. Because He did this, Christ has earned the right to forgive us—and He will, so long as we stop looking at evil as something interesting and attractive.

Supernatural peace of mind

2011-10-29T07:56:00.003-05:00

Do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Soon it will be Halloween again. Halloween has become the second most popular holiday in America, outdistanced only by Christmas. Each year, huge amounts of money are spent on decorations, costumes and parties. People line up for haunted houses and creepy movies in order to be scared. Children go from door to door, hoping that a great costume will result in a bag full of sweets.

Where did this holiday come from? Why are people fascinated with ghosts and monsters? What does Halloween teach us about ourselves? And what does God have to say about these things?

Halloween had its roots in Great Britain. A long time ago, October 31st was the official end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. People believed that on this day it was easier for supernatural beings to cross over into our world. Huge bonfires were lit to frighten away evil spirits, and families worried that the ghosts of departed relatives would come knocking on their doors. It was a night for speaking with the dead and trying to please the forces of evil so that you would be left in peace. Although the people of Great Britain eventually converted to Christianity, some of these ancient traditions survived; they were brought to America by immigrants in the 1800s, and grew into the Halloween that we celebrate today.

One aspect of Halloween tradition has to do with monsters. Centuries ago, Britons feared hobgoblins, fairies and demons. In our day, the list of monsters has grown to include werewolves and mad slashers. But why are we fascinated by such monsters? I think it is because monsters help us to face something truly terrifying—the evil that is within every human being. Consider just a few examples. Dr. Jekyll feared the evil within himself, and tried to get rid of it by drinking a potion—what came out of him as a result was the terrifying Mr. Hyde. A werewolf is a person who looks ordinary in the daylight, but has a ferocious animal lurking inside just waiting to escape. The Phantom of the Opera was a musical genius whose dark obsessions could result in psychotic behavior. When we look at these kinds of monsters, we see in them the same darkness that each of us tries to hide from others.

What makes monsters scary is that they are sin personified. Each of us is a sinner; each of us harbors terrible darkness deep inside, darkness that we are ashamed of, darkness that would drive away all our friends and loved ones if they saw it. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 15, Jesus described the darkness that festers in our hearts: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual misconduct, theft, lying, and slander. And try as we might, we cannot keep this darkness bottled up inside. Frequently it bubbles out—in times of stress, during peaceful moments when we let our guard down, when we get drunk or are exhausted from a long and difficult day at work. At times like these, the blackness in our hearts shows itself through our words and deeds—we act like monsters. Paul describes our monstrous behavior in Galatians chapter five: sexual misconduct, impurity, lustful pleasures, worshipping false gods, practicing magic, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, stubbornness, taking sides, jealousy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Monsters fascinate us, even while they are scaring us. In monsters, we see the evil that we are capable of. When the sun rises on November 1st, we can put the monsters away. Scary costumes and decorations go into a box, creepy movies and books go back on the shelf. But the monster inside each of us still remains, eager to slip out and cause all kinds of pain and grief. The evil in our hearts is with us every day throughout the year—whenever we look in a mirror, that monster looks back at us. Thankfully, we have Jesus in our lives. The Son of God has no monster inside His heart; instead, it is filled with love and mercy and a hatred for evil. He went to extraordinary lengths to free us from the monster of sin; He came down from His glorious home in heaven to live with us, surrounded by our sin. He taught us about love. He demonstrated unearthly patience as He dealt with us. And then He took our sins with Him to the cross, where they were staked by His nails, washed away by His blood, and buried in His grave. If you want freedom from the monster within you, kneel at the cross of Jesus—only He can give you relief that you crave.

Another Halloween tradition has to do with playing dress-up and pretending to be someone else. People who are shy sometimes dress up in flamboyant costumes and pretend to be confident or sexually adventurous. Others dress up like vampires or pirates, characters that take what they want and ignore societies’ rules. And some dress like doctors or astronauts or some other profession that represents a path not taken.

Halloween gives people of all ages permission to play dress up and not feel silly. We like to pretend, because we all have some dissatisfaction with our lives. We wonder what life would have been like if we had chosen a different major in college, if we had married our childhood sweetheart, if we had just taken that chance instead of letting it pass us by. We wish that we were more outgoing, more charming, more sure of ourselves. Sometimes we fantasize about breaking the rules and doing whatever we want, regardless of what other people might think. Halloween dress up gives us a chance to be someone else for a night.

Because we are sinners, it is natural to feel inadequate. Our lives are filled with regrets over past mistakes and missed opportunities. Because we live in an imperfect world, wealth and opportunity are not distributed equally; it is easy to be jealous of what other people have. It is frustrating to have to play the hand you’re dealt; many times we would like to rewrite the rules in our favor or ignore them altogether.

Jesus asks us to trust Him. Each of us was designed by God and placed into the world to serve Him, as Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter two: we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. You have no reason to feel inadequate—God put you on this earth to serve Him, and He has given you the skills needed to do the work He has for you. You don’t need to be jealous of what other people have; Jesus tells you to trust in God and that will be enough: do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the unbelievers chase after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:31-33). If you trust in Jesus to give you what is needed, you won’t be drawn to fantasies of power and rule breaking.

A third aspect of Halloween celebrations has to do with death. Dr. Frankenstein assembled his monster from the pieces of many corpses. Zombies and vampires are dead people who need to feed on the living for continued existence. Mummies and ghosts are the remains of deceased individuals who could not find peace while lying in the grave.

We are instinctively afraid of death. Death is the great thief—it steals our loved ones from us. Death is the bringer of torment—before death claims its victims, most of them suffer first—suffer from memory loss, weakness, or chronic pain. Death is the ultimate question mark—what happens to us when we die? Where do we go? What will happen to us? Will we find peace and relaxation, or pain and regret? Or will we cease to exist altogether? We want to live. We want to be happy. Death is everything we seek to avoid; as such, it terrifies us.

Death was never part of God’s design for human life; He intended that we live forever. Death came into our lives as a result of sin, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Because of sin, death became necessary; without the release of death, people would be trapped in sin forever. But death can only free us if we die in Christ. He died to rescue us from sin, then rose from the grave as the guarantee of new life for all who believe in Him. Jesus has tamed death; He has forced the great enemy of life to serve us by becoming the door through which we can leave this sinful life for eternal happiness in heaven.

There is one other aspect of Halloween we have not touched on yet—mysticism. It comes in many different flavors: witchcraft, black magic, astrology, fortune telling, psychic readings. What they all have in common is this: they offer you influence over things that are beyond your power to control. Much of the time, we feel like helpless victims. You can’t force rain to fall on a crop that is withering from drought. You can’t force the guy you love to dump his girlfriend and give his heart to you. You can’t apologize to someone after they have died. And sometimes no medical treatment will make your terminal illness go away.

Mysticism offers a solution. Maybe a deal can be struck with some powerful supernatural being; in return for service or an offering, it will save your crops by sending rain. Maybe you can use the unseen power of nature to influence another person’s mind and make them love you. There are plenty of people who claim that they can speak with the dead; maybe, with their help, you can find closure for an old hurt that has never healed. Some believe that the human mind is filled with healing energy; maybe if you focus hard enough, you can cure your body by sheer willpower alone.

But the hope offered by mysticism is a false, misleading hope. God is the Creator of the universe and the King of all that is; no supernatural being or power can rival his absolute power and authority. There is no point in making deals with Satan; God threw him out of heaven ages ago. Besides, the devil is a liar; his sole desire is to drive a permanent wedge between you and God, a wedge that will cut off access to heaven and leave you with nothing but eternal sorrow in hell. Far better to ask God for help with life’s problems; He loves you and has the power to make things better. Magic is for people who don’t want to depend on God; magic promises that you can bend other people to your will through casting spells. But even if such a thing were possible, manipulating another person for personal gain is completely selfish. God’s ways are better; God is love, and He teaches us that healthy relationships are based on mutual love and respect. Some people miss the dearly departed so badly that they would give anything to speak with them again. But trying to speak with the dead is not the answer; Jesus assures us that every sin we’ve committed can be forgiven if we just ask Him; we don’t have to live with regrets. Jesus also gives hope to the lonely. He promises that all believers will be reunited in paradise; we just need to be patient and faithful as we wait for that glorious day. The bottom line is this: we don’t need to fear death, not when we believe in the Son of God who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Halloween is popular because it allows us to look at our weaknesses, our mistakes, and our fears with some degree of comfort, since these awful truths are dressed up in holiday traditions. On the one hand, it is good that we take time to think about these things—about evil behavior, death, and the supernatural forces of darkness. But looking at such things without then turning to Jesus is pointless—only He can rescue us from sin, death and hell. Only He can give our lives meaning and make us happy forever. Halloween shows us our fears and then points us in the wrong direction for solutions. Only Christ can ease your fears and give your mind what it truly needs—the comfort of spiritual peace.

Halloween part 2

2011-10-28T09:32:00.001-05:00

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:25-26).

In my previous devotion, I talked about how popular Halloween is, and some of the reasons why people enjoy it so much. Today we’ll hear what God has to say about the powers of darkness, and consider how we should react to their threat.

Halloween has become the time each year when we face darkness and evil head on. Usually people don’t like to think about death, let alone talk about it; but on Halloween, tomb stones become part of the scenery along with skeletons and zombies. Usually when we think of the dead, there is sorrow over a loved one who has left this world before we were ready to say goodbye; but on Halloween, ghosts become a source of amusement or cheap thrills. We fear death; Halloween is a time when we can look the Grim Reaper square in the eye and say, "I’m not afraid of you."

Of course, if Jesus is your friend, there is no reason to be afraid of death—ever. Death cannot finish you, because Jesus is stronger than death—He proved it on Easter when He rose from His own grave alive and healthy. Jesus will restore the joy of living to all His followers on the Last Day. The only ones who need fear death are those who don’t accept Jesus’ outstretched hand.

Halloween is also a time for make-believe. We dress up in costumes for a variety of reasons—to overcome shyness, to be the kind of person we’ve always wanted to be, or to explore our darker side. There are times when we get dissatisfied with our lives, and Halloween gives us the chance to play at being different.

But changing your life doesn’t have to be a fantasy. Jesus is always ready to help you find a better path. It starts with forgiveness. Whatever mistakes you’ve made, whatever opportunities you’ve missed, Jesus can forgive the bad choices you’ve made. He can help you overcome your bad habits and addictions. He can give you wisdom to see a better way of living your life. He can give you the courage to make a change, no matter how scary that change might seem. With Jesus’ help, you can start becoming the kind of person you never thought you could be.

Halloween part 1

2011-10-27T07:59:00.002-05:00

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this…to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27).

Halloween is a very popular holiday here in America. Retailers make more profits off of Halloween than any other holiday save Christmas. But what makes Halloween so popular?

Part of it has to do with fear. We love to be thrilled, and few things thrill us like danger and fear. Of course, many of us don’t have the skills to participate in some of the most thrilling activities; most people will never drive on a racetrack, jump from a plane, or do aerial tricks on a skateboard. But anyone can get a thrill from watching a scary movie or going through a haunted house.

Another part of Halloween that appeals to many is the opportunity to dress up and pretend to be someone else. Most of us lead pretty ordinary lives. Many youngsters wish they were grownups doing exciting things. Many adults wish they had been more adventurous in their younger days. And there are people who are just plain shy, who long for an opportunity to come out of their shell and get a little wild. Playing dress up on Halloween allows us to indulge our fantasies.

But Halloween has always had another purpose as well. The world is a dark and scary place, filled with unexpected danger. Man has always feared the evil that lurks in shadow, waiting to pounce on the unwary. In the past, some people tried to appease the darkness by honoring the spirit world through ritual and sacrifice. This ancient practice is the birthplace of Halloween. In the years since then, Halloween has been slowly transformed. The holiday still gives us reassurance in the face of darkness, but now the fear is taken away by trivializing it. Witches and ghosts have become decorations with smiling faces. Monsters are played for laughs. Instead of treating the darkness with respect, we giggle at it instead.

But is it smart to giggle at the darkness? Is it a good idea to trivialize the power of the spirit world? In our next devotion, we will take a look at what God has to say about the forces that want to bring fear into our lives.

Building on a lie

2011-10-25T08:02:00.002-05:00

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:4-5).

Two young stone masons were building a brick wall—the front side of a house. As one of them was placing a brick, it was immediately obvious to both of them that it was lopsided—a bit thicker on one side than the other. The first mason shrugged his shoulders and started laying the irregular brick into the fresh mortar.

The second mason objected. "It will make the wall uneven," he cautioned. "Pfah!" the first replied, "What difference will such a little thing make? You’re too particular."

The other mason replied, " My mother taught me that truth is truth, that even the smallest untruth is a lie, and a lie is always a big deal."

The first mason said, "That’s all fine and well, but I’m not lying and have no intention of doing so."

The other man said, "True enough, but you are making your wall tell a lie, and I’ve heard that a lie in a man’s work is like a lie in his character—sooner or later it will show itself and result in harm or maybe even ruin."

"I’ll risk it in this case," the first mason said, and he continued building the wall, row upon row, until the sun dipped towards the horizon and both men went home for the day.

The next morning, the two workers arrived at the construction site and saw the lie proclaimed. The wall, getting just a bit of a slant from the untrue brick, had grown more and more uneven the higher it got. During the night, it collapsed—thankfully, no one was there to get hurt.

So it is with all the lies and half-truths of your life—they might seem small or insignificant, but if you try to build your future on them, things will come crashing down on you. This is why Jesus urges you to cling to the truth and reject every temptation to compromise it.

Congratulations!

2011-10-22T08:16:00.002-05:00

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

"In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:25-33).

This morning, I would like to congratulate you. You are doing something very difficult—you are following Christ. Peter calls us a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9). We are not like other people; in Psalm 4 David says, the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself. Followers of the true God have always been in the minority. At the time of the Great Flood, only 8 people in the entire world listened to God. At the time of Elijah, God said that in all of Israel only 7,000 people were true to Him. When Jesus hung on the cross, only a handful of people had the loyalty to stand at His feet as He died. In the years since His resurrection, the Holy Spirit has led billions of people to the Savior’s wounded side, yet even today only a third of the world claims to be Christian, and many of them barely understand what being a Christian is all about. Those who follow Christ are a select group, always in the minority.

Why is this? We know that Jesus loves us. We know that He forgives us every time we fall at His feet begging for mercy. We know that He will raise us from the dead and give us eternal life in paradise. So why don’t more people respond to His call, give Him their souls, and follow Him through life?

Jesus said, wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14). There is only one gate that permits entry into heaven; that small gate is the Son of God. Jesus said, I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (John 10:9). There is only one road that leads to everlasting life; that narrow path has been mapped out by the Savior. Jesus also said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

Our Master is the only way to approach God in safety. We are sinners, but God is holy; His purity is so intense that we cannot bear to look at Him any more than we can safely stare into the sun. We are corrupt, but God is pure; if we dared approach Him too closely, we would be consumed like a moth that gets too close to a flame. The evil within each of us makes it impossible to have anything to do with God.

But Jesus solved this problem on the cross. He took full responsibility for our sins and paid the ultimate penalty for them. When Jesus died, our death sentence was commuted. Then Jesus rose from the dead, proving that God’s perfect love is far more powerful than all the evil in the world. Jesus is living proof that the mistakes of the past can be forgiven, that today can be a fresh start, that tomorrow we can be closer to God and eternal happiness than we’ve ever been before.

Jesus doesn’t expect us to pay Him back for what He’s done. Love doesn’t work that way. And it’s not as if we could repay Him anyway; there is no way we can take back every harsh word we’ve spoken, fix everything we’ve broken, or do enough to wipe away all memory of the hurts we have caused. Christ’s forgiveness, offered freely, is a gift no one can put a price tag on.

But our Lord does demand one thing from us—He demands our complete loyalty. Jesus said, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple…any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).

Do these words sound harsh? Perhaps, but they are consistent with everything God has said to His people from the beginning. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden because they listened to Satan instead of God. God promised to make Abraham a father of many nations, on the condition that he place his trust in God alone. At Mount Sinai, God promised to be with the Israelites so long as they honored Him, but He assured disaster if they started worshipping other gods.

