Day of Praise

Fri, 11/01/19, "Day of Praise"

Here's one I wrote years ago for this occasion. 

"And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them." - Genesis 3:21

I've seen some good Halloween costumes in my years.

There was the year that my sweet daughters, about six and four at the time, were dressed as Dorothy and Toto from "The Wizard of Oz." They were absolutely adorable.

There was the year that I'm sure that I saw both Jabba the Hutt and Herman Munster. Whew!

And then there was yesterday, the day before Halloween, mind you. I was sitting in my car, finishing a call in a parking lot, when this guy walked by me in a "pants-on-the-ground" costume. The strange thing was that this guy had a 3-inch Ace elastic bandage wrapped around the outside of his right, blue jean, pant leg from his shin to his thigh. I'm sure. I am absolutely sure that if it hadn't been for the Ace bandage that I would've been hearing Ray Stevens sing "The Streak." But even with the Ace bandage, the poor guy's "costume" was totally, uuuuuh, shall we say, inadequate. 

Kinda like, the first man and woman who ever lived. 

That first man and woman were doing just fine living "un-costumed" until they decided that they knew more than Almighty God himself, who made them, and they decided to eat the forbidden fruit, which was the fruit of wanting to be their own God. Their tragic decision exposed them. And, unable to find a Walmart or ToysRUs in those days, they put together a costume of fig leaves so as to hide themselves, which is what a costume is for, is it not? 

But their fig-leaves costumes were altogether inadequate, not because the costume didn't cover their bodies, but because the costume didn't cover their shame. 

Shame, mind you, is feeling bad about who you are, which is altogether distinct from embarrassment, which is feeling bad about what you've done. Embarrassment always eventually wears off because it's only on the outside, like an invisible costume. But shame? Oooooo! Shame goes deep within our soul and challenges our very self-worth, along with challenging our will to even continue on in life since shame whispers to us that we're worthless and no one would even notice if we were gone. 

Shame cannot be covered with a costume. 

Shame can only be truly covered in blood. That's why "the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them." (Genesis 3:21) In essence, God covered the first people with animal skins, which were the first blood sacrifices. But even those animal-blood sacrifices and coverings were inadequate and had to be repeated year after year. 

That's why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us. Jesus's death was an everlasting blood sacrifice. That's why God's Word, in Romans 13:14, says, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ." All who put on the Lord Jesus Christ will truly be covered forever and have their shame removed. 

Everything else is just a costume. 

"And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them." - Genesis 3:21

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

Thursday, October 31, 2019, The 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther posting "The 95 Theses" on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany; "Day of Praise"

What difference does it make? Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic monk, priest, and professor who lived in Germany. And 500 years ago today (October 31, 1517), he nailed 95 theses (statements for discussion) onto the front door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. 

Why did Martin Luther do it? And who cares?

First, he did it because of the following:

• He realized that the Christian church around the world had come to have biblical, doctrinal, and theological errors that led to bad teaching and misleading practices. 

• He recognized that the growing availability of paper and the invention of the printing press made the Bible itself and teaching about the Bible available to common people who previously were excluded from meaningful discussions about eternal and everlasting matters.

• He saw the sale of "indulgences" by the church of that day as a topic he could use to inform people so they wouldn't think that buying a piece of paper (an indulgence) could heal their broken relationship with God and get their dead loved ones into heaven. 

• He saw the widespread corruption and immorality of religious leaders,  including the common practice of simony, which was purchasing an appointment as a priest or bishop without having any qualifications for the position in order to gain monetary wealth and political power.

Second, why should we care about these things today, 500 years later? Well, we should care because what God worked through Martin Luther in Germany was what God had been working through John Wycliffe in England, Jan Hus in Bohemia, and Girolamo Savonarola in Italy. Indeed, what God worked through Martin Luther in Germany 500 years ago is what God wants to work through all who profess faith in Christ in every generation! 

500 years ago, the Christian church had biblical, doctrinal, and theological errors that led to bad teaching and misleading practices. Can the same creep in today? Has it creeped in? Does your church, does my church, ever say or do anything that leads people to trust in their own good efforts more than God's most certain word and work? Holy Spirit reform us! Move us to trust in God's word and saving work through Jesus Christ alone!

500 years ago, the growing availability of paper and the invention of the printing press made the Bible itself and teaching about the Bible available to all people to discuss eternal and everlasting matters. Is God revealing new technology today to help us take the life-giving word of God in Jesus Christ to all people? Holy Spirit help us! Help us to take the good news of Jesus to the world!

