Christian Living – Page 23 – Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Death, Loss, and Devastation: How Do We Respond

I want to take a moment of your time to brag a little bit about the people in my home state of Tennessee. First, I am not the first or the last that will make this observation, but none the less I feel that I need to make it. You see, this past week a devastating fire burned a good portion of Gatlinburg, TN and the National forest around it. At least seven people are confirmed dead in the fire, and thousands have lost everything, just a month before Christmas. Hundreds of homes, cabins, and businesses have been completely burned to the ground.

But Tennesseans are resilient people. Fire departments from at least and hour and a half drive all converged on the blaze, attempting to salvage as much as they could. Not only that, there has been zero reports of rioting or looting in the area. Instead, there are reports of generosity toward those who lost everything that is almost unfathomable. Food, clothing, and supply drives popped up all over the state, and generated so much that Sevier County, where Gatlinburg is located, had to ask that no new drives be started for the time being because they could not find anywhere else to store the donations.

Dolly Parton, who is originally from there, has made a very generous offer to any that lost everything. I will not go into detail here, but the figures she has offered simply amaze me. I have always been proud to be from East Tennessee, and the south. The response to this devastation, however, has only deepened that pride in where I am from. It is great to see people come together in a time of need, and do whatever they can to help one another out, instead of only looking out for themselves.

I have a theory as to why this has been the case during this tragedy, and I would like to share that with you today. East Tennessee is part of what is known as the “Bible Belt”, and while a lot of people in this country are trying to distance themselves from Christianity (that is a whole other article for another time), Christian-living seems to still be alive and well there. Even those that do not claim to follow Jesus, or the Bible seem to live by some of the principles found there.

Seeing what is taking place in Gatlinburg and the surrounding areas where this devastation has taken place reminds me of something that we can read in the book of Acts, chapter 2:44-45, which states; “44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” They took care of one another, just like the people in Tennessee are taking care of one another right now.

We need to learn to look out for other people, and not just ourselves. May we all take this to heart, and seek to help one another when needs arise.

Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, Life, Uncategorized

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (Dec. ’16 Newsletter)

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” or so the beloved Christmas song goes. And for many that is a very true statement. I love this time of year, although, I am still having to get used to the summer like temperatures (at least for this TN guy) around the holidays. It is hard to believe that this will be Kelley and I’s third Christmas season here in NM, but it is.

While I say that I love this time of year, and I do agree with the song I quoted above, I also realize that this is not always the most wonderful time of the year for many. For those that do not have family to spend time with, or that have family too far away to get to spend time with, it can be a depressing time of year as well. Believe me, I get that so much, because as much as I love this time of year, it is hard knowing that Kelley and I will not be spending it with our families either in OH or TN.

Then there are those that just recently lost a loved one. Holidays are really tough in those situations. In fact, I was reminded of that talking to Kell’s mom on Thanksgiving Day. Her father passed away in December of 2014, and Kell’s mom was telling us that she spent almost two hours on the phone with her mom on Thanksgiving Day, because the holiday season is still tough on her not having her husband.

Another reminder of how tough this season can be sometimes is going on right now as I type these words. I am not sure how many of you are following what is going on in my home state, but Gatlinburg, TN and surrounding areas have been severely damaged by some out of control forest fires. In fact, just a couple of nights ago, Gatlinburg residents faced a mandatory evacuation, while hundreds of homes, cabins, and business were burned to the ground. My family is all safe (they live about an hour and a half from Gatlinburg), but there are thousands that have lost everything, right before Christmas. The town is a home away from home for so many that I know from East TN and OH as well. I have spent many weekends in the Gatlinburg area in my youth as well. To say the situation is devastating is an understatement.

I write all of the above for one simple reason. While I love this time of year, it is a hard time of year for many. We are reminded of family members that are gone now, and miss the family members and friends that we are not able to spend time with during the holidays.

Whether this is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” for you, or it is a difficult reminder of those that are either gone too soon or too far away to spend time with, I want to remind you of one simple truth that we should all hold on to: This is the time of year that we set aside to celebrate the coming of the greatest gift this world has ever seen, and that is the birth of Jesus Christ!

While this is probably not the real date of His birth, this is when we choose to celebrate and remember that Jesus sat aside His glory and divinity in Heaven, and chose to become human. John records this in a beautiful way in John 1:14; “14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Whether you are hurting or celebrating during this season, hold on to the fact that Jesus came, and He came for you and me!

