Loving our children well

I think most parents (especially of teenagers!) desperately want their children to know how much they love them. Of course, our love must be more than simply feeling affection; it must be action. Love is a verb. The love we feel must be put on display.

Love is patient. Wait! Nobody said this was easy, right? What does your level of patience with your children say about the way you love them? If you’re often irritated when your child keeps asking you questions, quickly frustrated when they don’t seem to understand something, or find yourself snapping in anger over little things, that’s not love.

Love is kind. In the midst of a cold-hearted culture, the home must be a warm, safe place of refuge. Children need to hear that they are valued and precious, not worthless and bothersome. They need generous encouragement, thoughtful counsel, gentle support. Unthinkably, some (too many) children live with constant put-downs, name-calling, shaming, and all sorts of verbal and physical abuse.

That patience and kindness, however, doesn’t mean that we tolerate bad behavior or give them everything they want. As children grow they’re gaining and seeking greater independence, they’re formulating their own ideas and opinions, they’re pushing boundaries.

Love sometimes means saying, “No.” But instead of just saying, “Because I said so,” why not give them sound reasons for your decision that communicates your love and helps them learn to make wise choices themselves?

No, you can’t stay up playing video games all night. Because I love you, I want you get the rest your growing body needs, so that you’ll be healthy and strong physically, mentally, emotionally. Let’s read a good book together instead, or play Uno, or take a walk before we go to bed at a decent hour and get a good night’s sleep.

No, you can’t go to that party. Listen, Johnny’s parents might not care that he and his friends drink beer and watch R-rated movies, but I care about you, and I don’t want you to be in that situation. Why don’t you invite a friend over and I’ll order a pizza?

No, you can’t wear that way-too-revealing outfit. You’re a beautiful young woman inside and out, and I want you to dress modestly being confident in who you are – a woman of strength and dignity, honor and purity, wisdom and self-control.

We also display our love through discipline. When your child chooses to disobey your authority as a parent, there should be appropriate consequences for his actions. They won’t like it, obviously, but when carried out in love for their good, discipline will yield the fruit of righteousness, and they will respect you for it.

Listen, none of us are perfect parents, and I certainly don’t have all the answers. I can’t even do the patience and kindness part apart from walking in step with the Lord. But I do know that our Father in heaven loves His children perfectly, and I long to keep learning from him to parent my own children well (even though my oldest is now 21 and getting married in December!).

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). May God grant His grace to help us truly love the children He’s blessed us to raise.

 

Global Hunger Relief

At Petersburg First Baptist Church, we have been promoting an offering for Global Hunger Relief, a ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention through which the love of God is shared in word and action. The projects enabled through these funds are designed with an intentional spiritual strategy working through our missionaries already on the field and in cooperation the expertise of local leaders.

In addition to meeting crisis hunger needs during famine and natural disasters, GHR-funded projects focus on long-term, sustainable solutions to end chronic hunger through job skills training, livestock and seed distribution, clean water, home reconstruction, medical care and more.

On a mission trip to Rio de Janeiro this past summer, I had the opportunity to see how this offering is being used. Our contact missionaries in Rio have built relationships with many local churches, and the pastors of about 20 of these churches were invited to partner together to help provide food to needy families. The GHR funds were used to purchase necessary ingredients to make multiple meals, and each church is then held accountable for not only delivering the supplies to the homes, but also sharing about the love of Jesus with the visit.

The pastors continue working in relationship with the families to help them not only receive food on the table, but to receive the spiritual Bread of Life who can satisfy their greater spiritual hunger. Our team witnessed the joy of these pastors being able to meet such needs among their people.

In Nigeria, one missionary shared with us how this hunger relief project is helping 408 widows and over 1,200 children. Along with a month’s supply of food, each widow joins a co-op of 3-4 other widows to learn a trade such as sewing, knitting, cooking, raising livestock, selling firewood, etc., spending a year together to learn and make enough profit to become self-sustaining and reach out to other widows around them, as well.

Truly one of the blessings of serving the Lord in partnership like this is the ability to reach out to people in places most of us will never go. It’s humbling and joyous to see God multiply what we give and use it to display His love to meet real needs, whether near or far.

In His earthly ministry, Jesus compassionately met real needs of hurting people. He miraculously opened the eyes of the blind, made the lame to walk, healed the sick of various diseases and pains, cleansed the lepers, drove out demons, and even raised the dead to life.

But even greater than this, Jesus came to preach the good news of the Kingdom of heaven. He came with the authority to forgive sin, to reconcile sinful humanity to God, and to give eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Maybe you need a spiritual miracle today. Perhaps your soul is hungry for truth and righteousness, for forgiveness and mercy. Friend, you can come to Jesus right now and find that He is the Bread of Life who came down from heaven to satisfy your deepest hunger.  

           

           

Demons' influence and Christ's deliverance

The Bible tells us of an unseen world where angels serve the saints in obedience to God and where demons seek to destroy God’s work in league with the devil. Jesus encountered many people who were under the control of demons in various ways and to varying degrees. These evil forces attacked men, women, and children physically, mentally, and spiritually.

One such attack against a boy brought left him suffering terribly with seizures and would often through him into the fire and into the water (Matthew 17:15). Another account has a man living among the tombs, unclothed, out of his mind, always screaming and cutting himself with stones (Mark 5). We also read where Jesus attributes to Satan’s work a woman who for 18 years was bent over and could not straighten herself (Luke 13:10-16).

Demons are further credited with such activity as promoting false teachings and false religions that deny Jesus, blinding people to the gospel and keeping them in bondage to sinful desires, hindering Christians from effective witness, instilling a spirit of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, tempting people to sin, influencing even Peter (!) to seek the things of men rather than the things of God, and more.

Friend, I do not hesitate to say today that demons still maintain much influence in our world. Behind the lies, the pride, the doubts, the fears, the guilt, the greed, the envy, the slander, the confusion, the hatred, and the chaos in our culture you will find demonic forces seeking to destroy God’s good, righteous, and just ways.

How else would you explain a deranged kid walking into his school and shooting people? How else would you explain an insane segment of our society hell-bent on making sure a woman can legally sacrifice her unborn child at any time until the moment of birth? How else would you explain terrorists hijacking planes and flying them into buildings? How else would you explain why in the U.S. alone there are on average 130 people who commit suicide every day, and another 3,780 who attempt to do so?

How else would you explain how people can harbor hatred for their fellow human beings simply because their skin is a lighter or darker color?

