The Peace of God

In a day when it seems all of our surroundings are unraveling, we all long for stability and assurance that everything will be okay. This year will go down as the most unusual with circumstances that have been beyond our control. This was the year of 2020 vision for many. We were all excited to see what this year would hold and to lean into all that was before us. Then March introduced us to Covid.

Three months into this year, we found ourselves quarantined and dealing with an international pandemic caused by a virus that had the capability to leave a person asymptomatic and eventually in the hospital on a ventilator. Then, we as a nation, dealt with protesting and rioting. People were in uproar because of social injustice and racial tension. Now, there are far left wing radicals who are trying to establish a city and government independent of what is already established to rule our country. All of this has caused much panic and fear.

Jesus said as recorded in John 16:36, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

These are powerful words of peace! Jesus says that in Him we have perfect peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He brings the peace that passes all understanding.

The peace of God, which is the word shalom in Hebrew, and eirenen in the Greek, refers to the peace that only comes from Jesus Christ. This peace provides inner satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment. It is a state of being as well as an attitude or mindset. When we receive the peace of Christ, there is no circumstance that will shake us. We realize that no matter how stiff the winds of life may be, Jesus is able to calm the storm.

The house that I live in is located next to a forest of trees. During a windstorm, I often look out my windows to watch the trees. There are trees, that because of the wind, will look like they are about to collapse. The wind will blow them back and forth as if they are pool noodles, on the verge of falling down. Then, I see others, who even despite a powerful wind, are not affected at all. The difference in trees is the root system. The trees with strong roots are able to withstand the onslaught of harsh winds that come against them.

This is a picture of what Jesus does, imparting His peace to His children, in the midst of difficult circumstances. His peace is an anchor for our souls. It solidifies us even when our world seems to be crashing down. He calms the storm.

Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

Receive His peace today.

Our Father and Fear

I was awaken in the middle of the night recently, by my children coming into our bedroom to find love and comfort. We were experiencing a loud thunderstorm in our area of North East Atlanta. I could tell it was bad when I discovered that all four of my kids decided to join my wife and I.

It was fear that led them to interrupt our sleep. They were afraid of what might happen to them during the storm. It was a difficult combination of being tired, being in the dark and hearing the wild storm outside their windows. All of this led to their fear. They began to ask questions like, “When will this stop? What if a tree falls on our house? Will we be okay?” I totally understood where they were coming from because I can remember, as a child, crawling under my pillow and covers when a major storm rolled through my neighborhood.

When we have fear creep into our lives, we need a way to deal with it. Fear can cripple a person. It needs to be dealt with. Fear can come in all shapes and sizes. We can be afraid of the future. We can be afraid of suffering. We can be afraid of something happening to our family. We can be afraid of sickness or death. We can live in fear of many things.

My children knew, that night, that if they came into our room, we, as parents, would give them a sense of security and comfort. They knew that the moment they walked into our room, they would have those things. They were right. When I woke up, I wanted to answer each of their questions and make sure that they were comfortable enough to go back to sleep.

I was reminded that night, as I laid in bed, of the love and care of our Heavenly Father. What my wife and I provided our children, that night, is what our Heavenly Father provides for us. He provides love, care and acceptance. 

Receiving the love of our Heavenly Father will help us conquer any fear in our lives. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no love in fear because perfect love drives out fear.” The moment we receive the love of the Father, it is as if we have a complete antidote for fear. Love and fear cannot operate in the same room. The Father’s love will drive out any fear that we have. He gives us a sense of security and self-worth that can conquer all fear.

Have you received the full extent of the Father's love for you? God wants to reach every area of your life with His love. As the song goes, He is a good, good Father, it's who He is. Paul says in Romans, "There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus." But His love needs to be received. We need to open up every area of our lives, so that the love of God can come in and meet every desire we have to be loved and accepted. Our relationship with God begins as we understand that He is a loving Father.

Are you dealing with fear in your life? Receive the love of the Father. When you do, you will see the things of this earth grow strangely dim. He loves you.

The Breakdown of the Family

At the core of every community are the families who live in it and create an environment that we call home.  The family has been the core of any community since the foundation of the world.  In Genesis 2:18, we read that God said, "It is not good for man to be alone."  So what did God do?  He created woman and they started a family.  The family was God's design from the very beginning.

