Closer Today

About Romans 4

2011-02-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

I had to write this for one of my seminary classes and thought that I would share.

Romans chapter 4 begins by showing us that we cannot be justified by our works; Paul offers three lines of reason why this is so. He begins with Abraham; Abraham was justified before God because of his faith. Although Abraham did many great things for God, he could not be justified by those works because he would have had something to brag about. The Bible tells us that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. In summary, Abraham’s faith cause him to work for God, He was not working to earn his justification before God. Second, Abraham reminds us that if we worked for our righteousness God would owe us something’ but God owes no man anything except for the judgment that we have earned through our sin. Finally, Paul points us to the words of David, “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” David was a man who understood that sinful men deserve nothing but God’s wrath, but God through his grace imputes His righteousness on those who trust in Him instead of placing on us our sin and the punishment carried by our sin.

Paul continues in Romans 4:9-15 that man cannot be saved by their religiousness. God bestowed an amazing amount of love on us when He offered mercy through His grace to us instead of the judgment that we deserved. Paul again uses the father of the Jewish nation and a man of great faith to demonstrate to us the inadequacy of religious ceremony. Paul begins by establishing that righteousness was reckoned to Abraham before the ceremony of circumcision. To understand the word recon it is best to picture a bank statement with a huge negative balance, to recon would be to place money from a different account into the negative account erasing the debt; it is not earned it is simply moved from one account to the other. As sinful humans we had a huge negative balance of righteousness in our account because of our sin, the debt was so large that it could never be repaid but Christ, who owed nothing, died on the cross making it possible for His righteousness to be imputed on our account thus bringing us into good standing with God. As a result of Abraham’s faith in God, God’s righteousness was imputed to him and circumcision was given as an outward sign of Abraham’s inward faith (much like believer’s baptism today).

Paul concludes the chapter by showing us the true path to righteousness: faith in God. Abraham was given some seemingly impossible promises from God, but Abraham had faith that if God could make a promise that God could also keep those promises. Surely Abraham knew the weakness of his body and the age of his wife, yet he had faith in God. God gave us the account of Abraham, not as an account of one saved by works or religion, but as a shining example of one who has been saved by faith. Today we can look at our sinful bodies and we are tempted to try to work ourselves clean through religion or good works, but just as with Abraham, all that is required is an unwavering faith in God and a confidence in the promise of forgiveness offered through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Truly it is by grace we are saved through faith.

Bridgeview Bulletin for December 19, 2010

2010-12-18T19:34:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Bridgeview today! I am so glad that you are here this morning. I hope that you have come with a heart that is prepared to worship God and expecting to experience God.

It is hard to believe but we only have two more Sundays left in 2010 and to be honest I am ready for them to come and go. I am not the Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge, but I am excited about what God is going to do here at Bridgeview in 2011 and I am ready to get started.

Have you ever noticed how much of our lives we wish away? Our kids spend all year wishing it was Christmas, then wishing it was summer and parents spend all Christmas and all summer wishing for Christmas to end and for school to start back. How many days do we suppose that we waste in waiting for tomorrow?

I wonder sometimes if we are waiting for God to do something here at Bridgeview and He is waiting for us to get busy working so He can do something, and in the mean time we are missing out on experiencing His power and He is missing out on having a church that is actually following Him that He can actually bless.

We can’t afford to wait there are too many people depending on us. There are too many people who are curious about God, there are too many people who have been hurt by broken churches, there are too many people who will die and go to hell if we continue to sit idle.

If we are ever going to move forward, we have to make changes, and we can’t wait for the perfect staff, budget, program or building. We have to go and have faith that God will give us the staff, programs, budget and buildings that we need.

Please join me as we close this year in earnest prayer, not just for God’s purpose for our church, His blessings on the church, but for something much more important: the courage to take the first step as we strive to be a church like Jesus.

All about Prayer Journals

2010-12-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

I promised you last week that for the rest of 2010 I will be filling my space here with some suggestions and tips for possible New Year’s resolutions, so I will keep my word and begin this morning. I have to begin with a disclaimer: what works for me may not work for you, God designed us all a little different; so the most important thing to carry with you into 2011 is knowing that you can adjust and tweak my suggestions to fit you until you find a comfortable routine.