How else would you explain why pornography has become a global industry worth over $100 billion? How else do you explain this generation’s fascination with the immorality of homosexuality? How else would you explain the absurdity of gender fluidity or identity or whatever it’s called – especially when we’re telling boys and girls that they can choose their gender, and then give them hormone blockers and perform “sex-change” surgeries on them?

Jesus describes Satan as the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and a thief who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). Peter writes, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

But I want you to know for certain that Jesus has absolute authority and power over the forces of darkness. He has already dealt the decisive blow at Calvary and by His resurrection victory. And one day soon He will finally judge Satan, his demons, and those names are not written in the book of life to an eternal torment in the lake of fire and sulfur (Revelation 20).

Christians do not have to live in fear of demons or the devil, nor yield to his influence or temptations. We have the authority of Christ to “Resist him, standing firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:9). And we share in the eternal victory of salvation through Jesus.

If you’re not following Jesus, let me urge you now to “turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that [you] might receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in [Jesus]” (Acts 26:18).

Learn to discern truth from error

I’m going to “borrow” some material for this article today from our Bible Studies for Life curriculum that we use for Sunday School. The question of relevance is this: How can we know whether something is true or not? 

You don’t need me to tell you that with the explosion of information sources in this digital age, some of the things you hear and read and see aren’t presented exactly the way it is. Spinning a story to make it fit one’s preferred narrative, editing out the parts they don’t want you to know about, or outright bald-faced lying, however, are nothing new. 

So how can we filter through the “misinformation” to discern truth from error? I’m glad you asked! 

Here’s how our Bible study laid it out as we studied from 1 John 2:18-29, and I think these serve as helpful principles as we learn to discern what’s true. 

1. Be biblical. When we study to know and understand God’s Word – which is trustworthy and true – we’ll have a standard through which our decisions, our thoughts, our worldview, our lifestyle, our habits, and our responses to questions and problems and issues in our culture must be filtered. 

2. Be devoted to God. As we yield ourselves in whole-hearted devotion to the Lord, our hearts and minds will become fixed on the God of truth who loves and cares for us. We can trust Him to guide us in truth and guard us from the deceptions that seem to dominate the landscape. 

3. Be holy. Believers in Christ are set apart from the world. They have put away falsehood and are truthful and honest in thought, word, and deed. They do not spread lies or seek to manipulate information for selfish purposes. They learn to discern truth because they walk in truth.   

4. Be wise. When dealing with truth and error, wisdom is essential. That’s because many issues cannot be figured out with our finite minds. As Christians, we have the mind of Christ, and we should use it! 

5. Be prayerful. Because we are flooded with fabrications in our culture, we need the spiritual power that comes only through prayer. And when we take our questions to God and ask for His divine and powerful intervention, we should expect in faith that He will grant us the help we need to discern truth from error. 

Scammers, schemers, swindlers, and all who peddle in lies will find themselves shut out from the gates of heaven (Rev. 22:15). But disciples of Jesus have “an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth (1 John 2:20), and we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who “will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). 

You want to know the truth? It’s found in Jesus, who declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Praying through troubled times (like 9/11)

[Note: This article was written for our local newspaper on September 13, 2021]

I’m still thinking about the events of 9/11, as we look back now 20 years later pondering this defining moment in our history. I don’t even know how to process it all to this day, but I do know that there’s a sovereign God in heaven who knows our hearts and whose Spirit intercedes for the saints with groanings too deep for words. 

Here are four prayer points we took to the Lord this past Sunday morning at Petersburg FBC. There are many more ways to keep praying, obviously, but if you’re struggling to find some handles on how to pray through your hurts and fears, maybe this can be a starting point. 

1. Let’s thank God for His presence in our times of troubles. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Over and over again in Scripture and in our own life experiences, the Lord has proven His promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. When the wheels come off, when darkness seems to gain the upper hand, when terror strikes, when health fails, when the factory closes, when the fire burns, when the waters rise, when children rebel, when friends turn against you – whatever trouble comes your way, turn to the One who is our refuge and strength, a shelter in the storm, the anchor for our souls. 

2. Let’s pray that God would thwart the wicked plans of evildoers. I have no problem praying against the forces of darkness, for I know that God can confuse an entire invading army and clog their chariots’ wheels. He can turn them against each other, blind their eyes, bend their swords, melt their hearts, and foil their schemes. He can send the hornet to drive them away, rain down hailstones upon them, cast a dense fog, send a destroying angel, or use disease or a plague to kill them. “Lord, do not let evil people have their way. Do not let their evil schemes succeed, or they will become proud” (Psalm 140:8). 

3. Let’s pray for our nation’s leaders. We would be wise to ask God to grant wisdom to those who make decisions on behalf of this country. Let’s pray for strong and courageous leaders who will seek righteousness over political correctness. Let’s ask the Lord to raise up men and women in positions of influence who will look to unite us rather than divide us. Let’s call out to God for our leaders to know truth and reject lies. Let’s ask God to enable our leaders and “we the people” to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty…” 

4. Let’s ask God to take what Satan intends for evil and use it to save many lives. God has a pretty impressive track record of doing just that – the ultimate victory being the resurrection of Jesus from the evil crucifixion at the hands of lawless men. Let’s keep praying that as people search for answers in the midst of life’s troubles, that God will guide their hearts to the truth of Christ Jesus and His salvation. Let’s ask God to send His church into the harvest fields with the saving power of the gospel to lovingly and clearly proclaim the hope, the joy, the peace, and the life that’s found only in the One who bore our sins, died in our place, conquered the grave, and by His grace gives eternal life to all who believe.

Got compassion?

It seems like what seems to be missing in many circles today is this: compassion. Compassion is a compound word from the Latin literally meaning “with suffering,” that is, feeling concern for the suffering of others with a desire to help alleviate their burden. 

We are overloaded with information in our world regarding the troubles of other people. And I don’t know about you, but I’m afraid that my own heart sometimes becomes numb to the hurts surrounding me.

Maybe saying “overloaded” is too mild; it’s more like we’re bombarded with accounts of problems – whether in our own community or across the globe. And our emotions get shellshocked. We can’t bear every burden or ease every need. So it feels easier and safer, perhaps, to hunker down in our own bunker, ignoring the blasts all around and hoping there’s not too much damage when we finally emerge to see what’s going on. 

We have a text prayer-chain through church. In the past week there have been 18 (if I’m counting correctly) different requests people have put out for prayer. I also know we need to be praying diligently for the people of Afghanistan who are facing some horrific prospects under the terror of the Taliban. We need to pray for our own nation’s leaders to make right and wise decisions, and for our military personnel’s safety and well-being. 

