Day of Praise

Tues, 05/01/18, Easter Day #31, "Day of Praise"

Some of you might remember this one from the past, but I like it, so here you go. 

1 Samuel 17:38-39 - "Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, 'I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.' So David put them off."

Saul's armor was way too big for David. I know how David felt. 

Ya know there's an old saying, "You're getting too big for your britches," which means you think too highly of yourself. But what about when your britches are too big for you? That's what happened to David in the Bible and to me. 

I was about nine, and I was definitely overweight. But the soccer shorts that were assigned to me were ridiculously huge. I didn't realize it until our first game when I put on my uniform. Whoa! My shorts were so big that I had to hold a wad of the waist in my left hand. I remember thinking, "C'mon coach, I'm overweight, but really?" In the pregame warmups, all my teammates were laughing at me. Let's not even mention the ridicule of the other team. Have you ever seen someone trying to play soccer while holding up their britches? It's hilarious, with an element of watching a Stock Car Race; ya know, everyone's waiting for the Big One! Yes, the Big One, which is the moment the nine year old forgets about his britches, lets go of his britches, his britches fall down, he's exposed, and then trips over his "ankle britches" to boot on a muddy soccer field. Hilarious for the crowd! Humiliating for the nine year old!

In today's Bible verses, David refused to fight in the armor that was way too big, and he took it off. And I, as a nine year old, refused to play another moment in the over-sized soccer shorts.

And you should too!

The analogy is simple. Often when we're kids, other people have dreams for us that are way too big for us. They want us to become more than what we're ever capable of being: President or Bishop or a CEO or a Hall of Famer. It's like dressing us up in armor or soccer shorts that are way too big. But y'all, everybody can't be President or Bishop or a CEO or a Hall of Famer. Somebody needs to be a commoner. 

The world needs commoners, ya know, the little guy. Commoners, average people, make this world work. Somebody's got to do the plain old ordinary jobs well or nothing would ever get done. And instead of trying to make the commoner more than they are and telling them they need to do more with their life, the commoner needs to be celebrated for faithfully showing up to work everyday and putting in a good day's work.

And I'm telling you this because I'm a pastor who constantly hears people feeling laughed at and looked down upon because they're not doing more and bigger things with their life. Hey, if there are 196 boys on my son's high school football team, then there's at least 150 commoners who need to be celebrated for doing things that the studs need done to have a team. And if there's 10 or 100 or 10,000 employees at your work, then 75% are commoners who need to be celebrated. Everybody can't be calling the shots. 

So here's to you, dear friends! God celebrates you being just the right size and doing each day what needs to be done! God knows how he made you and loves you for the person you are!

And just like David, who was the ordinary, common, little-guy, shepherd-boy who went and conquered Goliath with his little, ordinary, shepherd sling-shot, let's us all go out there today, proud to be God's little guys and eager to conquer the world by faithfully doing the work that's before us!

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Mon, 04/30/18, Easter Day #30, "Day of Praise"

Acts 21:20,27 - "And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to [Paul], 'You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed.' When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing [Paul] in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him."

When I was a kid, 4th grade to be exact, I had a little devil in me from time to time. I think part of it was that I had the sweetest little sister, Cheryl, and she and I grew up to be very dear friends. But in 4th grade, she was a really easy target of mischief. 

For example, when I was a kid, we had these plastic Halloween masks that stayed on your face with a piece of elastic around the back of your head. Dad got the box of masks down from the attic days in advance so they were available for me to put on a scary mask and hide down the hall where Cheryl would eventually have to walk to get to her bedroom. And eventually she did come, and I'd test out her heart, ya know, jump out and scare the bejeebers out of her. (Uhhh, bejeebers means "mental soundness" or "wits.") Fortunately, her heart was healthy. And I thought I was the King of the Hall!

Unfortunately, days, sometimes weeks, of that brotherly love would really mess with her mind. She got to the point, as I remember it, that she started crying even before she came down the hall. I mean she was only 1st grade when I was in 4th. But she was also smart. What she did was she figured out that if she'd turn on the hall lights then she could see shadows, and it just wasn't as scary. The problem was that she left 'em on, and my late father would fuss about the lights being left on, and he knew who was to blame, namely, the King of the Hall. Ya couple that together with her starting to cry at the start of the hallway, and let's just say that the King of the Hall got a few whoopins plus one more to grow on, not to mention sent to my room more times than I could count. 

All this is to say that sometimes ya' get feelin' really good about yourself, and life comes along, or maybe your father, and knocks ya' back down to size. That's what happened with St. Paul in today's Bible verses. Paul was an amazing instrument of God to bring many to faith in Christ, but some people didn't like him bringing people to Christ, so they knocked him down to size, plus one more for good measure. 

But ya' know what? Paul got back up and got right back to it. Just like me. I'd get the green light to come out of my room and start terrorizing my poor, little sister all over again. (And I wonder why my son is so good at doing the same with his sisters. What's the old saying of parents to kids, "May the trouble you caused us come back on you threefold"?)

Of course, the difference is that Paul had an eternal cause for getting up and getting back at it. Mine wasn't so noble. But, praise the Lord, it actually translated into adulthood. I've been kicked in the teeth a few times and knocked down to size, but God, in his grace, picked me up, set me back on my feet, and said, "Now, get back out there and make a difference today! Christ will be your strength!"

And that's what he's saying to you because chances are you're gonna' get kicked in the teeth pretty soon. If not today, then be on the lookout tomorrow. But not too much. Because you can be sure that God will do for you what he did for Paul and for me and for anyone who believes that Jesus kicked the devil and death in the teeth when Jesus went down there, ya know where, for us. Yep, God, in his grace, will pick ya up, set ya back on your feet, and say, "Now, get back out there and make a difference today! Christ will be your strength!"

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Sat, 04/28/18, Easter Day #28, "Day of Praise"

Genesis 1:27-28 - "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"

God intended for us to have the upper hand in life! Period! In other words, the creation was not made so it could bring us down. God made us in His image so that, even in the face of storms, we'd have dominion over all the earth.

Today's Bible verses also record that Marriage, the Union of Male and Female, is a huge part of God's plan for us to have the upper hand. The relationship of marriage between a man and a woman brings with it the power of complementarity, where two unique beings (male and female) are made to fit perfectly together and bring about mutual encouragement and affirmation that bear the fruit of children, whether they are one's own flesh and blood or not. Indeed, the purpose of marriage, beyond mutual encouragement, is to raise up children of God, which may come about by working a camp for intellectually disabled adults or adopting orphans or raising your own flesh and blood.

Will you join me in praying for all who are married to find strength in the Lord so that their Unions will reflect the Intentions of our Maker?