Christian Living, Encouragement, God, Life, Ministry, Newspaper

Do You Trust God? (11-19)

Thanksgiving is upon us. Where has this year gone? It simply amazes me that we are just over a month away from ending the 2016 calendar year. As we get into the Thanksgiving holiday, we are all reminded to take a step back and reflect on what we have to be thankful for. And we have so much, even if life is not going exactly the way that we thought it would this year.

This has not been the most straight-forward of years for me. There have been things that have happened along the way that I did not see coming. Such is life, though. It started off with my mom falling and shattering her shoulder in three places. On top of that, she lives in East Tennessee, so I was not even able to be there to help her.

My wife was working for a family here in town, and really enjoying her job. The family, however, ended up moving out of state due to a job promotion, and due to some other unforeseen circumstances, she has not been able to find another job yet.

Most recently, my wife’s grandmother was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer, and passed away so quickly that we were not able to make it to Ohio until two weeks after she passed away. That does not even start to cover things not going the way we thought in regards to friends and church members that we know.

I am sure you can relate, because life usually does not go the way we think it should or the way we want it to. It just does not work that way. So, what do we have to be thankful for? For me, I have a job that I love, a family that loves me, good friends, and most importantly, Jesus who went to the cross to die for me, even when I did not (and still do not) deserve it. He went there for you as well! That should be the best news you have ever received in your life, and something that you can be thankful for, even in the hard times of life.

There is a story found in Acts 16:1-10 that I believe can show us what can happen when we trust God and are thankful for Him, even when life does not go as planned. I will let you read it on your own if you want, but basically it is a story about a man named Paul. Paul is going around, preaching about Jesus, and desperately wants to go preach the gospel in the province of Asia. He is laser focused on the idea of going to Asia to preach, yet every time he tries, the story says that he is prevented by the Holy Spirit.

If you read about Paul, one of the things you will see is that once he sets his mind to something, he is going to do everything he can to get it done. When he is prevented from doing something he feels strongly about, he does not take it very well. This would be the case with being prevented from entering Asia as well. But Paul trusts God, and is thankful for His guidance.

How do I know that he trusts God? Paul is able to sleep that night, right after being prevented again from going to Asia. In his sleep, he has a dream that basically calls Paul and his companions to go to Macedonia instead of Asia to preach. And that is exactly what he does.

It was not where he saw his life going, but he did not lose sleep over it either. He trusted God, and was grateful for God’s guidance in his life. So what about you? Does anything keep you up at night, or are you able to trust God and be thankful, even when life is not what you think it should be?

Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, Encouragement, God, Life, Newspaper

Legacy (11-5-16)

Legacy. I have been thinking about that term a lot recently. We all have a legacy of some kind that is passed along through our families, or those that we spend the most amount of time with. In a lot of ways, we get to help build those legacies and pass them along to the generations that are going to follow us as well. Just in case you are not with me on the term legacy, Merriam-Webster.com defines legacy as “something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past”. There are other definitions as well, but this is the one that I have been thinking long and hard about.

Why? I am a first generation preacher on my side of the family. As far as I know, I am the first person to make preaching my career path in my family. My family, however, has a long legacy of being Christ-followers. More than that has me thinking about legacy though. My wife’s grandmother just passed away a few weeks ago. Last week, we were finally able to travel to Ohio to spend time with her family, and a lot of memories were shared. It was a very quick trip, but well worth it.

While we were there, we got to talking about the fact that my wife’s dad, brother, and I have all preached from the same stage at their church in Georgetown, OH. I new that, but being there and seeing it again, it was a great reminder. I love that we have all had the opportunity to preach God’s word from that stage. I was sharing that with my mother-in-law, and that is when the real idea of legacy hit me. Their side of the family has a lot of preachers. I already knew that, but she told me that they had been counting. Including me marrying into the family, and my brother-in-law who is currently in Bible College, we have 20 active preachers in the family.

I was blown away by that number. That is crazy, but that is awesome. And my wife’s grandmother is a huge part of that legacy. Her and her husband helped start a church early in their lives, in their living room. That church today has thousands of people that attend weekend services. While I have a legacy of being faithful to Jesus in my side of the family, I married into a legacy of preachers and missionaries as well!

But that is not where I want it to end. I want to live my life in such a way that I can help build that legacy and pass it to the next generation. Not to make a name for me, but to exalt the name of Jesus Christ throughout this world. And I have a challenge for you as well. Find your legacy. If you find that you have a legacy that you want to change, do so.

