Fellowship with the Father

[Jn 15:14-15]



Can you and I really enjoy fellowship with the Father? Most people live in dread or fear of God. They think He is an angry tyrant. I recall talking to a man several months ago who told me he was “cool” with Jesus but did not know what to think about God the Father. Old Testament passages come to mind where God smote this group or that individual for some wrong doing. God often poured out His fury and righteous indignation on people. He is a God to be revered and even feared.
God is a God of wrath on occasion. He is perfectly just and judges accordingly. “He judges the world with righteousness; He executes judgment on the peoples with fairness.” [Ps 9:8] “Then the people will say, ‘Yes, there is a reward for the righteous! There is a God who judges on earth.’” God is not unwilling to spill wrath out where there is defiance of His laws and rebellion against His ways. [Eph 2:3] [Rom 2:4-6]
We totally miss out on the truth that God desires friendship with us though when we only focus on God has judge. He desires for us to know Him and to fellowship with Him. [Hosea 6:1-3]
You and I can walk in friendship with God if we are willing to follow His commands. “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what is master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My father I have made to know you.” The word friend in those two verses means to be fond of, dear, or loved. We are loved by our Lord beyond measure. Look at the great lengths He went through to redeem us and to reconcile us from His wrath.
We are invited to walk intimately and commune with our God. He is not some far off distant deity but a loving and gracious Father who desires to relate to His children. If this is really the case, why are there so many believers who feel so distant and so disconnected with God?
No one answer will suffice but can we not at least admit that one reason we often feel so distant from God goes back to our shame from our inconsistent behavior and our lack of time spent with the Him. I have four boys and often they are asked to go and spend the night with friends from church and school. There are times when I have say to no to these requests because selfishly I want to spend time with my boys. I want to talk with them, laugh with them, teach them, make memories with them. I enjoy being with them. It really does not matter what we are doing at the time. We might be working on some project. Working out. Worshipping together. Watching a movie. Praying. It doesn’t matter what we are doing. I just enjoy being with them.
There are times when their disobedience reveals a whole different side of me though. There is a side where justice is required and there are times when the boys receive the consequences of wrong choices. I do not enjoy these times but it does not change how deeply I love each one of them. In fact, after their punishment I try to remember to tell them how much I love them. If can do this as an earthly father with a flawed human nature and without a capacity to love perfectly, how much more does our Father want us for Himself and love us unconditionally. [Rom 8:35-39]
Here is the deal. That might sound selfish and twisted to a certain degree. It is not twisted or selfish when you realize that in God giving us fellowship with Himself, He is giving us what is best for our own souls. The best life that any of us could live is to walk in sweet fellowship with the Father because He satisfies our sin stained souls with the sweet joy of Him. He pleases us and grants us infinite delight in Him. God in granting us access to Himself, is giving each of us the very best thing He could give any of us. HIMSELF!
I don’t have to relate to God out of dread or a sense of duty. I can pull up a chair to His table and talk to him like a son talks to his loving father. I can linger in his presence hour upon hour for He does not tire of my being with Him and He is big enough to give you his undivided attention at the same time. I do not have to try and hide my faults for He already knows them and is willing to forgive and to restore. Walking in fellowship with the Father is the thrill of a lifetime. Most people do not believe this and therefore do not experience it as well. What a heartbreak.
The God who created this universe as well as you and me and knows our every thought and the next word that will roll off our tongues, stands waiting to fellowship with you. For some of you this will mean you need to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus by confessing your sins and asking His forgiveness and for His salvation. That will be the first steps of fellowship that will grow and blossom. Others of you will need to blow the dust off your Bibles and find your way back to your secret place to commune with the one who loves and promised to never leave you or forsake even when you have left and forsaken Him. Thankfully there are others of you who have been walking in deep fellowship with the Father for years and your times with Him are growing increasingly precious and charming. Regardless of where you are on life’s journey, a life spent in fellowship with the Father will bring rich rewards.

