The Brevity of Life

So much of what I write about comes out of my real life experiences. This entry will be no different. While eating breakfast with my wife this morning at one of the local cafés she received a phone call from a lady who needed counsel for a friend who just lost her fifteen year old daughter in a tragic car accident. When I got in my office later and checked my email I learned about another tragic death of a young college student in a car accident who was close friends with a young man from our church who attends that same college.
When we are in our teens, twenties, thirties, and forties and maybe into our fifties and sixties we rarely think about death and the truth that life is brief. I had a conversation with a man last night who thought he had cancer earlier in the year and had to come face to face with his own mortality. This seasoned man thought he was staring death right between the eyes and was visibly shaken by it all.
Life is not only brief but it is also fragile. Bones break, vital organs shut down, blood pressure rises and lowers, immune systems breakdown and eventually our bodies succumb to death. For many this will happen of natural causes as the body wears itself out and people fall into a peaceful and eternal sleep called death. Others die of horrific circumstances and with excruciating pain.
The question raised by both Christians and non-Christians in such times is where is God? Where is God when you watch someone you love deeply die an agonizing slow and painful death while you feel you are praying seemingly in vain and sitting by helpless? Where is God when tragedy strikes taking someone way too premature in our thinking leaving sorrow and confusion behind? Where is God when the death dew settles cold over the bodies of young and old alike?
You might be surprised by the answer. God is present. You want to know where He is? He is there. [Ps 139:16] tells us, “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” That means God was present at the birth of every single person who has ever lived. He was there before we were born shaping and molding individual lives with creativity and sovereign genius. He is there when new babies are born. He is there for those who rejoice in the new birth and He is there for those who grieve the heart wrenching losses of babies taken way too soon. He is there for the families who have special needs children. The important thing to remember is that He is there in the beginning.
He knows every day ordained for every person. He knows the ordinary and boring days that come and go filled with our routines and schedules. He knows the thrilling days when we rejoice over His bountiful blessings and life’s accomplishments. He is there in the days when our hearts are so overwhelmed with sorrow and the bitter bile of confusion and anger that eat away at not only our faith but our very souls. He is there when we express our doubts, frustrations, and our blinding grief.
He is also there in the end when life fades to death, when hope fades to despair, when care free living is displaced with a burden that buckles the knees. He is there as eternity becomes reality and life on this earth fades into shadows and dust. He is there when faith becomes sight and the glorious Lord Jesus is manifest physically before the eyes of those who have placed their trust and faith in Him to forgive their sin and transform their hearts. He is also present for those left to grieve and remember. He is there as a comforter in tragedies. He is there as hope for those having to relinquish their earthly grips on beloved spouses, parents, children, and friends.
Jesus, who is the great truth teller, did not sugar coat the reality that death does come for all through the pages of the scriptures. [Ps 90:10] “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away.” [Ps 90:12] “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” [Heb 9:27] “And inasmuch as it appointed for men to die once and after this comes the judgment.” [James 4:14] “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” [Ps 39:5-6] “Behold, You have made my days as hand breadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight, surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Surely every man walks about as a phantom; surely they make an uproar for things; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.” [Eccl 3:1-2] “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven – A time to give birth and a time to die;…”
Death is as much a part of life as birth is. We often choose to forget about it but time and time again we are shaken from our sluggish slumber through life and brought back to reality that life is fragile and brief. Sooner or later death hits close to home. Friends pass on and we attend their funerals. Spouses are torn from our lives after decades of marriage bliss. One day you wake up and realize that most of the people you love are on the other side of eternity.
My challenge for all of us is three fold. First, do not take life for granted. There is a day appointed for all of us to die. We do not know when that day will come for us or for those we love. Enjoy life and enjoy the ones you love. It could all end sooner than any of us think. Second, prepare your heart for eternity. I know there are many who will read this who do not think there is a heaven or a hell nor is there a God who judges. This is a huge gamble. If I am right and at the end of life there is judgment with eternal implications based on a person’s relationship with Jesus Christ and you ignored and denied this truth, you will have lost EVERYTHING and those you love who pass away will have lost everything. Read what Jesus said in [Jn 14:6]. What if I am wrong? I do not believe that for a second but for argument sake say I am wrong. What have I lost at death by putting my faith in Jesus Christ to forgive me and save me? Nothing. At worst I lived a morale life. At best I will spend eternity in Heaven loving, worshipping, and conversing with the Savior who gave my life purpose and meaning. One last thing to consider is, invest in the treasure of people and entrusted relationships more than in things or possessions. We don’t take those possessions with us. It all stays. It all breaks, wears out, and is temporary. Live life with those you love with no regrets.
Sooner or later the funeral home will be called to pick up your or my life less corpse. Family will gather to organize a funeral or memorial service. Caskets or cremation will be chosen. Some preacher will stand to preach and remember our lives. In that day, what do you want that preacher to say? As family and friends gather to mourn your passing, what do you want them to say about you? Live your life with that conversation in mind. Until then let us live while we live and remember the brevity of life while not taking that gift or others for granted.

