Preparation - It's often painful but well worth it!

Do you remember the spoiled girl in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory who wanted the goose that laid the golden eggs?  Veruca Salt was her name and I can still hear her yelling, "I want it NOW!"  Then there is this obnoxious commercial for a company that pays people a lump sum (much smaller of course than what they are entitled) for a settlement they would have received over time.  Person after person yells, "It's my money and I want it NOW!"  Cell phones, text messaging, satellite radio, Ipods, and WIFI have bred a generation of Americans who have the desire for immediate gratification.  We want it now.  The problem is that we don't necessarily want to do the hard work necessary to achieve much of what God really wants for our lives.  

I was at breakfast this morning with my ministry partner (doing church) when a really powerful analogy come to us. As many of you know, I am heading to SW Colorado to hunt Elk in September.  I am 46, live near sea level, and up until November of 2009 was a wee bit overweight.  I hadn't shot my bow in a few years and couldn't  keep a group of three arrows within 2 feet of each other at 40 yards to save my life.  I got winded when I gave my 50lb eight year old son a piggy back ride up the steps to his room and I wasn't at all prepared to carry a 50 lb. backpack up hill and hunt Elk with a bow at an elevation of 11,000 feet.  Sure it would be really great if I could fly out there, strap on the backpack, run up the mountain, chase a big bull elk, shoot with the accuracy of Robin Hood, an all the while feel like I was lying at the poolside in a fine resort.  But guess what?  This boy was unprepared. So what to do?

I needed to loose about 20 lbs., get in shape cardiovascularly, tune my bow, practice my shooting from different distances and different angles.  I needed some new equipment. I filled my pack with 55 lbs. of weights, strapped it on, and walked for miles and trotted up and down the nearby ski hill.  It was miserable.  I was hot, tired, sore, and stiff.  I had to spend time on the treadmill, in the gym, and in the backyard with the bow.  I had to break in a new pair of boots walking for miles on humid 90+ degree days while my family swam at the neighbor's pool.  You can't just go from ground level to the top of the mountain without preparation.  I think you get the idea.  

In the same way, I think, we as Christians want to have all the benefits, be fed spiritually, be lifted up emotionally, and find forgiveness but aren't willing to do the hard work, endure the suffering, or sacrifice the time we set aside for fun and pleasure in order to be all and do all the Lord has called us to do.  I know this for a fact because I do the same!  I want to be spiritually mature, strong in my faith, morally solid, and bold in my proclamation of Christ but I am not always ready to do what it it takes for that to happen.  Prayer, time in the Word, gathering with brothers and sisters to worship, enduring ridicule or loss of "friends" because of a boldness to speak the Name of Jesus.  Many of us are willing to invest an hour or to a week and maybe a few minutes each day to talk to God but there is no way we will see the summit of what God wants for our lives if we live this kind of Christian life.

We often think that immediately after Paul encountered the risen Christ he was all ready to do the work God set him apart to do.  We often see his powerful ministry in a condensed, Reader's Digest way.  Sure he was excited and filled with the Spirit and proclaimed Christ from the outset but his ministry did not happen overnight and without pain.  Galatians chapters 1 and 2 tell us that he went to Arabia for three years before he met Peter and James then another fourteen years passed before he returned to Jerusalem. Paul was stoned, beaten, flogged, and endured much suffering as I have pointed out in other posts but he also just plain spent time with the Father.  He knew the Word.  My son reminded me this week of a verse that is SO important and reminds us of our need for preparation, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11)  How do I keep myself from sinning?  Hiding God's word in my heart.  How do I do that without being in God's Word.

The last component of this isn't what we do but what God has to do in us.  Sometimes it's just time, plain and simple.  We just aren't ready yet.  We can't run until we walk.  We can't chew meat until we have teeth.  We can't write a novel if we haven't learned to read.  God sometimes just has to bring us through some stuff, strengthen us, build our faith through suffering, teach us some things about him and about ourselves, and prune of some dead useless things from us before we can climb higher up the mountain.

Peace in Christ,

David

Is Anybody Out There?

In 1970 Pink Floyd released a song with only four words. They repeated the four words four times.   It's hard to believe you can write a song that has only four words but I think these words, in the form of a question, resonate with me and the only thing that might make the song more complete is an answer to the question:




Is anybody out there?


