The Bold and The Dutiful!

I have decided to begin posting the text of my Sunday morning sermons here... I will go back and post some from the past couple of months from time to time, but today I will post the one I gave this morning entitled "The Bold and The Dutiful".
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Be BOLD!
November 12
Acts 4:1-31


A new pastor moved into a town, and he went out one day to visit church members. All went well until he came upon this one house. It was obvious that someone was home, but no one came to the door even after he had knocked several times. Finally he took out his card, wrote on the back "Revelation 3:20" and stuck it on the back of the door.

Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me."

Later in the week, as he was counting the offering, he found his card in the collection plate. Below his message was the notation "Genesis 3:10."

Genesis 3:10: "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked: so I hid myself."

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I have titled this morning’s message, The Bold and the Dutiful. If you have your Bibles with you you can open it to Acts chapter 4 and keep your finger there. We’ll be coming back to that.

There is a cost for a lack of boldness.

George Sweeting, in his book The No-Guilt Guide for Witnessing, tells of a man by the name of John Currier who in 1949 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1968, Currier's sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it. Life on that farm was hard and without promise for the future. Yet John kept doing what he was told even after the farmer for whom he worked had died.

Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier's plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man.

Sweeting concluded that story by asking, "Would it matter to you if someone sent you an important message -- the most important in your life -- and year after year the urgent message was never delivered?"

We who have heard the good news and experienced freedom through Christ are responsible to proclaim it to others still enslaved by sin. Are we doing all we can to make sure that people get the message?

As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to be public about our faith and to witness to others so that they may also have the chance to receive the same gift of eternal life that we have been given. To do this we often have to step out of our comfort zones and share what may be an unpopular narrative with those around us.

But people can’t even consider making a decision to change their lives if we don’t share the good news with them that the heavy lifting has already been done. And what good is the news if we only whisper it to each other?

In today’s world people who strive to change the norm with their new ideas are often the loudest. The more outlandish the idea the bolder the supporter of that idea becomes. Thus the Church of today is in need of bold believers to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.

For example the homosexual lobby and agenda which is now being touted as normal when all through history has been abnormal. Advocates for this lifestyle and homosexual rights are now bolder than ever and are quick to accuse anyone voicing opposition as homophobic.

More and more people are reluctant to tell anyone that their belief may be wrong. Our society has become more tolerant of positions that are in direct conflict with Biblical truth.

This isn’t the first time that this kind of thing has happened. In Judges 21:25 we read that, “ In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Isn’t that what we see in the world today? There is an ever increasing move toward the idea that whatever you believe is the right thing for you. Have you seen those bumper stickers that say “coexist”? What that is really saying is that everyone should be encouraged to do whatever works for them because, well, all religions have a path to heaven. Right?  WRONG!

And we are commanded to go out and share the good news that Jesus died, was buried and then on the third day rose from the dead. And it is this, the resurrection that has the saving power for each of us.

Jesus says in John 14 “I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” If we know this and believe it, shouldn’t we be sharing it every chance we get to everyone we can?

Paul writes in the letter to the church at Colassi (Col 4:5-6) that they should,  “Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” Col 4:5-6

You see, to be bold does not have to mean to hit someone over the head with a bible and scream that they will go to hell if they don’t follow Jesus. What it does mean is that we should seize every opportunity to share the news and not shrink back from the world.

Magician Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame is a staunch atheist and yet even he sees the value in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others.

Jillette tells the story of when a member of the audience approached him after a show. The man complimented Jillette on the show, then said, “I brought this for you.” The man held up a small book. It was a New Testament with the Psalms, something that could fit in a person’s pocket.

“I wrote in the front of it,” the man said, “and I wanted you to have this.” The man explained he was a businessman and not crazy.

Jillette, moved by the man’s gesture, recalled: “He was kind, and nice, and sane, and looked me in the eyes, and talked to me, and then gave me this Bible.”

“I’ve always said,” Jillette explained, “I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe there is a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward.

“How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”

Jillette then offered this example to illustrate his point: “If I believed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe it, that the truck was bearing down on you, there’s a certain point that I tackle you, and this is more important than that.”

“This guy was a really good guy. He was polite, honest, and sane, and he cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible.”

Now, Jillette is still an atheist, and he wanted to make that clear: “I know there’s no God, and one polite person living his life right doesn’t change that.

