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.

Give Me Jesus

I had some lovely praise and worship time this morning, thanks to a dear friend who posted some videos of songs that touched her heart. One of those songs was “Give Me Jesus.”. I remember the first time I heard it. I fell in love with it – and with the singer, Fernando Ortega. (I’ll post his beautiful version in the comments.) I loved his style of writing and singing. He was my personal worship leader.
But then my life got very busy when I started back to school. I was also working and serving at my church and caring for my family. I didn’t have – or perhaps I should say I didn’t make time for listening to my favorite musician. When we moved the CDs got packed up – and didn’t get unpacked. They weren’t a priority as I was still deep in seminary and eventually working again and along came a little girl who needed her Nana. Eventually, the box got shoved in a closet somewhere and I forgot about Fernando.
I believe that happens to us in our spiritual life too. We start out with Jesus – so in love and attentive to His word and His Spirit. We talk to Him – and about Him – at every opportunity. But then life happens and Jesus gets less and less of us. Work, family responsibilities, illness, a move, and of course, struggles, disappointments, life changes, and grief all work against our time with Jesus. Or maybe that’s just me.
All the things I’m doing are good in and of themselves. But if they draw me away from Jesus, they are not serving a good purpose. What’s the answer? I have to “Love the Lord [my] God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind and with all my strength” (Mark 12:30). He can’t just be my No. 1 priority. He has to be my only priority. He has to have all of me. Does that mean that I don’t tend to my other responsibilities? No, but it does mean that some things – maybe even good things – may have to get less of me so that Jesus can have more. I can think of several time-wasters that I can eliminate. That may be true for you too.
Beloved, when you “Delight yourself in the Lord He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). He will give you Himself.

Doctrines of the Faith: God the Father

The Apostle’s Creed is the core doctrinal statement of the Church. It outlines every foundational statement of the Christian faith. The opening statement says: “I believe in God the Father . . .” What does that mean? Are we “all God’s children” as many philosophers and modern songwriters have claimed?
Deuteronomy 32:6 is the first mention of the Lord as “Father.” Moses declared: Is He not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?” In this sense, God is called Father because, like a human father He is instrumental in creating life. As man’s Creator, He is The Force of life. But the Old Testament people did not relate to God as a personal Father.
Jesus addressed God as Father in His prayers – often using the tender name “Abba” as little children would do – and he called Him “my Father” on multiple occasions when speaking to his disciples. In the prayer He taught them, said, “This, then is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven hallowed be Your name. . .’” (Matt 6:9). He set this forward as a term of reverence. It was a step closer to the kind of relationship that He had with God but was still a formal declaration of devotion and veneration.
But go with me now to the tomb. When Mary Magdalene encountered the resurrected Lord in the garden, He told her to “Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (Jn 20:17). Now His Father was the disciples’ Father – and subsequently our Father. (On a side note: Jesus first called His disciples servants, then He called them friends. But after His resurrection, He called them brothers.)
Paul wrote that all who come to Christ Jesus “receive adoption as sons” [and daughters], and are full heirs with Christ. We are granted “the Spirit of Sonship” and that same Spirit “testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom 8:15-16). He also wrote that “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (v. 9). No Christ – no Spirit – no Father.
God is indeed the Creator of all people, but He is not the Father of all people. He is the Father of every person whom He chooses to come into saving faith through His Son, Jesus. Beloved, is that you?

