Comparisons, Impossible Standards, and Good News

I have a neighbor with a perfect lawn, it's immaculate.  He has beautiful flowers, precisely trimmed trees and shrubs, deep green fluffy grass, and professional landscaping.  Compare to mine where the grass is kinda green, I trim my trees so I don't have to duck when cutting the grass, I have beautiful yellow flowers called dandelions, and I haven't changed my mulch since moving in over 3 years ago.  Sometimes I feel like he's judging me on a consistent basis because he spends so much time on his yard.  Sometimes I look at his yard and think how it would be pretty neat to have such a nice lawn...then I pull in my garage, go in the house, and forget all about it.


Someone once said to me they wish they could connect with God in worship like I do, that they wanted to be like me one day.  While I was flattered for a moment I let them know I don't want them to desire that.  I'm a sinner.  I'm broken and my heart is wretched.  My motives aren't always pure and I struggle with a multitude of sins.  My only hope is I rely on my salvation in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  I'm not worthy to lead God's people in worship of Him and it's only by His grace that He allows me to do this.  No, I'm not a person you want to be like.  I am not someone you want to strive to be.  You can do better.  Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Robert Cray has been a huge influence on my playing style, Iwant to play guitar like him when I grow up

Your pastor, your worship leader, even your greatest human heroes are flawed.  Every minister of
your church staff, every deacon, every elder, every Sunday school teacher are sinners, who struggle with sin, and without daily relying on the grace of God would be no more than a blind person blundering about a 4 walled room with no doors or windows desperately trying to escape.  Without Jesus we would all be leading our churches into an aimless future with no vision or direction.

I will let you down.  Your pastor will let you down.  Your leaders will let you down.  I and every person will fail you, disappoint you, and possibly cause you undue hurt.  Jesus Christ should be our standard.  Jesus Christ should be our goal.  Jesus, and Jesus alone, should be the only standard to try to compare ourselves to. 

Matthew 5:46-48 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers,[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

So, Jesus just set the standard of what God's expectations are of us....to be perfect. I say with 100% certainty you have already failed to meet that standard.  Perfect is the standard we must achieve to be in God's presence.  Perfect is the standard we need to spend eternity with God and avoid being separated from Him for eternity.  That's such depressing news!  Can you imagine the look on people's faces when Jesus said these words on the sermon on the mount?  If I worked hard enough and put in enough time I could get my yard looking just as good as my neighbors and we can work hard enough to look like the people we may achieve to be like, however, no matter how hard we try I nor you will ever be perfect.  

God is fully aware it's depressing news and He doesn't apologize for it either.  Instead, God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect sacrifice for sin.  Our eternal, sinless God stepped out of heaven, lived a sinless life, taught and revealed more about Himself than any other time in history, then willingly laid His life down on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.  When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus God no longer sees our sin but sees the perfection of Jesus Christ.  His grace covers every sin.  Our God is just and in His holiness and righteousness sin must be accounted for but our God is also a God of grace and mercy who provided the answer.  In place of depressing news we now have the good news, we have the Gospel!

Keep your eyes on Jesus.  Keep His sacrifice in forefront of your mind.

In Court, Bad Advice, and Clear Expectations

If you remember back in January I got pulled over for the first time in my adult life and got my first speeding ticket.  This past week I went to court for my speeding ticket.  One of my biggest observations I made was there are a lot of innocent people lined up with me.

I had the most contact with a young man in front of me who was pulled over for running a red light.
 The officer who pulled him over gave him a warning for running the light but gave him a citation for having his window tint too dark.  The officer let him know if he corrected the issue he could get his ticket dismissed.

As I was talking with this young man he was using some very flavorful language and was very upset by being there.  As I talked with him and got to know him I found he worked at Ford making hoods for SUV's.  When I shared with him I was a pastor he was surprised.  His eyes got big and his language cleaned up immediately and all of a sudden became very pious.  I've always found it funny when people have that kind of response when I tell them about what I do.

When I began to talk about what I was there for he told me to contest it because I'll probably get out of it.  That wasn't my plan because like I said a few weeks ago I knew I was guilty and I needed to pay the fine.  But what bothered me is he followed some advice he was given from a friend.  His friend told him if he sold his car he would get out of the ticket because they can't give you a charge on a car you don't own.  I offered him some pastoral advice and I didn't think that was right, however, he said his friend sold his car and bought a new one every time he got a ticket and it worked!