There are always people in the path of the next hurricane, or threatened by wildfires, or flooding. There are always children at St. Jude’s Hospital who need special care, and there are always children who need care who can’t even get to St. Jude’s. There are always elderly people with all kinds of needs. There are always poor people who could use a helping hand or a hot meal. There are always widows and orphans to look after. There are always victims of violence and abuse who need protection and refuge. There are always families grieving over the death of a loved one. 

Do you see where I’m going here? How much compassion capacity do you have for each of these burdens? But when we stop caring, our hearts grow cold, bitter, and selfish while the suffering around us multiplies. 

Personally, I don’t have enough, and nobody can solve every problem. But I know Someone who does and who can. 

“Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). God never runs out of compassion for your need, dear friend. His mercies are new every morning, His love never fails, and His grace is sufficient in every weakness. 

So here’s my prayer. Lord, help me to feel what you feel for the hurts and needs of people. Give me your heart of compassion and strengthen me to show mercy. Let my love not be in word or thought alone, but in action and in truth. Move me to feed the hungry, give a cup of cold water to the thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick, care for the prisoners, serve the widows and orphans, and help those whom You put in my path in their hour of need. 

Most of all, let me point them to You as the One who is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit, the Savior who loved us so deeply that You suffered in our place on the cross, taking our greatest burden – sin – and making it Your own, so that we might be healed, restored, and made new.

Ready to meet your Maker?

[Note: This article was written for our local newspaper August 23, 2021.]

When you have a big event coming up, you prepare for it. Whether it’s a vacation at the beach or a weekend camping trip, you have to make arrangements before you go. If you have a wedding to plan or a baby on the way, you spend months getting ready for the big day. Even having company over for dinner means that you have to make some plans. 

I want to remind you that there’s a big event coming soon, and I want you to be ready for it. Like it or not, every one of us will face the reality of our own physical death, unless Jesus makes His return beforehand. It’s not something you can put on your calendar, but you must be ready for it. 

And I’m not just talking about making funeral arrangements and drafting a will or figuring out who’s going to get your stuff. That’s important, but making spiritual preparation is eternally more important. 

Are you ready to meet your Maker? Do you know what will happen to you when you die? If Jesus were to come back today, would you be prepared for His arrival? 

Nobody wants to think about dying, but I’m telling you that life is so uncertain. Have you been keeping up with the news lately? 

In Afghanistan, Islamic terrorists known as the Taliban have seized control of the nation’s capital as they seek to enforce Sharia law; murdering, raping, and pillaging as they go. 

An earthquake in Haiti last week claimed the lives of over 2,000 people, injuring thousands more, and wreaking further havoc upon an already troubled land. 

A torrential rain of up to 17 inches in less than 24 hours just east of Nashville led to flash flooding that has taken at least 22 lives, even as search efforts continue for many more missing. 

People are still dying from cancer, heart disease, accidents, and COVID-related issues. People are dying from violence in our own nation every day – and it’s not just relegated to crime-infested inner cities, either. 

I’m not trying to scare you but prepare you. Death and taxes are both certainties – and I’m paying my taxes already. 

The good news is that you can be ready when that day comes. And if you’re ready, you don’t have to fear death or dying or be uncertain of what lies beyond the curtain. 

Listen, the Bible tells us clearly that through Jesus – and only through Jesus – we can be saved from eternal death in hell and saved to eternal life in heaven. 

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). 

So what about you? Do you believe this? Do you believe that Jesus gave His own life on the cross, bearing your sins and absorbing God’s wrath in your place so that you can be forgiven and made right with God? Do you believe that Jesus defeated death by rising from the grave on the third day? Do you believe that only by repenting from sin and trusting in Him you can be saved? Have you received the gift of eternal life through Jesus as Savior and Lord? 

Why not come to Jesus today? Right now. Make this your heart’s cry as you put your faith in Him: Jesus, I know that I need you and I confess that I have sinned against you. I believe you died on the cross for my sin and rose to life again. Forgive me, cleanse me, and make me new. Be the Lord of my life and help me to follow you in faith and obedience from this day forward. Thank you for saving me! Amen!

 

Waver no longer

I want to ask you the same question Elijah asked the people of Israel: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). 

The Baal deity in Canaanite religion was typically associated with fertility. Elijah was a prophet of the Lord who announced a famine throughout the land. The showdown on Mt. Carmel would prove which God was true. 

“You call upon the name of your god,” Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, “and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answer by fire, he is God” (1 Kings 18:24). 

You probably know how the scene unfolds. The prophets of Baal made fools of themselves calling out to their god, but there was no voice, and no one answered. Of course not, because there is no other God but the Lord. 

When Elijah’s turn came, he prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back” (1 Kings 18:36-37). 

And the fire fell. The false god proved lifeless. The false prophets were seized and slaughtered. The people of Israel fell on their faces in recognition of the Lord alone as God. And soon the rain came. 

Friend, we can no longer waver between opinions. We can no longer claim to follow the Lord as God while flirting with the gods of this age. You cannot serve God and money. You cannot serve God and fame. You cannot serve God and immorality. You shall have no other gods before Me, says the Lord. 

It is time to draw the line and declare that the Lord alone is the one, true, living, and eternal God. He alone is the Maker of the heavens and the earth, righteous, just, sovereign, omnipotent, faithful, merciful, gracious, kind, loving, majestic, and glorious. He is the only one who hears and answers the prayers of His people. 

And He alone is worthy of the full devotion of our lives. He alone is worth following wholeheartedly in confident faith, glad obedience, and unshakeable hope. 

What’s more, we have even greater assurance than Elijah because we know that this is the God who became man – Jesus, the image of the invisible God, the radiance of God’s glory, the Word made flesh. And He is the One who died in our place on the cross to pay the penalty for sin and who rose again in victory over death. 

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). 

Waver no longer. Turn to Jesus alone as Savior and Lord, and follow Him with undivided allegiance.

How's your worship?

When you hear about the marvelous things God does, I hope it makes you want to sing! I hope that when you think about God’s salvation you want to have a little dance party right then and there! And when you consider His unfailing love and great faithfulness, I hope you raise your hands in the air and make a joyful noise to the Lord!

Or maybe you drop to your knees in silence or fall prostrate on your face in gratitude and humility, crying tears of joy with heart overwhelmed by the mercy and grace of our God.

The mode of worship may vary, but the heart of the worshiper will overflow with joy. 

