Christian Living – Page 21 – Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, Encouragement, God, Life

Treat One Another With Respect (Part 2)

Yesterday, I wrote about the idea that we have lost the ability to disagree with one another and yet treat one another with respect in this society. In fact, I put it this way: “Our society has lost the ability to have a civil discussion/debate without becoming belligerent.” You can read that whole post here. Today, I want to continue that idea, but focus in on what Christ followers should be doing in this culture of yelling, screaming, and just down right divisive behavior.

As I’ve written in other posts recently, we cannot expect a society that doesn’t know Jesus to live by our morals, because our morals are developed by following Jesus. I think treating each other with respect is something that we should expect from everyone though. That is just descent human behavior that we seem to have lost the ability to demonstrate. But Christ followers should be better than society. Unfortunately, in my experience, we are just as bad, if not worse than others in this behavior at times.

We cannot expect a society that doesn’t know Jesus to live by our morals, because our morals are developed by following Jesus.

You know as well as I do; we will never be perfect (not this side of heaven anyway). But we should be striving to be the best we can be, and not through our own power. The more we follow Christ, the more we should be transformed into His image. And when we take a step back someway, we just dust ourselves off and try to continue to move forward in our walk. One of the best ways we do this is being connected to a community of believers. We cannot become like Christ on our own. The author of Hebrews puts it this way in Hebrews 10:24, 25

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Christ followers, first and foremost, you need to be connected to a community of fellow believers. That is the first step in treating others with respect. But it goes much further than that. Why should we treat others with respect? Why should we live in peace with those around us, even when they don’t show any signs of living at peace with us? Paul addresses this exact topic in one of my favorite chapters of one of my favorite letters of Paul. In Romans 12 (you can read the whole chapter here), Paul pens some very frustrating, scary, yet important words for us. In Romans 12:14-21, Paul challenges our normal human behavior, and asks us to turn from it. He writes;

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 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.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

That’s tough. When someone hurts us, our first thought is usually about how we can get back at them. But Paul tells us to walk away from that. He says to not repay evil for evil. Even tougher, in my opinion, he says that when possible, as long as it is up to us, live at peace with everyone. Everyone. Not just those you agree with. Not just those that are nice to you. Not just those that show you respect. EVERYONE! Come on. Why should we do that? Well, if you’re a Christ follower, then your ultimate mission is to share Jesus with as many people as you can. If you’re yelling and arguing with someone that doesn’t know Jesus, that’s going to make it very hard for the gospel to ever get through. And it’s not just about sharing Jesus with them. It’s because we are to be imitating Christ, and He would live at peace with everyone.

Christ followers, first and foremost, you need to be connected to a community of fellow believers.

Does that mean He agrees and approves of everyone’s lifestyle and choices? Absolutely not. Doe that mean that everyone will treat Him with respect? Nope. But how someone treats Him (and you, if you are trying to imitate Him) should bare no impact on how you treat them. Believe me, I know that seems so hard. Almost like an impossible task. And if we were trying to do it on our own, it would be an impossible task. We have to rely on God’s power to help us accomplish living at peace.

This is not going to be easy in the world that we live in. We are so divided in this country that it is almost unbelievable at this point. We might fail at times in living peaceably, but we can commit to growing through the process of becoming more and more like Him.

I have one thing that I think I can guarantee. And I want you to be aware of it before you start this process. I think it is important to know what you are getting into. If you are truly a Christ follower, becoming more and more like Jesus as you get to know Him better, people are not going to make it easy for you to live at peace. They are going to treat you poorly. Because of Jesus, people will hate you. But no matter how they treat you, you are to live at peace with them. Jesus said in Mark 13:12, 13;

12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

The key in all of this is simple. One, we can only do this through the power of Christ living in us. Two, from Paul’s thoughts on the subject, “as far as it depends on you…”. You see, we are responsible for how we react. How someone else treats us does not give us the right to become belligerent with them. So if someone is treating you like a king, or beating you down on a daily basis, we are called to live at peace with them.

When possible, as long as it is up to us, live at peace with everyone. Everyone. Not just those you agree with. Not just those that are nice to you. Not just those that show you respect. EVERYONE!