“But I’ll tell you, he was a very, very, very good man. And that’s really important. And with that kind of goodness, it’s okay to have that deep of a disagreement.

“I still think religion does a lot of bad stuff, but, man, that was a good man who gave me that book. That’s all I wanted to say.”

Of course, Jillette is completely right about evangelization. Do we really believe the Gospel? And if we do, do we love those around us enough to share it with them, even if it’s socially difficult?

Jesus’ disciple Peter is known for opening his mouth and putting his foot in it. We remember that when Jesus had been arrested that Peter denied that he was a follower of Jesus or that he was even acquainted with Him. Peter really blew it and Jesus knew that he was going to. It looked as if Peter was going to turn away from Jesus out of fear. I mean after all it didn’t look like things were going all that well for Jesus.

Now if we jump ahead to the book of Acts things have changed in a huge way. Peter seems to have gone from wimp to witness.

After healing a lame beggar at the entrance to the Temple Peter saw an opportunity to preach about the salvation offered through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Healing a lame guy can give you a certain amount of authority Peter and John recognized this and took advantage of it.

Peter and John were preaching in the Temple that there is a resurrection of the dead through Jesus Christ. Some priests, the captain of the Temple guard and some Sadduces took issue with this teaching. 

Now, the Sadduces were a very powerful religious sect who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead (that was why they were sad you see).

So they arrested the two, but by this time many of those who had heard what the two had been preaching believed it. And because of that, the number of those who could be counted as believers now exceeded 5,000.
Part of the reason that they had been detained was also that they had healed the beggar at the Temple entrance by the powerful name of Jesus Christ.

Peter and John spent time in jail and were then brought before the council of rulers. The council was impressed by the boldness of the pair as they continued to speak of Jesus as being the only way that one can be saved. Upon looking at the pair the council recognized that they were just ordinary men who had no special training.

The council then ordered that Peter and John never speak or teach again in the name of Jesus.

Then we read in Acts 4:19-20 “But Peter and John replied. ‘Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.’

Here is where we see the reason for the change in Peter. He had gone from timid to tenacious in his allegiance to Jesus and here’s why…

Before, when he had denied even knowing Jesus he most likely saw that the whole “following Jesus thing” was circling the drain.
Jesus had been arrested, was to be beaten and then eventually crucified.

But God…

So now Peter was preaching from the victory of Jesus over the grave. He himself had witnessed both the crucifixion AND the resurrection of Christ. Just imagine that!!! That would sure fire me up! How about you?

How many of us are more than happy to get all worked up in a conversation when we tell someone about how our football team had just won the Super Bowl.

Isn’t this more important than that?

Isn’t having all of our sins wiped away and the promise of an eternal life with the living God worth more than the number of games won in any give season by a bunch of guys wearing plastic hats trying to hit each other as players on one team attempt to run with an inflated animal skin across a line at the opposite end of the field while members of the opposing team try to stop them?

I think so…

Returning to Peter and John, they were then threatened more by those on the council, but finally they were released because the council was worried that any punishment that they were to dole out may cause a riot.

This was because everyone was so excited about having witnessed or heard about the healing of the lame beggar.

As soon as the two were freed they returned to the other believers and immediately began to pray. They didn’t ask for protection or that the opposition to their preaching would go away. They prayed for additional boldness and even more than that…

Acts 4:29-30 says, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.

Then they went even a step further… They prayed…

Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Then it happened.

Acts 4:31 says, “After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”

God doesn’t want us to shirk away from opposition to His Word. God wants us to continue to share the good news even when it is difficult. He wants us to step out of our comfort zone and invite those who are lost into a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Hills Church of Christ preacher, Rick Atchley puts it very well when he says, “The bold see the outrageous things of God because they don’t stand still. If the church is stuck and stagnant its not because God doesn’t show up, it’s because we don’t. We want to ask God to do the impossible but we don’t want God to ask us to do the uncomfortable.”

A young man enlisted, and was sent to his regiment. The first night he was in the barracks with about fifteen other young men, who passed the time playing cards and gambling. Before retiring, he fell on his knees and prayed, and they began to curse him and jeer at him and throw boots at him. So it went on the next night and the next, and finally the young man went and told the chaplain what had taken place, and asked what he should do.

"Well," said the chaplain, "you are not at home now, and the other men have just as much right to the barracks as you have. It makes them mad to hear you pray, and the Lord will hear you just as well if you say your prayers in bed and don't provoke them."