Courage to Care

In this day of fast paced living and instant communication it is easy to grow callused about the needs of others. Though we have the technology to stay connected like never before it is amazing how many people are disconnected from one another and how few people really seem to care.
Take the man or woman who goes to work and finds multiple emails to respond to, receives phone calls all day long which need to be returned but keep him or her occupied from getting the rest of their work done, get dozens of text messages that need attention, and face the never ending onslaught of meeting on top of meeting which must be attended with cherry attitudes though hidden behind exhausted mental and emotional frames.
Even while driving in the sanctuary of our vehicles we can be interrupted by phone calls and text messages. By the time we get through the day and deal with our families we are emotionally depleted and want to sink into the refuge of our homes behind the computer, lost in a book, or vegetating in front of the television. Even at home the phone can keep ringing about work, school, church, and or needy friends who have a burden to share.
If we are not careful we can grow so hard hearted that we begin to resent the phone calls, the texts, the emails, and the constant demand for our attention. We can slowly drift toward isolation and an uncaring attitude toward family, co-workers, community members, and fellow Christians. If our hearts are not daily tenderized by the Holy Spirit we may begin to hate the continual pulls for our attention. We start to pull away people and withdraw into ourselves.
It takes courage to really care about people. How are you supposed to love, care, and offer compassionate counsel when your emotional reserves are depleted and you have nothing left to give? I have two simple suggestions. One is to simplify our lives. Did God ever intend for us to live at the paces we are living in this day and age? We equate being busy with being Godly but the truth is that many who are busy and overcommitted are coasting through life on spiritual fumes with little to no authenticity in their service or caring for others. We are so scheduled that we spend far too many days rushing from one appointment to the next with little to no down times in between. We hurry to meet this person, break the speed limit to get to the next meeting, keep our nose to the grind stones to meet deadlines, only to hurry home to get the kids to ball practice, all the while thinking about all the work still to be done. In the middle of this scenario somebody walks up to you with major troubles and tries to talk to you and you can only think about getting out of this conversation. It takes courage to deny yourself and to enter into another person’s private pain and really care to get involved.
With the RPM’s or our lives continually red lined or maxed out, we are headed for trouble. If we do not follow the example of Jesus who often withdrew from the crowds for spiritual replenishment and renewal [Mark 6:30-32] we will not care about others and grow to resent their intrusions into our lives. This is not the heart of Jesus. He often was interrupted by people with problems and time and time [Mark 5:1-42] again He cared, He loved, and He got involved. If we could simplify our lives, walk slower, care with more compassion, reflect deeper, listen longer, and build the buffers of silence and solitude into our lives more, perhaps we too would have the courage to care for others. It might start with driving a little slower and relaxing behind the wheel. It might involve scheduling some lunch dates alone in secluded places with the Lord. Maybe it might mean looking people square in the eye at the office or in the community and prayerfully asking God how you can help or minister to that person. We were not created to live at such highly stressful pace of lives. It affects our children as well. They crave the opportunity to stay at home and just be kids instead of always having to be on the go.
Think about the pace of life many decades ago. People walked more, took more time to visit with the neighbors, sat down for family meals more often, enjoyed Sunday afternoon drives, and shared their lives on more intimate levels. People laughed together, cried together, suffered together, rejoiced together, worked together, and courageously cared about one another. Today we do well to know even a few of our neighbors. We seldom have time for friends to come over and get so wrapped up in our own lives that we can be oblivious to the deep sufferings being experienced by those all around us.
If we could slow down long enough to walk slowly through the crowds and get our noses out of our Blackberries or I-phones we could start to really connect with people. This will not happen until we really are able to slow down the pace of our lives and simplify them. Slowing our lives down will not happen without intentional and determined effort. Living at a slower rhythm will take some adjustment and getting used to but I am convinced the rewards will be bountiful and we will be able to care for others like we have never been able to do before.
Read through the gospels. Jesus was a man on mission with purpose but He never seemed to be in a hurry. He always had time for people. Mainly people came to Him with problems; sickness, evil spirits, and sin. He always cared. His mission was giving glory to the Father through helping people. He spoke truth to people. He healed people. He counseled people. He loved people. He forgave people. He rebuked people. He made time for people. People were welcome intruders into His life. He walked slowly through the crowds and connected with people on deep emotional and spiritual levels. He cared.
There is a difference between Jesus and us. Jesus’ very nature was love. Ours is sinful and selfish. It still is. Loved oozed out of Jesus like water from an underground spring. It bubbled up because it was His nature. How do you find love like that? We are pretty good at offering superficial love but how do you love others on the deepest levels? Sadly, we can’t do it. Sooner or later we will come to an end of our emotional resources. There will come a day when we sigh and say to ourselves, “I have nothing left to give others.” Ahh! There is hope though.
We can courageously love and care for others when we let the love of Jesus, that is the love that originates from Jesus, consume and replenish us on a daily basis. We trade our burdens (our own and the burdens of others) for the deep reservoir of the love of Jesus and we love people with His supernatural love.
That kind of love is genuine. NO more faking care but we can offer people the true unconditional love we have drunk deeply for ourselves. We can care for others because Jesus enables us to care for them. We can connect with people and love them in spite of their faults because we have experienced His deep love in us and through us. He gives us the courage to care and the emotional stamina to get involved.
When we learn to simplify our lives and to love others through Jesus, I think life will take on a whole new meaning. Life will be more rewarding as we get connected with people and share life together.
If you are one of those people who resent the needs and demands of people let me encourage you to heed this little article and carve out time for seclusion to be refreshed by the Jesus who always loved courageously. Bask in His love like a person sun bathing. Once you have been filled with His love, pour out His love on others genuinely and then retreat to be filled again. How I pray this helps us to not only love and care but cause others to love and care for us when we find ourselves on the needing end. Lord, please give us courage to care for people like you did and like you still do.