Let's just say he was very disappointed when he found out it doesn't work that way.  He still had to pay the fine even though he followed his friends advice exactly.  His expectations didn't turn out the way he wanted nor were they realistic.

Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."

This young man was given the clear expectation of how to get his charge dismissed.  Just correct the window tint.  Jesus gave us clear expectations too.  He's the only way to reconcile our sins with God's.  As christians we know that.  Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life.  Jesus is not a way, a truth, and a life.  He didn't leave that option open for us, Jesus was very clear with His message.  We live in a culture where people are searching for answers and there are many competing voices telling them to follow this person, do these things, and find it within yourself to improve your life, make you happy, and bring you peace none of which point to Jesus.  Where the church can fail is when we remain silent or believe our actions are enough to draw people to Christ.

One of the many ways to gauge the depth and commitment to Christ is to think about how passionate are you about verbally sharing Christ with others.  I know some Christians who have been followers of Christ for over 50 years, always wear suits and tie to church, and know about 800 memory verses yet have never shared the wondrous good news of Christ with anyone.  I have also seen a gang member who came to know Christ while in prison who is covered in tattoos, wears shorts and a t-shirt to church, and can quote about 2 cliche Bible verses yet 6 months out of prison had led over 10 people to the foot of the cross.

Love is the motivation for telling the Gospel.  The expectations the young man had about his ticket were based off false hope.  The expectations many have in the world to make them right with God are also based off false hope.  If we truly believe that reconciling with God can only come through Jesus Christ and we truly believe that not being reconciled with God means an eternity of separation from Him in hell why would we not be passionate and excited about telling people about Jesus Christ.  Many of us don't tell because many of us truly have a love problem.

Each week we gather for communion.  Communion is proclaiming the Lord's death.  It's a moment for remembering and also a moment for teaching.  People can learn about Christ through the simplicity of the bread, representing the body of Christ, and the wine, representing the blood of Christ.  His death is the only atonement for our sins.  I am thankful God did not withhold this information for us or tell us something contrary to what's real to give us false hope but clearly communicated what His expectations are and exactly what we need to do.  Surrender to Jesus, follow Him, and never look back.  Be thankful for that this week.

Aging, Death, and Unity in Battle

I know I don't have too much room to talk about this but I feel like I'm getting old.  A few weeks ago I went to the doctor to get my eyes checked.  When asked if anything has changed with my vision I let her know I was seeing a blur or shadow sometimes and it was uncomfortable.  "That's easy", she said, "You've developed an astigmatism, it's just part of getting older."  That's reassuring right?  When I was in highschool we did spring workouts and if I was lazy all winter break I would be a little sore the next day, however, now when I miss a week of working out I'm sore at least 4 days.  I've started having to watch my cholesterol and taking weird pills like fish oil and B complex.

Getting older is just a part of life.  Even though I still don't think about it much I'm closer to death now than I've ever been and I'm showing signs of aging.  Truthfully the thought of dying doesn't bother me to terribly much because I know when I die I will enter into eternity with my Creator and Lord Jesus Christ.  

These pleasant thoughts are not shared for a church dying though.  When a church goes there is no eternity in paradise, no being ushered through the gates of glory, no lasting legacy.  A church that is dead sits as an empty forgotten building long forgotten and irrelevant to the people passing by.  Eternity in heaven is for people, for souls, not for buildings, institutions, or programs.  Just like how I'm showing some subtle signs of aging so can a church.  Here are some reflections to think about when it comes to your community taken from an article I read last week and questions to evaluate your church.

Here are 7 subtle signs your church is dying:

• Passion is waning

• Are we on fire for Jesus Christ?
• Are we on fire for God's heart?
• Are we actively concerned for reaching the lost?  Notice the word actively.  Saying we're concerned for the lost but doing nothing about it is a false concern.  We must be doing something and moving forward!
• Innovation is rare
• When was the last time we actually made real changes and did something truly new?
• If you can name something was it a significant change or something just surface level
• In the case of our church getting a sound system isn't innovation, it was a much needed surface level change.  Surface level changes won't win people to Jesus.
• Management has replaced leadership
• When you start managing you may stop building anything of value
• Instead you simply manage what you've already built
• Is our church thinking of ways to actively reach people and ways to actively disciple believers in the church or is our church more focused on paying bills, attendance numbers, dress code, handbooks and procedures?
• Are we a church full of leaders or a church full of managers?
• Maintenance trumps mission
• Is maintaining the organization we've built more important than the mission that got us started in the first place?
• When maintenance trumps mission, the end is near.
• Is the church we were 20 years ago still the church we're trying to maintain today?
• Your church has become fixated on being...YOUR church
• In scripture the church is never identified as belonging to anyone but Jesus Christ, He is the foundation
• If we're actually focused on the mission long term we much be constantly prepared to reinvent to remain relevant to our community
• A church life cycle is around 10-15 years, think again, how different is our church.
• Do we get upset, bicker, complain, gossip, and cause division when leadership begins to make changes.
• How much do we value other cultures other than our own?
• Younger leaders are criticized
• Young leaders bring innovation, they bring change.  Young leaders can be a catalyst for growth if they're encouraged and allowed to focus on the mission.
• Dying churches resist them, dismiss them, and ridicule them
• Does our church resist young leaders?  Do we drive them off and make them feel unwelcome?  Do we ridicule them in our hearts and private conversations?
• Your relationship with God has gone flat
• Are we a vibrant church with vibrant faith or are we more vibrant about keeping things the same?
• How many people have made a decision to follow Jesus in the past 10 years?  This is a great indicator to the health of church in regard to it's relationship with God.

At our church we promised transparency and open communication as we have gone through a consultation process with Healthy Growing Churches.  Many in our church have not felt that way and we must ask forgiveness if we have come across as secretive or aloof.  If we were to read through our HGC assessment then dig through our file cabinets and find an assessment our church did over a decade ago our church meets all 7 signs of a dying church.  That means that over a decade we have been in the process of dying.  If you were in our service where HGC presented it's findings they said we have 1 year, 2 if we're lucky, to totally turn this church into a totally different church before we reach the point of no return for revitalizing this church.  Our church is not alone in this, in fact 90% of churches in the United States are in this same boat.

That may sound daunting and hopeless but here's some good news.  Those assessments measure our past as a church, did you get that, our past.  It does not assess our future.  We serve a great God!  We serve a God who intimately knows every detail of what we're going through as a church.  We serve a God of miracles who can do wondrous things!  There is no shame in fully owning our dysfunction, naming it, confessing it, and addressing these issues head on!

Matthew 16:13-18 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  

Jesus says the "gates of hell" will not prevail!  Unless you're a super clumsy person I can say with certainty you've never been attacked by a gate!  Gates can't win a battle, they can only prevent forward progress.  The gates of hell are standing in front of our church ready to be broken through because hell has already been defeated!!!  For too long we have sat in our cushy pews with our noses in the air staring at those gates looming without taking action or refusing to acknowledge them.  We are both actively and passively being defeated by an enemy who has already been defeated!

It's time to march together in unity as a church.  Every age, every gender, every economic class, and every race.  Marching arm in arm and tearing that crumbling excuse for a barrier down.  We would march valuing each other and placing equal value on our respective cultures.

This is going to be uncomfortable for some, some of you may downright think you hate it.  For some of you it's going to bring out the worst and ugly parts of you but that's okay because God can deal with that if you'll confess it and allow Him to work.  For some of you it's going to be encouraging, for some of you it's going to light a fire under you, for some of you God is going to do great things through you and if we let God do great things through each one of us individually God will do great things in our church and if God does great things through our church He's going to do great things through our community and if God does great things through our community He's going to do great things through our city and if He does great things through our city He's going to do great things through our state and if He does great things through our state he's going to do great things through our country and if He does great things through our country He's going to do great things to our world!  IF we allow Him to work through us.

Each week we take communion with the bread representing the body of Christ and the cup of juice representing the blood of Christ that was spilled for us.  We remember His death that paid the penalty for our sin, reconciled us with God, and established His church.  We remember how our Lord got uncomfortable, went through terrible suffering, and died for the forgiveness of our sin.  Without His sacrifice we wouldn't have the church, the church HE paid for and He alone owns. In that moment our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did something innovative and new, He did something He never experienced before, He experienced the weight of sin, guilt, and shame for the first time and then He died.  Not just my sin, guilt, and shame but all of it, everyone's, past present and future!