Captivated by Christ

I love the word captivate. It means to be fascinated with something. We are fascinated or captivated by all sorts of things in this world. Amusement parks, scenic mountains, tranquil lakes, breathtaking ocean sunsets, and awesome athletic feats. We are fascinated by celebrities and political personalities. Yet, one person you rarely hear anyone say they are fascinated by is Jesus Christ.
Does He captivate your heart, your mind, your imagination, and the deepest affections of your soul? He is absolutely captivating. If we were to choose to look at several different facets of Him today He would be mind boggling.
Take for instance that He has always been. He was not only present during creation but actually involved in creation. There has never been a time when Jesus did not exist. That is why Paul writes in Colossians, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers of authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.” [Col 1:15-16]
Jesus was the master architect behind the most moving scenic locations on this earth. You name a memorable place and Jesus created it. Not only that, He also created the heavens meaning the stars, planets, and galaxies. What a creative genius He is to think about the deep orange red of a sunset falling below the plains of Africa. How soothing to look up into a cloudless blue sky or to plunge beneath the beautiful blue waters off the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. What a creative stroke it was to put the black stripes on the body of the zebra and to splash pink over the body of the flamingo. He really out did Himself with all the panoramic colors of the fish of the sea and the birds of the air. It is captivating to take in the many and various colors of flowers not to mention their different shapes and sizes.
Ponder a little deeper and you see the creativity of Christ in different landscapes. You can drive in one direction and see the barren wastelands of desert plains with cactuses and mound on top of mound of dirt. Go in a different direction and you could find yourselves on the sandy beaches of some ocean with the waves pushing in around your toes before being tugged back out to sea. Leave that place and you could find yourself deep embedded in the green jungle of a rain forest with tropical plants and animals all about. Leave that place and you might find yourself in the foothills of some mountains with towering peaks and lofty trees surrounding you. We have only just begun. I have not mentioned the dense pine forests so thick in places only a few rays of sunshine are able to breakthrough the pine straw canopy, the wetlands with water foul and fish in places few human beings have ever seen with their eyes, nor the icy glaciers of frozen tundra of regions located in subzero temperatures. We have failed to mention the prairie lands overflowing with grazing beasts and grass as thick as plush carpet , or the rolling hills that stretch up and down for miles as far as the eye can see. Beyond that we still have to consider the redwood forests with gigantic trees so large cars can actually drive through the middle of them, or the cascade of waterfalls over mountain gorges several stories high falling onto moss covered rocks below which splash the waters creating rainbows in their mist. What about the great lakes that seem to be as a big as an ocean or the endless ribbon of rivers that stretch for thousands and thousands of miles around this world twisting and turning. Christ did all of that! He made all of it.
We have only looked at His creative works and already my heart is pounding and my mind is overwhelmed. I have not mentioned anything about the different climates with the scorching heat of desert regions, the relentless winds of Antarctica, the oppressive humidity of the Brazilian rainforests, the frigid temperatures of Canada, or the balmy breezes of tropical beaches.
This is only one small dimension about the King Immortal and the Savior Eternal. We did not even pursue the creative genius of Christ to it end conclusion. This is only one dimension of Christ. What about other dimensions? I have failed to mention one thing about His omniscience, His holiness, His omnipotent power, His flawless character, His perfect will, His redemptive nature, His lavish grace, and I could go on and on.
How could any true believer or serious Bible student not be captivated by Christ? How could we be mesmerized by the things of this world and bored with the things of Christ? It is a travesty.
Though there is so much more that could be said, and I will say it in one of my upcoming books entitled Captivated By Christ, let me say that [Col 3:1-2] pretty well sums up the problem. “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
We spend most of our days with our minds, our eyes, our imaginations, and our deepest desires set on the things of earth. We have our gaze in the wrong place and the object of our fascination and affections on the wrong things. Christ is captivating. We just don’t take the time to look long enough or think deeply enough about Him. We glance instead of gaze and we think peruse over the surface rather than pondering the deep realities of who Christ is. We are content to give our hearts and minds to the fleeting things of this world rather than to press on to know the surpassing value of knowing Christ. I say it again. He is captivating.
If you find yourself in the awful position of not being captivated by Christ, I urge you to set aside some time to think deeply on any aspect of the life of Christ you want. Pursue pondering that one aspect of Christ until you think you have exhausted it. Don’t rush through this exercise. Dig in the scriptures and follow each logical conclusion and answer the questions that surface and the implications of each answer to each question. When you have finished contemplating that one aspect of Christ then move on to another and complete the same exercise. You will be captivated and you and I will spend all of eternity getting fresh revelation after fresh revelation and being captivated, mesmerized, enchanted, and enthralled with knowing and communing with Christ.