500 years ago, the sale of "indulgences" by the church of that day was a topic Luther used to inform people that buying a piece of paper (an indulgence) could not heal their broken relationship with God and get their dead loved ones into heaven. Are there flimsy, "paper-like" things that people are leaning on today to heal their broken relationship with God? Do people trust their being a good person, their Bible reading, their church attendance or their bank accounts to make things right with God? Holy Spirit correct us! Help us trust that Jesus Christ alone can heal our relationship with God and that even our best efforts are a fruit of the Holy Spirit, working in us to say, "Thank you, God, for your life-giving work for me in Jesus Christ!"

500 years ago, Luther saw the widespread corruption and immorality of religious leaders to gain monetary wealth, earthly pleasure, and political power. Are there ill motives today amongst any religious leaders or institutions? Do any leaders preach to "itching ears", speaking words that tell people only what they want to hear in order to keep the seats full and the offering plates overflowing? Holy Spirit rebuke us, correct us, train us, and empower us! Lead us, Holy Spirit, to speak the full scope of God's word, including the unpopular stuff, not only in our churches but also in our homes and our marriages and our workplaces and schools and intentional, compassionate engagement of spiritually-starving people in public. Your word alone, all of it, all of your word alone, Lord, indeed Jesus Christ alone, the Living Word of God is able to show us our nakedness, our brokenness, our hunger, our thirst, our emptiness that you alone, Lord, are able to cover, heal, satisfy, quench, and fill in a way that lasts forever. 

The 16th Century Reformation of the Church, which started 500 years ago today, was a work of the Holy Spirit, which, in reality, the Holy Spirit of the living God is faithfully seeking to work everyday in and through all who trust and follow Jesus!

Praise God!

Day of Praise



Wed, 10/30/19, "Day of Praise"

Jesus said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." - John 10:9

I worry about us people. Even though Jesus says doors are important for us to understand, we have all sorts of trouble with doors.

We go in "Exit" doors, just like people did recently at Walmart.

We go out "Entrance" doors, just like people did recently at Walmart.

We push doors that say "Pull", just like people did last night at the gas station.

We pull doors that say "Push", just like people did last night at the gas station.

We totally forget all manners and logic when we see an open door. I'll never forget when I was starting college. My mom was helping me move in. And because all the carts were in use by other students who were moving in, my mom and I were both carrying armloads of clothes and linens from the parking lot, through the courtyard, and toward the dorm. When we got to the Clement Hall outside doors, not only did nobody open a door for us, but as I myself opened one of the ten or so doors with the tips of my fingers and the edge of my foot and then held it open for my poor loaded-down-with-linens mom, a group of 12 or so college girls with absolutely nothing in hand acted as if my mother and I didn't exist and the door was propped open just for them. They not only went out of their way to ignore the other nine closed doors so they could go through the one I'd struggled to open, but not a one of them said "hello" or even "excuse us", not to mention they of course did not say "thank you". My mom and I looked at each other in disbelief, but looking back on it, I'm not sure why we were surprised. People totally forget all manners and logic when we see an open door. 

And "push" or "pull" or "Exit" or "Enter" on a door means nothing to most human beings. 

Maybe this is why Jesus, in Luke 13:24, says, "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." Maybe he knows that instructions and doors are a hard concept for us people to follow. 

But make no mistake, Friends, our Lord Jesus has opened a door to the best life, to abundant life, to eternal life with both the tips of his fingers and the edge of his feet nailed to a cross and his arms loaded-down-not-with-linens-but-with-sin, even as groups of 12 or so of us with absolutely nothing in hand act as if he doesn't exist and we saunter through the door with nary a "hello" or even "excuse us" not to mention there's rarely a "thank you" as Jesus makes plain in Luke 17. I bet the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit look at each other in disbelief, but rarely are they surprised because God certainly knows that we people totally forget all manners and logic when we see an open door. 

And again we're reminded how badly we need God's unfathomable mercy and grace. 

May each door that we pass through today be a reminder of Jesus's loving promise, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." (John 10:9)

And maybe we can pass along his wondrous love by holding the door for someone and instead of waiting for a "thank you", we could heap on some grace with a "God bless you, and have a nice day!"

Just like God has heaped grace on us. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 10/29/19, "Day of Praise"

"Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all people who were on the face of the earth." - Numbers 12:3

So I hear these shrill voices, and I'm wondering what's happening in our backyard. So I get to our back window and open the blind and there, to my amazement, are the four smallest, out-of-the-nest birds that I've ever seen. 

