Just Say, "I'm Sorry"

 April 8, 2024

Monday

Years ago, a movie's by-line was, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Every person who has had a close relationship knows this is wrong.

I read recently that the two hardest words to say to someone you are close to are, "I'm sorry." There may be lots of reasons that this is true but it doesn't matter. "I'm sorry," just might be the two most healing words we can say too. Relationships that have been damaged for years could be repaired if "I'm sorry" began the conversation.

It is no wonder that God opposes the proud. The proud want the rest of the world to see things their way. They look down on others. They don't see that they must say, "I'm sorry." This is below their stature. This would bring them to the level of the ones they have offended.

This sounds good unless you are the one who is proud. Pride seems to hide itself from those who are proud. They are simply right and that doesn't make them proud. They don't see the damage they have caused. They didn't even realize that they ridiculed the person who may have disagreed with them. They don't realize that their relationships always hang in the balance between being prideful and being humble. Those who are prideful can't have deep relationships. They continue to sabotage them.

Pride is not the gospel that the Lord called us with. He called us to being slaves to Him and servants of everyone else. He said that the greatest would be the servant of everyone. There is no room for pride. There is plenty of room for saying, "I'm sorry."

Responding to the gospel itself begins with saying, "I'm sorry." Realizing that sin is present and it must be forgiven requires these words. Repentance never follows a great deal of pride. Salvation is not gained by thinking it is deserved. The humbled one comes to Jesus.

So, is there any one-time close friend that you need to say, "I'm sorry," to? You could start the repair to something you once had with those words. If you know the Lord Jesus, you will make this effort. That is, unless pride gets in the way.

Matthew 5:9 (NASB 2020) ⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

When We See God Work

 April 7, 2024

Sunday

The staff at our church is going through "Experiencing God." Some have done it before. I have led a few groups of "Experiencing God" back in the early 90s. You would think I would have learned what it says a long time ago. 

Experiencing God says that we should look for where God is working and join Him. The following verse is used:

John 5:19 (NASB 2020) ¹⁹ Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way.

Jesus watches His Father to determine what He should be doing. After seeing what His Father is doing He joins the Father. It is a pretty plain. It reminds me of Peter seeing Jesus walking on the water asks if he can come out and join Jesus. Of course he can.

None of this is new. But today I was reading in John 16:13 and I saw things better.

John 16:13 (NASB 2020 ¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

The Holy Spirit speaks to the believers by hearing what the Father says. There is an incredible harmony between the members of the Trinity. No one speaks out of turn. No one acts out of turn. The principle holds true that we don't simply think of things that we can do for God. We see God working and join Him in what He is doing. We don't simply try to think of the greatest things that will break records. We act humbly as we join God. Therefore, He provides the work, provides the strength and provides the resources and He gets all the glory. We take our place as His slaves.

While that may mean that we don't get our own names up in lights, it does take away the pressure of performing so that what we do is noticed by the world. In fact, I believe we did it wrong if God doesn't get all the glory.

Yours and my greatest claim is that we are servants of the most high God. All of our accomplishments should add up to that. While it is more than reciting lines in a play, it is less that being the star attraction. 

So, we look to see where God is working with a decided commitment to obey. 

Show us, Lord, where you are working. Invite us to join you and we will. Amen

A Time to Be Bold

 April 6, 2024

Saturday

It seems that each time we watch the news that we are warned of a new fear. We are to be afraid of global warming, afraid of the weather, afraid of a recession, afraid of what we eat, afraid to go out into the world, and afraid of anything that can possibly make us afraid. Eventually, we will barricade ourselves in our homes with our solar panels for energy, water treatment devices to purify our water and let Amazon deliver food in our garages so that we don't need to go outside. We will consider ourselves perfectly safe while we are prisoners to our fears.

So, Christians have come up with a mantra: "Being in the hands of God is the safest place to be." Where did we get the idea that being in the hands of God was the safest place we could be? God Himself is dangerous. He could send you to a country where you will be persecuted and martyred. Witnessing boldly might even land you in prison in this country some day. The media push points out that less people are calling themselves Christians than ever before. Those who aren't committed will go toward the accepted values of the majority. They will join the ranks of those who will call out, "Crucify him!" to make sure they aren't in danger.

God never wanted us to live in fear. Very often, fear and faith are in opposition to each other. Either our fears keep us from acting in faith or our faith keeps us from acting in fear. However, acting in faith is always outside of what the world considers safe. 

