Standing Strong

I am sitting here today thinking about the terrible act of evil that occurred in Charleston and I am overwhelmed with pride in the people of this state as they have responded only as South Carolinians can. We have lived with issues of racism throughout the history of our state. So those accusations are nothing new. However, our first response was not one of anger or disrespect as so many others would respond but of love. The people of Charleston came together to mourn the loss of nine individuals who were taken from this world without any justifiable cause other than it was there time to meet their creator.  I know that we would have preferred a different means to that end.  However, the truth is everyone will one day have to experience that moment so there is so much we as individuals need to take from this. Jesus taught his disciples about this through the parable found in Luke 12: 13-21
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
These nine individuals were rich towards God they were giving of themselves even at the time of there departure from this world. I believe they have found their rewards. I mourn with those families who are left behind to deal with this sin filled world but I also rejoice in knowing that these people were ready to meet their savior. As I read this parable I wonder how many of us are holding on to things that truly don't matter in the end. Whether it's our southern heritage and our pride, or if it's hatred and racism when we make anything in this world of greater importance than our relationship with God through his son Jesus we will find ourselves coming up short. I want to challenge you today to find hope in this world by being prepared for the next one. Evil thing are going to happen because we live in a fallen world. Jesus Christ has made a way for us to experience a rich and fulfilled life if we will only endure till the end of this one with all it's trials and sufferings. It requires we hold strong to our faith in Him. Be blessed as you walk in the light of God’s word.

Sin, Debt and Forgiveness

1 John 1:8-10, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ if we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

The reality is when we look at our own lives we have all made choices that were not right. Often we choose to do things that are easy and convenient for ourselves and never give thought to the impact it has on others. Sin by definition is an offense against moral law. The issue comes from a lack of belief or understanding that there is a God who holds us to a moral standard. So let’s take a look at the world’s definition; an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible.  We believe it’s bad because it brings harm to us and those around us. People often complain that when we talk about sin we make it personal, but sins are personal each person deals with different sins in there lives and convictions of those sins. What I find funny is that even those who don’t believe in God believe in sin they just call it by some other name. Greed, immoral living, stupidity and the list goes on but what it really comes down to is it is sin. It is living in a manner that keeps us from properly serving the God who created us.

That sin has created a debt that is so costly there is no way for you or I to pay it. It created a chasm between us and God that no good deeds, no financial gifts and nothing we can do as mere human beings can do will close that gap. It requires a sacrifice that none of us could ever make.  Luckily Jesus came to pay the debt for our sin and on a cross. He sacrificed his body so that you and I might have hope for the future. However, that is not were the story ended because if he had laid in the tomb what sort of hope would we have. The real hope is found in His resurrection. It is through His overall sacrifice that we find hope now that He has paid our debt.

That issue of it being a debt is something I have come to understand is another issue why people fail to accept Jesus. They feel like they owe no one for what they have. We have bought into the lie that there is no God and we are here by accident so I can live how I want to and that there is nothing more than I have right now and what I can gain in the time I have left. What is the bumper sticker, “He who dies with the most toys wins!”  When people live that way the seek purpose in their lives and try to fill it with anything they can find living in sin. Sin will fill that whole in your life for a time but it’s like putting a square peg in a round hole it does not fit well and often it creates a lot of damage as we force it in place. Luckily when we believe on Jesus Christ as the Son of God and confess our sins and repent from them. He will forgive us and mend our broken hearts and lives. But even those who have accepted Christ fall from time to time luckily we serve a forgiving and merciful God.

1John2:1-3, “¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. ³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”

I will leave you with the understanding that we are not made perfect in this body while we still walk on the earth but one day we will as we have believed on Jesus. Until that day Jesus sits on the thrown interceding for us when we fail. The truth is our desire should be not to sin. However, if we do He is faithful to forgive us. Have a blessed day may He guide your path to understanding and strength in His word to day.