For weeks after, the chaplain did not see the young man again, but one day he met him, and asked --  "By the way, did you take my advice?"

"I did, for two or three nights."

"How did it work?"

"Well," said the young man, "I felt like a whipped hound and the third night I got out of bed, knelt down and prayed."

"Well," asked the chaplain, "How did that work?"

The young soldier answered: "We have a prayer meeting there now every night, and three have been converted, and we are praying for the rest."

Oh, friends, I am so tired of weak Christianity. Let us be out and out for Christ; let us give no uncertain sound. If the world wants to call us fools, let them do it. It is only for a little while; the crowning day is coming. Thank God for the privilege we have of confessing Christ.

Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:6-7   6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Fear and timidity is exactly what the enemy wants us to be saddled with. He will continue to remind us of what it feels like to be rejected or disliked because of our witness for Jesus.

He want’s us to be ashamed, scared, and fearful at the thought of sharing Jesus with the people in our lives.
Some would say that it isn’t their job, but that sharing Christ should be handled by the professionals.

I can tell you right now that each and everyone of us here today are ministers and called to minister to those around us. This includes those who may consider themselves to be introverts.

You see, it isn’t about getting up and preaching to a crowd, it is about sharing with those who cross our paths.

Baptist preacher and university professor Tony Campolo tells the following story.

Too often we are guilty of “being ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” We’re embarrassed about bearing witness for fear that we might be violating the rules of social propriety.

Our failure to talk about Jesus cheats some of our friends out of the blessings that knowing Him can bring. This became very clear to me when I attended my ten year reunion of my high school class.

It was fun to see so many of my old friends whom I hadn’t seen for years. Then one of my friends pulled me aside. He had been one of my closest buddies in high school. We had played basketball together and always sat together at lunch.

He told me that a year earlier he had had the “most fantastic experience” of his life. He had become a Christian! He explained the change that had come over him and the new joy that he had experienced because of being in a relationship with Christ. He went on and on and on about his life as a new Christian.

After his first pause, I interrupted him and said, “Jerry, I’m so glad to hear this. you know, I’m a Christian too!”

Jerry asked, “When did you become a Christian?” I explained to him that I supposed it was when I was a little boy.

To this he responded with the most intense question. “If you were a Christian when we were in high school together, how come you never introduced me to Christ?”

I didn’t know what to say.

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Let’s be bold church. Let’s get out of our comfort zones and love people to Jesus every chance we get. After all going out to share the gospel with the whole world as we are told to do in the great commission, includes the little patch of ground we are standing on at any given time on any given day.

Submit? Me?

Someone very dear to me recently told me that she believed that I needed a spirit of submission. She also went on to say that she too needed to have the same such spirit in her own life. I find that advice and direction are much more meaningful if the one giving the advice or direction confesses to needing the same thing. So I thought about it…

Wait! What?

Submission? What or who do I need to submit to? I’m a guy. Aren’t I supposed to be able to do everything that I need for myself? And I certainly do not need to hand over the reigns of my life to anyone else. Or do I?

My handy-dandy Google dictionary defines submission as “the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person.” I suppose that sounds about right. Then below that they used the word in a sentence.

The sentence said, “The were forced into submission.”

Whoa!

How is it that I need to be forced to submit to anyone or anything? This doesn’t sound good. This can’t be what she meant can it?

Well, I took a few minutes and started to look up some of what the Bible says about submission. I figured that I could probably get pretty close to what she meant by going there. There were two passages (of more than 50) that really seemed to speak out to me about what the benefits of having a spirit of submission may be.

The first one is in the book of Job. In chapter 22 it says;
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“Submit to God and be at peace with him;
    in this way prosperity will come to you.
22
Accept instruction from his mouth
    and lay up his words in your heart.
23
If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
    If you remove wickedness far from your tent
24
and assign your nuggets to the dust,
    your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
25
then the Almighty will be your gold,
    the choicest silver for you.
26
Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
    and will lift up your face to God.
27
You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will fulfill your vows.
28
What you decide on will be done,
    and light will shine on your ways.
29
When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
    then he will save the downcast.
30
He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.” (Job 22:21-30)

Now, that makes sense to me. If I submit to God, and do what He says as well as be a believer, He will hear my prayers and if I am at peace with Him prosperity will come to me. This says to me that God takes care of those who have surrendered to Him.