The First Commandment demands complete loyalty to God. Jesus upholds this commandment by saying that nothing in our lives can be more important than our relationship with Him. And this is one reason why so many reject Christianity. They don’t want to give Jesus first place in their lives. They value other things—their families, their jobs, their popularity, their wealth, their independence, their bad habits, their recreational activities. From their perspective, Christianity is just too demanding. They don’t want to force their kids to go to church. They don’t want to have to consider whether the terms of a business deal are morally right or wrong. They don’t like to admit mistakes, and fear that apologizing makes them look weak. They see no reason to donate money to a charity unless they can get a tax advantage for doing so. They resent anyone trying to tell them what to do and what not to do. They are comfortable with their bad habits and addictions. They believe that religious people don’t know how to have a good time.

Many people are so attached to their current lifestyle that making any significant change is too unpleasant to consider. So they seek other options; they look for a religion or philosophy of life that doesn’t demand a radical change of priorities. They would rather listen to a comforting pack of lies than the uncomfortable and challenging truth. This is one reason why I commend you; you have done what many won’t do. When Christ spoke, you did not close your ears and walk away—you listened and you let the truth rearrange what’s important to you, even when those changes have been uncomfortable or worrisome.

Jesus demands first place in our hearts, a place so far above everything else that even love of parents and children is moved down to an entirely different level. And this is no mere rhetoric on Jesus’ part—many believers have to choose between Christ and their loved ones. There are places in this world where people are rejected by their families for becoming Christian; some converts even risk death at the hands of religious extremists. It is no wonder that Jesus tells us to weigh the costs carefully before setting off to follow Him.

When we follow Jesus, there is a cost that cannot be avoided. Jesus warns that we must be willing to take up our crosses when following Him. On Good Friday, Jesus carried a cross to the place of His execution. That cross was the painful burden of God’s anger at our sins. Yet Jesus carried that burden willingly, because His suffering would achieve a wonderful result—forgiveness for your sins and mine, forgiveness that makes us eligible for entry into heaven. That was a gift Jesus desperately wanted to give us, even though it cost Him more than we can imagine.

The cross that we bear when following Jesus is similar in some ways, different in others. It is the same in that it involves suffering while we walk towards our deaths. But our suffering cannot begin to compare to what Christ went through for us. In 2nd Corinthians, Paul describes our suffering as light and only lasting for a short time. Nor do we suffer for the same reasons as Jesus. Our suffering does not pay off any debt of sin; when He died at Calvary, Jesus paid the full price to free us from hell’s fiery grip.

The cross we carry is the burden of obedience. It is hard to give up favorite pleasures that God forbids. It is hard to make time in our busy lives to reach out and show care for others. It is hard to share the things we have with strangers and those who are in need.

It is also hard to face the pressure to conform. We feel uncomfortable telling our friends no when they want us to join them in sinful behavior. We want to be part of the group; we don’t being an outsider. And we certainly don’t enjoy being made fun of for trying to do the right thing.

And following Jesus feels restrictive. What’s the point of growing up, we think, if we can’t start doing whatever we want? We prize our freedom; it’s hard to submit to Christ’s authority.

Jesus says that anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Him cannot be his disciple. This sure sounds tough. But I congratulate you for struggling to do the right thing, for carrying the burden of being a Christian. Frankly, it is not as heavy a burden as Satan would like you to believe it is. You know that; you take comfort from Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter 11: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Christ wants us to follow Him, so He shares our burdens with us. He wants us to receive the blessings of discipleship—having our guilt removed and experiencing peace of mind, confidence that we have value because God loves us and that our lives have purpose when we serve Him, and assurance that death is not permanent and that we will be reunited with all our loved ones who died in the faith. These are the benefits that come from taking up our crosses and following Jesus.

I commend you for doing what most of the world is unwilling to do—hold Christ high in your life and regard everything else as of lower importance. But before you get a swelled head, I should remind you that the only reason you follow Christ is because the Spirit of God is helping you along the way. He gave you the faith to believe; He points you in the right direction; He supports you when you get tired and lifts you up when you have no strength left. You can only follow Jesus because God helps you to.

And let’s be honest, you don’t always make Jesus number one in your life. You make many decisions without first praying for guidance. You might go for hours, even days, without thinking about Jesus or offering Him a word of thanks. You have friends and relatives who need to hear the message of salvation, but religion is the one subject you never talk about.

Thankfully, Jesus forgives you and me for our half-hearted devotion. He forgives us for whining about how hard it is to follow Him. He forgives us for making moral compromises. He forgives us for acting as if God is not aware of what we’re doing. He forgives us because He is patient, loving and generous. He picks us up and dusts us off so that we can continue following Him along the narrow road to paradise.

Jesus tells us to consider carefully the cost of following Him. You have calculated the cost and you have seen the truth—that the benefits of being a Christian far outweigh the drawbacks. Praise God that He has given you the wisdom to see this truth, because it is a truth that most are unwilling to face.

The fruit of laboring for Christ

2011-10-21T08:28:00.002-05:00

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you (John 6:27).

Today I’d like to take you across the world to Nigeria and introduce you to a wise man named Madaki. Some time back, Madaki was the chief elder of the church in Kwoi and one of the wealthiest farmers in the region. One day he issued the following announcement: "Madaki wants all the women to gather at his house tomorrow morning. Pass on the news." When the women gathered at his home the next day, Madaki asked them to go out to his farm and carry home his field corn.

104 women and girls walked the seven-mile round trip, carrying baskets of every size. Some brought back a big load. Others only fetched a few ears of corn. One woman carried such a huge amount that she ran out of strength before finishing the trip.

When all the women gathered back at his house, Madaki made a startling announcement: each person could keep what she brought back! There were many shouts of happiness and gratitude. However, there were also sighs of regret. Many complained, "If only I had known, I would have taken a larger basket."

There had been some women who refused Madaki’s request. They had muttered, "I have enough work of my own." When they heard what had happened, they dropped everything and rushed to the farmer’s house the next morning, begging for the opportunity to cash in on his generosity. But he quietly told them, "the time is past; the corn was brought in yesterday."

Through this kind deed, the church elder accomplished two things. First, he gave welcome assistance to many needy families. But even more important, he preached a quiet sermon that was frequently repeated throughout the community. Our Lord Jesus asks us to work for Him. Some are happy for the opportunity to serve. Others drag their feet and try to get by with doing as little as possible. Many simply refuse to give up their own priorities for Jesus’ sake. But our Lord is generous. He is no slave driver. Those who work hard for Him with no expectation of being repaid will be richly blessed in eternity.

Praying with confidence

2011-10-18T09:26:00.002-05:00

Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11:1).

You cannot pray to God without faith. The Bible says, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The Maker of all things is not interested in prayers that start off with words like “if you’re really there” or “I hope you’re listening.” There are a lot of people who only speak to God when faced with a crisis and have no place left to turn. They offer a desperate prayer, figuring there is nothing to lose by appealing to a God who they don’t know and never really think about. God feels no obligation to answer such prayers—not if that petitioner will just go back to a godless existence after things settle down again.

Our Father in heaven wants us to come to Him with confidence—confidence in His power, His wisdom, and His love. The Bible gives each petitioner this warning: when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord (James 1:6-7). Listen to this exchange between the Son of God and a worried parent: Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered…"If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:21-24)

Praying with confidence includes being persistent. Jesus makes this promise: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8). The Bible tells many stories of people who had to wait a long time for God’s promised blessing, but in every case the LORD followed through when the time was right. When you pray persistently, it shows God that you believe He is listening to you; giving up demonstrates a lack of faith.

How important is prayer? Scripture tells us that Jesus frequently went off by Himself to pray. As important as His work here among us was, communication with His Father was always a top priority. Jesus praised the Father’s goodness and relied on His support. Jesus also prayed for those He was close to, those who were in need, even for those who hated Him. If the Son of God prayed this way, shouldn’t you?

Patience

2011-10-15T09:15:00.002-05:00

Be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2).

King Saul should have been a happy man. The Israelites had never had a king before; he was privileged by God to be the first. Nor did he have to face this awesome responsibility alone. He had a wonderful son named Jonathan who was a great warrior, a loyal son, and a compassionate friend to others. He had God’s prophet Samuel to give him advice from God’s own lips. And he had David, a handsome young warrior who could compose, sing, and play beautiful music for the king.

But Saul was an impatient man who often charged into action when waiting to see what would happen was the better choice. On one occasion, his army was massed for attack against an enemy force, but the prophet Samuel could not be found to give the Lord’s blessing before battle commenced. Unwilling to wait, Saul offered the sacrifice to God himself—a clear violation of God’s law which only allowed prophets and priests to offer sacrifices. Another time, Saul wanted God’s advice on a coming battle, but when the Lord remained silent, Saul consulted a witch—another clear violation of God’s law. Saul would also fly into fits of rage—and the target of his anger was often David. Saul had been a great general in his day, but David’s victories began to eclipse his. On several occasions Saul got angry and tried to kill David—moments of unrestrained passion which he regretted after he had cooled off. Saul’s life came to an end on the battlefield, when he impulsively chose suicide over capture by enemy forces. Saul’s lack of patience cost him leadership of God’s kingdom and eternity in heaven.

Our world needs more patience and less rage. People get angry at being caught in slow moving traffic. Children throw temper tantrums if they don’t immediately get what they want. Parents beat their children if they are slow to obey or do something wrong. Countries are more inclined to declare war than to wrestle with a diplomatic solution. TV shows are abruptly canceled if they don’t provide big ratings in the first couple of weeks. When marriages hit a rocky patch, many couples are quick to opt for divorce instead of making a commitment to marital counseling.

Where is the patience? How many travelers find something interesting to look at after making a wrong turn? How many shoppers chat up a stranger while stuck in line together? Do diplomats get the same respect as those who serve in the military? How many people choose to talk their problems out, instead of yelling at each other or stalking off and slamming the door? How many people are willing to forgive and start over?

One of the greatest blessings God gives us is His patience. In the Old Testament, God gave His people unambiguous laws to live by; yet no matter how clearly God spelled out His expectations for human behavior, even the most faithful believers still broke the law repeatedly. We see repeated examples of God being patient, threatening His people with punishment for sin, but then giving them a great deal of time to repent and change their ways. Then in the New Testament, we see God’s great patience given flesh in Jesus; instead of giving up on us for being habitual offenders, God placed His own Son on trial and executed Him on the cross for our crimes—all this to give us another opportunity to exchange love of sin for love of God. Peter writes, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

In Ephesians Paul tells us, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Patience is essential for healthy relationships. All of us are sinners; all of us say and do things that are unthinking, inconsiderate and hurtful. Without patience, these kinds of sin lead to broken friendships, runaway children and divorce. We can be grateful that God works hard at trying to teach us patience; He often does this by making us wait before answering our prayers.

Patience does not see other people as obstacles to be overcome. Rather, patience is willing to work with others because it respects all people as children of God who have dignity and worth. A patient Christian does not insist on having his own way at the expense of others. The patient person tries to solve problems peacefully; he will not intimidate others or work around them to get the outcome that he wants.

Rage destroys things that are built through patience. It only takes one moment of rage to end a career by speaking an ethnic slur out loud in front of the wrong people. It only takes one moment of rage to end a marriage by saying something spiteful or striking a loved one in the face. It only takes one moment of rage to end a life by pulling a trigger or stabbing with a knife. When rage is in control, you lose all regard for the rights and feelings of others. Rage is the antithesis of patience.

Jesus is the ultimate example of being patient when provoked. When He began preaching about the kingdom of God coming to earth through Him, His brothers and sisters thought He had lost his mind. His disciples were often thickheaded and sometimes arrogant. Judas stole from the group’s moneybag and plotted to betray Jesus into the hands of people who wanted him dead. The religious leadership condemned Him to death at an illegal hearing on trumped-up charges. Governor Pilate sent Him to the cross, even while acknowledging that Jesus had broken no laws. Jesus was stripped of His clothes, had nails pounded through His hands and feet, and was insulted by strangers as He inched towards death. Yet Jesus never responded in anger, never said hurtful words in retaliation. Instead, He patiently corrected misunderstandings and offered words of forgiveness. It was only because of Jesus’ patience that mankind has been saved from God’s terrible anger at sin.

Patient Christians are willing to endure another person’s sin and offer forgiveness for the sake of peace. Those who are patient offer mercy even to the unrepentant, as Christ did on the cross when He prayed for those who were executing Him: Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). The apostle Peter writes, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). The only way we can avoid conflict is by being patient with each other. Patient love is the basis of all relationships because it covers over a multitude of sins, just as Christ’s patient love has done for us.

The classic example of patience is Job. Job was a man who had it all—he trusted God, was healthy, had a large family and was very well off. But Satan went to God, claiming that Job’s faithfulness was only superficial—take away his blessings and he would turn his back on heaven’s King. God gave Satan permission to test Job, and in short order the man’s life was visited with one calamity after another—rustlers stole his cattle and killed his servants, a windstorm cause the death of all his children, and Job himself became terribly sick—painful sores covered his body. His illness was so disgusting that few would have anything to do with him. Even worse, his best friends accused him of having done something terrible to call down such harsh judgment from God.

Job’s wife took a different view of things—she did not blame Job for their misfortunes, she blamed God. Her advice to her husband was shocking: curse God and die! (Job chapter two) But Job was not so quick to take a defeatist view. He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" He had confidence that with time, things would get better. And they eventually did.

How is Job an example of patience? First of all, he did not let the bad things that were happening to him take away his faith in God. He knew that the Lord had allowed these tragedies to take place, yet he did not blame God for treating him unfairly—he trusted that God had good reasons for what he did, reasons that Job might never find out. Nor was Job quick to give up; even though relief was slow in coming, Job did not abandon hope that God’s love would eventually make things better.

We live in a dark and evil world. Jesus came among us to drive back the darkness with the light of His love. We help drive back the darkness of evil when we are patient as we deal with others.

The importance of regular prayer

2011-10-11T08:22:00.002-05:00

Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

People communicate with each other like never before. Everywhere you look, someone has a cell phone in her hand or is wearing a Bluetooth device on his head. Most kids are busy texting their friends while browsing in stores or munching on fast food. Business leaders hold virtual conferences using high-speed satellite communication. If you have access to a computer, you can communicate instantly with people anywhere in the world.

People love to talk. But how much of your conversation is directed towards God? What percentage of your time is devoted to prayer?

God wants to hear from you. Through the apostle Paul He tells us to pray all the time. When asked how to pray, Jesus offered the Lord’s Prayer as an example of the sorts of things prayer should include—praising God to show Him respect and gratitude, seeking His help and guidance, and asking for the restoration of broken relationships. When you consider how often we need these things, prayer should be a daily part of our lives.

Does God listen to prayer? Absolutely. He gave this promise to the Israelites at Mount Sinai: I will hear, for I am compassionate (Exodus 22:27). But God does not listen to rebellious sinners; the prophet Isaiah issued the warning your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2). This is why we always pray in Jesus’ name; the Son of God gave His life for us in order to reopen the lines of communication with our heavenly Father. Those who are sorry for their sins and are made clean by faith in Christ have the assurance that their prayers are heard.

Does it do any good to pray? You bet it does! James writes (chapter five), is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him…And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. When your sins are taken away by Christ, the Lord sees you as righteous—someone whose opinion matters to Him. As a friend of Jesus, your prayers are important and worthy of God’s notice.

Diligence

2011-10-08T08:07:00.002-05:00

If a man does not work, he shall not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

Sometimes a job can be unpleasant. That was certainly the experience of Pontius Pilate. He had a position of authority granted by the mighty Roman Empire. Yet that position of authority, for all its perks, was often a difficult burden to bear.

Governing the Jews was no easy task. They hated foreigners. They were intolerant of other religions. And they were quick to revolt against the Roman peacekeepers—some, like Barabbas, were willing to go so far as to commit murder. The Jewish leaders had sent several complaints about Governor Pilate back to his superiors in Rome, who were putting increasing pressure on him to keep the peace. Then, during a religious festival when Jerusalem was packed with fanatics, the religious elite brought him a man whom they wanted put to death—Jesus of Nazareth. They claimed that he was dangerous to the Roman occupation, that he stirred up the people with talk of freedom from oppression. Yet when Pilate interviewed Jesus, it was clear that this man was no political threat, nor had he broken any laws. It was Pilate’s job to enforce the rule of law; legally, Jesus ought to go free. But the Jewish leaders were willing to unleash a riot in order to get their way. Ultimately, Pilate took the easy way out—he let the Jews have their execution. Pilate’s unwillingness to do his job when things got hard resulted in the crucifixion of the innocent Son of God, the greatest miscarriage of justice in the history of the world.

