Is America Still Under God?

Are we a nation under God or aren’t we?

Listen to these words that shaped our nation, that prove that the U. S. A. was, indeed, created and designed to be a nation under God!

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” – The Declaration of Independence, 1776

“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” – George Washington, 1789

“We have staked the whole future of American civilization . . . on the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, and to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." – President James Madison, 1813

“It is the duty of nations . . . to recognize the sublime truth . . . that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.” – President Abraham Lincoln, 1863

“It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work . . . that this nation under God shall have a new birth . . .” – President Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, 1863

The fourth verse of our national anthem, written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, includes the words, “May the heaven-rescued land praise the Power that hath made and preserved us . . . and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust’.”

Because of this undeniable history, Congress voted in 1954 to add the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, “thus reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future.” – President Dwight Eisenhower, June 14, 1954.

The fact that a few people are offended by those two words doesn’t change our history; nor must it be allowed to change our future! “America’s heritage,” as President Eisenhower put it, is undeniably tied to the God of the Bible. America’s future will grow ever more grim if that Godly heritage is stripped away.

Wednesday morning, I began my celebration of Independence Day in a prayer meeting at the church I pastor. We prayed that the church in America would repent of its passivity and once again grow strong to take a leading role in the shaping of American culture. Though we can never return to the past – nor should we ever desire to do so! – God is certainly calling us to turn from the sins of our past and turn to the future He has planned for us.

If America is ever to live up to its founders’ intention to be a nation under God, it will take churches under God. And that means Christians under God, serving Him with earnest love and complete obedience in every detail of their lives.

Is America still under God? I guess the answer depends upon how you live your life.

Christ's Exclusive Claims

Jesus never seemed to worry about how people would respond to Him. In fact, quite the opposite seemed true. He made all kinds of statements that today would be deemed politically incorrect if not down-right offensive.

It’s ironic: Jesus never sinned, yet many took offense at the things He said and did. And the biggest offense people took had to do with the things He claimed about Himself, Who He was, and what He was on earth to do.

Here’s a partial list of what Jesus said about Himself, along with a few examples of where to find these claims in the Word of God:

The Son of God

Matthew 11:27 – All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

John 10:36 – Do you say of Him Whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

Mark 14:61b-64a – Again the high priest asked Him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need? You have heard His blasphemy. What is your decision?"

The Messiah, the Jewish Savior

Matthew 16:15-17 – He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

Matthew 26:62-64 – And the high priest stood up and said, "Have You no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against You?" But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "It is as you say. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."

John 4:25-26 – The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming, He who is called Christ. When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

The One Who Can Forgive Sins

Matthew 20:28 – even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many

Mark 2:9-11 – “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – He said to the paralytic – “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

Luke 7:47-48 – Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." And He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

John 8: 24 – I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.

The Ruler and Judge of the World

Matthew 28:18-20 – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

John 5:22-27 – “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”

The Only Savior of the World

John 3:13-17 – “No one has ascended into heaven except He Who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Yes, you read that last astonishing claim correctly: Jesus forthrightly claimed to be the only Savior of the world. As recorded in John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” As if that affirmation were not enough, He stated further, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” In other words, Jesus declared Himself to be not just ONE way to heaven, but that He was and is the ONLY way to heaven.

Oddly enough, some are offended by such claims. “How dare this Jesus make such a statement?” some say indignantly. “That’s not what He really meant” others maintain, as they engage in some form of interpretive chicanery in an attempt to circumvent the plain evidence of Holy Scripture.

It’s like this. Humanity is drowning in an eternal sea of our own sinful rebellion, and Jesus has jumped in to save us, calling out as He does so, “Trust Me. I’m your only hope of being saved.” How tragic that so many of the drowning respond to Him, “How dare you claim to be my only hope?!” even as they sink under the everlasting waves of their own perdition.

And so the exclusive claim of Jesus as the only Savior goes often unnoticed or ignored, hidden behind the offense people take at His having made such a claim. The offense is, I believe, a demonic ploy to cover up two more foundational issues: that humanity desperately needs a Savior, and that God’s willingness to save ANY of us is a complete and unearned miracle. The fact is, He wasn’t in any sense required to do even that.

And yet, He did. By virtue of His amazing grace, the Father sent His Son, Who alone has authority to judge the world and forgive sins, as humanity’s unique source of salvation.

Some say it’s offensive to think that He claimed to be the only way to heaven. I say it’s an undeserved wonder of God’s grace that He has offered us any way to heaven at all.

What do you say?

The Truth Shall Set You Free

When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), He wasn’t talking about just any old facts. And He certainly didn’t have some relativistic idea of an evolving kind of “truth” that supposedly changes from time to time and from place to place.

In contrast, today’s post-modern society is characterized by a refusal to acknowledge the concept of “absolute truth.” The irony is that no one has ever proven that there is no such thing as absolute truth: those who hold this view simply assume that it is so.

Please note, however, that denying the existence of absolute truth is a logical contradiction. When people say, “There is no such thing as absolute truth,” they are themselves making an absolute truth claim.

Let’s listen in on a brief conversation between Joe and Mary.

Joe: “There is no such thing as absolute truth.”

Mary: “Are you sure?”

Joe: “Yes I am.”

Mary: “How can you be so sure?”

Joe: “Because it’s true.”

Mary: “So . . . it’s absolutely true that there is no such thing as absolute truth?”

Joe: “Uh, yes, I mean, no - well, maybe.”

I’m sure you get the point. Postmodernists, in their denial of absolute truth, have come perilously close to cultural insanity. They assert with absolute certainty the notion that nothing is absolutely certain, thus sawing off the limb upon which they stand.

Sanity is restored by knowing the truth; or rather The Truth, with two capital T’s.

Among the many things Scripture says about The Truth, three stand out as being critically important to post-modern culture. First, there is the relationship of biblical love and The Truth, described in that great love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. Verse 6 says, “Love . . . rejoices in the truth.” Why? Because if you truly love someone, you don’t want that person to live in error, because living in error causes needless pain.

Second, Scripture tells us where to find The Truth. Ephesians 4:21 says, “The truth is in Jesus.” If you want to discover The Truth, develop a relationship with Jesus. All The Truth you need for life and salvation is found in the person of Jesus Christ.

Finally, Jesus Himself made an immense claim in John 14:6, when He declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through Me.” By declaring Himself to be identical with The Truth, and by claiming to be the only way to heaven, Jesus forced upon us a crucial decision: is what He said false, or is it true?

If it is false, then He was either a liar or a lunatic. If it was true, then He was, and remains to this day, the Lord of the universe, and the only hope you and the rest of humanity have for eternal life.

We’ll examine more on this subject next Friday, as we consider Christ’s exclusive claims.

What It All Comes Down To

A group of well-dressed mourners stands around the graveside of a major corporate executive. The funeral service was a testimony to his success and widely-felt influence. The coffin is beautiful, the headstone is imposing, and the crowd is large.