Acts: What the World Doesn’t Want to Hear

Do you know why the world is filled with such hatred toward Christians? Because we are a constant reminder of their unrighteousness. I know how judgmental that sounds, and believe me, that’s not my intent. But it is the truth. And let’s be honest, some “Christians” leave a very bitter taste in people’s mouths – but I am talking about Christians who talk the talk and walk the walk as they follow in Jesus’ footprints. People like Paul. Please take a minute to read Acts 24:24-27. Remember that Paul is in custody in Caesarea, awaiting trial for accusations brought by his fellow Jews. Because of an encounter with Jesus, Paul’s life had radically changed and he devoted himself to preaching the gospel – and living it out.
Felix, who would decide his fate, found Paul’s testimony intriguing. One day he brought his wife, who was also a Jew, to hear the man speak. His topic, “righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come” stirred fear in Felix’s heart. Wonder why? Probably because his wife, Drusilla, who was a strikingly beautiful woman had, at the age of fourteen, been married to Azizus, the king of a small, insignificant Syrian state. She was unhappy in her marriage, and Felix, who was captured by her beauty, wooed her away from her husband and married her when she was sixteen. Scholars contend that she was the likely source of Felix’s information about “the Way,” and probably requested the private meeting with Paul. Little did she or Felix know what was to come.
Was Paul pointing his finger at their sin? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, Felix was afraid and quickly dismissed Paul. Therein lies the animosity towards Christians. Paul broached the subject of righteousness, self-control, and judgment – all things a ruler who stole another man’s wife – and a sinful world – would rather not confront. Christians who speak about righteousness shine a blinding light on sin. And we don’t even have to say a word. Believers who live righteously are offensive to the world because their lives stand in sharp contrast to the darkness and wickedness of their own.
Did you notice Felix’s response to Paul’s words? “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” Those who are lost in sin only want God when it is convenient for them. If it ever is.
Don’t let the world squelch your message of righteousness – whether spoken or lived out. Beloved, shine your light.

One Day

I have lived so much of my life for “one day.” One day I will have enough time to . . . One day I can afford . . . One day I can retire and . . . One day I will have . . . One day I will go . . . One day I won’t have to . . . But it seems that one day keeps getting pushed farther and farther away. It can be so discouraging if our hearts are focused on this life and this world that is here now and gone tomorrow. But there is another “one day” that brings me hope and peace and Joy. It is an eternal day and it makes these temporal days easier to bear.
One day I will look in the face of Jesus and I will see that everything I believed was true.
He is good.
He lived a perfect, sinless life.
He is the King of heaven and earth.
He loves me.
He calmed storms around me and in me.
He overcame darkness and evil.
He met my every need.
He made the blind see.
He made the deaf hear.
He made the mute speak.
He made the lame walk.
He made the sick well.
And He made the broken whole.
He ran to meet me on the road back to Him.
He carried me when I couldn’t take another step.
He held me when my heart was breaking.
He raised the dead to life.
He called and anointed me.
He gave me rest.
He brought peace in the middle of chaos.
He brought Joy when I was brokenhearted.
He is everything He claimed to be.
He not only gave me hope but He was my hope.
He made a way when I couldn’t see any way.
He turned this filthy sinner into a spotless saint.
He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
He prays for me.
He died for me.
He rose from the grave.
He is with me to the end.
And when the end comes, I’ll be with Him forever. And my faith will be proven right.
“For now I see through a glass darkly: but then shall I see face to face. Now I know in part: but then shall I know even as I am known.” (1 Cor. 13:12)
Today I see by faith, and that is enough for me.

Fruit Inspector

If Christianity isn’t about behavior, why does our behavior matter so much? Paul said, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious . . .” (Gal 5:19), and he listed several: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. But he also included some we might not expect, like hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions (vs. 19-21). What does that mean?
If you claim to be a Christian, but you indulge in porn, someone will likely question your claim. If you profess to be a Christian, but profanity spews out of your mouth, others are going to doubt you. If you tell your friends that you’re a Christian, but you’re always stirring up arguments, they are going to find it hard to believe you. If you can sing the old hymns or the latest Christian songs, but you lie and deceive, your songs also lie. If you are in church on Sunday morning and are yelling at everyone in your house by Sunday evening, your family will wonder why you bother to go to church at all. If money is your passion and you step on others to climb the ladder, your actions – not your claims – tell the truth about you.
But the converse is also true. If you claim to be a Christian and you are kind and patient with your elderly, grouchy neighbor, your neighbor will tend to believe you. If you say you are a Christian and you strive for peace, your co-workers are more apt to agree. If you go to church on Sunday morning and are still full of joy on Thursday, if moral goodness marks your life, if you’re gentle in word and action, if you bring peace instead of strife wherever you go, if you are loving and faithful to your spouse – your family members will trust you and they will trust what you say about this Jesus you claim to follow.
Paul said our actions reveal our true nature. You either confirm or refute your testimony by how you live. The proof – the fruit as he said in v. 22 – reveals the true condition of your soul. Mind you, I am not judging anyone – that’s not my place. But Jesus said we should be fruit inspectors. And yes, I see some bad apples in my own life. No, this is not about behavior modification, this is about your eternal destiny because Paul also said that “those who live like this [the first paragraph] will not inherit the kingdom of God” (v. 21). Check your fruit. What is true about your life Beloved? What is true about your soul?

