Christian Living – Page 25 – Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Harambe (June 2016 Newsletter)

I was really hesitant to write about this topic, but it has become such a hot button issue in the last week that I felt I needed to address it. The truth is, some of you may not even be aware of the situation as it stands right now. That is because it is taking place in Cincinnati, OH, and I am not sure if it has made the Current-Argus or the local news. Because I have so many friends and family members in the Ohio and Tennessee regions, however, this situations has been hotly debated and talked about on social media. In fact, I cannot tell you the last time I scrolled through Facebook and did not see something regarding the incident at the Cincinnati Zoo. If you do not know what happened, let me briefly explain.

On Saturday, May 28, a four year old boy got away from his parents for a split second and climbed into the Gorilla enclosure at the zoo. It was no easy feat, as he had to crawl down a 15-foot drop designed to keep the gorillas in and people out, but none the less, he got in. It is the only time in the history of the zoo in Cincinnati that someone has gotten into an enclosure. A 400-pound male silverback Gorilla named Harambe came toward the boy. To make a long story short, in an effort to save the boy (the gorilla more than likely would have killed or seriously injured him, intentionally or unintentionally) the zookeepers decided that the best course of action was to shoot and kill Harambe. Tranquilizers might not take work quick enough, and Harambe and the boy were both in a moat of water. If tranquilizers did work, Harambe could drown, but he could have also fallen on the boy and drowned him as well. So, Harambe was shot, the boy saved, but the events of that day have started a firestorm on the internet.

Mike Edmisten, a ministry friend of mine that I have quoted before, wrote this on his Facebook page the day after the incident; “The internet in Cincinnati is about to melt down about the situation at the zoo yesterday. As an animal lover and zoo member, the whole thing makes me sad. Very sad. But let’s be clear about one thing…a child is worth more than a gorilla.” That statement was the first I had heard of the incident, and that is when I started looking into it a little bit. There are so many people that are furious that a gorilla had to die in order to protect a human child. There are so many people that are coming out screaming that the parents of the child be held completely responsible for the death of Harambe. There are animal rights activists that are completely up in arms about the whole incident. Remember, this was a four-year old child, and there are people calling him a brat and holding him responsible for the gorilla’s death.

Here is the thing. I am saddened by the fact that Harambe was killed. It gives me no joy to know that a very rare and beautiful animal lost his life. But given the choice of the animal dying or the child being harmed, there is no choice to me. A child’s life is more important than any animal. In the creation account in Genesis 1, it tells us that God created the animals. Then in Genesis 1:26-28 it tells us about the creation of mankind. It records; ‘“26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”’(italics mine for emphasis)

From the beginning, we were put in charge of the animals. Not to abuse them, but we are created in God’s image, while animals are not. Human life is more important. As for those that are basically wanting the parents crucified for this, just remember that accidents happen. Should the child have been able to get into the enclosure, no. Kids get away from parents all the time. This just all goes back to the mentality that we have to blame someone for everything that happens. Accidents happen, and that’s all this was. A tragic accident. From Mike again, and I’ll end with this, “I’m all for personal responsibility, but when did we lose sight of the fact that accidents really do happen?”

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Influence (July 2016 Newsletter)

This past week, I have woken to the news that two very honorable and beloved people have passed away. My guess, however, is that for most of you that are reading this, only one of these deaths has crossed your newsfeed or information pipeline. Honestly, if it was not for my connection to Cincinnati Christian University, I probably would have only heard of one of them as well. Pat Summitt, former head basketball coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols passed during the night between Monday and Tuesday, due to complications from her battle with Alzheimers. Then, this morning (Wednesday as I write this article) I woke to the news that Wayne B. Smith of Lexington, KY had passed away.

Summitt is a TN and basketball legend, winning 1,098 games in her career as the head basketball coach of the Lady Vols. It’s the most wins in NCAA basketball history. She also lead the Lady Vols to eight National Championships over the years. She retired from coaching in 2012, after being diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2011. Summitt was known for her work ethic, and instilling that work ethic in her players as well. I think the most impressive thing about Summitt’s career is the fact that every single player that played their full four years of eligibility under Summitt actually completed their degree. Every Single One. That is unheard of in the realm of collegiate athletics. The sports world, and just about everyone in Tennessee is mourning her death, myself included.