Lord God, constant in mercy, great in faithfulness, we bless you for the joy that your servants have found in each other and pray that you give them such a sense of your constant love that they may live a life of praise of you, whose work alone holds true and endures forever.

Faithful Lord, source of love, pour down your grace that husbands and wives may fulfill the vows they have made and reflect your steadfast love in their lifelong faithfulness to each other. As members with them of the Body of Christ, use us to support their life together. And from your great store of strength, give them power and patience, affection and understanding, courage and love toward you, toward each other, and toward the whole world that they may continue together in mutual growth, according to your will in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Gracious Father, you bless the family and renew your people. Enrich husbands and wives, parents and children, more and more with your grace, that strengthening and supporting each other, they may serve those in need and be a sign of the fulfillment of your perfect kingdom, where with your Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign, one God, through all ages of ages. Amen!

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Fri, 04/27/18, Easter Day #27, "Day of Praise"

Psalm 119:103 - "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Proverbs 24:13 - "My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste."

Psalm 19:10 - "More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb."

Proverbs 16:24 - "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body."

As a Southerner, born in Georgia, reared in TN, and now living in Alabama for a whole bunch of years, I can't help but think about sweet tea when I hear God's word talked about as honey. 

Here's a few Southern, Summer, sweet tea observations.

Sweet tea is a redundant phrase in the South. Tea is always sweet. If it's not, then you call it unsweet tea.

In actuality, sweet tea is pronounced swayt tay.

To qualify as Southern sweet tea, you must be able to liken it to hummingbird feed, which means it's raaaayl swaaaayt.

Some guy named Milo has the ultimate secret swayt tay fomuluh round these parts, just like the Cuhnel has the chickin fomuluh.

Swayt tay has been identified as the cause of young ladies (who grew up in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and the like) goin' up to their senior uncles and granddads (who often persist in their Northern ways) and pullin' the grumpy out of 'em by way of a Southern Swayt Tay kiss on the forehead, a big ol' smile, and a quick gentle rub of the back. Such Uncles and Granddads actually like this very much from their Southern nieces and granddaughters, but they just can't let anyone know it.

The bottom line is that Swayt Tay, the Honey that is God's Word, and the sweet taste of grace (which is merely an outpouring of love for no particular reason) is truly some life-changing, heart-transforming, smile-creating stuff.

So have ya some tay; have ya some honey; have ya some word of God; you'll find it's worth faaaaar more than money.

And then spread the love, People. Spread the love. Spread the swayt, life-changing, love of God in Jesus Christ.

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Thur, 04/26/18, Easter Day #26, "Day of Praise"

Matthew 10:30 - "[Jesus said,] 'But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.'"

I remember when a woman brought her extremely cute grandchild into our Bible class with a new, 3-wheeled, jogging stroller that her son and his wife had recently purchased. Everything was great until it was time to go home. She and I could not figure out, for the proverbial life of us, how to collapse the stroller so we could get it back in her car. We struggled and pushed every one of the 47 million plastic buttons on that thing for at least a half hour and probably longer. We were laughing. Well, a little. And finally, out of desperation, with my whole heart I turned to Jesus and calmly (not!) said, "Come on, Jesus! Please help us out here!" And wouldn't you know that immediately she pushed something that made the crazy thing collapse and fit right into her car?

This is what Jesus is talking about in today's Bible verse. He knows everything in our lives, down to the last hair on our head, and wants to bless each one of those teenie things to huge things that are going on. The question is, "Do we believe Him?" And will we turn everything over to Him? And I mean everything!!! Down to the last hair! And then will we watch to see how he shows his care?

Dear Friends, God cares about every single little aspect of your life. Make it easier on yourself, and give everything in your life to the Lord. Turn it over to Him in prayer. Even better, write down your prayers in your journal, or start a prayer box so that you can go back and see all the ways that God has already addressed most, if not all, of the things that you entrusted to His care.

Try it! As always, what do you have to lose, except a little (or a lot of?) stress and worry from your day?

And even better, you won't just lose the stress of a weary existence, but you can see God replace it with a peace-filled, confidence-packed, abundant life in Jesus Christ and the refreshing power of God's Holy Spirit flowing in and through and out of your life!

God cares!

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Wed, 04/25/18, Easter Day #25, "Day of Praise"

Isaiah 9:7 - "Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

Though time is now endless for the reign of Christ, for the rest of us, time, like money, is limited. Spend it wisely.

You're best off to spend your time by learning to enjoy sweet fellowship and communion with God.

Here's how you do it:
1) Spend your time with a daily quiet time with God that begins with, "Hey, Lord, it's me, (your name). I'm listening."

2) Spend your time with a daily praying of God's Word in the scriptures that begins with, "Hey, Lord, it's me, (your name). Please speak to my heart through this that is your word."

3) Spend your time with a daily writing in your journal that begins with, "Hey, Lord, it's me, (your name). I'm going to jot down what I heard you saying to me in quiet time and scripture. (Write down what you heard, then ask...) Did I get it right? I'm listening for you through the day."

God will immeasurably bless you, as he promises, when you spend your time with Him!

Praise God!


Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Tues, 04/24/18, Easter Day #24, "Day of Praise"

Matthew 4:10 - "Then Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve."'"

Years ago, I remember meeting with an 88 year old church member at her request to plan her funeral. To be 88, she looked  healthy as the proverbial horse. You might ask, then, why did she want to plan her funeral? Very simply, she wanted to plan her funeral when she was healthy so that her family didn't need to do it later when she died. That answered why she wanted to plan her funeral. 

But the better question was "How?" How did this 88 year old, thin, short lady plan her funeral? It would be easy to say "courageously." But it was more than courage; she actually planned it with confidence. In fact, she said so many things about Christ's constant presence with her and about her confidence in Christ's sovereign power that she seemed to be looking death and the devil in the eye and saying, "I'm not afraid of you! Just be gone, Satan. I'm walkin' in the victory and power of Jesus."

As should we all!

It's said that, 500 years ago in Germany, Martin Luther was in his study and felt a presence behind him. Remaining seated at his desk, Luther turned around and literally saw the devil. Luther looked at the Ol' Boy and said, "Oh! It's just you." Then he turned back to his desk and went back to work.

An 88 year old woman in this day and age, Martin Luther 500 years ago, and Jesus in today's Bible verse, all, in essence, saying, "I'm not afraid of you! Just be gone, Satan. I'm walkin' in the victory and power of God."

So what about you and me today? It's first thing in the morning, so there are many things in front of us, and unless Jesus comes again beforehand, some day in front of us is death. Will we face the things in front of us with the confidence in Christ displayed by an 88 year old lady?