The one thing you can’t do is be unmoved. Those who know God worship Him in spirit and truth. They’re engaged in mind and heart, soul and strength. They don’t recite prayers mechanically but pray to Him relationally. They don’t just show up to church and sleepwalk through the motions, but actively seek the presence of the Lord. They don’t mumble mindlessly through the words of a hymn, but sing with joy to the One who has delivered them from death and given them new, abundant, and eternal life. 

They think about His greatness and marvel over His majesty. They delight in the ways of the Lord and draw near to Him in love. They meditate on His Word, cling to His promises, and strive to please Him in every way. 

How’s your worship? 

Those who know the Lord learn to love the things God loves and hate the things God hates. They learn to deny themselves rather than to indulge themselves. They learn that the only way to find true life is to lose their life for the sake of Jesus. And they learn that giving up everything to follow Christ is the best investment they could ever make.

He is their treasure above all treasures. He is their strength and their song. He is their peace, their joy, and their sure hope for all that’s yet to come.

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:

‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.

Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel’” (Isaiah 12:3-6).

If you know you need to get back to the heart of worship, let me invite you to join us Sunday mornings at 10:45 at the Petersburg First Baptist Church. We’d love to welcome you as we seek the Lord together. But don’t wait until Sunday – open your eyes to the wonders of God’s handiwork in creation and open your heart to the Word of truth in Scripture. You’ll soon find that the marvelous things of Christ will make your heart sing for joy.

Let's teach our children to follow the ways of the Lord

It’s time to build some deeper faith in Christ!

And I say that because much of this world has gone delusional. If you don’t think there’s a war going on for the hearts and minds and souls and bodies of our children, then you’re not paying attention. From LGBT lobbyists to Planned Parenthood to divisive race theorists to Marxists idealogues and more, the battle is raging to capture your children to corruption. 

Oh, it’s under the guise of virtues like equality, love, and justice, but make no mistake, the goal of glorifying things immoral and seducing our children to sinful desires is evident. Even Satan masquerades as an angel of light, but his ambition is always to steal, kill, and destroy.

If you think I’m overreacting, do some homework. See if you agree with the Chicago Public School District’s decision to make condoms available to 5th graders. Or take a listen to the video posted to YouTube by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus as they expressly proclaim that their goal is to convert your children. Read up on which libraries are hosting drag queen story hours, which PBS Kids shows highlight sexual themes, like the Blues Clues pride parade sing-a-long, and which school districts are adopting radical sex education initiatives that introduce young children to homosexuality, gender fluidity and transition, masturbation, contraception, abortion, and seek even to push the envelope on pedophilia!

Parents, we must be vigilant in this fight. We must seek to protect our children. 

The best way I know how to do this is to first fight the battle on our knees in prayer. Let’s ask God to drive out the enemy and surround our children with His love. 

Then let’s be diligent in teaching them the ways of the Lord with grace and truth. God’s Word is still our instruction manual for training up our children in the right way. Let’s practice it ourselves, and let’s be unashamed in teaching our children to follow the paths of righteousness.

In other words, we need Jesus. We need His life-saving and life-transforming grace to help us shape and mold our children into the young men and women He’s created them to be. 

May the light of the gospel dispel the darkness, to the glory of God.

When the Lord Fights Your Battles

There’s truly no battle too big for God to handle. I know sometimes your situation can seem hopeless. This addiction has already ruined so much. Those fears leave you paralyze. That depression has you smothered. The cancer’s got you on the ropes. 

You may have an adversary breathing down your neck. You may have an enemy who makes a life mission of making your life miserable. You may have a seemingly insurmountable army surrounding you on every side, mocking you mercilessly, calling your mamma ugly names, and threatening to destroy you. 

Listen, the battle is real. We’re going to face hardships and struggles in this life. We live in a world where sin has all kinds of consequences. Sometimes we create our own chaos, and sometimes we’re caught as collateral damage for someone’s else screwups. 

My plea and prayer for you today is this: Take your troubles to God and let Him fight the battle for you, because when God fights for us, you know that victory’s coming! 

I could give you multiple examples from the Bible of this truth. One of the better known accounts comes from 2 Samuel 17 where a towering giant named Goliath was huffing and puffing against God’s people and threatening to blow their house down. And while the army of Israel was left shaking in their boots, a young shepherd boy named David knew that no giant was too big for God to handle. 

“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.” 

I’m telling you that when you know the battle belongs to the Lord, you can have the strength and courage of David in the face of an imposing giant. When you know that God fights for you, you don’t have to fear the enemy or be afraid of his taunts against you. When you know that God is for you, you can trust Him for the ultimate victory. 

Try to fight the battle in your own strength, and you’ll lose. Trust in the name of the Lord your God, and the victory is sure. 

When Jesus squared off against the enemy of death in the battle of all battles, He fought on our behalf, suffered for our sake, and conquered the grave so that all who believe in Him can share in the glory of eternal victory. No battle is too big for our God!

Jesus - Judge and Savior

One of the reasons we tolerate, accommodate, and even celebrate depravity is that we don’t know what it means to fear the Lord. If we think of Jesus at all, we think of His gentleness, kindness, tenderness, mercy, and love. These are all true characteristics of Jesus, no doubt.

But do we ever stop for even a moment to consider that He is also the holy and righteous and great and mighty Judge of all the earth?

“At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity…I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’ I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists! Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance” (Psalm 75:2, 4-5).

“For the Lord holds a cup in his hand that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours out the wine in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs” (Psalm 75:8). 

We are so full of ourselves. We are consumed with self-righteousness. We parade our pride and flaunt our immorality. We do whatever is right in our own eyes. 

But we have forgotten God. We have disobeyed His commands, disregarded His ways, and dismissed Him altogether. 

Do we not know that He is the righteous and just Judge of the living and the dead? Have we forgotten that God destroyed the wicked of the world through the great flood? Do we remember what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? The army of Pharaoh at the Red Sea? The destruction of the Canaanite nations? The punishments against disobedient Israel? 

God does not take sin lightly. And try as we may to suppress such thoughts, we will be held accountable to God on the Day of judgment. Is that not a sobering truth? Is there any hope of being spared, since we know that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God?

Indeed, there is! While the wicked will be condemned to eternal punishment, the righteous will be saved unto eternal life. 

Who, then, are the righteous and who are the wicked? 

The righteous are those who have been made righteous only by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection life. Truly, no one is righteous by his own deeds. Not even one. But Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, so that whoever believes in Him may not remain in darkness, will not perish, but will be saved. It is by the grace of God we are saved through faith. 