As the pastor finishes the benediction, a mid-level-management type standing at the back of the crowd leans over to whisper to one of his partners. He asks a question that has been in the back of everyone’s mind ever since Mr. Big’s health began to fail a few months before.

“How much do you think he left behind?”

His imagination is weighing the bequests, the will, the millions, and what he would do with that money if any of it were coming his way. He asks his seemingly oblivious friend again, “Hey, man, how much do you think he left behind?”

His partner turns his head to utter a hushed reply, “All of it.“

No doubt. However much he had, he has none of it now: he left it all behind.

Ironic, is it not? Our best efforts to be found successful in this world all come to naught if we consider success something to be found in this world. I’ve done lots of funerals, and I’ve never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse.

Indeed, when it all comes down, what it all comes down to is legacy and character: the legacy you leave behind in this world, and the character you take with you out of it.

Legacy is the heritage of lasting value we impart to those who follow behind us: not the temporary things like stocks and bonds, net-worth and annuities; but rather the non-tangible and eternal things, like faith in Christ, a pattern of Godly living and a commitment to family and church.

Each of us leaves a legacy, though many among us do so by accident. I want to leave a legacy on purpose. I want to be remembered for something worth remembering.

What do you want to be remembered for? When people meet at your memorial service, what do you want them to talk about?

In truth, your legacy is determined by your character. Character is who you are and what you do when nobody is watching. It’s the real you, the inner you, the you that is determined by your core values and what you believe to be true and important.

So let me ask you: how are you on the inside? Who is the real you? What are you like when nobody is watching?

If those questions make you a bit uneasy, join the crowd. We all fall short not only of God’s glory, but of our own aspirations too.

The good news is that God is in the business of continual transformation. I offer you this brief prayer asking Him to change you.

“Lord, I want to leave behind a legacy of Christ-like character. Please keep changing me. Make me more like Jesus today. In His name, Amen.”

Bill Maher Needs Jesus!

The mainstream media are at it again, bashing Christians with unbridled abandon. The chief perpetrator seems to Bill Maher, whose HBO talk show recently sank to a new low. Maher began a recent program with a mocking diatribe aimed at Rev. Jerry Falwell just three days after his death. Later in the same program, he made a sexually-explicit comparison between the Roman Catholic eucharist and homosexual intercourse!

As offensive as Maher’s comments were, more astonishing is the lack of apology from HBO or any sign of concern from the media or human rights watchdogs among us. Contrast this with what happened to former CBS radio talk show host Don Imus, whose ill-advised reference to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed ho’s” stirred a week of public protest followed by his ignominious dismissal.

Should Imus have been fired? I certainly think so, and for his sheer stupidity if not his racist remarks.

But what about Maher? Imus lost his job for a brief, unthinking, off-hand comment on live radio, three words he apologized for and wishes he had never said. Maher made his comments in a rehearsed and scripted show, and stands by them unapologetically.

So where is the outcry? Where are the national media personalities coming to the aid of conservative evangelicals and Roman Catholics, calling for earnest apologies and early dismissals?

There aren’t any. And I don’t expect it to happen.

So, then, what should conservative evangelicals and Roman Catholics do? Certainly it’s appropriate to write letters of protest to Time-Warner, which employs Mr. Maher. I’ve done so myself. But, ultimately, there’s a better thing to do, and it’s modeled for us by the early church.

As recorded in Acts 4, as the infant church unabashedly proclaimed the Gospel, it fell under the ill-will of its culture. There was animosity and overt hostility, until it came to the point that the leaders in Jerusalem issued an edict specifically ordering the church “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). In short, preaching and evangelism were forbidden by governmental decree.

How did the church respond? With a petition drive calling for a restoration of their rights? No. They had a prayer meeting, and here’s what they prayed: “Lord, look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30).

In other words, Lord we don’t care what the culture says and how they oppose us. All we’re asking is that You make us even more bold to speak the truth, and that You continue to do miracles.

Is that how we respond to Maher and his ilk? When the culture or the government opposes us, do we pray and get bolder? Do we increase our efforts to share the Gospel and proclaim the truth? Do we devote more money and time to reaching the lost and serving the truly needy?

Or do we whine and wish for the privileged good old days?

If the church ever regains its godly influence in our culture, it will be because you and I quit complaining about the loss of our rights, shed our entitlement attitudes, and go share the Gospel with a humanity gone mad: even Bill Maher. Because, like everyone else, Bill Maher needs Jesus!

The Wonder of It All

When her mother came to pick her up after the first day of Vacation Bible School, she took Mommy’s hand and led her into the big meeting room. With wide eyes and a quiet kind of awe in her four-year-old voice, she said “This is where the music is.”

Then she escorted Mommy all around the room, slowly showing her the dozens of balloons (an attempt to look like undersea bubbles), the inflatable shark and sea-turtle, the pictures of whales, the big sea-horse, the big fishing net, and the place where the lady stood and led them in all those fun songs about Jesus.

Over and over she said, “Look, Mommy!” as she pointed at another picture or balloon.

“Look Mommy!”

“Look Mommy!”

“Look!”

And, though she wasn’t speaking to me, I too began to look. And to see.

During much of our preparation for Vacation Bible School, during which we tried to transform our sanctuary into a kind of undersea world, I could think of little except how much work our volunteers were putting in. But then, as the first day of our week-long adventure drew to a close, God gave me a glimpse of the whole endeavor through the eyes of a four-year-old. Suddenly, the wonder was there, as it should have been all along.

The wonder is not simply that a group of busy adults would spend more than a hundred hours decorating a church building for a VBS program. That kind of effort commonly takes place, in churches throughout this community, many times over every summer. The wonder is not that these adults and youth put in hours of preparation and prayer, baked thousands of cookies, and put up with unnumbered inconveniences to make their church’s Vacation Bible School programs as successful as possible.

The wonder is not in the effort or the program.

The wonder truly is seen in what lies behind the effort: hearts touched by God, full of His love, and gripped by a passion to share His love with others and let the little children come to Him, no matter how much work it takes.

The wonder is in the outpoured love of God seen in His Son dying on the cross for wide-eyed four-year-olds and weary middle-aged pastors alike.

The wonder is the fact that He loved His rebellious creation so much that He came and lived among the rebels themselves, and even took the just punishment for their rebellion upon Himself.

I remember, when I was just a little child myself, my dad singing the words of a song made famous by one of the singers in Billy Graham’s ministry, George Beverly Shea. “Oh, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me!”

Indeed. Just think of it. And then, like a little child, come to Jesus again, and thank Him for how much He loves you. It’s a wonder!

Trust and Tragedy

For Christians, part of living out our trust in Jesus Christ is dealing with things we don’t understand. If ever there was such an event, the horrifying murders at Virginia Tech are a perfect example. In our effort to comprehend this calamity, our brains are about to short-circuit.