One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days? I’m talking about one of those days when everything seems to be going against you. A day when the breakfast gets over cooked because you were in a hurry from over sleeping. A day when the button breaks on the shirt you took the cleaners. A day when you discover your child had homework they did not tell you about. A day when your hair has a mind of its own. I am referring to days when trials pound you one after the other.
There are days in this life when there are more trials than triumphs and more tears than celebrations. How do you handle the days when a routine doctor’s visit lands you in the hospital with a serious medical condition you did not previously know you had that has life long implications? How do you face the daily grind of emotional hurt inflicted on you by one you love so deeply and by one who professes to love you in return? How are you to cope with the stresses of financial pressures that mount each month as you walk the tight line of paying your bills on time and dealing with unexpected expenses?
Let’s face it. There are days when enduring the daily grind takes a physical and emotional toll. The Bible even has answers for days like that. First, the Bible tells us plainly that such days will occur from time to time. [Ps 30:5] “His anger is for a moment but his favor is for a lifetime, weeping may endure for a night but joy will come in the morning.” [Jn 16:33] “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have overcome the world.” Did you catch those two verses? There will be nights of weeping. In this world there will be days of suffering. As long as we live there will be those kinds of days.
How do we manage days and seasons when everything appears to be going against us? I would like to offer two suggestions taken from [Jn 16:33]. The first is to take what I call the long view of life. What I mean is that many of those bad days and seemingly insurmountable trials if they were looked at through the lens of an entire life time would not seem like such a big deal. When we are having bad days, enduring nights of weeping, or trudging through days of suffering, we can lose perspective and hope. The headache might seem like it will never end but it does eventually. The bad day fades into night and we get the chance at a fresh start with the dawn of the morning. Children grow up, sport seasons come to an end, and the bills get paid. The long view for the Christian includes the fact that God’s mercies are new every morning. [Lamentations 3:22-23] Each and every day God stands ready to pour out fresh mercies and blessings for each day. Taking the long view also reminds us that our trials are temporary though they may seem like they will never end. When I take the long view I know that bad days don’t last forever. As a Christian even if all my days are bad days on this earth I know that better days await me in eternity. The long view of not only life but of eternity tells me that better days will surely come if keep trusting and waiting.
The second reminder I would offer is that Jesus told us in [Jn 16:33] that in Him we would have peace or tranquility. This peace that He is talking about does not come through the rituals of empty religion but through relationship with Him. To say it another way this peace does not come from merely attending church but through being connected in a day to day walk with Jesus which starts at the moment of salvation. When Jesus is not only our Savior but also our partner in all of life, His peace, His calmness of mind and His tranquility of soul can help us not just endure but even conquer bad days and bad seasons. It is a matter of trusting even when we can’t see the light of joy which comes in the morning after the long night of weeping.
Regardless of how this day is turning out I encourage you to take the long view and find peace in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Bad days will not seem so bad anymore when you have Jesus’ perspective and His peace.