Who wouldn’t want to be taken care of by the Creator of the universe?

It also says that God can handle it, no matter what “it” is. It doesn’t say anything about being forced to do it or being beaten into submission. I guess to gain the blessings, we are to submit to God but it would be our decision we wouldn’t be conscripted. However, according to this passage we’d be crazy not to.

So after reading that, I can see her point. Maybe I do need that. But I wanted to see if there was another verse that might shed some light on what my friend was suggesting.

In the book of James I think I found what I was looking for. In chapter four James talks about how if we are friends with the world then we are at odds with God. That makes complete sense to me so I kept reading. Later in the chapter James writes, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7).

So submission is looking pretty good right about now. I guess it is very similar to the way we as parents require our children to submit to us. It is so that we can take care of them, help them to prosper and keep them from harm.

Like being beaten or forced to do something against our will. It is about realizing that we are the children of an infinite God who wishes to bless us in many ways if we come close to Him. As a matter of fact the beginning of the very next verse says just that. It says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (James 4:8a)

So I guess what my friend was saying was not that I should have to be forced into submitting to a demanding tyrant of a God, but rather that by submitting as a child would to a loving parent I will find that things in my life will be much, much better.

Okay, I’m in.

It's not about me

Have you ever felt like God is asking too much of you? Boy, I sure have. I have thought things like “God you just don’t understand my life!” or “Sure, that’s easy for You to say because You’re God!” When I look back at those things they are more than just a little silly. They are ridiculous!

I can get all bent out of shape when I feel like I don’t get the respect or attention that I am due. And when that happens I start moving away from God. I start to focus on me before anyone or anything else. I can be a real selfish jerk!

Recently I was feeling this way about being asked to do something. It was stupid. I got upset because of the way that I was asked and the timing of it. I didn’t have anything else to do and had no reason to be upset, but there I was, fuming.

So I figured, someone else must have felt this way too at some point. So I reached out to a friend of mine. I asked her. I said “Have you ever felt taken for granted like I do?”

She said, “I have been in that position before, and I had to examine my heart, motive....whether it was God's will for me to be where I was, and if it's God's will, then I have found He always makes a way for your gift if you are faithful. It's not man, but God who gives us our talents and ministries. We are accountable for doing our part. If we do what we are supposed to, then, if someone is taking advantage, it's between then and God.”

I had never thought of it that way.

So I started to think that maybe the gifts that I have been given aren’t actually mine to dole out anyway.

Hmmmmmm.
She went on to say, “If you are where God wants you to be, then we have to trust He will make a way. If it is man that is preventing you then he'll have to answer for his actions. Either way I have always found that as long as I am where He tells me to be, He makes room...in His timing... He takes care of us as long as we are faithful.  The steps of a righteous man are ordered by God, as long as we are in accordance with His will and His work, He will move to make room for you and His work in and through you. And we have to trust that God put us where we are for a reason, maybe it's not the season...again, it depends on the situation. ...I will be praying for you.”

This girl really hit home with me! She was telling me exactly what I needed to hear and understand.

It wasn’t about me! And she did it in love! Wow!

Paul writes to the church in Philippi that “Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.” (Phil 2:3-4). I am not sure I can count the number of times when I put my wants and desires ahead of others. It is something I have to UN-learn almost daily!

And of course the most unselfish example for those of us who identify as Christian is Jesus Himself. As Paul continues he writes, “You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself,
by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross!” (Phil 2:5-8).

Now there’s something that I find humbling. I am having a hard time putting others, like me, ahead of my wants and desires while Jesus who IS God put those who are much less than Himself in a position to be served by Him!

Just have a look at Matthew chapter 20.

 “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:27-28) That’s Jesus telling it like it is.

Okay, so I now have absolutely NO ground to stand on for my whiney complaining. And to top it all off, when I completed the task at hand, I was greatly praised by those who I had believed were taking me for granted.

Yes folks, another lesson learned. My gifts were given to me to be shared and to bring glory to His name.

It’s not about me.

Easter hits a homerun!

When I was a kid Easter meant chocolate bunnies, those absolutely terrible little marshmallow creatures called “Peeps”, a brightly colored basket with plastic grass and new starched shirts and pants that were only suitable for wearing to church. I was always hopeful that there would be a toy or two in the basket and usually there was a little something, but all in all it wasn’t my favorite holiday.