Our world needs more diligence and less laziness. People live on government support and have no desire to support themselves. Some employees do the minimum amount of work they can get away with and still earn a paycheck; others arrive late, leave early, and take longer breaks than they’re entitled to. Parents let the TV entertain their children and avoid disciplining their kids for bad behavior. Kids in school cheat on tests in order to get a passing grade. Many would rather buy microwavable dinners than make a meal from scratch; others would just as soon eat out and avoid having to cook at all.

Where is the diligence? How many people take satisfaction in completing a hard day’s work? How many care deeply about the quality of the products they make or the service that they offer? How many workers think of their job as a way to meet the needs of others? How many believe that hard work is not only necessary for a healthy body, but that it also contributes to a healthy soul?

When Jesus came to live among us, He took His work very seriously. Jesus never goofed off or took shortcuts. When something unpleasant needed to be done, He rolled up His sleeves and got to it. His job was to bring God’s righteousness to a world fatally in love with wickedness. Inevitably, then, Jesus’ work involved confrontation. He confronted merchants who set up shop in the Temple precincts. He confronted people who taught false religion. He confronted the devil himself. And He confronted our sins on the cross. Jesus worked tirelessly to push back evil and reveal the glory of God’s truth.

We should be grateful that Jesus took His work so seriously. Because of his unwavering commitment, we have been rescued from sin and the hell it leads to. Saving us was no easy task; Christ suffered everything the devil could throw at Him in order to bring us back to God. The Son of God died so that we might live eternally. If He had not been fully committed to His cause, He might have chosen to avoid the cross, saving Himself from pain but dooming us to everlasting pain instead.

God looks for whole-hearted commitment from us as well. He expects our complete loyalty; He expects us to serve Him with all that we are and have. In Revelation chapter three, our Lord condemned a group of Christians for not taking their faith seriously enough: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot…So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. God wants more from us than just being wishy-washy; He wants us to be passionate about life.

Jesus spoke about laziness while teaching in the Temple during Holy Week. He told the story of a wealthy man who went on a long journey. Before leaving, this individual gave money to his servants to invest during his absence. When he finally returned, the man praised two of his servants for working hard to make his money grow. But the third servant got no praise from his master; all he did was hide the money in a secure location, claiming that he was afraid to lose it through bad investments. But the master understood what was really going on; he called the servant wicked and lazy. The servant did nothing with his master’s money because he did not want to be responsible for it—simple as that. As punishment, the servant was thrown out of his master’s house to live forever in a place of darkness and suffering. Through this story, Jesus communicated an important truth to His followers: From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (Luke 12:48). Laziness wastes time that could be used to serve the Lord.

Someone who is passionate works hard; he is fully committed to whatever he does. A Christian dedicates everything He does to the Lord. He looks forward to work, because through working he serves God’s purposes here on earth. He is careful to do quality work, because he wants to honor God with his efforts. He wants to earn enough money to support the church, take care of his family, and still have something left to share with the needy. He does his work with care and planning, so that the result of his efforts will benefit many people for a long time to come. He works so that he will be a blessing to others, not a burden. He doesn’t give up when faced with problems, because he trusts in the Lord to bring about a satisfactory result. He sets priorities and avoids distractions, because he knows that time is precious and limited. And when he is tempted to sluff off at work, the Christian finds renewed motivation in Paul’s advice: Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do (Colossians 3:23).

But passion for the Lord’s work goes beyond the workplace; it also includes effort on behalf of the Church. Jesus gave every Christian a job to do in the spiritual arena: you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). And there is urgency attached to this work, because time is not an endless commodity—Jesus said, As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work (John 9:4). Passionate commitment to God’s work also includes devotion to His teachings and rejection of every attempt to dilute them with human ideas, rationalizations, or compromises. Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32). It is hard work to be a committed Christian, but Jesus promises rich reward for our efforts on His behalf.

One hard worker of the Bible is Jacob. Jacob had to flee from home after he made his brother angry. With nowhere else to go, he headed north to Haran to seek employment from his uncle Laban. When he arrived, he met Laban’s daughter Rachel—a woman of beauty who tended sheep for her father. She immediately captured Jacob’s heart; having nothing else to offer as compensation, he offered to be Laban’s hired man for seven years in exchange for taking Rachel as his wife. But at the end of the seven years, Laban pulled a fast one—he gave Jacob his older daughter Leah instead, claiming that it was improper to marry off the younger daughter first. But, he added, Jacob could also have Rachel in exchange for an additional seven years of labor. Jacob agreed and Rachel was his.

Why is Jacob an example of hard and faithful work? First, he was willing to work for seven years to earn the thing he prized the most—Rachel’s hand in marriage. And when Laban changed the rules on him, Jacob did not get frustrated and quit—instead, he agreed to seven more years of work in order to gain his heart’s desire. Jacob understood that you have to work for the things you want.

We live in a dark and evil world. Jesus came among us to drive back the darkness with the light of His love. We help drive back the darkness of evil when we work hard for things that matter.

When God says "Not yet".

2011-10-06T07:59:00.001-05:00

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD (Psalm 27:14).

God answers every prayer. But He doesn’t always give the answer that we want. Sometimes the answer is “not yet—later.” This is a frustrating answer, because it requires patient waiting from us. But God has good reason to make us wait.

Anticipation builds excitement. When you work for hours under the hot sun, sweating and thinking about a cool beverage in the shade, that drink will taste wonderful when you finally get it. The longer you that wait for something, the more you will appreciate getting it in the end. When things come quickly and easily, we tend to take them for granted. The Lord takes pleasure in blessing us with His gifts; He wants us to enjoy them fully and be properly grateful for them as well.

God often makes us wait because we tend to be impatient, and impatience leads to sinful behavior. You can see it in almost any store. A little child wants something now. When mom or dad try to put the request on hold, a tantrum erupts. We don’t like being told to wait. We don’t like taking turns or being last in line. We want immediate relief from pain and discomfort. When we don’t get fast action, we start acting sinfully—being rude, making threats, exaggerating our need, or even resorting to outright theft or cheating. Jesus suffered and died to free us from being punished for sins like these, and God works hard at training us to behave decently. So there are times when He makes us wait.

And sometimes God makes us wait in order to strengthen our faith in Him. Worry and fear are the great enemies of faith. When we let worries consume our thoughts, we stop looking to God for answers. When we are consumed with fear, we no longer trust God to take care of us. If we don’t get an immediate response from the Lord after praying, we wrongfully assume that He isn’t listening or doesn’t care; then we start trying to make things happen, even though we lack the power and wisdom to make things better on our own. Sometimes God our Father makes us wait so we learn to stop reaching for the panic button and trust His timing instead.

It can be hard to wait patiently, but when God says “not yet,” it’s to make each one of us a better person.

When God says "No."

2011-10-04T21:02:00.002-05:00

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17).

God answers every prayer. But He doesn’t always give the answer that we want.

Sometimes the answer is “no.” There are a couple of reasons for this. Many of our prayers are for things that are not good for us. A teenager might pray for a new sports car, but the Lord knows that a hot set of wheels will only get the young man into trouble. A career-minded adult might ask God for a promotion, but the prayer is denied because all the extra time spent at work would lead to a divorce.

Sometimes God says “no” because our prayers don’t line up with His plans for us. A high school graduate might pray to be accepted into a certain university, but if admitted to that institution the young woman won’t meet the professor that can awaken a life-long commitment to medical research. A man might desperately want to change jobs, but God refuses that prayer because the company needs him as a moral anchor and example of ethical conduct.

And there are times when God says “no” to a prayer because it asks for something inappropriate. God loves everyone; He is not going to curse another person just because they’ve made you mad. The Lord is not a vending machine either; He is not going to constantly feed your selfish desires when you should be focused on others as well.

Our Lord knows what you need. He will not answer your prayers by giving you something harmful. A child might see his dad’s gun and want to play with it; a loving father will say no to the request, even though the child doesn’t understand and might even throw a fit. God is our loving Father who is committed to only giving what is best for us. Jesus said, which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11) When we ask God for something and He answers no, don’t get angry or think that God doesn’t care. His “no” is always motivated by love.

Prudence

2011-10-01T08:08:00.002-05:00

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20).

There is a saying that goes: “he who hesitates is lost.” Yet it is more likely that you will get yourself into trouble if you act before thinking things through. Peter serves as a classic example.

Peter frequently acted without considering the consequences. This is nowhere more evident than on the night of Jesus’ arrest. It started in the Garden of Gethsemane; when Jesus was detained, Peter took his sword and attacked a servant of the high priest. Only one other disciple had a sword; did Peter think that the two of them could defeat the entire crowd that had come for Jesus? Jesus quickly defused Peter’s catastrophic mistake by healing the injured man. Realizing that he had done something very foolish, Peter fled into the night, abandoning Jesus to the crowd. However, guilt soon drove him to the place where the Lord was on trial. Again, Peter acted without thinking things through—he entered the courtyard, hoping he would not be recognized and arrested. Of course, this hasty decision was just as bad as his impulse to fight in the garden; Peter was soon confronted about his relationship with the man on trial. Caught unprepared, Peter panicked and denied knowing Jesus, a denial that cost him his position as a disciple. Because he was so wrapped up in the heat of the moment that he didn’t think about the future, Peter turned his back on Jesus at the time our Lord needed his support the most.

Our world needs more prudence and less unthinking wastefulness. The citizens of our country are growing fatter as they eat whatever strikes their fancy, with little thought to moderation or good nutrition. People smoke, drink and use drugs without consideration of the damage these substances can do to their bodies. Our nation has embraced disposable things—disposable tableware, disposable diapers, disposable containers for water, soft drinks and beer. Few people fix things like kitchen appliances or CD players or vacuum cleaners when they break; such things are simply thrown away and replaced with something new. And gambling has become an obsession for many, even though the only consistent winners are those who offer the games.

Where is the prudence? How many people save adequately for retirement? How many think of money as a limited resource that needs careful management? How many young people make career plans before selecting their first college classes? How many couples discuss their long-term goals before deciding to get married? How many people consider the possible repercussions of an act before going ahead and doing it?

Our Lord always thinks ahead. He is never caught off guard or unprepared. When Adam and Eve brought sin and death into the world, our heavenly Father had a plan ready to fix what they had broken. There in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were the first to hear about a Savior who would destroy the power of evil and bring sinful mankind back to its holy Creator.

But God thinks in the long term. Thousands of years would pass before Jesus was born among us to suffer and die. And two millennia have gone by since Jesus rose from the dead and returned to heaven; no one knows how much longer it will be before He returns to raise the dead and restore this world to perfection.

God wants us to think in the long term as well. He wants us to focus less on today and more on eternity. When we take the long view, it can drastically change the decisions we make here and now. Take an athlete, for example; few people like strenuous exercise, but by focusing on the future competition she hopes to win, the athlete finds the motivation she needs to keep at her training. Or consider a farmer plowing a field; if he spends most of his time gazing at the ground just a few feet ahead or keeps looking down to fiddle with his radio, the path he cultivates will be irregular and hard to plant. But if he keeps his eyes focused on a fence post at the far edge of the field, he can use that guide to plow a furrow that is straight.

Wastefulness comes from overindulgence—not knowing when enough is enough. If one chocolate bar is good, two are better; if one beer is good, three are better. If sex with one person is good, having sex with many different partners is better. If a couple of hours playing poker with friends is fun, a weekend gambling at a casino will certainly be even better. But thinking like this does not consider the future—the problems caused by weight gain, the loss of being able to experience true intimacy with a marital partner, or the difficulty of facing retirement without enough money saved or invested. Overindulgence makes it hard to think seriously about the future.

Jesus addressed the problem of wastefulness in the parable of the Prodigal Son. In His story, Jesus describes a family of three—a father and his two grown sons. The younger man is bored with life working at home for his father. So he makes an insulting request—he wants his share of the inheritance now before his father has died! Surprisingly, the father grants his son’s request and the boy is instantly well off. With money burning a hole in his pocket, he sets off to have fun—but he goes to a distant land so that no one who knows him will see what he’s doing and criticize him. He spends his inheritance on partying and prostitutes with no thought for tomorrow; soon the money is exhausted. Then the economy collapses due to a severe drought; the only employment the young man can find is feeding hogs, hogs that are better fed than he is. It is not until he has hit rock bottom that the wasteful son comes to his senses and returns home to a father who never stopped loving him and was waiting to forgive him. Through this parable, Jesus shows us the importance of thinking about the future before spending money foolishly.

When we take the long view, our lives can be freed from many foolish and hasty decisions. When you are focused on building a house big enough for a growing family, you start putting money into savings instead of spending it impulsively. When heaven is something you think about regularly, you will be more likely to support the church in its work to fill God’s home with forgiven people. When you take the long view, you realize that there is a limit to the time and resources God has given you—so you set priorities to help you in using those heavenly gifts wisely. Taking the long view involves planning; it requires discipline so that you don’t fall into the trap of only living moment to moment. The pleasures of this life never last for long; thankfully there is happiness that never fades away. Jesus offers eternal joy; keep your focus on Him and this gift will be yours.

Joseph is a good example of a man who could plan for the future. Joseph had been falsely accused of rape and thrown into an Egyptian prison. While there, he made several friends—including a member of the royal court, who was doing time in jail for angering Pharaoh the king. God had given Joseph a special ability—he could interpret dreams. This would be Joseph’s ticket out of prison. Pharaoh started having nightmares that no one on his staff could interpret. When the man who knew Joseph was allowed to resume his duties, he recalled Joseph’s ability and put in a good word for him with the king.

Pharaoh had Joseph brought before him and told him about the nightmare. Joseph explained that God was using this means to warn of coming events—seven years of abundant harvests, followed by seven years of devastating famine. Then Joseph suggested a plan—during the seven years of surplus, have someone make sure that 20% of each harvest be put into long-term storage, so that there would be a big enough reserve to get Egypt through the following years of famine. Pharaoh and his staff were so impressed by this suggestion that Joseph was given this important job.

How is Joseph an example of prudence? First of all, he took the long view, rather than waiting until the last minute to face approaching problems. Second, he had discipline—he knew that saving for the future required considerable sacrifice in the here and now.

We live in a dark and evil world. Jesus came among us to drive back the darkness with the light of His love. We help drive back the darkness of evil when we balance the needs of today with planning for the future.

Prayers answered

2011-09-29T07:56:00.001-05:00

I call on you, O God, for you will answer me (Psalm 17:6).

How do you know when God answers a prayer?

A lot of the time, we don’t see God’s answer because we are so wrapped up in our own expectations. We don’t just tell God what we want, we also lay out how we want Him to go about providing what we’ve asked for. A farmer who prays for a good harvest might also ask God to send rain in the next week. A woman who wants her grown child to be happy might ask the Lord to provide a good man to become her daughter’s husband.

There’s nothing wrong with such prayers, but we don’t have to tell God how to do His business. I don’t tell a surgeon how to operate on my body, I just ask him to fix the problem. God can give the farmer a good harvest even without sending rain next week. The Lord can make a young woman happy with her life even if she never finds romance. When we tell God how we want Him to address our needs, we close our eyes to possibilities we’ve never even considered. If the Lord answers our prayers in ways we don’t expect, we might not even realize that He was listening and He did act.

Sometimes God gives us what we prayed for, but slowly and quietly. We don’t experience a sudden and dramatic change in our lives, but a gradual readjustment instead. God is constantly healing people who are sick or injured, but He rarely makes them jump from their hospital beds and run down the corridor shouting, “I’m cured!” The Lord takes away all sorts of emotional pain and scarring, but most often His relief is granted slowly over time. We have a hard time seeing incremental change; in our impatience, we crave instant and complete relief. When God chooses to move at a deliberate pace, we can miss the fact that He is answering our prayers.

And a lot of the time, we don’t see God’s power at work in our lives because we don’t expect to see it. We take miracles for granted. A baby is conceived, and although we are happy over the event, we see it is just a natural process. You can be working hard on a sunny day, drenched with sweat and craving relief from the heat—but when a gentle breeze offers refreshment, it never occurs to you that perhaps God just answered your unspoken prayer. Our gracious Lord does pay attention to your cries for help—it’s a shame that we don’t pay such close attention when He responds.