Hebrews 12:1-3 states, “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, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

You see, we have a legacy of those that went before us. They set the example of how to live as a Christ follower. But we also have Jesus himself. This passage also tells us how to continue that legacy so that we can pass it along to those that follow us. And when the world makes us lose our focus, just remember, “let us fix our eyes on Jesus”. What legacy do you want to pass along to the next generation?

Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, Encouragement, God, Ministry

Ministers, Guard Yourself

I wrote an article a while ago (click here for that article) challenging my ministry friends to make sure they carve out time to listen to other sermons for their own growth. Not growth in preaching skills or anything like that. Their personal spiritual growth. In my weekly schedule, I try to make time each week for at least a couple of different sermons from preachers that I learn a lot from. Although I am not perfect at doing this, I try to make an effort to keep this a part of my weekly schedule.

Something took place late last week that reminded me more than ever that we, as Christian leaders, preachers, and ministers, have got to guard our hearts and focus on our relationship with Jesus. This whole thing is still a little raw, but I want to pass this warning on to you. All of us, as Christ followers have to work on our relationship, but those that are in the ministry are sometimes more susceptible to not guarding ourselves.

It is easy to forget to work on your own relationship with Jesus when you are busy with preparing lessons, sermons, worship sets, etc. The week is gone before you realize that you never cracked the Bible for your own study, or spent any time in prayer. I get it. I struggle with this more than I would like to admit. And it has got to change. If you do not struggle with that, please guard yourself, because that will be an area that the enemy attacks at some pint.

So what event took place last week that makes me want to warn all of you, especially those in ministry? A man that I respected, that had 25+ years in ministry, that was the first worship minister that I remember (from when I was in 4th grade), a man that helped me form who I am in my relationship with Jesus in the way I thought he led his life, went on stage at a Freedom From Religion event in Pittsburgh, PA and announced to the world that he is an atheist, and has been one since 2008. He did not leave full time ministry, however, until at least 2013.

To say I was shocked is an understatement. Sitting in worship with him, seeing him lead worship, participating in board meetings with him, I had no clue anything like this was going on in his life. I am still processing, and in reality, going through some of the stages of grief.

For my purposes here, I do not want to go into the details of why this man did what he did. I want to use this as a warning to all of us. Guard your heart. Guard your relationship with Jesus. Do not put your job, even if it is ministry, above your personal relationship with Jesus. Paul challenges us in Romans 12 to not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed. Let me just quote it here. In Romans 12:1,2, Paul states, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

When we lose sight of our relationship with Jesus, and trying to be transformed into His image, the world begins to transform us into what it wants us to be. For those in ministry, it can be even harder if we do not guard ourselves more vigilantly. Let’s rally around each other, and help each other to not lose sight that our relationship with God has to be strong before we can try to help others with their relationships. As the author of Hebrews tells us, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…”

Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, Encouragement, Newspaper

Make It Real (10-22-16)

A few months ago, I wrote about preparing to be a sponsor at a week of church camp at Guadalupe Christian Camp. The week went extremely well, as did the whole summer schedule there. In fact, I would say that none of us involved could have expected it to go any better than it did. God moved in the lives of all those involved.

As we enter the fall, with only a two and a half months left in 2016 (which is unbelievable), my attention is turning to another camp event. I have the privilege of getting to plan Guadalupe Christian Camp’s MidWinter retreat. This event is for Jr. and Sr. High students (6th-12th Grades), and is held on January 13th through January 15th with the option for each group to stay through lunch on the 16th if they do not have to be back for school (it’s also Martin Luther King Jr. weekend).

As I am starting to get a framework put together for this weekend, the theme of “Make it Real” has me thinking a lot about how we make our faith real in our own lives. Mark 8 records a conversation between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus has asked them who the people say He is. They give Him some of the titles and names that others are saying about Jesus. And then Jesus turns the conversation. Mark records Jesus’ next question in verse 29 this way, “‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’” (emphasis mine).

I have talked to way too many people throughout my life that say they are a Christian, but when I ask about how they are living out their faith, they cannot really give me an answer. Once you do a little more digging, what you discover is they say they are a Christian (or more commonly they identify themselves with a denomination, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, etc.) because that is where their family members go to church. It is how they were raised, and they identify themselves that way. But when it comes down to if it is real in their lives, their faith and the way they live their life in regards to following Jesus has never become real to them.