Several times this week while I have been serving at Super Summer I have made my way to the lobby of the dorm where our meeting room is to pray, study, reflect, and generally to be alone. Over and over again I have noticed the portrait of a middle aged lady hanging on the wall. I have wondered who she was and why there was portrait of her in the lobby of this dormitory.
Let me describe my impressions of the portrait. The lady is in her middle to late fifties I am guessing. She is wearing a simple but elegant blue dress. There are no frills on the dress at all. It is a short sleeve dress with no collar, no lace, and no buttons, and no belt. The lady is sitting in brown Queen Victoria chair. She is wearing a simple single strand pearl necklace. Her left hand is not totally visible so it is not evident from the portrait whether she was married or not. The lady has short curly brown hair with a hint of grey near the temples. Her cheeks are rosy and though she is not smiling in the painting you can tell that she has a great deal of joy.
I have wondered many things about this lady. Who was she? Did she go to college here on the campus of Mary Hardin Baylor University? Was she a large donor to the college? What did she do to distinguish herself in her lifetime? Often in the middle of my studies and meditations I have looked and caught a glimpse of this picture.
What can you really know about somebody from just seeing a portrait? The portrait is really just an artist’s interpretations of a person. The artist can determine the lighting, the backdrop, and the countenance of the face as they paint each stroke. Can you know a person just by their portrait?
I don’t why I have found this portrait so fascinating. Earlier today as I was walking out of the building with a group of students I mentioned the portrait and one of them made a comment about a plaque being mounted on the outside wall of the building. On my way back from a meeting I stopped and read about the lady whose portrait has fascinated me these days.
The lady was a former student here on the campus back in the early 1920’s. She was a journalism major who after graduating here she went to teach journalism and English until she retired. She served on the board of trustees for the university for several years. I don’t think she was ever married or ever had children. It looks like she gave her life to teaching and to serving her community and this university.
Her friends were deeply touched as was this university and they ended up naming this dormitory after her. Her story has really been fulfilling and fascinating to read and finally get some closure on. This has gotten me to thinking.
If someone were to paint a portrait of you and me what impression would the artist have of us? What kind of clothes would you wear? Would you smile, would people see joy or pain behind the face? Would they see peace or stress? Would they wonder about your life? If they had the chance to read about your life would they be inspired to live with more passion and to strive for excellence in their arena?
This lady was passionate about teaching and journalism and devoted her life to it. She was very distinguished in this field and was given several awards for her labors. She used the talents God gave her and she leaned against the harness of her flesh to labor and do what she could where she was planted. Her life was a life well lived. She was not famous, she did not win the Nobel Peace Prize, I don’t know if she was wealthy. She was just an ordinary lady who found God’s purpose and call for her life and then she poured her life into the fulfillment of that calling.
Why were you created? You were not an accident as [Psalm 139] so eloquently states. [Jeremiah 29:11] tells us we were created for a purpose. My purpose is to preach, pastor, and write. When I am getting to do those things I never feel more alive nor more fulfilled. I have to preach. I have to pastor. I have to write. And I love every minute of it.
Yesterday I was sitting in a small room teaching the scriptures while seated in a chair and was nearly about to bounce out of my chair. I grew more and more excited with each point which means I also began to talk louder and louder.
Afterward a lady from the room next door came and asked who was the person who had all the passion? They could hear me next door and instead of being embarrassed I was thrilled to be called as a person of passion. I want my preaching, my writing, and my shepherding the flock at Paradise to be done with Passion.
If anyone ever paints my portrait and hangs it somewhere for people to see may they see me as a person of passion. May they see me as one who gave the Lord my all. May I live like Jonathan Edwards who resolved to live with all his might while he lived. May our portraits reflect passion for Christ and living and His glory.