And they're fighting.

Right there on the corner of the deck, these four tiny birds are fighting. Either that or they're playing football and celebrating a score by chest-bumping each other repeatedly while shrilling the team fight song feverishly. 

Bottom line is that, in my crazy preacher's mind, those four, tiny, chest-bumping, shrill-screaming birds made me think of Moses and today's Bible verse. In other words, there didn't seem to be an ounce of humility in a single one of those birds which annoyed me so much after about five minutes of their carrying on that I wondered if there was enough meat between 'em so I could turn 'em into a nice chicken-wing dinner. 

But then I would've failed the Moses test too. 

Ya see, Moses was commended by God for not only being "humble", which is setting aside your own desires (unlike the birds), but if you look into it, today's verse is also translated that Moses was the most "meek" man that ever lived. 

Meek and humble are not the same. 

Humble is thinking less of yourself and setting aside your will. Meek is living out of God's strength instead of your own.

Even when things are annoying. 

Especially when things are annoying.

So today, when you have some little shrill birds, er, I mean troubles that start to get on your nerves and annoy the daylights out of you, then just remember Moses and how God celebrates when we set our own egos aside and ask God to be our strength. 

God will!

Praise God!

Day of Praise



Mon, 10/28/19, "Day of Praise"

By God's grace, I listen. By God's grace alone do any of us listen because when we listen we clearly hear people's hearts, and often people's hearts tell us that some days are harder than others. Some days are so hard that all that people can do is mumble, "This too will pass." They pray that time will just move on. 

And time does move on.

But so does God and his promises. 

Like time, God and his promises move along in life with us, which is why we can savor memories and celebrate new beginnings and anticipate the future all at once.

One of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible is Isaiah 25. It's full of celebration that God is faithful. He has blessed us in the past. His promises for the future are true. And for the present, for days like today, he's our strength, our shelter, or whatever we may need. 

May God bless you through His word and this encouraging passage of scripture. Please don't race through it, but savor it, cherish it, and meditate on it. God will bless you through His word. 

Isaiah 25:1-9 -- "(1) O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. 
(2) For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners' palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
(3) Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
(4) For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
(5) like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is put down.
(6) On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
(7) And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
(8) He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
(9) It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

Praise God!

Day of Praise



Sat, 10/26/19, "Day of Praise" 

"But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." - Matthew 10:30 

Seriously? 

So, God knows every hair on my head? 

Even the two-inch-long Frankenstein hair on my right eyebrow that apparently decided to pop out one Sunday not long ago? 

Man alive, everybody who received Holy Communion from me during worship and everybody who greeted me after worship must've been thinking, "Man, Pastor Chris, don't you ever look in the mirror? Dude, you need to trim your eyebrows. You look like Frankenstein." 

But nobody said that. 

And apparently God knew about the monster hair because God promises that "even the hairs of your head are all numbered." (Matthew 10:30) And even knowing how stupid I looked, he still loves me. 

And God still loves you, even though a wild hair or something crazy is going to make you look stupid today. 

I mean it's Saturday. And y'all are always telling me how much you love Saturdays because something surprising always seems to happen. To you. Or with a family member. Or with a game. Or at the store. 

Just remember that God already knows about it. And he loves you. And he loves them. So instead of getting bent out of shape, we can do what a young couple and I talked about not long ago -- we can just smile and laugh about it and not let it steal our joy. 

So, have a great Saturday! 

And remember, "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered." (Matthew 10:30) 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 10/25/19, "Day of Praise" 

"Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." - Proverbs 11:25 

Hmm. Now there's an interesting way to understand how one gets refreshed. 

Bring a blessing, and you'll receive a blessing. 

Refresh another, and you'll be refreshed.  

Just think if the whole world believed and lived that way. We'd have, well, we'd have Paradise. 

May blessings and refreshment come our way as we ourselves spread a little Paradise by sharing the love of God in Jesus Christ. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 10/24/19, "Day of Praise"

"Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled." - 1 Samuel 17:51

In today's Bible verses, "the Philistines saw that their champion was dead." A champion is one who fights on behalf of the whole army. When fighting against each other, kings would often agree to spare the lives of many by having each king just send out one representative, i.e. their champion. 

So instead of armies fighting and many dying, the champion from each side would meet to fight, and only one person would die. It was still army against army, but being champion against champion, it was one against one. 

