The Cost of Freedom

We Americans are used to freedom. We will speak in a heartbeat about our “rights.” We cry out against injustice and we applaud those who stand up for the disenfranchised. We are aware of what the Constitution affords us and we expect to be given our day in court. All of these freedoms of course were not here waiting for us when our forefathers sailed the seas in a ship that’s name sounded like it belonged in the garden shop at Lowes. There was that taxation without representation thing that I recall reading about. There was a War of Independence that freed most, a Civil War that freed others and a Civil Rights movement that continued the process and we finally got around to letting women vote, it was indeed a process.

Wars have been fought to preserve freedom, lives have been lost to insure that each generation had the chance to pursue happiness and chase their dreams. The span of time reaches into four centuries. From independence to Vietnam, from WWI to Korea, from WWII to Iraq men and now women have died on battlefields so that people like me might write articles like this. Freedom of the press, freedom to vote, freedom to protest, freedom to worship they all were paid for with blood spilt on mostly foreign shores in far away places.

Two thousand years ago blood was spilt on an old rugged cross for another kind of freedom. Once again tyranny had overcome freedom, sin had conquered liberty and grace had to be victorious over death. Jesus paid our price, fought our battle, won the victory for us. My earliest memories recall singing about all of this. We would stand in that little white church and sing as loud as our southern voices could exclaim…victory in Jesus our Savior forever, He sought us and bought us with His redeeming blood. We would also sing God bless America land that I love, stand beside her and guide her…Some say that one should not mix faith and country, that we stand in danger of not being able to be prophetic, critical, or even clear minded. All I know is this freedom that was given to me by my forefathers enables me to practice the freedom given me by my Savior. One I worship; the other I am grateful for. One is unchanging and steadfast the other sometimes changes for the worse and has to be reminded by the people that the original idea had merit. I don’t worship the flag but I proudly salute it. And my prayer has never changed and my song remains constant…God Bless America the land that I love and God thank you for those who defended its freedom. 

Five Attitudes to Live By

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

Do You Love me more than these?

John 21:15 (NLT)

Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?

Luann and I have had a running joke for thirty-three years we signed every card, “Love you more.” Proclaiming to each other that we love the other one more than they love us, and saying its OK I just love you more. Priorities can be confusing for sure. People often say one thing and live another. Actions often proclaim that money; hobbies, vocation and even sports have more of us than do family, faith and marriage. If we really had to pick which ones would we choose?

Jesus did not just ask Peter do you love me he ask him do you love me more than these? For centuries the question has been what were “these?” Of course “these” can be a multitude of things but if Jesus is Lord then it cannot be anything. In Peter’s case I think Jesus may have been pointing at the 153 fish he had caught in verse ten. You see after Jesus death he had gone back to doing what he had done before he met Jesus, fishing.  The one thing Peter was good at, the one place he felt comfortable. And now the question is put before him, will you spend your life fishing for fish or will you fish for people. You cannot do both. Peter do you love me more than these… because it is not going to be good enough to simply love me… you must love me more.

I do love quite a few things in this world but I must love Jesus more. If I do not then something has been elevated to a place in my life that nothing should hold other than the One who seats upon the throne of my life. Can you say today there is no one nor is there anything that I love more than Jesus?

Only Found Here!

What a selling point the above words are! You can only find it here. If “it” happens to be something that everybody wants or needs, can you imagine the line at the check out! On the other hand, if you can get “it” everywhere then people think, well I’ll get it tomorrow, after all there is no hurry, “it” will always be available.  Rick Warren the pastor of Saddleback Church in California says, “The church must offer people something they cannot get anywhere else.” What is it that we have that is unavailable elsewhere? Could it be food for the hungry? While we are commanded by Jesus to feed the hungry, we all know that other organizations do the same. Could it be fellowship for the lonely? Again, while we are commanded to visit the broken others also visit and offer comfort. Perhaps “it” is clothes for the naked or medicine for the sick, or education for the child. But others offer all of these you say. What do we have that no one else has? What can we offer that is uniquely the churches to offer? The answer is Jesus! The music we sing will always change, the style of our worship spaces will look different from generation to generation, the technology we use will be different as each day passes but the message must never change. The only hope for this world is Jesus. Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life; He always has been and He always shall be. This message belongs to the church; it is the only message uniquely ours, “it” is only found here, in the body of Christ!

Trouble!

My favorite commercial is the travelers insurance commercial where the song "Trouble" is sung. It is about a dog that is worried about his bone. He buries it only to watch out the window worried someone saw where he put it. He then takes it to the bank putting it in a safety deposit box only to dream that the bank got robbed. He then takes it back home but what now? I can't help it I laugh every time it comes on. I even rewind it and play it again, poor little doggy! Maybe it is because this is what I spend my time trying to help people overcome, with about as much success as this dog has. We are consumed with what we consume.

Most modern day American Christians want a faith that is never tested, they want to be over comers with nothing to overcome. Yet scripture is clear James 3:1 (NLT)...For when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow. Not if your faith is tested but when it is tested! Test are generally given to find out where one is in his or her development. Does he know what he needs to know to accomplish that that is before him? Does she have what it will take to be successful? Passing the test gives us confidence for the future, even failing the test promotes things worth having in those who are willing to grow. What good you may ask comes from failure, well resilience is created as we decide to do what is necessary; maturity is developed as we realize the sacrifice that is necessary if we are to achieve our dreams; opportunities are pursued as every closed door is an opportunity for a new one to open.