Is anybody out there?


Is anybody out there?


Is anybody out there?


I originally had a different path for this blog in relation to these four words, which I'll share at the end, but I think God is leading be down a different road.  


You may remember that a week ago I had a faith testing experience with a Monarch butterfly but that experience (which you can read at your leisure) revealed something else to me.  I have a number of people close to me, people I care about, who deny the existence of a creator God.  They have answered the question "Is anybody out there?" with a resounding "No!"  No God is out there.  I have written a couple blogs posts pondering the evolution-creation debate but as I thought about the butterfly I remembered its AMAZING life cycle.  


Please read this carefully and let it sink in.


In March and April  Monarchs lay an egg the size of a pinhead.  The egg sits on the leaf of a milkweed plant and four days later it hatches into a tiny caterpillar which eats and grows for two weeks.  It attaches itself to the leaf with silk and it's skin peels off as it is transformed into a chrysalis (like the cocoon of a moth).  Over the course of 10 days a mysterious process we call metamorphosis (change of form) takes place and out comes a beautiful and graceful adult monarch butterfly.  That in itself is amazing but read on!


This butterfly will lay similar eggs just before it dies only 2-6 weeks after being born.  The first butterfly is generation number one and the eggs just laid will be generation two. The second generation of monarch butterflies is born in May and June, and then the third generation will be born in July and August. These monarch butterflies will go through exactly the same four stage life cycle as the first and second generations did, dying two to six weeks after it becomes a beautiful monarch butterfly, laying eggs for the fourth generation butterflies.  Still with me?


Here is where it gets really crazy.  This fourth generation Monarch, born around September doesn't die in a few weeks but instead takes flight, heading to the warm weather of the south.  It flies 2500 miles to Mexico or California and will live 6-8 months before migrating 2500 miles back up north where it will lay eggs in March and April for the first generation of new Monarchs.  


"Is anybody out there?"  Hmmm?  I think that as I have shed my Godless view of evolution from the primordial soup of the cooling earth, the Monarch stands as a monument to the creativity of God.  If you doubt that God exists or that there is a designer of life please think hard about the Monarch and how it could have come to pass by slow steady changes over time.  I think you will have to cling to your atheism only with the strength of your pride.  I had the gift of having my pride stripped from me so that my eyes could see clearly the hand of God.  It is easier to lay it down rather than having it stripped but whatever works!


Lastly, I was going to use the words, "Is anybody out there?" as a reaction to the lack of response to my last post asking for questions or comments but God let me know today that it is His business who reads this blog, not mine.  Whether 0 or 1,000,000 it matters not.... I just need to keep writing.  God will take it from there.  My pride got in the way.  So that's why this is out on Monday and not Saturday.  I was pouting.......  :)

John 1:2-4 

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Here is a link to a time lapse video of a Monarch life cycle.. facts above where from monarch-butterfly.com


Monarch Butterfly


Peace in Christ,


David

I'm looking for your questions and comments.

I wanted this week to just share a little information about the I-61 Project Blog and then give you the opportunity to participate both for your benefit and mine.  The blog has gone out into Internet world for eighty-three weeks and has reached forty-seven countries and forty-nine states.  My hope is that in this someone has drawn closer to God through faith in Jesus Christ and that questions have been answered, hope renewed, doubts relieved, and comfort zones stretched.

The Blog is an off-shoot of our main ministry website THE I-61 PROJECT which contains audio podcasts, videos, and soon christian music videos.  The content on the main site will increase as our resources increase but, in the meantime the blog will go out as long as God allows.

I want to give you the opportunity to participate in the content of the blog.  I would like you to share any questions you have about life, faith, God, the Bible, or any other questions or thoughts that might be unsettled in your heart.  I certainly don't have all the answers but God does.  Sometimes he give us the answers but other times we have to settle for the fact that we will never be God so we will never have all the answers.  But God in his grace does share much with us through his Word and through revelation by the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you receive this blog through an email subscription there should be a link at the bottom that says, "Email the Author" and if you are reaching us directly via the website then you will see, to the right of this week's post title, a small box with a number circled in red.  That is the comment box.  Click on the number and it will open up a comment box for you to drop us a note.  If you don't have one of the profiles listed you can use "anonymous".  If you haven't subscribed to email delivery and you want to get the blog sent directly to your email click the "email subscription" highlighted above and click on the "Get the I-61 Project Blog Delivered by Email" link on the right side of the page.