There was a time when the safest thing was to professed your faith in Christ. You would be accepted and included in those who were praised. That time has either passed in many places or is on the verge of passing. We are getting closer to the days that resemble the first century very quickly. There may come a time when Christians are openly persecuted. Many Christians will abandon faithfully acting as followers of Jesus Christ when this happens. Many others will step up and boldly claim their faith. Fear will not rule them.

Our faith has always taken giant leaps forward under unsafe environments. Christianity is spreading in China. It spread during the days of communism in the Soviet Union. It meant a great deal to claim to be a follower of Christ when others knew that by doing so you would face a very unsafe persecution.

What did believers pray for when persecution was at their door during the first century? They prayed for boldness. They fully understood what they might happen for their faith but they didn't let their fears overrule faith. 

Amazingly, this is the reason the gospel spread so fast. It spread in a fearful environment. 

I am not saying that open persecution is eminent. I am just saying that we cannot live in fear of it. I am saying that we need to resolve right now that we are followers of Christ and no opposition from anything else will change that. I am saying we need to pray for boldness.

Acts 4:29–31 (NASB 2020)²⁹ And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence, ³⁰ while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹ And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

The Testimony of a Life Lived in the Spirit

 April 5, 2024

Friday

Have you ever noticed that it some people don't seem to catch Christianity? They made a profession of faith some time in their past but they just don't get it. They don't know very much about the Bible. They aren't very active in church even though they attend most Christmases and Easters. They want their children to be baptized. Yet, their lives don't show much interest in Christ or what He is doing in the world.

To tell you the truth, I was like this one time. I didn't go to church even though I could point to the moment of my salvation. I could tell you very little of the Bible and could be led into any heresy that said Jesus or had a cross as it's symbol. One day I realized that if this is all true, I had better be committed to it. Otherwise, I would live a secular life that would never account for much.

Now, I am constantly running into people who are exactly like I was. They don't seem to care that they are AWOL when it comes to Christ's service. I want to tell them how much they are missing but its seems like telling a blind person about the color red. I can't relate them to what the experience is like. They only know what they have seen and they aren't very impressed. Some of these people will tell me of something that was meaningful to them years ago. They seem to be living off of that experience. I wonder if they know they are saved or not.

This is not to be critical of these people for, remember, I was one of them at one time. I just want them to know Jesus like I know Jesus. It is not my place to judge them. It is my place to encourage them deeper in the faith. The writer of Hebrews says that people like this have become dull of hearing. That's what happens when the Spirit speaks and the hearer quenches the Spirit again and again. Eventually, he can't hear any more. How do you speak to someone who can't hear you?

I guess I must live my life full of the Spirit to give them an example of what they are missing. I know I have feet of clay and often fail but I just need to get up and keep trying.

People that can't hear our gospel should be able to see it. That is, if we will live it out.

Hebrews 5:11 (NASB 2020)¹¹ Concerning him we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become poor listeners.

Restoring the Fallen

 April 4, 2024

Thursday

Scripture records that John Mark abruptly leaves Paul and Barnabas during their first missionary journey. We don't know the reason why, but we do know that it greatly upset Paul. John Mark was either necessary for the mission or Paul didn't care for the character of someone who would commit to something and abandon it before it was completed. All we know is that Paul didn't want to have anything to do with him on later missionary trips. The disagreement was so great that Paul and Barnabas would split on a subsequent missionary journey because Barnabas thought they should take John Mark again. Paul would not have him on the mission. Paul, therefore takes Silas and Barnabas takes John Mark as each head for different missionary destinations.

Much later we find that Paul asks for John Mark and calls him useful. The problem was trust. Trust is faithfulness over time. Paul was unwilling to trust John Mark for some time. In the end, Paul again trusts John Mark.

Many Christians have no place for redemption for those who have failed in the faith. They write off those who have fallen. They have no path that they can be redeemed. They are done with those who sin as if they have never sinned. 

Make no mistake, those who have sinned need to be disciplined. They should be taken out of the ministry for some time. They should be given an opportunity to redeem themselves. They also need to be given the opportunity to be faithful and restore trust. They need someone who will come alongside them to give them this opportunity.

Too often those who abandon their mission act like nothing has happened. They continue to act with impunity. They are either deceiving themselves or others about their relationship with the Lord. In other words, they can't have a close walk with the Lord as long as they continue in disobedience and either have excused themselves for their failure or have deceived others into thinking that the mission has "changed." Those who won't acknowledge their failure cannot be redeemed for they see no reason to act differently than they are acting.