Are we going to be a place where we come to have an experience that caters to us, our preferences, and is at our beck and call to do what we say?  A place where we defiantly declare to leadership "it's my way or the highway" or "it's my way or I'm taking my money someplace else"?Then we need to cease being a church and become a “feel good morals club.”  Or are we going to be a CHURCH!  A church that stands up and conquers the gates of hell to see this community come to know Christ in a mighty way.  Reflect on that this week personally and think about how you can contribute to what Jesus bought with a price and totally belongs to Him.  I hope our congregation chooses to be a Church and I hope your congregation chooses to be a Church as well.  Let's all allow God to go great things through us for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Glory of God alone!

Traditions, Sacred Moments, and Motives

I grew up in a home with a single dad.  We never had elaborate traditions.  I don't blame him one bit for this because family traditions are a lot of work.  With a toddler now running around our house I can understand even more how it's hard for a single parent to spend much more time on anything other than what's essential.  

Contrast that with my wife's family who goes big for holidays and get togethers.  My wife's mom is the queen of decorating!  Her house is always elegant, fun, and creative whatever season it is. Contrast that with my home growing up where we only decorated for Christmas.   We had a tree, maybe some of those plastic candles with the light bulb on top, and maybe a strand of lights out on the front bushes.  Every holiday my wife's family all gathers together for a home cooked meal near made from scratch.  Contrast that with what I grew up with where on thanksgiving we usually went to Shoney's and on Christmas going to a Chinese buffet and one year I remember going to Denny's.

Sometimes I do miss the simplicity of our simple traditions I had growing up but I also cherish and look forward to each and every holiday with my wife's big family while experiencing new ones.  Traditions can be a good thing.  Traditions can change over time, they can fade away, they can become irrelevant, we can develop new ones, we can always revisit them, or we can join in with other people's traditions.  Traditions are great and valuable to society but some things shouldn't be a tradition.

Luke 22:14-19 reads: when the hour came, He(Jesus) reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.  And He said to them, " I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  For I tell you I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God"  And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves.  For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.  And He took the bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me."

In this passage Jesus didn't start a tradition.  He started a holy and sacred moment.  This holy moment wasn't something to be done for a while, lose interest in, and pick back up again.  This was to never change!  This moment is to remain sacred and set apart to remember what Christ did for us when he took the sin of the world upon His shoulders and paid the penalty for it with His death.

This Easter Sunday there were some firsts for me.  I wore a t-shirt to lead worship(forget the frock) and I knew I was going to say something that had a statistical 100% chance of offending someone who was in church...I asked some people not to participate in communion.  I made sure to welcome our Easter only guests and how much I valued their presence at church today.  I simply asked that if it's just your tradition to come to church on Easter to please let the plate and cup pass without taking communion out of respect for what communion is and the sacredness of the moment.  I challenge our congregation each week to examine the motives of their heart since we are a church where communion is celebrated every Sunday.  Communion isn't something where we come together and check it off our list to win Jesus points and/or feel good about ourselves because we've accomplished something.  We take it and reflect on what Jesus did and remember it was our sin that put Him on the cross.

I asked this of our guests not to shame them or make them feel alienated but because of what is written in 1st Corinthians 11:17-33.  We learn in that passage of scripture that to come and take communion with improper motives, to eat the bread and drink the juice/wine,  we eat and drink judgement on ourselves.  Everyone our congregation was encouraged to do the same thing, to examine their motives for being in church on Easter Sunday before they took the bread and the cup.  I cared enough for our Easter only guests to let them know what is written in scripture about those who take communion with improper motives.  The judgment of God is never to be taken flippantly, He is the creator of the universe and I fear our God because He is righteous and just.

The fear of God is healthy.  Because God is just the consequences of sin are just and the consequences of sin is death.

 God, though, is many things and though He is just He is also a God of grace.  Because of sin my sin my body is the body that deserved to be broken but a perfect and sinless Jesus substituted His body for him.  Because of my sin my blood should have been the blood that was spilled but a perfect and sinless Jesus Christ substituted His blood instated.  Because of my sin I should be the one to die but a perfect and sinless Jesus Christ took the burden of my sin and paid the penalty of death instead.  In communion we remember that moment in history where the sins of the world past, present, and future were placed upon our perfect and holy Lord and God Jesus Christ.  Communion is more than a tradition, it is a sacred and holy moment we are instructed to experience with pure motives, together, as one body of believers for the glory and honor of God!  

Remember your motives this week and live to glorify God in every moment!