But when one champion defeated the other champion, the winning champion's whole team won, even though only the team champion actually fought.

Jesus is our champion. Jesus defeated the devil. We did not defeat the devil. We did not even fight the devil. Only Jesus, our champion, fought and defeated the devil. But since, through faith in Jesus, we're on Jesus's team and Jesus is our champion, we share in and therefore can claim Jesus's victory over the devil as if it were our own victory. 

And through faith in Jesus, it is! Through faith in Jesus, Jesus's victory over the devil and over all God's enemies is our own!

Such is the testimony and claim for us to share in the victory of our champion, Jesus, in verse two of Martin Luther's famous 16th Century hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Here's the second verse: 
No strength of ours can match his [the devil's] might!
We would be lost, rejected.
But now a champion comes to fight, Whom God himself elected.
You ask who this may be?
The Lord of hosts is he!
Christ Jesus, mighty Lord.
God's only Son, adored.
He holds the field victorious.

So, when the devil or any enemy of God comes to pick on you today, you can face it and literally tell it, "Jesus is my champion."

And then you can act as if the victory is already won over that enemy.

Because it is.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 10/23/19, "Day of Praise"

"My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!" - Psalm 84:2a and 4 

"Alabama versus Tennessee in 3 days."

At least that's what the guy on the local radio station said one day last week. (Remember that I live in Alabama.) 

I didn't hear him say it. But I know that he said it because I used to listen to his radio station a lot. Every year, when one college football season ends, the very next day is when that radio station starts the countdown to the next college football season. And every week, when one college football game ends, the very next hour is when that radio station starts the countdown to the next college football game.  Of course, the reason that radio station does that is because there's a cultural longing for college football around here. That longing has been fed by a bunch of national championships between the two big football schools in this state. 

It's fun. 

At least it's supposed to be fun. 

Until there's a stretch of losing. 

Like I've gotten used to with my favorite college team, which does not reside in Alabama. 

Everything in the world is fun. 

Until it hits hard times. Like losing football seasons. 

That's why God wants us to take our longing for college football or whatever we long for in the world. And God wants us to hold it up next to His word. 

And God says, "If you'll long for my word as much as you long for that other thing, you'll find that my word is not only much more satisfying, but it will endure and feed your soul, even when the other thing hits hard times, like losing football seasons." 

So, hey, enjoy your college football. I will. 

But let's remember to take time for God's word each day too because that's how the most satisfying and never-failing desire comes about and grows. 

"My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!" - Psalm 84:2a and 4 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 10/22/19, "Day of Praise" 

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 5:21 

Fourth grade. White pants. Playground mud hole. Tug-a-war. Competitive boy. 

Not a good combo. 

Result. Huge mud splotch on white pants. Let's just say they were now brown pants with a white section. 

Not much changes with grown-ups, as Paul McCartney used to sing in his song "Tug of War."

Adults have their own ways of trying to "outdo" and "outscore" each other. Let's be honest. We all know the driving force. It's spoken of in one of the testimonies at the end of the awesome new movie "Woodlawn." Luke 12:13-34 - all sorts of adult tug-of-wars because people want power and, in the world, power usually equals money. 

The result is lots of mud splotches on white pants. 

Nowadays, we call it slinging mud.  

I'm not trying to be poetic today at all. Poetry is beautiful. Even when the topic is not. 

There's nothing beautiful about adult tug-a-wars in a sinful, fallen, broken world. 

That's why God says, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." (Ephesians 5:21) 

One of the people who reads this devotion everyday says, "God's way works." Submitting instead of tugging-of-warring works. They say they can now just smile at the person or the situation after letting go and putting the tug-a-war rope in God's hands. 

They say God always wins. 

Always. 

Maybe it doesn't look that way at first. Like when Jesus was crucified. But God always works it out. Like when Jesus is raised from the mud hole, er, I mean, the dead. 

And everyone who trusts in Jesus gets to share in the victory. (That's called champion-to-champion fighting, which we'll save for another day.) 

So for today, may God help us to believe again that God's Way and God's ways work. So, let's "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." (Ephesians 5:21) 

And everyone's pants will stay white. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 10/20/19, "Day of Praise"

"'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." - Luke 12:19-21

When The Carpenters released "Rainy Days and Mondays" on April 23, 1971, I'm sure that song raced to #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 list because Karen Carpenter had one of the five smoothest voices of all time, in my humble opinion. 