Questions penetrate our souls like bullets of doubt and fear. How? Why? Who?

It reminds me of the biblical account of Job. In the course of a single day, he suffered immense personal tragedy, including the loss of his nearly twelve-thousand head of livestock, and the murder or kidnapping of dozens of employees, and the death of his ten children.

His response is both astonishing and informative. Scripture declares that when he learned of the terrible events of that tragic day, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:21).

Let’s unpack the amazing actions of this mighty man of faith, and see what we can learn from them.

First, Job tore his robe and shaved his head. In ancient Israel, these two actions were expressions of extreme grief. What this shows us is that Job wasn’t just a stoic. He was truly devastated. His losses were great and they affected him greatly. He was in deep and serious anguish, and he didn’t care who knew it.

But notice what else Job did. Though he was an emotional wreck, he didn’t let this keep him from worshiping God. In his grief, he “fell on the ground and worshiped.”

Why did he do this? For that matter why would we?

One obvious reason Job worshiped in the midst of tragedy was that he was a worshiper. In other words, he understood himself as a person who lived to worship God. Job’s practice and response in all circumstances was to worship God. Worship was not a circumstantially-motivated action for Job. Worship was the core of his being. He worshiped. Period. So it was natural that when catastrophe struck, he worshiped then too.

What about you? Do you think of yourself as a worshiper, someone who lives to worship God? Or do you just worship when things are going well?

Another reason Job worshiped in the midst of disaster is that he saw beyond the situation to the goodness of God. He knew God for Who He truly is, and thus, his worship was motivated by the truth about God, not the circumstances of his life. Because he had spent so much time getting to know God, Job had developed a deep and abiding confidence in His everlasting goodness and grace. No trials of this temporary life could shake this trust.

How much time do you spend getting to know God? How much energy do you devote to the development of a trust relationship with Him? When tragedy strikes, it may be too late for you to develop that relationship. Now, today, while you still have the opportunity, is the time to run to Him and worship. With all your questions, praise Him. In your confusion and grief, bow down to Him. He is there, waiting and worthy for your worship.

God is Ready to Party! Are You?

Do you remember Jesus’ story of "The Wasteful Son." (Most people say "The Prodigal Son," but when I learned that "prodigal" means "wasteful," I decided to call it that.)

In this great lesson Jesus taught, the younger of two sons claims his inheritance, then goes out and wastes it on the worst of sin. In dire need, he takes a job feeding pigs, and gets so hungry that the hog slop looks appetizing. Finally, he comes to his senses and returns home, admitting in a rehearsed speech that he doesn't deserve to be in the family, but would be glad simply to become one of Dad’s servants.

Dad won't think of it. Instead, he arranges a feast to celebrate the homecoming of his long-lost son.

Meanwhile, there's the older son. While his kid brother is out wasting Dad's money on sin, the older son is busy at home being a respectable family member, faithfully managing the family business and preserving his own inheritance. Then one day, Junior returns, and incredibly, instead of kicking his sorry carcass out, Dad throws a bash for the bum! The senior son wants no part in the party. He’s furious, and won’t even enter the house for the celebration.

The story winds down with Dad going outside to invite the older son to come in and rejoice that Junior has finally come home. Then it ends, rather abruptly. Does the older brother come into the party or not? It leaves us hanging, wondering.

It’s an odd ending, and we usually miss its importance.

We all know that the younger brother represents those who waste their lives straying from God. The Dad in the story clearly represents God. But, who is the older brother?

I believe he represents all of us folks who have served God more or less faithfully down through the years: In other words, the senior son is the church.

This parable clearly teaches us that God will accept anyone who comes to Him in true repentance and humble faith. Therefore, sinners of all sorts are welcome to come home to God, if they just realize they need His pardon. He embraces them, and forgives them with rejoicing.

But the question raised at the end of the parable must be addressed: is the church as willing to welcome repentant sinners as God is?

What if they're unpleasant? What if they don’t dress properly? What if they're impolite, and don't know what to do in the worship service? What if they can't recite the creed, and don't know the Lord's Prayer?

If someone with well-known sins would come to your church this Sunday, how would you feel? Would you be ready to party, like God is?

The fact is, Jesus reveals to us that His Father is a lavishly welcoming God. All may become His children who repent of their sins and trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

However, I wonder how the rest of the family feels about it.

THIS IS EASTER

This Sunday, all around the world worshipers will gather for Resurrection Sunday, recalling the fact that Jesus, after dying for our sins, didn’t stay dead, but rose to life again. I encourage you to join the crowds in church, celebrating the resurrection, sharing the songs, enjoying the worship, and saying or singing the ancient words, “Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

We say that, but do we mean it?

The fact is that we sometimes live as if He neither lived, died, nor rose again!

Every time we face our problems with a feeling of hopelessness, we’re acting as if He never came out of that tomb. Whenever we make decisions based upon fear or frustration, we’re denying the reality of His resurrection. When we let the problems of the past determine the direction of our future, instead of following the guidance of His Word, we are living as if He were still dead.

Every time we hold a grudge, refuse to forgive, indulge our pride in a pity party, cherish hurt feelings or recite wrongs done to us, we’re denying by our actions the very words we say and the truth we affirm on Easter: Jesus Christ, the Son of God crucified for our sins, dead and buried, has really, truly, literally risen from that grave.

But . . . if we are not living our lives by bringing the minutest facets of daily existence under the influence of His resurrected presence, it’s as if it had never happened.

So, how do we make Easter more real?

I believe we have to stop playing religious games with Him. We have to let Him mess with our stuff. To whatever degree we may have developed a habit of being a certain way at church and another way elsewhere, we must confess that form of sin, and learn to let Jesus run our lives moment by moment, breath by breath, choice by choice.

After all, He didn’t come out of the tomb just to be admired by crowds one day a year. He’s alive to be worshiped and obeyed 365 days a year. Long after Sunday’s special worship services are over, Jesus will still be very much alive, commanding our obedience, requiring our service, and expecting our allegiance.

At its most basic, the resurrection incontrovertibly proves that Jesus is exactly Who and What He claimed to be. He Who declared Himself to be the only way to heaven also predicted that after His death, He would come back to life. If His tomb were still occupied, it would put the lie to everything else He asserted about Himself. Conversely, His resurrection verifies His claims.

So this Sunday, when you say or sing, “Christ the Lord is risen today,” remember what that means for you: it means He expects and deserves for you to trust Him as your Savior, and to serve Him as your Lord.

This is Easter. Nothing other, nothing less, and nothing else.

Grace: Free, But Not Cheap

“It is finished.” Among the last words of Jesus before His death, this statement summarizes the Gospel. Everything that had to be done for our forgiveness was done. Finished. Accomplished. Completed. Paid in full.