Goat Life

I was reading this morning and thinking about a few things I have heard people say in the last couple of months in and around churches. I have been burden with some of it because it sometimes feels like we as individuals and whole churches have adopted the; I have mine and that is all that matters mentality. I hope you know what I mean, they are so focused on waiting on Christ’s promised return that they are too busy to look at what God has placed right in-front of them to do. Now having assurance of salvation is a great and wonderful thing I pray that every Christian has it and can rest upon it. There are days and times in which it might be all you have to hang on to. However, we cannot go through life with that as our only goal. People are dying everyday who don’t have that security and we have been instructed as Christians to teach them about Jesus and the sacrifice He made for them.

¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

Now I am not throwing stones, I have walked in those same shoes. However, recently I have realized that is not what God has called us to. You see Jesus taught a lot about what he wanted His disciples to do after He had gone back to the Father. One parable he used is found in Matthew 25:31-46 and it’s the parable of the Sheep and the Goats.

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Matthew 25:31-33 NIV

Shepherds separated their animals for a number of reasons two examples are grazing habits or to shear them for their wool. No one really knows why Jesus’ parable uses them as the description other than it is easy for the shepherd to tell the difference between them. Just as it will be on the Day of Judgment that awaits us all.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:34-40 NIV

Jesus tells them that when we do things for others we are doing things for him. You see this goes back to understanding that we are all made in the Image of God. Sometimes this is hard for us to remember because people can be so hard to deal with at times. However, I believe that if we look in the mirror we can be too. Human nature shows that we are often selfish thinking only of ourselves. Like little children who have never been made to share. I say this with three fingers pointing back at myself. You see often we fail to live up to what God has called us to mainly because we get in our own way we think more of ourselves than we ought and thereby think less of those we have been sent to teach about Jesus. There is coming a day when we will see Jesus face to face and I pray you don’t hear these words found in Matthew 25:41-46;

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (NIV)

Are we so focused on our own salvation and waiting on the return of Christ; that we have forgotten those around us that do not know Jesus? If so I want to challenge you today to take a look at the present and stop focusing on a future: that no man knows the hour or the day, of only to find out you were really living a goat’s life because you missed out on the sheep’s work. Be blessed as you walk in the light of God’s Word.

Blocked Paths

Today in the church we often hear the word discipleship. This is a word that has fallen out of use over the years but is making a comeback. Like everything in creation it runs in a cycle. This morning as I was reading 1 Thessalonians 2 I gained some understanding that I needed about a situation in my own life. Have you ever had a passion to serve in a certain area of ministry only to every time you take one step forward you end up going back two. Paul faced this problem; there are several times in scripture, that we see that he had a desire to go somewhere only to be hindered or turned away completely. We read that here in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18 of one such account:

17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. (ESV)

While the devil would never admit it God uses Him to do His will and His purposes. I know that might seem controversial but I believe it to be true. You see God’s chosen people have the strength through Christ to defeat the devil so when the devil is a hindrance it is to fulfill a purpose that God has for us. You can look through scripture it is not just something that impacted Paul. Moses desired to reach the Promised Land and David desired to build the temple and I am sure there are others you can point out. In every case you find they had a desire but for one reason or another it was not to be and God kept them from it.

However, now that I have said that this is where the issue of discipleship comes into the picture. While those with the desire to do it were not allowed to fulfill these callings each of them had a disciple that did. Joshua lead the people into the Promised Land, Solomon built the temple and Timothy went to Thessalonica.

1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 1 Thessalonians  3:1-2 (ESV)

God wanted someone to go and assure the people of Thessalonica that they were not forgotten. It was just not Paul. Sometimes in our own lives and ministries there are things we desire to do but there is always opposition to them. Maybe it is time we start focusing on developing that next person and helping them achieve what God has purposed in their own heart. Death is a certainty for us all. So my question for you today is this, “What will your legacy be?”  Are you a disciple?

