34And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? Mark 8 “Christian” is meaningless. Forget it. Today anyone can call himself a Christian. It’s a status word. It describes what someone says he is. It means no more than what the speaker intends. It doesn’t communicate a unique idea. It’s a non-action word with no universally agreed-to definition. “Follower” is an action word. It implies actions along a path determined by another. It implies a singularity that eliminates all other options. It means Jesus is a pilot, not copilot. He doesn’t make our way possible or more comfortable. It’s all about His Way. Followers were originally called The Way, not “a way” or “your own way.” Admit it. Don’t we want Jesus to make the life we want possible? Don’t we ask kids, “What do you […]
I Must Decrease – What a Hard Saying
Say this out loud, “I must decrease.” How about this: “Less of me.” Hard isn’t it. It’s unnatural for us to believe that we should decrease. It’s easier to say “More of Jesus, Less of Me.” or “Jesus must increase. I must decrease.” When we bring Jesus in, it makes it hard to think we should do anything but decrease. We can focus on the “Jesus must increase” part and not give much thought to our reduction. In the real world, we think of Jesus as a way for us to increase. He is the Healer, the Mountain Mover, the Gift Maker. He is those things but when we repeat them we mean that Jesus is here to give me what I want. He is here to make me all that I can be. That doesn’t sound like a decrease. We shake our heads in disgust at the “prosperity” gospel, but are okay with “Jesus is my co-pilot.” Jesus isn’t around to help us fly our planes. He’s flying His own plane. We are blessed just to be passengers. We are truly blessed when we get to play some small part in the mission. So just how should we […]
Try Getting Your Hands Dirty
When I was a teenager, my parents got me a job “gardening.” Well, it was mostly just weed pulling at well-to-do homes in Crowley where we lived. The gardens seemed endless and the Acadia Parish heat, unbearable. I credit that employment with my motivation to get an education that would allow me to work in air conditioning. I have enjoyed decades of air-conditioned working. I find, however, when I need to take a break from pounding a keyboard or working the phones, I put on my old clothes and work in my yard. After a couple of hours, with dirty hands and sweaty t-shirt, I feel rested. Weird, right? I think I may have found an answer. I read this article this morning: Antidepressant Microbes In Soil: How Soil Makes Your Brain Happy “Soil microbes have been found to have similar effects on the brain as prozac, without the negative side effects and potential for chemical dependency and withdrawal. It turns out getting in the garden and getting dirty is a natural antidepressant due to unique microbes in healthy organic soil. Working and playing in soil can actually make you happier and healthier. What gardeners and farmers have talked […]
Rich Men in Heaven
A good friend of mine just returned from Nepal. One of his observations interested me: We were able to spend time in many home churches throughout the city of Katmandu. It reminded me so much of the early church. For them, their relationship with Christ is EVERYTHING, and the Great Commission is urgent. God is not a hobby or something they add to their list of things to do. He is everything to them, and they willingly walk into the darkness because they know they bring the light of the Gospel with them. I have heard very similar observations from those who have observed the church in areas of poverty and persecution. Jesus warned of this problem. He spoke of the difficulty of the rich in entering the kingdom. He saw a rich young man walk away because he was too attached to his “things.” He compared the difficulty of a rich man following him to the task of a camel getting through a needle: impossible without God. For those who have much, it is difficult to see Jesus as everything. We tend to apply the camel/needle analogy to those who are “richer” than ourselves. The problem in America and […]
Precious Promises
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1: What are the great and precious promises of God? 1 Forgiveness The greatest drag on a joyous life is our inability to get over what we have done. If God forgives and forgets, so should we forgive others and ourselves. “…they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34, ESV). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 ESV). 2 Peace When Jesus greeted anyone, He seemed to know what they needed: “Peace be with you.” He not only promises peace but communion with God that makes it possible. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to […]
Rescue
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, Colossians 1:13 You are not hidden There’s never been a moment You were forgotten You are not hopeless Though you have been broken Your innocence stolen I hear you whisper underneath your breath I hear your SOS, your SOS I will send out an army to find you In the middle of the darkest night It’s true, I will rescue you Rescue by Lauren Daigle If you are truly a follower of Jesus, you have been rescued. It may have taken a spiritual army. It might have been relatively easy. The rescue continues because you and I continue to reside in enemy territory. We can’t find a good place to hide until the end. We are not only in the occupied territory but we are there on a mission. We have a job to do. The enemy seems powerful and the task seems impossible. We have to focus on its simplicity. Our task is to live as rescued people and to tell our rescue story. Rescue Story Zach Williams There I was empty-handed […]
Small Things
Do you ever think that someday you are going to do great things for God? I have to admit I have often thought that and now, at 70 years old, I still sometimes think it. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that unless I, in waiting for that big chance, am missing doing the little things. One of the most admired persons in my lifetime was Mother Theresa. She once said, “We cannot all do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” ~ Mother Teresa.Jan 31, 2017. She began just going outside her convent to help the poor that went hungry outside her doors. I remember as a law clerk, after law school. I worked for a judge in downtown Atlanta. We lived in an Atlanta suburb. I commuted into town for work each day. If I got to work too early I would have to step over and around people, who slept on the streets of Atlanta. By 9, when most everyone was in town for work, the sleepers had all disappeared. I don’t know where they went during the day and never interacted with any of them or thought that much about it. How […]
Getting Things to Work Out
Sometimes things just don’t seem to work out. When that happens I tend to go through a mental checklist. I play Linda Ronstadt’s Poor Poor Pitiful Me a few times in my head. I repeat a few more times, “It’s not me. I’ve done everything I am supposed to.” Then I start having a nagging feeling that maybe I haven’t. My last stand tends to be “surely God would have wanted this to work out.” It’s at this point I begin to consider that what didn’t work out might not have been “according to His purpose.” “His purpose” isn’t always clear to me. In fact, it’s often only after things don’t work out that I recognize my lack of acting “according to His purpose.” How can I know and act in “His Purpose” in advance? 1. Read His Word To know His purpose we have to read his Word. Notice I didn’t say read about His word or listen to sermons or read blogs. Read His word for yourself. This blog should also always be read. 😳 2. Live for others If we begin every day asking what we can do for someone else, we will be miles closer […]