Tomorrow, I am going to look at part three of this idea. We’ve discussed so far the idea that whether we are Christ followers or not, we should treat everyone with respect, and if we could do that, this world would be a much better place. Today, we looked at the idea that if we are Christ followers, no matter how someone treats us, we need to live at peace with them and treat them with respect. Tomorrow, and I need to give my wife credit for the idea, I am going to explore what we should do when Christ followers attack other Christ followers. Unfortunately we are seeing that more and more, so we need to discuss that to wrap up our 3-part series of treating one another with respect. Until then…

Christian Living, Encouragement, Life, Writing

The Sincerest Form

I love music, and as I have written about here before, I generally have music playing anytime that I am reading, writing, or generally any other work in an office setting or at home. It’s just one of the best ways that I have found to focus in on the task at hand. Also, as my nickname here suggests, dcTalk is my favorite group of all time. The first concert I was able to go to was “The Jesus Freak Tour” with Audio Adrenaline opening for dcTalk. I was only about 12-years old, but still remember plenty of details from that night.

Recently, I came across an album that I had heard about only briefly, as some of the songs had come across my Pandora account on a few occasions. For some reason I had never taken the time to really look into the album, although some of the songs definitely peaked my curiosity. Well about two weeks ago I finally decided to look up the album, which is already 10 to 11 years old at this point. That’s because it was released around the 10th Anniversary of Jesus Freak.

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What is the album in question? It is a tribute album from Gotee Records honoring dc Talk’s Jesus Freak. It is a collaboration of other Gotee Record artists performing the songs from Jesus Freak in an album titled Freaked! – A Gotee Tribute to dcTalk’s Jesus Freak. In fact, this album is what I have playing through my computer speakers as I write this today.

freaked

When I found the whole album online a few weeks ago, I made a mistake. I read the comments and reviews. I already new I was going to buy it, the reviews didn’t matter at all to me. As big of a fan of dcTalk as I am, a tribute album for one of their best works is a no brainer for me. Honestly, I don’t know why I waited this long to find and buy the album in the first place. Besides that, I still had gift card money from Christmas, so it wasn’t even going to cost me money out of my pocket.

Yet, still I went to the reviews. I do that way too often on things online. Maybe I just like to read some of the insane and off-the-wall comments that you find online. I sat in my office that evening though, just shaking my head. This is a tribute album done by a lot of different artists with a lot of different musical styles. I would never expect the album to sound exactly like dcTalk’s Jesus Freak. In fact, I would have been disappointed if it did. I was excited to listen to different takes on a classic.

Did I expect to like every single song? Not really. And I don’t (there is one that just freaks me out for the lack of a better term). But the comments on the reviews for this album blew my mind. People were complaining how none of the songs sounded like the originals, and I was like “really”? It was like they were expecting the album to exactly match the original. Well, despite the insane reviews, I bought and downloaded Freaked! To me, the album is a honoring dcTalk in a great way. It’s a bunch of talented artists coming together to pay tribute, honor, and thank a pioneering group in the Christian music realm. Without dcTalk, we wouldn’t have many of the groups we have today (and not just because Toby, Michael, and Kevin are still performing with others). They paved the way for what we know as Christian music today.

Thinking about all of this today gave me an idea. Hebrews 11 is knows as the “Faith Hall of Fame” in scripture. What does that mean? The author of Hebrews takes a chapter and writes about those from the Old Testament, and even alludes to those from the inter-testament period that lived with great faith. He shows us what it looks like to live faithfully as Christ followers by showing us those that lived out great faith. Then the author makes a statement that I try to model my life by as much as possible. He writes in Hebrews 12:1-3,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right had of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

That is where I get the first part of my nickname, Crosseyed. But think about it. He says we have all these people that have gone before us. They show us what living a life of faith could look like. Consider them. Learn from them. You might not look or sound or act exactly like them, but imitate them. Honor them. Pay tribute to them. Thank them for going before you. Then comes the big right hook. Not only do we have those that have gone before us, we have Jesus Himself to imitate, honor, pay tribute and thank. None of us will ever be exactly like Jesus. Our personalities are different. But we are supposed to be as much like Him as we can be.

Paul brings out this idea in a few different places as well. In I Corinthians 11:1 he wrote,

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

He wrote in I Thessalonians 1:6, 7,

You became imitators us us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

Is Freaked! the perfect analogy of what I am talking about? No. It’s comparing music to trying to follow the example of Jesus and other Christ followers that have gone before us, but it still makes my point. Just like the artists paying tribute to dcTalk, we won’t look or sound exactly the way someone who went before us did. But here is the biggest difference. We don’t just have those that have gone before us as our example. We have Christ Himself. He is our standard, and what we are striving to be. Will we do that perfectly? No one can. But, as the old saying goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. Who do you want to imitate?