This week we will begin with one of the most useful tools that I have found in my spiritual journey: A Prayer Journal. Here is my problem: I want to pray, but it is hard to find time, I have tried to pray in bed at night before I went to sleep but most of the time I ended up asleep. When I tried to sit somewhere and pray, my mind ended up wandering and I spent very little time in prayer and really couldn’t remember most of what I prayed for. Then a good friend of mine introduced me to using a prayer journal. Now initially I fought the concept because if felt like a diary, but once I gave it a chance I realized how valuable it was to have a tangible record of my prayers.

So here are some tips on using a prayer journal.

A prayer journal can be any type of notebook or pad of paper. Personally I try to choose books that will stand the test of time, because I hope these books will become family treasures that will last until Jesus comes back. I want my kids to know how I prayed for them, not just that I prayed for them, and perhaps these journals can guide them through some struggle that I have been through long after I have gone. You can buy a notebook for $1 or a leather journal for hundreds, but that is up to you. I get mine from the office supply section of Wal-Mart.
Set aside some time, preferably in the morning, if possible to read your Bible and write your letter to God every day. Jesus set aside time for God in his life here on earth, He went to quiet places and prayed; the Psalms also encourage us to seek God in the morning. If you make your prayer time the first thing you do every day, you don’t have to worry about something coming up that will take that time. In my life I discovered that there is always something else to do at night: playing, cleaning, preparing for tomorrow, sleeping. So I just get up and get it done, and honestly, I makes the day better to start it with God.
At the top of my page I write the date, the day of the week and what passages I read that morning. Sometimes if a particular verse sticks out to me I will write it out completely so I can see it again later. Don’t worry about how short or long your prayer is, sometimes a few words can be more powerful than a book full of words. So don’t think that there is a minimum number of words required or certain amount of space that you have to take up. Make the format work for you because this is your journal.
Find a quiet place. Lock yourself in the bathroom, in your closet, in the garden, or go hide in the neighbors car, you have to try to get rid of as many distractions as you can so you can concentrate on God.
Write a letter to God from your heart. God does not want us to repeat, “God is great…” or the Lord’s Prayer to Him every day. Be honest with God, tell Him how you feel, what you are grateful for, confess your sins, and make your requests. Just be open and real, God knows who we are and He does not need a show from us. Even though other people might read these prayers, treat your book like it is a top secret document that only you and God will ever see.
Don’t get discouraged when you miss a day, a week or a month. God does not love you any more when you are faithful to your prayer time or less when you miss it. Our Christian walk is a series of failures as we try to be more like Christ every day, some of my prayer journals have huge gaps in them and those gaps are a testimony today that God loves me in spite of me and even though I struggle to be faithful to Him, He is always faithful to me. So when you miss, when the snooze button wins the battle in the morning don’t get discouraged and give up, just get back up and try again. Victory tastes better after you have tasted defeat.
Don’t forget to go back and read your old prayers. I am repeatedly amazed at how God answers my prayers. I have had prayers answered as I have written them and some prayers that took some time, but I am so glad that I have a record of God’s hand in my life and when I start to doubt all I have to do is go back and read. What usually happens when I go back and read is I discover that I need to write a thank you note on my next page.
Don’t read your spouse’s prayers; you probably don’t want to know what they are saying about you anyway. Wait until they are gone, then you won’t be too mad that they prayed for 20 years for God to make you a better kisser or for your feet to stop killing the houseplants. Keep your eyes on your own prayer journal.

For me a prayer journal is so many things: a tangible record of my prayers, a family treasure, a visual reminder to pray, a visual reminder of my faithfulness (or lack of faithfulness) to God, and a tool that has done wonders for my prayer life. If your goal for 2011 is to spend more time in prayer I hope you will consider starting a prayer journal. If you need help or encouragement please let me know or find someone else here at church who is also journaling their prayers. Because, more than likely, our struggles are much the same and together we can all get better.