The best example of this was established by Jesus? While Jesus witnessed and spoke to large crowds everywhere he went this was not how he changed the world.  His approach required that he spend his time one on one with individuals and a small group of men teaching them everything he could so that when he was gone the message of salvation would be carried to all the world. This is the model we have been given. Are you preparing your replacement? While there is no substitute for Jesus.  We are his hands and feet in the world today and he has given us the responsibility to carry on the Good News to a world that is lost and dying with no hope. Sometimes that means sending someone besides ourselves but we cannot send individuals who are not prepared. I pray that something I shared with you helps you to think about your role in training the next generation to do the work that God has laid on your heart but has kept you from. Be blessed as you walk in the light of God’s Word.

Examples of Christ

Well good morning I hope you will stay with me as we look at another couple of passages from 1 Thessalonians 1. I can be a little methodical as I study God’s word but sometimes you just have to slow down and savior the banquet that has been put before you. The passage that I was reading this morning is 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10. We looked at verse 5 yesterday and came to understand that our witness is only as powerful as our conviction and our surrender to the Holy Spirit. These passages we are looking at today discuss our position as imitators of what we have received. I have been around church most of my life in one form or another and I have seen both the good and the bad of imitation. The first part of the passage reads:

6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 (NLT)

Two things can be learned from this passage first that acceptance of Christ and walking in relationship with him does not automatically make your life without suffering or conflict in most cases it actually can bring more strife to you as you begin to live a life that is different and people fail to understand what changes are taking hold in your life. I challenge you to stand firm in your convictions and always remembering the words of C.S. Lewis, “that better things await then the things we leave behind.”

The second part of these verses tells us that if we hold fast to what we have received and live it out in word and deed than we each will become an example of what God can do with what the world often considers to be a broken and useless. The impact we have as believers has no limit and most often we never realize the influence we are actually having on those God has placed in our path. In the average life time you will have interacted with over 10,000 people. Everyday that you live out your life in Christ is an opportunity to change a life and introduce someone to Christ.

We read in verses 8-9 something that I have seen in churches and individuals who understand what I am writing about. Have you ever been talking to someone about church and the start talking about something positive that happened to them? An example someone paid for their groceries in the checkout line only to find out they were members at the church you attend. That is what was going on in Thessalonica their testimony and example of Godly living was spreading out into the world around them impacting every community they had contact with.    

8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it,9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.

1 Thessalonians 1:8-9 (NLT)

The lives we live have impact in ways we may never see or understand this side of eternity and all of that comes back to what Paul tells the Thessalonians in verse 10:

10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 (NLT)

When our lives center on the hope that comes from knowing that Christ is coming back and he has made a way for us to once again enjoy fellowship with God. This hope lets us live lives worthy of the sacrifice Christ made for us/ Living lives that are examples for others to follow. I pray God gives you opportunities to lead by example in everything you do. Be blessed as you walk in the light of God’s Word.   

Full Power Gospel

I was studying this morning in 1 Thessalonians and as I was reading the greeting Paul gave to the Thessalonians I was struck by verse 5. It reads;

“⁵ because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”

1 Thessalonians 1:5 (ESV)

I had to stop and ask myself this question does the Gospel that I share with others have these things or am I sharing a weak half-hearted Gospel. I say this because I have come to understand that we must always start with ourselves when we seek revival in a community. If we are not filled with the Holy Spirit in the same way Paul and the early church fathers were do we really have the power and conviction to live a life that honors God. That is after all were the power comes from. This is just one part of the verse and the question we have to ask ourselves.

Paul goes on to make a declaration in this verse, “you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake” For Paul, Silas and Timothy it was not just enough to have been there they became part of the community living with and interacting with the individuals that God placed in their path. In our culture today how many times do you go through your day never speaking to anyone other than the people you normally interact with? These men and other great ministers throughout history took time to engage those they met each day. Too often we go through our day to day routines never taking time to engage the people God has placed in our path. A friend recently asked for me to pray for him in this area and I guess that is what led me to this today. I want to as Paul told the Colossians in Colossians 4:5;

5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time

Colossians 4:5 (KJV)

If we really desire to redeem the time God has given us we must be convicted to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit so that we are proven faithful to those who do not know Christ. I challenge you today where do you stand is your Gospel half-hearted or is it full of power and conviction to see those God puts in your life changed by the power of the Gospel. Be blessed as you walk in the light of God’s Word.