But then I come to the fact that Wayne B. Smith has died. I never met the man, but I know plenty of people that have. In fact, I had a class or two during my time at Cincinnati Christian University in a classroom that was named in his honor. The preaching classroom, where I delivered my first sermon ever, is named after Mr. Smith. One of my professors during my time at CCU recently told me a short little quip about Smith. Jon Weatherly told me that Smith used to say, “If you want to put up a plaque to honor me for my preaching, hang it over the copier.” When I saw the news this morning, the name sounded familiar, and I clicked on the first article I came across describing his death. What I learned reading that article brought me almost to tears, because I know the reward that he is receiving right now. Wayne took Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY from 152 attendees at its first service in 1956, to averaging more than 3,700 by the time he retired in 1995. Today, Southland is the largest church in Lexington, averaging more than 12,000 on a weekend between their three campuses.

It is not just how many attend Southland, though. It is about the influence that Smith had on this world. The ministers that he influenced that are now on the front lines of ministry today. Or those that were influenced by those that were influenced by him. I am in that category. I never met the man, but many of the mentors and professors that I have studied under in the past were influenced greatly by Smith. While again, I have never met him, I join in those mourning his loss, but also celebrate because we know the reward that was awaiting him. Those close to him say that he often said he wanted to die in the pulpit, a sentiment that I have expressed as well. And he came really close to doing that. He spoke briefly Tuesday evening to a group of ministers, went home, and passed away peacefully in his sleep.

There is a comparison to be made here between Summitt and Smith. The news of Summitt’s passing shut down the sports world. It even brought a statement from the POTUS about her influence. And she had great influence. When it comes down to it, however, Smith probably had a more far reaching and more eternally consequential influence, yet, you will not hear about his passing, or his life on national news. In some ways that is a sad thing, but then again, if Smith is the kind of person that everyone makes him out to be, then I think it is fitting as well. He would not want the attention. I am not saying it is wrong to honor and mourn Pat Summitt; I just wanted to take a moment of your time and honor a man that has had a great deal of “Kingdom” influence. May you rest in peace, Wayne B. Smith. And I wish I could have been there to hear you receive those words we all long for at the end; “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

For more info on the life of Wayne B. Smith, please visit http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/fayette-county/article86596192.html

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

TobyMac and Discipleship Followup

I wrote recently about the way that TobyMac has discipled other music artists, bringing them along in the ways of the Christian Music scene, as well as helping stay true to their roots of being Christians first, and musicians second. This past Sunday evening, there were 16 of us that came together to see TobyMac and the Hits Deep Tour in El Paso, TX. It was a great concert, one of the best (that’s saying a lot) shows I’ve seen Toby do, but more than that, you could feel the worship attitude in almost all the acts on the tour as well. You could really tell that they were there to worship God first, and put on a great show second.

There was a very telling moment, during one of the set changes, where I found out even more the discipleship atmosphere that Toby and his band, Diverse City, carry with them. It’s not just other artists trying to make a career as a solo artist or group that Toby and the band have taken under their wing. It’s not just fellow Christians that they show the love of Christ to. During one of the changeovers, Diverse City’s drummer Brian Haley came out to talk about a Bible study/movement that he is a part of. He was really passionate about it, because it was something that he has experienced in his own life. The “We are One” movement is what he was talking about, but I don’t have a lot of information on what it is.

What struck me the most was that he was talking about discipleship and loving someone to the cross, instead of judging them away from the love of Jesus. I related really well to that, but then he just kept talking. He said that when he joined TobyMac and the Diverse City band, he got to see first hand what this looks like. He told a story of seeing Toby and the band find someone that had been hurt time and again by the church. Someone that really didn’t know who God was. Someone that was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Someone that had no relationship with Jesus. And instead of turning away from him, they embraced him. They brought this lost man into their group, and loved him to the cross. They introduced him to God and a true relationship with Jesus. Then he dropped the big bombshell. He said, “and that man was…Me”. He had firsthand knowledge of what true discipleship can do. He lived it on the side of someone that was loved and discipled in such a way that he left a life of hopelessness and is now a child of God. He’s been with the band for 15 years, and his life is totally different than what it used to be.