Christian Living, Encouragement, God

I Love the Church

About a week and a half ago, I came across an article that was discussing why you should go to church (you can read it here). Unfortunately this seems to be an all too common type of article being written today, because there are plenty of “Christians” that claim they follow Jesus, yet do not see the importance of attending a gathering of fellow believers. While there are plenty of articles you can read on this topic (and believe me, I’ve read plenty), I realized something over the last couple of days.

While there is a somewhat large part of our population that claim to be Christians and don’t go to church, there is a group that could be included in that that I have not really read much about. That’s the group that contains former ministers and their families that have left the ministry AND the church. It seems to be becoming a more and more common occurrence…and it is absolutely breaking my heart.

I can recall numerous people that I have either known in ministry or from my time in Bible college that not only no longer serve in vocational ministry, they don’t even attend church. If you talk to them, I’m sure that most could give what sounds like good reasons for this as well. But is there really a good reason to be a Christ follower and no longer attend church?

There is one situation that I am aware of that might make sense as to why someone doesn’t still attend. There is someone I know that spent what seems to be a lifetime in ministry that has now decided that they are an atheist. It makes sense, if you are going to claim to not be a believer any longer, that you would not attend church. But that is not the type of situation I am writing about. What about those that still believe, still claim to be a Christ follower, but for some reason have decided that it is not necessary or important to attend church any longer.

I get it on some level. Working in vocational ministry is not easy, nor is one always capable of coming out of it unscathed. I can tell you horror stories about how ministers and other lay Christians for that matter have been hurt by churches in the past. Some of them would actually be personal stories from my own time in ministry, but I don’t want to get into the details of that. That’s not the point. The point is, sometimes ministers get chewed up and absolutely destroyed by churches and people that they are trying to help.

But here’s the thing for me. The Church, with all it’s faults (and believe me, there are plenty because it is led on earth by human beings that are flawed), is still the Bride of Christ. The Church gets things wrong, sometimes more often than it gets things right, but again that is because all of us are imperfect. We mess things up. But if you are so hurt by a church or the Church that it makes you walk away from God, was your faith really in God to begin with?

The Church, with all it’s faults, is still the Bride of Christ.

Jesus wants us to be part of a community of believers. We were built to do life together, in community. And for all its faults, the Church is still the design that God has set up for that community. Is it perfect? No. Is it exactly the way things were in Acts? No. Is it flawed? ABSOLUTELY! But that doesn’t mean we just abandon the Bride of Christ. In Hebrews 10, the author of Hebrews writes about this very topic. He writes in verses 24 and 25,

“24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Do you want to give up on the Church? I hope not, because Jesus said that nothing could prevail against it either. Matthew 16:16-20 states,

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah

If you’re a Christ follower, especially if you used to be in vocational ministry, please don’t give up on the Church. We need to rally around Her and help move forward.

Christian Living, Encouragement, Preaching, Writing

Tattoos, Rock Music, and Relationships: Are You On Mission?

I’ve written about it a few times in the last couple of weeks because it is something that is completely changing the way I look at the world. It’s something that I’ve actually known for a long time, but my perspective is changing. In other words, it is becoming more real to me than ever before. Instead of just “head knowledge”, I am starting to see real world application for my own life…and it’s a game changer.

I’m talking about our current sermon series that we are going through at Central Christian Church. I wrote yesterday in part about the idea that you never learn more than when you are actively trying to teach something to someone (read that here). And that is what is happening to me right now. We are going through this series that I pray will be a game changer in the lives of our faith family, but it is definitely changing me. It’s called Life on Mission (based off of the book Life on Mission by Tim Harlow) and you can check out recordings of this series here if you’d like.

The basics of the series up to this point is this; if you are a Christ follower, you have a mission of sharing Jesus with others, that should be done by building relationships with new people (having a meal with someone new is a great start), finding a way to serve those people (because you truly care about them and they are not just a project to you), and then, once you’ve built that relationship, start sharing your story of how Jesus has impacted your life. That’s where we’ve gone so far with two more sermons to wrap it up.

I want to try to live out what I have been teaching/preaching, and am actively trying to figure out ways to start getting to know people in my neighborhood that might not know Jesus yet. As a preacher, I am generally around Christians for the most part, so I have to put effort into finding non-Christians to interact with.