Two Bites, Seconds, and God's Goodness

Being a southern boy I fall into the stereotype of liking green leafy vegetables, Turnips, collards,
spinach, etc.  I could eat them every day.  My absolute favorite is spinach fried in a pan with an egg cracked in while it's cooking and throw in a few dashes of salt.

My niece was over at our house a while ago and I decided to cook her my favorite dish.  As soon as I started cooking it she gave me the stank eye and let me know she was strongly opposed to putting whatever I was cooking in her mouth.  In my mind this northern child had been deprived of good southern greens and was going to take at least eat two bites.

When it came time for her to take her two bites with her meal she proclaimed my culinary
masterpiece as "yuck" and "groodey" and refused to eat it.  I politely told her if she ate two good bites I wouldn't ask her to eat any more.  Begrudgingly she took her two bites and I figured that would be the end of that.

After maybe a minute passed she asked in a sheepish voice, "Uncle Tim, Can I have some more of that spinach?"  I felt a little proud and then asked her if she liked it.  Her response, "No, I didn't like it at all, but God wants me to eat more of it."  I gave her all the fried spinach she wanted to eat!  She then turned to my wife and said in all seriousness, "God wants you to eat it too."  We still laugh about that moment in our home.

Psa 34:8-10  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

God is so good!  So, so, good!  His ways are good and His motives are good.  Many people don't

have an accurate understanding of who God is but if they really got to know the creator of the universe they would discover a God who has loved them even before they were born.  They would know a God who has great things in store for them!  Just like my niece telling my wife you need to eat this spinach too so should we be telling our friends and neighbors about the goodness of God and testify to His goodness and grace.

Many times we also haven't surrendered areas of our lives to God as we should.  Yes, He is our Lord and Savior but many times we don't fully trust Him.  I know I'm guilty of that.  Are there situations in your life that seem hopeless or out of control?  Many time when I've been in a place like that it's because I haven't done things God's way or sought His wisdom and will.  When I repented and surrendered it to God His goodness shone through.  I know God will do the same for you if you would taste and see His goodness in every situation.

Pause and reflect on these two things: 

1. Who do you know that needs to taste and see God's goodness?  Who needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ crucified and Him raising from the dead?  

2. Is there something in your life that isn't lining up with God's will?  Are your ways His ways?  What do we need to repent of and taste and see God's goodness in an area of our life.

God is so good He proved it to us!  Our Lord and God Jesus Christ stepped out of heaven to live as one of us.  He lived a life without the experience of sin yet suffered the burden of all of our sin past, present, and future!  The sinless and holy God experience sin for the first and only time and then died with that sin on His shoulders to pay the penalty of our judgement.  We deserved nothing short of death for our sin but God, in His goodness, choose to make a way for us to be reconciled to Him.  Be thankful and reflect on all these things this week!

Folding Laundry, Sorting Socks, and Reflection

-I love it that most of the time my wife is the one who folds the laundry. 

In our house my wife is usually the one who folds the laundry.  It's not because we divvy up the chores that way but because, like a lot of men, I do not have adequate folding skills.  A few days ago I decided to try my best and fold the laundry.  Like a lot of men when we do "extra" things we like for our wives to notice...like we were doing them a favor.  Well, my wife noticed and she then said "I appreciate your effort honey" before she began to refold my attempt.

Now, there is one chore I don't mind and I don't mess up that often, sorting socks.  It's pretty straight

forward and there's not really a lot of skill involved.  Now, if you're one of those weird people who fold your socks instead of rolling them I don't understand you at all.  But I match them up, roll them up, then stick them in the drawer they belong in.

So what does sorting socks have to do with communion?  If you read in 1st Corinthians chapter 11 we are  commanded to reflect and examine ourselves before taking communion and reflecting on the sacrifice of Christ.  Doing laundry has a purpose, to clean clothes.  Communion also has a purpose, to examine ourselves and remember Christ's death.

When sorting socks we have to match them up.  What in our lives doesn't match up with God's priorities, what things are out of alignment?  Do you have a lack of concern for the lost?  Are you making poor financial choices?  Perhaps you have put religious tradition or cultural relevancy over the truth of scripture.