That’s what discipleship is all about, and that’s why we all need to find someone to disciple.

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry, Newspaper

‘Jesus Wept’ Moments Help in a Broken World (Newspaper 4-2-16)

Coming off of a great weekend celebrating the resurrection of Jesus through Easter, I was quickly reminded that we live in a broken world. Really, it’s easy to see that when we look around. There is pain, anger, despair, and a longing for something better that most of us see on a regular basis. We see news reports of attacks in this country and around the world, but sometimes it doesn’t sink in that this truly is a broken world.

My reminder came with a phone call that most people in ministry dread. A young mom had just lost her baby in the womb. I won’t go into detail about the situation, but it quickly reminded me that I long for something better. No one should have to deal with an innocent death like this.

Jesus understands our pain, however, because he lived in this world as well. A fellow minister gave me a great example of this when offering support this week. He called it a “Jesus wept” moment. The shortest but one of the most meaningful verses in the Bible is John 11:35, which simply states, “Jesus wept”. This was because one of his friends had just died, but he also knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. Jesus weeping was more because of the pain that the other people involved were feeling, and he took the time to weep with them.

While this is a broken world, with all that pain and suffering that we see, as Christians we have the hope of a better world. That’s what this past weekend of Easter was all about. It was celebrating Jesus conquering death and the grave. Jesus going to the cross to pay the price for our sins, and then raising back to life gives us the hope that death is not final. Take heart, because our savior has conquered death. I Corinthians 15:55-57 puts it this way; “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, God, Ministry

Tobymac and Discipling (Newsletter April ’16)

Music has always been a big part of my life, but it wasn’t until recently that I’ve realized just how big of a role different Christian bands have played in my walk with Christ over the years. I listen to Christian rock and worship music while I work out, while I read, and even while I write. In fact, my Pandora radio mix is playing through my headphones while I write this article. Christian music is one of the best ways that I connect with God, and am able to refocus my life when I seem to have lost my focus. So, you could say that music is a huge part of my life.

We can learn a lot from different Christian musicians as well. The one that really sticks out in my mind first and foremost is dc Talk. They changed the way Christian music was looked at, and they paved the way for some of the most influential artists to this date. But there were others as well. Rich Mullins really challenged the perception of what Christian music was. Audio Adrenaline was right there with dc Talk as they paved the way. Skillet and Thousand Foot Krutch have continued to push the envelope and have created a sound that is allowing them to be able to play to secular crowds, getting the message of Christ out to those that otherwise may never hear it.

When dc Talk broke up, I was really disappointed, and in fact I still hold out hope that one of these days they will at least put a reunion tour together. The three members of dc Talk have all gone one to be successful outside of the group. Kevin Max is now the lead singer of Audio Adrenaline, Michael Tait is with the Newsboys, and Toby Mac has a solo career with his band called Diverse City. 16 of us will be in El Paso this Sunday evening to see Toby, and I can’t wait! But as I was thinking about this concert this week, I realized something. As much as music has influenced my life over the years, there are ways that these musicians teach us about Christianity even outside of the music they perform.

Toby Mac is the perfect example. Let me explain. This concert that we are going to this weekend, including Toby, has seven bands. At least two of the bands that will be performing are where they are today directly because of Toby Mac coming along side them, mentoring them, and helping them get opportunities to grow in their music. Capital Kings and Hollyn, in other words, have been discipled by Toby Mac. And these aren’t the only musicians that he’s helped along the way. Jamie Grace may be the most well known artist that was discipled by Toby during her early years. My first experience with Jamie was at a show where Toby was headlining, and she was on the ticket because of him.

What am I getting at? We can learn a huge lesson from Toby Mac, dc Talk, and all these other musicians. When they see someone that is wanting to walk the life they are already walking, they aren’t afraid to help them out. They aren’t afraid to come along side of them, give them advice, teach them, disciple them, and show them what it really means to be a Christian musician. But at the same time, I think they make it very clear that the first step is being a Christian. They know how to disciple and to teach others to walk for Christ. To follow Christ. And we need to be doing the same thing. Those of us that have been following Christ for a while, not that we have it all figured out, need to be willing to come along side others that haven’t had as much experience following Christ, and help them figure it out. My guess is that someone in your life at some point has discipled you, and you wouldn’t be who you are today if it wasn’t for that person. Become that person to someone else, and give them the help they need to follow Christ better. God Bless!