I did something yesterday that reminded me that I already have the beginnings of friendships/relationships with people outside of my normal sphere of influence that I didn’t even think about. I got a tattoo to help represent what I am all about and what I call myself. You realize my nickname on here; Crosseyed Jesus Freak. Well, I finally got “Jesus Freak” tattooed on me. Actually, I am surprised that I didn’t get this one earlier. “Jesus Freak” by dc Talk has had a huge impact on my life and how I want to show my faith to the world, so it is a natural idea to me to have it in my tattoo collection.

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Here is the chorus of the song, and why it means so much to me:

What will people think

When they hear that I’m a Jesus freak

What will people do when they find that it’s true

I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus freak

There ain’t no disguising the truth

The truth for me is that I love God with all of my heart. There may be days that I don’t live up to that, but Jesus is the best thing that has ever happened in my life. And because of that, you can label me whatever you would like. I don’t care what other people think of me in the sense that I try to follow Jesus. Now what that doesn’t mean is that I am just going out there trying to ram Jesus down other people’s throats. That isn’t what Jesus would want. Again it is about building relationships and then presenting how Jesus has changed your life, not standing on the street corner yelling at people.

So why the color scheme that you see in the picture? That’s another reference to the song itself. Here’s another part of the song:

I saw a man with tat on his big fat belly

It wiggled around like marmalade jelly

It took me a while to catch what it said

‘Cause I had to match the rhythm

Of his belly with my head

“Jesus Saves” is what it raved in a typical tattoo green

He stood on a box in the middle of the city

And claimed he had a dream

The reference of the “typical tattoo green” led me to want the green color scheme. When I told the tattoo artist about it, he came up with the idea to do the black outline and then start with the dark green (typical, old-school tattoo color) and fade it into the bright green on top. That sounded awesome to me, and we went with it.

Enough about the actual tattoo. And if you don’t agree with getting tattoos, that’s great. We don’t have to agree on it because it is a personal decision in my opinion. But the reason I am writing about this experience is it ties in with Life on Mission. You see, this isn’t the first one I’ve gotten from Robby. He did my 1-1-Six tattoo that I got a little over a year ago, and a former apprentice of his did an ichthus (Jesus fish) and cross for me a few months ago as well.

In other words, I have started building a relationship with Robby. He grew up with a Catholic background, but I think he would tell you straight up that he is not a Christian. There is always loud rock, hip hop, or a combination of both pumping through his shop. It’s filled with profanity. In fact, when I sat down in the chair yesterday, he looked at me and apologized for the music and I reminded him that it wasn’t an issue for me.

Do I like the music? Not particularly. Does the profanity match what I consider to be good language? Absolutely not. But like I explained to Robby the first time, and reminded him last night, I don’t expect him to follow Christian morals when he doesn’t claim to be a Christ follower. If I did that, and caused tension as a result, I would never get the chance to meaningfully present Jesus to Robby at some point. He knows what my life is all about, but we aren’t to the point where I can really present Jesus in that meaningful way yet. I don’t want to do anything at this point to cause that to never be an option.

So we talked music, movies, and other general entertainment as he worked, just continuing to get to know each other a little bit. Do we have a lot of the same interests? I wouldn’t say a lot, but we have some bands in common (he actually knows of Skillet and some other Christian groups). We’ve gotten to the point that he values me as a repeat customer (in fact, he gave me a great deal on this piece), and we respect each other.

Through all of this, I’ve been able to just get to know someone that is very different than I am, and different than most people that I get to interact with on a regular basis. I pray that one day I am able to share my complete story with Robby, showing him what Jesus has done in my life, and that he sees what a life with Jesus could actually be in his own.

My point, however, is this. Do you know people that are a lot different than you? I’m sure we all can think of someone. Do you just immediately write them off (judge them because they are different), or do you look for ways to get to know them, build a relationship with them? There is a lot of arguing and tension in the world today. If you are a Christ follower, how can you live on mission and share Christ if you are constantly arguing with those that don’t know Him yet? Like I said to Robby last night, just because I don’t agree with or like something that someone else does doesn’t mean that I can’t be civil with them. In fact, it doesn’t even mean that I can’t build a friendship with them.

Paul writes in Romans 12 that if possible, when it depends on us, we are to live at peace with everyone. You can read the full text here. What are you doing to actively live on mission?