And I'll tell ya; I don't care if you think I'm even more crazy than you already do. I have a matter in my life right now where I know that someone is lurking behind me in the shadows. Luther used to say something like this, "Pinch yourself real good. If it hurts, then you're in the world and you probably have something creeping up behind you too." Will we, like Luther, turn and look at the Ol' Boy and say, "Oh! It's just you," and then turn and get back to our day?

Friends, the devil was defeated before he ever got started. The Almighty and Living God is the Lord!

So let's get after our day and flick Satan away, the God in Christ that we worship is Lord!

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Mo, 04/23/18, Easter Day #23, "Day of Praise"

John 15:5 - "[Jesus said,] 'I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.'"

So, our son, Caden, as he often does, asked me one time to print out some homework papers on our printer at home. I was glad to. 

So, I took his laptop and went upstairs to the printer in our daughter Calley's room. I plugged into the side of the computer, as I always do, pulled up the document, and pushed print. Nothing happened. Paper was fine. I turned the printer off and on and then pushed print again. Nothing happened. I went through all that another three times before I realized what I'd done, or I should say, what I had not done.

In sum, I went into mindless mode. And in so doing, I did one thing that was similar enough to what I always do, so that I didn't notice that I also didn't do something that I always do that really needed to be done to get the job done, printing Caden's doc. Did ya follow that? :-)

What I did was I plugged in one plug, like I always do, and stopped. The problem was that I plugged in the power cord because the battery was low. But having plugged in one cord, I stopped and didn't plug into the printer cord. The result? Nothing printed! In other words, no fruit for my labors.

Based on today's Bible verse, you might say my branch was plugged into something, even something important, but it wasn't plugged into the vine that's required to bear fruit.

Here's the deal, Friends. May I be honest? Many people are going into their day, either to work or school, in several hours. And they'll be plugged into the power cord, some coffee or energy drink or breakfast, but they'll start to work without being plugged into the printer.

Spiritually speaking, the printer is what makes it possible for you to see and feel good about the fruit of your labors in a day. I'm not talking about seeing a project finished or a sale closed or a paycheck earned. I'm talking about seeing and feeling good about the spiritual fruit of your labors. Ya know? Fruit! Like, the work I did today was eternally significant. Fruit! Like, God was pleased with my labors. Fruit! Like, I went about my work in a way that noticed the people and treated them respectfully so I can sleep with both the satisfaction of a job well done and a clear conscience that I didn't step on and over someone to get it done.

Such fruit can only come about if you're plugged into Jesus and not just Java, Juice, and Jelly. That's why Jesus said, "For apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) Oh sure, you can do something! But apart from Jesus, you can never do anything eternally significant, anything pleasing to God, or anything that lets you have peace and a clear-conscious when you go to sleep at night.

And all you have to do to end the day feeling good about your eternally-significant, God-pleasing, clear-conscious fruit is start the day plugging into the vine, who is Jesus.

Let's pray: Dear Jesus, you are the vine, and apart from you we can do nothing worth doing! So please Lord, right now, before we start our day, pour out your Holy Spirit to connect us to you, the vine, so that we can have all the good fruit spring forth from our labors, bring glory to your name, and impart a blessing to every person in our day! Amen

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Sat, 04/21/18, Easter Day #21, "Day of Praise"

Luke 18:16 - "But Jesus called them to him, saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.'"

Have you ever looked in a mirror?

Not the kind that hangs on a wall.

I mean the ones that breathe.

Having made us in His image, God meant for us to be a mirror. God meant for other people to see what God is like through us. And God meant for us adults to see God through the littlest ones. Specifically, God wants us adults to see both God's kingdom here on earth and also his holy place in heaven through children.

Like in our Preschool chapel. A part of chapel has the little ones singing a number of songs. Every single one of those children has one single goal in mind, namely, to let me and their teachers know that they are singing with love and gusto to make God, and anyone who's watching, ever so proud.

It's a mirror.

Through those sweet and dear little children, we see again what God wants from you and from me. He wants for me to march into my day with childlike dignity, then look for him in the crowd, then bounce on my toes with eagerness for what I know is about to unfold, and then belt it out with love and gusto, while, in essence, saying to my God, "I love you! I love you with all my heart! And I'm so glad glad glad to be your child!"

Luke 18:16 - "But Jesus called them to him, saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.'"

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 04/20/18, Easter Day #20, "Day of Praise"

Romans 4:24-25 - "It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification."

Have you ever lost your way? 

When we hear in today's Bible verses that Jesus was "raised for our justification," God's telling us that Jesus was raised from the dead, and is now alive, in order to make things right in the lives of all believers. And one thing that Jesus will do to "justify us" and "make us right" is he will lead us in order to get us on track when we've lost our way.

I remember a time I'd lost my way. I was trying to find a restaurant where my family was meeting for a celebration. My phone had died, and I didn't have a car charger at the time, so I couldn't call for or google directions. So I stopped at a gas station, went inside, and asked nobody in particular, "Does anyone know where Aubrey's Restaurant is?" Immediately, a guy named Lewis said, "Follow me." I suppose that Lewis could've been a serial killer, but, fortunately, Lewis, simply and kindly, just led me straight to Aubrey's, which was tucked away off the road where I'd searched high and low. But just like Jesus, Lewis took me straight to a place that I would never in a million years have found by myself, though I was oblivious to the fact that it was basically right under my nose. 

And that's one of the things that God does constantly in our lives through Jesus to make things right in our lives. He helps us find our way. He sends people to us to help us see things we never would've seen, though they're right there under our nose. He helps us see things that, like that celebration meal, enrich our lives, give us strength, bring us joy, and weave our lives into a rich fellowship of relationships and love, all of which are blessings along the way that God made for us to begin with, but that we often miss because we've lost our way. 

Friends, is something missing from your life and you realize that you don't know what it is? Or maybe you know what it is, but you have no clue how to find it? Well, Jesus is alive; he was "raised for our justification," for making things right in our lives. He wants to lead you straight to the things and places that you yourself are just flat out never going to find on your own. So he invites you to stop, to turn to him and ask, "Do you know how to get to this thing or place that I need but can't find?" Friends, you can trust God and trust God's Word, Jesus! He will lead the way!

Follow Jesus, and you'll see!

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Thur, 04/19/18, Easter Day #19, "Day of Praise"

John 20:30-31 - "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

Have you ever had something wonderfully strange happen to you, when all the stars align through total "coincidence"? And it's so strange you know it can't be a coincidence; it must be what's called a "sign" in today's Bible verses. 

A "sign" is something that only God can arrange and pull off, and God does it so that we'll "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31) In other words, when something wonderfully strange happens to you, God's arranging it and pulling it off to give and strengthen faith in Jesus. And note that God's word says that God is seeking to strengthen our faith in who Jesus is moreso than what Jesus does! "Jesus is the Christ," and believing that Jesus is the Christ, believing in who he is, is the way God chooses to give us "life in his name." (John 20:30-31) In sum, as great as God's wonderful signs and deeds are, God does them not so we'll look for more signs and deeds but in order to get us to look for him!