The wicked are those who refuse to come to Jesus for salvation. Since the wages of sin is death, we are all in need of a Savior to rescue us from the just wrath of God. Those who arrogantly, stubbornly, willfully, and foolishly reject the only means of salvation – the cross of Christ – remain under His wrath. 

“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18). 

So let us walk in the fear of the Lord! That is, let us believe in Christ, living in reverential awe of His holiness and majesty, His power and His glory, His righteousness and justice, while clinging humbly to His mercy and His grace. And let us learn to dread His displeasure, seeking to gladly obey His Word and not to pridefully reject His truth and thus face His judgment. 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

We All Need Jesus

I don’t know where you’re at in life, but I know that we all need Jesus. Don’t roll your eyes and stop reading. You need to hear this.

Either we’re all here by cosmic chance where life has no ultimate meaning, and when you die it’s game over, no heaven to gain or hell to fear. In that case, you might as well seek to maximize your happiness while you can here on earth. Indulge yourself with sex, drugs, and rock and roll, raise a nice family, bet all your money on a horse, serve at a soup kitchen; it doesn’t matter. Whatever makes you feel good – do it.

Or, there is something of an Intelligent Being or God who exists and gives meaning to life and eternity.

If you do believe there is a God or some kind of Higher Power out there, then you have to come to grips with who He is, or who She is, or what It is or They are. There is no shortage of belief systems to choose from. See if one of the Eastern religions makes sense. Maybe a New Age thing could be your thing. Islam might be worth looking into. Or create your own version of what you think a God ought to be like.

But they can’t all be right. That would be like a math teacher saying, “Hey, you don’t have to get the right answer, just write down something. I’ll give you credit.” But exactly half of 100 is 50. Multiply 3 by 16 and you get 48. The square root of 9 is 3. Every time. All other answers are incorrect.

Is there one true God above all other contenders? One true God who makes the other versions false?

The answer is a resounding yes! Let me give you three reasons why Jesus alone is God Most High.

1 - The very fact of creation gives proof that there is a Creator. Every book must have an author. Every house has a builder. And the universe declares the glory of its Maker. The moon and stars, the skies and seas, the flowers and trees, and everything that lives and moves showcase the handiwork of a masterful Architect.

2 – The Bible tells us that this Author of Life is Jesus. Is the Bible true? The answer to this question makes all the difference in the world. Space fails to give this topic justice, but the evidence from manuscripts, archeology, history, prophecy, theology, and internal consistency clearly point to the reliability and truth of the Bible as the infallible Word of God.

3 – After dying a horrific death on the cross, Jesus rose to life and ascended to heaven. No other religious system even makes such a claim as this. The evidence is irrefutable for the resurrection of Jesus, and every claim of His identity, His purpose, His promises, His salvation is thus verified. Somebody conquered death!?! Does this not change everything?

Indeed, it does! And if you’ll follow the lead and seek to know this Jesus, you will soon discover that He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). In Him you will find new life, abundant life, and eternal life. In Him you discover the truth that guides you in the right way.

But apart from Him, the void in your heart will go unfilled and the pursuit of all your pleasures will prove but a chasing of the wind. The prospect of eternal separation from God in hell remains, while the hope of better things in heaven evades. We all need Jesus.

Hazardous Journey

“Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success – Ernest Shackleford.”

That’s how the famed British explorer advertised in the London newspapers for his ill-fated Antarctic expedition in 1900. He wanted the men to know right up front about the dangers of such a voyage. Shackleford was amazed at the overwhelming response to his ad.

When Jesus advertised for disciples, He said, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). In other words, the cost of following Christ is not buried somewhere in the fine print. He wants us to know that if we are serious about walking with Him, then we’d better be ready to suffer with Him.

Some people are willing to go with Jesus as long as the road is safe. As long as the journey doesn’t get too uncomfortable, too demanding, too difficult, they’re in. But when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the gospel, they fall away. Or when the cares of the world or the deceitfulness or riches entice the heart, their professed allegiance to Jesus gets choked out and they prove unfruitful.

The way of Jesus is a narrow way. He says, “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14). It’s narrow because Jesus Himself is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, no one will see the Kingdom of God, no one will inherit the promise of eternal life in heaven except through Christ (John 14:6). Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

To some that sounds so narrow-minded that it cannot be true. But there’s no other “god” who loves you like Jesus. There’s no other “savior” who has emptied himself, suffered in your place, borne your sin and guilt in his body, hung on a cross to die in your place, or risen in victory from the grave, or promised that He will come again soon to take you to be with Him in heaven forever. Nobody, but Jesus!

He alone is the Savior worth following, no matter the cost.

Let me urge you to come to Him today. Repent from your sin, put your faith in Him alone, and He will save you. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

But know, too, that while the gift comes to you already paid by the blood of Jesus, the journey will be hazardous. The ultimate success of this adventure, however, is guaranteed.

Get Ready! Get Set! Go!

Get ready! Get set! Go!

That’s the word I heard at the PORTA High School Baccalaureate service Sunday night for the Class of 2021. Eric Wagler from the band 10 Talents shared this message from the parable of the talents Jesus told in Matthew 25:14-30, weaving in his own life story as he related to the servants who had been entrusted with their master’s resources.

By the way, just a quick word of appreciation to the pastors and churches of the PORTA Ministerial Association for sponsoring this event, as well as special thanks to Mrs. McMahan, Mrs. Perez, Mrs. Reid, and Mrs. Owens for their varied and valuable help.

Two of the servants invested their “talents” well and returned a great profit. The master was thrilled with their work and rewarded them with even greater responsibility and boundless joy. The third servant, however, buried his talent and handed back only what he’d been given. Needless to say, the master was not pleased.

God is our Master, and He has entrusted to His servants the stewardship of His resources. And until Jesus returns, we ought to be faithful and wise to invest these talents not for selfish ambitions, but for the good of others and the glory of God.

What are you doing with the resources, gifts, and opportunities God has given you?

So get ready! How? Spend time listening to the Lord by hearing what He says in the Bible. Pray for guidance and direction, and wait for God’s instruction and counsel to teach you the way you should go.

Get set! Gather with a community of authentic believers who will encourage you, correct you, pray for you, love you, strengthen you in the faith, and help equip you for the ministry God has prepared for you. We truly do need each other.

Then go! Whatever God says to do, do it. Wherever God calls you to go, go. It might not seem to make a lot of sense to you. He probably won’t give you the whole picture at first. You might be inclined to doubt His ways as you look with your finite eyes and limited understanding. But your faithful obedience to the Lord will always reap great reward.