When sorting socks we also need to discard those socks that have holes in them.  These socks aren't good for anything and can't serve the purpose they were created for.  We also need to reflect  and ask God to reveal to us the things in our lives we need to discard.  Perhaps there are some toxic relationships that need to go, or self-serving worship where you only worship when you're comfortable and refuse to worship if you don't like the style or song, or perhaps you need to get rid of lust, addictions, gluttony, hatred, etc. and replace it with new things that God has for you

Laundry is also not a one time deal and if you have a toddler, like we do, it's almost a daily chore.  1st John 1:9 reads if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Like laundry reflection and confession aren't one time deals either and we may need to daily confess to God.  Take some time to reflect upon your lives.  Is there some piece of it wich is contrary to God's will?  Then bring it to Jesus, ask Him to set it in order for you

Soap cleanses our laundry, our socks.  The blood of Jesus cleanses our souls.  Remember that as you go about your week

Spelling Test Fail, Sass, and Consequences

I failed a spelling test, had to not play BB

When I was a kid I failed a spelling test. My dad was pretty upset with me for it and said I would not be able to play baseball for a week.  I was so excited!  I hated playing baseball!  Not only did I not like playing I was horrible at it.  I didn't like the thought of a hard object flying through the air for my head.  All the kids who lack the necessary talent to play are always put in right field and pray no one hits the ball over there....that's where they put me.  I enjoyed spinning in circles, daydreaming, and building things out of grass more than I liked baseball.  Occasionally I would work on my fake karate moves which were super impressive in my mind.

Then the bad news came, I still had to go to the game.  I had to sit in the bleachers and watch my team play baseball.  I still to this day can't sit and enjoy a game of baseball, it's just too slow.

During the game we went up to the concession stand to get some dinner.  I always got the same thing which was a chicken sandwich with nothing on it.  A bun and a chicken patty stuck right between the two was perfect.  The guy who usually worked the stand called it a naked chicken sandwich and when I walked up he said "Hey Tim, you want your usual naked chicken sandwich".  Sure I did, but I decided I wanted to have a little sass.  So, my reply to the man was "Yeah, I want my "nekkid"(remember I'm from Alabama) chicken sandwich" I then sassily turned to my dad and said, "N-E-K-K-I-D, nekkid!" There wasn't any amount of crying out to Jesus I could have done to have saved me from the whoopin' I received.  I had to live with the consequence of my actions.

1 John 1:9 reads  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

God does cleanse us, He forgives us, and He loves us unconditionally!  However, many people confuse God's grace and believe God will give us a pass on sin!  That's a big misunderstanding about God's grace!  God is also a good father and like any good father would do God doesn't give us a pass on sin.  When we sin we usually have to live with the consequences.  When we sin we have to learn from it, we have to be refined by it.  Perhaps we sinned against another person and irreparably broken trust with that person or we abuse drugs, alcohol, or food and to irreparable damage to our bodies or we harbor hate and resentment towards another person which numbs us to future empathy with others.  Also other people's sin may have consequences on our lives.  A person lies or gossips about us and our reputation is tarnished for a lifetime, someone physically abuses us, or we are judged whether we are to be respected by our dress or looks. 

While we are promised present suffering this life, not suffering brought on us by God but always

brought on by sin, we also have a present and future hope.  Sometimes God does deliver us from the consequences of sin and sometimes God allows us to suffer through those consequences all the while carrying our burden for us.  We know we have a God who works out all things for our good!  We also have a future hope!  When we pass this life we will pass before God and be welcomed through the gates of heaven or Jesus will one day return and set everything right right here on earth!

All this hope is made possible because Jesus paid our penalty with His death and gave us the hope because of His resurrection!  God doesn't give us a pass on sin and we will probably suffer the present consequences but as believers we have a present and future hope!  Think about that this week we as you go about your week and strive to live for God's glory alone!

My ADHD, the wall of TV's, and God's eternal attention

Something I'm very open about, but people may not know about me, is I have ADHD.  I've dealt with ADHD my entire life.  ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and I have combined type.  I was one of the lucky ones who did not grow out of it.  Many people may be surprised that I'm so open to reveal this because mental health is still somewhat taboo in the church, however, it doesn't need to be.  It's a reality the Church needs to acknowledge and embrace with grace.

A friend of mine recently asked me to describe what ADHD is like.  Like a lot of people he pictured a 7 year old in the second grade who was unable to sit still in a desk for 6 hours a day and is disruptive to his class.  That's not what ADHD is at all.  That kid needs some P.E. and an opportunity to go outside and run around.  He probably needs some discipline too!  Many times we diagnose a kid with high energy with ADHD because we expect them to act like adults and they're not.  