If using a prayer journal has peaked your curiosity and you want me to pray for you, please shoot me an email: josh@bbcsbc.com

Bridgeview Bulletin for December 5, 2010

2010-12-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome to worship today! I am so glad that you are here today. If you are a visitor this morning I want to take a moment to tell you how special you are to us. There are so many churches in our area, some of them are really good, some are not, but you chose to worship here today and I am honored that you made that choice. Bridgeview is like no other church that I have ever seen, we are a group of real people with real problems who make real mistakes who have chosen to come together and worship a real God who loves us in spite of us, and I hope that you will be comfortable here and join us.

Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is flying towards us at what seems like warp speed. We look back and it seems like 2010 just began and now we are preparing to close it out. I spent some time this week trying to remember what my New Year’s resolutions were for this year and I honestly can’t remember one of them. Maybe forgetfulness is a blessing in this case. I am tossing around the idea of writing my goals down for 2011 and posting them in my office; but it would be hard to eat an ice cream sandwich in peace when I know that I have resolved in writing to lose weight.

Now is the time to begin thinking about our goals and resolutions for 2011 and over the next few weeks I am going to offer a few suggestions and ideas for you to consider as we look toward 2011 and where we hope to be this time next year. We are going to look at prayer and Bible reading specifically and I hope I can give you some tool that will make your goals more attainable.

If you miss a week, most of the time you can find this section of the bulletin on my blog: www.closertoday.blogspot.com or you can let me know and I will get you a copy. Enjoy being in God’s house today, I love you and God bless you.

Another Book

2010-11-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

I've just ordered this book from Amazon and I can't wait to start reading it. I listen to Chip Ingram on Faith Radio almost every night, he is a great teacher.

Hair-cut Day

2010-11-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how easy it is for your child to break your heart. I realized this cruel fact the other day at the barber shop. On every other normal hair- cut Saturday this is what happens: I get in one chair and start getting my hair cut while Riley gets in another chair and gets his hair cut and just to ensure that there is no catastrophic incident Bridget stands with Riley.

This system worked perfectly fine until just a few weeks ago when Bridget decided to send me and Riley alone to get our hair cuts. Now I am a big boy and I can handle standing there with him while he gets his hair cut (he is actually very good because he wants a sucker), but something happened on this Saturday that I almost could not handle. Riley sat in the chair and I took my position by the counter talking to the lady cutting his hair, he looked at me, and said, “What are you doing?” I told him I was standing there like Momma does and he politely told me that he did not need me to stand there and I could go read a magazine or something. I’m sure that I looked like a scolded dog walking to the waiting area with my eyes swelling and my heart breaking. My little boy is growing up.

What Riley did not know was that I never took my eyes off of him, at the first sign of trouble I would have been there. I couldn’t read a magazine (I had read that issue of Women’s Day anyway) because all of my attention was on him as he bravely did what we have been training him to do. I guess we never know if our parenting is working until we let go.

As I thought about this sad hair-cut day I realized that once again God was using my son to show me something about Him. God loves us more than we could ever love someone and His complete attention is constantly on us, not because He wants to punish us when we fail, but He wants to witness it when we succeed. God enjoys seeing His children do what is right, He wants us to do good, that is why He takes the time to mold us and correct us.

So the next time you feel like you are all alone, when you start to worry because you can’t feel God right there with you, just look around He is watching and He is never too far away.

Mixing Politics with Religion again

2010-11-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

This is a week late on here, but this is what I wrote for our bulletin at church October 31st(the Sunday before the election). I just wanted to post it for future reference.

The founders of our country said in the Declaration of Independence that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Like these men, I believe that freedom is a gift from God, but it is a gift that comes with responsibility.

As Americans we are familiar with our freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion, but we also have the freedom to choose. We are able to choose what kind of society we will live in, we can choose how much we will pay in taxes, we can choose the moral standards of our society and we can choose how we will relate with the other countries of the world.

This is what our founding fathers planned for our society; the problem with this plan would be in the execution. We cannot gather millions of people together to make all of these decisions together, what a mess that would be. So instead of gathering all Americans together every two years to discuss and plan how we will use our freedom, each state is allowed representatives who do meet together to plan how their constituents will exercise their freedom.

So as Election Day closes on us, it is important for each person to carefully examine the candidates and ask the question, “Which one of these people will use my freedom in a way that I would use it?” You see, voting is more than selecting a representative, it is commissioning a messenger, it is entrusting someone with your freedom to choose and allowing them to choose on your behalf.