Before you think I am being harsh, let me say that I was in the same position early in my life as well. That is why Jesus’ question is so important. He does not say to us individually, “who do your parents or grandparents say I am”. He looks straight at us and asks, “Who do you say I am.” How we answer that question has a huge impact in how we live our lives as well. Making our faith in Christ real, or our own, is sometimes a difficult process, but it is a necessary process if we are going to truly follow Him. So my challenge for you today is simply this: Make it Real!

Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, Encouragement, God, Life

How Much Time Do You Have?

It seems that every time we turn around anymore, there is more news of tragedy. Whether it be a school shooting, bad storm or flooding, a fire, an accident resulting in an untimely death, illness, or anything else you can think of. Life is not something that we should be taking for granted.

I was reminded of this even more over the weekend. As an avid sports fan, I try to stay up on all the major sports news happening across our country, and in some sports even all around the world. There are so many ways to do this, and getting sports news updated on my phone is one of the ways that I stay up to date with what is happening in the athletic world.

Baseball is one of the sports that I like to follow, and have been a fan of the Atlanta Braves for as long as I can remember. Over the weekend, tragedy struck in the MLB. A pitcher for the Miami Marlins, Jose Fernandez, who was only 24 years old, was killed in a boating accident Sunday morning. The Marlins just happened to be playing the Braves over the weekend, and because of the accident, the game on Sunday afternoon was rightfully cancelled.

Over the last few days since his passing, the MLB and specific teams have been paying tribute to Fernandez, and mourning his loss. Unexpected death is always something that is hard to understand and to deal with. My thoughts and my prayers go out to his family and loved ones that are grieving over his death.

The situation happening in Miami, while tragic, has got me thinking. I saw a quote somewhere this week, and honestly cannot remember where, but I want to share it with you. It said something along the lines of “you are only one breath from eternity at any given moment”. It is so true. None of us knows what is going to happen later today, tomorrow, or next week. We never know how much time we have left on this earth.

In Philippians 2:9-11, Paul writes, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” In other words, one way or the other, everyone is going to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. You never know how much time you have left. Have you acknowledged Jesus as Lord of your life and are trying to live for Him? If not, you might want to give it some serious thought. “You’re only one breath from eternity at any given moment”, and you want to make the acknowledgement of who Jesus is before you get to eternity. If you have questions, I would love to talk with you.

Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, Encouragement, God, Life

I Despise Politics

If you know me at all, you know that I despise politics, in any form or fashion. I rarely if ever engage in political talk with anyone, especially people that I do not know well. Political arguments have been known to destroy good friendships, as well as turn into knock-down, drag out fights. It just seems like nothing good ever comes from talking politics, yet all you see in our society at the present time is political ads, debates, arguments, and more…everywhere.

I guess that is natural with the presidential election coming up in just over a month, but I have to admit, this is my least favorite time of the year, news wise, because all you see or hear is politically charged.

Well, like I said, I despise politics, but I am going to break for and write about the election coming up in just over a month. Before you get too far ahead of me, I will not be “endorsing” anyone. In fact, I really do not think that we have any good choice this year when it comes to the candidates for president, and I will not even name a single candidate by name. You know who they are anyway.

What I want to write to you this month is about all the doom and gloom that seems to be present on both sides of the election process. Democrats are talking about how horrible it would be if the Republican candidate were to be elected. Republicans are talking just as much about how horrible it would be if the Democrat candidate were to be elected. Both are completely ignoring any third party candidates that have gotten into the race.

Here is the problem as I see it. I see just as many Christians talking about how horrible it would be if one or the other were to win the election. The problem with that is it seems that they are putting all of their hope in a political party, instead of trusting in the only One that we can truly have hope in; Jesus Christ.

This world seems to be in a bad place. But I have news for you. A republican is not going to fix things. A democrat is not going to fix things. Only Jesus Christ, and people fully committed to following Him are going to fix the problems of the world. I am not trying to tell you not to be involved in the election. By all means, vote, but do not hang your hope in a political party. In fact, scripture tells us that our hope is not on anything in this world.

Paul writes in Philippians 3:19-21; “19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

Our hope is in heaven. Jesus is the only hope this world has. Never lose sight of that. A fellow minister that I went to school with sent this out today on Twitter. Ben Stroup wrote, “God isn’t desperate to ‘MAGA’ (Make America Great Again) nor is He ‘With her.’ The kingdom is about way more than one election in one country. Relax”.