Thus, by the death of Jesus. the grace of God is extended to anyone who wants it, regardless of the nature of their sin. Murderers can be forgiven: St. Paul was. Betrayers can be forgiven: St. Peter was. Thieves, liars, cheats, adulterers, the whole list: if it’s a sin, it can be forgiven by God’s grace.

God’s grace is available to the repentant, and it is utterly without charge; indeed scandalously so. For that reason, some are critical of the biblical concept of God's grace. “It’s not fair,” they assert, “for someone to just be forgiven without paying a price.”

However, that is a misunderstanding of grace. The fact is, God’s grace is completely just. It’s not a function of sloppy sentimentality. Grace is not a denial of the reality of sin, or even the cost of sin.

Indeed, grace knows the cost of sin; and grace paid it in Christ. Consider the incredible price He paid to wipe away our sins. Not only did He endure the physical torture of the cross and the emotional pain of His friends’ abandonment, He also felt the infinitely greater spiritual agony of separation from His Father.

This means that grace is free; but, it’s not cheap! Jesus paid the price, the full and gruesome payment, for grace to be free to us.

This kind of grace is so stunningly free that it’s impossible to understand for those who refuse to forgive. When folks refuse to forgive others, they say to the crucified One, “Jesus, it wasn’t enough. Your payment was insufficient. I want more. I want more suffering to be extracted. I want more pain to be inflicted. I want them to pay!”

Frankly, that is an eternally perilous thing to say. The fact is, that’s not Christianity; not even close. It may be religion, but it’s absolutely not Christianity.

Religion rejects grace, insisting that we must contribute something to our salvation. We must try harder. We must do better. We must live morally, and so forth. Religion is really nothing more than a self-help way to try to earn God’s respect. Buddhists have their eightfold path. Hindus have the endless cycle of karma and reincarnation. Islam has its four pillars. Only Christianity dares to affirm that God offers us a relationship with Him on the basis of His own pure grace.

It’s a bold path to take, this way of grace. It means letting go of your offenders and leaving them in the nail-pierced hands, acknowledging, as the hymn says, that Jesus paid it all.

Isn’t that where you want to be? If you struggle to be there, let me remind you that it was Jesus Who said, right after teaching us the Lord’s Prayer, “If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15). Remember that truth, the next time you’re tempted to refuse forgiveness to one who has offended you.

You’ve Got to Tell Someone!

Living in this broken world, we Christians have been given an honorable opportunity. This privilege is telling people we know and love about Jesus. Telling them. That means actually using words.

It’s more than just showing kindness to people, which, of course, we must do. But many show kindness without sharing Jesus. It takes more than just being kind.

It’s more than hospitality. Though God’s Word commands us to “show hospitality” (Hebrews 13:2), it takes more than hospitality for our neighbors to receive Jesus.

It’s more than caring for the poor, visiting the sick, and feeding the hungry. Mind you, it’s not less than those ministries. We must do those things, because Jesus commanded them (see Matthew 25). But it’s more than that.

Kindness, hospitality, caring, visiting, and feeding are vital tasks that we Christians simply must do, in the name of Jesus.

Yet, in all of that, if we don’t actually tell people about Jesus, we fail them at the very core of their need. The wounded people who populate this world have a vast array of needs: they need soup, they need soap, and they need solace. But more than anything else, they need a Savior!

In God’s Word, there is a fascinating story of four lepers in ancient Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 7). Israel was at war, and Jerusalem was under siege. Food was scarce, and the lepers’ prospects for survival were grim. They decided their best option was to surrender to the enemy and beg for mercy, concluding that nothing worse would happen than a quick execution, which was better than the slow death by starvation that awaited them in the surrounded city.

As they approached the enemy camp, they found that the besieging army had suddenly fled in the night, leaving behind huge stores of food and supplies! The famished men began to gorge themselves, rejoicing in their good fortune.

Suddenly, one of them remembered their starving brothers and sisters in the city. He said, "What we're doing is not right. This is a day of good news, and we're not telling anyone about it” (2 Kings 7:9).

We who know Jesus as Lord and Savior are just like those four. We too were once needy lepers, spiritually speaking: unclean in our sin, and hopelessly starved within. We too, by no merit of our own, have found the miraculous provision of our need: a Savior to forgive our sin and restore our life.

And, if we are keeping it ourselves, we too are not doing right in this day of good news.

If God has given you new life, it’s sin to stay quiet about it.

If you have been blessed with joy and hope from the Lord, you must not keep it to yourself.

If you have been born again by trusting Jesus, you’ve got to share it.

Of course, you’ve got to be kind. But that’s not enough.

You’ve got to tell someone.

A PAIR OF SIMPLE QUESTIONS

There is a new kind of entrepreneur in America today, and those who are good at their trade are making an amazing amount of money. They call themselves “consultants.”

In the simplest terms, consultants go from corporation to corporation, helping generate ideas about how to operate more efficiently, and market products more effectively. Fees for famous consultants may run to 6 or 7 figures!

A meeting between a company’s CEO and an expert consultant usually begins with some version of these two simple questions.

Question #1 is “What’s your business?” This one requires an answer of ten words or less.

Question #2 is “How’s business?” The answer should be three words or less.

Until those two simple questions are answered satisfactorily, nothing else is considered. That’s because if the CEO can’t state his company’s purpose clearly and concisely, then the company’s employees probably can’t either. And if an enterprise doesn’t know why it exists, it will eventually become ineffective, and probably sooner than later.

The same principle applies to the church.

Several decades ago, Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple said, “The church is the only society that exists for the benefit of its non-members.” How’s that sound to you? Unfortunately, it’s more than ten words.

We Christians need to be asking each other the consultants’ question about our Churches. Every church board meeting and business meeting should include a reconsideration of these questions: “What’s our church’s business?” “How’s business?”

Think for a moment about your church. How would you answer these questions?

“What’s our church’s business?”

“How’s business?”

How do you think your pastor would answer these questions?

“What’s our church’s business?”

“How’s business?”

Most important of all, how would Jesus answer those two questions? He’s the one Who founded the church, so He ought to have a big say in why the church exists, shouldn’t He?

If you have a hard time imagining what Jesus would say in answer to those questions, pick up your Bible and read the Gospels again. You’ll find that Jesus was very clear about what He expects the church to do. Very clear. Amazingly clear. In fact, clear enough to state in ten words or less.

By contrast, I’ve got books on my shelf that take hundreds of pages just to tell you what the church is, let alone describe its reason to exist. These tomes may be comprehensive, but they’re sometimes not very helpful. Jesus knew the value of simple, clear communication. Here are a few samples, each comprising ten words or less.

“I have come to seek and save the lost.”

“If you love each other, it proves you’re My followers.”

“My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit.”

“Go into the world and make disciples.”

In light of what Jesus said, try to answer those two simple questions.

What’s your church’s business?