To not participate in the process is to allow someone else, right or wrong, to choose how your freedom will be used. I hope that you will make plans to participate in the process by praying, educating yourself on the candidates and voting.

The Newest Addition to my Library

2010-11-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Dispensationalism is a very controversial issue for most Christians. My problem with this doctrine is that there are not many dispensationalist who can actually offer an apologetic for their belief, but Charles Ryrie is an exception. I am about half way through the book now and have learned a great deal, so go ahead and order it, throw a book cover from one of your Max Lucado books on it so no one knows what you are really reading and enjoy.

What I am reading now

2010-08-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

I would not recommend this book for casual reading, but it is a must read for church leaders. What an encouragement it is to be reminded of just how powerful God is. It doesn't matter where your church is spiritually God can still do something great, however it may not be easy or pleasant. Make sure you check this one out.

BOLO for Christ

2010-08-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

With all the garbage on the internet these days it is encouraging to find a good site that builds you up instead of tearing you down. A friend of mine has started a blog and I wanted to recommend it to you. You will find a link to it on the right side of your screen and I hope that you will check it out.

Small Victories

2010-07-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago if you told me that I would cheer when someone told me that they slept in their own bed all night I probably would have called you a liar, but lately I have cheered on more than one morning when I have heard those words from Riley. I don’t cheer for Bridget when she sleeps in her bed all night (I have tried to convince her to sleep on the couch some nights so I can have the bed all to myself; it hasn’t worked), but when Riley sleeps in his bed we make it a big deal. It is funny having a little boy running around the house because there are so many things that we take for granted that are major accomplishments for him. Simple everyday tasks for normal adults are major victories for our children.

This got me thinking about the small victories in all of our lives that we have taken for granted. It is really easy to get focused on all the bad things that are happening around us all the time, or to be haunted by some defeat or unfulfilled dream, and it only takes a moment to become dissatisfied with our present circumstances and to focus on something that seems better that is on the horizon. How many days have we wasted waiting for tomorrow to get here, hoping that it will be better than today?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in everything. There is always something for us to be thankful for, but many times those things get overshadowed by the giant things in our lives and we can’t see them.

I am not saying that we should all ignore the problems in our lives and dance around like princesses in a Disney movie, but I do want to encourage you to thank God for the little things. We shouldn’t wait until someone gets miraculously healed, or wait for some giant miracle to start thanking God. God is the source of all good and maybe we could be a little more grateful for all that He has given to us.

Thank you God for the sunrise this morning, for giving us arms so we can hug the people that we love. Thank you God for giving us water heaters so we can bathe and air conditioners that make it possible to stand Alabama in July. Thank you God for a new beginning, for giving us grace when we deserve wrath. Thank you for waking us up this morning and giving us food to eat and air to breathe and for giving us a purpose in this crazy world.

Let us take some time today to thank God for all He has done for us, for the amazing miracles and the small victories.

The best book that I have read this year

2010-07-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

I am trying something new here today, I wanted to recommend a book to you. This is the best book that I have read this year. I will try to keep you posted of what I am reading week by week. Now, I am sure that I have some Theological differences with Jim Cymbala, but this book really inspired me to turn to God in prayer. I hope you will check it out.

Disturb Us

2010-07-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

I read this poem by Sir Francis Drake last week and I wanted to give you a written copy also. I love this poem and hope that you will enjoy it too.

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.

Bubble the Bear

2010-07-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

Bedtime at the Cook house is a special time. As a child I never realized how precious those few minutes were to my parents. I am not talking about the gentle kisses or the good night hugs, I am talking about the quiet that only comes when the children are asleep. Bedtime has evolved over the past three years for Riley, it began with us holding him in our arms and rocking him to sleep, until he outgrew that. We have had several months when I had to exorcise his room to rid it of hobgoblins, spaghetti monsters and bed bugs, but he outgrew that too. But there is one constant that has remained; there is one necessary ingredient to bedtime that Riley has not outgrown: Bubble.