What did I know? Not much.

Easter means a lot more to me these days. Mostly it is because I have decided that I will be following Jesus from here on out. Oh sure, I still struggle with sin, but I know who I can take it to, and ask for help, Jesus.

That’s a game-changer for sure.

I am by no means an expert on Holy Week, Jesus, or even the resurrection, but I can tell you why I believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so important. Hopefully it will make sense to you.

Very simply, Jesus did what He said He would do. He said that He would be persecuted and killed before being raised from the dead on the third day. Then He actually did it. I have to say that right there is enough for me to follow the guy.

In the Gospel of Matthew we read, “Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive.” (Matt. 16:21 Msg.). So there it was, Jesus put it out there. He tells us, “here is what I am going to do.” And He also explained that it was “necessary”.

Why was it necessary? Because He already knew about you and me. He knew that we would be born into sin and that we wouldn’t make it into heaven without Him. He even already knew about each of the sins that we would be guilty of. It is why it was necessary for Jesus to do the only thing that would cleanse us of those sins.

I have to say that I really do identify with that little piece of “bumpersticker theology” that says “It was not the nails that kept Jesus on the cross, it was His love for you.” Because looking back on it from 2,000 years down the road, we can clearly see that as the incarnation of God, Jesus could have gotten off of that cross easier that you or I can step off our front porch. But it was His love for us that made all of the difference. It had to be done.

It makes a difference because it has provided us with hope. What do you mean? you might ask. Well I think that the apostle Paul explains it pretty well in his first letter to the church at Corinth.

He says, “If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.” (1 Cor. 15:16-20 Msg.)

Wow! So let’s get this right then. Since Jesus was raised from the dead, then as His followers, (which is the same as being family), we will also be raised from the dead when He returns? Yep! Woo hoo! I am SO in!

But wait a minute! How do we know that Jesus really was raised from the dead? I mean when I was a kid it all seemed like some sort of fairy tale.

Well, Paul points out that the resurrection of Jesus was not secret. Jesus didn’t hide or try to avoid being seen. It is a historical recorded fact that Jesus did what He said he would. Paul says, “The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me.” (1 Cor. 15:3-8 Msg.)

That sure sounds like a first hand account to me. So if Jesus stepped up the plate, pointed His divine bat at the center field wall and then proceeded to knock it out of the park, who am I to do anything but to stand in awe of the One who has saved me, my Messiah, the eternal clean-up hitter.

The game completely hinges upon Jesus delivering on His promise. And He did. He beat death and He beat it for each of us. Why you wouldn’t want to be on the winning team is beyond me.

Quit that other team! Jesus wants you suiting up for Him!

Happy Easter!

Not Everything Changes...

I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine. It was long overdue and we had the chance to catch up a bit. This friend of mine has spent a significant amount of time in third world countries serving God in various ways. She has recently come back to the U.S. and is employed as a social worker.

In our conversation she said something that got me to thinking. It was one of those “things that make you go hmmmm”, kind of moments.

What she said was that there had been a very big change in the country, and that she was struggling with all the things that were different from how she had remembered them before she left the country.

I couldn’t argue with her, she was right. There have been many changes. There have been political, social and even faith-based changes that have come to pass in the last several years.

To you and I, the majority of the changes that have taken place have not been overnight. Living here day in and day out, we have seen these changes on the horizon at least for a short period of time. But I can sure see how if you were out of the country and your focus was not so much on what was going on at home, but on serving where you were, things would sure seem different upon your return home.

Then I got to thinking (dangerous I know), that lots of other things change in our lives too. Kids grow up and leave home. We change jobs (not always because we want to). We experience and deal with illnesses and injuries. Relationships end (also not always because we want them to), and new ones begin.

And so much more.

So I guess what I am saying is that our lives are actually quite full of change. I have heard it said that, “Change is the one constant in our lives.” On some levels that may be true, however, there is one thing that hasn’t changed in the past, isn’t changing today, and will never change in the future, God. (When I say “God” I am referring to God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.)

God, speaking to the nation of Israel through the prophet Malachi said, “I the Lord do not change…” (Malachi 3:6a). He was saying that while the Israelites may turn away from Him and go off and do their own thing, He will still be the same God, their God, when and if they should return to Him.

I find this comforting.

