Why Should You Believe the Gospel?

The gospel is the heart, soul, and foundation of Christianity. The gospel says that Man is a sinner, a condition passed down to every human being from Adam and Eve, who rebelled against God and did what God expressly said not to do. The penalty for sin is death and eternal separation from God. But God still loves His Creation and He sent His one and only Son to earth. He lived a perfect, sinless life, and then died on a cross for man’s sin. Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave and returned to heaven, guaranteeing that all who believe in Him have eternal life.
That’s a lot to ask someone to buy into, isn’t it? C.S. Lewis wrote, “If Christianity were something we were making up, of course we would make it easier” (Mere Christianity).
If Christianity were something we were trying to mass-produce wouldn’t we make it more attractive to “sell?” Wouldn’t we create a “hero” who was invincible – who took out His enemies rather than letting them nail him to a cross? If we were making it up, why would we make it so hard to believe? Any fantasy writer knows your story can’t be too far “out there.” There have to be some believable elements to it to be a good story. But truth – they say – is often stranger than fiction.
Could it be that the story we are telling is true? Could it be that it is more than a “story?” Is it possible that this was God’s plan all along? It is not only possible, it is factual. Jesus said that the kingdom of God was prepared for God’s redeemed people “since the creation of the world” (Matt 25:34). Scripture also says that Jesus – the Son of God (Lk 1:35), the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14), the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29) – “was slain from the creation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). That means before God called forth the light, the kingdom was ready and waiting and the plan of salvation was already in place.
I can’t make you believe. But I can tell you that the gospel and Christianity are true. I can tell you that if you do not make a conscious choice for Jesus, you are choosing against Him. So choose well, Beloved. The consequences of your decision are eternal.

Jesus Cares About All of You

Several years ago I came home from work to discover that someone had broken into our apartment. What they took was of little value but the one thing they stole that really mattered was my peace of mind. The next day I told a coworker about our ordeal. He said, “Be grateful no one can steal your salvation.” Honestly, I was annoyed that he dismissed my feelings so flippantly – and so “spiritually.” Of course I was grateful that my salvation was eternally secure, but was my relationship with Jesus only good for the next life? What about the days when my heart is hurting, when my body aches, when my nerves are frazzled, and my load is heavy? Do I face those days and seasons on my own?
Let’s ask the widow of Nain whose only son had died. Jesus encountered his funeral procession and his broken-hearted mother. Luke said, “When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.” He was moved deeply by this mother’s pain and He touched her heart before He touched the son’s coffin and raised him from the dead (see Luke 7:11-17).
When a great crowd of people stayed and listened to Him teach for several days, He was concerned for them. He told His disciples, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” He miraculously stretched a few loaves and fishes to feed more than four thousand people. He cared about their souls, and their empty bellies (see Matthew 15:29-39).
What would the leper say whom Jesus not only healed, but touched with His own holy hand (Matt 8:1-4). Or the centurion who came to Jesus to beg for healing for his servant? The man was made well by Jesus’ spoken word (Matt 8:5-13). How about Peter’s mother-in-law and a house full of sick and demon-possessed people who received healing? Ask the sick little girl and the sick old woman – Jesus ministered to both of them (Mark 5:21-43). All through the Gospels, He healed the physically blind, sick, and lame, comforted the hurting and marginalized, and ministered to the spiritually unwell.
Beloved, Jesus cares about you – all of you – body, soul, and spirit. He came to redeem and restore and He came to heal and comfort. Trust me when I say you can trust Him with your life – now and forever.