However, I'm also sure that any song with the line "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down" would have to climb pretty high because we live in a society that still hasn't figured out the place and value of work; and the biggest target for work complaints is "Monday." Our fallen world thinks dreariness and work go hand in hand, so of course "Rainy days and Mondays always get us down."

But before we join the chorus of Monday complaints today, it behooves us to recognize that, in today's Bible verses, Jesus makes a clear connection between our strength of soul and our attitude toward work. And though it's true that works never save us (read Galatians in the Bible), God ordained from the beginning that a healthy work ethic is a part of our enjoying paradise. Before sin entered the world, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." (Genesis 2:15)

Indeed, God ordained that though work never saves us in relation to God, works are a way for us to thank and glorify God for giving us life and saving us, which is exactly what we see in the New Testament in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

In fact, that would be a perfect prayer for us to pray for each other on every work day, but especially today, since it's our "favorite" workday: Monday! May God give us strength of soul and a positive attitude toward work. To God be the glory!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 10/18/19, "Day of Praise"

"Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Ephesians 5:18b-20

You do not need to be the famous Dietrich Bonhoeffer or any other famous person. 

You only need to be you.

You only need to be you to "be filled with the Spirit" and address one another in the ways God speaks of in today's verses.  
It is not minimizing "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19) to say that speaking to one another in "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" means speaking to one another 1) from the bottom of your heart (psalms), 2) thoughtfully (hymns), 3) about the matters that are weighing on your heart (spiritual songs), trusting that this call is in the Bible because this is how God works in our relationships to build up everyone. 

Everyday, as a pastor, I experience one consistent thread in every pastoral care and counseling conversation, namely, people either don't feel connected to others, or they do feel connected because their conversations are 1) from the bottom of the heart (psalms), 2) thoughtful (hymns), and 3) about the matters that are weighing on one's heart (spiritual songs). 

It's not about being touchy-feely. It's about honesty. 

So let's pray for one another. For the person in front of you. Consciously thinking, "how can I make room for this person to be real with me?"

Lord, please help us to start by being real with them, trusting you, speaking thoughtfully from the bottom of our heart about the matters that are weighing on their heart, and "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18b-20)

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 10/17/19, "Day of Praise" 

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10 

I love working in our yard. Love it. It doesn't even seem right to say that it's "working" in the yard. It feels more like playing. 

It's renewing to me. While I "work", I think. And I sing. And I pray. And I look. At the flowers. The birds. The polish on the yard. The possibilities for the yard. 

It's a "work" in progress. 

Just like you. Just like me. Just like the family we're all a part of. God's family. 

We're all a work in progress. Like a garden. God is pruning us. God is enjoying us. Nurturing us so that we can bear fruit, sweet fruit, even as God envisions the possibilities. 

Yes, we are a work in progress. 

But make no mistake. 

We are the focal point of God's Garden Paradise. 

It hardly seems like "work" to God. 

It's love. 

God loves working in His yard. 

So do I. 

I hope you do too. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 10/16/19, "Day of Praise"

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children." - Ephesians 5:1

So, are there any other little brothers out there? My big brother was awesome and is awesome. But every once in a while, being a little brother was not very fun.

In my case, my big brother, Ben, was faster than me, quicker than me, braver than me, more handsome than me, cooler than me. In sum, he was better than me. And fortunately, he was nice about all that and most things.

But there was one thing my big brother couldn't stand, namely, he didn't want me going to school and wearing the same style shirt as he had on. He did not want me imitating him or being a copycat where clothes were concerned. So he'd send me back to my room to change before we went to catch our bus.

Those are great memories for my brother and me because now we're totally on the same page. We both love imitating our ultimate big brother, Jesus Christ. We both want to wear exactly what Jesus is wearing, namely the goodness and righteousness of Jesus. And through faith in Jesus, that's exactly what Jesus gives us to wear as God says in Isaiah 61:10, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness".

And why does God do this? Why does God clothe us exactly like Jesus? Well, God does it so we'll never forget and the world will know that God loves us to look like him, as if we're God's children, for whom God provides and cares, and to whom God listens and gives.

Indeed, that is exactly what we are!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 10/15/19, "Day of Praise" 

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." - John 7:24 

Round two for this verse. 

So, I'm driving down the road. And I see a car full of clothes. No, really! It was full of clothes. And I could be wrong, but I didn't get the impression that this vehicle was headed to the Salvation Army to make a donation. To the contrary, the little, middle-aged lady, whose head laid on the steering wheel and under the clothes, seemed, well, blessed that the Salvation Army exists. 