Christian Living, Encouragement, Life, Ministry, Writing

What Do You Want From Me?

my-500-words

Day 10. I have been writing a minimum of 500 words a day for the last nine days. Really there hasn’t been a day yet that has been under 600 words. And that is just what I am recording here. On top of that, i’ve been writing sermons and Bible studies on top of my 500 word challenge. For example, I wrote over 1,000 words for a blog post yesterday, and then wrote my sermon outline that I had been thinking through all week. That outline ended up being almost 1,000 words as well.

I’ve confirmed something through these last nine days (ten including today) that I have said for a long time. I love writing. This is the first time that I have been able to be this disciplined writing, however, and I am finding that I love it even more than I thought. There have unexpected things that came up (you can read about that here) that in the past would have caused me not to make the time to write. Yet, I have written every day (if you look through my website, you might say there is a day missing; I wrote that day, but kept that writing private), even when it wasn’t easy or convenient.

So, why do I write? Better yet, why do I love the process of writing? That’s part of it. It’s a process. I love getting my thoughts out there. Thinking through an issue and formulating a response to it is actually soothing to me. And it’s addictive. I also love having the possibility of speaking into someone’s life and helping them through a problem. That’s why I write mostly about Christianity and trying to better our relationships with Jesus and one another.

I love it as well because it helps me learn and understand things better for myself. Think about it. When you are teaching someone else how to do something, or how to understand something, you learn more as you are trying to teach them. If you don’t understand something, how can you teach someone else to do something.

As much as I love it, there are things that are difficult and/or frustrating. It can be time consuming, especially when you don’t have a whole lot of motivation at the time you are trying to write. There are so many grammar rules that can make things complicated and frustrating, especially when you have been out of high school/college English and writing classes as long as I have. When my writing starts flowing, I can really get bogged down if I concern myself too much with the grammar side of things.

Sometimes the most frustrating thing about writing for me is actually coming up with a topic to actually write about. That is one of the reasons I haven’t pursued writing a book in the past. That’s one of the main reasons that I haven’t been as consistent in my blogging as I would like to be. And that is the MAIN reason I am writing this post today.

I need your help. I want to know what some topics related to being a Christ follower that you would like me to write about. Give me some ideas. I have a few topics in mind for the next few days, and I am committed to reading more as well, so that will also give me ideas for the future. But I want to write about things that you want to know about as well.

So what questions do you have? Is there something that you are struggling with, and want to see a different perspective on it? Do you have questions about scripture or doctrine? Are you a non-believer at this point, but are curious and want to know what following Jesus is really all about? Comment on this post, or click here to contact me if you’d rather ask your question in private.

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Disclaimer: I am not guaranteeing that I will be able to answer, or attempt to answer every question. There is the possibility I respond to your question privately as well. If there is a question or topic that I do not feel comfortable writing about, I will contact you privately as well to inform you of my decision.

Christian Living, Encouragement, Ministry, Writing

Can God Forgive Me?

I had a great time at our Wednesday night Bible Study last night. In fact, the last two times that we have met (we missed last week due to too many people out because of illness) have been two of my favorite times of our Wednesday night adult Bible study since I moved to Carlsbad almost a year and a half ago. Why? Because we have actually had some great discussion and questions going.

There is a guy that has just recently come back to our church (long story, and not something I can get into on here), and he is trying hard to get his life back on track. He is asking questions, trying to better himself and better his relationship with God. But he also is dealing with things from his past and not being able to let those things go. He just can’t get to the point where he can forgive himself.

I get it. There are things that I have done in my past that were hard to let go of. This was where some of our discussion went last night, and it was very productive. The whole thing has caused me to think through some of this over the last few hours, and I want to put my thoughts down. Where do I start? We need to start with this question: Why is it so hard to forgive yourself when you have asked God for forgiveness and gone through the process of repentance as well? I have a feeling that there are a lot of us that have trouble forgiving ourselves.

We tend to compare ourselves to other people, but what we don’t understand is that we do not see everything that those other people have done. If we look at someone, we may only get to see their “highlight reel” for lack of a better term. Then we see all the negative and bad things that we have done, and that causes us to think we are horrible. So the lenses we see the world through can give us the incorrect perspective. Don’t get me wrong. We are all bad. We have all sinned. We have all done things that we probably wish we had never done. We’ll get to what Paul has to say about that topic in just a minute.

One of the other people attending the Bible study last night asked our friend if he trusted God. His answer was yes. Then the question was posed, “if you trust God, then why do you not believe Him when He says that grace has covered your sins”. In other words, Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross, was freely given and covers all sins if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Does that mean that we will instantly and forever be able to live perfect lives. Absolutely not! But what it means is that we do not have to do anything other than have a relationship with Jesus to receive forgiveness. As we get to know Him more, however, we grow and change through His guidance. That doesn’t mean we won’t still mess up from time to time. This is a lifelong process.