Christian Living, Encouragement

Attacks Will Come

Paul’s letters to Timothy have always been encouraging to me. I read them fairly often, and I found myself this morning reading II Timothy. Just about all of my Bibles that I read from regularly have numerous hi lighted or underlined areas, especially in both letters to Timothy, yet I still find myself continuing to mark new verses or remark verses every time I read them. Today, in II Timothy was no exception. There is just comfort that I find in the words penned from Paul to Timothy, especially as a minister. Not only do I find comfort, but I also find encouragement to continue preaching and teaching, because it is my calling.

As I was reading this morning, however, I came across a verse that I was somewhat unfamiliar with. There were no hi lights or underlinings to be found. Maybe because it was toward the end of the letter, and a lot of times I find myself skimming the closings of Paul’s letters, because he is just closing out with greetings from fellow Christians. Or I had read it but it just never really stuck out to me before. But in the Bible I was reading from this morning, I hi lighted II Timothy 4:18.

In the two verses previous to it, Paul is explaining that no one came to his defense when he was on trial in Rome the first time. That is, no one except God, and God had “delivered him from the lion’s mouth”. Then Paul wrote the verse that struck me in a great way this morning. He wrote, “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.”

After reading that, Paul’s words there have been rolling around in the back of my mind the rest of the day. While I was busy finishing my sermon for Sunday, and reading other things to help build my leadership, this verse just stayed floating in the back of my mind. I was not concentrating on it, or even really thinking about it at all, but there it was.

As Christians, we face attacks almost on a daily basis anymore. They are increasing more and more in this country as well. We are told all the time that we need to be tolerant of everyone else, without any understanding of why we do not support things. We are seen more for what we might be against, than what we are for. And for that last part, we have created that and need to change that perception as much as we can.

But none the less, we are facing more and more attacks from those that do not believe in God, or do not put Him first in their lives. It is easy to get beat down by that as well. The more the attacks come, the easier it is to believe that we are on our own. Sometimes, as Christians, we attack each because we are hurt by the attack of the world as well. We have to stop doing that. We need to be united under Jesus.

Paul’s words here have stuck out to me today because it is a great reminder that no matter what comes our way in this world, God has our backs. One way or another, He is going to rescue us from every evil attack, and we have heaven awaiting us at the end of this life, no matter how tough this life actually gets.

That is why Paul can write a few verses earlier something that I think we all want to be able to say at the end of our lives. II Timothy 4:7-8 reads, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

The Church’s Job

We are beginning a sermon series all about discipleship on September 11. This is a series that I am really excited about, and one that I think can help us all in how we interact with each other and those that do not have a relationship with Jesus yet. In fact, I think we all need a reminder of this from time to time, the first part of discipleship is actually sharing your faith with someone.

When we hear discipleship, our first thought is usually something about gaining deeper understanding of scripture, a better prayer life, or something along those lines. Those things are definitely a part of discipleship, and something that we should all be striving for. But we are called to make disciples. Not just help each other that are already in a relationship with Jesus be a better disciple. This is something that I am just now really starting to understand, and something that I think has the potential to change how we interact with other people that we come into contact with in the world.

Think about it. Matthew 28:18-20 states, “18 Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” We talk about this passage all the time. You know what it is usually referred to. “The Great Commission”. It is Jesus’ final command to His disciples (and us) after His resurrection before His return to Heaven.

All to often, however, I have missed the command here. We talk about “going” and “baptizing” and many other things in this passage. Or we focus on the promise at the end that Jesus will be with us always. And that is a great promise. One that we should talk about and should give us the courage to live for Him in this broken world.

We seem to miss the “make disciples” part of this though. I know I have missed it many times. But that is the central command here. Go and make disciples. Not wait for them to come to us, not just help each other grow that already know Jesus, but go and make new disciples. That can get messy though, because we are dealing with imperfect people that carry baggage of hurts and failures with them, along with our own baggage as well. It does not give us a pass, however, from not attempting to follow this command.

I saw a friend post this quote from John Ortberg earlier today, and it kind of brought all of this into perspective for me. Ortberg wrote, “The mission of the church is not to go out into the world of disgust and shape it up. It’s to go into the world with compassion and help it out.” In other words, God has extended you grace, even when you did not deserve it, and His grace is available to others that are still mixed up in the world of disgust out there. Our job is to help them find Jesus, not condemn the world for acting immoral.

Paul put it this way in his writing to the church in Corinth; “12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked person from among you.’” (I Cor. 5:12-13). Our job is not to judge and look down at those outside the church. It is to try to find a way to help them become a disciple, and that is what our 4-week series starting on September 11 is going to deal with! I cannot wait. Please invite your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors…anyone who does not have a relationship with Jesus yet. Who knows, they might say yes.