Christian Living, Newspaper

Getting Into Shape (Newspaper 3-12-16)

My wife and I recently joined one of the gyms here in town because we decided we needed to start taking our physical fitness a little more seriously. We’ve been going anywhere from three to five times a week over the last four weeks, and we are both already seeing the benefits of working out on a regular basis. I’ve noticed something interesting on our trips to the gym, and that’s that when we go about the same time everyday, we see almost the same people every time that we go. It makes sense when I think about it, because as human nature, we all tend to do better when we do things in patterns. In other words, it’s becoming habit for us to work out, and it’s habit for those that we see there on a regular basis as well.

When we first started talking about joining the gym, I told my wife that I was willing to take on the extra expense, as long as we regularly go. So far, we have been doing that. You may be wondering why I’m writing about the gym in a faith column. Well it’s really simple when you get down to it. Paul writes to Timothy in I Timothy 4:7-10, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.”

It says, train yourself to be godly. There is nothing wrong with physical training, in fact, it says that it is of some value, however, our spiritual training is even more important. The same principle applies to our spiritual training as our physical training. We need to make our spiritual training a habit. In other words, we need to be in the Word of God on a regular basis, we need to attend a gathering of other Christians on a regular basis. We need to be focusing on our relationship with God on a regular basis.

I’ve had a realization on the few days that we’ve missed going to the gym over the last month; I’ve missed it. How many of us really miss it when something comes up and keeps us from studying God’s word or when we miss gathering with fellow Christians? I know in my own life I haven’t been as committed to consciously working on my relationship with God as I have been committed to working out physically over the last month. Let’s all start taking both physical and spiritual training seriously, and if we’re going to slip on one, let it be the physical. “…train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak,

Kraig Birchfield

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

What God Taught Me About Prayer

About three weeks ago, I challenged our church to partner with the leadership and me to pray for our church and the impact we can have on our community for a full 24 hour period. We broke the 24 hours into 15-minute time slots and asked people to sign up for slots that they would commit to praying for the whole time they signed up for. I committed to take any of the time slots that were still left, so that we were assured of covering the full 24 hours.

As I write this now, we completed our 24-Hours of Prayer about three and a half hours ago, and as I’ve reflected on the time spent in prayer, focused on our church, I realized that God has taught me a lot through this process. I’m still processing everything (and exhausted because I was up most of the night), but I feel that there is value for you to hear what I learned as well.

Prayer is one of those disciplines that I always feel like I can and need to improve in, and having a commitment to praying for a specific amount of time caused me to set up a plan for how to follow through and keep my commitment. My wife graciously helped me cover some of the open slots, but in the end I had three hours and forty-five minutes that I had committed to praying during. A big chunk of that time (two hours and 15 minutes) was in one block, from 1:15-3:30 AM. I’m not saying this because I’m trying to brag about praying this much. In fact, I was really concerned at the beginning that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate and pray constantly through that entire time.

There were others that had committed to large chunks of time in one sitting like that as well, so to help them out, and myself, I put together a prayer packet, with a suggested order of prayer, Psalms that they could read and pray through, different prayers of Jesus they could read and pray as well, and also a selected reading from Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline about prayer. It was through this process that I discovered something that helped me so much. Prayer is more about setting aside time to communicate with God than it is about the words that we say. It should be a conversation between you and God, instead of just a one-sided listing of things you want from Him.

So, what did I specifically learn?

1. Start your prayer time with Confession

Starting prayer with time of confession to lay all of your sins at God’s feet really sets the time apart. The time I spent in confession last night means more than I ever thought it would. A prayer partner of mine taught me to do this a few years ago, but I never really understood the benefit of it until last night. I started my prayer time confessing those things that I just can seem to shake in my life, and it was the usual reaction on my part. That is until I realized just how broken I really am. That was a hard realization, and it led me to literally weeping for a few minutes in my brokeness. And it caused me to cry out to God like I hadn’t done in a long time.