Never Alone

Have you ever felt like you were on the outside looking in? Maybe you are new to this community and you feel disconnected from all the traditions, history, and the social networks. Even though you are surrounded by people at work, ball games, school events, and perhaps even church, do you feel like you really do not belong and do not really fit in? It is extremely easy to suffer from what Pastor Randy Frazee calls “crowded loneliness” in his book Making Room for Life.
Crowded loneliness is defined by Frazee as being over committed and busy in our day to day lives that we do not have time for people. Though our schedules may include being surrounded by a lot of people, we may not feel connected to any of them and therefore feel a sense of isolation and detachment.
This happens all over Paradise. There are some who have never lived anywhere else and yet for most of their lives they have never felt like they belonged and were accepted. Others are new to this community and cannot seem to break into any of the social networks. This scene plays itself out on the play grounds at our schools, in the high school cafeteria, at the local cafes, in the work place, and sadly it can be found from time to time even in local churches. We were created with the desire to be connected to family and friends. People need to live in community (close relationships) with one another and when we do not something inside us dies a slow painful death.
Think back over the past two or three months to your most memorable and enjoyable experiences. How many of those included sharing those experiences with someone else. We were created to need companionship on different levels. We can experience this in our families, in friendships, in our community involvement, and with the people we work with. What if your family is dysfunctional? What if you have been burned by your friends and wounded so deeply you find it difficult to trust anyone with your heart? What if your work place is so cut throat that everyone is out for themselves and their own promotion regardless of who it hurts along the way? What if the very community you live in seems cold and uncaring?
I think this article is touching a nerve with many people. The feeling of being alone, isolated, disconnected, unloved, and unwanted affects far more of us, not only in Paradise but around the world, than we want to admit. We continue to do the dance of life, working, getting the kids to their next activity, making it to the next school function, all the while feeling alone or too overwhelmed and overcommitted to get involved with people on a deep level. We are too busy to be known and loved and too busy to love and to know those we live in this community with.
[Prov 17:17] A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time. The word “friend” in this verse could be translated as intimate companion. Whom do you have on this journey that walks with you and knows all about you? Who knows your private pain and loves you through it to healing? What friend has seen you at your very worst and chooses to love you with no strings attached? How I pray each person reading this could know the power and the liberation of being in friendship with people who love us at all times. We need to be friends for others willing to love in the good times as well as the bad times. I am so grateful that I have a series of friendships that are deep, authentic, and loving. They have stood with me in every season of life and they have proven loyal companions. I owe them more than I can say. I also want to be that type of friend for others who will love at all times. This requires time, trust, and being vulnerable. While doing the dance of life it easy to keep people at a distance, smiling, appearing friendly but never being open with our lives and not caring to connect with others on a deep level. When others begin to pry and get too close we often twirl away from them and away from true transparency. That is why so many relationships in our social networks are superficial.
The word “brother” in the above mentioned passage can have two different meanings. The first meaning can be translated sibling or having the same parents. It is tragic that so many families are divided. Brothers and sisters do not love nor like one another. Yet, on the other hand there are many families who are close knit. They stick together like glue and face tragedy and triumph together. The second meaning of the word “brother” means from the same tribe, or for our purposes today, from the same community.
Paradise has proven we can come together when adversity comes like we did when the fires blazed a path through several homes back in February. This community rallied to meet both immediate and long term needs of the victims on some level. We came together to love with no strings attached. If we can do that in the face of such adversity I know we can do that on a daily basis with our neighbors and with people we come in contact with regularly.
Nobody should have to endure life alone. The elderly who face failing health and feeble bodies who have been the pillars of this community should have to live out their last days alone. New mothers should not have to face the exhaustion of raising an infant or toddler alone. The overworked father should not have to live life without deep connected friendships. The downcast and troubled hearted should have not have to face their private pain alone. The widow and widower should not be left to grieve their loss alone. We MUST COME TOGETHER and become a community of deeply connected souls. We must not leave people to forge through the difficulties of life alone.
For those of you who feel abandoned, neglected, and forsaken I leave you with these parting words. Jesus is a friend to the friendless. He is companion who will stick to you closer than any other. He loves without conditions and yet refuses to lower His standards or make excuses for our sin and flaws. Jesus never fails and never forsakes. He knows our thoughts and has numbered the very hairs on our heads. He is peace in chaos, truth in confusion, and light in the darkness. When we have Jesus, though all others may abandon us, we will never be alone.

The Glory

Shoulder pads and helmets will be strapped and donned to take the field of glory,
Numbered jerseys will display those who will determine the game’s final outcome,
Who will step up and make the game changing play – writing the end of the story?
What selfless block laid on a defender downfield will result in a touchdown long run?
What all out hustle on a punt or kickoff will jolt the ball from the arms of the contender?
What bone jarring tackle will result in both pain and fear in the psyche of the others?
Who will set the tone on the first play of the game blasting through all the defenders?
Who will be a unified stone wall unable to be penetrated as a band of brothers?
Who will grab hold of the pass that at first seems too distant – too far out of reach?
Who will sacrifice their body and play with heart and soul leaving all on the line?
Which one will step up when fatigue makes others coward and willingly accept defeat?
Which ones will play with heart from the first play until there is no longer any time?
Most importantly of all, as you stride the battle field like gladiators clad in green,
As you play for the glory of parents, self, and the pride of grand old Paradise,
When the game is over and score board fades, what does all of it really mean?
Was it worth all the running, practicing, lifting iron, was it worth all the sacrifice?
I challenge you men on this game to play for something grander than all the above,
Play like warriors who will never quit, never ease up, who will never ever surrender,
Play for the champion Jesus who died cruelly and brutally to demonstrate His love,
Play for His glory so that when the game and your career end – His name is remembered,
Enjoy this game called football – play with all your heart, passion and all your power,
Play for God’s glory – play with souls possessed by a greater power found within,
Not this game or any other - but knowing the champion Jesus will be your finest hour,
Play for the fame of His name and He will give you all the needed strength to contend.

Peace Be Still

[Mark 4: 39-40] And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was great calm. Then He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? Do you still have no faith?”