So, I came up with this analogy:

It's like walking into Best Buy and going up to their wall of TVs.  Every TV is on the same picture because they want you to compare the picture quality.  Imagine walking up to the TV wall and there are 100 televisions.  Now let's change 30 random televisions to 30 different channels.  70 of the TV's will be on the same picture and 30 of the televisions will be on 30 different channels.  31 channels in all. Now your job is to watch them all at the same time.  I know this isn't a super scientific description and an expert in the field may disagree with it but that's the best I got

So, like a lot of things it got me thinking about God.  A lot of people think God doesn't notice them.  They think God has too many other people to concern Himself with or they or their problems are too insignificant for God to pay attention to.  But that's not who God is!  God sees every person in the world with perfect clarity at every moment and intimately knows every detail of their being.  

Romans 5:8-11 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

"God shows His love" is in present tense while "we were still sinners" is in past tense.  I love this!  God is eternal, He is not constrained by time and space.  This is a big concept to wrap our minds around but stay with me here.  Since God is not subject to time and space and is eternal it means He cannot run out of time or must choose to spend His time on more important matters.  He is eternal which leads us  to the conclusion He has an eternity to spend being concerned for you!  He has an eternity to spend being concerned for me!  He has an eternity to spend being concerned for your neighbor, your best friend, your worst enemy, your second grade teacher, etc.!

While Jesus was on the cross and having the burden of sin placed upon Him He was thinking of you.  He ultimately died for the glory of God of course but in that moment our eternal God was hanging on the cross.  As He hung I believe He was thinking of you, me, and everyone else stretching back from the beginning of creation until the end when He comes to fully redeem creation.  He was paying for the sin of every person.  Our eternal God showed His eternal grace for all mankind.  As follower of Christ we were personally eternally reconciled in that moment no matter how insignificant we feel.

Spend this week reflecting on that fact.  You are not insignificant to God.  God is personally and intimately concerned for you with love unfailing.  He extends unfailing grace and mercy.  Make sure to tell someone about it this week to!  Let them know how much God specifically is concerned for them and how much He loves them.

Speeding, Guilt, and Grace

I hit a major milestone in my life this week.  I got my first speeding ticket.  My wife was so excited about me getting my first speeding ticket she sent out a public service announcement to inform all of Facebook world about it.  When I went into the church office that day I was greeted by our church staff making siren sounds and giving me a hard time about it.  If I had to be a judge our children's minister, Chris Cunningham, makes the most realistic siren sound.

Before the officer came to my window I had several excuses running through my head: "I was following behind a row of cars, they were all going the same speed, I was going with the flow with everyone else."  "I did see the sign but really didn't think it was serious since 200 yards right up the road the speed goes up 20 mph."  "I drive a Toyota Yaris, I didn't think my car could actually go that fast."  Really I didn't have an excuse though, I knew how fast I was going and was guilty.

The same goes when we stand before God.  We can use excuses like "I was just doing what everyone else was doing." or "I knew exactly what Jesus said but I didn't take it seriously." or "I really didn't think I was all that bad of a person."  But the fact is we'll know we're guilty.  In the presence of a holy God our sin will be exposed for what it is.

Romans 3:23 reads For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,.  There's no distinction, we can't compare our level of badness or sin with another except God.  We won't have an excuse because God is the standard for perfection and He has clearly communicated that.  

But just like the late Billy Mays became famous for saying, and that’s not all.  If you look again at the verse above I intentionally left the comma at the end of the sentence, it wasn't a typo.  Yes, every person in the world, all of you reading this blog post is sinful and broken but God has placed a comma there.  The story continues.  Romans 3:24 reads and are justified by His grace has a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.  Wow, let that sink in a moment!

God is just and He is a righteous judge.  When we stand before Him the sentence is death.  Satan stands as the accuser and all of the evidence is available to convict us.  But we have an advocate if we have accepted Jesus Christ and surrendered our life to Him.  How I wish I could stand before the Judge with my $170 fine for speeding and announce "Jesus it all" to get out of having to pay that fine but I must live with the present consequences of my sin.  Amen.  On the day you and I stand before God we'll get to do just that except we won't be the ones talking.  It will be Jesus, our advocate, who will approach the bench and show the proof He has already paid our penalty with His life by showing the scars on his hands, side, and feet.  We will then walk into heaven and enjoy eternity with our Creator God completely reconciled to Him.   His justice will be satisfied

As you go about your week take time to pause and reflect to remember Jesus is our advocate who paid our guilty sentence with His life.  The eternal God stepped down from heaven because of His great love for us and His desire for reconciliation with His precious creation.  Jesus paid it ALL.  ALL to Him I owe.