Building an Ark

While at Super Summer this week on the Campus of Mary Hardin Baylor University I heard a message from Heb 11:7. “By faith Noah being divinely warned by God about things not yet seen in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world and became the heir of righteousness which is according to faith.” There were several things the speaker said that had a profound impact on me. I sat in the back of the auditorium for a long time and then lay prostrate on the floor asking God what ark He has called me to believe and then asking how to build it.
One of the points that made the deepest impression on me was that every time people saw the ark they saw the reality of Noah’s faith. What can people see around me that is tangible evidence of my faith? What can see around you that exists because of your faith.
I am still wrestling with the implications of those thoughts. I know what my ark is. My ark is the First Baptist Church of Paradise. My ark is four little boys back in Paradise, TX with my same last name. My ark is a house that we believe God for. My ark is a broader and more extensive writing and preaching ministry. My ark is seeing the First Baptist Church of Humboldt, Saskatchewan grow and get a permanent pastor. I found myself prostrate before the Lord asking how I was to build those arks.
Arks are built with enduring faith. It took Noah well over a century to build the ark. At one point would you and I have been tempted to give on the whole thing? A year. Twenty years. Fifty. One hundred years. Noah labored day in and day out. Most of us can get motivated for a day or two. Most of us can be inspired to tackle huge projects for the Lord but very few have the gutsy grit of enduring faith to stay the course day after day, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade. We get bored and lose interest. We find the labor grueling and our resolve turns to powder. We cast longing glances on the other side of the fence where the grass looks so much greener. We find progress slow and the task too difficult and we starting looking for the path of least resistance. Parents do this with their children. Pastors do this with their churches. Presidents do this with their organizations. Peers do this in their witness at school.
Noah fires me up. I want to be an ark builder. I want my life to count for something. His life counted for the salvation of his family. His one hundred and twenty years were given in response to the call of God. What is God calling you to? What is He calling you to do for His glory? What impossible thing, that might take you the rest of your life to build, is He calling you to? If you refuse to endure in your faith in building your ark, what implications will that have on those closest to you?
I found myself asking the Lord what the first steps of obedience are in order for me to build the arks He has called me to build? There has to be steps of obedience. What are they? For me that includes getting God’s vision for the ark. How can I build something I do not have the plans for? God knows what He wants built and He alone can give us His vision to pursue. Do we really want a vision larger than our lives? Do we have the courage to sit before the Lord and ask Him to paint His dream for our lives no matter how small and insignificant or how large and utterly impossible? Not only that but if God reveals His vision for each us about what ark He wants us to build do we have the kind of enduring faith it takes to build arks? That’s what He wants. He doesn’t want us to merely dream dreams for Him. He wants us to pursue those dreams and stay the course until our arks are built and the whole world can see the evidence of our faith and we can point people to the Savior.
God’s ark for me is knee buckling. Nobody will ever see my faith unless I take a step of obedience. I am going to have to take steps in the direction of God’s dream for my life. Even as I write this I am crying out to God in my spirit to show me what those initial steps are. It is downright intimidating to stand before God’s vision and think that I have been called to that vision. It is a humbling thought to wrap my mind around that God has chosen me for a grand vision that will take a life time to fulfill. But what glory will He get when people the reality and evidence of my enduring faith if I will stay the course. It brings great joy to my heart to even think about those possibilities. What a glorious thought to get to join God in His purposes.
I don’t care how outrageous the size of the ark God has called you to build seems. I urge you to pursue it with fearless and enduring faith. I challenge you to be consumed with God’s call on your life to build an ark. May your life long labors prove to be invaluable in providing salvation to your family and friends and as always may the Lord get all the glory.