Let me give you an example. The night before a friend of mine and I strangely wound up at the same breakfast table on the anniversary of the death of both our fathers to pray for a sister in Christ whose mom had just died, I was driving from the church to one of our neighborhood groups. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed what I came to discover were two $20 bills just lying there on the ground. God told me, plain as day, who to give one $20 bill to at the group that I was right then going to attend. When I got there and gave it to them, they basically started crying because they said that $20 was going to be the gas money they needed to get to work and that they'd just literally been praying for. Coincidence? Well, you can believe what you want, but both those people who needed the gas money and also I myself chose to believe that it was a sign from God that, if we'll just have what the world sees as a radical faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, then God will miraculously provide for us. (By the way, the other $20 wound up being part of the money that God obviously provided for us to buy food for their poor next door neighbor whose mom had just died!)

Notice that I did NOT say that, if we'll trust God to provide, then we'll see that Jesus is the Christ. That's what Jesus was talking to Thomas about when Thomas believed because he'd seen a miracle instead of believing in Jesus so he could see the miracle of life in Jesus' name. God's plan is for us to believe in who Jesus is more than we believe in what Jesus does miraculously. In other words, God wants us to fall in love with him moreso than falling in love with his signs and wonders and miracles because the power for our lives and the greatest miracle of all is the life-giving relationship with God through Jesus, which is why today's verse ends with "that by believing you may have life in his name."

So! Is something lacking in your life? Don't look for a miracle; instead look to Jesus. Is something wrong in your life? Don't look for a miracle; instead look to Jesus. The power of God is in Jesus who does the miracles, not in the miracles that are done by Jesus.

Hunh? Maybe that's why I saw another wonderfully strange thing a couple days ago. I saw two families who both are really struggling financially though they work as hard as anybody. And both these families said that, though they've never been poorer financially and struggled so much, they both volunteered that they've rededicated themselves to tithing, to giving the first ten percent of their income to spreading the good news of Jesus in partnership with our church. Why? Because they both have discovered, in their financial poverty, an immeasurable wealth in the person of Jesus, that he truly "is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31)

In sum, God is eager to do physical miracles, as our church experiences regularly, like another person recently who was physically healed of knee and back pain. But as great as those miracles are, God does them to bring us to the greatest miracle, which is the miracle of Almighty God giving us himself, dwelling in our very bodies through Jesus Christ, so that the presence and wisdom and power of God's Holy Spirit can fill and flow through our lives to all the world with the Abundant Life for which every person yearns, now and forevermore!

I know it's a lot to think about. Nevertheless, think about it! Even better, believe it; believe that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31)

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Wed, 04/18/18, Easter Day #18, "Day of Praise"

Revelation 7:16-17 - "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Once upon a time, there was no such thing as the internet. One such year was 1972. In order to get a hotel room in places such as Daytona Beach, FL, a family actually had to drive there from a place like Kingsport, TN and look for a hotel that had a little sign in the window that said "Vacancy." If there was no room in the inn, the hotel would put a sign that said "No" in front of "Vacancy." 

My late father, Ben, Sr., had driven our family of six the long trip from Kingsport to Daytona for a July 4 holiday. He found a place with a "Vacancy," parked the car, and went inside with many other travellers who were seeking a room during that busy holiday. The process of getting a room was taking a while so us four kids, (I was 7 years old), talked my mom into letting us swim in the hotel pool until dad was finished. I myself took off my shirt and exposed my very pale, never-south-of-Tennessee, skin to the scorching Florida sun for 30 minutes while we had an absolute ball in the pool. Bad idea.

I was introduced to my first official sunburn. And it was bad. I was scorched so intensely on my face, arms, chest and back that I had to walk like the Hunchback through the newly built Disney World. As the Haunted House ride went backwards down a steep slope, I held onto the safety bar for dear life because I couldn't lean back against anything without excruciating pain. I had to sleep on hotel floors, lest one of my 3 siblings accidentally turn in the night and touch my sun-scorched body. I literally froze with fever chills as the ceiling fans sent what felt like an Arctic blast in every place we ate. And by the end of the week, I was peeling very large chunks of skin off my body.

This whole recounting is a parable for one of many reasons why I'm a Christian and thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, namely, that, in the language of today's Bible verse from Revelation 7:16-17, I don't want to be struck by "any scorching heat. For the Lamb [Jesus] in the midst of the throne will be [our] shepherd, and he will guide [us] to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes." 

These words were written to and were a comfort to those who, through faith in Jesus Christ, had endured the great tribulation of suffering from the scorching heat of persecution under Emperor Nero in 60 A.D. and beyond. Every movement of every Christian came with the uncertainty of bumping into and being touched by an unbeliever who would inflict great pain. It would have been difficult to eat or sleep in peace. When discovered, the lashings would cause the loss of large chunks of not just skin but flesh and leave a body scarred for life.

So when God's word says, "the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat" what it means in reality is that, though we are struck by heat and burned on the outside, there is an unmistakable victory on the inside, "For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

In the end, I had a great time in Florida that week with many fond memories from "It's a Small World" in Disney to a Stock Car race at Daytona International Speedway. And I intend to have a great time today, even as we live in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to lives fully devoted to Christ and his ways. 
The Lamb is with you today. Come what may from the scorching heat of your day, trust him to "guide you to springs of living water, and to wipe away every tear." He promises. He will. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 04/17/18, Easter Day #17, "Day of Praise"

2 Corinthians 13:11 - "Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."

If I aimed and swung a billion times, I could not ever again match the notorious feat. Son, Caden, and I were hitting golf balls in the large, grassy, power-line right-of-way that was behind the houses at one of the grandparent's house. At the same time, younger daughter, Cassidy, was swimming all by herself in the neighborhood pool about a hundred and twenty yards away. 

I myself am not a skilled golfer, so when Caden said, "Dad, don't hit the ball toward Cassidy." I said, "Caden, this ball won't hit your sister in a million years." Well, the moment I hit the golf ball with a 7-iron, we saw that we might just as well have played the lottery that day because the ball went high and true and straight on line toward Cassidy. Caden and I just started both screaming, "Cassidy!" and also sprinting toward the pool as we both had visions of her getting knocked unconscious by a direct hit from the golf ball and then drowning in the pool. And sure enough, the ball hit in the pool parking lot about 20 yards from her, bounced high in the air, and, drawn like a fly to honey, hit her squarely on the top of her head.

