"Faith is My Life - But One Day I Must Die"

One of the priceless privileges I have been granted numerous times over the years is the opportunity of sitting beside a fellow traveler on this road of faith as they breathed their final breaths. The faces and words of some of those special men and women flood my mind right now. You would expect to hear words of anxiety or anger or sadness. But, here's the really big blessing I have witnessed over and over - NEVER have I seen a person of true faith die in fear. Here is one sister's story that she would definitely want me to share with you.
I was called to her home late one afternoon by her sister who had come to her bedside from a small town in Tennessee. She had been battling cancer for months and her doctor finally sent her home, at her insistence, when they had exhausted every avenue of a possible cure. The experience had literally exhausted her physically and emotionally. She had lived alone for many years following the death of her husband, and neither of her two estranged children wanted anything to do with her. Her very sweet, loving sister came to be with her.
I sat down by her bed, took her hand and she opened her eyes and weakly smiled. She said "Thank you for coming. I'm sure you know I am dying and I just need to hear some words of reassurance from God. I'm not really afraid but I don't really want to die. But I am excited about seeing Jesus."
I opened my Bible and read these words to her:

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.
Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith and not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:1-7 NIV

This dear sister began to breathe easier as I prayed for her with gentle tears running down both our cheeks. She let out a very long sigh. Her sister had sat down with us on the other side of the bed and reached out to hug her. They began to quietly whisper their love for each other so after having been there more than an hour, I excused myself and left with instructions to call my office if she needed me further. She died that day in the early evening. Her sister told me later it was a blessing from God to have been there with her.
Three key words should reverberate in your spirit:

• GUARANTEE - the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us what he promised
• ALWAYS CONFIDENT - because of God's guarantee which we receive through the Spirit
• KNOW - is a function of the faith that God has made me for a higher purpose than death.

Living by faith will not prevent our physical death - that event is destined to occur. In fact, it must occur for us to be "clothed with our heavenly dwelling". The really difficult part isn't dying, or at least that is how I view it right now since I'm not staring death in the face. Probably the most difficult part is getting there. Most often the body fights to live, so dying can be a painful, long process and our whole healthcare system is set up to prolong life at all cost.
Now please don't derail your life by obsessing about dying. Think about it, yes, but not to the point that you fail to, as Paul said later, "So we make it our goal to please him whether we are at home in the body or away from it." 5:9 Death is merely a function of life, but there is much more after that event which our Father will only make known to us at that time.
Why have I NEVER seen a person of real faith die in fear? I really don't know how to answer that, but I suspect there may be a point in there somewhere when Jesus shows up and holds out his nail scarred hands and gently says, "Come on, it's okay I've already walked this road. You'll be fine."

Until next time keep shouting HALLELUJAH!

"Jars of Clay"

You may not be as enamored of history as me, and I hope the first part of this post won't bore you enough to quit reading, but I'll risk it if you will. The history of your earliest brothers and sisters is an important element in understanding your Christian roots, so I want to share a few facts that will set the stage for this installment of our discussion of "Faith is My Life".
The first 30 or 40 years of Christianity were characterized by persecution and threats, but that came virtually entirely from the Jews who viewed their Jewish brothers who embraced Jesus as Lord as both spiritual and national traitors. The Roman occupiers of Judea pretty much ignored the Jews and lumped the new Christians and Jews together. In fact most of those early followers of Jesus were Jews so the Roman attitude was understandable.
However, with the reign of the Emperor Nero that changed drastically.
In July 64 AD, a very serious, six day fire broke out in the heart of Rome that destroyed nearly half of the city. Some of the citizens began to accuse Nero of actually causing the fire because he immediately began to clear the debris to begin construction on a new palace and gardens on the 300 acre burn site. What follows is an account written by a Roman historian named Tacitus. He was 9 years old at the time of this great fire and witnessed what he describes in his Annals, written around 116 AD, he observed:

"To get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our Procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was made of all who pleaded guilty; then upon their information, AN IMMEMENSE MULTITUDE (emphasis mine) was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their death. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt to serve as nightly illumination when daylight had expired."