When trouble or trials come we can get bitter or we can get better the choice is up to us. We can decide to do whatever it takes or we can take whatever life sends our way. We can grow up or we can give up. My advice is that we look up to the source of our strength and ask our Savior what He is preparing us for. For as Rick Warren says God never waste a hurt and for that I am grateful.

American Idols

Acts 17:16 (KJV)

Now while Paul waited for them in Athens his spirit, was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

Should our “spirits” be stirred when we see people living day-by-day as if God does not exist? Perhaps the question we should begin with is what is an Idol? The biblical answer is anything that takes the focus off of God. The Bible is clear we are forbidden to idolize anything. The definition of idolize is to value something more than God.

Deuteronomy 4:15-16 (GN)

For your own good…don’t sin by making an idol in any form at all.

What are the consequences if we ignore this passage?

1)      Idols will disappoint you

Jeremiah 10:14 (GN)

…those who make idols are disillusioned because the gods they make are false and lifeless.

2)      Idols will dominate you

1 Corinthians 12:2 (GN)

“…(before you knew Christ) you were controlled by dead idols, who always led you astray.

3)      Idols will deform you

Psalms 115:8 (GN)

Those who make idols will become like them, and so will those who trust them.

I have seen it happen over and over as a pastor, someone believes that this thing, this position, this person, this possession will make them happy. But in the end they are disappointed and not only that but they find that they do not control it, it controls them. This job has dominated their life, this habit has taken on a life of its own and they have become something they never intended on being. Yes our “spirits” should be stirred here in America today as Paul’s was in Athens, because our society sadly enough has wholly given itself to idols and the masses are disappointed, dominated and deformed.

Living in Fear

Mark 6:50 (NLT) They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once, “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”

Sixty three times in the KJV of the Bible we read the words “fear not”.  The word fear appears 385 times. The word afraid appears an additional 190 times. These facts may cause you to ask why does the Bible speak so often concerning fear?

Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend put it this way in their book, “God Will Make a Way”.

Fear can keep us bound so that we live less and less of life. The cost is the life that we did not live because of fear.

Jeff Walling in his book “Until I Return” puts it this way…

When fear takes control over our faith, it renders us ineffective in doing the very tasks to which our Lord has called us.

So how does God help us to overcome our fears?

1 John 4:18 (NKJV)

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.

This is indeed one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Perfect love cast out all fear. Why would that be true? Well first of all the only perfect love humanity has ever known came from the only perfect person to ever live, Jesus our Lord. I like the way the LB paraphrases this passage…

1 John 4:18 (LB)

We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread…If we are afraid it…shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us.

Lord when I am afraid speak to me and calm my fears. Amen

What in the world is going on!

Lately I have had several people express this thought. There have been earthquakes of unheard of magnitudes, oil prices that potentially could change lifestyles, colder than normal winters, hotter than normal summers, uprisings in country after country and the list goes on. Pastor do you think the end is near is often how people ask the question. They then point to scriptures that speak of wars and rumors of wars and to the predictions of "earthquakes in many places," and to the comments from Paul that in the end humankind will advance in knowledge to a degree that is unprecedented in world history. Well certainly all of that has happened. But when you boil it all down the most important thing to remember are these words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 24...

 ⁴² “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

So my best advice for all of God's children is simply this, live in a constant state of readiness whether that be leaving this world by death or by the coming of our Lord. Live every day as if this may be your last. Loving the people that are important in your life and telling them you do each day, sharing faith with anyone that the Lord opens a door for you to do so as if it may be their last opportunity for who knows if it is or not. Trying to live without regret and living everyday with the great hope that is ours in Christ. Our concern should not be "if" the world will end soon but "how" have we lived this life given to each of us. If we hear the words "well done good and faithful servant" it really doesn't matter what the date of our Lord's return is only that we are ready when He does return.

Answering the Call

Mark1:17-18

And Jesus said to them come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they immediately forsook their nets and followed Him.

Forsaking what is familiar to go into the unknown is not easy. What if we haven’t discerned properly? What if it doesn’t work out? What if I quit what I know and find out that I am not cut out for the new? Peter knew how to fish he was good at it. His family had been fishermen for generations he was practically born on a boat but now this man Jesus whom he admired greatly, who he thought was indeed the Messiah had said to him “follow me.” And the scripture says he “dropped his nets and followed him.”

Os Guiness in his book “The Call” says that there is no call without a “caller.” In other words our call is not some arbitrary thing it is from the mouth of the Master. As we read God’s word we see person after person struggling with answering God’s call. Moses was afraid he could not speak well enough; Gideon said he was not from a large enough tribe; and Elijah decided he was the only one faithful. Sometimes it is others who doubt us. They said that David was just a boy and that Paul could not be trusted. I have found that the following four fears often keep us from fulfilling our call:

• Fear of criticism—What will everyone think?
• Fear of the supernatural—What will happen to me?
• Fear of inadequacy—How can I handle this?
• Fear of change—How will this change my life?

Remember there is no call without a caller and our answer is in direct response to the one who created us! My prayer is that I will say Lord when you call help me to faithfully answer.