Please feel free to share or ask anything.  No topic is off limits.  I may not be able to post all of them but I will answer all of them.  If you want to be sure you receive an answer make sure I have your email address.  I will not ever publish or share the address but will only use it to respond to your question or comment.

One last thing:  If you haven't used the "Search Previous Post" tool on the right side of the page you might want to give it a try.  Type in any word or phrase such as "I need more faith" and the search engine will look through all eighty-three posts and list ones that contain that content.  It is a good way to see if your question has already been addressed.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Peace in Christ,

David

Yo-Yo's and Roller Coasters - Enduring the Ups and Downs of Life

Yo-Yo's and roller coasters . . . seems like our lives are a lot like them.  They go up then down, then up then down again.  I was driving in my car today contemplating life.  Seems I do that quite a bit these days, most of the time it's not very dramatic or too deep but today was different.  My faith is being tried and I guess that's a given, but this week it ramped up a bit.

You probably know by now that I am a Christian and I believe in an all-powerful, sovereign, just, and loving God.  I believe God has purpose in all things and is NEVER caught off guard or surprised by events, good or bad.  So here I was driving down the road in my SUV when out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of a beautiful Monarch butterfly. No sooner did my mind begin to form the words "Isn't God good!" when, SPLAT! It hit my windshield at 60 miles per hour.  In an instant this flying piece of art was turned into a green speck of goo on a piece of glass.  OK, so not the usual content of a Christian Blog but there is a connection.  I protested out loud to God, "Lord, what was that about?! Why did you go through all the trouble of making this thing if you were just going to let it die like that?"  I didn't hear God verbally but I felt pretty convicted that God is God and I am not.  The words God spoke to Job in Chapter 38 popped into my head, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?"  Then God went on to remind Job how much he didn't know. He reminded me of the same.  So on I went having to trust that God knows and has purpose in all things.  He could have stopped the butterfly from hitting the windshield but didn't.  Why?  Only he knows and I have to trust that.

Don't worry, I'll get around to the Yo-Yo and roller coaster thing soon but a couple more things need to be shared first.   A couple weeks ago I was playing the guitar in a worship service that included the baptism of a little baby (a topic for another post).  The baby was there with his mother, father, and two toddler siblings.  There were four full rows of happy family members and friends.  This morning I learned that on Thursday the baby's father was killed when his vehicle hit a tree.  I looked up to heaven and didn't have the strength to form the word, "Why?" but as I played and sang songs to God today I couldn't stop thinking about the butterfly.  God could have reached his hand down and stopped the man's car but he didn't.  Why? Only God knows.  Seeing a monarch butterfly in flight - UP.  Seeing it hit the windshield - DOWN.  Seeing the smile of a father as his child is baptized - UP.  Hearing of his sudden death - DOWN.  Yo-Yo's and roller coasters.

My daughter came to visit this week and when she was sitting across the table from me at dinner and I could look into her eyes I was on top of the world.  UP.  When I put her on a plane for Philly, my heart sank. DOWN.

Healthy one day, cancer the next.  Successful businessman one day, unemployed the next.  Strong in your faith one day, doubting the next.  Holy and righteous one day, sinful the next.  Yo-Yo's and roller coasters.

So what to do?  Paul tells us that he had to endure the highs and the lows and here is what he said in Philippians 4:11-13

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.


It's all about Jesus.  It's about HIM who gives us strength.  In this world everything is temporary and fading.  I wrote before about our things being rusty and moth-eaten. Even our lives are described in the bible as a breath, a vapor, and like a cut flower.  Jesus warned a man who was storing up riches that "This very night your life will be demanded of you."  Jesus was clear that our focus was to be on God through the life Jesus gives us in his sacrifice at Calvary.  Our strength comes through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who lifts us to great heights and carries us in the extreme lows.  We can do all things through him.  Remember that when the Apostles were seeing Jesus perform miracles they were UP and when they saw him die on the cross they were DOWN.  But, God didn't leave them there did he?  No, he gave them and he gave us probably the most powerful visual to restore our strength: the resurrection.  He gave them hope. He gives us hope.  One day my friend there will be no more DOWNS, EVER! Only UP, UP, UP.  It's a promise for those who have been saved by faith in Jesus.  Like Bart from MercyMe sings, "Hold Fast!" 