Do you need to go back and read that again?! I'm not sure how many "an immense multitude" would be but I know it's probably beyond any accounting ability of that era. Nero wasn't the first Emperor to persecute Christians but he was most likely the cause of more Christians deaths than all of his predecessors combined. He set in motion a wave of persecution that lasted for centuries.
When Paul wrote his 2 Corinthian letter, likely in the Fall of 56 AD, being a Christian was risky, as the early waves of persecution began to flex some serious muscle. Paul addresses that risk in a very unique way:

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness", made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 2 Corinthians 4:4-7 NIV
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 4:16-18

God has invested his "treasure", the good news about his Son, in "jars of clay", that's you and me, to prove his love for his human creation. We all are fragile, imperfect, flawed and just common, ordinary vessels but we house a precious treasure from heaven.
I realize some of you are being challenged by life circumstances that can appear insurmountable at worst and just depressing at the least. There are still countries and areas of countries where being a Christian is still risky, even a death sentence. Please try to see beyond whatever circumstance is threatening you now, and just allow faith to rise in your spirit. You are a "jar of clay" but God has entrusted you with a treasure that far outweighs your circumstance - if you can believe it.
Take a deep breath, go stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself, face-to-face, that you are a reflection of the glory of God and because of Jesus, you now are an imperfect vessel that literally contains the treasure of heaven.

Until next time please keep letting God's glory shine through you.

"Faith is my Life!" #2

Living by faith is a huge daily opportunity and challenge for all of us. Here's why:

• We live in a dual reality that is both physical (what is around us 24/7/365), and spiritual (what we can't see, touch, hear etc.)
• The two will eventually collide in every person's life because faith will be challenged by a present, surprising reality
• Faith is often illogical and may not make much sense when it collides with physical reality, in fact if it did always make sense, it wouldn't really be faith
• The ability to "see" what you can't "see" is a learned discipline because living by faith is a choice we must intentionally make,
• God knew this would happen so he sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter.

In the Old Testament, when Moses went up on Mt Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments written in stone by the very finger of God, something remarkable occurred. As God spoke with him, his face began to reflect the glory of God. When he came down from that encounter, he carried the two tablets of stone and his face glowed with the "shekinah", the glory of God. But, the glory was beginning to fade so Moses put a veil over his face to speak God's words to the Israelites.

 

Paul refers to this incident to make a point about Living by Faith with the help of the Holy Spirit:

 

"Now if the ministry that brought death (those Ten Commandments), which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness. For what was glorious (Moses' face) has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts. THEREFORE, since we have such a hope, we are very bold." 2 Cor 3:7-12 NIV

 

But he isn't finished, he's just warming up. Keep reading:

 

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being changed (transformed) into his likeness with ever increasing (degrees of) glory which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 3:17-18

 

Now, take a deep breath and just let that sink in for a moment. He's talking about YOU and ME and every person who is being transformed by the glory of Jesus Christ, everyone who is walking with Jesus as a living breathing representative of the "shekinah" of God. Is that way more information than you wanted to know? Wonderful! Your faith has collided with your reality of life. But, don't start getting nervous or fearful, rejoice that through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, you can actually become the true reflection of Jesus in your world. HALLELUJAH!

 

Hear Paul again as he concludes his train of thought and instruction:

 

"THEREFORE (any time you see this word in scripture, pay attention to what it's 'there for') since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not distort the word of God." 4:1-2

 

So here it is in a nutshell:

God has commissioned his Spirit to train each of us to become a replica, actually the Greek word also means a statue, of his One and Only Son and reflect his glory in our world. The Spirit does this in what should be thought of as "ever increasing degrees" of transformation. We are at different stages in this process but rest assured, God is at work in your life every day. Unlike the "glory" that shone from Moses' face, the glory God has given you will NOT fade but only grow brighter. HALLELUJAH!