Now let’s get back to Paul. I said earlier that we are all bad, that we’ve all messed up and done things that we wished we hadn’t. And Paul would agree with that. That’s why Paul writes in Romans 3:23 the following, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. We have all sinned, and on our own we cannot repair that relationship with God that we broke through our sinfulness. When you just look at Romans 3:23, this life looks pretty bleak. It is easy to get down on yourself because you have sinned, and because of that sin you have broken your relationship with your Creator. And that’s why context is so important when studying the Bible.

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Let’s take Paul’s writing in Romans 3 in a little bigger chunk. Paul writes in Romans 3:21-26;

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Man that sounds ominous. But then Paul follows that up with the hope that we all have; An all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus! There’s our hope. There’s how we lay things down and forgive ourselves. We receive forgiveness and atonement through our faith in Jesus, and if you can’t lay things down and forgive yourself when God says that it’s covered, how strong is your faith?

Stop trying to think that you are worse than others. We have all sinned, and if it wasn’t for Jesus, none of us would stand a chance of forgiveness, because we can’t do it on our own. God’s grace is freely given through Christ’s sacrifice, and we receive that through our faith. Then, as our faith continues to grow, Christ’s presence in our lives changes us more and more into His image, as we choose daily to walk with Him! Don’t cheapen Jesus’ sacrifice by believing the lie that it can’t cover over the things you’ve done. You’re no worse than anyone else, but you’re no better than anyone else either in regards to how grace works. Forgive yourself, because God has if you’ve asked for forgiveness and repented.

Christian Living, Encouragement, God

Love is a Verb

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Valentine’s Day. A day that you see all the couples you know posting sweet little notifications across social media. I have seen more pictures of candy, food, babies, and couples spending time in the candle light today than I ever thought I would. None of that is necessarily a bad thing either. There is nothing wrong with wanting to show someone how much they mean to you, however, like almost all of the “major holidays” anymore, it seems to have become way too commercial. It is all about how much money you can spend and the more you spend the more you care about the person you are spending on.

My wife and I got married on February 6, 2010, and when we set that date, knowing how close it was to Valentine’s Day, we made an agreement. I cannot remember who’s idea it was, and really it doesn’t matter. We agreed that with our anniversary being only a little over a week before Valentine’s Day, we would basically combine the two celebrations. Even before we set our wedding date, we did not go out of our way to celebrate the holiday anyway.

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Here is the way I look at it. If I have to go all out one day a year just to prove to my wife that I love her because I have not shown her that love throughout the rest of the year, then I have not been the husband that I should be anyway. Am I perfect at treating my wife well, and always showing her how much I love and care about her? Absolutely not. None of us are. But again, if I look at it like I can just do something on one day of the year and then not have to worry about it again for another 365 days, I have failed in a big way.

Being a Christ follower is trying to live a life full of love; Love for fellow human beings and also a love for Jesus. Showing our love to others is all about service. Jesus says in John 13:13-17; 34, 35;

13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them… 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We show our love for God by serving our fellow man. Why? Because that shows that we are trying to be Christ followers with the way that we live.

But it can’t be just a one time thing. Or a once a year thing. It has to be a lifestyle of service. Just like I cannot just take one day a year to try to prove my love and care for my wife, we cannot just assume that one act of service is enough to show how much we love Jesus and our fellow man either. I am not talking about earning the love of Jesus. That is something that is freely given. But we should be progressing through our relationship with Jesus in such a way that it produces the works of service in our lives.

If you are a Christ follower, then you should be finding ways to serve God and others in your daily lives. There is nothing wrong with a big service project like a mission trip, but what are you doing in your neighborhood? How are you showing what God has done in your lives to those that you are around on a daily basis? I think we all have room for improvement, and will until the day that we get to see Jesus. Don’t get down on yourself if you mess up, but let’s all find ways that we can serve one another and show the love of Christ in our lives!

Christian Living, Encouragement, Ministry

Priorities!

It is 10:30 PM on day six of “My 500 Word Challenge” that I wrote about a few days ago. This is my first attempt at writing anything today. I really should be in bed right now, because this is also the week that I committed to trying to get up at 6:00 AM every day to be able to write in the mornings. Unfortunately, I have not met my goal of getting up that early to this point yet, although Sunday I did get up at 6:15. This morning I stayed in bed until 8:30, but that is kind of the point that I want to write about today.