Peace,


David

Get Rid of the Static - Listening to God Above the Noise of the World

I was driving to work the other day when I turned on the radio to a Christian station.  This particular station is a bit smaller and it's broadcast radius equally small so as I turned a corner in the road the once clear voice of the Bible teacher became intermingled with classical piano music.  For about a mile or two the Word of God was very difficult to hear as two out of every three words was overtaken by static, the musical notes of the piano, and then by the voice of the classical station DJ.  So, back and forth it went: 


Bible Teacher :  "Jesus said in John Chapter one, 'in the begin . . .'


static, static, static 


Bb7, F#m7, A, Em


static, static, static


Bible Teacher:  "Through Him all . . . "


D.J. :  "Now we'll enjoy Chopin's Nocturne in B-Flat minor"


static, static


I realized that God was showing me something in this.  He was showing me that, in this world, there are many things that compete for our attention especially those things that hinder us from hearing and discerning God's voice (a voice that the Bible, at one point, calls a "still small voice").


Did you ever try to answer your cell phone at a rock concert?  You know how you try really hard to listen to the person on the other end but the music is so loud and the crowd is so overwhelming that it's impossible.  You try plugging your other ear, sitting down, and tucking your head between your knees and you can hear a little better but the conversation is still marred.  If it's a really important call you stand up and walk out of the arena to a quiet place and soon the competing music and the roar of the crowd begins to fade.  Slowly,  the voice on the phone becomes clear and the conversation productive.


As I drew nearer to the Christian radio station tower the classical music faded and the Word's of John the Apostle came through clear as a bell:


"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, came from the Father, full of grace and truth."


The Bible tells us that the children of God recognize his voice which is a wonderful truth but equally true is that we need to be listening.  My children know my voice from all other voices but for some reason when they are playing a video game, in a trance-like state, my words fall on deaf ears.  When the game goes off (which it does really fast if my children ignore me) and they look in my eyes, it seems the words sink in much better.  


In Matthew Chapter 15 Jesus was teaching the crowd of followers and began his teaching with these words, "Listen and understand . . ."


In Mark Chapter 4 Jesus was sharing the parable of the sower and he begins with this, "Listen!  A farmer went out to sow his seed."


Did you notice the exclamation point?  Jesus knew that even more important than hearing was actually listening.  Everyone within reach of Jesus' voice could hear him but not everyone listened.  We often say, "I wish I could hear the voice of God." But I think God showed me again this week that if I want to hear him I need to tune out all the other static.  I need to turn off the TV, the IPOD, and the computer.  I need to get alone with him and spend some time in his written Word and on my knees (of whatever posture you find fit to pray).  Sure God can yell and often times I have found that if I have ignored him or failed to listen I get a really uncomfortable wake-up call.


I'm not sure if this touched you today, but I pray that your ears begin to hear and your heart respond to God's often still small voice.


Peace Friend,


David

Are You Living a Tarzan Life? One Vine to the Next

Those of you who are old enough to remember the original Tarzan recall how he would grab a vine and swing down through the trees and when he got to the top of the arc he’d grab the next vine, swing down and grab the next, and so on.   He was traveling vine to vine.  One vine wasn’t enough to get him where he wanted to go.  It didn’t fully satisfy his need or fulfill his desire.  One day to the next, one destination to the next, one “save Jane from the villain” to the next, Tarzan would go vine to vine. Each vine might have been a little different, one a little longer, one a little thinner but ultimately they were just vines and when Tarzan looked back in time all the vines were but a blur. 

It’s kind of like that in so many areas of life.  We spend time planning a meal and even more time in its preparation. We sit down to eat and twenty minutes later it’s gone and soon we prepare for the next.  We live meal to meal.  We bathe in the morning and the next day we’re in need of a bath.  We pick up our paycheck on Friday (if we’re blessed to have a job these days) and one or two weeks later we pick up the next.  We live paycheck to paycheck.  It seems we’re swinging vine to vine and it has a way of making life seem like a treadmill or like one of those exercise wheels in your hamster’s cage; he runs but really gets nowhere.