 

Until next time, go on about your life and be God's glory!





"Faith Is My Life!"

Here's a question to open up your spirit today - think it through:

"WHAT IN MY LIFE ACTUALLY DEFINES ME?"

A few suggestions you might consider:

• Ancestry/Ethnicity - who I came from and how that may have shaped who I am
• Social Network - those I rely on for encouragement and help me stay grounded - or not
• Family traditions - holiday celebrations, birthdays, deaths, politics, religion
• Self Image - who I think I am
• Physical appearance - the mirror doesn't lie
• Personal experiences - successes, challenges, disappointments, failures, hopes, dreams

In truth, all of these, in obvious and not-so obvious ways, have made all of us who we are. Over time we become the product of a sometimes confusing mix of all of them. Please realize that I am not a certified professional in the mental health disciplines, don't really want to be. I'm just a guy who has spent virtually all of my adult life learning from the Creator of all that is and with the help of his Spirit, pointing others to a life that truly is life. Many good people I have known in my half century of teaching/counseling ministry have had to look seriously at where they are and how they got there. Like some of those folks, you too may have to confront each of those areas that have and still are defining you. Now that you have confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord/Master, you will want to allow him to become the primary defining influence in your life. If you're not really there yet, be patient.

A few years ago Thom Rainer, President/CEO of Lifeway Christian Research surveyed 1200 millenials between 1980 and 2000. He published his research in a book - "The Millenials - Connecting To America's Largest Generation". Here are some of statistical results:

• 72% affirmed they are more 'spiritual' than religious
• 70% "church today is irrelevant"
• 65% "rarely/never attend a church"
• 75% "reared in an unchurched family"
• 26% "I will go to heaven"

I will not make any attempt to analyze what those numbers might mean but urge you to come to your own conclusions about how we (all of God's human family) understand him. For all of us who are seriously attempting to follow Jesus there is a greater agenda, a much larger possibility offered to us by God. It truly is a "Grand Canyon" experience.

I believe Paul states that possibility in a simple but profound way:

"We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. All this is from God who reconciled us (brought us back) to himself through Christ." 5:17

Let's think of it in a more personal way - "Faith is my Life!"

This perception of my life, as God the Father envisioned it for me, is a foundational teaching of Jesus and all of his Apostles. But, like happens today too, those Corinthian disciples had gotten distracted from who they really were by the social, political, familial, self serving loyalties they had grown up with. The church at Corinth was still a struggling baby, trying to fit their old ways of thinking and acting into this new way of life, but it obviously wasn't working. It wont work for us either.

So, I want you to take a short journey with me through 2 Corinthians over the next few weeks as we hear God speak to them (and us) through Paul. I will be using the NIV for this but you feel free to use whatever Bible version you prefer.

Until next time, plant this firmly in your spirit - "Faith is my Life!"

"Questioning My Faith"

In my experience all new followers of Jesus have questions, lots of questions. So do those of us who have been following Jesus for most of our lives. We want answers to things that trouble us and often challenge our faith. But here's the thing - faith is always a choice we must intentionally make, not as an alternative among many equal possibilities but as the one true path to confidence and peace. Jesus is that one path - ALWAYS! Living with real assurance is one of the gifts we receive from the Holy Spirit. But, that can require walking a crooked and rocky road to get to that place. Getting there requires:
(1) the forward progress of TIME, which is what faith does, points us forward;
(2) PATIENCE to just allow God to do what he does in his own way and his own time;
(3) TRUST that although I don't have answers to all my questions, I know enough to cling to my faith in every circumstance because I know Jesus as my Lord and High Priest.
When Paul wrote his first letter to the disciples of Jesus in Thessalonica, he knew they were being bombarded with challenges to their faith. All you need do is read about his efforts to establish the church in that city just a few months earlier (Acts 17) and how he literally had to escape certain death from some radical Jews. So, he and Silas and Timothy went on to Berea, then to Athens. Those Jewish agitators followed him to those cities stirring up more trouble. He finally went to Corinth where it is believed he wrote 1 Thessalonians, one of his earliest letters.
Here is my "go to" encouragement from Paul when I start to analyze my unanswered questions:

"May God himself, the God of peace sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and he will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NIV

"May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it." The Message

When I left home at 19 I had been a Christian for seven years. I grew up in a Christian family where I learned early that God is my Father, Jesus is my Savior and the Bible is their word to me and the basis of all that I believed. That's all good. But, after attending a Christian college I knew I had to separate myself from all of it because my belief was essentially my family's faith. I knew I had to discover what was beyond the protective bubble that I had grown up in. So, after a long discussion with my Dad, and his encouragement to pursue what I felt I needed to do, I joined the Navy.
I left home with a mix of excitement and apprehension. For three years I tried hard to run away from the God I had grown up afraid of. My Mom kept me connected to home because she wrote me a letter every week and enclosed the weekly church bulletin. But, on the few occasions when I came home on leave, I chose to not go with my family to church. They never condemned me but I feel pretty sure others in that community of believers wrote me off as a lost cause.
My four years in the Navy put me in close contact with many people who were convinced that "God" was the creation of men. I tried to be an atheist, I really did. Many years later I sat with my Mom to sincerely apologize to her for all the ignorant, immature, absolutely crazy stuff I wrote her over most of those years. She just ignored it all and kept writing and sending the church bulletin.
Finally, God, the true Father showed up. In a big way. I wont go into all the details here. You can read it all in the Introduction of my book, "Yes Lord I'm Listening", if you wish. I'll just say that God did for me exactly what Paul told the disciples at Thessalonica he will always do.
Do I still have some questions? Sure. But they are few. I keep them stored away in a very personal place in my spirit where I meet with God. He has let me know the same thing Job came to realize after his really personal encounter with God. I don't need answers to all my questions, I just need to know God and that's enough.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But, when he asks, he must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:5-6 NIV

As your Father, God always wants to hear your voice speaking directly to him. However if you expect him to answer your prayers for wisdom with some sort of immediate brain explosion, you maybe disappointed. He certainly can and probably does that at times, but generally that wisdom comes after days, weeks, months even years of searching God's word for your answers. But, never hesitate to tell him what you are feeling and think you need from him. He may not always give you what you ask for, but he will give you something different or better or he may just say "Not yet!"
Probably most of our questions are very personal rather than theological. The question I have heard most in counseling sessions is this - "Why?" They relate to personal tragedy and very hard situations we have to deal with, just like Job. Answering most of our "Why?" questions will have to wait for eternity in the Father's house. But then, they really won't matter at all.

Until next time, keep giving God the glory!

"Hearing, Thinking, Doing"

"Post this at all the intersections, dear friends. Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life." James 1:19-21 MSG












I read this passage to my Bible class last Sunday morning and it generated much discussion about how the prevalence of anger has impacted all of human society. Learning to follow Jesus today is just as challenging today as it was in the mid first century when James wrote these words. Jesus taught and modeled a challenging new way of hearing, speaking and doing. In fact much of James' letter exactly mirrors Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,6,7) with several direct quotes from Jesus' sermon.

For me, Eugene Peterson's (The Message) interpretation of the above passage speaks to the modern mind in a way that is unmistakable, undeniable and absolutely striking. Make your own comparison:

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires. Therefore get rid of all mental filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:19-21 NIV

As a follower of Jesus you face the same gut check challenge that your brothers and sisters in every age have faced - allowing God, through the Holy Spirit, to completely remodel your inner world. The process is always "snail-pace" slow because changing our thinking requires:

1. New information which we obtain from hearing, reading and observation
2. Asking questions of those we trust to speak truth (spiritual mentors)
3. Trying out what we learn at every baby step in order to make needed adjustments
4. Sharing what we learn with others in our life who are where we were

What all of that means is simply get your life involved with a Jesus following, Bible teaching church that makes your spirit feel humbled but excited! Surround yourself with people who have the joy of salvation and forgiveness evident in their faces, their words and their families. Consistent worship with this kind of church is an absolute must because none of us can get to heaven alone, which is why Jesus built his church and gave us his Spirit as a true gift.