Before and After

Some time ago I ran across some old photos of myself. I laid them out in the progression of ages from about 3 to my high school years, watching myself grow taller, with a variety of hairstyles and some very strange fashion sense. I saw something else. Somewhere between 10 and 18, the girl in those photos took on a dark demeanor and I remembered my past – things that had been done to me, and things I did to myself. Glancing up into the mirror on my dresser, I thought about how much I physically looked like the girl in the pictures, but I no longer recognized those dark eyes. I heard a whisper in my heart, “That is because that’s not who you are anymore. Then you were a victim and a rebel. Now you are Mine.”
In Ephesians 5:8, Paul wrote, “You were once darkness . . .” Then he gives the contrast: “. . . but now you are light in the Lord.” He was using words to paint a before and after portrait.
One of Satan’s favorite ploys is to assault us with our past, to tell us that we will always be who we were and there is no point in trying to resist those old familiar sins. “You know deep down, you still want it. You haven’t changed. You are bound to your past. You are bound to your sin.” But if you belong to Jesus Christ, you are free from your past. You are a child of light, purified from all your sins (1 John 1: 7). Where you were once held captive to sin, you are now bound up in God’s love. You have the power to say no to sin.
In Philippians 3:13, Paul gave the secret to walking in our new identity: “One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on…” We can forget what is behind us because “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Ps 103:12)”
Beloved, I want so much for you to understand that because Jesus Christ has completely removed all your transgressions; you are a new creation in Christ, no longer bound to a painful, sinful past or those dark desires. You have light in your eyes, and God’s love shines on your face. Because you are not who you once were. Now you are His.

Rest for Your Soul

Joy loves to snuggle up to me or Poppy at naptime when she is home. She always starts out facing away from us until she is ready to surrender to sleep. Then she will give a big sigh and turn over so that she is facing whomever she is with and immediately drifts off. I can feel the release in her body as she gives herself over to sweet sleep.
I always think of her when I read Matthew 11:28-30: Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
In the context of Jesus’ message, He was speaking to all those who had been burdened down by the Levitical law. The image was of a pair of oxen – the bigger, stronger ox bore the bulk of the load so that the younger, weaker animal did not become exhausted. The Levites took the original commands of God and added the 613 Levitical laws them to create an enormous burden for anyone who tried to live righteously. It was impossible to maintain. Jesus wanted them to know that He would not put any additional burdens on them; in fact, he would take their burdens on Himself and lighten their load.
As believers on this side of the cross, we don’t live under all those laws, but we live with struggles and difficulties and pressures and burdens. We live with wayward children and too much responsibility and too little support. We live with doubt and pain and broken relationships. We live with fearful diagnoses and fear of the world outside our door. We live with grief and loneliness and heartache. And we live with our guilt and shame. It all weighs us down and wears us out. Sometimes it’s all too much to bear.
Beloved, if you are tired – if the weight of the world, your family, anxieties, heartaches, or failures have made you weary, may I offer some advice? Take a deep breath and turn your face to Jesus. Give Him all your worries and fears and heartaches and sorrows. Roll the weight of it all onto Him and give yourself and your burdens over to Him. He will bear the load and carry you too. And you will find rest for your soul.