Unworthy At the Kings Table

He had no business eating at the king’s table. His family background, physical infirmities, and utter helplessness should have barred him from such an honored place. But there he sat, day after day, like one of the king’s own sons.

Mephibosheth had experienced more than his share of physical and emotional pain. Second Samuel 4:4 briefly recounts the tragic accident that left him unable to walk on the very day he learned of the battle deaths of his father, Jonathan, and his grandfather, King Saul.

Now, years later, David ruled as king over all Israel. Second Samuel 9 tells us Mephibosheth was living an obscure life a safe distance from Jerusalem. The usual custom in the ancient Near East was for new kings to wipe out the entire family of the previous king to prevent any possible political comeback. It is likely that Mephibosheth was also aware of his grandfather’s attempts to kill David years before.

So when messengers from King David arrived at his house to escort him to the king, Mephibosheth probably expected the worst. What he found when he arrived, however, was a king who understood grace; a king anxious to keep a promise he had made to Jonathan, Mephibosheth’s father, many years before.

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “At your service,” he replied. “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” (2 Samuel 9:6-8).

You and I share a lot in common with Mephibosheth. We are unworthy servants who do not deserve any special favors from God. We and members of our family have sometimes treated him like an enemy. Crippled by the sin in our life, we are spiritually like dead dogs.

Yet God’s invitation remains open for a seat at his table. Each week we are invited to rejoice with our King at his table of remembrance. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God takes us from the gutter of sin and seats us at his royal table, with a promise of an even greater banquet someday in Heaven (Revelation 19:9).

So today as we sit at this table like one of the King’s sons or daughters, let’s celebrate the grace and kindness that allows us to be here. Let’s bow before the King and humbly respond to him as Mephibosheth did to David, “Your servant.”

Proclaiming to whom?

Today I want to read out of the book of Revelation.  I'm not going to be talking about end-times stuff,
I'm going to be talking about current-times stuff.  I'm going to read the words of Jesus he gave to the apostle John while he was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Revelation 3:14-20 And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.  I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot.  Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears  my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

A little bit of history about the church at Laodicea was it was once a thriving, influential church!  But what happened?  This church sat back on it's laurels and forgot their purpose.  They believed they arrived at the pinnacle of doing church only to receive a rather stern rebuke directly from Jesus, the one whom the church was supposed to be all about.

During our coaching time with HGC we have already been given massive insight into our church through reading and studying.  One of the books we're going through as staff and leadership is Who Stole My Church by Gordon Macdonald.  This book is awesome for any church going through transition and I highly recommend this book to members of our congregation to read.  Here is an excerpt from the book.  This is a member of the church who was against change coming to the realization that the church doesn't belong to him: "We have our money and our sweat equity in it, but it's not ours.  Not ours--it belongs to Jesus.  Remember?  He died for it and all other congregations like it.  If we try to exert ownership and freeze the church into conditions that are comfortable for us, we're going to become hopelessly toxic and lose everything we tried to make happen"

Now what does this have to do with communion?  A LOT!  1st Corinthians 11:26 reads "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" 

So what are we proclaiming?  Our programs?  Our carpet color?  Our worship style?  Our lighting preferences?  A dress code?  NO!  we're proclaiming the death of Jesus Christ and the hope it brings!  The we need to think about who we're proclaiming it to?  Just ourselves?  Each other?  A building full of people who already know about Jesus?  Yes and no!  We need to proclaim and celebrate the good news together but if that's our only reason for doing it we're missing the other half of the equation.  We are also to proclaim to the lost the good new of Jesus Christ!  I hope our churches are full of people who need to hear the good news  when we take communion each week.  To learn about the body that was broken represented by the bread and the blood which was spilled represented by the juice all pointing to the one hope the world has-Jesus Christ.

Luke 19:10 says Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  He didn't come for a church building, and organ, or an electric guitar.  He came for the lost!  The western church has spend too much time proclaim to ourselves how good Jesus is and how good we are while outside the lost don't even hear a whisper of the good news.

Take some time this week to think of one person who needs to hear the gospel proclaimed.  Invited them to come.  Make a resolution to share this proclamation with those who need the hope of Jesus Christ.