Then, as we read in the early days of Israel's history, God established bedrock principles for the family.  Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  Parents are to first of all love and honor God, and then to train their children to do the same.  The end of the book of Joshua, in chapter 24, Joshua is transitioning out of leadership and he gives the people of Israel one final command, "Choose you this day whom you will serve."  Then he makes a remarkable statement, which should be the mission of every family, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Furthermore, as we look at the teaching of Jesus in the gospels, He makes it very clear that man and woman were designed to enter a marriage covenant for the purpose of starting a family.  Mark 10:6-9 says, “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’  ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  From this passage we learn several truths:  1)  God established marriage.  2) Marriage is between one man and one woman.  3) Marriage is the instrument for starting a new family. 

In addition, as we read in Ephesians, we gain further insight into how a family should function with the man as the leader or head of the family.  Ephesians 5:22-24 says, "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." There are too many homes where the head is missing.

It's sad to look around my neighborhood and see a breakdown of the family.  I see single parent homes, live in boyfriends/girlfriends, children being born out of wed-lock, children being abused, children who are living a rebellious life with no parental authority demanding respect, and this just barely scratches the surface.  Seeing this breakdown, literally breaks my heart.

One of the main factors for this breakdown is because our government has gotten away from Biblical principles.  It all begins as a little leaven creeps into the bread.  As I consider our culture and the breakdown of the family, there are four factors that are contributing to this breakdown.  These four areas in no particular order are: divorce, pornography, abortion, and gay marriage.  Each of these issues lead to the breakdown of families and the breakdown of homes.  Our government has enabled much of these problems.  They have taken what is sacred and holy and made it common.  It has caused the standards of purity and righteousness to be lowered.  In the words of Isaiah, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have each turned our own way."

It's obvious we are living in what the Bible refers to as the last days.  As a follower of Christ, it's easy to get discouraged as we see this decay happening in our culture and certainly as it pertains to the breakdown of the family.  However, it is suppose to happen.  May our discouragement be reversed as we turn our attention to the return of Christ.  The world will get worse and our children and grandchildren will deal with it much worse than us.  However, the return of Christ is our hope!  Until then, may our commitment to Christ grow strong.

I have come to appreciate the words from a little known book in the Bible, Jude 1:17-13, "But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.  But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.  Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."

That last verse is becoming one of my favorites. In my words, "Be merciful to the haters. Save others from the fire of hell." As followers of Jesus Christ, may our lights continue to shine. The only solution to this breakdown of the family is Jesus Christ. May our families grow closer to Jesus and to each other. May we reach out to those families who are in need. May we say, as Joshua did long ago, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Jesus is the answer for the world today. Jesus will keep our families from breakdown.

Are we there yet?

Growing up, my family took several long road trips. I spent my childhood living in Homestead, Florida, which is at the southernmost tip of the state, just north of the Keys. In order to vacate in another state, we had to drive at least 10 hours. One Summer, our family drove from Homestead up to Maine for family vacation. Imagine that! As any child would, I struggled to stay focused during the drive. I knew where I came from and I knew where we were going, but the trip grew long. All I could see was the road ahead and the signs, trees and other cars we were passing. As a child, my limited understanding of mileage and time caused me to ask this famous question, several hundred times on that trip: Are we there yet? In other words, when would we reach our destination? 

I currently find myself in a season of life when I have been asking God this very question: Are we there yet? Eight months ago I was serving along side a lead pastor and enjoying ministry as his associate. Little did I know that soon after that, my senior pastor would leave the church leaving me to serve as the only pastor on staff in a church of 150+ people in weekly attendance. This season of interim ministry has been stretching. I have been stretched to fulfill all of the weekly ministry needs, in addition to leading a growing student ministry. At times I have felt in over my head. I have been more than ready for a lead pastor to respond to God's call to serve here. I know where we as a church want to be, but when will we reach our destination of having a senior pastor in place?