One of my personal favorite verses is found in Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (NLT).

Class of 2021, congratulations on all that you have achieved so far! Let me urge you to look to the Lord to get ready, get set, and go. Keep your eyes on Jesus and keep trusting Him all along the way, and you just might find that when you delight yourself in the Lord, He will not only give you the desires of your heart, but will do immeasurably more than all that you can ask or imagine.

An Anchor for Your Soul

If you’re like me and shaking your head at the constantly changing, uncertain, and often conflicting guidelines surrounding the COVID-19 health measures, aren’t you at least glad to know that the counsel of the Word of God remains unchanged?

Dr. Fauci may waffle back and forth week-by-week, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Even the “science” and the “data” consulted by the “experts” evolves (one presumes with political pressures and financial motivations – seriously, somebody follow the money on all of this and see where it leads), but “every word of God proves true” (Proverbs 30:5).

It’s foolish to build a house on the sand. The next storm is sure to wipe it all out.

It’s foolish to construct a host of mandates on shifting shadows. The next political cloud will undo every edict.

And it’s foolish to build your life on the unknown, the unsettled, the unsure. The next crisis, the next wind of doctrine, the next trend, the next appealing sound byte will quickly rock the shaky foundation under your feet and you’ll be tossed about like a jon boat in a hurricane.

But when your life is anchored to the rock of Christ Jesus, there is no storm that can capsize your faith.

My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus’ blood and righteousness 

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

but wholly lean on Jesus’ name

On Christ the solid rock I stand

all other ground is sinking sand

all other ground is sinking sand

Friend, in a world that seems to be splitting apart at the seams, where seeds of discord are sown all around us, where sin gets applauded and right disregarded, come to Jesus and find peace in the midst of the storm. Come to Jesus and find joy in spite of the troubles. Come to Jesus and find hope as an anchor for your soul, “steadfast and sure while the billows roll”. Come to Jesus and find life unshakeable and eternal, abundant, new, and true.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Want to know more about this Savior who loves you so much that He laid down His life on the cross for you? Want to know more about this King who conquered sin and death and hell, the One who sits at the right hand of the Almighty and will one day come again?

I would love to talk with you. Call the church office at 217-632-2488, and we’ll open the Bible together and hear from heaven.

The Privilege of Prayer

Women, wouldn’t it be strange if you said you loved your husband, but you never spoke to him? And wouldn’t it also be odd if you did talk to him, but you never bothered to listen to what he had to say? Men, I won’t ask you to comment on that! 

Well, whether or not those things are true in your marriage, unfortunately that’s a description of the way many people pray – or don’t pray. 

Prayer is essentially dialogue between God and His people. It’s communing in fellowship with our Father in heaven who loves us deeply, has chosen us in Christ, has adopted us into His family as sons and daughters, and who longs for us to draw near to Him, align our lives with His Kingdom’s purposes and will, and faithfully follow His perfect counsel. 

But even among Christians, many go about their day without ever giving a thought to communicating with the One they claim to love. 

Or for some, prayer is a one-sided conversation where we do all the talking but don’t really do any listening. And even at that, many prayers are pre-scripted or memorized (which is not inherently wrong, and can be very helpful), but the danger is that maybe all we’re doing is “saying our prayers” but we’re not really communicating with God. 

If we would truly know the friendship of God – a real love relationship with the Creator of the universe – then we must learn how to pray. 

Of course, the Bible is packed with the prayers of godly men and women to teach us how to call upon the name of the Lord. Whether in times of trouble and sorrow, to express our praise and thanksgiving, to intercede on behalf of another, to seek forgiveness for our sins, to ask for provision for our needs or guidance for decisions, or literally anything that pertains to life, God invites us to His throne of grace in the name of Jesus and promises that there we will receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). 

And the pattern of prayer that Jesus outlines for His disciples in Matthew 6 still works pretty well, too, as we engage our hearts and minds with our tongues in prayer to our Father. 

But let’s make sure that in our praying that we take the time to listen for God’s response. Let’s keep our ears open and actively seek to hear from the Lord. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). And let’s then do the hard work of waiting upon the Lord in faith. If we know that He hears our feeble, yet sincere prayers, and if we know that He responds for His glory and our good, then we would do well to trust Him to answer when and how He chooses to do so.

For surely, He is the sovereign, omnipotent King who reigns over all from His throne in heaven, and who invites us to “cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). He is the God who can move the mountains and part the waters to make a way where there seems to be no way. And He is our Father in heaven who delights in the prayers of His children. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

"God loves naughty boys"

Henry Ironside, who ministered in the first half of the 1900’s, pastoring the Moody Church in Chicago for 20 years, tells this story.

“I remember, when I was a boy, going to a missionary meeting. A missionary was there from Africa and was showing us a whole lot of curious things, and then he said, ‘Now, boys, I want to tell you the kind of Gospel we preach to the people of Africa. How many good boys have we here?’ 

A lot of us thought we were good, but our mothers were there, and so not one of us dared hold up his hand. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘not one good boy here; then I have the same message for you that we have for the heathen in Africa; God loves naughty boys.’ 

‘My,’ I thought, ‘he is getting all mixed up,’ for you see I had heard people say, ‘If you are good God will love you.’ But, dear friends, that is not true. God is not waiting for you to be good so He can love you; God loves sinners.” 

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). 

Friend, if you’ve been hearing people say (and believing) that God can only love you if you’re good, then this revelation of God’s sacrificial love can change your world. The truth is that apart from Christ we’re all morally deficient, ungodly sinners and even enemies of God. We’ve done nothing – and can do nothing – to earn God’s love. 

Truly, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). 

And as it is written, “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). 

As rebellious, self-centered trespassers, we deserve the wrath of God, not His love. 

But here’s what you need to hear and believe and embrace: God is love! And being rich in mercy, overflowing with grace, whose love is unfailing, unending, unconditional, and unparalleled; whose love is amazing, steadfast, great, and perfect; this God put His love on display for all to see by sending His Son Jesus into our world to die in our place. 

Not for the good boys, but for the naughty boys.

And on the cross of Calvary, the blood of Jesus shed for the forgiveness of sins can make the sinners clean, washing away every stain, making us right with God, and saving us from His just wrath. Not only that, but He adopts us into His family as sons and daughters, and by His resurrection victory He gives us the promise of eternal life. 

And I don’t even have room to unpack the abundance of life that He gives us even now – a life of purpose and meaning, fellowship in His presence and with His people, peace that passes all understanding, joy inexpressible, hope unshakeable, and the guidance and comfort and help and power of His Holy Spirit all the time, every day, every step of the way! 