Every once in a while I lay in bed at night and get this weird feeling that time is flying by and I’ve been running on the hamster’s wheel.  Get up, shower, shave, get dressed, grab a cup of coffee, drive to work, do the job, get in the truck, drive home, hug my wife, super-secret-handshake the boys, mow the lawn, eat dinner, help with the dishes, get the kids ready for bed, say prayers, brush my teeth, crawl in bed, read for twelve minutes, and fall asleep.  Get up and start over.  All of a sudden three months have gone by. All of a sudden three years have gone by.  All of a sudden life has gone by.

I think that’s how King Solomon felt when he wrote Ecclesiastes.  After all his toil and after all his indulging he looked back and felt a sense of meaninglessness.  But I also think there are many people who are so busy swinging on their vines or are so busy running on their hamster wheels they never even notice that they aren’t really going anywhere.  Sure, maybe they have built a bigger house or bought a shiny new car but in a little while those things will look like old vines that they’ve swung on before.

God is showing me that, although I need to eat, sleep, and earn a living, without him and the promise of eternity there is an emptiness to life.  Without the promise of eternal life we are just slowly moving through time to an ultimate nothingness.  No wonder people who have been taught by secular educators that we are the random product of time and chance, coming from nowhere and going to nowhere, choose to end their lives when they are in a moment of despair.  I think it may be the same for those who believe in reincarnation and the “circle of life”.  If this life isn’t working out, check out and try the next one. 

The Bible tells us that we are created in the image of God and that this life is in preparation for the next.  What we believe here and what we do with that belief matters, not just now, but forever.  Jesus told his followers to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness then all the rest will be added unto you.”  He promised to be the bread of life so that we would never be hungry.  He promised to be living water so we would never be thirsty.  He promised to be the vine so that we would always be connected to our source of life.  He promised to be our Sheppard so that we would always have safe pasture.  He promised to be resurrection and the life so that there would never be an end to life.  When Jesus rose from the dead he validated his promises and gave us meaning and hope.

As you go from vine to vine in life take a moment to pause and ask yourself "Why am I swinging and to where am I going?"  God’s plan is not that we swing for self-satisfaction or worldly gain but that we do so for him and by his power.  Jesus told his disciples to “Follow me.” Stop swinging for a second and ask God for direction.  I’ll do the same.

Peace, David

That's called "Doubting" and it's a Point Against.

Wham!  A punch lands on the back of my right shoulder. "Slugbug white!" 


My son Trevor can spot a  Volkswagen from two blocks away in the dense fog and, as I have learned that the rules have changed to include all Volkswagens not just the Beetle. In that case you would not have to use the preface "Slugbug".  So yesterday we were driving down the road when I get whacked again and I hear, "Silver one!".  I look around and see Fords, Chevys, Toyotas, and a shiny black Lexus but no Volkswagen.  "Where?", I cried out in protest.  Trevor responded with this:


"Dad, that's called 'Doubting' and its a point against but since you didn't know the rule it won't count against you this time."  

"So you're telling me that I just have to trust that you're telling me the truth when you say, 'Slugbug or silver one'?"


"Yep!"


"Hmmmm"


"That's the rule Dad."


"OK, I won't doubt any more."


"Cool."


OK, I was a "Doubting Thomas" but so was Thomas.  He was the original, the poster child of doubt.  Jesus had appeared to the Apostles in the upper room a week earlier and when they told Thomas he was like, "No way! You guys are full of bologna.  Jesus is dead." (My paraphrase).  The NIV translates it this way:


"Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." (John 20:24-25)


A week later, with Thomas now in the room, Jesus entered and said to him, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."


It's kind of like Peter, James, John, and Thomas are driving along with Thomas in the front passenger seat when Peter (the aggressive one) punches Thomas in the arm and exclaims, "Jesus!" and Thomas says, "Where?"  Peter says, "That's called 'Doubting' and it's a point against but I won't count this one against you because you didn't know the rule."