Divine Appointments

“That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’” (Mark 4:35).
There was a reason Jesus wanted to cross that lake. “The other side” of the lake was the region of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes) (Mark 5:1). Verse 2 says: “When Jesus go out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him.” I get the sense that this was a divinely arranged appointment. Almost like the man knew Jesus was coming. It is certain that Jesus knew the man was waiting for him there.
He was demon-possessed, living in the tombs and the demons had made him so physically strong that he tore through the chains people had used to bind him. “No one was strong enough to subdue him” (v. 4b). The demons had also made him self-destructive: “Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones” (v. 5). People were afraid of him. They ran away from him. But Jesus ran to him.
I’ve never been demon-possessed, but I have a long history of doing some self-destructive and foolish things that caused me a great deal of grief and pain. Things that caused people to turn away from me. I don’t blame them; I would have turned away from me too. Jesus never did. Not only did He not turn away, He pursued me. He came to me, like it was a divinely appointed meeting.
When Jesus and the demonic came together, miraculous healing happened. Mark said that “the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons [was] sitting there dressed and in his right mind” (v. 15). When Jesus came into my life, he did a miraculous healing work in me too. I won’t say I’m “in my right mind,” but I am not the self-destructive woman I was. My heart is full of peace and hope and He has filled my life with Joy. Because when others ran away, Jesus ran to me.
Maybe your mistakes and foolish decisions have left your life in shambles. Others have run away from the chaos and the neediness in your life. Beloved, do not despair. Jesus is running to you with healing and restoration in His hands and unfailing love in His heart. He has a divine appointment. With you.

Navigating the Unknown

Life is full of unforeseen twists and turns. A job loss, a death, a difficult diagnosis, a child in serious trouble, a decision that shakes your family – we all will face life-altering situations. We will all ask, “What do I do now?” “Where do we go from here?” “How will I cope with this?” It’s pretty unnerving to not know what’s up ahead. I understand this uncertainty very well. As I pray and seek God’s Word, these are the promises I’m clinging to.
God is my guide along the way – “[The Lord] leads me…He guides me…” (Ps 23: 2, 3). God knows where I’m going – even if I don’t. He knows the path I must take and what challenges lie ahead. He knows the best place to cross the river and where to stop and rest for the night. I can follow Him with confidence because He is a good guide.
God is always with me – “The Lord your God will be with you where you go” (Jos 1:9). God knows I need the comfort of His presence as I make my way through unknown territory. He knows I will become anxious and I will have sad days. He also knows I will wander from the path if I lose sight of Him. He is carefully attentive to me, knowing when I need encouragement, strength, help and comfort.
God will provide along the way – “These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything” (Deut 2:7). As He guided them through the wilderness, God provided the Israelites with water (Exodus 15:22-25; 17:1-6), food (Ex 16:4; Num 11:31-32) and even kept their clothes from wearing out – for forty years (Deut 29:5). Jesus reminds me that my Heavenly Father knows all my needs, and is committed to providing all things for me if I will trust in Him (Matt 6:25-33).
I don’t know what uncertain path looms large before you, but God does. He has promised to be with you, to care for you, and to lead you all the way. To where? Your heavenly home. You and I may not be able to see what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow. Take His hand and let Him lead you, Beloved, He not only knows the way, He is The Way.

Marvelous God

“The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23).
When I am in a low season in my spirit God comes to me and lifts me up. He knows what I’ve been through the past year and He cares about the hurt and anxiety it has caused. He also knows that the cure for depression is not chocolate (believe me I’ve had plenty) or pasting a smile over my face. The answer to my weary heart is Him. It is turning my thoughts from myself and turning them to the Lord and how wonderful He is.
I look out my window this morning and see the sun brushing the sky with shades of pink and purple and I see the silhouette of the trees and hear the birds fill the air with praise and think, “LORD, You have done this, and it is marvelous in my eyes!” I look forward to picking up my granddaughter today to spend the week with us and I remember that a year ago I didn’t have any contact with her for several months and I think, “LORD, You have done this, and it is marvelous in my eyes!” I look at this pile of seminary books around me and ponder the opportunity to study and learn about His Word (for free!) and I think, “LORD, You have done this, and it is marvelous in my eyes!” I look at this sweet ministry of writing and teaching and remember when I had a breakdown and thought God could never again use this shattered woman and I think, “LORD, You have done this and it is marvelous in my eyes!” I look at my life, once lost in the pit of sin and the misery of my own foolish mistakes, now redeemed and full of hope and a future and eternal security, and I think, “LORD, You have done this and it is marvelous in my eyes!” And I look at the uncertainty of the future and think, “LORD, You will handle this and it will be marvelous!”
The Scriptures are replete with reminders to consider all that the Lord has done. It is the best way I know to recenter and refocus my mind and heart when life has delivered a hard blow. Beloved, what marvelous thing has God done in your life? Praise Him for it then trust Him to do it again.