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene

And wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean

How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be

How marvelous, how wonderful, is my Savior’s love for me! 

Have you received this gift of God’s sacrificial love that brings eternal life? Why not repent from sin, trust Him today as Savior, and surrender to Him as Lord? It doesn’t matter what’s in your past or where you’re at right now. Come to Him in faith. God loves naughty boys. 

Ready for Revival

I am ready for a revival! How about you?

I am ready to see God reignite a flame in the heart of every believer. I am ready to see the power of Jesus’ resurrection victory transform lives for His glory. I am ready to see what happens when the Holy Spirit fills the followers of Jesus for undivided loyalty and unbridled obedience to the will of God.

I am ready to see Christians get thoroughly right with God, confessing and renouncing sin, turning away from every form of wickedness, putting all idolatry and immorality to death, and finding the freedom of cleansing forgiveness in Christ fresh and new like never before.

I am ready to see those who claim the name of Jesus embrace Him fully, clothing themselves in His righteousness, transformed by the renewal of their minds, abiding richly in Christ, delighting in His Word, and walking in lockstep with the Holy Spirit day by day.

I am ready to see a new hunger for the things of God among His people, passionately pursuing purity and holiness, living by faith and not by sight, loving the Lord with everything they’ve got and loving their neighbor as themselves.

I am ready to see revival!

I am ready to see the church on her knees pleading with the Father to pour out His mercy upon us, to amaze us anew with His grace, to overwhelm us again with His unfailing love, and to unleash the wonder of His power at work within us.

I am ready to see the church praying earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest fields, to raise up men and women who will unashamedly witness for the gospel in their homes, neighborhoods, workplaces and schools, and to call out some to serve as vocational missionaries, pastors, and ministers to the hurting and helpless.

I am ready to see the church crying out to God for the salvation of lost souls with an aching that cannot be quenched apart from a mighty and marvelous work of God.

I am ready for revival!

And I am ready to experience the heart of true surrender in the church, with the Bride of Christ giving herself in full submission to the mission of her Savior, putting herself at the disposal of God to be used any way He desires to reach others for Christ.

I am ready to see prodigals coming home, the hopeless finding hope, the broken finding healing, the fearful finding the Prince of Peace, the lonely finding a Friend, and sinners finding the Savior.

I am ready to see a Great Awakening in our land and to the ends of the earth as the people of God take the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit with a burning desire to see souls saved. I am ready to witness the Spirit of God opening the eyes of the blind to see the glory of Christ Jesus, as men and women, boys and girls are rescued from spiritual darkness and brought to the light of the Kingdom of God, ushered by God’s grace from death to life, and freed from the chains of sin to serve to the risen and living Christ.

I am ready for revival, and I’m ready for it to begin in my own heart and among the church right here in Petersburg.

Oh, God, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6).

Resurrection Truth

If the resurrection of Jesus is not true, then what fools we are who believe this. Seriously, what a waste of our few years on this planet if we’ve fallen for a hoax thinking that Jesus came back to life after a horrific crucifixion.

But if it is true, then doesn’t this change everything for now and for eternity?! The faith we profess, the hope we possess, the life we express, the Lord we bless – everything hinges on the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. How do we know it’s truly true, that it really did happen, and it’s not just a wishful fantasy of someone’s clever imagination?

Of course, volumes have been written on the subject, but allow me to summarize a few key pieces of evidence to help strengthen (or challenge) your belief about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

The prophets foretold it. Long before Jesus ever stepped down from glory into our world, the prophets spoke of the coming King who would conquer death and reign forever. Just one example comes from Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost where he quotes from David (Psalm 16), and says, “he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:31).

The Bible records it. “All Scripture is God-breathed,” (2 Timothy 3:16), and obviously the Bible clearly records the resurrection as fact. When the women went to the tomb, they expected to find the dead body of Jesus, but the angel said, “He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him” (Mark 16:6). “Every word of God proves true,” (Proverbs 30:5).

Jesus appeared to many people after His resurrection. Over the course of 40 days from His resurrection to His ascension into heaven, Jesus presented Himself alive by many proofs (Acts 1:3). He showed them His nail-scarred hands and pierced side. He ate with them, talked with them, walked with them, taught them. They saw Him, touched Him, and believed.

Names were named. If I made a hole-in-one on 18 at Shambolee, who’s going to believe me unless I tell you who I was playing with so you could go ask them yourself? In 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul talks about the resurrection, He names specific people, including himself, who were eyewitnesses of Jesus. In effect, he’s saying, “If you don’t believe me, go ask them!”

The disciples of Jesus testified to His resurrection even to their own martyrdom. If they had stolen the body of Jesus, as some claimed, perhaps they could have circulated the lie for some time. But who goes to such great lengths of suffering and dying while staging something they know is not true? And none of them ever blew the whistle unraveling the mystery? They never wavered because they knew it was true.

Lives were patently transformed by the resurrection of Jesus. Unbelieving skeptics like Saul/Paul and James are examples of men whose lives were changed by the truth. Fearful, dejected disciples were made bold and courageous as they proclaimed this message. Jesus gives life and power to those who believe the reality of the resurrection.

Indeed, the resurrection of Jesus is not only true, it is the most glorious and life-saving news you’ll ever hear, for Christ died to save us from the penalty of our sins, and He rose that we might have eternal life with Him in heaven! Do you believe this?

Phony Faith or Genuine Salvation?

Many people live with a phony faith. They talk a religious talk and do religious things. But you can’t cash in phony faith on Judgment Day. 

The crowds that lined the streets for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on what we call “Palm Sunday” remind us that not everyone who shouts, “Hosanna!” is a genuine, born-again believer. Not everyone who waves palm branches truly knows Jesus as Lord and Savior, either. 

Some of the most piercing words Jesus ever uttered were these: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’ On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me; you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21). 

Many people give lip service to Jesus, but they’re not really saved. You can honor Him with your lips while your heart remains far from Him. You can sing praise songs at the top of your lungs and quote Bible verses all day, but that’s not the way to heaven. 

And many think their impressive religious record of service will surely be enough. “Lord, didn’t I go to church every Sunday, observe religious fasts, take communion, teach Sunday School, volunteer at the soup kitchen, and give money to the poor?”

Tragically, many will hear not a gracious welcome into His glorious presence, but a chilling condemnation to eternal separation. Can you even think of more crushing words from Christ than, “I never knew you; depart from me”?