Crying out to God like that helped me connect with Him again. It led to the rest of what I learned throughout the rest of the night. I got into the flow of a conversation like I was literally speaking to a friend in the same room. That was something that I hadn’t felt in a long time either. My two hour and 15 minute time block of prayer seemed to fly by after I was able to settle in to that conversation like I had. If you are having a hard time connecting with God, make a point of spending time in confession to Him on a regular basis. It may just be that the sin in your life is keeping you from that connection, and that confession and crying out for His help is all you need to reconnect.

2. There is value in praying for individuals

My prayer time actually started with a simple 15 minute session at 7:30 PM. Since I just had 15 minutes, and was just finishing up dinner as well, I decided that that 15 minutes would be best spent praying for each individual that had agreed to pray during our prayer event.

Later on in the evening, after my time of confession during my long block, I wrote out a list of all the people that attend our church (we’re a small congregation, so it wasn’t too hard to name each person), and then spent some time praying for each individual and family. It made me appreciate each person, even if there are things that I don’t agree with them on. How can you hold a grudge with someone if you are committed to praying for them on a consistent basis?

3. Find your own style

For me, I concentrate best with music on in the background. Complete silence allows my mind to wander, or I just flat out fall asleep (especially at 1:30 in the morning). So I put headphones on, turned on my Pandora shuffle, and listened to Christian music while I was spending time with God. In fact, when certain songs came on that really connect with me and are like prayers from my heart, I treated them just like that. I stopped talking, and just worshipped along with the song that was playing. They became my own prayers, and I even literally hit my knees a couple of times during the songs, because I was drawn to throw myself down before God.

The point I’m trying to make here is simple. Find your own way to remain focused, especially if you are undertaking a long prayer time. If it wasn’t for music playing in my ears, no matter how committed I was to praying, I would have either fallen asleep or I would have been just daydreaming. But knowing that about myself, I was able to correct it and spend that time focused on God.

4. There is value in praying others’ prayers

I knew there I was going to have a hard time praying my own words for that long, no matter how committed I was to it. So I took my own advice, and spent time praying through prayers from Psalms and Jesus’ own prayers. I did this during my 6:00-6:30 time slot. After my 3:30 session ended, I caught a little bit of a nap, setting an alarm for 5:50, so I would be awake for this short 30 minute session.

I was out of it, but awake enough to be able to follow through with my commitment. This seemed like a good time to pray some already written prayers, instead of having to come up with my own words. But at the same time, I wanted these to become my own prayers as well. So I read through them, concentrating on the words, and placing them in my own life.

5. Journaling is great

Writing is something that I find great joy in. I process things through my writing, whether someone else will ever read those words or not. Journaling during my prayer time, however, is not something that I have been very consistent with over the years. One of the journals that I have is a combination of Bible study notes, thoughts, and even a few prayers, although not many. I had that laid out, not really sure what I was going to do with it, but at one point, when I had run out of words, I flipped through that journal, reading every prayer that I had written there. It was a great experience, but it was also a little terrifying, because I realized some of the things that I was struggling with now, and had confessed earlier, were the same things I was confessing throughout this prayer journal, dating back several years.

I also spent over an hour total writing down some of my prayers. That was a great experience, because I was able to really concentrate on my words, and communicate exactly what I wanted to say to God at that moment. It is also great because now I have a record of my prayer time. I prayed some pretty big prayers, and now I have a record of that, so I can look back at later and see how God has chosen to answer those prayers. One of the prayers is actually going to be worked into my sermon this week, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I didn’t have them recorded.

6. Silence is part of prayer

Prayer cannot just be one sided. If you are doing all of the talking the whole time, there is really no value in it. It’s almost as if you are just dictating to God. There is value in “Being still, and knowing that He is God”. Sitting in silence, and just listening for what God may be trying to tell you is one of the best parts of prayer. This world is full of noise, yet when we can shut out the outside world (even if that means listening to music) and just patiently waiting for God really helps our connection with Him.

This 24-Hours of Prayer that we did with our church has been an eye-opening experience for my. In a lot of ways, I was actually disappointed when my time was over. That is until I realized that I can spend time with God in these same ways anytime I want. I just have to be committed to setting aside the time to spend with Him, and I am going to try to make this a daily thing for me from here on out (maybe not almost four hours a day).

What do you need to do to improve your prayer life? Is there anything I can do to help? Trust me when I say that spending committed time with God in prayer can truly change things!