God love her! Cass yelled out in pain and started dancing in the pool like Elaine on a Seinfeld episode, i.e. not gracefully at all. Fortunately, she wasn't knocked out. But oooooh, did her head hurt for days. And it was all because of my poor aim, coupled with an unbelief in the possibility. 

And this is why St. Paul is inspired by the Holy Spirit to urge us to aim carefully and thoughtfully with our efforts each day. "Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace," writes Paul in 2 Corinthians 13:11. It's as if Paul is recognizing that, without care and thought in a fallen world, the things we do can all too easily harm and injure other people and whack 'em on the top of the head. So "aim for restoration!"

But Paul closes with a great encouragement, noting "and the God of love and peace will be with you." In essence, Paul's also recognizing that in a fallen world, God is alive and well through the crucified and risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. And the reason we need to hear this is because, without such assurance of God's presence, anybody who cared would never do anything. We'd be paralyzed by the fear that every little swing of our club, despite our best aim, was going to wind up hitting and hurting someone. But since "the God of love and peace [is] with [us]," then trusting God to work through all things for good, we're set free to swing away!

So "Aim for restoration" to be sure, but believe all the more that "the God of love and peace [is] with [us]." (2 Corinthians 13:11)

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 04/16/18, Easter Day #16, "Day of Praise"

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 - "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

Have you ever been proud of and thankful for someone? If so, you carry pictures of them, and you have things about them memorized, like their birthday.

Let's do something like that with Jesus. Let's tuck away some things about Jesus, not in our wallets, but in our hearts, so we can pull those things out at any time and tell those things about the One we're all proud of and thankful for. 

In today's Bible verses, we hear three things that Jesus is for us: righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Let's add seven and learn an even ten so we can walk even more powerfully in Christ. 

Here's an acronym tool to learn ten awesome things that Jesus is for us. Think of our sinful mess as ERR, as in mistakes. Our ERR was dealt with between PA (the Father) and JR (the Son), which gives us PAERRJR. And PA and JR are Always So Good (ASG) for dealing with our ERR, so we have PAERRJRASG. Got it? If not, then reread this paragraph, please!

So what do these ten letters, PAERRJRASG, tell us IN ORDER that Jesus is for us in dealing with our ERR?
P - Propitiation - He absorbs God's wrath against us for sin, which is why Jesus cried out from the cross, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
A - Atonement - He removes our guilt.
E - Expiation - He removes our sin that causes God's wrath and our guilt.
R - Redemption - He's the ransom payment for our liberty.
R - Righteousness - He fulfills all requirements for restoring us to God. 
J - Justification - He leaves nothing for us to be indicted about before God.
R - Reconciliation - He restores us to God's face and therefore intimate fellowship with God.
A - Adoption - He makes us joint heirs of the PA (Father God) with himself, JR (the Son).
S - Sanctification - He seals aaaaaall the above and matures us in conduct by the power of the Holy Spirit.
G - Glorification - He completes our perfection at his coming again.

Please friends, take time to learn more about the most special One in our lives so that God can be praised and others can meet Jesus through you and you can walk in his power, the power of the Holy Spirit. Put your faith, your plain, simple trust in Jesus Christ, and you will see!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Sat, 04/14/18, Easter Day #14. "Day of Praise"

John 8:11 - "She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"

Surprise!

Who likes surprises? I guess, for all of us, it depends on what kind of surprise you're talking about. 

My wife, Amanda, and I were once touched by the surprise of credit card fraud before. That's not fun. But you work through it together, and ultimately it's no big deal. 

And then there are pleasant surprises. 

I feel so blessed when someone surprisingly walks into my life for any reason. But, it's always a pleasant surprise when someone walks into your life who is Godly, Christ-centered, Spirit-filled, grace-flowing, relationally-wise, divinely-prioritized, Biblically-valued, humble-AND-meek-bent, long-term-oriented, patiently-persevering, kid-sharing, huge-hearted, sharp-minded, kind-and-compassionate, socially-confident, smoothly-articulate, community-involved, the-more-the-merrier-postured, fun-filled, silly-humored, flower-loving. You, of course, can make your own list of traits that pleasantly surprise you, but that's part of mine. And when I see those traits with someone who I meet in life or who comes to church or who Amanda or our kids tell me they met at work or school, then I'm pleasantly surprised. 

But easily the best possible surprise is when we're met with grace. Grace, by it's nature, is surprising because grace is always undeserved. God's word is clear that God's grace alone makes life worth living. For example, fundamentally, we didn't do anything to be called into being because we didn't exist, so how could we deserve to be created? The very fact that we exist is purely God's grace. It's a surprise. The best surprise.

Today's Bible verse, gives us another example of grace as the best surprise. It's the example of forgiveness. Forgiveness is when an offended party gives up the right to get even with the offender. Though the consequences of sin touch people, all sin is against God because sin, by it's nature, is a rebellion against God, against God's word, and against how God has established life to work. 

So when the woman, caught in adultery, is spared by Jesus's wisdom instead of stoned by the people of the town, she's surprised by his mercy, which means she was surprised that she did not get what she deserved. When Jesus, though, takes it further and doesn't condemn her but forgives her and sends her on her way to live a new life, she's downright shocked. Surprise! The best surprise. The surprise of grace. The surprise of something totally undeserved coming your way.

Friends, I constantly hear people talking about wanting a better world. Well, the power to make it better is in our reach. All it takes is our lifting our hearts and thanking God for his surprising grace. And then, in the strength and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, passing along his grace. People will be surprised, even shocked, like the woman caught in adultery. And your world, our world, will instantly be a better place!

Let's do it! Wooohooo!

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Fri, 04/13/18, Easter Day #13, "Day of Praise"

Matthew 16:3 - "[Jesus said to them, 'You say,] "And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times."'"

Here's some Driver's License Test questions: 
A red light means what? 
"Stop", yes! 
A green light means what? 
"Go", yes! 
And a yellow light means what? 
"Floor it!!!" 
Uuuuuh, no, I'm sorry, that's not right. A yellow light means "prepare to stop." And the unwillingness to interpret the sign that is a yellow light as "prepare to stop" has been the cause of many a death.

And that's exactly what Jesus is talking about in today's verse when he says, "You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." The key sign that Jesus refers to is the sign of Jonah. Jesus even tells us what the sign of Jonah is, namely, that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, so too will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth. The sign of Jonah is a sign that testifies to the truth that just as Jonah seemed dead in the whale but he was spewed forth by the whale onto dry land, so too Jesus seemed dead in the grave but he was spewed forth by the Living God into the midst of the living.