James' three guidelines for building a righteous life pose a challenge. "Quick to listen" simply means quit talking so much and listen a lot more than you talk. "Slow to speak" means pay attention to what comes out of your mouth and learn to discipline your words before they are spoken. You don't always need to say everything you think. "Slow to become angry" means exactly what it appears to mean, keep your anger in check. Think about what pushes your hot button, seriously!

The payoff is enormous - God will use all the means at his disposal (which is a bigger thought than the human brain can even conceive) to "landscape you .... into a salvation-garden", the righteous life God wants all of us to experience to prepare us for eternity in his beautiful house.

Some final words to ponder from James 2:12-13 NIV

" Speak and act as those who are going to -be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!"

THAT my friends, is a whole mouthful of truth. Please let it filter into your life and relationships.

Until next time, keep on giving God the glory!

"Learning To Get Rid Of Some Stuff"

We all have "stuff" don't we! Not the stuff you have stored in your garage or that unused room in your house that you won't allow anyone to go into. Not even that storage unit you have been paying for all these years filled with stuff you haven't even looked at or thought about in a long time. No, we're talking here about the "stuff" that makes you feel guilty because it is useless in your walk with Jesus and you know it but somehow holding on to it seems oddly comforting. It's YOUR stuff.

One of the favorite "sidesteps" I've heard (and used on occasion too) is this old worn out way of trying to rationalize my "stuff"with the statement, "Well, that's just how I am. Yes I have a quick temper and you don't want to rattle that big dog's chain." Sometimes I've heard it in this way, "My daddy/mother was that way and I am too." Or try this one on for size, "Hey, I'm only human!"

As a new follower of Jesus, one of your greatest challenges, and the one with the greatest payoff, is learning to think right. I have no idea what kind of "stuff" you are guarding in your life. But, as a minister and church elder for a lot of years, I know that whatever hits your hot button and makes you want to tear down the walls when a teacher or preacher shines the light of God's word on your "stuff" should be a wake-up call for you. It might be your relationship with your spouse or someone in your family. It might be what you spend way too much of your family's income on for no spiritual benefit. It might that you whine about not having this new thing or that you have no friends or .... on and on and on.

Listen folks, Jesus died to give you the only true PRICELESS gift and that gift is God himself. In his moving prologue to his gospel, John wrote -
      "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side
       has made him known." John 1:18 NIV

Before Jesus came, the world was held in the iron grip of fear and pagan superstition.  NO MORE! We can now KNOW God as our Father because the greatest gift of the gospel of Jesus is God the Father. The true sense of John's statement is this - being at the Father's side from eternity, Jesus brought him out, made him visible, understood, literally unfolded him. Because of Jesus, anyone can now know God as he really is, a Father who only wants the very best for his kids.

I think Paul said it clearer and better than I ever could at Romans 12: 1-2  -
      "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and
       holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not
       be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you
       may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable and perfect." NASB

Take some time to sit alone and think clearly about your own "stuff". Please realize that God is not trying to make your life a daily exercise in boredom. He only wants to transform the way you think through the blood of Jesus and his Holy Spirit so that you can see him and learn to think his thoughts. He wants to be your FATHER. You must lay all of you on the altar of sacrifice. Only then can transformation begin. You may not jettison all of your "stuff" right away but make a start somewhere with something. You will be proud of who you see in your mirror and those around you may be shocked. But your Father will stand up and cheer.

Be blessed until next time.