And I thought to myself, "What must it take to live like that?" And then I thought through the list of people who I've met who live in their cars. For each one, there's some mental or physical challenge that has stressed their finances so that their car or truck has become their home. Closer examination of the car reveals more than clothes. There's trash. And a smell. 

It's easy to look down on these people. Very easy. 

But it's harder to look down on them when you hear their voice. And learn their name. And shake their hand. Thinking you need to wash your hand as soon as possible. 

And then, I'll speak for myself, then God cuts my heart and speaks to my heart, saying, "Be careful, Chris. Your car may not have as much stuff in it. But your life has just as much need. For a Savior. Who has compassion. And mercy. And kindness. Who will reach out his hands. With a blessing. With a greeting. On a cross. To help. To forgive. To encourage." 

Everyone needs Jesus Christ. 

And that's the only judgement that any of us need to be making. 

He extended his hand to me. To help me. That I might be the way that he reaches through me to someone else. 

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." - John 7:24 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 10/09/19, "Day of Praise" 

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." - John 7:24 

Dufus! 

That's what my friend confessed they called someone in the mall food court who, from a distance, they saw was wearing a doo-rag. As the verbal judgement-by-appearance came out of their mouth, they also saw the dufus and his friend sit down in the mall food court, bow their heads, and pray to God in thanks for their food. 

My friend felt busted. 

So she dug into her purse and found a couple of the literally tens of thousands of wooden pocket crosses that our church in Alabama has bought from a guy who has a small business making these little inspiring, pocket crosses. 

My friend got up and went to these guys' table and told them sincerely how blessed she and her husband were to see them pray in public. She gave them the crosses. And, returning to her table, she noticed, as many of our folks have testified, the little crosses being examined and discussed all during the young men's meal. 

And THEN they came over to her table and thanked her, saying how God brought their lives together and lovingly patting the pocket in which they placed their new little treasure of a 30 cent cross with a Bible verse printed on it - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart - Proverbs 3:5-6". 

And once again God graciously teaches us all, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." (John 7:24) 

(PS - If you, like many of our members, would like to order some wooden pocket crosses for yourself, your family, your business, your church or whatever, simply email Dick and Wendi at office@ctkbham.org and they'll be glad to give you the contact info.) 

Praise God! 

Day of Praise

Tues, 10/08/19, "Day of Praise"

"The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds." - Psalm 33:13-15

I love telling the following story, so I'm going to tell it again!!

So, there was this day, I'm standing in line at the world's best giant burger place, Tony's Hot Dog Shop in Pelham, Alabama. 

This guy walks past me. He carries himself like a humble, but very fit, laborer. He also carries a tray with a Giant Tony Burger on it. No Fries. (That no fries part is important!)

So he sits at this two-seater table with another guy who also has a giant burger, but this other guy also has a mound of fries on his plate. Immediately, burger-fries guy excuses himself and heads to the restroom. Burger-no-fries guy never hesitates and bows his head and prays. 

And it was a long prayer. Like a longer than "Pastor-Chris-this-is-the-prayer-time-in-worship-not-another-sermon" prayer. I mean, the burger-no-fries guy's prayer is so long that I started to wonder if maybe he'd fallen asleep. But I'm definitely not wondering if this guy believes in prayer and knows and loves the Lord. Burger-no-fries guy definitely loves Jesus. 

Then he opens his eyes.

But then all in one motion he lifts up his head and turns around like he's looking to see if his burger-plus-fries friend is returning from the restroom. And not spotting fries-friend, he swings his head and eyes and hand around and he grabs a bunch of his friend's fries and crams 'em in his mouth. And he's looking around the room looking like Cookie Monster's cousin, Fries Monster, with a mouth full of fries. And he's clearly looking to see if anybody else spotted him stealing the fries right on the heals of his Billy Graham Crusade length prayer to the Living God. 

I guess I was unaware that I was wearing an invisibility cloak because I'm not standing twelve feet away from the guy (and I'm in my pastor clothes, no less), and he never once looks at me to see if I saw him steal the fries even though I've been staring him down and watching all this for the last five minutes. 

Well, he may not have seen me staring at him, but surely such a religious guy knows that, as today's verse says, "The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man...and observes all their deeds" (Psalm 33:13-15).

But ya' know, on second thought, what am I even talking about? I do stupid stuff like that all the time. One moment, I kid myself into believing I'm some sort of do-gooder, and the next moment I'm looking down on someone who needs some do-gooding. Of course, I only say it in my heart, so who's gonna' know? Oh yeah, "The Lord [who] looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man...and observes all their deeds" (Psalm 33:13-15).