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Praying Audaciously…Now What (February 2016 Newsletter)

Last month, I wrote about praying audaciously, looking at Jesus’ prayers from John 17. It ended with a challenge to prayer big, tough, audacious prayers throughout the month of January. If you want a refresher of that article, you can click here to read it again. This month, I want to follow up on that article. We’ve talked a lot this past month about prayer, and have even partnered together to pray over all aspects of Central Christian Church for 24-Hours straight. Prayer is an important part of our relationship with Christ, but we can’t treat it like prayer is the only thing that we should be doing. One of the things that I have noticed in my own life, and in the lives of those that I am close to, we are either really good at praying, but not following that up with action, or we don’t take time to pray, but we’re really good at jumping to action right away. Neither of those are the best that we should be doing.

Take for example the prayers of Jesus in John 17(click here for a refresher). Jesus prayed and prayed hard at that time. He was hours away from going to the cross. Actually, all four gospels record some version of His prayer that night(Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22). He not only took time to pray for His disciples and for all of us that would eventually come to know and follow Him, He was praying that God’s will be done. He didn’t want to go to the cross. In fact, Luke’s account of His time in the garden praying says that Jesus was so stressed over what He knew was coming, He was literally sweating blood. It would have been easy for Jesus to pray, and just think that was enough. To walk away because He did what He thought was enough, and prayed about something that was bothering Him. We do that a lot. But He didn’t do that.

He prayed and then He went out and did what He had to do. He didn’t just leave it at prayer. He put the physical effort in and He went to the cross. And we should all be so glad that He did. That was God’s will, and Jesus put in the work to complete the task that God had given Him. If He had just left it at prayer, and then walked away because He didn’t think He needed to do anything else, the sacrifice for our sins would not have been completed.

Other scriptures speak to this, but the first one that comes to mind when I was thinking through this was James 2:14-26. James is talking about faith vs. deeds, but I think it can easily be seen as prayer vs. work as well. So in other words, what is prayer without putting some work in at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, God wants us to pray, and He is more than capable of handling the situations that we pray about. Sometimes, however, by allowing us to work at the things we are praying for, He uses that to help us grow in those areas and in our faith.

In the article last month, I mentioned an author and preacher by the name of Mark Batterson, and his book The Circle Maker, all about praying big prayers. One of my favorite Batterson quotes, and I can’t remember which of his books it’s int (probably in multiple), is this; “Pray like it depends on God, but work at it like it depends on you.” That’s my challenge to you this month, and it will be a main focus of our teaching times over the next few weeks as well. Put the time in praying, but don’t be afraid to put the work in either. God doesn’t want us to just sit idly by after we’ve prayed. He wants us to do the work as well.

So, think about that big prayer or prayers that you’ve been praying over the last month (if you haven’t been praying those big prayers yet, it’s not too late). Keep praying those prayers. Pray bolder prayers. Then ask yourself, “What can I do to help bring about the results of the prayers that I have been praying?” And then do it. Figure out what needs to happen on your end, keep praying, and then do the work! Let’s all get out there and put in the work to reach this community for Christ.

Christian Living, Life

Guilty (October 2015 Newsletter Article)

I’ve never been a fan of shows like Judge Judy but a clip appeared online this week that caught my attention. It’s only about 30 second long, however, it caused a great deal of laughter between Kelley and I. In the clip, the plaintiff is explaining what was in her purse that was stolen, apparently by the defendant. She is going through the list of what she had to replace, and said that she had an ear-piece in the handbag. Then, out of nowhere, in a move of stupidity, the defendant speaks up and says, “There was no earpiece in there ma’am” to Judge Judy. And Judge Judy starts laughing hysterically. This guy, not even realizing it, admits to stealing the purse. In under 30 seconds, the case is over, the defendant has incriminated himself, and Judge Judy has awarded the plaintiff an award of $500. The guy was guilty, but what made the situation so funny is that he accidentally admitted to the crime. Who knows how the case would have gone if he had just kept his mouth shut, but he didn’t. The man got what he deserved.