So why, then, do so many people, many of whom profess to be Christians, continue to live as if Jesus is still dead and in the grave? Tragically, the unwillingness to interpret the sign that is Jesus' resurrection as "live like Jesus is alive" has been the cause of many a death. In other words, everyday, many a Christian approaches a difficult situation as if Jesus is dead by never appealing to the crucified, risen, and living Christ to do something about the situation and then believing that he will do it and looking for him to do it.

God wants us to read the signs of the times correctly so we can live abundantly. When a difficult situation comes up in our lives, it does not mean that we're done for or that we're supposed to deal with it in our own strength. Instead, when we have a difficult situation, it means that Jesus, who conquered the greatest ever difficulty of an unjust death, is about to show you his mighty power and conquer your difficulty too!!!

Let us be found believing, and may God be praised for his victory over every difficulty in our lives by the power of the risen and living Jesus Christ. Can I get an "Amen!"? Aaaaaaaaamen!

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Thur, 04/12/18, Easter Day #12, "Day of Praise"

Colossians 1:9-10 - "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

I remember getting tickled once. I drove past a church sign that on two lines read, "Is your life pleasing to God?" And then on the next line, it said, "Zumba - Wednesday 7:30." You can do all sorts of things with the sequence on the sign, but when I first read it driving by, it sounded as if a Zumba exercise class was their suggestion for pleasing God. So I chuckled.

Setting all humor aside, today's verses from Colossians are amongst sixty or so Bible verses that tell us what does and does not please God about our lives. In sum, God is pleased with our lives when we walk with Him and therefore walk in His blessings and from the overflow of blessings, we bear the fruit of sharing Him with others.

Walking with God is not difficult. Walking with God means surrendering to the faithful work of God's Holy Spirit so that we:
1) have faith in Christ, (both in Him personally and in His saving work),
2) listen for Christ's voice (for example, daily Bible reading, prayer, and at least weekly worship), and
3) look for Christ, (for example, look for the many daily chances to serve him by serving other people in WORDS AND DEEDS with God's love).

The result of such a walk with God, according to today's verses, is that we are:
1) filled with Christ and, therefore, his spiritual wisdom and power,
2) increasing in the knowledge of God, and
3) bearing fruit in every good work.
In sum, we are blessed. The result of walking with God is that we are blessed in such a way that we become a blessing to others, a living invitation to Christ for others, and a glory to God.

To bring it full circle, when, through faith in Him, we are a blessing to others and a glory to God, then God is pleased indeed.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 04/11/18, Easter Day #11, "Day of Praise"

Matthew 13:23 - "[Jesus said,] 'As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.'"

Okay, Parents, listen up!

Well, as long as you're somebody who cares about somebody else, then you can listen in too.

Okay, here's what I need to tell you. Ready? This is the information that will make you the best parents ever. Ready? Okay!

Here's the info: My grass is growing!

Yep, that's all the info you need to be super-parents.

Oh, I'm not talking about my regular grass. I mean, it's April and, of course, the regular grass is growing. I'm talking about the two square feet of grass in the triangular area enclosed by the concrete of the curb, the sidewalk, and my driveway. That's the grass that's growing! It hasn't grown in a couple years. 

So how could it have grown when it was totally sun scorched and whatever's-in-concrete fed?  Simple! Good soil! A one dollar and thirty-eight cent bag of good ol' top soil that was waiting in my yard bucket to be used. Sprinkle it in; sprinkle it on; and wow, the grass starts to grow. 

Does this surprise us? It shouldn't. Jesus said in today's Bible verse that whatever is sown on good soil will be thirty, sixty, even hundred times more productive.

So what's this got to do with parenting? Simple. In today's verse, Jesus says that good soil is a person, namely, a person "who hears [God's] word and understands it." It's pretty hard for your child to hear God's word and understand it and bear fruit like Jesus describes , if you're never feeding your child both with God's word and an understanding of it. Feeding a child with God's word and an understanding of it so that, all other things being equal, your child can be "thirty, sixty, even hundred times more productive" has nothing to do with seminary training or serving as a pastor. No! Feeding a child with God's word and an understanding of it so that, all other things being equal, your child can be "thirty, sixty, even hundred times more productive" has to do with time. Your time. Your time to daily read a bit of the Bible to your child. Your time to weekly memorize the simplest of Bible verses. Your time to Google just a little bit of understanding from an internet source like Biblegateway.com. And your time to feed that bit of understanding to your child.

I'm a parent. I know it doesn't take that much time to read God's Word to your child and share a bit of understanding with your child. Even five minutes a day in God's Word with your child is better than leaving them out in the elements to get sun scorched and whatever's-in-concrete fed?

Try it! What do you have to lose? How about a little bit of time...and a lot of anxiety over your children's future! After all, God's word will produce untold spiritual fruit...and that's the growth in a child for which every parent yearns!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 04/10/18, Easter Day #10, "Day of Praise"

Luke 24:31 - "And their eyes were opened, and they recognized [Jesus]. And he vanished from their sight."

Where did he go?

In today's verse, when we hear that Jesus, having been raised from the dead, "vanished from their sight," where did he go?

Well, in order to answer that question, we need to remember who "they" were. Yes, Jesus "vanished from their sight," but who were "they"? Yes, they were the ones whose "eyes were opened, and they recognized" Jesus, but who were "they"?

To answer that question, we need to look back ten verses from today's verse. And there in verse 21, we see and hear something very important about "them." After the crucified and risen Christ has joined them on the road to Emmaus, they don't realize that it's Jesus who's joined them, and one of the things they say to Jesus is, "we had hoped." In other words, the crucified and risen Christ came to and walked with people who "had hoped" because they'd lost hope. And after walking with and restoring the hope of these who had lost hope, Jesus "vanished from their sight." So, back to the original question, "where did he go?" Well, he went to some more people who have lost hope.

Have you lost hope?

If you have lost hope, Jesus "vanished from their sight" to come to you!

Ya see, God's word plainly tells us many times that God brings hope into the midst of our grief. God brings hope into the midst of our sorrow. God brings hope into the midst of all that would erode and wash away our hope.

Just like a medical doctor works where there are sick people, so too a giver of hope works where there are people who need hope. The crucified and risen Jesus is a giver of hope.

Why have you lost hope? Why do you need hope? Maybe you're amongst the people who have huddled in a hallway or a basement or a locked room to take shelter from a devastating storm literally swirling around your home or maybe from a devastating storm figuratively swirling around your heart.

For whatever reason you've lost hope and need hope, Jesus is coming to you because that's one of the many things that the crucified and risen Christ does. He brings hope into the midst of our grief. He brings hope into the midst of our sorrow. He brings hope into the midst of all that would erode our hope and wash it away.

Believe, dear friends, and look to Jesus. Believe in the midst of your difficulty that Jesus is with you and so are my prayers that you will find comfort and hope in him today.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 04/09/18, Easter Day #9, "Day of Praise"

John 11:43 - "When [Jesus] had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out.'"