Bubble is a sad looking blanket bear, Bubble’s eyes and nose are gone, he is a sad looking bear, but Riley loves him more than any other toy in his room. Right now I am not too concerned with Riley’s attachment to Bubble, but if Bubble goes on Riley’s first date or if he is tucked under Riley’s arm when he graduates from High School I will be more than worried. I want Riley to grow up slowly so we can enjoy each stage of his life, but the reality of life is that he will grow up and one day Bubble will be put on a shelf. Riley will outgrow the things that he loves now and will move on to other things.

Sadly, this is something that man Christians are not good at. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” We are the children of God, and sometimes it seems that we are spiritual teenagers playing with toddler toys. There are things in all of our lives that God is trying to wean us from, not because He is mean, but because He wants us to grow into healthy, mature Christians.

We must each examine ourselves to identify the things that are not good for us, we should allow the Holy Spirit to direct us and purify us on a constant basis and we should search the Word of God so that we can see ourselves the same way that God sees us. I can’t tell you that in doing these things you will achieve perfection, but I can tell you that you will never place yourself in better hands than God’s. God wants to mold you into something special; His plans for you are more than you could ever dream.

Sometimes we have to let go of something good to become something better, so be careful to not let what you are holding on to hold you back from the plans that God has for you. Have a blessed week!

A Special Gift

2010-07-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

Something amazing happened this week. This event was so huge that I decided to use my space in the bulletin to share it with you. I can feel your curiosity and excitement rising right now, as you wait for me to tell you about this amazing event.

This event made me feel special, appreciated and it gave me the strength to make it through another hot day of work. So what was this amazing event? A man gave me a watermelon from his garden when I pulled up to deliver a package to him.

You might think that I am silly for valuing this so highly and that I have just wasted your time by telling you about it, but this is more than a man giving me a watermelon. This man saw something that most people don’t see when the UPS truck pulls up in their yard, this man saw another human being. While most people grab their package and run away wondering what I have brought them, this man decided to use the fruits of his labor to bless me.

I don’t know if this man is a follower of Christ, but I do know that his action blessed my day and in our selfish world it caused me to wonder: What would happen if Christians intentionally and intensely began looking for ways to bless people in the name of Christ? The answer is obvious: people would want to know what our motivations were and would be pointed to Christ.

Now I am not writing this in order to guilt some gift from you, the watermelon was really not what inspired me. What amazed me was the fact that this man who did not know me thought that I was worthy of his watermelon. And as followers of Christ we possess something much more valuable than a watermelon, we possess the knowledge of God’s amazing grace. So why do we not share this knowledge? Is it because we don’t think some people are worthy enough? Because they are to God, He already paid the price for them on Calvary. Is it because we are afraid of rejection? I imagine that if I declined the watermelon, the man would have given it to someone else and written me off as a jerk because he was just trying to be nice. So we cannot find in our imagination a justifiable reason to horde God to ourselves.

This week each of us will have the opportunity to bless someone, let us seize that opportunity. We may never realize how much that small act of kindness means to that person or what it will inspire them to do. It may brighten their day and it might open the door to changing their eternity.

One Special Sermon

2010-04-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

You missed a special sermon this week on Thursday night. I walked into the sanctuary while I waited for the photographer to pack his stuff up and couldn’t believe my eyes. Someone was preaching from my pulpit and had captivated his audience. You might wonder what kind of fellow would sneak into a pulpit on a Thursday night without permission. Well, only a three year old preacher’s kid could get away with it.

Yes, Riley, my son, preached a special sermon Thursday. He could not tell me the text that He used for his sermon, he didn’t have a catchy title, it was not cleverly alliterated and he couldn’t tell me what it was about. So I asked the congregation (Bridget) and she quoted me the whole sermon (she has never been able to do that when I preached.) So here is his sermon:

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.

Yes Jesus loves me.

In a world of theological differences, denominations and dogmas have we overcomplicated the gospel? The message that we carry is pretty simple: Jesus loves you! Now, I’m not suggesting that we should abandon our search for truth or stop teaching people good doctrine. But imagine how our world would look if we spent less time arguing about silly things and started spending more time saying, “Jesus loves you!”

What we have

2010-03-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

How many times in our lives and in our churches do we focus on what we lack instead of what we have been given? I read this article in Ministry Today Magazine and God really spoke to me through it, so I wanted to pass it on to you.