Impulsivity

2011-09-27T08:11:00.002-05:00

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me (Psalm 43:3).

Do you make impulsive decisions? Many people do. Some make snap decisions because the clock is ticking and a course of action is needed right now. Others make hasty decisions because they hate being pressured and just want the situation to be resolved. And some rush to judgment because they lack the patience needed to carefully look at all their options. But acting without thinking things through is a dangerous practice. Relying on your instincts assumes that your instincts can be trusted. Sadly, they can’t. Your gut reaction is to avoid discomfort at all costs. If confrontation will lead to a tough fight with an uncertain outcome, your instinct will be to avoid it. If you have a choice between doing the easy thing or the right thing, easy will always look more attractive.

By nature, we are all selfish. Our instincts are to make life good for ourselves regardless of how others might be affected. If we act without thinking, our behavior is going to reflect that selfishness for everyone to see. To make good decisions, you must take the time to think things through before settling on a course of action. You need to study the problem and consider how your words or deeds might impact others. You need to engage your brain before pushing the send button or opening your mouth or handing over your money. And since our instincts tend to be narrowly focused on what’s best for us at this moment, we need to pray for help in seeing things from God’s perspective.

Of course, there are situations where we don’t have the luxury of time when making a choice, so it’s a good idea to prepare ourselves by spending time with the LORD in prayer and Bible study throughout the week. If you are in regular consultation with God, you won’t feel so unprepared when faced with a crisis that demands immediate action. Your sinful instincts will be tempered by knowledge of God’s priorities, a knowledge that can help you evaluate the situation properly.

What if you screw up? We all make bone-headed mistakes. Thankfully, God’s Son died to pay the price for your mistakes and rose from the grave so you always have someone to turn to. No situation is hopeless. Just stop and reevaluate things, asking Jesus to give you clarity of vision. If you are on the wrong path, He will forgive you and point you in a better direction. You just need to be flexible enough to let Jesus take the lead.

Generosity

2011-09-24T08:07:00.002-05:00

God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

King Ahab ruled the northern nation of Israel during the years that Elijah was God’s prophet. The prophet and the king did not get along with each other, because Ahab and his wife Jezebel worshipped Baal instead of the true God. Ahab and Jezebel were powerful monarchs, but they were also notorious sinners.

One example has to do with Naboth’s vineyard. The vineyard was close to Ahab’s royal palace, and the king wanted the land for a vegetable garden. He offered to buy the land from Naboth but his offer was refused; Naboth would not sell land that had been in his family for generations. This reversal left Ahab sulking and unwilling to eat; it was his wife who finally engineered a solution. She signed Ahab’s name to letters organizing a party and inviting Naboth to attend. She arranged to have two liars seated across the table from Naboth, and in front of the leaders of the community they swore that Naboth had cursed both God and the king. On the testimony of these two men, Naboth was immediately dragged out and executed, and the palace claimed his vineyard. King Ahab’s greed resulted in forgery, malicious gossip, the death of an innocent man, and the loss of a family’s inheritance.

Our world needs more generosity and less greed. Employees who are perfectly happy with their duties at work seek promotion to more stressful positions simply to earn a bigger paycheck. People run up thousands of dollars in credit card debt because they are addicted to shopping, and end up filing for bankruptcy or taking out a second mortgage on their home. People of all ages fill their homes with toys they don’t play with, clothes they don’t wear, CDs they don’t listen to, and collectibles that only collect dust. Others are always replacing cars and upgrading their electronic equipment because they've got to have the newest thing.

Where is the generosity? How many people give regular donations to charity? How many churchgoers follow the Old Testament example of giving 10% of their income to the Lord? How many children are willing to share and share alike? How many people are willing to give up their place in line for someone who’s in a hurry? How many folks give away things they no longer want, instead of selling them through a second-hand store?

In our modern world, charity has gotten a bad name. Some people abuse charity, applying for help they don’t really need. Many others refuse charity. In some cases, accepting charity makes them feel like a failure; in other cases, they just don’t want to be a burden that someone else has to care for. But from God’s perspective, we are all charity cases; without His generosity, we would all be condemned eternally.

We are saved from sin and death because God is generous. He sent his Son to suffer and die to pay off our debt of sin. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was so that He could offer us the gift of forgiveness whenever we mess up. Incredibly, this gift of mercy is completely free; Jesus does not demand anything from us to repay Him for His sacrifice. This is a good thing, because there is no way anyone could repay Him for the hell He suffered on the cross as our substitute.

Because the Lord has been so generous with us, it is only right that we should be generous as well. One of the hallmarks of Christian living is a willingness to share the good things we have received from God. Of course, that includes pretty much everything. Scripture tells us, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17). This also includes money, as Moses reminds us: remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18).

What does generosity look like? It wants to share God’s gifts instead of hoarding them away for private use; it rejoices in God’s blessings and wants to share that joy with others. It is willing to give even when there is no real likelihood of ever being repaid. Generosity does not live in fear of giving too much away, because it trusts the Lord to provide even in times of need.

Greed gets in the way of generosity. Greed takes many forms. For a collector, it’s about assembling a complete set of something. For the self-indulgent, it’s about having the newest, the best, or the most expensive. For someone who is fearful, it’s about having such a big enough stockpile that no matter what happens he will never be in need. Of course, the pursuit of such goals leaves nothing to offer the needy.

Jesus addressed greed in His parable of the Foolish Rich Man. In His story, Jesus describes a farmer who is blessed with a record-breaking harvest. There is such an abundance that his barns cannot contain it all. But is the man generous? Does he donate the excess to feed the poor? Not at all! He decides to tear down his barns and put up bigger ones. His goal? He wants to retire and live the high life, supported by his accumulated wealth. Even though his fields are productive and he still has the strength to continue farming, he is not interested in raising more crops to feed his fellow man. But God condemns the farmer for being tight-fisted; He says you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? (Luke 12:20) Jesus wants us to understand that God gives to us so that we can share with others.

Generosity is, at heart, a spiritual attitude. The generous person sees money as a way to support the work of saving souls from unbelief and hell; this is why such a person actively supports churches and mission work. The generous Christian sees charity work as an opportunity for sharing the faith with others; this is why such a person volunteers her time in places that serve the poor and hungry. The generous person wants to thank God in a tangible way for all of His wonderful blessings.

Abraham serves as an example of generosity. Abraham, his wife Sarah, and his nephew Lot had grown up in a land hundreds of miles from Canaan. But God told Abraham to gather his family and started walking, because Abraham was going to become the father of a great nation. Eventually, the group arrived in what would one day be called Israel.

Abraham and Lot were cattlemen; they lived in tents and frequently moved to provide their herds with fresh grazing land. The Lord blessed Abraham and his family; the size of the herds grew, as did the number of people required to tend them. But this remarkable growth created a problem—the herds began competing for limited resources. God had promised Abraham a great nation; no such promise had been made to Lot. Abraham was in the driver’s seat—he could have told Lot to take his family, his herd and his servants and go graze somewhere else. But that’s not what Abraham did; instead, he gave Lot first choice as to grazing rights; he said, Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left (Genesis 13:9). Lot thought things over, saw that the best grazing was on the plain near Sodom and Gomorrah, and chose to go in that direction; Abraham accepted the less productive landscape.

How is Abraham an example of generosity? By rights, first choice for prime grazing should have been his. But Abraham allowed Lot to have first choice; God had already blessed Abraham with plenty, and he trusted God to keep on caring for him, even if he didn’t have the best pasturage for his herd. Abraham was more concerned that Lot did well, and be able to support his own growing family.

We live in a dark and evil world. Jesus came among us to drive back the darkness with the light of His love. We help drive back the darkness of evil when we are generous with the good things that God has given us.

Making decisions

2011-09-22T07:47:00.002-05:00

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105).

When you make decisions, what guides you?

For some, the path of least resistance is attractive. Going with the flow is much easier than swimming against the current. If it’s a struggle to get everyone to church on Sunday morning, why not just stay in bed and spare yourself the aggravation? You might not like the direction our government is taking, but is it really worth the effort to register and vote or write a letter to your representative in Washington?

When it is time to make a choice, many people are concerned how their decision will make them look to others. If your buddies want to go out and get wasted, do you want to be a wet blanket? When your co-workers grumble about their families during break, you don’t want to be the only person at the table who speaks fondly of their loved ones.

Since time and money are often in short supply, many folks make decisions based on how much value they are likely to get in return. When spending your money, which is the better investment—saving interest by paying off a loan early, or getting a tax write off for giving to a charity? How is your time better used—lowering your stress by relaxing at the lake, or serving the church as a volunteer?

What are your priorities? Do they include money, popularity, having a good time? Or do they focus on God, family, and making the world a better place to live? What is most important to you?

You are a high priority to God. He wants you to be a citizen of His kingdom and a member of His family. He wants to free you from your dark and selfish passions. He wants to bring you under His protection so you are not victimized by Satan and those he manipulates. You are so important to God that He sent His Son to die on the cross, a sacrifice that offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who want it. Jesus made it His top priority to make up for all the times when your priorities have been out of whack.

When it is time to make your next decision, stop and ask yourself what your priorities should be. Pray to Christ for guidance. And when you have the opportunity, spend some time reading His Good Book—it’s filled with people like you who wrestled with getting their priorities right.

Garbage in, garbage out

2011-09-20T07:56:00.002-05:00

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word (Psalm 119:37).

Garbage in, garbage out. This is one of the first lessons I learned about computer programming. Computers rely on accurate information to produce useful results. If you start with flawed data, the results you get will range from deceptively misleading to dangerously wrong. A computer is limited in its usefulness by the person who programs it.

Garbage in, garbage out. This principle applies to our minds as well. If you load your brain with lies and half-truths, you cannot make good decisions. If you spend a lot of time looking at pornography or reading smut, you’ll tend to look at others as playthings instead of individuals who have rights and feelings. If you frequently read bloggers or listen to talkshow hosts who take aggressive stands on extreme positions, you will be less inclined to listen or work together when others disagree with you.

We are bombarded with information every single day. People try to influence your opinion through roadside billboards, TV commercials, magazine advertisements, and pop-ups on the Internet. The songs you listen to, the editorials you read, the newscasters that you watch all exert an influence on your thinking.

You know how bad eating habits can ruin your body’s health. When you make a steady diet of unhealthy ideas, it damages your soul. If the world convinces you that lying is okay in some instances, you start ignoring God’s command to stick with the truth. If a popular celebrity persuades you to adopt a non-Christian religion as your own, their bad influence will cost you eternity in heaven!

We need to be selective in what we read and listen to. If a song promotes selfish behavior, listen to something else. If some talking head makes a habit out of peddling fear or hatred, get your news from another source. If a magazine features articles that glorify irresponsible behavior, put it down and walk away. Most of all, we have to make time for the critically important information that is found exclusively in the Bible. Only the Word of God can purge away the rot of the mental garbage which we are fed each and every day.

Purity

2011-09-17T07:38:00.002-05:00

Be holy, because I am holy (1 Peter 1:16).

King David loved God—he loved the Lord so much that he wanted to be the one to construct God’s temple in Jerusalem. How disappointed he must have been when God said no, that his hands were too soaked with blood from years of war to build something that was holy.

But David’s hands were not the only impure things about him. David had an eye for the ladies. When King Saul died and David took the throne, David took for himself all of Saul’s wives and mistresses. To this already large household, David added even more wives and mistresses. But none of these women could satisfy his lust. One morning, David was on the roof of his palace and saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. Inflamed with desire, David had her brought to him, even though she was married to a man who was off fighting in a war. The affair resulted in a pregnancy, and David had the husband called back from deployment, hoping that time at home would suggest that the husband was the child’s father. But the husband was an honorable man, who could not bring himself to enjoy time with his wife when the other men in his unit were engaged in combat. In desperation, King David ordered the husband assigned to the thick of battle and left alone to die; in this way, David thought, no one could prove that the baby was illegitimate. David’s lust destroyed a marriage and murdered an innocent man.

Our world needs more purity and less passionate desire. Our commercials are soaked with sexuality, whether they be on TV, in magazines, or on billboards. The Internet is flooded with pornographic websites, and they are the most successful of all online businesses. Most couples think that great sex is so important for a marriage that they experiment with it before making a commitment, like a person test-drives a car before deciding to buy it. Married people dabble with secret affairs, putting families at risk for the sake of passion and excitement. Passionate desires undermine relationships—and this includes more than just sex and marriage. A passionate desire for revenge can lead a country to violate the terms of a peace treaty and launch an attack. A passionate desire for profit can lead a company to cut pensions that were promised to retired workers. Passionate desire is willing to disregard promises made when they prove to be inconvenient, whether those promises were made before an altar, in a board room, or at the signing of a treaty.

Where is the purity? How many couples save their virginity for their wedding night? How many people blush when they see a picture of someone nude? How many countries hold fast to their international agreements? How many businesses are committed to high ethical standards of conduct? When temptations come along, how many people immediately close their eyes and ask Jesus for the strength to resist committing a sin? How many people would rather make Jesus happy than make themselves feel good?

When Jesus forgives your sins, He changes the course of your life. Romans chapter 12 tells us, do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When we let Christ take charge of our lives, we are reborn; our priorities change and we look at life from a new perspective.

When we think about the Christian outlook on life, one characteristic that comes to mind is a desire for purity. In Philippians chapter one Paul writes, this is my prayer: that…you…may be pure and blameless…filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. The desire for purity comes from wanting to be like Jesus. Jesus is pure; His every thought, word and deed are beautiful because of their sheer perfection.

We want to be like Christ; we would love to go through life without making a single mistake. Of course, such a thing is impossible; because we are sinful through and through, the only way we can have any purity in our lives is through divine intervention. Jesus extends His righteousness to us, allowing us to experience purity through Him.

What does purity look like? Purity wants to evaluate everything in light of God’s holy Word. Purity rejects sinful desires as distracting and corrupting, a waste of the time and resources God has generously given you. Temptation wants you to try all sorts of different things without giving much thought to the consequences; purity says ‘take your time, don’t rush into things blindly.’ Purity doesn’t find humor in dirty jokes, nor is it entertained by gossip; purity chooses refinement over crude behavior.

Lust demands immediate action, heedless of risk or long-term repercussions. A lust for sex ignores things like marital boundaries, unplanned pregnancy, or the risk of contracting a serious disease. Lust for alcohol ignores things like possible liver damage, speaking words that might hurt another person, or dying in a car crash. Lust for buying something new ignores things like the state of your bank account or whether the same item might be on sale elsewhere for a better price. The impulsiveness of lust doesn’t allow the time for reflection that purity demands.

Jesus spoke about making pleasure your top priority. In the Parable of the Sower, He described four kinds of soil planted by a farmer. One type of soil was so hard that birds ate the seeds before they had a chance to sprout. Another type of soil was rocky; the seedlings died when they could not get sufficient root. The third type of soil was infested with weeds, which choked the crops and made them unproductive. But the fourth type of soil was rich, and it produced an abundant harvest. Jesus then explained that the types of soil illustrated the different ways people respond to hearing the Good News of salvation. Some are so stubborn that God’s word does not penetrate and take root. Some are superficial, fair-weather Christians—religion is a nice diversion, but is quickly abandoned in times of stress. The weeds represent earthly pleasures and distractions; such things get in the way of spiritual growth and make a person’s life unproductive. Lust for earthly pleasures inhibits growing up strong and pure in God.

Those who are pure dislike temptation; they want to preserve themselves for Christ as a woman preserves her virginity for her wedding night. In his second letter to the believers in Corinth (chapter 11), Paul pictures their relationship with Jesus in terms of marriage: I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you to him as a pure virgin. Considering that Jesus died to free us from sin, it just isn’t right to claim Him as our dearly beloved while at the same time embracing sin like a lover that you keep on the side.

Joseph shows us what purity looks like. Joseph was one of the youngest sons of Jacob, yet his father gave him special treatment. This made his older brothers jealous; they sold him to a passing group of slavers, then told their father that he had been mauled by a wild animal. Eventually, Joseph wound up in Egypt and was sold to a government official. Joseph proved a talented administrator, and soon he was put in charge of running the entire household.