No matter where we run, how far we run, or what direction we run in, to get away from God, He will always be there waiting for our return. This is very well illustrated in the story Jesus told about the “Prodigal Son”. (Luke 15:11-32).

In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews says that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8). That is great news! He is talking about Jesus who sacrificed His divinity to be born into our circumstances to pay the ultimate price for us and to defeat death in a very public way. So no matter what may change in the world or in our lives, the sacrifice and payment that Christ made for each of us still stands.

No. Matter. What.

We need to hang on to that. In the midst of a chaotic world, and a personal life that may be filled with divorce, sickness, struggles, pain and challenges…as surrendered believers our place with Christ is secure. It is the one thing that cannot be taken away from us because the one who paid for it NEVER changes and neither does His love for us.

So the next time you hear about the craziness in the world and experience a dose of painful brokenness in your own life…pause, take a deep breath and remember that you are still loved, and your God and Savior are still on the job with your best interests at heart.

Whew, I feel better being reminded of that, don’t you?

A Story of Prayer

This past October a nineteen year old boy was going to community college and spending time with his friends. At one point he and a few friends went to a haunted house. While going through the haunted house and roughhousing, he injured his knee. It was the same knee that he had injured before. The first time arthroscopic surgical repair was needed. That would be the case again.

The surgery was done in December and the healing began. There were crutches, doctor visits, instructions and a plan for physical therapy in the not-too-distant future.

The healing wasn’t coming as quickly as he had hoped it would, but he continued to look forward to getting back on his feet. Eventually the time required to stay off of the injured leg was nearing its end. The young man began to walk on it a little bit. He felt stronger and walked on it more. Things seemed to be going well.

Then one night he didn’t feel well. He had a temperature of 103 and a severe headache. Eventually both symptoms went away only to be replaced by body shakes and stuttering. The shakes he could tell he was having, the stuttering he didn’t hear, so when others told him that he was doing it was the first he had heard of it.

He went to the local small-town emergency room. The doctor didn’t know what was wrong and sent the young man home telling him to go and find another doctor, a specialist.

The young man was in communication with his mother who drove 100 miles to pick him up and another 100 to take him to her home in a bigger city. Once there they went to the bigger hospital’s emergency room. Once again doctors were at a loss. After 12 hours in the emergency room and multiple tests and scans the cause of the young man’s shaking and what had become a complete inability to speak escaped the doctor.

He was again sent home.

It was now January and the young man’s mother was advised to seek a specialist in a yet bigger city. Upon making a call for an appointment with a neurologist she was told that the soonest he could be seen was in March. This would be more than a 30-day wait.

The call for prayer then went out. Local friends and family were asked to pray. The request went onto social media and dozens joined in praying for the young man. Some took the prayer request to their home churches in various communities both in Colorado and in the midwest. The request was added to multiple church prayer chains.

Paul writes in his letter to the church in Rome that we are to, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)

Shortly after the appointment was made with out of town neurologists the young man was scheduled to go for his final check by the orthopedic surgeon prior to starting physical therapy. Still shaking and unable to talk, he went. While there the surgeon examined the knee discovering it to be healing nicely, but was unhappy with the 30-day delay in the young man’s being examined by the out of town neurologist. The surgeon got on the phone and was able to get the appointment pushed up allowing the young man to be seen in less than a week’s time.

People continued to pray.

In his letter to the church in Philippi Paul writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil 4:6)

At the neurologist’s office the young man was examined and a diagnosis was given. It wasn’t diagnosed as a stroke, or cancer, or any other well known disease. Instead, what had happened was that the part of his brain that controls his emotions had started to control his movements. How this happened isn’t exactly clear. It may have had something to do with the high fever weeks before. At any rate, the treatment was to be physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy in the hopes that the young man would be able to relearn how to do these things. The neurologist was hopeful that with hard work, the young man would recover.

People continued to pray.

In speaking through the prophet Jeremiah God said, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” (Jer. 29:12).

Plans were made, therapy was scheduled and the idea was to get going on the road to healing as soon as possible. The young man rolled up his sleeves and prepared to do what needed to be done to recover. He was going to do this.

People continued to pray.

Jesus said in the Gospel of Mark, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

Then one morning just a couple of weeks ago he woke up and something was different. His flawless (or at least as flawless as it can be for a 19 year-old) speech had returned. The stuttering was gone. Since the young man was on medication to control his shaking he wasn’t sure if that was gone too, but after discontinuing the meds he discovered the shakes were completely gone too.