Trust

Trust is a fragile thing. It can be gained and lost. It can be built and broken. It can be earned and vanish. Some people are more trusting than others. People who have experienced little hurt generally speaking will be more trusting than people who have been deeply wounded by those they thought loved them. Like I said earlier, trust is a fragile thing.
The Fifth Edition of the Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines trust this way; “Assured reliance on another’s integrity, veracity, justice – confidence.” The definition gives a great deal of insight into why trust is so fragile. Trust is built on another person’s integrity. When that integrity is found to be lacking trust can easily be broken. It can be broken between a parent and a child, a husband and wife, best friends, business partners, and in local churches. When people do not act with integrity trust can be and often is shattered into a million pieces.
This is one reason why so many people live in isolation, wounded, bruised, and broken. Christians experience this just like people without a relationship with Christ. The pews are packed with people who smile on the surface and yet keep you at arm’s length in the depths of their souls. It is hard to trust people when you are in self preservation mode with defense mechanisms activated. It is difficult to allow our guard to go down when trust has been devastated. Once you have been hurt and trust has been broken we do not like being vulnerable and put into positions which require us to trust people. Like the old saying goes, “Burn me once shame on you. Burn me twice shame on me.”
We live in an untrusting society. We have all been burned by politicians, con artists, unethical business people, by close family members and friends. Our reaction could be to retreat from people and vow to never trust again. That is a valid option but not the best one.
Look around you and watch the implications of a society where there is no trust. People become hard and jaded. Bitterness ensues. Paranoid grows as thoughts always surface that others are out to get you. It happens in church, government, communities, in the job market, in families, and in foreign diplomacy. How much damage has been done in this world because we hurt and wound each other obliterating trust?
In order for trust to grow there must be integrity. A person must be trustworthy. What happens when a person breaks trust but starts back on the path of living with integrity? Can they ever earn the right to be trusted again? I think the answer is yes. Trust can be lost but it can also be earned again over time. When people become assured that veracity has grown their trust will grow with it.
How many times have you been on both sides of this coin? There have been times when you were the one violated and trust was broken. There have also been times when you were the one breaking someone else’s trust. Is God not sovereign over both? Our God can take wounded and shattered hearts and put them together again with His tender touch. [Ps 34:18] “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” God is the healer of brokenhearted people whose trust has been broken. He is also the Lord over the ones who have broken other’s trust. He is the one who can produce the fruit of integrity in our lives over the long haul and restore our trustworthiness. [Ps 51:10] “Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
We cannot operate as the body of Christ when we do not love and trust one another. If I know you really love me, even though trust might have been broken, I know it can be earned again. Love covers a multitude of sins. Peter asked Jesus how many times a person could sin against someone and still be forgiven. He thought seven times was extremely gracious. What was his reaction and what is our reaction when Jesus answered, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” [Matt 18:22] A lot of trust can be broken in four hundred eighty nine offences. Likewise a lot of grace can be extended too. The more loving we are the more likely we are to forgive and to allow trust to be earned again. Paul defined love this way in, “does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.” [I Cor 13:5] Where there is no love there will be no forgiveness. Where there is no love and no forgiveness there will be no trust. May we all learn to trust God enough to trust people and become trustworthy.
May it start with our living trustworthy lives filled with reliability and integrity. Let our love for other people be so grand that grace can be offered, wrongs can be forgiven, and trust can be rebuilt. In this way our souls can be knit to the souls of other people and by this deep connection and communion with other people the world we know we are followers of Jesus Christ. [Jn 13:34-35]