But Joseph was also young and handsome, and his good looks caught the eye of his owner’s wife. She made repeated attempts to lure him into bed with her, but Joseph resisted. He told her, you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? (Genesis 39:9) In spite of every attempt she made to seduce him, Joseph never gave in to her sexual advances. Eventually her lust turned to hate, she falsely accused Joseph of trying to rape her and had him thrown into prison.

How is Joseph an example of purity? First of all, he respected the vows of marriage, even though his master’s wife did not. Second, he resisted giving in to temptation, even though standing up for what was right turned the woman against him. Most importantly, Joseph understood that such an act was not just a sin against his master’s marriage, but it was a sin against God Himself. Joseph did not want to disobey God.

We live in a dark and evil world. Jesus came among us to drive back the darkness with the light of His love. We help drive back the darkness of evil when we strive for purity in everything we say and do.

Sloganeering

2011-09-15T07:49:00.002-05:00

Your word is truth (John 17:17).

What are you against? Does that seem like a strange question? Think about it. We live in a time where nobody wants to be labeled anti-anything. To be opposed to something seems negative, seems narrow-minded, seems mean-spirited and ugly. Of course people are still opposed to things; they just look for a positive way to market their views. Instead of being anti-abortion, you identify yourself as pro-life. Instead of being against big government, you say that you support limited government. Naturally, the opposition is always quick to assign a negative label whenever possible. If you oppose gay marriage, you are identified as homophobic. If you care about the environment, you’re called a tree-hugger. Do you see how the game is played?

People have a broad range of opinions on most everything. It’s sad that so many would rather hide behind slogans instead of talking openly and honestly about the issues. This is why congress can’t get things done—each party slaps a label on the other side, and repeats the same talking points when interviewed. Listening, asking questions, seeking common ground and using gentle persuasion seem to be skills that few people have anymore.

It’s okay to be against some things—in fact, God expects it. The Bible says, what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14) Our LORD demands that we oppose those things which have their roots in corruption. Sadly, each of us is quick to assume that we know the difference between what is moral and what is immoral. But with our minds clouded by dark urges and irrational thinking, we often end up leading the fight for the wrong side. We need the holy LORD to reveal what is right and good and proper. Without the clarity made possible by His wisdom, we can never be sure that our position on any matter is the correct one.

We humans are a prickly bunch—we don’t like to be disagreed with, and we’re slow to come around to a different point of view. And so the Bible urges us to share God’s message with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). His words are too important to remain hidden behind slogans and sound bites. Important things must be discussed openly and honestly.

Clutter

2011-09-13T08:05:00.001-05:00

When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

Nature abhors a vacuum. Clear off a table, and soon a new pile of clutter starts to accumulate. Put up a shelf and before long it will be filled with books or knickknacks. Build a garage or put up a storage shed and pretty soon you’ll struggle to find space for the car or lawnmower. It happens to our schedules as well. Free up some time each week, and it won’t take long for your boss, friends or spouse to give you some new activity to spend those hours on.

It’s a rare person who can escape clutter. Our jobs are cluttered with tasks that are redundant and inefficient. Our homes are cluttered with stuff that we don’t really need. Our days are cluttered with activities that use up more resources than they are worth.

Nature abhors a vacuum. If you want to be free from clutter, it’s not enough to clear it away—more clutter will just replace it. If you want to be free from clutter, you have to replace it—replace it with something that’s worth having. If you want to be free of clutter, you must reduce the amount of space that your life offers to clutter. If your home feels crowded, don’t buy more shelves or put up a shed—get rid of some stuff instead. If your day is filled with too many activities that are frivolous or needlessly time consuming, replace them with things to do that give value to human life and are emotionally rewarding.

Clutter is hard to get rid of, because in an odd way we value it. A cluttered house can make you feel well off because you have a lot of stuff. A cluttered schedule can make you feel important because you have so much to do. But here’s the thing: Jesus loves you. The Son of God gave His life to adopt you as His own. You don’t need clutter to feel good about yourself; you already have value as a child of God. In fact, clutter is more than a nuisance—it’s a distraction that piles up into a wall that hides God from view. The things that you have are clutter if they require your attention more than God does. The items on your to do list are clutter if they don’t leave you time for worship and prayer.

For the sake of your spiritual health, reevaluate the clutter in your life. Nature abhors a vacuum, so when you start clearing away the clutter, be sure to replace it with things that matter to God.

Mercy

2011-09-09T18:16:00.002-05:00

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary:

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 9:12-21).

Everyone reading this has been hurt by someone. You might have been the victim of bullying at school. You might have been neglected by a parent or caretaker. You might have experienced betrayal at the hands of someone you trusted. You might have been abused by someone you loved. You might have been lied to. You might have been taken advantage of.

Such treatment leaves scars—scars on your soul. Maybe you find it hard to take others at their word. Maybe you carry bitterness inside of you like stomach acid that never goes away. Maybe you are timid and afraid of getting hurt again. Maybe you are cynical and expect the worst from everyone. Maybe your life has lost its color and warmth, and you live in a cold landscape of depressing grayness.

When someone hurts you, the last thing on your agenda is offering them forgiveness. How can you ever trust them again? How can you put away the resentment that still lingers? How can you wish them well, for heaven’s sake?!? Yet that is exactly what our Savior asks you to do.

Here is something that is important to remember: forgiving is not the same as condoning. The Apostle Paul says hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Our heavenly Father hates it when we sin; and while He sets His anger aside to show us mercy, that forgiveness in no way excuses our bad behavior. Forgiving someone is to let go of your anger, your resentment, your bitterness. These strong emotions are playthings in the devil’s hands. Whether you are boiling with rage or keeping it on a constant simmer, Satan can use your raw emotions for his own dark purposes. He can make you suspicious when you should be trusting. He can make you snap at others instead of being patient. He can trap you in thoughts of plotting revenge when your energy should be directed towards serving the LORD in gladness. Anger, resentment, bitterness—these are dangerous emotions that no one should carry around with them

Paul says, bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. To be persecuted is to be singled out for personal, repeated attack. People are persecuted for all sorts of reasons. A boy might wear glasses, be real smart, or have trouble with sports. A girl might be overweight or excessively skinny or covered in freckles. A man might be black or gay or mentally retarded. A woman might be saving her virginity for her wedding night. And every one of us can be a target for those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. The point is, we are targeted for who we are. The attacks are personal and repeated.

Why does God tell us to bless the people who treat us this way? For one thing, responding to hatred with more hatred won’t make things better in the long run. Hatred does not forge relationships. Hatred does not build mutual respect. Another reason to bless our enemies is that it actually to our benefit. If their behavior changes because the love of Christ has touched their heart, we have one less enemy and maybe even a new-found friend. And by asking God to bless our enemies, we focus our thoughts on love and kindness instead of lingering on the bitterness that can suck all joy from your days.

But the most important reason that we bless and do not curse is because that is what Christ Himself did on the cross. After being arrested on false charges, being brutally manhandled and made fun of, and finally having large nails pounded through His hands and feet, Jesus offered this prayer for His tormentors: Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34). Jesus offered that prayer for everyone who brought Him to that bloodstained cross—including you and me and the people who have wronged you terribly. All of us are sinners. All of us contributed to the pain and suffering that Jesus endured at Calvary. Yet Christ did not curse us; instead He blessed us with heavenly mercy.

Paul writes, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Can we live in peace with our enemies? Not always, but Paul says to make it our constant goal. We do have an obligation to point out sin when it rears its ugly head. God commands us to do this, because silence implies consent. Most people do not respond well to criticism, especially if they do not recognize Jesus’ authority over their lives. Urging a change of ways often provokes hostility instead of compliance to the will of God. Yet we speak out anyway, because sinners need to realize how dangerous it is to anger the Lord God Almighty.

Can we live at peace with our enemies? Sadly, there are times when drastic action is needed to protect the vulnerable. This is why we have people serving in the military and in law enforcement. Sometimes lethal force is the only protection we have against terrorists and criminals. But responding to violence with more violence just legitimizes and perpetuates it. Mohandas Ghandi showed the world that peaceful protest can shame the enemy into abandoning violence. When it comes to personal attacks against us, Jesus said if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:39). Our Lord demonstrated this when He was crucified; the prophet Isaiah writes (in chapter 53) He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

When you are hurt, it’s tempting to seek revenge. But looking for vengeance is fraught with problems. First off, can you be absolutely sure you’re going after the right person? How many innocent people have been falsely convicted for one reason or another? Even if you are sure who is responsible, what were their motive? Can you be sure it was malicious? Did they act out of panic, or because someone was pressuring them to do what they did? Is revenge the best response?

Another problem with vengeance is that it just perpetuates a cycle of violence. You hurt me or someone that I love, so I need to hurt you in return—back and forth it goes. We’ve seen it in Northern Ireland and among the street gangs of Los Angeles; the desire for vengeance made Germany rise from the ashes of World War One to fight again in World War Two.

Worst of all, the craving for revenge fills you with bitterness, not peace or love. So Paul says, do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. God doesn’t make mistakes. God’s heart never gets poisoned by dark emotions. So He takes sole responsibility for executing vengeance on sin. Retaliation is not up to us.

Forgiving our enemies, blessing them, letting go of our anger—it’s hard to do. So Paul urges us to never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. If you are a child of God through holy baptism, if you are a follower of His Son Jesus Christ thanks to the sacrifice of His body and blood, this should fill you with a passionate commitment to the Lord, an outlook on life that is front and center as you interact with others. Some Christians wear a cross as a piece of jewelry; others like the bracelet that asks, “what would Jesus do?” These serve as reminders that we don’t respond to others according to our hostile impulses or the expectations of the world; our behavior ought to be at a higher level. Sadly, we often fail to live up to this standard of conduct, especially when under personal attack. Praise the LORD that He shows mercy to all sinners, especially us!

It’s one thing to humble yourself before Christ and ask His forgiveness for breaking God’s law. It’s a bit tougher to humble yourself before a friend or loved one and ask their forgiveness when you’ve treated them badly. But it’s extremely difficult to go to an enemy that you’ve wronged and humbly ask their forgiveness. To admit your failure is to expose yourself as vulnerable. But what better way to illustrate what being a Christian is all about! And regardless of whether they forgive you or laugh at you, Jesus expects us to take ownership for our mistakes and express sorrow to those we’ve wronged—to God, to our loved ones, and to our enemies. Even if no one else forgives us, we know for certain that Christ forgives us.

If we expect God to forgive or sins, we have to share His gift generously. Jesus put it right into the Lord’s Prayer—forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. In Mark chapter eleven our Master says, when you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins. To hold a grudge is to oppose what Jesus died on the cross to achieve—forgiveness for sinners.

Rest assured, evil does not go unpunished. Jesus paid the penalty for all sin on the cross, an awful price of suffering that God alone could bear. But there are many that do not hold the benefit of Calvary in their hearts. Without faith in Christ as your Savior, vengeance is coming from the LORD, and it is terrible. Hell is dark, painful, lonely, and filled with endless regrets. As much as we might feel that someone deserves it, it is sobering to realize that we all deserve it. Jesus endured the cross because He loves us and wants to spare us from the punishment that we ought to receive. As His followers, concern for our fellow man calls out for the same loving kindness, a compassion that is willing to do the hard thing. Forgive. Bless. Tell about the Savior. This is how good overcomes evil.

Important or urgent?

2011-09-08T07:32:00.001-05:00

Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

“This will only take a minute.” How many times have you heard this assurance? How many times have you rolled your eyes, knowing that everything takes more time and effort than anticipated? You start making or fixing something, only to discover that you don’t have the right tools or all the materials needed. You plan a quick trip but are caught behind farm machinery or are surprised by construction. You arrive on time, but the doctor is running late or your date is still getting ready.

If you have a busy schedule, missing appointments and deadlines can ruin your whole day. Once lateness rears its ugly head, it knocks back everything on your agenda like a row of dominos. Your day can become a frantic dash to make up for lost time, and each new delay only makes the stress worse. And if scheduling nightmares rob you of proper sleep, you’ll start the next day already behind the eight ball.

There are two obvious fixes to this problem. First, always put wiggle room into your schedule. Assume that everything will take more time and effort than you think it will. Second, don’t fill your schedule with so many things to do. Of course, these tips are easier said than done. Much of your schedule is dictated by other people—bosses, children, repairmen and receptionists. So you have to look very carefully at those places in your day where the agenda is under your control.

You need to separate the urgent from the important. Urgent things can seem important because the clock is ticking. But important things are not determined solely by deadlines. Important things have long-lasting consequences. Important things require careful thought and focused attention. Important things cannot be rushed.

Important things need your attention much more than things which are merely urgent. Ask yourself: is a sales presentation more important than your daughter’s recital? Is your time better spent working out at the gym to tone your muscles, or by reading the Bible to nourish your soul? This is why you need God’s help; without His guidance, we rarely use the little time we have to make sure that the important things get done.

The danger of anger

2011-09-05T22:59:00.003-05:00

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Colossians 3:13).

People can be so aggravating. Some years ago, I paid a lot of money for professional service. I had to wait more than half an hour for my appointment to begin, I had to wait several months for the service to be rendered, and when the work was finally completed I found that a serious mistake had been made. When I called about the problem, I was assured that things would be taken care of immediately. Still, I was angry—I couldn't resist making a snippy remark to show my displeasure. In response, the person I was talking to ended the call without offering an apology or wishing me a nice day before hanging up.

I’m sure that you’ve been frustrated by poor service at one time or another; maybe you displayed your anger like I did. Did you feel guilty afterwards? I did. My behavior did not make me feel better, and while it may have fixed the problem, it ruined another person’s day as well.

Anger is a dangerous tool to use. Sometimes it takes strong emotion to make another person take you seriously—but using anger can backfire too. Yell at the wrong person, and instead of backing down he might seek revenge instead. Treat your spouse with enough hostility and you’ll find yourself in divorce court.

Anger is the kind of negative emotion that begs to be shared. And it can spread like ripples on a pond—the person you get mad at takes out their frustration on somebody else, and pretty soon your impulsive words darken the day for a whole bunch of people, most of whom you don’t even know.

The Bible says, bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. I know that over the years I’ve made lots of people angry with my failures and my mistakes. I’m no better than anyone else; I have no right to use anger to force change unless all other options have been exhausted. That is how God deals with us—He only shows His anger when nothing else works to get our attention. The LORD prefers to deal with us in love; that should be our preference as well.

Humility

2011-09-03T08:18:00.002-05:00

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Pride goeth before a fall—how many times have you heard those words? Yet many people in the Bible have fallen prey to this temptation.

One example is Samson. God gifted him with tremendous strength, on the condition that he keep the vow of the Nazirite—he was never permitted to cut his hair or drink anything alcoholic. Samson was undefeatable—on one occasion he slew a thousand enemies of God’s people single-handedly, using the jawbone of a donkey as his only weapon, while another time he killed a lion with his bare hands. But Samson was full of pride in his abilities, and that pride made him careless. The Philistines were enemies of God’s people, yet he always had a soft spot for Philistine women. One such person was Delilah, a loyal Philistine who only wanted to seduce Samson in order to arrange his capture. Samson toyed with her, telling her various ways in which he could be subdued—all of which Delilah passed on to her superiors. But each story was a lie, and Samson easily escaped the traps set for him. Finally, secure in his pride, he told Delilah the truth about his vow to God—and as he slept, Delilah cut his hair, breaking the vow. This time Samson was captured, and to keep him subdued, the Philistines destroyed his eyes and put him to work as a slave. Samson’s pride resulted in capture, slavery, humiliation, and blindness.

Our world needs more humility and less pride. Politicians constantly boast of their accomplishments, hoping to impress us enough to re-elect them. Wealthy people flaunt their money by driving expensive cars and wearing designer fashions. Celebrities weigh in on matters of politics and public decency as if their opinion is superior to everyone else’s. But pride is also a problem closer to home. School pride can lead to fights on game night. Couples divorce because neither person will admit to being wrong and ask to be forgiven. People are so confident in their abilities that they don’t make back-up plans in case something goes wrong. Many enjoy gossip; they are quick to assume the worst about others.

Where is the humility? How many people stop a fight by admitting that they don’t know the best way to proceed? How many people willingly submit to those who are older, or who hold positions of authority? How many people go to the Lord in prayer each day, head hanging in shame and saying "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!"