However, when you see someone who has failed and grieves over that failure, you should ask if you are the "Barnabas" that God would use to restore them. Even the "Pauls" of the world will come around if they are found faithful. Trust must be rebuilt. You may be the one to help them rebuild it.

Acts 15:36–40 (NASB 2020) ³⁶ After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

Should Christians Tithe?

April 3, 2024

Wednesday

Sometimes people come to me and ask if Christians are free from the law. They will bring up dietary laws mentioned in the Old Testament. The real question is whether they are supposed to tithe but they are afraid to ask that one.

They have good reason for not asking about the tithe. I am paid by God from their tithes, gifts or offerings. They see me as an employee of the church. They surmise that I will tell them they must tithe so that I can make more money. First off, this is not true. I make the amount the church approved in the budget. If we have a tremendous year, I don't make any more money.

My tithe is the largest amount of money I disperse in any given month. If I didn't tithe, I could buy a new car with cash every other year. So, I understand where they are coming from. The problem is that it has never worked like that for me. I have found that when I had the discipline to tithe, I also didn't spend money unnecessarily. Thus, I had more money by giving a tithe and an offering. (An offering is above the tithe.)

So, what does the Bible say? Are we still under the law? Absolutely not! Does that mean that we can violate the law as we see fit? Absolutely not! We cannot ignore the Ten Commandments and violate them whenever it is convenient. No, they still give us a structure for living godly lives.

What principle should be applied when concerning the tithe? Let's look at a couple of scriptures.

Matthew 23:23 (NASB 2020) ²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Jesus said that the Pharisees neglected the weightier provisions of the law. His rebuke was not on their tithing. In fact, as precise as their tithe was, Jesus still said this is something they should have done but without neglecting those weightier things.

2 Timothy 3:2–5 (NASB 2020) ² For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

Many people don't tithe because they are lovers of money and lovers of pleasure. They put God below the money they spend on themselves. I am not talking about those who don't have the money to put food on the table. The scripture is plain on this as well. We take care of our families' physical needs. The problem I find is that people are saying that new cars and 65" TVs are part of those physical needs. They don't tithe because they make sure that they get what they want beyond their physical needs before they consider God. The give God leftovers.

God is a very generous God. He gave His only begotten Son. We can never match God's gift to us. He intended for us to be generous too. That is why we say that it is more blessed to give than receive. We are fulfilling the characteristic of God He has created us with when He created us in His image.

So, should we tithe? We tithe as soon as our family is fed, clothed and housed. If we don't we will find ourselves as those who are lovers of money and lovers of pleasure. We can't walk with God by neglecting God.

Wasn't this the real question anyway?

Watch to See that God Is Working

 April 2, 2024

Tuesday

Most of us have heard the adage, "Find a need and fill it." Is this what Jesus did? The surprising answer is no. 

I read the following scriptures this morning: 

John 5:17–20 (NASB 2020)¹⁷ But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” ¹⁸ For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. ¹⁹ Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.

Jesus didn't just look for a need, He looked for where His Father was doing and joined His Father in this work. 

Each of us has been called to certain tasks. These tasks have two aspects. We are gifted to perform these tasks and God must show them to us. We are not simply to go willy-nilly into the world determining needs without the Spirit revealing where God wants us to join Him.

Now think for a moment: if God wants us to join Him, shouldn't He offer the invitation. In other words, shouldn't God show where He is working so that you will join Him. Could God actually work on the other side of the equation and send people who indicate that God has been working in their lives to you. 

So, by walking with God, God sends people to indicate where He is working. If we continue to walk with God, we accept the invitation God has sent and join Him in the work.

Last year, I began to think of the things people ask me about the most. They want to know how to pray, forgive, have hope in hopelessness, etc. So, I outlined 2024 to be a year to address those questions. I don't see this as my preaching plan for 2024, I see this as God's preaching plan for 2024. Now, I don't think that God is seeking to grow our church numerically as much as He is preparing the people for some greater work that He is doing. Truthfully, churches with great attendance may not be joining God at all. They can be content to have a great attendance.

That means that we must be looking for where God is working. It will be in an area that needs people who are more mature in their faith. They will know how to pray, forgive, have hope in hopelessness, etc.  So, let's open our eyes today and every day asking, "Where is God showing me that He is working today?" Then, let's join Him there.