Confession is Good for the Soul

While in Saskatchewan on our mission trip we had the opportunity to visit the Saint Peter’s Catholic Church in Muenster, Saskatchewan which is about eight kilometers from Humboldt. The entire church cathedral is decorated with several murals on the ceiling and the walls. As we walked through the church I noticed the confessional booths located in the back and one person asked when do you people come for confession. Catholics believe they must confess their sins to the priest who in turns tells them what needs to be done to be absolved of those sins.
I am so glad that I do not have to go to a priest or any other person to confess my sin other than to Jesus Himself who is our great High Priest. [Heb 3:1] What does it mean to confess our sin? Is it really necessary? Are there times to confess sins in private and are there times to confess sins publicly?
Let us turn our attentions to [I Jn 1:9]. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is a very powerful verse about the need to confess our sins. First, notice the word “if”. This is a conditional verse. There are conditions that must be met on our end before the Lord will uphold His end of this agreement. Our part is to confess our sins. The word “confess” means to “speak the same thing, to declare, to admit, or to agree with.” Whom are we speaking the same with or agreeing with and to who do we declare or admit our sin to? To Jesus. He is the faithful and righteous one alone who has the ability to cleanse and to forgive.
The word “faithful” in this verse can also be translated as reliable. Jesus is reliable and to be counted on to not only forgive but to also cleanse. In this day and age there seem to be fewer and fewer people who are reliable. People do not keep their word. There was a time with a person’s word was their bond. Now we have all sorts of legal and binding contracts because people are not reliable. Jesus is reliable. He can be trusted even with our confession of sin.
The condition on our part is that we must admit and declare that what He calls sin we also call sin. That means we cannot try to maneuver our way out of it or try to use semantics to justify our actions. Sin is sin and before we can move through the process of forgiveness and restoration there must be the admission of guilt. Our society wants to justify the actions of people. People are made out to be helpless victims instead of each person taking personal responsibilities for their actions. We choose to sin.
Paul puts it this way, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not all you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”[I Cor 10:13] We lust and we are envious and we choose to sin. We give into to our fleshly desire to sin and trade the glory of God for broken cisterns that do not hold water. [Jer 2:13] [James 4:1-2] Looking in the mirror and declaring yourself guilty of breaking the laws of God is not a fun way to spend an early morning, afternoon, or late night. It can be painful, shameful, and humiliating. But it is necessary to maintain communion Christ.
David confessed his sin with Bathsheba and poured his soul out before the Lord like water from a glass in Psalms 51. He agreed with God about his sin and admitted his guilt. Read what he prayed. “For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned.” [Ps 51:3-4]”Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.” [Ps 51:9] “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” [Ps 51:17]
If we take care of our part in confessing our sin then Jesus will be faithful to forgive. That means He will send away our sin debt and remit it. What a glorious truth. Our sins, which are very real and destructive, will not be counted against us if we confess them to the Lord. Big sins. Little sins. Sins of both omission and commission. Sins of thoughts and actions. There is no distinction with the Lord. If we confess those sins to Christ He is faithful to forgive. He forgives them when we confess them the first time and trust Him for salvation. [II Cor 5:21] [Rom 5:6-9] He forgives when we stumble and trip over the same sin time and time again. His grace is sufficient to cleanse us from our sins.
He doesn’t just forgive our sins but He also cleanses us from unrighteousness. He frees us from the defilement of sin and purges us from our acts of wickedness. He removes the stains from our sin that pollute our hearts. No earthly priest can do that. No human being has the power to do that. What a liberating truth. We can be cleansed from the inside out. Human beings try to cleanse from the outside in and it never works. We say we will change our behavior externally with out being transformed internally. Jesus is the only one who can change us from the inside out. He is the only way to true forgiveness and salvation. [Jn 14:6]
Confession does good for the soul. We need it. God‘s word commands it. It doesn’t matter the type or the magnitude of the sin. Admitting it and declaring to God is good medicine for the soul. Are we supposed to do this privately between us and the Lord or with others in a public setting? A good rule of thumb is when the sin is done in private you confess it in private and if it is done in public you confess it in public.
Before ending there will be some who will believe they have done things so horrible and offensive to God that there is no forgiveness. I would have to pay attention to a little three letter word in [I Jn 1:9]. “All.” Jesus is faithful to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. You name it and His grace and forgiveness is able to not only cover it but to also forgive and to cleanse it as well.
Why not take some time today to sit at His feet and confess your sin before Him one by one. I promise it will be a freeing and reconciliatory experience with Him. You do not have to go to a priest, a pastor, an elder or deacon to do this. You simply need to go to your Great High Priest and confess it to Him. It will be good for your soul.

Undeserved Grace

When was the last time you came face to face with your sin before the Lord? When was the last time you were really broken and really convicted by some sin or any sin in your life? It happened for me in a very real way while on mission for the Lord in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. There was sin. There was deep conviction. There was brokenness and humiliation. There was repentance and confession.

It is easy for me to preach about grace because I have needed and received so much of it from the Lord and the Lord's people. None of us deserves grace. It is a precious and amazing gift. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; not as a result of works so that no one may boast."

When broken down to is simplest definition grace means "unmerited favor." God's glorious grace that has been lavished out on us cannot be earned, achieved, or bought. The only means to of partaking of it are to receive it by faith. Most of us can wrap our minds about needing grace to be saved in the first place. How many of us contemplate how much we need grace day by day?

At heart each of us are depraved sinners who are in a constant battle with our sin nature. More often than any of us would like to admit that sin nature takes over and we find ourselves not only in need of forgiveness but also in need of undeserved grace. Praise the Lord for Jesus who not only forgives but showers us with grace. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavishes on us..." [Eph 1:1-7-8a]

My task in simple. Since I have received so much undeserved grace in my own life I am to follow the pattern of David in Psalm Fifty One. "Restore to me the jou of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to you."