Jesus said that, ““Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt. 18:19-20)

There is something so very comforting and empowering about a Savior who says that when you get together and pray, I’ll be there, I’ll be listening and that God will answer your prayers. That my friends is what it is like to have Jesus in your corner.

I have often heard it said that there is power in prayer. I say that is untrue. For if that were true, then the power would be ours. The truth is that there is power in the One who answers prayer. Prayer is just the way we have been given to access our Heavenly Father and His power. I am incredibly and eternally grateful for all those who joined in crying out for the power to be unleashed for the healing of this young man.

My Barry.

Am I really saved?

I was recently at a Christian conference with several hundred other believers. It was great! I had a conversation with another attendee and I would like to share some of what was said and what I think about it.

Eventually the conversation that I was having with a fellow believer turned to people who were close to him that were living a lifestyle that the Bible identifies as sin. He said that while they continue behaving in a sinful way, that they had gotten right with Jesus and were saved.

I have heard this thought process many times in the past and it got me to wondering. If I am a follower of Jesus but I refuse to admit that something that I am doing in my life is sin even if the scriptures say so, am I really a Christian? Am I really saved?

The story that comes to mind is the story of a brief conversation Jesus had with a woman who was caught in adultery. The story is found in the Gospel of John chapter 8 verses 1-11.

Jesus was teaching at the temple when the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery in front of the crowd for her to be stoned to death. This was an attempt to entrap Jesus into saying or doing something that they could use against Him. So they told Jesus that the woman, according to the law of Moses, should be killed in this manner. They then pressed Jesus for a response.

Jesus was not one for knee-jerk reactions. He knelt down and began to write in the dirt with His finger. Scripture doesn't say what it is He was writing. The Pharisees continued to press Jesus for a response. When He finally did respond, they realized that their efforts to entrap Jesus had failed. He said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8:7) I find this very interesting as the only one who would be justified in throwing a stone would have been Jesus Himself. For Jesus was the original and only “totally righteous dude”. His record remains unbroken. Jesus lived just a bit more than 33 years and never sinned once. No one else has ever come close.

So after some more writing in the dirt, Jesus looked up at the woman who had been brought to the crowd to be stoned and asked if there was anyone still around who had condemned her. She answered that there was not, to which Jesus responded that he didn’t condemn her either. The thing that Jesus said next has always be very interesting to me. He said, “Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11c).

As I see it, this is how Jesus sees my sin, your sin, and everyone’s sin. Jesus doesn’t deny that it is sin. However He does shine the light of a Savior on the dark secret that we would rather not talk about, the fact that we all have sin in our lives. So while we may not have the right to condemn others who have sinned, Jesus can. However, He doesn’t, at least not yet He doesn’t. And if we are to take His words to heart, we then too must “Go and sin no more.”

So here I see Jesus calling out the sin and not the sinner. Yet, it appears as if He is saying that we are to turn away from the sin in our lives (repent). So it would then follow that if we are believers, once we surrender to Him for the healing of our sin, that we should do everything we can to sin no more. Deciding that there are sins in our lives that we won’t turn away from is to tell our Savior that either we don’t believe that our sins are actually sin, or that we know better than He does on how we should respond to sin. Either way, we miss the boat, eternally.

I once heard it said that scripture is not like a bag of trail mix. You can’t pick out the parts that you don’t like. Following Jesus is an all or nothing proposition. And while we may be drowning in sin when we surrender to Jesus, He won’t leave us that way, but only if we have fully surrendered to Him. There are plenty of people who think that they have a better grasp of the way that they should live their lives that Christ does.

I used to be that guy.

But when I realized that you really can’t get full salvation from only partial surrender to our Savior, I was all in. I still mess up. I am most certainly still a sinner. The difference is that I now identify my sins and take them to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. I leave them at His feet.

Then I do my best to turn away from those sins and avoid repeating them the best way I can with help from the Holy Spirit. Otherwise I would consider myself to be a lukewarm Christian which is actually no Christian at all for Jesus has said (in Revelation chapter 3) He would spit that kind of believer out of His mouth.

So the question then is this: If your faith hasn’t changed you (to someone repentant of your sin) has it saved you? My answer? I’m not willing to test it to see. How about you?

Blessings,
-Bry