How’s business?

Why Does the Church Exist on Earth?

“When I go in that church and see all the hypocrites in there, it just makes my blood boil.”

“Why should I go to church and sit there with those sinners?”

“I’ll never go to that church, knowing what that woman did to my mother 30 years ago.”

It’s a common sentiment, isn’t it? I hear it almost weekly when I talk with folks about coming to worship: too many hypocrites in the church.

Behind that attitude lies a twofold misunderstanding of the church: what its membership standards are, and who it exists for.

Some people think church is something you belong to if you measure up to a set of standards. There are social standards: having enough money, wearing the right clothes, or living in the right neighborhood. Others think of behavioral standards: if you don’t smoke, drink, swear, gamble, or carouse, you can be a member.

By contrast, Jesus said that to be in His church, the only standard that counts is spiritual – you must be born again. In other words, you must trust Jesus for your salvation, and demonstrate that you trust Him by inviting Him to live inside of you.

Trust Jesus. Only Jesus. Not the way you dress, or the neighborhood you live in, or the things you do or don’t do.

Of course, once you trust Jesus, He will start to change your behaviors. But that comes after, not before.

Which leads us to the second question: for whom does the church exist on earth?

The church exists, in great measure, for sinners. It’s a clinic of sorts, to which sick and hurting people may come for healing and therapy; not because they’ve conquered all their problems, but because they can’t, not by themselves.

The church is a sinner hospital, not a saint museum!

In fact, it’s the hypocrites that the church is there for. That’s right: the church exists for hypocrites!

The word “hypocrite,” in its original language, literally means “someone under judgment;” and people under judgment are precisely the people for whom Jesus died. People like you and me, who sometimes sin so habitually that we feel like we can’t help ourselves. And because we can’t help ourselves out of our sin, we need a Savior. That’s why He came, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Indeed, the church exists because, as God’s word says in Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory;” and because we all need equal access to the one and only Savior. It has nothing to do with how good you are, where you live, how you dress, or whether you’ve overcome some bad habits.

So, when people say that the church is full of hypocrites, they’re right. And it’s a good thing, too. In fact, I can’t think of a better place for hypocrites to be, because without Jesus and His Church, all of us hypocrites would be going to hell.

This Sunday, I’ll be in church, along with a bunch of other hypocrites who’ve realized how much we need each other and our Savior. How about you?

TIME TO GO TO THE CROSS AGAIN

If we could learn one lesson in 2007 that would increase our spiritual and emotional health more than anything else, it would be this one: how to forgive. Admittedly, it’s not easy. We live in a world that vigorously teaches us how to hold grudges. “Everybody thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea,” wrote C. S. Lewis, “until he has something to forgive.”

That puts it pretty straight, doesn’t it? All of us who are aware of our sin naturally want to be forgiven. Indeed, even those who aren’t aware of their sin actually need to be forgiven, whether they know it or not.

It’s worth remembering that Jesus said that receiving forgiveness from God goes hand in hand with extending forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. Listen to His very words as recorded in Matthew 6:14-15: “If you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.”

Jesus said that immediately after teaching the infant church what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” in which one of the petitions says, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” That little word “as” is the important one. It means exactly what Jesus expounded upon after the prayer: if we are unwilling to give forgiveness, we don’t receive it.

Many people are too easily offended. Some almost seem to take pride in their ability to hold a grudge or in their refusal to humble themselves or in their resistance to seeking or extending forgiveness. By contrast, true Christians love forgiveness. Because of God’s forgiveness of them, they know beautiful and Godlike it is to give or get forgiveness.

So how do we learn to forgive in a grudge-keeping world?

I have one bit of advice: go to the cross. Look upon the supreme sacrifice of the Son of God, and gaze in wonder upon the agony He suffered in bearing the sins of the world. Then remember that what He bore embraced every sin you’ve ever committed, including the grudges you’ve held. Realize that His torturous death was the punishment you should have received for what you did.

Pause and ponder the cost of your forgiveness, and then consider whether it makes more sense to forgive those who have wronged you, or to keep holding onto it. I believe you’ll see the folly of unforgiveness more clearly in the light of the cross of Jesus Christ.

The testimony of the late great British preacher Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones should be the heart-cry of every Christian: “I say to the glory of God and in utter humility that whenever I see myself before God and realize even something of what my blessed Lord has done for me, I am ready to forgive anybody anything.”

Amazing words: “ready to forgive anybody anything.”

How close are you to that?

It’s time to go to the cross again.

QUESTIONS OF HIS COMING

During the time leading up to Christmas, questions often arise about the day and its celebration. In fact, in this space last December, I printed a “Christmas Quiz” that raised a couple dozen questions about the details of our traditional Christmas celebrations.

Typical questions surround elements of the celebration. For example, some question why we use trees (a pagan symbol?), where He was born (a cave, a barn, or an open field?), and quite notably, when He was born (probably not December 25, was it?)

Of course, there’s a point to all these questions. They help us sift out all the cultural myths about Christmas from the biblical truths. But they may also distract us from the most important question about Christmas, and that is this: Why was Jesus born?

You see, when He was born, how He was born, and even where He was born are relatively insignificant matters. And that’s precisely why the Bible doesn’t waste any space on those matters.

But the “Why?” question: now that’s a different matter! And scripture is very clear about it. Let’s allow God’s Word to answer this one for itself.

First, here are some words Jesus spoke about Himself

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32).

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:11).

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17).

And then we have the testimony of Paul, who, before he met Jesus, loved to persecute and even kill Christians.

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (Titus 1:15).

There are many more passages that say the same thing. It’s clear: the whole reason for Jesus’ birth was to save people.

But see who it was He came to save! Not the righteous. Not people who were trying to clean up their lives on their own. Certainly not those who considered themselves more worthy than others.

Sinners! It was sinners that Jesus came to save. Anyone and everyone willing to admit their sin and their need of a Savior.

That’s why every church that seeks to follow Jesus has doors that are intentionally open to anyone who is willing to admit he or she is a sinner, no matter what their sin may be. Jesus didn’t come to create churches that are saint museums, filled with people who gather to congratulate themselves on how good they are in contrast to others. He came to make sinner hospitals, outposts of hope and healing, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Are you a sinner? Do you admit it? If you do, it’s clear that Jesus came to save you from your sin, and make you God’s child.

And that makes Christmas worth celebrating!

CHRISTMAS EMOTIONS RUN DEEP

For Debbie and me, Christmas is a particularly poignant season. This time when the Child was born always reminds us how hard it was for us to have children. As we enjoy Jesus' birthday with our two wonderful children, Laura and David, we can't help but recollect the pain of two miscarriages, followed by the premature birth and subsequent death of twins.

On the day they were born, Aaron and Katherine were very much alive, and struggled to survive. We will never forget their valiant battle for life, their little chests heaving to draw breath. They cried, they wiggled, and they reacted in pain to the intravenous tubes inserted into their tiny bodies. They were alive. If born today, they would likely continue to live.