I awoke early this morning and slipped on some clothes to get an early start at the office. As I stepped down off our front porch in the darkness, I felt a rain drop pelt my head and then my arms. With each step the rain drops fell more frequently and heavily. I managed to get in my truck before being deluged.
I backed out of the driveway and drove the short distance to my office having to use my wind shield wipers for the first time in a long time. As I drove the rain became more intense. Once reaching the parking lot I raced from my truck to the front door with some books in hand trying to keep them dry. When I sat down at my desk I immediately went online and checked the weather radar. Heading our way was a major rain storm and I had only felt the first drops of the leading edge. The front setting off the storm on the radar stretched from Tulsa, OK all the way south of Austin. The radar was bright with the colors green, red and yellow indicating the severity of the storm. The approaching tempest took me by surprise as I had not watched the weather report the past several days.
Life can be like that too. Storms can suddenly pound our lives like Hurricane Ike pounded the Gulf Coast region only weeks ago. I am referring to storms like bad health, dysfunction in families, financial devastation, and emotional trauma. There are others to be sure. The storms of life are not respecter of persons. They can pummel the poor and the rich, the long time Paradise residents as well as the “move ins”, the influential as well as those living in obscurity. These storms impact young and old, the religious and nonreligious. No one is exempt.
Life’s storms can come in the form of emotional trauma over losing a spouse way too soon and being forced to learn how to endure life alone. They come in the shape of relational conflict with others or more subtly disguised as a string of bad luck like broken down vehicles, house repairs, and minor sicknesses. Multitudes clench their fists and through grinding teeth blame and curse God. Accusations are hurled at Him that He does not care about people and that He must not be in control.
This was the disciple’s attitude toward Jesus while He slept in the midst of a storm out on the sea. The disciples blamed Jesus of not caring that they were about to die. The truth is they were not about to die. Jesus was and still is firmly in control even though it may not look that way from our perspective.
That is when Jesus simply spoke these words, “Peace! Be still!” The word peace translates as “hush, stillness, involuntary stillness” while the words be still translate as “muzzle.” If He was able to calm and muzzle a physical thunderstorm can He not also do that in the storms we face whether they come unexpectedly or not. He is more than sufficient to still our hearts in the midst of chaos. He is able to muzzle the storms we face and provide our souls with tranquility when all else is unraveling at the seams.
Jesus questions to the disciples are still relevant for us today. Why are we so afraid? Why do we not have faith? If you could see your storm from God’s perspective or see it like radar on a screen you would see that storms have a beginning and ending. Even as I finish writing this article the radar tells me the thunderstorm outside is more than half way over. In less than hour the winds will become calm, the rain will cease, and the thunder will fade away in the distance. We can trust Jesus in the storms of our lives to bring calmness and stillness to our situations but to also give us the strength to endure them.
I’d like to conclude this article with a poem written by William Cowper well over 200 years ago. The storm Cowper faced was chronic depression. He battled it his whole life, attempting suicide on numerous occasions and spending time in an insane asylum. Cowper penned these words after coming through a dark storm of melancholy. “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. You fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.”

Fighting Hypocrisy

One of the meanings of hypocrisy is to be an actor or pretender. It is tragic that our churches are filled with so many people acting more spiritual on Sundays than they are the rest of the week. Sin is consuming the house of God. There is very little difference in the way people live who are without Christ than those people who faithfully attend church week after week. The moral lines have been blurred by the world and the church but not by God or His word!
My heart is pained and grieved to know the things so called Christians get wrapped up in. Adultery, fornication, pornography, drug addictions, lying, cheating, and every other sin known to man. When will it stop? When will the church start holding other Christians accountable for their actions outside church? How long will wickedness be tolerated in the leadership of our congregations as we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that we don’t know anything.
When hypocrisy is tolerated in the church, it discredits and undermines all we are doing. The lost world cannot hear the truth we are preaching due to the lies they see in pretender’s lives. Where is integrity in the church? Where is accountability? Do these things matter anymore? They matter to God and therefore should matter to the rest of us.
Jesus had some harsh words for people living in hypocrisy. “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are filled with robbery and self indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it will become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s and all uncleanness. Even so, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” [Matt 23:25-28]
Jesus was calling those people to repentance and integrity. Shall we not do the same? It is not a fun task confronting people in their sin but James also addresses this issue. “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” [James 5:19-20]
To do that takes courage. It takes courage to hold someone accountable for the way they are living their life. If you do the confronting, you had better have your own life in order or you will have no authority whatsoever. It is easier to pretend like nothing happened. Yet, our Christ is shamed by what many people see in the lives of Christians and the reputation of His church is harmed. This is a very serious matter. So serious in fact, that the Lord at times has taken drastic measures. In some instances people have been expelled from church until there was genuine repentance. [I Cor 5:1-5] At other times the Lord actually took people to Heaven [I Jn 5:16-17]
Hypocrisy is not to be continually tolerated in the house of God. Now, let me say, none of us is perfect. I am not talking about the person who blows it every now and then. I am referring to the pretender who knowingly, willingly, and rebelliously continues in a sinful lifestyle while maintaining an act at church. This kind of hypocrisy must be opposed at all costs. There are some things laid out in scripture on how this could take place.
First, if someone is a true child of God and living in blatant hypocrisy, the chastisement and discipline of the Lord will be on this person. [Heb 12:5-6]
Because of God’s great love for His children, He will chastise and discipline. If a person does not experience nor acknowledge this chastisement from the hand of the Lord it very well may be that they are lost and not legitimate children of God saved through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The end result of this chastisement from the Lord is to bring the fruit of righteousness and repentance in His children and salvation to the one who is without Christ.
Second, how can true Christians watch our brothers and sisters in Christ fall away and do nothing about it? If you love someone, you must get involved and confront, love, speak truth, pray. Love motivates and compels people to take action. I would not knowingly watch my child run into harm’s way and do nothing.
We live on a major highway. All day and all night, rock and gravel eighteen wheel trucks zoom past my house with the only thing separating them from my front yard being a chain link fence. If I were sitting on my front porch one day watching my children play and a ball bounced over the fence and one my sons went out the gate and onto the highway and into oncoming traffic to retrieve the ball and I sat by idly not saying a word while watching my son be demolished, what kind of father would I be? In the same vein, what kind of friends, or church family are we to sit back in silence and say nothing or do nothing when we see loved ones straying into sin? Love demands action.
We need active believers who will contend for the faith and who are willing to stand for truth even if that means standing alone. Believe me. It may very well come to that. No one may stand with you. You may be labeled as “holier than thou”, “judgmental” and “condemning” but is truth and are the people we love in our lives worth fighting for? Is Jesus Christ worthy fighting for and opposing hypocrisy at every turn? Is the church worth contending for? If not, what are we doing? We are wasting our time and mindlessly going through religious repetition. No wonder the lost world does not take us seriously because we do not take the truth of God’s word seriously. We must stand and fight hypocrisy.
Some time ago I set an appointment with a brother in Christ for one reason. He was living in sin and God called me to confront him in love and yet in truth about his life. We sat over eggs for breakfast in a secluded restaurant with my asking penetrating question after question until he admitted his lifestyle was not honoring to God. I challenged him to repent and get back on track. Yet, I also looked this young man in the eyes and told him I loved him and wanted to be there for him.
During the course of our conversation he told me how other Christians had mostly abandoned him. He told me how he was isolated and talked about but rarely talked to. What a lesson for us to learn. Wayward and hypocritical Christians need confrontation and tough love, not isolation and rumors.
I urge you with all my might to stand for truth and to fight hypocrisy. Let our churches become filled with real people serving a real God and giving real service and worship back to Him. I’ll see you on the battle lines.