Stories abound these days of leaders attempting to do

more with less. Whether it’s facing shrinking teams or dealing with dwindling budgets, we can either run from the challenge or to it. Ernie Schenck is no stranger to adversity. The author of The Houdini Solution challenges us to think inside the box, not outside the box, when it comes to doing more with less: “The legendary magician did his best work shackled, and cuffed and chained inside the smallest of boxes—and yet he managed to find his way out every time.”

Lately I’ve found myself retelling a story from the famous Apollo 13 mission about doing more with less. There’s a scene in the 1995 movie starring Ed Harris when the crew on the ground in Houston has to build an air filter that will allow the crew stuck in space to increase their oxygen supply. With limited resources (only what was onboard the spaceship), the crew on the ground had to figure out how to fit a square peg in a round hole. It was a critical point in the story because it forced people to find solutions for problems with less-than ideal resources to achieve success.

I’m inspired by moments like these as many Christians today find themselves in a similar spot. It’s not time to complain about what we don’t have or dream about better scenarios. It’s time to for Christians to get on the same page with the same urgency for the same mission. Anything less could be catastrophic.

www.ministrytodaymag.com

Snow Day

2010-02-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

I guess Friday was a memorable day for most of us, anytime that it snows in Alabama is a day to remember. Friday morning as I worked in the snow, I noticed a transformation on my route, something that I have never noticed before. After the snow started sticking I realized that everything was pretty, even the yards that could use some work were pretty because they were blanketed in snow. I do understand this principle, I had tried to apply it to my room when I was younger; it was much easier to hide the mess with a blanket than it was to actually clean it like I was supposed to. This approach never worked for me as a child with my parents and it still doesn’t work for me with Bridget (Yes, I have tried.)

Sadly, I think that there are many people who have tried to hide their flaws with a blanket of good works. As much as we hate to admit it, somewhere deep down we all know that we have messed up. Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The natural reaction to the realization that we have done wrong is to try to make up for it; that is where the blanket comes in. In an effort to cover up our bad works (sin) we try to do good works, in the hopes that, like snowflakes covering the ground, our good works will somehow cover up our bad works.

There is a problem with snow though, it melts away and reveals a muddy mess. Our good works may hide our sin from the people who look at the outside, but they can’t hide our sin from the One who sees our heart. God looks past the outside and sees our sinful hearts. In the Old Testament, the sacrifices that were offered atoned (covered) the sins of the offerer, but there was no forgiveness of sin. Forgiveness came when the perfect sacrifice was offered (Jesus Christ).

So, I challenge you to take an honest look at your life today, are you just trying to cover your sin with a blanket? The good news is that there is real forgiveness, you can find acceptance by accepting the gift of salvation offered by Jesus. Don’t hesitate, just believe. You can try to escape the bondage of sin on your own and fail, you can try to cover your sin with a temporary blanket and slowly watch it melt away, or you can trust Jesus and be set free. I hope that you will choose Christ.

A Big "But"

2010-02-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

Romans 5:8-9

8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us! (HCSB)

I’ve never tried to hide the fact that when I was younger I made some mistakes and bad choices; one example of a bad choice that I made was in the type of music that I listened to. Every time I read this verse I think about a very popular song from my teenage years. The song was by a “poet” named Sir. Mix A. Lot. You may already know the title of the song, “I like Big Butts.” While I don’t suggest you go try to find this song for your personal library, I do have to agree with Sir Mix A Lot when I say that I like a different kind of big “but”, the kind we find here in Romans.

Paul began this section of Scripture reminding us that it is hard to find someone who would sacrifice for us, even for the best man, it is hard to find someone who would be willing to give his life for ours. This leaves us in pretty bad shape: lost, lonely, hopeless, desperate, searching, empty and, because of our sin, falling way short of the perfection demanded by the law.

“But God,” What an amazing statement! We were lost and lonely in our sin, we had broken God’s laws and alienated ourselves from Him, we were doomed to spend eternity suffering for our disobedience, but God stepped in because of His love. God’s love compelled Him to send His Son to pay the price that we could not pay so that we could be reconciled to Him. Mankind may have messed up, but God gets the last move.

You may think that you have messed up your life, maybe you are haunted by the ghosts and guilt of past mistakes, but I want you to know that the story does not have to end sadly. Your life story can also have a big but in it. God loves you and there is nothing that you can do to change that. You may not be able to change your life but God can.