The disciples of Jesus found themselves in a similar situation as recorded at the end of Mark 4. They got into a boat to sail across the sea. While crossing the sea, a huge storm moved in. The wind was strong. The waves were so fierce that water drenched the boat. The disciples were stressed and ready to get to their destination. They couldn't handle the stress on their own. The disciples decided to wake Jesus from a nap, and they asked Him to do something about the storm. Jesus responded by calming the storm and then He told the disciples to relax.

What kind of situation do you find yourself in? Perhaps you know the destination and where you would like to be, but right now it is difficult to see the finish line. Maybe you're in the midst of a crises season of life and have been asking God: Are we there yet? Remember that Jesus is still in the business of calming storms. For me, God has given me strength during this interim ministry in being the lone pastor at my church. Trust in Jesus. He wants to calm the storm in your life and help you get to where you want to be.

Stop Doubting and Believe

I see too many Christians living as if Jesus were dead.  C'mon man, there is so much evidence to the contrary.  First of all are the eyewitness accounts of those who were with Jesus.  We read of those in the Bible and other books.  Then, we have the power of the Holy Spirit which came on the day of Pentecost.  Jesus promised there would come a Helper following His ascension the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit now resides in believers and is operational in those who have surrendered completely to Him.  I have seen the Holy Spirit work in my life and in the lives of others, further evidence that Jesus is alive.

Too often we allow our circumstances in life to create doubt that leads to our falling away from our faith in Jesus Christ.  This happened to Thomas.  We read in John 20:24 that Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared on the first Easter.  Thomas withdrew from fellowship.  Thomas was dealing with the fact that his master, Jesus, had just been arrested and crucified.  He was distraught, depressed and had fallen away from his faith in Jesus.  We know this because when the disciples told him they had seen Jesus, he didn't believe them.  He wanted visible evidence.  Jesus met Thomas in his doubt.  Jesus wasn't turned off by Thomas' doubt.  Instead He proved to Thomas that He was alive.  Jesus told Thomas, "Stop doubting and believe."

Many of us need to hear those words, stop doubting and believe.  Are your circumstances so great, that you are questioning God's goodness and love?  Jesus wants to meet you in the middle of your circumstance.

If Jesus were to walk into the room where you are right now, how would you respond?  I know that I would fall on my face in worship.  This is how I want to live my life.  Romans 12:1 says, "Offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship."  We can worship God with our lives and live in light of Jesus' resurrection, by the power and filling of the Holy Spirit.  

In order for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we need to be completely surrendered.  If we're riding the fence of doubt, our witness will be mediocre.  Jesus doesn't deserve a mediocre follower.  There is no room in the kingdom of God for fence riders.  Jesus deserves His followers to be all in.

These are difficult days to follow Jesus.  The government is making it more difficult to hold to our Biblical values and faith.  When persecution comes, our faith will be tested.  Only those who are all in will take a stand for Jesus.

May our lives be empowered by His Spirit, may we be ignited with a holy passion to represent Jesus well.  May we live as if we've just seen Jesus.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

The Lord continues to speak to me about His longing for faithfulness in the lives of His children.  In a previous blog article entitled Lifesong, I addressed the idea of our life being a message to the world.  I want to continue those thoughts here.

Actions speak louder than words. Do you agree with that statement? Everyone can talk a good game, but not everyone can always back it up. I recall a heated argument that developed on a practice putting green, before a multi-school golf tournament, my senior year in high school. Yes, surprisingly enough, there is trash talk that can happen even in the sport of golf. Golf tends to be a gentlemen’s sport and has always been a sport played with an emphasis on etiquette. However, that day on the practice green, all it took was one student telling his opponent that he would out-drive and out-putt him the entire round. This led to a heated exchange. Golf is a game that requires intense concentration and if your mind is elsewhere during your round, you will end up having to take penalty strokes because of poor shots. To make a long story short, this golfer from the other school wasn’t able to back up his talk. He tried to get his opponent thinking negatively, and as a result it backfired and he found himself being negatively affected by his words.

In my experience as a pastor, I have come across so many people who settle for spiritual mediocrity. These people have a lot of head knowledge but it doesn’t bring life transformation. These people have trusted Jesus as their Savior and it seems they have done so only to avoid an eternity in hell. They attend church on Sunday or youth group on Wednesday night; they may even interact and answer questions about faith and Scriptures. But, when it comes to Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and the weekends, they run their life on their own. Their lives are no different than those who have yet to trust Jesus. Their mouths pour out lies or profanity. Their computers are filled with garbage. Their social media accounts are used as a place to air their dirty laundry. Their lifestyle is camouflaged because they want to fit in with the world.