He's gonna' know. 

I don't know about you. But I sure am glad that the God (the only God) who observes all my deeds uses those same eyes to gaze on me and have compassion (Matthew 15:32) and uses those eyes to look down from his cross and ask God the Father (Luke 23:34) to forgive my sin because I don't know what I'm doin'. 

No, I don't know what I'm doin' any more or any less than Big-prayin'-French-Fry-stealin' burger man. 

May God have mercy on us all!

And thank God that, in Jesus Christ, he has!!!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 10/07/19, "Day of Praise"

"So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" - Ephesians 2:19

I am not a world traveler. So when I was in seminary and went to the Philippines with some professors and students, I felt very much out of my comfort zone. 

And there was no time I felt more out of my comfort zone than when we had a layover in Seoul, Korea and when we first arrived in Manila, which is the capital city and the second largest city of the Philippines.

All we saw of Seoul was the inside of the International Airport terminal. Wee hours of the night, their time. Dark outside. Light inside. The terminal had no people. Not a seoul, er, I mean, soul. And our souls had no energy. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all white, hard, and sterile. Between exhaustion and environment, I felt totally like a "stranger and sojourner" (Ephesians 2:19). If I didn't know better, I would have thought I was in the train station scene of "Matrix Revolutions."

And then a few hours later, with maybe a few minutes of sleep, we arrived in Manila. And I thought I felt like a "stranger and sojourner" in Seoul. Seoul was easy compared to Manila. It was now the wee hours of the morning. Still very dark. We got off the plane and onto a "bus". I was looking out the bus window into this dark strange world. It felt like a scene from "Apocalypse Now". It forced me to wonder, "Should we trust the guy who's driving the bus? I don't even have a clue who even actually is driving the bus. Man-ila, er, Man, I don't have a clue even where I am!"

Have you ever felt that way in life? The world seems dark. Rest comes hard. And ya wonder, "Should I trust the guy who's driving the bus? I don't even have a clue who even actually is driving the bus." Ya feel like a stranger and sojourner in your own "world" and even at times to your own life.

So, for all of you who have ever felt as strange and unsettled as God's Word says many of us sometimes do, then here's the Good News: God has an invitation for you. God has a promise for you to claim. 

You have a place with God. A place in God's heart. And God wants to have a place in your heart. You have your own room in God to settle in. And God wants to settle into the room that is your heart. 

No more sojourning. You're home in the Lord. Even while we're still sojourning in the world. In other words, even as our place in the world is temporary, our place with God is permanent. Our place with God is home. A place to rest. And be fed. And hear the voice of One who loves us. 

Our place with God through faith in Jesus Christ is a place to be renewed.

For the rest of this temporary journey.

So that now, in Christ, as we walk sometimes wearily in and through this world, we have a promise to claim from One who's always faithful to His Word. And His promise to you is this: "So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 10/04/19, "Day of Praise"

"And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God." - Leviticus 23:22

I put gas in our car yesterday, and it reminded me of a story from the past. Sometimes you don't laugh because something's funny. Sometimes you laugh because, well, there's nothing else to do. 

Some of you know the Pilot gas station at the Rising Fawn exit on I-59 and know it's as open as the big sky in Montana. But apparently stealing needs no cloak. 

I was on my way back from Tennessee a few years ago, and I'd gone in that Pilot gas station store to grab some caffeine and prepay with cash for my gas. As I'm walking out to my car, I got to thinking how funny it would be if I forgot to pump my prepaid gas and just got in my car and drove away. As I continued to flesh it out, I was laughing how I'd get ten miles down the road and look at my fuel gauge and go, "Aaaaaah, I don't believe it. I forgot my gas." So I'd drive a few miles to the next exit, then turn around, go back to the Pilot, pull up to the same pump, and get my gas. 

Then, after the fifteen seconds that it took for all that to go through my mind, I start laughing at how funny it would be if it was somebody else who forgot to pump their prepaid gas and before they got back that it was I myself who had just pulled into the gas station and up to that pump and saw the screen flashing, "$40 prepaid," "$40 prepaid," "$40 prepaid." I'd be thinking, "Wow! Thanks, God!"