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You see, after preaching yesterday morning, eating lunch with some friends from church, quickly packing an over night bag and booking a hotel, my wife and I headed out of Carlsbad on a spur of the moment trip to El Paso, TX. It is just a two and a half hour drive from Carlsbad, but it is not a trip that we make very often. We went because one of our faith family members from our church here was in El Paso because his mom had to be flown there early Friday morning due to some major health concerns. We knew about the situation, but found out Sunday morning that things may be even worse than we originally thought.

Kelley and I decided that we needed to be there for our friends, knowing that we would probably not be able to see his mom in the hospital. Checking on, and being there to support our faith family is something that we hold in great importance in our lives. We were right, we never even actually made it to the hospital. We got to our hotel and contacted our friend. He said that his mom was not up for visitors, but that he would let us know when he was heading out from the hospital in a little while so we could meet up with him for some coffee.

So we heading out to dinner (Chipotle, one of our favorite restaurants that we do not have anywhere close to here), and then just explored El Paso a little while waiting on a phone call. We were able to meet up with our friend and spend some time just making sure that he was alright (his wife had to head back to Carlsbad before we met up with them). Just being present with someone when they or a family member is going through something unexpected is sometimes the best thing that can be done. Even better than that, we found out that the situation with his mom was not as severe as once thought (and that she would probably be discharged in the next couple of days, though we have not received an update since then).

Hospital visits, or visiting with people who have loved ones in the hospital is part of the job in ministry. I am not writing this trying to say that I did something special. I would have done the same thing for anyone of my faith family or any of my friends for that matter. But the whole situation got me thinking about something else. It is a goal of mine to start getting up earlier. I want to be more productive and build better habits in my life. And those are all good goals. Life does not always live up to those goals and expectations though.

Driving to El Paso right after church caused me to miss my usual Sunday afternoon nap, and then my wife and I were up late just decompressing from the day, and trying to relax. It was after midnight by the time I laid down, and after 2:00 AM before I fell asleep. So I gave myself a break and slept until 8:30 (which is still an improvement, because in similar situations in the past, I would have stayed in bed until 10:00 probably). I also did not try to write while we were at the hotel. The motivation just wasn’t there at the time and I decided not to force it.

Here I am, however, past what should be my bed time as I write these words. There are times in life that things are not going to go the way we think they are. I left our house for church yesterday morning not planning on making a trip to El Paso. In fact, I had planned on just relaxing in our living room for the afternoon, trying to get in bed at a decent time, and getting up at 6:00 AM this morning. Did any of that actually happen? No. So goals that I wanted to achieve just did not materialize. But I am still getting my 500 words in today. And more importantly, I was able to be there for someone that needed support.

What am I getting at? Goals are important. Routine is important. But friends, family, people in general are more important than any of those things. And I also learned something else that is really important for me. While I want to write in the mornings, making it a priority in my day, since I have committed to this challenge, I will make time for it. Even if it means writing late at night when I can barely keep my eyes open as my fingers fly across the keys.

So what about you? What do you prioritize in your life? Is it your goals or yourself? Or do you make it a priority to be present for your friends and family? Is it your routine, i.e. your comfort? Or do you let interruptions happen and make the best out of them? Enough for tonight, I’m going to wind down and head to bed!

Christian Living, Life

Up and Down: New Mexico’s Weather

One of the things that I’m still trying to get used to after moving to New Mexico a little over two years ago is the weather. Growing up in East Tennessee, we had all four seasons, and generally speaking, as the seasons would change, the weather would not fluctuate that often. What I mean is that once it was fall, we had fall weather, or once winter came, you could expect it to be somewhat cold outside for a few months.
Weather is not like that here in Carlsbad. For example. We are currently in February, which is considered a winter month. Most places that I have lived before here have already experienced snow, very cold temperatures, and other things that you can generally expect during the winter months. We have had a couple of cold days, highs in the upper 30’s, but today, and most of the last week, we have been having temperatures in the mid to upper 80’s. In fact, today it actually hit 90 degrees. I played golf this afternoon, and was sweating pretty good wearing shorts and a thing polo shirt. Not February weather that I am used to to say the least.

Carlsbad is in a desert region, so I guess you could ask what else I could expect from living here. And to a point, I get that. What is difficult for me is that the high was 90 degrees today and it is forecasted to be in the low 50’s as a high tomorrow, then Monday a high of 39 with the potential for snow. In other words, there is a high temperature difference of nearly 50 degrees in a 48-hour period.