Go

Later this morning, I will once again be packing my old worn out suit case for yet another gospel trip for my Lord. Most of my travels have always been associated with preaching and laboring for the Lord. I have traveled to three countries and eleven states all to serve Christ in preaching and witnessing. This afternoon I will be leaving for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for another trip along with eleven others from our church to preach, to pray, to witness, to serve and labor for Christ.
I know that part of submitting my life and ministry to the Lord means that I will continually be on the road again and again. Last night I was talking to Brenda and asking if she ever got tired of me leaving for trips and she said that she knows God has called me and though she misses me she manages to get along without me. It is sacrifice for her as well as for our boys who have already started telling me how much they will miss me. It is sacrifice for our people who will be making this trip also and their families. All of them are sacrificing their time at work and with their families to come on this trip. It is a joy to watch each of them put those things aside as they get on mission with God.
Have you ever given much attention to how many times we are called to “go” in the Bible? I just entered the word “go” in my computer concordance. There were 245 references in the New Testament alone. In the Old Testament there are an additional 1,100 references. It seems pretty clear to me that God has always called His people to be on mission for Him and that involves going. Going to houses to talk to both friends and strangers about Christ in our own communities, going to other cities or countries to promote Christ stretches us and calls way out of comfort zones. Our trouble is we don’t like to go with the gospel but are contented to stay in the safety and comforts of our own homes and congregations. True going does also involve leaving. As we go we also have to leave. The leaving can be extremely difficult. It is never easy to part with our loved ones for mission trips or to leave our secure environments to walk across the street or to drive across town to take the gospel to someone.
Over and over again the message from the Lord is go. [Mark 16:15] [Matt 28:19] [Matt 5:41] [Matt 10:6] [Matt 19:21] [Matt 26:36] [Mark 10:21] [Luke 7:22] [Luke 9:60] [Luke 10:3] We are called to go and proclaim, to go and sell, to go and pray, and to go and preach. The message reverberates through the ages. Don’t get too comfortable. Don’t get too settled because we must go. [Is 6:8] asks who will go? Throughout the ages people like William Carey, John G. Patton, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Lottie Moon, David Livingstone, David Brainerd, and many others have gone. They have surrendered their lives wholly to the Lord and they were called to go. Some to India, China, Africa, Native Americans, and the New Hebrides Islands.
I’m equally excited that people like Ren, Michael, Darrell, Linda, Leisha, Christi, Annette, Kainen, Courntey, Laura, and Haylee all have taken the Lord’s call to go to heart and they are willing to go on mission for the Him. I am equally thrilled that Darrell, Roy, Bob, Jennifer, and Larry went and are still going for the Lord in rebuilding houses for those whose houses burned in the fires back in February. I am grateful for those who go to the shut ins and those in the hospitals. I am thrilled that people all over the world are continually going.
My last official mission trip was back in March. It was very interesting to me as we were going through the airport in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to see a large group of people congregating in a circle and then they all bowed and prayed together. We learned later that those people were going on a mission trip somewhere. I found it exhilarating that as were ending our trip someone else was just starting theirs. It was like we were handing off the gospel baton to the next leg of the race and when they returned it was handed off to someone else. In this way, the gospel in being taken to the remotest parts of the earth. [Acts 1:8]
Where is God calling you to go? Where are you supposed to leave for a short time or perhaps permanently to be on mission for God? Is He calling you to go next door, down the street, across town, to another state or country? Is He calling you to go to your secret place to intercede for people? I know as sure as I write this He is calling you to go somewhere and to do something. Will you go? Will you throw off the illusions of safety and security and simply give the Lord your “yes”? He is a sending God and we are to be a going people.
I recently heard the story about a former missionary lady who was forced to retire when she turned seventy two! What did she do after that? For twenty more years she kept going any place the Lord would open doors for her to testify and teach for Christ. Some of that going was local and but often times she was called to go to other states to minister. When she turned ninety two she was invited back to the country she had labored for her Lord in more than forty years. She thought she would be forgotten but she was surprised when there was a large parade given in her honor. At ninety two she left the comforts of home to board a plane and literally fly to other side of the world. That inspires me. There is no retirement from going. We are go all our days as long as we are able.
When our bodies begin to break down and our health becomes feeble we can still go to the prayer closet and pray. I will say it again. There is no retirement from going. Who will go for the Lord? Where is He calling YOU to go next? He is a sending God and all our of days we are to be a going people.