So, I was imagining all this in the thirty seconds it took me to get from the cash register to my car. Now, it's back to reality. I open my tank, take off the pump #14 hose, look up for a moment, and see a van full of clearly-poor-guys on the opposite pump hose #13. They're smiling and waving at me. Through their windows, it looks like they're saying, "Hey, Preacher! How ya' doin'?" I say, "Hello!" to their friend who is pumping the gas. He's got a big metal cross hanging on a chain around his neck. He's got a bigger smile on his face. 

I'm thinking, "Those guys sure are happy." And I start trying to pump my prepaid gas. Nothing happens. The hose handle is stuck. I try again. Nothing. One more time. Nothing. So I think the cashier forgot to turn on my pump. No problem, sometimes I forget where my keys are, and they're right there in my hand. So I walk back into the Pilot under the big sky of Rising Fawn and wave to the cashier to turn on my pump. She looks at me, then through me, and yells, "Stop them!"

So I turn around and see my poor but happy van friends as they start to drive away. 

Ya see, somehow in the time it took me to daydream about forgetting gas, finding gas, and wondering what was going on with my gas, my poor but happy van friends were stealing my gas and not saying, "Hey, Preacher! How ya' doin'?" but "Hey, Preacher! Thanks for the gas!"

And all I could do was laugh, because what else are you gonna' do? I don't know. Maybe think about Leviticus 23:22, "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God."

Hey, gleanings from a harvest? $40 of gas? We can deal with it. 

After all, God's left a whole lot more behind for you and me!

Think about it!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 10/03/19, "Day of Praise" 

"Make yourself an ark of gopher wood." - Genesis 6:14 

I love the movie "Evan Almighty" with Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman. I remember the last time our family watched it. We all laughed. I cried some too. 

"God" (Morgan Freeman) says something like this, "The Flood is a love story. It's about people believing in each other and sticking together through hard times." 

Evan Baxter's (Steve Carell) family finds that when they do that, when they believe in each other and stick together through tough times, then they actually change the world in large and small ways, in ways that matter and last, one person at a time. 

God, through His Son, Jesus, has changed our world by believing in us and sticking together with us through tough times. In the strength of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, let's pass it on to others. 

Happy day! 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 10/02/19, "Day of Praise"

"When I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:10

I love the book "The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me" by Major W. Ian Thomas. 

Here's an excerpt from Major Thomas's book that's related to today's Bible verse:

"The resurrected Christ now lives, to continue His Life in you.

"If you are not prepared to do as you are told, no matter how weak or foolish it will make you look, then whatever you believe about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is still academic. You have not yet entered into the good of it. 

"When it comes to the point of obedience to God's clear instructions, the Life of Jesus Christ within you makes human circumstances irrelevant; for to share His Life now as He once shared His Father's Life on earth is to know, as Jesus did, that Someone else is taking care of the consequences. 

"I do not mean by this that God's purposes are always irrational in the light of human circumstance, not that there is any particular virtue in being eccentric or foolhardy. What I am urging is simply that you become delightfully detached from the pressure of circumstance, so that it ceases to be the criterion in the decisions you make. You do as you are told, whether God's instructions appear to be compatible with the immediate situation or not, and you leave God to vindicate Himself and to justify the course of action upon which you have embarked at His command. 

"You will not need to know what He plans to do with you...you simply need to know Him."

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tue, 10/01/19, "Day of Praise" 

"And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord. 
Have I been a wilderness to Israel, 
    or a land of thick darkness? 
Why then do my people say, 'We are free, 
    we will come no more to you'?" - Jeremiah 2:31 

It's supposed to be a nation of freedom. If we're honest though, most would acknowledge that the nation is strained. Trusted spiritual leaders in our country, like Timothy Keller, tell us that seventy percent of our citizenry has no idea how we got our freedom and/or has no idea what to properly do with freedom. 

So what's new? 

On this upcoming October 31, it will be 502 years since Martin Luther posted 95 statements/theses for discussion about the misuse of freedom. In a related statement, Martin Luther said, "We have proven ourselves to be pigs, abusing the fine art of human freedom." 

About 2,600 years ago, God spoke these words through Jeremiah in today's verse, "Why then do my people say, 'We are free, we will come no more to you [Lord God]'?" (Jeremiah 2:31) 

And shortly after being created, the first man and woman broke the only rule that God gave them: "You are free; just don't eat from that one tree." 

Our nation needs a collective freedom reboot. 

If you want to be a part of the solution, then carefully read and think about and tell others about Timothy Keller's "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism."

God has blessed The United States of America. 

Please Lord God, help us use our blessing of freedom to glorify and praise your name! Amen. 

Praise God!