And yet, these living persons, little Aaron and Katherine, could have been legally aborted an hour before they were born, if we had been predisposed to do so. It would have been legal – and it would have been monstrous!

Debbie and I will never be the same, having held them in our arms, having prayed over them, and having wept at their graves. To us, theirs are the visible faces and audible cries of the millions of unborn Americans whose lives have been snuffed out by abortion.

Because of Aaron and Katherine, Christmas has taken on an expanded meaning for us. This special day marks the birth of a Child Who, had He been conceived today, might well have become a statistic of the abortion industry. The setting in which He was conceived, judged by current standards, would have made abortion a predictable "choice" today.

Consider the following circumstances.

His mother was young, unmarried, uneducated and poor. She was clearly unable to support a child on her own.

When her fiancee found out she was pregnant, his first thought was to call off the wedding. The Child's birth would only have brought increased hardship to a family already financially strapped.

Clearly, the Child would have a low quality of life.

Today, as you know, these circumstances comprise a classic profile for recommending abortion. It is chilling to think that, in our time, He through Whom the world was made would have been a likely candidate to end up in a dumpster behind a “clinic”!

Some would say, "Don't disturb me with such unpleasant thoughts, especially at Christmas." I would only ask one question: if just thinking about abortion is so troublesome – at Christmas, or at any time – then how much more ghastly is the fact that it happens a couple thousand times a day in our nation?

This Christmas, as you celebrate the birth of the Holy Child, may His Spirit stir your heart about the plight of our nation's unborn citizens, for whom He was born and died. Then, as you enter the new year, please do something in Jesus' name for the unborn children. Do it for His sake. And for theirs.

GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

Mary was going to have a baby! It was simply impossible!

As if it weren’t scary enough when the angel Gabriel appeared right there in front of her, he proceeded to pronounce an incomprehensible, utterly implausible announcement, “You’re going to have a child . . .” I can envision Mary thinking something like this: “Whoa, now! Wait just a minute here. I know enough about the birds and bees to be one-hundred percent certain that I’m not going to have a child any time within the next nine months.” How do you suppose this young lady might have felt faced with the unimaginable, the unthinkable . . . the impossible?

“It just can’t be.”

How many times do we have the same kind of feeling when faced with the previously unimaginable?

It just can’t be . . .
. . . God would never let that happen.

It just can’t be . . .
. . . I’m not ready yet.

It just can’t be . . .
. . . I’d never be able to stand it.

And yet, though you try to convince yourself that it just can’t be, there the just-can’t-be thing is, in all its immense be-ing-ness, staring you in the face in bold defiance of your feeble self-assertion. It just can’t be . . . but it is!

And then what?

When the what of God’s plan exceeds our comprehension, we usually look for explanations. So did Mary. And when Mary asked “How shall this be?” Gabriel’s explanation was simply this: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will come to rest on you . . .”

What other indisputable impossibilities of life are out there, waiting to be blown away by God’s promise? “The Holy Spirit will come on you . . .”

I’ll never amount to anything!
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”

There’s nothing that can be done about it!
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”

This marriage is doomed.
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”

Like it or lump it, that’s just the way I am.
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”

The “then what” is this: God wants to do the impossible in your life.

Here’s the how: the Holy Spirit will come upon you.

And the why? Mary already knew that one. Do you? It’s simple. God wants to do the impossible in your life because He chose you for His glory. You didn’t earn it, you don’t deserve it and you never will. God just chose you.

And so Mary’s response is the key for us. She may have had doubts, may have still thought it all quite incomprehensible. And yet she expressed her faith in God’s plan with words we all should pray a dozen times a day: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to Your Word.”

IF FAITH IS REAL

In the political campaign just ended, faith was talked about more than in most campaigns in recent memory, at least out here in Colorado. We heard many candidates claim to have faith in God.

Interestingly, more than a few of them quickly went on to say something like this, “However, I try to keep my faith as a private matter between me and my God. I don’t let my faith affect the way I vote or make decisions in the political realm.”

That’s a fascinating kind of “faith;” a kind that, quite frankly, is completely unrecognizable when compared to what the Bible calls faith.

Such a so-called “faith” sees a person’s relationship to deity in completely private terms, making it a kind of hidden hopefulness that some god (who desires to play no active role in one’s day-to-day existence) will one day be nice to everyone and let us all go to heaven – or wherever.

The fact is, faith is not like that at all. If faith is real, it transforms you, and keeps on transforming you, making you little-by-little more like Jesus. That transformation is not isolated to the “religious” part of yourself, but extends to every aspect of your personhood: who you are, what you do, how you make decisions, and what you consider to be valuable.

Thus, if faith is real, it can’t be hidden, because it changes you. It can’t be privatized, because it makes you live differently. And it certainly can’t be relegated to the “religious sphere” of one’s life – whatever that is.

Inspired by God’s Spirit, James stated it this way: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). That’s blunt enough, isn’t it?

Or, to put it another way: if your faith doesn’t produce changes in your life, it’s not faith at all. It’s just a corpse – it may look real, but there’s no life in it.

If faith is real, it always results in change, because when you place your faith in Jesus Christ, a new life begins. You become a whole new person on the inside. Suddenly, you are changed. Formerly just a child of your earthly parents, you become a child of your heavenly Father. And since you have become His child, the family resemblance begins to take over. As you live out your life of faith in an intimate love relationship with God, the things that matter most to Him also come to matter most to you. Your values become more in tune with His values. Your heart begins to break over the things that break the heart of God. And you begin to be committed to those ideals God is committed to.

And, none of that can be hidden. It shows. Always. I repeat: A-L-W-A-Y-S. Indeed, if nothing shows, if no change is visible, then there’s nothing there. No real faith at all.

So, next time you hear politicians -- or anyone else, for that matter! -- say they have a kind of so-called faith that doesn’t change the way they live and act and vote, ask yourself who they’re trying to fool.

One thing’s for sure. They’re not fooling God.

Not an actual article, but, so, like, anyway . . .

. . . I mean really, uh, anyway, we were going out to, uh, the ,uh, you know, thing, and all, and when we got there, well, uh, the dude was, like - "whoa man!" I mean, and we were all, uh, you know - "whoa!" and stuff, and when I said to him, like, you know, "hey man", and all they, I mean he, was all "what?" and stuff - and I just told him what you said and all and they were all man - "not cool dude", but whatever - so, uh, we split and went back to my lair and just hung out and whatever, but the whole thing was, like, just SUCH a bummer and all but, you know, it was cool and stuff, but you just gotta, you know, about the dude and all, like, it's cool and all you know, but what's up with that "blah blah blah"? Whatzit got to do with Jesus and all? I mean, really, dude, whatever . . . but, it's cool and all . . . so, anyway, you know, I mean, like, right?