I know it's hard to believe in Jesus and have faith especially when you can't see him and even more difficult when the road you're on is treacherous and you are afraid.  I understand that there are times when you look around and you see no sign of God (at least you don't notice them) but this is where faith comes alive.  You don't need faith to walk ahead when you are healthy, your bank account is full, your stomach is full, and everyone thinks you're something special but when you're holding the biopsy results, watching your spouse move out, or seeing the bank take back your home that's when Jesus' words mean something more.


I don't want to be trite and discount the fear, anxiety, and even despair that comes in these desert times.  I have been in a few myself.   But I know that God is God 24/7 and his Word is true.  I know that the Apostles suffered and had times of severe testing.  I know Jesus cried out from the cross, "My God, my God.  Why have you forsaken me?"  But I also know that in the end "All thing will work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose."  Jesus said, "Stop doubting and believe."  In rough seas Jesus calmed the waves and in death told Lazarus to "Come out!".


If you feel like you got punched in the arm (or maybe in the head) and you are looking around for Jesus but can't seem to see him I want to pray for you today:


"Lord, today (Insert your name)  can't seem to see you and is afraid, tired, and maybe even full of despair.  Please give him (or her) a fresh portion of faith today.  Let (your name) spiritually feel the nail marks in your hands and the hole in your side.  Place a solid rock beneath his (or her) feet and grant him (or her) grace sufficient for the day.  Give (your name) sunshine in the darkness, living water in the desert, and hope in the storm.  Help (your name) to see any sin that may be hindering their relationship with you and give him (or her) the humility and strength to repent.  Hear (your name's') cries and even if he (or she) can't form the words of a prayer I trust you know exactly what (your name) needs.  Thanks in advance for your faithfulness even when we say, "Where?".


In Jesus name.  Amen.


Peace (your name),


David

Christianity - So What?

I've been thinking a lot lately about Christianity and what it means to follow Christ.  I've been trying to come to grips with the many faces of the "church" especially in the West. It really hit me when I received an email from one of my closest brothers in the faith.  He has been diligently pursuing his degree in theology hoping to pastor a church but recently became convicted about what he saw around him.  The words that came to his heart were, "So what?"  So what if he showed up every Sunday and preached a message and then the people went about their lives like they always have.  So what?  What's the point?


He wasn't questioning the point of Christ's death and resurrection or the power of the gift of salvation through Jesus but was questioning the day to day, month to month, function of the church.  It just seemed that there was a blah, blah, ineffective, routine to it that wasn't pleasing to God. We talked about it this week and I agreed that the Lord put this on his heart not because preaching the Word is futile but because if we aren't careful it can become futile through us.  The church and the Word preached through it can be the power of God unto salvation or it can be a powerless social club that is merely a gathering place for people putting in their obligatory religious time. It can also become a place were the truth is blurred or blatantly contorted. 


Here is what struck me about the phrase. "So what?"  


I have encountered many people including a number of Christian pastors who say that all paths lead to God and that Christ is one of many ways to God.  I have heard comments like, "Jesus is the way for me but others have their way and those who claim Jesus is the only way have put God in a box."  If following Jesus is optional then I have to yell from the mountain tops, "SO WHAT?!!"  Why follow Jesus?  Why not just live life to the fullest, pursue financial wealth, meditate twice a day to decrease stress, be a nice guy, and pay my taxes on time?  Why in the world would I want to follow Jesus?  At least not the Jesus of the Bible.  The Jesus of the Bible said some crazy things about following him.


I think I've figured it out.  If we pick all the really pleasant, easy, and uplifting things Jesus said and did and form a religion around them we can sell it as a really nice way to live.  We can blend nicely with the world, with Zen, and with all the world's religions.  The answer to the question, "So what?" to them becomes: "Because it feels good and is a really good way to live."  But what about the real Jesus?  What about these scripture verses:

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me." (Matthew 24:9)

"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him." (Philippians 1:29)

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." (Mark 8:35)

"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)

If Jesus was right, following him might not make my earthly life better but drastically worse.  If Jesus was telling the truth then following him might lead to persecution, imprisonment, and even death.  History seems to show that he was right.  Christians have been fed to lions, used as fuel for Roman Tiki torches, burned at the stake, flogged, beheaded, crucified, and stoned.  So why in the world should anyone follow Jesus if we can be happy, safe, comfortable, and content without him?  If Jesus was fibbing when he said, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the father except through me." then the answer becomes, "It's ridiculous.  No way!  It's a difficult road that need not be traveled. Time to take a detour to easy street."