Consumed

The fire of your presence falls - consuming this life of mine,
The dross burns away – making way to let your glory shine,
Consumed by the weight of your presence in this place,
Blinded by the brilliance and majesty of your face,
Hearts rekindled which have far too long burned cold,
Coward hearts who need your touch now become bold,
Your glory saturates and drenches the house of the Lord,
All are consumed and humbled by the one we adore,
No priest or preacher needed to exalt you in your glory,
No minister needed this day as you tell your own story,
Knees bowed to the floor – humbled by sin - in need of grace,
Worship turned to sacrifice in a divinely appointed embrace,
Consumed to follow, to be a vessel molded in God’s hand,
Harnessed to the gospel – plowing and planting through the land,
Consumed by you and for the glory of your exalted name,
Consumed by the mission of spreading Jesus’ fame
No other purpose – no other desire – satisfies my soul
Than being consumed by the only one who makes me whole

Don't Quit

I couldn’t sleep early this morning so I climbed out of bed and made my way to the living room where I flipped on the television and began surfing channels. I was going through the religious channels when I noticed a familiar face preaching to a vast audience. At first, I was unsure if I recognized the preacher but soon his familiar voice distinguished his identity. He is the pastor of a multi-thousand member congregation and a prolific author. I have all his books and have read all of them but one and some of them several times over, and the only reason I have not read the one is because I have not purchased it yet.

I sat spell bound in the wee hours of the morning as he preached a message about Christians talking to non-Christians about their relationship with the Lord. I was especially taken in by a story he told concerning one of his neighbors. The preacher was taking out the trash one evening when he noticed a new neighbor also taking out his trash. The Holy Spirit prompted the preacher to walk across the street to meet this man. It was frigid outside but the pastor obeyed. This led to a six year relationship. The neighbor let the pastor know up front that he had not attended church in his adult life and had no plans of doing so in the future. The two rode motorcycles together and developed a real friendship. The pastor love and prayed and waited for God to open the door.

The pastor invited the neighbor to church on Easter and the man attended on Easter Sunday along with his family. He did not come back the following week, or the next, or next, and so on. The pastor invited his friend back to church on Christmas. He again attended and enjoyed the service. Periodically this continued, until the neighbor accepted Christ as His Savior six long years later. Now this well to do business man is serving the Lord in the very church he had wanted nothing to do with before. God still does that. He uses our meager efforts and through the work of the Holy Spirit draws people continually to Himself. What a joy to get to be a part of that.

I was deeply moved by this story and needed to hear it. It was a gentle reminder to not give up on people I love and care about and pray for continually. There are friends and family that we must love into the kingdom even it means years of rejection go before us. But it is easy to get discouraged with each refusal. [Gal 6:9] is good medicine for the soul.

So once again, I issue the challenge for each of you to continually cultivate relationships with people who may not know Jesus. I urge you to pray with all the faith you have and to not give up on them. Who knows, maybe six years from now those same people will be transformed by the power of Jesus and serve Him with passion for the remainder of their days. “Let us not lose heart in doing good for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” [Gal 6:9]