I do not know of another preacher who has ever said this, but I have good news for you: You can have a big but! I know that this play on words is a little immature and I hope that you will forgive me. My prayer for you is that you will realize the transforming power of God. God wants to be a part of your life and many times His power is demonstrated after a “but.” So do not be afraid to trust God with your problems, maybe your life story can have a big “but” in it too.

My marriage was in trouble, but God…. My child had strayed, but God…. My life was spiraling out of control, but God… I was addicted, but God…

Praise God for big “buts!”

Tear-Stained Savior

2010-01-29T20:54:00.000-08:00

Perhaps you have this little verse tucked away in your treasury of Bible trivia as the shortest verse in the Bible:

John 11:35 – Jesus wept.

This is probably the simplest verse in the entire Bible, just two little words. But these two little words give us much more than Bible trivia or a good verse to memorize. In these two words John reveals something special about our Savior.

John’s Gospel begins by laying the foundation that Jesus was there with God in the beginning and that Jesus was and is completely God. Everything was created by Him and for Him. But there was a problem: sin. Man disobeyed God, and with that act he opened the door to all sorts of pain and suffering, including death and eternal punishment in a very real hell. Mankind was doomed to suffer the consequences of his sin and things looked bleak.

Until one night in Bethlehem, when a boy was born: Immanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ. Jesus was completely God and completely man, he never sinned, but He saw the consequences of sin and felt the pain of death and loss firsthand. That is where we find ourselves in John 11:35. Jesus’ friend had died and it hurt. Remember, Jesus was completely man. He was tempted, abandoned, mocked and abused. He felt pain, disgust, joy and sorrow. But today we have hope because of Him. He conquered death and paid the price for our sin.

So if you are hurting, if you have wept, if you are carrying a burden or if you have known pain. I want you to know that you are not alone. Jesus knows exactly how you feel, not through some distant sympathy, but through personal experience. Jesus is a personal Savior and He is there for you, just reach out to Him. He sees your tears, He knows your pain and He loves you more than you will ever realize. And perhaps if you let Him close enough, you will see that His cheeks are tear-stained just like yours.

Questions

2010-01-16T15:15:00.000-08:00

In a house with a three year old boy, the question that you would expect to hear all the time is, “Why?” But lately it seems that the question that I hear all of the time is, “Who gave me this?” Riley wants to know who gave him everything that is in his room. We have tried to figure out his motive for this odd question, and the optimist in me wants to say that he asks this question because he is grateful for all of these things. But the thought has crossed my mind that he may be trying to figure out who loves him the most by who has given him the most. I may never know the truth, but it did make me think.

When we look at life and all of the pain that comes with living in a fallen world why is it that the question that we ask most is, “Why?” Don’t we tend to overlook the good things in life, taking them for granted while we concentrate on the bad things? We overlook 10 miles of smooth pavement to complain about one pothole. Now I am not suggesting that we should overlook the bad times, but maybe we should be more grateful for the good times.

When we start asking, “God who gave me this: day, breath, house, job, health, spouse, child…” don’t we start to realize who loves us the most? God, who gave me this hope? God, who gave me forgiveness? God, who gave me salvation? God, who gave me purpose? God gave us everything, how can we doubt that He loves us?

I can’t understand why God loves us and I sure can’t explain it, but I can testify to His love. No matter how bad we are, no matter how good we are, if we are in church every day or wandering away. God loves us; He loves us as much as he can in spite of us. Even when we reject Him, He still loves us. And we know that He loves us because He proved it.

God loves us more that we can comprehend. On this journey of life maybe we should try to ask “Why?” less and “Who gave me this?” more.

My Jesus I Love Thee

By: William Featherston

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now

Treasure Hunters

2009-05-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

Before parenthood, everyone tells you about how huge the change will be in your life and how great parenthood will be. But nobody tells you just how badly your 12-pound angel’s dirty diaper can make your stomach feel. They don’t really explain how frustrating it is to get up every two hours at night to feed a crying baby. They don’t give you the words to say to that stranger in the store who is offended because your toddler has learned the word “monkey” and is screaming it to everyone who walks by. No one can explain the love and worry that a mother goes through at 3am when the fever has not broken. Every year at Mother’s Day we all have something to be grateful for: our moms who were much cooler before we came along and who put up with much more than they should have.