But if he was telling the truth and the only possibility for peace with God and eternal life is through him the answer then becomes, "Because it's a matter of life and death."  Why preach with passion, truth, boldness, love, and conviction?   Because God has given us the privilege of participating in his plan to save people from the penalty of sin.  

Paul said it this way in Romans 1:16 

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."

The point I'm trying to make is this:  The reason we preach, the reason we suffer for the name of Jesus, and the reason we lose our lives to live is because Jesus Christ is the only name under heaven, given to men, by which we must be saved.  It is through Him we receive the crown of life.  When we see the urgency of it and the stakes involved, we won't be satisfied with just going through the motions.  We won't be tempted to reshape Jesus into a more palatable holy man who walks hand in hand with Mohammad, Krishna, the Dalai Lama, and Buddha. We will preach because we love and we will love because God first loved us.

Peace,

David

Exhausted? Three Keys for Running to Win in Life

Are you tired?  Does it feel like you’ve “hit the wall” in life and can’t go on?  Does it feel like your faith and your spiritual energy is completely depleted?  If you’re in a place like this now or have been before read on.

The vision is still clear in my mind.  It was the Boston Marathon, I think sometime in the 70’s, and a female runner is nearing the finish line when her legs start to wobble, her path is no longer straight but swerves to the left then to the right, and she’s looking disoriented.  It appears that she has little control of her own body.  Then she loses control not just of her voluntary muscles but also of her bowels and her bladder.  It’s a pitiful site.  She falls and tries to get up.  After a race of twenty-six miles (over 140,000 feet) he is now less than a couple hundred feet from the finish line unable to go on.  She has “hit the wall”.  Two runners slow down, pick her up, and carry her across the finish line; not pretty but she finished and she receives the medal (and probably some serious medical attention).

A number of years ago I trained for a 25k race (about 15.5 miles) and I remember hot, spring days when, after eleven or twelve miles, I felt I couldn’t go any further.  I pushed myself but never really to “the wall”.  My mind quit before my body really did.  It is the same when lifting weights, you get to that rep. that you think is your very last when the trainer gets in your face and yells, “Don’t you quit on me!” and somehow you pump out one or two more reps.  Our endurance is not just physical it’s emotional.  Actually it’s not just physical and emotionally but it’s spiritual.  This is especially true in the race we run as disciples of Jesus Christ.

I want to share with you three things that will help you carry on and finish the race; one is your responsibility, one falls on those who love you, and one belongs to God.

Your part:

The Apostle Paul wrote these words in the ninth chapter of 1 Corinthians, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it a slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Paul made two points here that we need to see.  The first is that you can’t run a real race if you don’t train.  Paul didn’t just say training but “strict training”.  It’s the difference between the guy jogging a mile a week in cut-off jeans, dangling a cigarette from his mouth and the one putting in five to twelve miles a day for three months.  If you’re not in the Word and truly spending time with the Father you will not be ready to run.  You get what you put into it and when you get to a big hill if you have filled yourself with Spiritual protein (the Word of God) you will get up the hill but if not, the hill may be insurmountable.

Paul also gave us a word on focus.  We have to run with direction.  If we run in circles we get nowhere and if we punch aimlessly into the air we won’t hit our target.  What is our direction?  We have two choices: God’s or ours.  If we seek to do God’s will every day, ask for his direction, and then yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit we will run a good race to the finish line, otherwise we will get lost.

The Part for those who love you:

In Exodus chapter 17 we read of the battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites.  Joshua and his men battled the Amalekites while Moses stood at the top of the hill.  The Word says, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.”  The problem was that this battle lasted until sunset and Moses’ arms grew weary.  He just couldn’t hold them up any longer.  But help was near, “When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady until sunset.”  How awesome!!  His friends held his hands up when he couldn’t do it himself.  I will tell you that if you are trying to run this race alone you’re missing out.  Look to people who are in Christ for support.  Seek out a brother or sister who can hold your arms up when you grow weary or pick you up a hundred feet from the finish line and carry you over.