Unleashed

I spent the past week in Abilene, TX preaching to a group of students in the eleventh grade. Our time together was very intense and I think very profitable. The theme for the camp was “Unleashed”. This theme has really resonated in my heart. Even though I am home now, I know this theme holds something beyond camp for me personally.
What would happen if you and I could really be unleashed in the power of the Spirit? I think most of us are on the complete opposite end of things. We are leashed, constrained, restrained, and held back by our own doubts, religion, the opinions of men, and our own fears.
When I read about the apostles and other disciples in the book of Acts, I see them as unleashed, let loosed, and set free. They experienced more of God and witnessed more of the power of God through them in a few months than many of us will experience in a lifetime as we remain leashed to those things that hold us back.
If we continue to live leashed year after year, we will continue to see the same mediocre commitments and the same half hearted passion for God. We will continue to see the tragedy of 88% of our teenage graduates forsaking the church after high school. We will continue to see baptisms statistics going down as they are currently.
What is keeping you leashed and held back from being all you can be for God and more importantly all He has intended and designed you to be. [Eph 2:10] “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Ponder this for a season. We were created, formed and fashioned for God’s good works. God created us to be unleashed for good works. It was His plan from the beginning of time. Somewhere along the way, we became too tamed and domesticated. Maybe it was because we heard people along the way tell us we could not really make a difference. Maybe it was because did not see anyone really being unleashed around us.
I will never forget a conversation I had like that as a brand new believer. I was talking with some ministers and listening to them talking about our sin plagued town. In my youthful exuberance I stated that we needed to stand and change our town. They laughed and told me I was young and that I would learn one day I couldn’t really change my town much less the world.
That conversation took place twenty one years ago and the pain of their words still hurt my heart. But I have rejected those words. I still believe that God working through me can change one heart and one life at a time. That is why I continue to pray, to preach, and to write. That is why No Compromise Ministries has been reborn and unleashed. We fully expect to change the world and expand God’s Kingdom one heart and one life at a time.
God chose and prepared the good works that you and I have been appointed to do. Not just to sit around and dream about but to actually walk in them and to do them. God is unleashing bold witnesses to see the lost saved. God is unleashing titans in prayer to believe Him for the impossible. God is unleashing men to be warriors in their homes who reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously and trust the Lord for the reward.
The Lord has been planting huge dreams in my heart for this ministry these past few months. I am humbled as I am watching Him unleash us to do all of them. I believe the Lord in unleashing this ministry in ways we have never been unleashed before.
You were born in Christ to be unleashed from mediocre meandering in your walk with the Lord. You are being unleashed to commune with Christ at the deepest levels of your being. You are being unleashed to impact those around you in your family and community. You are being unleashed to live courageously as the Lord calls you to run toward risk. You are being unleashed to possess dreams He has planted in your heart that you thought were long dead. You are being unleashed from the prison of dead, stale, dry religion to walk, live, and minister in freedom. You are being unleashed from the impossible as you walk in the possible.
If your eyes are scanning the words of this message you have not been forgotten. God has something to unleash each of us to do. Preach. Write. Teach. Raise children. Lead your family. Sing. Worship. Lead. Learn. Trust. Work. Travel. Move. You are being unleashed from living in the religious rut and falling into mindless repetition and routine week after week.
God created you for so much more. The muzzle has been taken off, the chains no longer hold us back. We have been unleashed to be everything and to do everything God intended for us. Who will believe this by faith and possess your God ordained destiny? Who will refuse to live beneath God’s best for your life? It will take courage to step out of the safety of the leash and the confines of the yards we have been restrained in. God has a whole world of ministry opportunities and possibilities. Will you listen for His voice of guidance and pursue those dreams with intensified discipline? Will you refuse to live another day leashed by what others think, leashed to the wineskins of religion, and leashed to your own fears that hold you back. Even if none go with you, will you not follow in the footsteps of apostles and walk unleashed in the power of God. Will you be one who bears much fruit in your life and therefore also brings much glory to God? [Jn 15:8] That is what you were divinely designed for. This is your God ordained destiny. All that is left is for you to believe and to follow God into those works chosen for you before the foundations of the world.