PASTORS NEED TO BE PRAYED FOR

News flash: pastors are people too. Just like all Christians, pastors are tempted with many of the usual enticements of this world. Though this should never be used as an excuse for sin, it is an important reality to remember, especially in view of the recent news out of Colorado Springs. The much-publicized moral failure of well-known pastor Ted Haggard highlights the need for the church to learn to relate in more healthy way with the real people that pastors are.

However, before I go any further, let me state unequivocally that what Ted Haggard did was wrong and sinful, and it was appropriate, by his own admission, that He be removed from his ministry.

In his letter of departure from his church, Ted Haggard wrote something intriguing. He indicated that, though he had accountability partners to help him overcome temptation, he let pride and shame keep him from being honest with them, and so the power of the temptation grew until he sinned. Interesting, isn’t it? He was ashamed that he was tempted, so he quit talking about his temptations, and eventually gave in to them.

The question naturally arises: why would anyone be ashamed of being tempted? After all, being tempted is not the same as giving in to the temptation. Temptation is when we sense an opportunity or an urge to sin. Scripture says that everyone is tempted, and that includes Jesus Himself during His earthly ministry. Indeed, Hebrews 4:12 says, “He was tempted in every way that we are, but He didn't sin.” Clearly, temptation to sin is not the same as sin itself.

Why do some folks seem ashamed that they are tempted? I don’t know for certain, but, I do know why some pastors won’t talk about their temptations: they’re afraid if they admit to being tempted they may be considered weak or somehow flawed. They wonder whether their admission of being tempted will turn into a church-wide object of gossip rather than being kept a confidential subject of prayer. They may even think that, because church leaders must aspire to a higher standard (see James 3:1), some will criticize them because they haven’t “gotten over that” by now.

However, the point here is not so much to analyze pastors, but rather to learn to deal with temptation in a healthy way BEFORE it leads to sin. Imagine the victory we would enjoy if we could say to a fellow Christian, “I’m struggling with a particular temptation. Would you pray for me?” How healthy it would be if pastors could discuss their temptations with a few other Christians, to objectify the temptation, reveal the schemes of the Tempter, and thus prevent sin before it takes place. Indeed, how beneficial it would be if all of us would pray for each other about our temptations, lest we give in to them!

Yes, pastors are people. Though that doesn’t excuse it when they sin, it does remind us that they, like all Christians, need the freedom to share their temptations and ask for prayer.

Could your pastor ask you for this kind of prayer?

WHAT WE DESERVE

“I only want what I deserve in this relationship!” he growled as he turned and walked out of my office.

I cringed.

“Deserve.” What a deadly word.

Little-by-little, that attitude was crushing the life out of their marriage.

Sadly, like far too many relationships, this marriage had turned into a score-keeping contest. Every offense he committed against her was accurately tallied by her and indelibly inscribed in her memory. Every “nice thing” he did for her was remembered by him to see whether she would respond in kind or not.

Nothing was ever forgotten. They both kept very precise scorecards.

And, of course, they both insisted they wanted only what they deserved.

The encounter drew me back in memory to that night of trial when, all too early, my wife went into labor with twins. Having already endured two miscarriages, we were afraid and uncertain as we headed for the hospital, hoping and praying. As I counted the twenty-something miles to the hospital, Deb counted the minutes between contractions; and I cried out to God in my spirit, “Okay, Lord, how much is enough? After all, we’ve dedicated our lives to Your Kingdom. Doesn’t that mean anything to You? Don’t we deserve better than this?”

Nothing.

Nothing except that single word, “deserve,” thrown back into my breaking heart by the piercing sovereign silence of Him Who had already spoken so many times.

Like the tolling of a huge bell it sounded in my mind.

Deserve.

When all is said and done – or so the silence seemed to say – what indeed DO you deserve? In view of the fact that even your righteous deeds are like filthy rags before Him? Remembering that in you, that is in your flesh, dwells no good thing?

Suffering and pain, no doubt, if the truth were told. Let’s not kid ourselves. We know, all too well, the cherished jealousies and petty hatreds of our secret selves, the untold sin we try to hide even from our own consciences. What do we deserve? Ruin, anguish and fear, in this life, to be sure. And after that, worse forever, unspeakably worse.

That’s the gloomy ride for which keeping score buys you a fist full of tickets, all purchased and paid for by your own desire to “deserve” it.

But God has a better plan.

It’s called grace.

God’s riches at Christ’s expense.

It means not only do you NOT get what you deserve – and that would be enough! – but, moreover, that you DO get what you DON’T deserve. In fact, you get what Jesus deserves, because He took what you deserved.

It’s an amazing transaction to which God calls us! What an astonishing offer! We let go of our deserved desperation, and received an eternally undeserved mercy!

Now, in view of the immensity of God’s grace, how dare we cry out for what we deserve, as if God were beholden to our sorry sense of justice?

You think about that, next time you’re tempted to demand what you deserve.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY SAY?

"The Lord helps those who help themselves."

"Know thyself. To know thyself is the deepest knowledge of all."

"To thine own self be true."

How many of the above quotes are from the Bible? Stop for a moment and think before you answer.

In a recent survey of American homes, 91% had at least one Bible. Yet, eight out of ten American adults think the first quote above is from scripture. It's not. You'll find it in "Poor Richard's Almanac;" but it’s not in God's Word.

The second quote comes from an ancient Greek document called "The Delphic Oracle," ascribed by legend to Pythagoras; but it’s not in the Bible.

The third quote is interesting. New Age guru and sometime actress Shirley MacLaine, in her book “Out On a Limb,” claims that Jesus said it. MacLaine must have forgotten her Shakespeare. The Bard penned that line, and you can find it in "Hamlet;" but it’s not in the Bible.

Famous pollster George Gallup recently stated that America has “become a nation of biblical illiterates." Gallup and Christian researcher George Barna back up that claim with plenty of survey results. Look at the statistics revealed in some recent polls, and compare with your answers.

Fewer than half of all American adults can name all four Gospels. How many can you name?

Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the twelve apostles. How about you?

Sixty percent of Americans can't name more than four of the Ten Commandments. Give it a try yourself. How did you do?

Here are some more examples, even more astonishing.

One Barna poll stated that one out of eight American adults thought Noah's wife was Joan of Arc! A survey of high school seniors indicated that over half of them thought Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. Another poll asked who preached the Sermon on the Mount, and many respondents said Billy Graham did.

We are in big trouble!

It’s one thing for the general populace to be ignorant about the bible. The deeper tragedy is biblical ignorance in the church. Sadly, survey after survey shows the same thing: Christians know less and less about the Bible.

In a nation where more than nine out of ten homes have at least one Bible, why are so few aware of its message? Gallup answers, "Americans revere the Bible – but, by and large, they don't read it.” To know the Bible, you have to read it. Sadly, only four out of ten Bible-owners read it as often as once a week, while just 11% read it daily.