God is perfect—perfect in wisdom, perfect in love, perfect in justice. He is the perfect Lawgiver and the perfect Judge; no one can hide the truth from Him or outmaneuver Him with a clever argument. Human laws are at their best when they are based on God’s perfect commandments.

We can be grateful that God is perfect in wisdom, love, and judgment; only these three things together could save us from ending up in hell. God’s perfect justice demands that sin be punished; hell is every human’s rightful sentence for being a sinner. But God’s perfect love desired a different verdict; our Lord did not want us suffering forever. The impasse was solved by God’s perfect wisdom; by sending His Son to die in our place, justice was served and we were spared. Only in God’s heavenly courtroom could such a verdict ever be rendered.

We would like to be lawgiver and judge; we would like to make the rules and ensure that they are followed. But sin distorts how we see things; it impairs our thinking and taints our decisions. Every parent fails as a disciplinarian, resulting in children who cry, “that’s not fair!” Every court hands down some verdicts that punish the innocent or let the guilty go free. Humans are fallible; because of sin, our judgment is faulty.

God wants us to recognize our limitations and live accordingly. We are all sinners; none of us can claim moral superiority over anyone else. Everyone has sinned, Paul says; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. When you admit this to yourself, it changes the way you deal with other people. Knowing that your reasoning is often flawed, you don’t try to push your opinions as if you are right and everyone else is wrong. The only thing you can offer of unquestionable value is the truth given in God’s Word—but even then you offer it in meekness, knowing that your understanding of God’s Word is not perfect.

Pride results in foolish decisions. The prideful woman is so sure that she has all the answers that she ignores good advice from others. The prideful man is so sure of his ability to achieve success despite the odds that he doesn’t take time to think things through before plunging ahead. Such behavior often results in tragic consequences; Solomon noted this when he wrote, Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

When you own up to your shortcomings as a sinner, you realize that you are in constant need of Jesus’ help. Prayer becomes part of your daily routine, as you ask for help with making decisions both large and small. You also want the support of other Christians; you prefer to work in a group because it is easy for sin to mislead you when going it alone. You don’t insist on getting your own way, and you don’t try to hog the spotlight—you are happy to give credit where credit is due, because in the end it is God who gives success.

Jesus gives an example of both pride and humility in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. In His story, Jesus speaks of two men who come to the Temple for prayer. The Pharisee is a man who has made a career out of being a man of God, someone whose life can be a shining example to others. He steps forward and prays about himself—how good he is and how carefully he obeys God’s laws. But the tax collector stays in the shadows, ashamed to even be in God’s house. His job is that of a traitor, collecting Jewish money on behalf of the Roman occupying forces. He hangs his head in shame and cries out, God, have mercy on me, a sinner (Luke 18:13). Jesus notes that the man who recognized his failings and sought God’s mercy was the one who went home right with God.

The Bible shows us many people who were humble. One example is that of the Roman centurion. A centurion is a military officer who is in charge of 100 men. This particular man and his unit were stationed in the northern town of Capernaum to help maintain order as part of Rome’s occupation forces. Many of the army’s officers were arrogant men who had no respect for the locals, but this centurion was different. He loved the Jews and their country—loved them so much that he provided the town with a house of worship.

The centurion had a servant whom he valued greatly. But the servant became ill—lost all control of his body and hovered on the brink of death. The centurion had heard about Jesus’ power to cure the sick and heal the crippled. But he also knew the religious customs of the land; if a Jew entered the house of a Gentile (non-Jew), he was considered defiled and could not worship in the Temple until going through a rite of purification. So the centurion sent a servant to Jesus with a request for healing from a distance; he said Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed (Matthew 8:8). Jesus praised the man’s faith and healed his servant, even though they never met face to face.

How is the centurion an example of humility? First of all, he respected other people, even if he did not share their beliefs. Second, he realized that he was nothing special, that Jesus owed him no favors. The centurion knew that Jesus was a great man, and he was unworthy of the Great Teacher’s attention. The centurion made no demands; he offered his request in meekness.

We live in a dark and evil world. Jesus came among us to drive back the darkness with the light of His love. We help drive back the darkness of evil when we deal with others in humility.

Love and forgiveness

2011-09-01T07:58:00.001-05:00

I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12).

As important as forgiveness is, many are reluctant to accept it. Forgiveness is a gift, an act of grace. Forgiveness is neither earned nor deserved. This bothers many people. For some it is about wounded pride, because they don’t like the idea of being treated as a charity case. For others it is about shame—they don’t want to be forgiven until they’ve earned it somehow. Such people don’t understand the beauty of forgiveness or appreciate its value.

Forgiveness is an investment in the future. It draws people together in gratitude, making relationships deeper and stronger. Forgiveness is an act of trust. It presses the reset button on relationships, erasing the pile of guilt and resentment that put up barriers between us.

“To err is human, to forgive divine.” These words are not found in the Bible, but they are nevertheless true. How often have you struggled with forgiving and forgetting? Forgiveness is hard; forgetting is virtually impossible, it seems. We are the sum of our memories; our souls are crisscrossed with emotional scars that have never healed properly. Those old wounds make us slow to trust. And how can you say that you’ve forgiven someone if you don’t trust them any more? Forgiveness is supposed to restore broken relationships—but without trust, the relationship stays damaged.

“To err is human, to forgive divine.” Only God is capable of truly forgiving and forgetting. He says, I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. We need Christ. We need the Son of God to show us His undeserved mercy, so we can be pardoned for our sins and find peace in heaven when we die. We also need Jesus to help us to forgive as He has forgiven us. Forgiveness does not come naturally to sinful hearts and darkened minds; we need God’s help to set aside the hurts of the past for the sake of love now and in the days to come.

Forgiveness is the ultimate expression of long-lasting love. Forgiveness is anathema to our selfish tendencies. It is only through the power of Christ that we can experience the wonderful miracle of forgiveness, which binds us together in God’s eternal love.

The importance of forgiveness

2011-08-30T07:59:00.002-05:00

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone." (Genesis 2:18)

Forgiveness is essential for every relationship that you have. Without forgiveness, relationships seize up and stall. Without forgiveness, love gets buried under guilt and resentment. Without forgiveness, you live life alone.

Forgiveness is a lubricant. Think of your family in terms of an engine. Each family member is a piston, working side by side to propel the family forward. But as we work side by side, there is friction. Lubrication is needed—without oil, the engine block will overheat. If the problem of friction is ignored, the motor will eventually seize up and become ruined.

Forgiveness is the lubrication that keeps relationships from overheating. Forgiveness enables us to put up with being rubbed the wrong way and avoid a relationship-ending meltdown. Forgiveness allows ill-considered words to slip away without causing lasting injury; forgiveness helps everyone to keep their cool in times of stress.

Forgiveness is also a bonding agent. Forgiveness pulls people closer together. Back when our cat was still a kitten, she was sitting on me while I was watching television. She reached up to tag at my glasses. I firmly told her no, swatted her, and dumped her on the floor. Immediately, she jumped back up into my lap and looked at me with big eyes that seemed to say, “I’m sorry.” If she had run off and hid, I probably would have stayed angry for awhile; if she had gone and attacked a piece of furniture in anger, another swat would have been the result. But because she came right back for love and acceptance, my anger instantly evaporated.

Forgiveness is the bonding agent that keeps people in relationships. Forgiveness teaches us how to trust when all our selfish instincts say otherwise. Forgiveness brings us closer together because it requires talking heart to heart, when we would rather stick to superficial topics for conversation.

Without forgiveness, ongoing relationships are impossible—with God or with each other. To be alone in life is awful; to be alone forever after you die is unimaginably frightening. Praise God that Jesus has made such isolation avoidable through His wonderful gift of forgiveness.

Kindness

2011-08-26T22:28:00.002-05:00

Be kind to everyone (2 Timothy 2:24).

Absalom had it all. He was the most handsome man in the country. His father was a respected warrior and king. Being a prince of the royal family, Absalom had considerable money and influence. But it wasn’t enough. Absalom was jealous of his father King David; he wanted the throne of Israel for himself.

Absalom gathered 50 men to be his personal retinue. Every day, he would greet people coming to the palace and tell them that the king was too busy to see them, a sad state of affairs that would change if Absalom became the king. With lies and flattery, Absalom drew many Israelites to his side, enough so that he was able to stage a coup and take the throne for himself. King David had to flee for his life, and Absalom showed his hatred for his father by sleeping with David’s mistresses in a tent set up on the palace roof for all to see. Civil war followed, resulting in 20,000 casualties. Absalom’s life was ended when one of David’s men caught him momentarily unprotected and stabbed him repeatedly. Absalom’s jealousy resulted in governmental corruption, multiple rapes, thousands of deaths, and his own murder as he sought to escape the battlefield.

Our world needs more kindness and less envy. Children and teens bug their parents for designer clothes so they can be like the fashionable kids. Given a choice, most would rather be part of a clique than be looking in from the outside. In many neighborhoods, homeowners try to outdo each other, whether it be the beauty of their landscaping or the magnificence of their Christmas decorations. Upper management encourages employees to compete against each other for promotions and financial incentives. In professional team sports, everyone is a member of the squad, but some get more play time than others and star players make a much bigger salary. TV actors often threaten to quit if they don’t get the same billing or salary as a costar.

Where is the kindness? How many people take time to visit those confined to nursing homes or incarcerated in prison? How many people volunteer for charity work? How many people, when they see someone looking sad or lonely, will approach that stranger and strike up a conversation? How many people are willing to risk getting involved in another person’s life?

Our God is powerful and wise. He is holy and magnificent. But God’s most wonderful quality is His kindness. God is the king of the universe, yet He still reaches out to us, to miserable sinners who aren’t deserving of His notice. Heaven is the most wonderful place of all, yet the Son of God chose to leave it behind so He could be born in a shed used to feed and water animals. Holy angels eagerly waited to do His will, but Jesus surrounded Himself with sinful men and women who frequently had no idea what He was trying to teach them. Christ came to be our Savior, the most thankless job anyone has ever undertaken; He suffered and died for every sinner, yet most of humanity couldn’t care less about the awful sacrifice He made for them. Being a sinner is awful; sin makes our lives miserable with angry words, broken promises, unexpected disasters, and encroaching death. Because God curses sin, we live every day fearing His anger instead of rejoicing in His love. But Christ bore God’s curse for the sins we have committed. He could have stayed comfortably in heaven, but instead He showed us kindness by joining us in our pain so that He could repair the damage caused by sin.

That is what kindness is all about—a willingness to join others in their times of pain in order to help them deal with the hurt and get through it. Kindness is not afraid of discomfort or getting dirty; kindness wants to help other people, no matter what the cost. A kind man stops to help a stranded motorist, even if it is risky to approach a stranger. A kind woman is willing to visit a friend in the hospital, even if she is deathly afraid of germs. A kind person is willing to talk about anything, even uncomfortable topics like death, if it will help ease the mind of a troubled friend.

A kind person is not jealous of others. Jealousy keeps people at arm’s length from each other, because they are resentful of the good things in other people’s lives. Jealousy gets a thrill from seeing another person go through hard times and holds you back from offering to help. Jealousy is the opposite of kindness.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus illustrates what it means to be kind. In His story, criminals assaulted a Jewish traveler, robbed him, and left him half-dead along the side of the road. Two churchmen walked by, one after the other, but neither of them could be bothered to get involved. It was a Samaritan, a man whose people disliked Jews for many reasons, who stopped and got his hands dirty by treating the injured man. The Samaritan inconvenienced himself further by taking the time to move the victim to an inn and spending money for a room while the man recovered. Through this parable, Jesus illustrates what it means to be kind.

Jesus wants us to be kind. He wants us to love other people so much that we are willing to get involved in their lives instead of keeping a safe distance. When you are kind, you are generous with your time, always willing to offer a helping hand or a sympathetic ear. You offer friendship to all sorts of people, without regard to the color of their skin or the amount of money in their billfolds. After all, Christ died for everyone; Paul says God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11). Being kind means that you are willing to give others the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming the worst about them. When kindness fills your heart, you are willing to suffer hurt and inconvenience—if that is what it takes to bring comfort to others. That’s what Jesus did on the cross for us; to be kind is to be like Christ.

Ruth shows us what kindness looks like. Ruth was a native of Moab, a country that had strained relations with Israel. But Ruth got to know a family of Israelites personally when famine drove them out of their country into hers. Elimelech brought with him his wife Naomi and their two grown sons. Ruth was quite taken with one of the young men, and soon they were married. The other son found a wife among the Moabites as well.

However, tragedy struck the family over the next ten years; first Elimelech died, then both of his sons. Ruth, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law all ended up being widows without children. Then Naomi got word that the famine back home had ended. Since most of her friends and relatives were back in Israel, she made plans to go home. But when she announced her intentions, Ruth made a startling decision—she wanted to stay with her mother-in-law even if it meant going to live in a foreign country. She said, Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried (Ruth 1:16-17). Ruth’s devotion overcame Naomi’s objections, and the two went to live together in Bethlehem. Ruth went to work in the fields to support the two of them, and eventually got remarried. One of Ruth’s descendants would be Jesus.

Why is Ruth an example of kindness? Because she was willing to get involved in another person’s life, even when it meant hardship for her. Ruth could have returned home to live with her own mother; but she could not bear to abandon Naomi, a childless widow with no close family to help her. So Ruth went to a distant land where she didn’t know anybody, out of loving concern for her mother-in-law. And Ruth was not afraid to get her hands dirty on Naomi’s behalf; she worked in the fields as a common laborer to support them both.

We live in a dark and evil world. Jesus came among us to drive back the darkness with the light of His love. We help drive back the darkness of evil when we dare to show kindness to others.

The true meaning of forgiveness

2011-08-24T23:06:00.001-05:00

Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Colossians 3:13).

Offering forgiveness is hard for us. When we are hurt or disappointed, we want to be repaid for the grief and inconvenience that we’ve suffered. It only seems right. But the Bible says, forgive as the Lord forgave you. Through Christ, all our sins are taken away freely and completely. To forgive as the Lord forgives requires that we let others off the hook with no compensation requested or paid.

This is why forgiveness is so very difficult. To our way of thinking, to forgive is to give up your rights. To forgive seems irresponsible—if there is no penalty to be paid, what’s to keep that person from hurting you again? To forgive might make you feel like a doormat, a perpetual victim who won’t stand up for himself.

We don’t understand the value of forgiveness because we are flawed not just in our relationships but also in our thinking. It takes strength to put aside our thirst for vengeance and offer mercy instead. It takes a loving heart to work through angry feelings and reach out to embrace those who have hurt you. It takes wisdom to understand that no one is faultless and entitled to claim the moral high ground in a dispute.

But forgiveness is not the same as leniency. Far too often we say things like “that’s all right” instead of “I forgive you.” The difference between these statements is huge. Saying “that’s all right” gives the impression that nothing all that bad was done. Saying “that’s all right” is telling a lie to salvage your pride, because you don’t want to admit how badly you were hurt. But when you say “I forgive you”, you are holding the other person accountable for her behavior. When you say “I forgive you”, you are admitting that you were hurt, but you are willing to give up all claims for restitution.

This is the way that our Lord forgives us. Jesus does not excuse our sin; He doesn’t trivialize it or let us duck responsibility for it. Jesus also knows there is no way we can possibly make up for all the bad things that we have done. Because He loves us, the Lord of Life suffered death on the cross on our behalf, and He did so without any expectation of being repaid for what it cost Him. Jesus demonstrates what forgiveness is really all about—forgiveness is the ultimate expression of love.

Debt canceled!

2011-08-23T07:50:00.002-05:00

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24).

To understand Christ is to understand forgiveness. Jesus came into our world to do many things—teach us about God, show us how to love, and defeat Satan on our behalf. But His primary goal was forgiveness—The Son of God suffered and died so that we could receive the wonderful blessing of gracious mercy.

Forgiveness is best understood in economic terms. When forgiveness happens, debt is canceled. Repayment is waived; the penalty for default is rendered null and void. Forgiveness goes against our sense of fairness. We are raised to believe that debts should be paid in full. It seems irresponsible to let a debtor off the hook.