I love going to Target, ya know the store with clothes and food and stuff.

Generally speaking, people aren't shopping there for extras. They're buying necessities. And because they're buying necessities, there isn't really too much to get excited about. And it shows. 

Boy oh boy, have you seen the look on people's faces while they're shopping for necessities? It's not a happy sight. 99% of the people look like they're the proverbial "this far" from being wrapped in grave clothes and sealed in a tomb. Like Lazarus was in today's Bible verse.

But Jesus had something to say about that. And so do I. Hey, you can join in too, if you want. Jesus said, "Lazarus, come out." Well, actually he didn't say it. What Jesus did was he said it like he meaned it. Yes, meaned it, which, in my experience, is Southern for Jesus said it like he expected it was gonna work. Yes indeed, the Bible says, Jesus "cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out.'" To be sure, Jesus was speaking to his dear friend, named "Lazarus." But since the name "Lazarus" means "God helps me," then we can responsibly say that Jesus was preaching an invitation to "come out of death and come instead to Jesus" to anybody who looks dead and needs God's help. Ya know, anybody who needs to come to life! To abundant life! To stop focusing on how hard life can be (because it can be hard), and focus on the one who can help. Y'all, God helps. And I can see it when I'm focused on him and not on my attitude of I-still-walk-20-miles-uphill-in-both-directions-in-the-snow-to-school. Jesus calls us out of that weary existence into new life.

And I can do that too, when I believe in the strength of Jesus workin' through me. I just pick me out a person who looks spiritually dead at Target (and there are many to choose from), and I shout at 'em in a loud voice.

Like a couple weeks ago, I said to this employee, "Where are the greeting cards, please?" And she said, "Come right this way." And the next thing I know she's got me walkin' through the women's delicates. And I shouted out in a loud voice, "Lord, lookee where I am, please get me outta here!" And that employee, she just like instantaneously went from death to life. She started laughin'. And I said, "Well, God tells us to be fools for Christ. And I'm lookin' like a fool, so I might as well sound like one too." And we hugged. And she thanked me for makin' her day. And I thanked her for pointin' me toward the greeting cards. And I greeted some other dead people on the way. Really! And most of them came to life too.

See! You can do that! Anybody can act like a fool. All it takes is a little faith, a little silliness, and the ability to say, "Hey!" I mean, who cares if people think you're a fool? If they don't think that, they'll just think that you're dead, just like them. So who cares if they think you're a fool. After all, that's what the Bible people thought Jesus was when he hollered into something like Dixie Caverns to a man who'd been dead for days and told him to come out. They thought Jesus was a fool for thinking that the dead could come to life.

Well, obviously he wasn't.

And neither are we.

So, see ya at Target or Walmart or some necessities store! I shouldn't be hard to spot. I'm the one lookin' and soundin' like a fool for Jesus Christ! Won't you join me?

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Sat, 04/07/18, Easter Day #7, "Day of Praise"

Mark 10:29-30 - "Jesus said, 'Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.'"

I remember a time that I had this beautiful, jumbo, white iris blooming in my yard, and some kid ripped it right off its stem and literally left it wadded up in my yard so that it looked like a wadded up paper towel until I bent over to pick it up out of my grass and realized "Hey, this is not a paper towel; it's my precious, jumbo, white iris that some kid has destroyed." So I threw it back down in my yard, mad as an hornet at the neighbor kids, and stomped away.

Juuuuuuskiddin'.

I didn't get upset at anybody nor throw anything down nor stomp away. My goodness, at any one time, I have hundreds of beautiful flowers blooming, literally. What is one little, jumbo flower?  
People have given so many kinds of flowers to me through the years that I have literally only spent ten dollars on two weigela plants to have my beautiful yard, or should I say "field," of flowers.

So, why did I tell you I got upset and threw stuff down and stomped away? Because that's, at least, in part what Jesus is talking about in today's verse when he talks about losing fields and houses and relationships.

Ya see, because of sin, we tend to have an unhealthy death grip on the things and people in our lives so that whenever we lose possession of a thing or control over a person, then we get so emotionally bent out of shape about it that we wind up forgetting about our many other blessings, in addition to usually hurting some people in our lives with our sour, stay-away-from-me attitude.

But God wants us to say, "Ok, so I lost a flower, but not only do I have the blessing of hundreds of other flowers, but I'm also blessed to have a neighborhood full of kids who love to play wiffle ball in my yard and climb my trees and jump on my trampoline and swing on my swing and slide on my slide. I'm so blessed that they know they're welcome and their parents trust me for their kids to be here." So now all of a sudden, I have hundreds of fields and nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters and houses where I'm welcome in my land, er, I mean, neighborhood.

But I totally miss out on those hundreds and hundreds of blessings when I protect and hold onto my things and my life with a death grip.

We gotta let go, friends. We gotta let go.

This is what Jesus is talking about. He, who died for us and has been raised, has restored all things to himself and entrusted them anew to us. The question is this? Are we gonna share them, as if they're the Lord's anyway, and therefore enjoy them all as a gift? Or are we going to possess them, as if they're ours to keep, and wind up losing them all not just in the end but right now too?

We are rich, friends. We are rich. Because Jesus is alive and reigns over all and has entrusted the treasure of his kingdom to us, then we are rich, rich, rich, rich, rich, immeasurably rich!

Let us share and gladly lose our bounty because, in so doing, God promises to multiply it a hundred times over. Wow!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 04/06/18, Easter Day #6, "Day of Praise"

Luke 5:33 - "And [the Pharisees] said to [Jesus], 'The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.'"

You are about to live a parable. The parable is called Friday.

Let me explain.

A dear friend of mine once told me that the great Warren Wiersbe said, "A parable begins as a picture and then becomes a mirror in which we see ourselves and then, through faith, becomes a window, through which we see God."

So you're about to live the parable called Friday. The picture of Friday is HAPPY! Then that happy picture becomes a mirror, namely, when you look in the mirror on Friday, I bet you see happy a lot more than on Monday! And now the mirror reflecting your Friday happiness becomes a window, through which we see God. 

Don't you see God? That's what today's Bible verse is about. Jesus and his disciples eat and drink. In other words, they're happy, happy, happy! Oh sure, Jesus fasted some, like in the wilderness at the start of his ministry. But Jesus feasted more than he fasted. I mean his first miracle was at a wedding with dancing and laughing where he turned yucky water into 180 gallons of happy, happy, happy wine! How 'bout we say that Jesus made a significant contribution to everyone's happiness at the wedding!

Just as he contributes to ours.