Advent 2023: Son of a Woman, Son of God

Wrap your head around this: the baby in the manger was the son of a virgin and the Son of God. The Scriptures say “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son . . . “ Matthew 1:23/Isaiah 7:14. I know – you’ve heard this scripture a hundred times at least. But have you stopped to consider what it really means? We tend to fly over it but we need to give it some time and attention because it is important.
It was crucial that the Savior of the world be spotless, without flaw or error, stain or blemish – perfectly pure. That could never happen with two human parents. Joseph was a righteous man, but he had a sin nature like every other human being. Mary was a virgin and she was“highly favored” by God, but she had the same sin nature. Joseph would be Jesus’ earthly father, but not his “biological father.” Mary, however, would be His biological mother – therefore she had to be a virgin – sexually pure. The Scripture said that Mary was “overshadowed” by the Holy Spirit as the “male party” to conception. The DNA stored in Jesus Christ’s physical body was that of the Lord God! The Father was in the Son.
More importantly, He provided spiritual purity so that the child would be the only human born without a sin nature. Now I am a Bible teacher. I like to make difficult things understandable. But I cannot explain how this occurred. It was a divine action that we must accept with wonder.
Why does this matter? Because you and I are unholy people in need of a holy Savior. The Levitical law declared that “the life of a creature is in the blood,” and “it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Lev 17:11). Only holy blood – divine blood – could atone for the sin of all men*. There’s just one problem: God cannot die. That is why Jesus had to be both divine and human. It was the only way to provide the perfect blood sacrifice required to redeem mankind from their sin nature*. It is the only hope you and I have.
Beloved, I encourage you to slow down through the familiar Christmas account. Take in every scene and ponder every word. This is not just a warm, fuzzy story to tell around the tree. This story is life. Eternal life. It is wonder and awe. It is Jesus – the God-man who came to save you. Indeed, it is good news.

*The blood of Jesus is sufficient to atone for all sin for all mankind, but not all men will receive what Christ has done.

Acts: Tell Me the Story of Jesus

I love to hear testimonies of how people came to salvation. Some of those stories are very dramatic – being rescued out of a life of drugs, alcohol, immorality, even satanic involvement. Mine is very mild in comparison. I grew up as a church kid and was 9 years old when I accepted Jesus during VBS. I didn’t always follow in in His footsteps, especially in my teens and early adult years. But God would not let me go and in my 30s I surrendered fully to Christ and He has been my Lord ever since. I have stumbled more than a few times, but He never let me get too far away. I cannot imagine my life without Him.

Please read Acts 21:27-22:29.

Paul is now in Jerusalem and preparing to go to the temple to fulfill a vow when he is accosted by an angry mob who falsely believed he had taken Gentiles into the temple with him. Such a violent ruckus was raised that the Roman guard arrested him. Paul mounted a defense by sharing his testimony. He told of his early life under the tutelage of Gamaliel a Pharisee of great reputation. He told how, in reverence to God, he persecuted followers of the Way, the new sect of believers in Jesus. Then he shared his experience on the road to Damascus when this same Jesus appeared to him and turned his life upside down and inside out.

Paul was obedient to the Lord’s calling and when He sent him away from Jerusalem, his mission field became the Gentiles – the ones Jews considered to be unworthy of salvation. God used Paul to change the first-century world and the waves are still washing over sinners in the twenty-first century. Throughout history God always uses fallen people to reach the world for Christ – it’s the only kind of people there are. He used great religious men like Paul, Tertullian, Augustine, Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Deitrich Bonhoeffer, and Billy Graham, to name a few. He also uses VBS and Sunday School teachers, local church preachers, street evangelists, unnamed missionaries, coworkers, neighbors, friends, family members, and yes, gray-haired grandmothers from South Alabama to spread His Gospel and declare His salvation.

Beloved, you and I have a calling and a mission to share the Gospel. If we don’t a whole generation – and every generation that follows will be lost eternally. Somebody you know needs to hear the story most precious, Sweetest that ever was heard.

“Tell Me The Story of Jesus” 1880, written by Francis J. Crosby (1820-1915) and John Sweney (1837–1899).