This last year, the Lord has spoken to me about the importance of godly character. Jesus, in Matthew 5:13-16, calls His followers to be salt and light. Our character is what enables us to be salt and light. Our culture is full of darkness and only we have the ability to bring the light of Jesus. Salt prevents decay. Our culture is decaying with immorality, greed, and pride. It’s only as we become salt, that we can prevent the decay that is happening all around us.

This fall, I am teaching our youth about the Fruit of the Spirit. I have sensed a need to define what a follower of Jesus looks like. We have studied the last part of Galatians 5. There is a battle going on for each of our hearts/souls. It is a battle between our sinful natures and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The enemy wants nothing more than for us to believe his lies and fall into sin. However, as we trust Jesus, the Holy Spirit wants to work through the Word of God to sensitize us to the character qualities of Jesus. Each Wednesday night, we are looking at a different fruit of the Spirit. These fruit are not optional. Fruit are not like spiritual gifts. A follower of Christ may only have one spiritual gift. However, each of us should strive to display each and every fruit.

The first of the nine fruit mentioned in Paul’s list in Galatians 5 is love. Love should be at the center of all we do and all we say. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” This is simply because love should be the igniter for all the other fruit. We can experience joy because of love. We can live at peace because of love. We can be patient because of love. We are kind because of love. We enjoy goodness because of love. We are full of faith because of love. We are gentle because of love. We can be self-controlled because of love. Love is what defines God and if we are followers of Christ, love will be at the center of all we do. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” May the Spirit of God empower each of us to live for Jesus each and every day. May we be known as those who don’t just talk the talk, but we walk the walk!

Lifesong

It has been said that actions speak louder than words. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. I can think of several instances over the years where I have heard someone talk a good walk, but when the rubber met the road their lifestyle didn’t match what came out of their mouth. God desires and deserves so much more.

We live in a fallen world. The world we live in today is more sinful than it was ten years ago. There are so many temptations that cloud our vision every day. God has called us to holiness. Holiness means set apart, different. Just as God Himself is holy, so He desires us to be holy, striving to live a sinless life. So often believers can get caught in a rut of taking advantage of God’s grace. We can catch ourselves thinking, “God will forgive me and therefore I can continue sinning.” That’s the wrong mindset to have. The Bible says in Romans 6:1, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase, by no means, we died to sin!” Our lives should not conform to the world around us. We should not desire to be camouflaged Christians. God calls us to stand out, to be salt and light!

As believers, God has given us absolute freedom. Scripture says in John 8:36, “If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.” What a joy it is to be called children of God. We are loved with an everlasting love. We are able to love because He first loved us. This freedom we experience in Christ should cause our countenance to be different from the world. The inner freedom that we experience should cause our personality to overflow with the joy of the Lord. Our lives should be different.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” This is a great verse, and I have, over the years, debated in my mind about what that exactly means. I have concluded that as believers God has called us to worship Him with our lives. This happens 24-7-365. This is not just something we do on a given Sunday morning or simply during a Bile study experience. This is daily dying to ourselves and taking up our cross and putting Jesus first. It is complete surrender, saying, “Lord, not my will, but yours be done.” It is doing everything in life to the audience of One, for His praise and for His glory.

Several years ago, I took a group of middle school students to Night of Joy at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando FL. One of the featured bands at this event was Casting Crowns. They had previously released an album entitled Lifesong (lyrics below). The title song is featured first on the CD and has become one of my all-time favorite songs. This song speaks of this challenge we face as believers to allow what happens at church to be carried over into our daily lives. Our lives should reflect Christ’s work in us. A statement that lead singer Mark Hall made that Friday night, years ago and has stuck with me today is: “All of life is worship.” He hit the nail on the head. That statement has continued to resonate in my mind as I strive to worship Jesus no matter what I'm doing.