Prayer

It was bitter cold February Friday morning. I had made arrangements with one of our church members to take a prayer walk on his property. I bundled up in layers of t-shirt, sweatshirt, and a heavy coat along with gloves to combat the brisk biting north winds. I snaked my way across a dried up stream and around a grove of trees toward a pond and eventually stood in the back corner of the boundary of his property. I turned around and stood there praying. The view was breathtaking. I did not move for some time taking in the sights and praising God. I turned to look behind me beyond the barbed wire fence. I saw another pasture with a few cows and some horses and began to meditate on the boundaries we have in life. I wanted to keep walking beyond the fence but the fence served as on obstacle to stand in my way.
I decided to meander my way to the other side of his property walking along the fence line continuing to seek the Lord. Then I noticed it. In the far opposite corner was a gate but I could tell if it was gate to my friend’s property or to someone else’ property. Upon closer examination I discovered the fence was on my friend’s land. In actuality that fence was not a boundary at all. It was an obstacle but all I had to do with walk through the gate and I had access to another forty plus acres of fields and forest. I walked with the Lord for nearly an hour that day and toward the end I sensed the Lord speaking to me. “Prayer is the gateway to enlarged borders.”
While walking, I prayerfully focused on four major things that are absolutely impossible to be accomplished unless God intervenes. I look across the fence with my spiritual eyes and cast longing glances for each of these things. By faith I can see each of them but when I look with my physical eyes all I can see is the barbed wire fence of impossibility that stands in my way. Each of the four prayer emphasis would take some of the most dramatic movement of God I will have ever seen. Doubters are plenteous. The mountains are mammoth. IMPOSSIBILITIES are written with intimidation across the fences of each. The gates remain firmly shut and all I can do is pray and wait. Will I wait in faith and pray with confident expectation or will I allow doubt to rein supreme on the throne of my heart? God’s gentle reminder to me that wintry morning is the same reminder we all need. Prayer is the gateway to watch impossibilities fall prostrate at the feet of our Sovereign Lord.
“With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God” [Mark 10:27] “For nothing will be impossible with God” [Luke 1:37] “Ah Lord God! Behold you have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” [Jer 32:17] “But He said, ‘The things impossible with men are possible with God.” [Luke 18:27]
The promises are in place and only need to be connected with confident praying to watch miracles take place and gates to open right before our very eyes. Believing that I am praying according to the will of God [I Jn 5:14-15], I expect to see God open the gates on the following, to provide Brenda and I with our own home without going into debt, to see the Lord grow FBC Paradise to a minimum of 1,000 in attendance, for the Lord to open shut doors for the publication of my books (especially Behold the Faithfulness of God), and to watch the Lord open strategic doors for me to minister at Pastor’s Conferences and Bible conferences all over the nation and world. Like I said up front, each one of these things has impossibility written all over it by this world but I trust the signature of God underneath each one which says, “With Me all things are possible.” [Luke 18:27] Through prayer, God is able. He is able to open shut doors. He is able to make abundant provision. He is able to save the lost and break through the hardest heart. He is able to meet any need, to lead us through any gate to expand our borders for ministry. He is able to show favor with publishers and He is able to get these books all around the world. Prayer is the gateway beyond the impossible.
I choose to pray and wait in faith and to behold God’s faithfulness again. Would you believe us? I’ll be glad to believe you. Each Monday night we have people who pound the doors of Heaven. If you email your prayer requests, we will believe for you as well. Send your prayer requests to pastorfbcparadise@embarqmail.com. Join me as I walk through to the promised land of God’s miracle land of milk and honey.

Hope for the Hopeless

[Ps 42:5] “Why are you in despair O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.”


I saw the desperation in a father’s eyes as he walked down an aisle in a small country church far from here near Lake Sam Rayburn. He walked up to me after the sermon I had preached and asked me if I would pray for his young married daughter who was the mother of three. She had cancer and this loving father was asking me to pray for a miracle for his daughter. Here was a man trying to cling to hope in a hopeless situation.

I knelt by another man’s bed side holding his hand as he labored to breathe. He was dying and he knew it. He asked me to pray that he would remain strong in his faith until the very end. We took his hopeless chronic condition and went to God pleading for hope. Hope to endure in the faith. We rejoiced in the hope of Heaven. This scene repeated itself several more times until this larger than life man was taken from us. In a hopeless situation this man never lost hope.

I watched a different man in a worship service recently sinking under the weight of the world seemingly sitting on his shoulders. Though a man’s man in every way, on this day the pressures of life were so burdensome on his soul, he sat in a pew with his head and heart bowed to God in a desperate plea for help. He was crying out for hope. I watched his countenance change by the end of that service as this warrior in the faith received the tender and loving touch of his Heavenly Father and left with hope renewed.

Just yesterday morning I saw another man at the end of his wits kneeling at the front of the church to unload his burdens to the Lord during a worship service pleading for hope to carry on. In life this man carries a lot of authority but yesterday he was just another child before God needing help and hope.

Everywhere you go people are in need of hope. We can live without a lot of things but to live without hope is a cruel punishment few can endure. What is causing you to despair and lose hope? You don’t have to look around long to find reasons. There are hopeless situations everywhere. This is problem that dates back to biblical times. The psalmist experienced it well when he wrote Ps 42:5. He knew the dark dungeon of depression and how it strangles hope in the heart. The writer knew the agony of feeling backed into a corner with no way of escape and as a result hope oozed from his heart like water out of a bucket with a hole in the bottom.

Even in the middle of feeling hopeless the psalmist counsels himself as well as the rest of us with, “Hope in God.” The word hope in this verse means to wait patiently on God and to expect God to come and help. That might sound easy as words splashed in black ink on a page but in real life it is a little more difficult. How do you hope in someone you can’t see, can’t prove exists scientifically, and who seems so far removed from the hopeless situations in our lives? How do you maintain hope in someone who remains silent in times when you most need Him? Many of you have waited on God and it seems you have waited in vain because you did expect Him to come through and it appears He let you down. Appearances can be deceiving.

Suffice it to say that multitudes have thought God had abandoned them in their hour of crisis only to find in hindsight God was there providing strength, comfort, support, provision, and yes hope too. God is the one who grants you the optimism that better days are coming, things are going to turn around, crisis will pass, and to hope again. God does not fail His children when they are most in need of help and hope. He does not leave us high and dry in our most critical times of need. [Ps 50:15] [Ps 46:10] In difficult times He is very present and He is our helper. I urge you to take your troubles and roll them on to God’s massive shoulders today and trade your despair for His hope. Let Him turn your perspective from despair and gloom to optimism and expectation. Like the old song says, “Let us have a little talk with Jesus and tell Him all about our troubles and He will answer by and by. Just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.” A little talk with Jesus can restore hope for the hopeless soul.