Grown-Up Faith

There are some things I know by heart, like how to get to work, how to make a pot of coffee, how to work the washing machine, and how to fall asleep in my recliner. Then there are things I need some help with. When I want to make cornbread, I pull out my mom’s cookbook and turn to the splattered pages. When I am having trouble cyphering numbers, I grab my calculator and hope I enter the figures correctly. And when I am going somewhere I’ve never been I plug in my Garmin and let her guide me. I am not too prideful to ask for help when I need it. Especially with my walk with the Lord.
I used to think the more mature I was in my faith the less I would have to ask for God’s help. Like a child growing less and less dependent on his parents, I thought the point of the Christian life was to be able to stand on my own two feet spiritually. But the more I learn about being in relationship with God the more I realize that the most mature believers are the ones who depend on Him for everything. Mind you, that is “wisdom” that I’ve gained the hard way, by doing what I think is best and suffering the consequences.
I’m struck by Jesus’ words: “By myself I can do nothing . . .” (Jn 5:30). Jesus depended on His Father for wisdom and direction and power that came to Him via the Holy Spirit. Why do we think we can manage life on our own? I am proof that it isn’t so. I need Him every day, every hour, every minute. I need Him because I am weak and He is strong (2 Cor 12:10). I need Him because my wisdom is foolish (1 Cor 3:19). He is the source of true, heavenly wisdom (Jas 3:17). I need Him because I have a bent to sin and only He can rescue me from my sin nature (Rom 7:24-25). I need Him because I can’t see past the moment or the next curve and He sees the end from the beginning (Is 46:10). I need Him because I am prone to wander and lose my way. He is the voice in my ear saying “This is the way, walk in it” (Is 30:21).
The sign of spiritual maturity is leaning on God. Beloved, you will never outgrow your need for your Heavenly Father – and that’s just fine with Him.

Let’s Get Outta That Pit

I’m sitting in Psalm 69 this morning – David is struggling. So am I. He is overwhelmed. So am I. He feels like he is up to his neck in deep waters and sinking into the miry depths. He cannot get a foothold to climb out. He is worn out from calling and seeking help that never comes. He has done some foolish things that seem to have added to his desperate situation. All of this comes from a deep emotional place. I can relate to David this morning.
But here is where David and I differ. He instinctively turns to the Lord. Like a door on a hinge he says, “But I pray to you, O Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation” (v. 13). He knows God’s character – He is sure of the Lord’s faithfulness and love. When the deep waters are closing in on him, he knows his God will not fail him.
I noticed something in this Psalm – David issues a series of pleas that almost sound like a barrage of demands. “Rescue me.” “Deliver me” (v. 14). “Answer me” (v. 16). “Redeem me” (v. 18). But a deeper look tells us that David is speaking from His heart to God’s heart. “O Lord, out of the goodness of Your love; in Your great mercy turn to me” (v. 16). David is appealing to Someone he knows well – someone he thinks about often.
My melancholy nature tends to focus on the pit rather than the Lord. My thoughts do not default to the Lord. I need to do with myself what I sometimes have to do with Joy when I take my hand and turn her little head toward what I want her to see. I need to turn my head – or rather my heart – to Philippians 4:8 and think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. In other words, I need to think about God.
Our thoughts control our feelings, and our feelings control everything else. I invite you to join me in a little exercise Beloved. Let’s write out Philippians 4:8 and put it where we can see it today and remind ourselves to turn our heads and our hearts to God. It’s the only way out of the pit and onto solid ground.