Each of us instinctively looks out for number one. When someone hurts you, you want to receive compensation. Our judicial system is built on the principle that the injured party should get restitution for being victimized. If your spouse cheats on you, you deserve a divorce settlement. If someone commits murder, the victim’s family deserves the satisfaction of seeing the killer pay with his life.

The idea of getting compensation for wrongs committed is part and parcel of our relationships with each other. If a friend betrays your trust, you expect her to work hard at getting back into your good graces. If your boyfriend acts like a jerk, you expect him to make it up to you with an expensive or thoughtful gift. And the worse that you’ve been hurt, the greater the compensation you feel entitled to receive.

How wonderful for us that Jesus doesn’t behave this way. All of us have insulted Him with our lack of proper respect, our disregard of His teachings, our flouting of His laws, and our stinginess with giving time for worship, prayer and Bible study. We deserve God’s angry punishment, not His forgiving love. Thankfully, the Son of God chose to cancel our debt; He did this by paying the price for our sins Himself as He suffered on the cross. Jesus demands nothing in return for His mercy, and this goes against everything we were raised to believe. No wonder that so many have a hard time understanding our Lord the Savior!

The Old and New Covenants

2011-08-20T07:44:00.002-05:00

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 18:18-24).

As you know, the Bible is divided into two books. The Old Testament tells us about how God created us, how our race turned its back on Him, and the covenant God established at Mount Sinai by which our sins can be forgiven. The New Testament tells us about God’s Son Jesus and the new covenant that He established on the cross, a covenant that supersedes the one given previously to the ancient Israelites.

A covenant is like a treaty—it establishes terms of peace between warring parties. Violating the terms of peace will cause hostilities to resume. When we were born, we entered life as enemies of God. We cannot see Him, we don’t want to spend time listening to Him, we hate living by His rules. We are sinners from birth, enemies of God because of what we think, what we say, and what we do.

God is almighty; no one can stand against Him. If we insist on opposing Him, all we have to look forward to is hell, a concentration camp much worse than Auschwitz or Abu Ghraib. Thankfully, God is merciful; He offers us terms of peace. The terms of peace are a covenant—if we submit to God and trust in His care, He will forgive our rebellion and care for us as His own dear children. But if we break the terms of the covenant, we go back to a state of war. If we reject God’s laws and refuse to ask Him for mercy, hell is all that we have to look forward to when death finally claims us.

In the Old Testament, the covenant of God was established at Mount Sinai. This was a mountain that you could touch—if you were willing to risk God’s anger. Sinai is where God brushed earth with His power and glory; because of this, the entire mountain was declared holy and anyone who touched it, even an animal, was to be immediately put to death. God appeared to Moses and the leaders of Israel on that mountain; His awesome glory was obscured by clouds so that sinful human beings might survive the encounter. His mighty voice sounded like thunder; the people were so terrified when they heard it that they asked Moses to listen to God as their representative.

During this time at Sinai, God laid out the terms of a covenant, a treaty of peace between heaven and earth. The terms of the treaty demanded many things from the people. Their first obligation was to show God proper respect. They had to worship Him alone; praying to anyone or anything else was strictly forbidden. They had to take time away from work each week so that they could focus on their relationship with Him. They were to speak His name respectfully, never casually. And anyone who became a part of their families had to live under the terms of God’s covenant as well.

The second obligation of the covenant required obedience. God had Moses write down all sorts of rules—rules for marriage, rules for raising children, rules for conducting business, rules for settling disputes between neighbors, even rules for diet and hygiene. Those who wanted the benefits of peace with God were obligated to obey these rules at all times and make sure that everyone they lived and worked with did the same.

The third obligation demanded personal responsibility from the people for their misdeeds. No one is capable of perfect behavior; God knew that and made allowances for it. So He put into place a system by which sins could be forgiven, a system that communicated how serious the problem of sin really is. Instead of demanding the sinner’s death, God allowed those who were sorry to offer the life of an animal in their place. But sinners may not approach the holy God; so the Lord appointed priests to serve as go-betweens. It was the priests who shed the blood of these sacrificial animals, showing that God’s anger at sin had been successfully diverted away from the sinner. If God’s people took responsibility for their mistakes and brought the appropriate sacrifices, God would forgive them.

The fourth obligation of the covenant was to firmly trust in God. The Israelites were forbidden from making treaties with other nations; such agreements were evidence that the children of God no longer trusted their heavenly Father to protect them. They were also warned against trying to see the future by consulting mediums, psychics, or astrologers; if the people trusted God as they should, they would have no worries about what tomorrow might bring.

The obligations of God’s covenant fill half of Exodus, all of Leviticus, half of Numbers and most of Deuteronomy. But in return, God promised His people some very impressive things. First, if the Israelites trusted in His care, God promised to protect them. He would give them military victories against impossible odds. He would provide them with land to work, herds to raise, and homes to live in. He would ensure that they had enough to eat, regardless of climate or weather. With God in charge, their future could be bright indeed.

Second, if the people repented of their wrongdoings and brought sacrifices to the priests, God promised to forgive their sins. And this was not the kind of limited mercy that human beings offer each other; God would not remember how they had failed and treat them coldly from that day forward, nor would He trade forgiveness for some kind of favor. No, when God forgave it was total and complete; He promised to remember their sins no more. With God in charge, the Israelites could be freed from the weight of accumulated guilt.

Third, if the people obeyed God’s laws, He promised to bless them. Their businesses would prosper. There would be peace in their land. Citizens of other nations would regard them with envy and respect. With God in charge, daily life could be enjoyable and fulfilling.

Fourth, if the people gave God the respect He deserved and honored Him as more important than anything else in their lives, God promised to make them His children forever. This meant that when they died, they would be welcomed into God’s heavenly palace. This meant that death would not separate loved ones forever, that a reunion was waiting to happen just the other side of the grave. This meant that suffering and old age were only temporary problems which could be endured because paradise waits for those who belong to the Lord.

These were the terms of the Sinai covenant. God ratified this treaty with blood; He had Moses sacrifice animals, sprinkle some of the blood on an altar and sprinkle the rest of the blood on the people. God and His children were thus united in a pact of blood, the kind of pact that takes place whenever kids cut their fingers and press them together, mixing their blood as a promise of eternal friendship.

Those days at Sinai, waiting as God ratified His covenant, were long and frightening. But God deliberately made it that way—He wanted to communicate how seriously the people should take this treaty, and be terrified of walking away from God’s terms of peace. But even though God made His expectations crystal clear, even though He was incredibly generous in what He offered, and even though He put the fear of God into the people with a demonstration of His might, the covenant was not nearly as successful as it should have been. Book after book of the Old Testament show us how casually people treated God’s covenant—bending some rules, breaking others, rewriting still more, and in many cases ignoring the terms of peace altogether.

A new covenant was needed. The blood of animals could not do the job demanded by the old covenant; such blood had no power when people turned away from God. A better blood was needed, a blood that would be powerful and effective whether people believed in God or not. That kind of blood would accomplish something incredible; that kind of blood would be a guarantee of God’s love and mercy regardless of how people felt about it. Such blood would have to be very special—it would have to be divine.

Of course, God does not have blood—He is spiritual, not physical. So God sent His Son to be born of a woman, Son of God and Son of Man united in one. His arteries pulsed with blood that was human in every respect; lose enough of it and He would die. But that blood had value that no earthly blood has ever held before or since. The blood of Jesus was and is the blood of God, unmatched in worth, unlimited in what it can accomplish. Jesus was born on earth so that He could die bleeding on the cross, sacrificing His blood in place of ours, diverting God’s anger at our sins to the dying Son of God. Jesus’ blood is the final sacrifice for all human sin, accomplishing salvation in one fell swoop for all people, whether they believe it or not.

In Christ we have been united with God by a pact of blood. Jesus is our high priest, the cross was His altar, and His life the sacrifice. On the cross, Jesus’ blood reconnected sinful mankind with holy God. This is why He offers us His blood in the wine of Holy Communion; through it, He sprinkles us with the blood that ratified the new covenant between God and us.

The terms of this new covenant are somewhat different than the terms of the old. God still wants us to respect Him, obey Him, seek mercy from Him and trust Him, but these are no longer conditions for winning His favor. Under the new covenant, there is only one requirement we are obliged to keep—we must trust in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior. That’s it. That’s the full extent of what we must do to be saved. Jesus said it clearly in John chapter six: The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent. Do this, and you will receive all the benefits of God’s wonderful love.

God’s new terms of peace are the result of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. His blood is God’s blood; it has the value and the power to ratify God’s new covenant forever, regardless of whether we believe in it or not. The offer of God’s mercy and acceptance is based solely on Christ, meaning that it is valid for all people at all times, because Christ died for all and rose to live forever.

The book of Hebrews says that this new covenant is a better one than what was given at Sinai amid thunder and lightning. This new covenant is based less on fear and more on love. It only requires trust in God’s promises. It invites obedience instead of demanding it. It is not sealed with earthly blood like that soaking the ground after Abel was murdered; that kind of blood speaks of sins committed. No, God’s treaty of peace is ratified with the blood of God’s Son; His blood speaks of sins mercifully forgiven. In every way imaginable, the covenant of the New Testament is superior to the covenant of the Old.

Faith is a lifestyle

2011-08-18T07:27:00.001-05:00

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind (Luke 10:27).

We try to compartmentalize our lives. What happens at work stays at work. What happens at home stays in the home. We don’t want to take the stress of a tough day home to our families. We know that the boss doesn’t want domestic problems interfering with our job performance. So we try to leave separate lives—one at the office, and another at home.

But it doesn’t end there. Guys set up ‘man caves’ in the basement or garage, a space reserved for leisure time with their buddies. Kids can act one way at school, another way when at home, and be completely different when running with a street gang. Executives go on business trips operating under the motto ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.’

Sadly, we also tend to compartmentalize our faith. Religion becomes something that you do in church—and that’s where it stays. Prayer, reading the Bible, thinking about what’s right and wrong in the eyes of God—these things are for Sunday morning. Rarely do they come up during the week—or even on Sunday afternoon.

Do children stop loving their parents when they go to school? Are you allowed to break the law after the sun goes down? Does a healthy diet do any good if you only follow it one day a week? Of course not! Relationships are 24/7. The law is always in effect. Medical treatment does little good if it’s only taken sporadically.

So it is with your faith life. You cannot compartmentalize the King of all creation! You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. There is no time or place where He turns a blind eye to rudeness, fighting, theft or falsehood. Every moment of every day, you are in need of His strength, His wisdom, His love and forgiveness.

Faith is not a part of your life—faith is a lifestyle that shapes everything about you. Your faith in Jesus affects how you think about yourself, how you treat others, and the decisions that you make. Faith should express itself in every aspect of your day; if it doesn’t, Jesus is ready to forgive you and increase the faith that makes you God’s child.

Characteristics of faith

2011-08-16T07:55:00.002-05:00

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

Faith is a yes or no proposition, yet faith can grow or shrink over time.

Either you have faith or you don’t. That seems pretty clear. Life has many absolutes. Either you’re alive or you’re dead. Either you’re pregnant or you’re not. Electrical current is either on or off. There are courses of study that are graded as pass or fail.

Either you believe in Christ as your Savior or you don’t. There’s no middle ground. Jesus said, 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…Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3:16, 18).

Faith in Christ is all-important. If you reject Him, you reject the forgiveness that He died on the cross to win for you. If you reject Him, you reject access to heaven because Jesus says I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Without faith in Jesus, life is pointless and death is the ultimate tragedy. With faith in Christ, life has meaning—you know that you have value as a child of God, and you have purpose in sharing His love with others. With faith in Christ, death is still a sad time of parting, but the grief of separation is eased by the hope of a future reunion in God’s eternal kingdom.

This faith should not be taken for granted. Faith can fluctuate over the passage of years. The Spirit of God plants faith in our hearts like a seed. That seed will grow if properly tended, or wither and die if left neglected. Faith grows in response to the word of God; faith is nourished by participating in worship and Bible study. Faith starves when church life is ignored and the Bible remains closed on a shelf; starve it enough and faith will eventually fall over dead. But even those with strong faith experience times of doubt and uncertainty; this is why we need the Holy Spirit’s strengthening presence in our hearts. The Spirit is our gardener from above, who is committed to keeping our faith strong and healthy. He planted it, and He wants to see it bear fruit in God’s eternal garden.

Baal worship today?

2011-08-13T09:05:00.002-05:00

"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD. "I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, `I had a dream! I had a dream!' How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD. "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:23-29)

A whole generation of Israelites grew up in the desert. They lived in tents and Moses was their leader. Their diet was sweet bread in the morning and desert quail in the evening. They wore the same clothes every day. They worshipped at the Tent of Meeting, where priests told them that their sins were forgiven. They followed a pillar of smoke by which God led them through the wilderness.

Then they arrived in Canaan, fields and mountains which are known today as Israel. Canaan was filled with farmers and ranchers; it also had many cities and towns. The people of this land had different beliefs than the Israelites—instead of one God, they worshipped a group of gods. Their favorites were Baal and Astoreth. Baal was the Thunderer, the god of rain; his wife Astoreth was the goddess of fertility. Baal was the peoples’ champion, fighting against the god of death. He did this by sending rain to end the dry season; Canaanites believed that Baal made the harvest possible. Astoreth was his helper; she was responsible for calving season and for blessing families with children.

The Canaanites were devoted to their religion; shrines dotted the countryside. On the top of many hills you could find an altar to Baal and an Asherah pole dedicated to his wife. These were places of prayer and worship. But the temples found in the cities offered a service the country shrines did not—they had temple prostitutes who served on staff. You see, the Canaanites felt that the best way to honor the gods of fertility was to offer them the gift of sex. And there was one other way that the people honored Baal and his wife; they practiced human sacrifice. To show their gratitude for being blessed with offspring, the people would return some of their children to the gods by burning them alive.

God hated these worship practices. The people of Baal took sex out of the marriage bed and offered it to prostitutes. They took the lives of children that God had given them and ended those lives prematurely. Their religion was based on a lie—that there are many gods and many ways to please them. And so God ordered the Israelites to be ruthless in exterminating worship of Baal and Astoreth—they were to destroy the altars, cut down the Asherah poles, and put to death those who practiced this vile religion.

But the Israelites were ambivalent about God’s stern command. Some Canaanites were rich; others had beautiful daughters and handsome sons. And so accommodations were made, intermarriages took place, business partnerships were created, and in time the worshippers of God started offering their prayers to Baal. This struggle for the hearts of God’s people went on for hundreds of years.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God speaks of the danger posed by Baal worship: my people forget my name. It all comes down to a hard but important truth spoken by Jesus: No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24). It is impossible to love both Baal and God. Nor is God willing to share our hearts with another; through Isaiah God says, I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols (Isaiah 42:8). In the Ten Commandments, God lays it on the line: You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:4-6). To people who want to have it both ways, Jesus says this: He who is not with me is against me (Matthew 12:30).

You might be thinking, “Okay, so Baal worship was bad—but what does that have to do with me? No one has worshipped Baal for thousands of years.” This is true—Baal worship is dead. But it has been replaced by other false religions that are just as dangerous, ways of thinking that can make you forget the name of the Lord your God. Let’s consider just a few.

The biggest false religions in the world today are Hinduism and Islam. Hinduism is a religion that sees gods everywhere. It claims that the religions of the world are just different expressions of the same eternal truth; as a result, Hindus believe there are many ways to heaven. Islam is just the opposite—Islam believes that there is only one God, and that no one has understood Him better than the prophet Mohammed—not even Jesus, who was a wise man but not the Son of God.

Echoes of Baal worship can be heard in Hinduism—the notion that there are many gods and many ways to please them. This dangerous teaching is opposed by Jesus who said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). We feel the influence of Hinduism all around us—the notion that there is no such thing as absolute truth, that what is true for you might not necessarily be true for me. As a result of such thinking, many people treat religion like a buffet line, picking and choosing what they want to believe from many different faiths, coming away with nothing but a mixed-up mess on their plates.

Echoes of Baal worship are also heard in the teachings of Islam. Allah welcomes the sacrifice of lives in his service; dying while killing unbelievers guarantees a place in paradise. Islam is so committed to the truth that there is only one God that it is unwilling to accept Jesus as God’s Son; yet this rejection is damning because Scripture says, 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…Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3:16, 18). God offers heaven as a gift freely given to all who trust in His Son; it is not a place that must be earned by rigid adherence to rules of conduct. And while God hates sin, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Islam ignores God’s offer of mercy through His Son, and actively persecutes those who would share the Good News.