The result of such biblical illiteracy is that God's people are open to deception. God's Word warns of tragedy for those who don't know His decrees. "My people are destroyed by their lack of knowledge . . . because they have neglected the Law of God" (Hosea 4:6).

The world around us is full of deception. The only way you can know the truth is to read it.

Do you?

What's Possible

In the previous article I discussed the life transformation that can take place when you trust Jesus minute by minute and step by step with the details of your life. I proposed that He can and will change your life, and you will become more like Him, if you do that.

Even as I pushed the “send” button that transmitted my article via cyberspace to the local newspaper here in Sterling, I could hear the sound of unbelief saying, “Yeah, riiiiight! This is Sterling, and we’re different. We don’t change.”

I could hear those words, because I’ve heard them before. Indeed, any pastor who has been here more than a few months has heard those words, or read them in the archived minutes of his church’s business meetings.

Think with me for a moment about the magnitude of those words, “We don’t change.” Jesus came to change lives, to transform them utterly. Remember that Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good, which would be miracle enough. No, He came to do much more than that. The transformation He works is nothing less than making dead people alive. Change, in other words, is so very at the heart of what Jesus came to do, that saying “We don’t change” is the same as saying “Jesus, we don’t want You here.”

With that in mind, let’s remember why we often don’t want to change. I think it has to do with our conviction about what’s possible. Let’s face it: we either live up to our beliefs or live down to them. I think a lot of the time when we say, “We don’t change,” what we really mean is “We can’t change.” Maybe other people can, in nicer towns, where people have more money or more opportunity, but not us, not here.

When we talk like that or think like that, we’re focusing on the wrong part of the picture, and by “the wrong part,” I mean us. The issue, at its most basic, is not whether we can change, but rather, whether God, Who spoke the world into existence and raised His Son from the dead, can change us. Do we believe God can change us?

Here are some questions we who claim to trust Jesus need to ask.

What’s possible . . . when human beings pursue the kingdom of God with Jesus as their Leader?

What’s possible . . . when we learn to bring the details of everyday living under the Lordship of the crucified and risen Son of God?

What’s possible . . . when we enter into apprenticeship in the service of the King, with the Holy Spirit as our Teacher and Guide?

What’s possible . . . when we dare to make radical obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ the cause and source of our life’s joys?

Anybody out there want to find out . . .

. . . what’s possible?

When You Trust Jesus

The Gospel, if it is about anything, is about Jesus transforming your life. During His earthly ministry, Jesus was all the time changing people. He changed a Roman tax collector and a Zealot into friends. He changed a prostitute into a servant. He changed Peter, a pompous boaster, into the leader of the fledgling church. He changed Christian-hunter Saul into world-evangelizing, empire-challenging Paul.

The common factor of all these lives changed by Jesus is not what they were before they met Him, but what happened when they did. And what happened was that they all began to act more like Jesus. His nature, His character, and even His actions came to dominate their very lives.

To them the Gospel was more than just something to be affirmed in church on Sunday. The Gospel was what introduced them to Jesus, and Jesus is what - or rather, Who - changed their lives. Changed them. Transformed them. Made them different from what they were before - radically different!

The world, when it takes time to be honest with the church - and by "the world," I mean those outside the church, those who have never truly met Jesus - has some great questions to ask the church and its people who claim to have met Jesus, claim even to know Him. One of the greatest of the world's questions is this one: "Why don't Christians act more like Jesus?"

The reason I say it's a great question is that it's very similar to one Jesus Himself posed to His sometimes-avid, sometimes-aloof followers of two millennia ago: "Why do you say to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' but do not do what I say?"

I think the answer to both questions is the same: we don't trust Him. Not really, not with the everyday things of this life where we live. Oh, there are plenty of people who trust Him with the sweet by and by. But what about the sour here and now?

Trusting Jesus in the here and now means saying to Him, "Jesus, I want You to be in my whole life. I want You to be in all of my living. Please transform every aspect of my life. Please, Lord, I want you to show what to do and how to do it."

And then learn to listen and obey.

And so the cure to the problem of not acting like Jesus, of not having a transformed life, is this. Trust Jesus. Trust Him in everything and with everything. Trust Him in your job. Trust Him in your marriage. Trust Him with that co-worker who's always on your case. Trust Him with your money. Trust Him with your health. Actively, consciously, in trusting prayer, bring all these aspects of your daily life to Him.

Then, see how He changes you, transforms you and remakes you . . .

. . . when you trust Jesus.

What We Really Need

Hmmm. Maybe I should call this space "Once a MONTH for God." Sorry it's been a while. Here's the most recent piece written for the Sterling, Colorado "Journal-Advocate"



One of the common experiences of the human heart is to cry out to God in time of need. Even people who don’t consider themselves Christian may occasionally say something like “God, help me!”

This kind of prayer arises out of all kinds of needs. Common on this list of needs are financial problems, physical illness, marital difficulty, and what I call “rust needs,” meaning the problems that arise from the fact that all the mechanical things in our lives wear out or rust out.

I find myself praying like this a lot; indeed, too much. It disturbs me that so much of my praying is about my felt needs, rather than about the plans of God for my life. After all, who is the focus of my life: me, or Jesus Christ? As a Christian, I declare that Jesus Christ is the rightful center of my existence. He alone has the right to sit on the throne of my life, and thus, He should be at the heart of all my praying. Sadly, I find that far too often my prayer life is driven primarily by the needs I feel in my life.

Do you experience that? Mind you, Jesus truly desires to be the Lord of all those needs, and longs to show Himself to us in every situation. However, shouldn’t our focus be on Him, and not on ourselves?

Recently I’ve been blessed by Elisabeth Elliott’s book, “Keep a Quiet Heart.” Mrs. Elliott is the widow of Jim Elliott, a missionary to the Auca people in South American who was slain by those with whom he was attempting to share the gospel. After her husband was killed, she continued to minister to his murderers, eventually leading many of them to faith in Christ.

In “Keep a Quiet Heart,” Mrs. Elliott reminds us that what we really need from God far transcends our felt needs. One of her chapters describes the “Jesus Prayer,” which developed in Middle Eastern tradition more than a thousand years ago, but has obvious roots in Jesus’ own teaching on prayer. It goes like this: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It’s similar to the prayer that Jesus Himself affirmed in Luke 18:13-14a – “But the tax collector . . . beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified . . .”

It’s a concept of crucial importance for our prayer lives, because it reminds us that anything God gives us, except the condemnation we so richly deserve, is the result His overt and extravagant mercy. What we feel we need may involve all sorts of blessings and repairs, and God may, in fact, wish to give them to us. But let’s be wise about this: what we need, what we all need, what we really need, is mercy from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you asked Him for mercy today? It's a really good way to start.