Church Doctrine: Jesus Messiah

When we meet someone special, we want to know all that we can about them. When I met my husband, the first thing I learned about him was that he is an Alabama Crimson Tide fan through and through. Thus, I became a Bama fan too. I discovered his favorite foods and learned from his mother how to cook them. I made it my mission to know him. I guess it worked – we will be celebrating our 39th anniversary this year. Last week I told you that if you want to know God, you should get to know Jesus. If you want to know Jesus, you should learn a little about the Jewish faith. This is His background and it is important to understand who He is. It also gives us insight into details that we, as non-Jews, miss.
The Jewish people lived under outside rule since the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in the late 6th century BC, followed by the Medes and Persians, Greeks, and Romans at the time of Jesus. Because the Lord had promised a Redeemer—the Messiah, Israel looked for a military liberator to break the hold of other nations and restore their independence. They missed Jesus entirely because they didn’t have God’s perspective. They failed to see that they were under the control of the devil and that death was their true enemy.
In the church, this week has, for centuries, been called “Holy Week” and “Passion Week.” Today is Palm Sunday and marks the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Jesus openly presented Himself as Israel’s Messiah and King. He chose a time when all Israel would be gathered in Jerusalem, a place where huge crowds could see Him, and a way of proclamation that was unmistakable.
The people lined the road, praising God, waving palm branches, and throwing their cloaks in front of the colt. They shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt 21:9) because they recognized what Jesus was proclaiming. They began to spread their clothes in the colt’s path to provide a “royal carpet” and they cut branches from palm trees, adding them to their garments on the ground and waving them before the Lord.
He fulfilled every prophecy about the Messiah. He also fulfilled the first prophecy made about Himself as the one who would crush satan’s head (Gen 3:15). This is Jesus, Beloved. Son of God. Son of Man. King of Israel. Is He the King of your heart?

What About When You Run Out of Steam?

I took a couple of days off this week because I have been so tired lately – and because my house desperately needed some spring cleaning. We have been pushing hard at work since we came back from the holiday break. But I have also been emotionally tired. What do we do when we are more-than-a-day-off kind of tired?
Paul, who had every right to whine, also got tired. But he chose to look at his life from a different perspective. He wrote: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor 4:7-9)
He acknowledged that his circumstances were hard – he was being pressed from many different directions by people with very different agendas. He was perplexed; he couldn’t understand why his own people were rejecting the Messiah they had so long sought. He was persecuted – his life was often in danger, his ministry was detested by the Jewish leaders and even by certain factions of the church. He was struck down – beaten and stoned more than once for his tenacious devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Despite all that, he refused to give in to misery. He knew no human could crush him because he belonged to the Lord. He reminded himself that his Lord and Savior would never abandon him, and had even come to stand beside him in prison (Acts 23:11). He knew that the Lord he served with all his heart would not allow him to be destroyed.
This is your testimony too if you are in Christ. You are not a victim—you are a victor! Yes, life gets very hard sometimes, but you and I need not give in to despair because our Lord will not let us be crushed or destroyed. He has promised to never abandon His own, not even in our darkest, hardest moments. Like Paul, we must learn to hold fast to Jesus and trust Him despite our circumstances or feelings.
Yes, I am tired, but the Lord promises to give me strength. Yes, I get overwhelmed, but He will carry my burdens. Yes, I feel weary, but He will sustain me. I can focus on my exhaustion and emotions, or my faithful Father. And I can take some time to rest. Isaiah declared “In quietness and trust is your strength” (Is 30:15). Beloved, get a little rest and trust in the Lord.

Freedom in Christ

What is sin? It is “missing the mark” – “falling short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). It is rebellion and disobedience. It is faithlessness (Rom 14:23). It is the choices we make, the road we take, our words and actions. But it is still more. Jesus said sin is a slave master – “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). And Paul said that we are by nature sinful: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature” (Rom 7:18). That is why we are slaves to sin.
The Bible is clear: we are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. We sin because it is our very nature and we have no choice but to obey our nature. When Adam and Eve obeyed the serpent instead of God they unleashed sin on the world and on every human born into the world. Every person comes into life as a slave to sin. Even my precious, slightly imperfect granddaughter. Trust me, I know this for certain.
We cry out with Paul, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Is there any hope for us? Yes, there is! “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7:24-25).
Jesus had no trace of sin. He was perfect and holy. Yet He died because of sin. Your sin and my sin and the sin of every person who ever lived was heaped on Him at the cross and buried with Him in the grave. But when He rose from the dead, those sins stayed in the tomb. But not everyone will receive what He has done. When someone rejects the salvation Jesus bought with His blood, it is like they are marching into the tomb and taking their sins back. “These are MINE!”
I don’t want my sins back. I much prefer to run free in God’s forgiveness and mercy and grace. Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). That means that, in Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin. We no longer have to obey our sin nature – even though we sometimes do.
If you hear nothing else I say, hear this: If you have received what Jesus did for you, you are not who you once were. You are “a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). Receive it. Believe it. Live in it. Beloved, freedom looks good on you.