We’re guilty too. Romans 3:22-23 states, “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,”. For all have sinned. We are all guilty. And honestly, if we think about it, if we were to go before God trying to hide that sin, we would mess up just like the defendant in front of Judge Judy. We can’t fool God, and He’s going to know exactly what we did. But the beautiful thing for us, as Christians, is that we don’t have to appear before God on judgement day alone. We will have someone to fight for us. Paul hints at this in a way in I Timothy 1:15-17, which reads, “15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Paul is saying that he is that guy on Judge Judy. The one that has sinned and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that he is guilty. But Jesus has offered him mercy to show us all that His mercy and grace are available to us. That should be comforting. We don’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing when we come before the judge. We have someone that will confess us before Him. Matthew 10:32-33 records Jesus as saying, “32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” If we have confessed Jesus as our Lord and Savior before men, and not been ashamed of Him, He will confess us before the Father. We have someone that will be our advocate. In fact, to finish out what Romans 3:22-23 is saying, read Romans 3:24-26. It says, “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.”

I, for one, am glad that I have Jesus. I will not be ashamed of the fact that He is my Lord and Savior. I want to live that through my life. And He will be my advocate in front of the Father. I won’t have to try to keep myself from saying “there was no earpiece in there, ma’am”. We all know I’m guilty, but Jesus’ blood has paid the price for my sin, and for your sin if you’ve confessed Him before others! No more being ashamed of Him!

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Sick Of It

Today has been one of the hardest and most draining days that I’ve had since I’ve been in ministry. I really didn’t have to do anything today either, except watch a family grieve as they said goodbye to a 21 year old kid that died way too young. I didn’t have to speak at the funeral, but as I set there, watching family members weep uncontrollably at times, and watching this kid’s friends walk up to his casket, I’m just emotionally and spiritually drained. This kid’s death could have been completely prevented. It was an accidental overdose, so all of those involved are just heartbroken, thinking what could have been. I think I met him once or twice in passing, so it’s not that I was emotionally tied to him. But his aunt and uncle are core members at my church. And their youngest daughter is the same age. Watching all of them deal with his death breaks my heart, because there is nothing I can do to take away their pain. Quite frankly, I’m sick of it!

But it’s not really what you think. I’m not sick of ministry. I’m not sick of trying to be there for people as they go through tragedy. What I’m sick of is sitting back and not doing more to try to introduce people to Jesus that don’t know him. The kid that died was not a professing Christian to my knowledge. And now he’s gone. My heart breaks for the family, but more than that, my heart breaks for his friends. As I sat in that funeral home this morning, it was amazing to see the different crowds. You had his family and friends of the family that all sat toward the front. It was the type of crowd that you would typically see at a funeral. But then behind the row I was sitting in, there was a crowd of his friends. I try not to judge by appearances, but it was the type of crowd that you would expect to see at a wild party somewhere. These are the people that my heart truly breaks for.

A few of them, before the funeral started, and before the family was actually brought in to the chapel, came up to the casket one at a time. They stood there looking at their friend with the same blank expression on their faces. They didn’t understand what was going on. And who could blame them. When you’re 21 years old, you think you’re invincible. All I could think while watching them then, and as they were filing out of the funeral home after the service was I hope and pray that seeing your friend lose his life this young will be a wake-up call. But not just a wake-up call to get clean and live life sober. I pray that they see this as a wake-up call that life with a relationship with Jesus is so much better than any other kind of life.

It’s been a wake-up call for me, that’s for sure. I’m sick of not doing as much as I can to impact the community around me for Jesus. This world is lost, and seems to be getter further and further from the truth at a rapid pace. And there is only one thing that can fix that. Jesus. He’s the answer. Addiction takes hold in many forms, and it’s usually an attempt to fill a void in our life. But there is only one thing that can actually fill that void. John 10:10 reads, “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Those of us that have found Jesus and have a relationship with Him have got to stop keeping Him to ourselves. This world depends on it. This world desperately needs Jesus, and we are called to help make the introduction. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about being unashamed of the gospel (read that here). In other words, we need to live out our faith, and we need to be sharing it with those that we are able to build relationships with. If watching this family mourn the loss of a 21 year old kid has taught me one thing, it’s that the stakes are even higher than we could imagine. We’ve got to start sharing Christ with those that don’t know Him, because you never know how much time someone has.

Romans 1:16, 17 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”