I mean, here's the deal. Jesus is alive, People!!!!!!!!!! He conquered death and sin!!!! They have no power over us anymore. Putting it back in parable form, we can rightly say that Jesus conquered Monday! The parable of Monday has no power over us! Because Jesus rose from the dead, there are no more Mondays! Now everyday can be Friday! Everyday can be happy!

Oh sure, there are times for Monday, times for mourning and grieving and confessing. But because Jesus feasted more than he fasted, you might say that Jesus sprinkled some Friday into Monday and invites us to do the same because whatever life serves up, you can't change the fact that Jesus is alive, transforming grieving into joy and Monday into Friday!

So, Happy Friday today! And Happy Friday tomorrow! And Happy Friday forevermore!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 04/05/18, Easter Day #5, "Day of Praise"

2 Chronicles 7:3 - "When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, 'For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.'"

This coming Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, is sadly known as Low Sunday because historically, throughout the whole church, there are fewer people in worship than on a regular Sunday. It's quite a contrast from the overflow attendance of Easter Sunday. And it's also very sad because God's word tells us in today's verses, and in all the Easter accounts in the New Testament, that the natural response of all who know the love of the Lord and believe the resurrection of the Lord is to fall humbly before the Lord and worship him.

Realistically, Pastors contribute to the sad reality of Low Sunday by often taking vacation the week after Easter Sunday. Additionally, right after Easter Sunday, people in general go into "end of the school year" and "summer" modes, which translates into a different rhythm to the week, so worshiping the Lord is not a priority. I understand these things.

However, I appeal to all of you to recognize that the testimony of God's word never changes as to why our hearts hunger for worship and are motivated to worship:
1) God always remembers us and shows he's with us,
2) In remembering us and visiting with us, God tells us he knows our afflictions, which are all the things that we need God to set straight and provide for in our lives, and
3) God promises to set our afflictions straight.

Hungering for these treasures that God provides and that are emphatically poured out in the cross and resurrection of Jesus, I encourage you not to cut back on your worship of God for the next few months but instead to increase it seven times over. In sum, worship God daily, and, in so doing, feed the hunger of your heart and be ready to feed your family, ball teams, coworkers, and fellow humanity. Read your Bibles together each day in your homes. Take your Bibles with you in your cars to work and to ball games. Tell your coworkers and ball teams when and where you're going to read your Bible out loud and share a prayer so they can join you in your worship. If you're not in your town on the traditional worship days of Sunday and Wednesday, then find and attend another church. 

The bottom line is that your heart is just as hungry for God's remembrance of you, God's knowledge of your woes, and God's promise to minister to you during the days and months after Easter Sunday as your heart is hungry on Easter Sunday itself. So feed on God's word. Bow humbly before the Lord, worship him, and hold fast to his word.

God is alive daily and eager to feed you with his word. Come daily to the table of his presence and eat.

Trust Christ, and you'll see.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 04/04/18, Easter Day #4, "Day of Praise"

John 20:22 - "And when [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"

My mom grew up on a farm. Lots of critters. Though I grew up in a suburban neighborhood, our house was often like a farm. One time, we had 22 critters, counting dogs, cats, gerbils, birds, fish, and rabbits. Recently, I saw a guy who might've grown up on a farm. He sure looked comfortable catching the critter and putting it in his "Animal Control" truck. 

Animal Control is different from Pest Control. Animal Control puts critters back in the right place; Pest Control usually gets rid of critters.

When Jesus breathed Holy Spirit on the disciples in today's verse, he was like Animal Control, not Pest Control. He didn't want to get rid of anybody. He just wanted to get people back in place. That's what Holy Spirit does; he works on us in the Spirit of Christ to get us back where we're supposed to be.

When Jesus breathed Holy Spirit on the disciples in today's verse, they had locked themselves in a room with fear. That's not where they were supposed to be. They were supposed to be out in the world, living in the strength and power and conviction and assurance and love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control of Holy Spirit. So Jesus was kind of like the highest level of Animal Control and sent them on out in the world to live with all that strength and power and conviction and stuff. And immediately that's where they went, out of the locked room and back into the world to make a difference in other people's lives as instruments of Holy Spirit, just like Jesus had done in theirs. Because that's where they were supposed to be. And that's what they were supposed to do. 

Just like us.

So come on, Friends. Let's go have a day like we're supposed to have and be where we're supposed to be and be what we're supposed to be! After all Jesus is alive! And he has poured out Holy Spirit so we can go into the world to live with all that strength and power and conviction and all that other good stuff of Holy Spirit and testify to others that Jesus has a wonderful place in his family and kingdom for them too!

Trust Christ, and you'll see!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 04/03/18, Easter Day #3, "Day of Praise"

Psalm 116:2 - "Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live."

Have you ever been talking to someone and it was as if they were looking right through you? Or, with those new cell phone ear buds, have you had someone looking right at you, but they are talking to someone else?

Neither of these ever happen with Jesus.

When Jesus was raised from the dead he showed the disciples that he was listening to them and speaking to them.

Remember yesterday's devotion and the celebration of peace from Christ? Well, right between the two times that he said "Peace be with you," he also breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit!" In other words, Jesus wasn't giving them peace as if he was doling out chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. He was also giving them himself. By the power of the Holy Spirit, which was just as he'd taught them, Jesus was assuring the disciples that he himself was and always would be with the disciples, personally dwelling in all who would believe.

Ya see, when somebody listens to you, that's what they're giving you, namely, themselves. When somebody really speaks to you personally, that's what they're giving you, namely, themselves. It's a rare thing nowadays for someone to take even a short time and give us him or herself. People have so much going on and therefore their hearts and minds are pulled in a million different directions like they're trying to watch every cable channel at once.

But with Jesus, he has one interest, namely, you and your salvation and your network of healthy relationships in the Body of Christ. Jesus is focused on you. He listens to you. And he speaks to you. Always has. Always will. That's why, even long ago, the psalmist was inspired to write in Psalm 116:2, "Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live."

Trust Christ! And you'll see!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 04/02/18, Easter Day #2, "Day of Praise"

John 20:21 - "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you.'"

On the day of his resurrection, the word "again" is just as important in Jesus's encouragement to us as is the word "peace." Very simply, when Jesus says, "Peace be with you" again (and therefore twice) to the disciples, then he's saying that he's determined to give peace to them and to us. Wow!

Friends, with whatever is going on in your life, no matter what is unsettled, no matter how big the storm, you can take this to the bank: Jesus is determined to give you peace in the midst of your storm.

Easter is not a day; it's a reality. And the peace of Christ in the midst of your storms and difficulties is as real as your storms and difficulties. Jesus conquered the ultimate storm, namely, the penalty of the sin of the whole world. So, he is more than capable of breaking into your storm and imparting peace to you too!

Trust him and you'll see!

Praise God!