In conclusion, I want to ask you, what song is your life singing? When people observe your life and character, what do they see? Are you above reproach in every area? When you do mess up, are you quick to admit you were wrong? My challenge to you is to take a spiritual inventory and allow the Holy Spirit to empower you to live a life that is without compromise. A life that says, “I am in madly in love with Jesus.”


Lifesong by Casting Crowns
© Copyright 2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI)

Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight
May the words that I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to you

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sing Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Lord, I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet
So may the words that I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to you

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to you

Leap B 4 U Look

When was the last time you dared to do something that you've never done before? I mean something that you would consider risky. Doing something risky always comes with hesitation. Each of us like to calculate the odds of getting through and surviving whatever it is we are attempting. Some of us have a high threshold for fear and some of us are afraid to walk in the dark.

Last Summer, my son and I enjoyed a father-son retreat to the North Georgia mountains. We had a blast together! We enjoyed experiences together such as making s'mores, building a fort in the woods without tools, and participating in a father-son scavenger hunt. Each of these events were fun, but by far my favorite part of the whole weekend came toward the end of our free time one afternoon. Allan and I went down to the lake to swim and ride the water slides. We also discovered that they had a 50-foot high jump over the deep end of the lake. We had to try that out! Allan and I both climbed the steps leading up to the wood platform that led to the end of this high-dive. He and I both stood there, on the edge, looking down on what seemed like a massive drop. It was somewhat unsettling for both of us as we looked down. Allan decided that he wanted to watch me take the plunge and jump down first. I took a few steps and took the leap, and felt the rush of the few seconds it took in the air to get down, before splashing into the water below. I thought my demonstration was going to be enough for Allan to join me in the lake. Little did I know that it wasn’t going to be that easy. I tried to encourage and cheer him on from the water. Meanwhile, there were other kids jumping off the high-dive, some who were younger than Allan. They too were trying to encourage him. There were several times that Allan looked as if he was going to jump, and then he would get to the edge, and then he would clam up and chicken out. Forty-five minutes had passed and we were running out of time for Allan to make this happen because it was almost time to get cleaned up for supper. With four or five other fathers and sons watching and cheering Allan on, he began to cry and climb down the stairs as if he was about to give up on trying. Deep down, Allan wanted to jump, but every time he got close to the edge and looked down at the lake, he wasn’t sure if his body would survive the plunge. I met him with a hug as he climbed back down the steps to the high-dive. Then I looked at him in his eyes and told him, “Allan, you can do this!” I coached him and challenged him to conquer this fear. After a few minutes he made the climb back up the stairs and made his way out to the edge of the high-dive. By this time, he had a small crowd of fathers and sons cheering him on from the edge of the lake. He took one glance down at the lake, then walked back a little, and then Allan took a leap of faith and jumped down into the lake below. (See picture)

That day, Allan did more than jump into that lake. Allan conquered a fear. Allan stepped out in faith and did something that wasn’t easy for him, something that involved great risk for an eight year old. Needless to say, I was very proud of him. He will be able to look back on that day his whole life, whenever he is faced with a mountain of risk, he can remember the day that God gave him strength.

There was some serious symbolism in that jump. While enjoying our retreat, Allan and I were also anticipating our family’s move to Minnesota. We had spent the last six years living in the South, and we were moving twenty-five hours North to a small town in the heart of Minnesota. We were use to living close to our extended family and this would put us more than a day’s drive away. Why would we make this move? Yes it was risky. Not many people would even consider it. Our family moved to Minnesota because God called us to serve Him. If we aspire to obey the Lord, He will often call us to take great risks for Him.

God asks us to have a risk-taking faith – to move outside our comfort zones and do things to serve others that we can’t do on our own, to follow God into places that cause us to rely completely on Him. Risk-taking faith isn’t for the faint of heart. It stretches us. It breaks us out of mediocrity and it gets us to live out a relentless, nothing holds you back faith in Jesus Christ!

Throughout Scripture we ready of many people who took giant leaps of faith. Abel brought his offering. Noah built his ark. Abraham took his son to be sacrificed. Moses went to Pharaoh. Joshua took charge and rallied the troops. David picked up some stones for his sling. And these examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

God desires obedience. When we walk in obedience, and step out in faith and are empowered by His Spirit, we will do great things for Jesus!