Friend, there’s no better – and no more urgent – time than now to do a spiritual checkup. The apostle Paul exhorts: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

The good news is that you can have full assurance of your faith. You can know that your faith is genuine, not counterfeit, and that when you stand before God on the Day you will be unashamed and uncondemned. How can we know this for sure?  I’m glad you asked!

Here’s the bold print: Genuine faith is built on knowing Jesus in true repentance and faith which results in obedience to the will of God.

Salvation is a work of the grace of God through Jesus. Because we’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and because the wages of sin is death and hell (Romans 6:23), we are utterly unable to save ourselves. Apart from Christ we are spiritually dead. Dead men can’t breathe new life into themselves.

But Jesus, the Son of God, God incarnate, in immeasurable love for us came and lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death in our place, taking our sins upon Himself and thus satisfied the wrath of a just and holy God against sin.

And on the third day, He rose in victory over sin and death and hell, and now He is exalted at the right hand of God.

The Bible tells us clearly that “whosever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This kind of faith is a faith that makes dead men live! It puts the sinful ways to death and lives in a new way of life – for the will of God to the glory of God.

Make sure that your faith is genuine by believing in and obeying the One who gave His life so that you can truly live!

Living with Eternal Purpose

Many people wander aimlessly through life without purpose. They have no guiding sense of direction or calling that helps them prioritize their time, investments, or day-to-day decisions on what to do and what not to do. They just kind of drift along with the flow.

Despite the busy-ness of necessary and self-imposed demands, without finding meaning to their labor or existence, life soon feels futile and hopeless.

Why am I here? Who am I? What’s the point? Whatever.

Is there more to life than this? Does my work really matter in the end? How can I find significance and satisfaction? What’s going to happen when I die?

If you’re asking questions like these, I would suggest to you that it’s because God has created you for a purpose, and until you discover it, you’ll continue to drift like a ship lost at sea.

The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes addressed many of these same concerns. Indeed, he explored and indulged in everything life had to offer – work, wealth, women, wine, wisdom, power, possessions, prominence – he pursued it all and had it all. Yet, he found everything meaningless in the end, a “chasing after the wind” as he describes it (Ecc. 1:14).

But the story doesn’t end in futility or despair. And yours doesn’t have to, either.

See, we’ve been created by a loving God who has “set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecc. 3:11). We are created by Him and for Him, and if we spend our lives seeking the things of the world apart from Him, then we’ll reach the same pointless conclusion as “The Preacher” of Ecclesiastes: “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecc. 1:2).

But when we seek the Lord with all our hearts, loving Him, trusting Him, obeying Him, following Him, then we’ll truly find fullness of life like the bright sunlight breaking through the gloom of a dreary sky.

Friend, you were made in the image of God with a deep craving in your heart to know Him! Not just to know about Him, but to know Him in a genuine love-relationship that gives true purpose and meaning to everything in this life and in the life to come.

The Bible tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

In Jesus, there is peace that passes all understanding. In Jesus, there is joy that words cannot express. In Jesus, there is hope that remains unshakeable. In Jesus, there is new, abundant, and eternal life. In Jesus, there is purpose in everything under the sun because we live no longer for ourselves but for Him – the One who died for us and was raised to life.

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecc. 12:13).

Isn’t it time you started living life with eternal purpose?

Wash your hands!?

It is possible to get so enamored with our own religious traditions that we miss the very heart of worship.

The Pharisees got their britches bent out of shape because the disciples of Jesus didn’t wash their hands before they ate. Of course, this was pre-Covid! LOL! And according to their tradition, that would make them defiled.

Jesus said to them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites, for he wrote: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God” (Mark 7:6-7).  

True worship is not about washing your hands or raising your hands or saying particular prayers or observing special days or abstaining from certain foods.

It’s about living in faith from a heart of reverence and awe and purity and humility and love and obedience toward a holy God. Worship springs from a heart that overflows with gratitude for the marvelous mercy and amazing grace of the Savior who came down from heaven to save wretches like you and me.

Jesus went on to say that it’s not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of a person that defiles him. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 8:21-23).

The Bible says plainly that all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In other words, we’re all defiled, and we all deserve the just penalty for our sins, which is death and eternal separation from God in hell.

And no amount of washing our hands or keeping religious traditions can take away our sin. But Jesus can, and He did.

“But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

“For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The defilements of our sin stains are forgiven at the cross, where Christ took the nails for us. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

So, go and please wash your hands before you eat and use all the hand sanitizer you want, but make sure that your heart is washed clean by repenting from sin and receiving Jesus as the Savior and Master of your life.

There's only one way

Congratulations to both the Bluejays boys and girls high school basketball teams on an outstanding season! At this writing the girls are undefeated and the boys are unbeaten in conference play. To Coach Kesler, Coach Rathgeb, and their teams – great job! You’ve had a remarkable run in an extremely challenging season. 

It’s been fun to follow the Jays, even though the only way I’ve been able to watch any games this year has been through the NFHS Network which streams the games online. I’m grateful for that, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the same as being in the gym. 

By the way, special thanks to Neil Gurnsey and Mike Logsdon for their stellar work in announcing the games! It’s so much better to watch with play-by-play than without. Now, if somebody could just figure out how to keep that camera from swinging back and forth from one end of the court to the other during time-outs, that would be great – I’m getting dizzy! 

So anybody can watch through this network. All you have to do is sign-up and pay a relatively small subscription cost and figure out how to find it on your device. But that’s the only way to do it. You can search every channel on your satellite or cable provider, you can install a 30-foot antenna in your backyard if you want, but if you really want to watch the Bullets v. Bluejays on Tuesday night, you’ve got to go through the network. 

When it comes to far weightier matters of eternal destinations, there is likewise only one way to heaven. You’ve got to go through Jesus. 

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). It is an exclusive claim, no question. But it’s an all-inclusive offer! 

And it’s grounded in the most amazing display of love ever given. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Abundant and eternal life is available to anyone – but you’ve got to go through Jesus. 

You could try to make it to heaven in a million other ways or through a million other religions, but there’s only one God who loved you so much that He stepped down out of heaven and took on the likeness of man, humbled Himself to the point of death – even death on a cross! – and paid the cost by bearing our sins in His body to save us from the judgment we deserve. Jesus is the way! 

And He pleads with you to come to Him. “Enter by the narrow gate” (Matthew 7:13). The narrow gate opens to a hard road, but it leads to eternal life. The wide gate opens to an easy road that leads to destruction. These are the only two options to your eternal destination. 

So I ask: Which way are you going?