This temperature fluctuation does one thing to me, other than annoy me. It literally makes me sick. My body and immune system just cannot seem to figure out how to deal with this constant change in temperature. When I get right down to it, I honestly would just like the weather to make up its mind. Get cold (like winter is supposed to be) or stay warm, but pick one and go with it. Stop this constant shifting.

What about you? No I do not mean what do you think about the weather? What do you prefer the temperature to be? Do you want snow or could you go the rest of your life and be perfectly happy without ever seeing another snow flake? My question is simply this: In your pursuit of being a Christ follower, are you consistent, or does your commitment level fluctuate as much or more than the temperatures of Carlsbad, New Mexico I described above?

Jesus would call that constant fluctuation in our lives being “lukewarm”. If you are familiar at all with the letters to the seven churches described in Revelation, then you know where I am going with this. Jesus does not allow “lukewarmness”. “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16). He says be either hot or cold. And that is not Him saying that it is ok if you decide not to be a Christ follower. That is not what He means by being cold. He is referring to how Laodicea received its water sources during this time period.

Basically, they had an aqua duct system that would bring water either from cool or hot springs into the city. Depending on what you wanted the water for, you would either want the hot or cold. But that went to the most prominent of the city first. That is because the further away from the source of the water, it would become lukewarm, and not very appealing.

Jesus is making the argument in this letter to Laodicea that He wants us to either be hot or cold, the best form that we can be. In other words, if we are claiming to be His followers, then we need to be the best we can be. Stop this fluctuation. If we are in, then we need to be all in or He will spit us out.

So let me ask you again: In your pursuit of being a Christ follower, are you consistent, or does your commitment level fluctuate as much or more than the temperatures of Carlsbad, New Mexico I described above?

Christian Living, Encouragement, Life

On Mission?

Though I live in NM now, I spent most of my life living in East TN. My wife and I love it here in NM, but there will always be part of our hearts in the hills of East TN (and Southern OH as well). That brings me to some very heartbreaking news from my home town. Actually it is from my high school alma mater, which brings it even closer to home for me. I went to Daniel Boone High School in Gray, TN, the home of the Trailblazers. While there are definitely things I do not miss about high school, once a Trailblazer, always a Trailblazer.

This past week, news broke across my social media pages about another tragedy within the ranks of Daniel Boone. Three students were injured in a bad car wreck, one in critical condition in ICU. I say another tragedy because just five months ago, a high school couple was in a wreck, killing the 16-year old female passenger on her birthday. This community has been through a lot this school year.

Just a day or so ago, the student that was in ICU in critical condition succumbed to his injuries and passed away. 1,400 miles away, my heart is breaking for these students, staff, faculty, and all those affiliated with Daniel Boone. I did not know either of these students that lost their lives in these tragic accidents, but I know current students that knew them. The one good thing that I can say about this whole situation is that the community has rallied together and are supporting one another. Boone Strong has been popping up all over my social media feeds as a reminder that we are all one. In fact, as I write this, I am changing my profile pic on Facebook to Boone Strong for the next week.

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This has all be a reminder of something that we all to often forget; Life is short and we have no idea how much time we have left in this world. I am not trying to be discouraging or “doom and gloom”, but the reality of our lives is that the next minute is not guaranteed for any of us. Life is fragile, but it is also a huge blessing.

So I have a challenge for you. What are you going to do with the time you have remaining? Are you just going to “go with the flow” and live with a purpose? Or are you going to step up to the idea that as a Christ follower, we have a mission and should be living this “Life on Mission”? We are currently going through the series Life on Mission by Tim Harlow at Central Christian Church here in Carlsbad. It has completely changed the way I look at living my life. I want to live my life on mission for Jesus more than I want to do anything else.

The reason this is so important is that we do not know how much time we have left. We might be gone tomorrow. But your friend, neighbor, coworker, family member, significant other, or whoever else you are close to might be gone tomorrow as well. Do they know Jesus? Have they given their life to Him and allowed Him to become their savior? If not, have you shared your story of a loving relationship with our savior with them?

If we are a Christ follower, then we have a mission of sharing Jesus with as many people as we can. The best way we can do that is through building relationships with those that do not know Him yet, and earning the right to share Him with them at some point. Let the tragic loss of a couple of teenagers five months apart in East TN be a reminder that tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us. Are you on mission?

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