But spiritual thoughts typical of Baal worship are found in more places than just organized religion. False religious teaching is offered by psychics and by the science textbooks found in our classrooms. Psychics claim to be able to see the future through casting horoscopes or speaking with the dead; science claims to know how the universe came to be by making educated guesses about the past.

Baal worship involved doing things to influence future events—please the gods, and they will reward your devotion with children and a good harvest. Psychics offer a look into the future so that you can maximize the good and hopefully avoid the bad. But God forbids such behavior—He says, Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). The reason God forbids trying to get a peek into the future is because it shows that we do not trust Him to take care of us. Jesus said, don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need (Luke 12:29-31). And yet in spite of these words, countless newspapers and magazines tempt their readers to check a daily horoscope instead of asking God to guide them through the coming day.

Even though prayer is banned from school, religion is still taught in the classroom—it is taught whenever the topic of evolution comes up. Make no mistake—evolution is taken on faith alone, with no way to prove that it is true. That makes it religion, not science. And it is dangerous because it offers a false god in place of the true God. Evolution is the belief in the laws of nature as the creator of all that is. Like Baalism, evolution suggests that a different god is in control of the universe. But Paul writes in Romans chapter three, Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Evolution suggests that there is no god, and without God there are no standards for right or wrong conduct, nor is there any risk of eternal punishment in hell. But evolution is a poor god, because it offers no hope for life after death, no comfort of eternal rest in paradise.

But the reach of Baalism doesn’t stop there. We hear its call from Hollywood celebrities, from New York City journalists, and from Washington politicians. These people try to shape our opinions through television programs and theatrical movies, through newspaper stories and radio talk shows, through press releases and public speeches. We are told that if it feels good, do it. We are told that there is nothing wrong with doing whatever we want, so long as nobody gets hurt. We are told to keep our mouths shut if we don't agree with what someone else is doing.

Baalism made sex an act of worship, and our society certainly holds sex in high regard. You can’t watch TV for an hour without seeing ads for products that are supposed to enhance sex or relieve some sexual problem. Celebrities and politicians are constantly getting caught in scandals, which become lead stories in the news. But sex isn’t the only pleasure making the headlines; people also find themselves trapped by alcohol, drugs and gambling. Celebrities go to rehab centers, often for multiple visits. The news media hunts for scandal like a pig noses through garbage, looking for something smelly and rotten. Politicians duck and dodge hard questions about their behavior and hire expensive lawyers to salvage their reputations and careers. But God warns us away from sinful pleasures, and commands us to take responsibility and repent when we have done wrong. John writes, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9). The danger of excessive pleasure is that it becomes more important to us than the God who gives us good things to enjoy. We must hold each other accountable for our actions; we dare not turn a blind eye to the sins of those around us, because they need our help to resist temptation just as much as we need theirs. We are told in Hebrews chapter three, encourage one another daily…so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

The name of Baal may be mostly forgotten, but the kind of behavior associated with his worship is alive and well. And the danger today is the same as when God spoke through Jeremiah: their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. We must not forget God’s name. There is only one Creator of heaven and earth. The only way to approach Him is through Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus died to forgive our sins; apart from Him, there is no way to find God’s approval. We must trust in His love for us and not worry about the future; we must not allow love of pleasure to eclipse our love for the Savior. If we have this kind of relationship with the Lord, then Baal is truly dead and forgotten.

The benefits of faith

2011-08-11T07:44:00.001-05:00

I trust in your unfailing love (Psalm 13:5).

We’ve all experienced betrayal. We shared something personal, only to have that secret become a topic of gossip. We’ve all been let down. We depended on someone who lost track of time, didn’t bring the right stuff, or simply forgot that they had made a promise to us. And we’ve all been lied to. We were taken advantage of, then discarded as no longer necessary.

Because we’ve been repeatedly hurt these ways, it’s hard to muster up trust in anyone—even God. Which is manifestly unfair, because God has never betrayed us, never broken a promise, never told a lie. God is faithful. God can be trusted. Unlike us, He is perfect; the sinful nature that makes us unfaithful is completely foreign to Him.

To have faith is to be confident in God’s love, power, and wisdom. Faith trusts God to deal with us in love, even though we make Him angry with our bad behavior. Faith has confidence in God’s almighty power, power that can overcome the biggest of problems. Faith finds security in God’s wisdom, trusting that when we are lost in confusion, God knows what is for the best.

To have faith is to reject worry over the uncontrollable. You don’t run the stock market. You can’t stop world leaders from declaring war. You have no power over earthquakes or tornadoes. Your friends and family will make bad decisions that are beyond your control. Worrying about such things is pointless; your time is better spent in praying to the Lord and trusting Him to take care of things.

To have faith is to give up the illusion of self-reliance. How many times have you sworn you were going to give up smoking, lose weight, or start exercising? How many New Year’s resolutions have you broken? How many times have you kicked yourself for disappointing the people who love you and depend on you? We are weak and corrupt. Left to our own devices, we only make a mess of things. We need God because He’s the only one who can forgive us and rescue us from the consequences of our bad decisions. Faith teaches us to rely on Him rather than ourselves. Faith in God brings peace.

Acting on faith

2011-08-09T07:34:00.002-05:00

I live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20).

“Come on! I wanna show you something great!” The boy dashes off into the woods, his friend chasing after him. The youngsters duck low-hanging branches as they charge through the trees. Then, an obstacle—a huge trunk lies across the ground ahead, hiding the path beyond. The first boy yells “jump for it” and hurtles over the fallen tree. His friend puts on an extra burst of speed and blindly follows suit.

Would you have made the jump, not knowing what was on the other side of the log? Or would you have slowed down and stepped over the log cautiously? Would you trust your friend enough to follow his lead and take that leap of faith?

That’s what faith is—acting on trust. It’s easy to say that you have faith, but putting it into practice is another matter entirely. A wife might claim that she trusts her husband, but when he’s in bed and his cell phone is sitting there staring at her, is she tempted to find out who he’s been contacting? A manager might say that he trusts his employees, but will he avoid checking in while away on vacation?

It’s hard to put faith into practice. To have blind faith in someone seems dangerously foolish. Jesus understands this. He wants us to trust Him, but He does not ask for blind faith. During the years that He walked among us here on earth, Jesus performed miracles to prove His identity as the Son of God. He said, believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves (John 14:11). Jesus had the story of His life written down so that people of every generation could share in the faith of His disciples; John finished his Gospel account by saying Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. On top of this, Jesus gives us the sacraments of baptism and communion. Through water, bread and wine, we are allowed to experience the power of God’s love in a tangible way.

The boy chasing through the woods jumped over the log because he trusted that his friend would not lead him into danger. That’s the kind of practical faith that Jesus wants from you. Follow Him with confidence, and He will lead you to someplace wonderful.

Faith

2011-08-06T06:44:00.002-05:00

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible…

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-16).

Do you believe that man walked on the moon? Do you believe that William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet? Do you believe that germs can make you sick? Do you believe that Ronald and Nancy Reagan really loved each other?

How do you know that these things are true? Some claim that man never set foot on the moon, that the whole thing was faked in a secret television studio. Some believe that Shakespeare took the credit for another person’s work. Have you ever seen a germ? And even if you have looked through a microscope, how do you know that the little wiggling thing you saw can actually make someone sick? And as to the Reagans, how can you be certain what was really in their hearts?

We believe in things that we cannot see. I believe that the Great Wall of China exists, even though I’ve never gone to see it. I believe that John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, even though I was not in Philadelphia that hot July day in 1776. I believe that ultraviolet rays make my skin tan, even though I cannot see the radiation. And I believe that my wife loves me, even though I cannot read her thoughts.

These are all examples of faith—believing in something that you cannot see. Hebrews says, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith is what makes us different from animals. Animals live for today in a world they can experience with their five senses. But human beings are not so limited. We think about things that cannot be experienced with the senses. We make plans for a future that we hope will come to be.

Paul says in 2nd Corinthians chapter five, We live by faith, not by sight. As Christians, there are several things we believe in and hope for, things that cannot be seen or proven. Nevertheless we are sure of them, and we take these beliefs into consideration as we make decisions about things and lay out plans for the future.

First of all, we believe in God. We believe that the universe is not the result of accidental evolution, but that it was hand-crafted by a Master Architect. Scripture says, every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything (Hebrews 3:4). We believe that God is loving and that we can depend on Him; James tells us that Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). And we believe that He is righteous, rewarding good and punishing evil; Psalm 145 says The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

We also believe in Satan. Ages ago, the devil tried to overthrow God’s rule. But God is far stronger than Satan, and so the evil one was defeated. Knowing that he cannot win a direct battle with God, Satan switched tactics—since God loves humanity, the devil has made us his primary target. He tries to destroy us as a way to cause God pain; while God loves us, Satan views us as nothing but pawns to be used for his own evil purposes. Satan does everything in his power to separate us from God. He tries to convince some people that God is far away, that He doesn’t get personally involved in our lives, or that He doesn’t exist at all. Satan leads the fearful to believe that God is too angry at them to ever forgive their mistakes. He convinces others that they can do whatever they want, because a loving God would never punish anyone. And the devil encourages many to believe that they are such good people that God must reward their outstanding behavior. Satan tells all these lies in order to get us to abandon God, show Him disrespect, or take Him for granted.

Neither God nor Satan can be seen, yet they are the two most powerful forces in the universe, and they both have a significant impact on whether our days are filled with peace and hope or stress and fear.

Something else we believe in, but cannot see, is heaven. Although God is everywhere, heaven is His home, the place from which He rules. Paul was given a glimpse of heaven, but all he could say of the experience was that he heard things that cannot be put into words, things that man is not permitted to tell (2 Corinthians 12:4). In his vision of heaven, John heard joyful singing. On one occasion, Jesus described it as paradise; another time He compared it to a festive dinner party. But access to heaven is restricted; only those made clean by Jesus are admitted. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, those who worship false gods and everyone who loves and practices falsehood (Revelation 22:14-55).

Just as much as we believe in heaven, we also believe in the prison called hell. Hell was created by God as the place where Satan and his followers will be incarcerated forever. Isaiah describes it as a place of being always tormented by fire, yet never dying from the pain; a place of constantly decaying health that never ends with the release of death. Jesus says that hell is a place of darkness, filled with sounds of weeping and cries of frustration. This is God’s final punishment for all who do not believe in Jesus Christ.

Neither heaven nor hell can be seen, yet the wise person is concerned about which place awaits his soul and he lives his life accordingly.

Angels are all around us, yet we cannot see them as they go about their work. God sends them to help and protect us; Psalm 91 says He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Sometimes angels take on human form to interact with us; Hebrews chapter 13 says Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Angels make God’s will known to us, nudging us in the right direction when we are so wrapped up in ourselves that God is pushed into the background.

Just as we believe in angels, we also believe in demons. Satan was an angel, and when he took on the role of devil, the angels who followed him became demons. Demons are at work in the world all around us, causing sickness, provoking acts of rage and violence, luring people into sexual encounters outside of marriage. Fallen angels tempt us to overeat and overspend while ignoring the needs of the poor and weak. Demons find the same joy in tormenting us as a sadistic child does in pulling the wings from a fly and watching it limp around in pain.

Neither angels nor demons can be seen, but we still experience their presence in our daily lives, gently pushing or rudely shoving.

Lastly, we believe in God’s promises. God promised to forgive all the ways in which we anger Him. That promise is fulfilled in Jesus. God sent His Son to die for our sins, suffering the punishment we deserve for dancing to Satan’s tune. Jesus experienced all the horrors of hell while on the cross, so that when we die heaven can be our place of rest. Jesus made this terrible sacrifice out of love for us, and He offers us the benefits of His death for free. We do not need to repay Him—indeed, such a thing would be impossible. Jesus makes this clear when He says, what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26) No, rescue from punishment in hell is a gift freely given, having only one stipulation: that we love and trust in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior. The Gospel of John says, 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…Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3:16, 18).

God promises salvation to those who trust in Jesus, but He also promises judgment on those who do not submit to Christ. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Peter said, Salvation is found in no one else (Acts 4:12). John wrote, No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:23).

God and Satan are invisible. Heaven and hell cannot be seen. Angels and demons go about their business undercover. But Jesus came to live in our world. Crowds listened to His words. Peter, James and John saw His glory. Thomas touched the crucifixion scars in his hands. Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead. The New Testament is written by people who were witnesses to these incredible events.

We may feel a little jealous that they saw what we cannot. But Jesus praises faith like ours: blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). Peter reassures us, Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9).

Faith is about living your life as if unseen things are real. Faith leads you to make decisions that are based on hope alone. Everyone lives by faith to some extent—faith that the sun will come up tomorrow, faith that washing a cut will prevent infection, faith that when someone makes a promise they will keep it. But this kind of faith is limited—it offers no release from guilt, it offers no hope for life after death. To live life as it should be experienced, we need faith in Christ—faith that our lives are valuable and have a purpose, faith that old hurts can be forgiven and enemies can become friends, faith that good is stronger than evil. You cannot see such things; you can only hope that they are true. But Jesus is a miracle-worker, and faith is one of His greatest miracles. He gives you faith in what lies unseen, so that you might have life, and have it to the full.

Who is God?

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I am God, and there is none like me (Isaiah 46:9).

Who is God?

God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons united in one almighty Deity. The triune nature of God marks Him as distinct from every false god of human invention; the fact that God is both three and one at the same time defies logic and has no comparison anywhere in the universe. God is unlike anything in His wide and diverse creation.

Our world is full of religions and philosophies, yet they all express a common teaching—achieving happiness is your responsibility. You can be healed if your faith is strong enough. You can achieve greatness if you work at wholeheartedly. You can have anything you want if you visualize it properly. You can earn God’s approval if you are sufficiently dedicated.

The Triune God speaks a very different message. God the Father says that we are sinners, and that no amount of human effort can achieve the perfection that He demands. God the Son tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life—no one comes to the Father except through the forgiveness that He alone offers. God the Holy Spirit teaches that the LORD expects nothing from us to earn His favor; He offers His boundless love and mercy freely to those who trust in Jesus as the only Savior of mankind.

This message of salvation freely given provokes all sorts of different reactions. Some don’t value charity—they feel that if something is free, it isn’t worth having. Others experience a stinging blow to their pride—how can God say that they aren’t good enough to deserve His blessings? And there are those who reject the loss of freedom that comes with following the way of Christ to the exclusion of everything else.

Thankfully, there are people who rejoice in what the Triune God offers—forgiveness full and free, clarity in a confusing world, and confidence that God makes all things work to the good for those who love Him. This is the wonderful Deity that is your God and mine.

God the Spirit

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Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14).

Who is God?

We worship the Holy Spirit, the Counselor who comes down to us from heaven. He dwells in our hearts; He gives us the ability to believe in things that cannot be seen or touched. He helps us to understand the teachings of God, which are written down for us in the Bible.

The Spirit of God gives us confidence. Each of us has experienced betrayal at the hands of people that we trusted. Everyone has been let down and disappointed by loved ones. Thankfully, God never goes back on His word; the LORD always keeps His promises. The Holy Spirit helps us to rely on God, even though we are reluctant to open our hearts in trust.

The Spirit of God gives us comfort. We make all sorts of mistakes, and some are beyond our power to fix. When we feel helpless or filled with self-loathing, the Holy Spirit touches us with peace. He reminds us that Christ died to forgive everything that we’ve done wrong. He assures us that God has solutions for any problem, no matter how hopeless things might seem.

The Spirit of God offers us wisdom and guidance. There are times when we are confused. Am I hearing the truth, or being taken advantage of? In a sea of conflicting opinions, who is right and who is wrong? When it is time to make a decision, which way forward should I choose? These are times when the Holy Spirit wants us to pray and ask for help. These are times when He urges us to stop and give time to God, looking to His Good Book for clarity and wisdom.

The Spirit of God urges us to mend our ways. He confronts us with our sins so we won’t make the same mistakes over and over again. He stops us from trying to duck responsibility by shifting the blame to others. The Holy Spirit reveals uncomfortable truths so that we might fall to our knees and receive the incredible blessing of forgiveness. This wonderful Counselor is your God and mine.