God’s Part:

I could quote most of the Bible for this one but here is the deal.  God created you and he loves you.  If you are walking outside of God’s grace and are walking in rebellion to him you will never finish the race let alone win the prize.  Seek God, trust in Christ, and grab hold of these promises:

You can do “all things through Him who gives you strength”

His “Grace is sufficient for you”

Those “who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Your part, their part, His part.  If you’re tired my friend start with your part, lean on your fiends, and cling to the God who spoke the stars into existence with just a word from his mouth.

Peace,

David

Keep Your Eyes on the Ball - Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

My eight-year-old son was getting ready to step into the batter's box during the first inning of his Little League baseball game this past Saturday when his coach yelled out, 

"Hey Trev, what's the most important thing in baseball?"

Trevor yelled back, "Keep your eye on the ball!"

When I was learning to drive about thirty years ago my mother must have worn out her vocal cords saying, "David! Keep your eyes on the road." Then there was my fourth grade teacher who had a really sweet trick for keeping our attention and for assuring our behavior.  She had three small bean-bags on her desk and when I was fooling around I could count on one of those bean-bags sailing across the room, safely over the six rows of well behaved kids, landing upside my head followed by the words, "David, I've got my eye on you!"  I don't think that educational tool would fly today but it sure worked wonders in 1974.  It seems like most things of value require keeping your eyes on them.  You must look at them and pay attention to them.  

Fastballs, fourth graders, and the road you're traveling are all good things to keep your eye on if you're a baseball player, a teacher, or a driver respectively but here is the most important thing to keep your eyes on:

Jesus

Why?

Jesus said, "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day."

In Deuteronomy chapter 4 we read, "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and soul."

Now, I personally did a lot of looking around before I came to know God in a saving way but most of it wasn't searching for God specifically. I looked for happiness, satisfaction, accolades, success, and I guess in some ways something spiritual to make it all look good but surely not God with all my heart and soul.  So I guess that in God's sovereignty he supplies even our ability to look.  He calls us and gives us eyes to see but we can still choose to look away and not believe.  If we look to the Son and believe God promises that he will never let us go.  Earlier in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John Jesus says, "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away." and  "This is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day."

God calls us and gives us the ability to see but it's our job to "look to the Son" and "Look for him will all our heart and soul."  In the account of Saul of Tarsus' experiencing Jesus on the road to Damascus you might recall that Saul was a murderous man bent on seeing Christians killed or imprisoned when, in a blinding light, he met the risen Christ. But, Saul never saw Jesus on the road that day because he was blinded.  It wasn't until three days later when God removed "something like scales" from Saul's eyes that he could see again.  But here is where he could have picked up his belongings and gone back to his life of persecuting Christians but instead he spent the remainder of his life (until he was martyred) looking to the Son.  I think that the scales not only fell from his eyes but from his heart.  You see, even if your physical eyes can't see, you can still have a heart to see.  There is a song we sing at church called, "Open the Eyes of my Heart" and I think this applies.

Saul was given a new name that day, "Paul” who became the greatest preacher of the Gospel who ever lived.  He is the writer of Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and possibly the book of Hebrews.  Paul was a new creation in Christ Jesus!

The writer of the book of Hebrews (Possibly Paul) wrote these words, "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 hand of the throne of God."  You see, the penalty for sin has already been paid for on the cross at Calvary where Jesus endured the pain and scorn for us.  We need only look to the Son in faith to receive the gift provided.  We will receive new spiritual eyes with which we will be able to see ourselves and others and we will be able to recognize our sin and our need for a savior.  We will be given a heart with which to repent of our failures and a heart that can worship its creator.  It's like a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly.  No one really knows how is happens but it is truly a miracle of God.

If you’re here today it's no accident and I believe that God is calling you, giving you spiritual eyes to see, and giving you a heart that is able to seek.  It's up to you whether or not you will choose to look to the Son and have eternal life.  If you choose to look to him he will make you a new creation as well.  He will not only be the author of your faith but as you continue to fix your eyes on him, he will perfect your faith until he brings you home.  Maybe you already have your eyes fixed on Jesus,  if so then, AMEN.  Pass it forward!  

"Hey, what's the most important thing in life?"

"Keep your eyes on Jesus!"

Peace,

David