The Bible tells us that Mary treasured the memories of raising Jesus in her heart. It is easy to forget that Jesus was a real baby, a real toddler and a real child. Mary changed the Creator of the Universe’s dirty diapers; she taught the Messiah how to blow His nose and all of those other wonderful things that we teach our children. I imagine that there was a special glow that came over Mary when someone would ask her a question about her son, Jesus. I’m sure she smiled when she recalled the day that 12 year-old Jesus got lost in the city during Passover. And after years had passed by, that day of terror became a treasure to Mary. Memories are the treasures that nobody can take away and cannot rot or decay.

Maybe this weekend was a treasure for you. Twenty years from now, the big promotion you were hoping for or the new car you’ve been wanting will probably mean nothing to you. But that stressful Sunday morning when your daughter, in her beautiful new Sunday dress, fell in the toilet 5 minutes before you were supposed to leave for church. The stress from that morning will soon transform into a beautiful gem, a treasure that you can add to your treasure chest of precious memories.

My challenge for you is this: be a treasure hunter, value every moment that you have with your loved ones and try to never miss a memory.

Shiny Plastic Couches

2009-05-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a smell can take you to a faraway place. The other day I smelled a familiar smell and in an instant my mind was transported to my grandparent’s house. I could almost feel the carpet as I watched wrestling, with Grandma in her chair and Granddad in his.

I can still remember just about every detail of their house, I can tell you where every piece of furniture should be. I spent many hours exploring every inch of their house, and I’m sure that I have seen everything from every possible angle. Well, there was one room that I can’t say that about, The Parlor. I can only remember going in that room one time and I was quickly drug out by my ear.

It was a beautiful room; it was not the living room, because there was no life in the parlor. I know that there was an organ in there, a giant wooden record player, and couches covered in shiny plastic. The plastic was there to protect the couches, but I’m sure they were no fun to sit on. Now, I’m not anti-plastic slip cover, so don’t get mad if you have shiny plastic couches.

Remembering Grandma’s parlor made me wonder: How many Christians have parlors in their lives? Sure, we gave our lives to Jesus, but did we really turn it all over to Him? Maybe we have collected some sins that we like, that aren’t “that bad” that we have wrapped in plastic and told Jesus to stay away from. Jesus wants full access to our lives and we cannot experience life to the fullest unless we allow Him into our “parlors” and let Him clean those out too.
So come on in Jesus, we kind of like our shiny couches but we love You more.

Closer than you think

2009-04-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

“I do it myself!” Those are the words that echo through our house these days. Along with the growing vocabulary and coordination has also come the desire to be independent. It is amazing how many things a two-year-old thinks he can do by himself. As a father it is sad to let go sometimes, but at the same time it is great to watch him accomplish something on his own.
Sometimes Riley tries to bite off more than he can chew and I never want to discourage him so that he becomes overly dependent, but I also don’t want to see him get hurt. I know the days are coming when he will say, “Daddy let go, I want to swim by myself.” I will let go, and even though in his eyes he is doing it all by himself and I am far away; the truth is, I will be closer than he thinks and when the water gets over his head I will grab hold of him and pull him to safety.

I wonder sometimes if God is watching us, and we say, “Daddy, I do it!” I can almost see those loving eyes looking at frail us. More than one time I’ve found myself in a situation like Peter who jumped off the boat and took his eyes off of Christ. You can see the surface of the water above you, the lightning and waves. You know that the end is near, when out of nowhere a strong arm reaches down and pulls you in close to safety.

Maybe that is where you are this morning, your independence has gotten you in trouble again or you are starting to feel that circumstances have gotten the best of you. I want you to know that just like any loving Father; God is closer than you think.

Scars and Squirrels

2009-04-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Bible is pretty clear that we should not hate anyone, but I hope squirrels are excluded. I was twelve when my good friend and neighbor, Billy, and his family adopted a baby squirrel and named him Alvin. He grew up and they fed him, held him and he ran around their house like a dog. But one day in their carport he pranced up to me and I stuck out my hand so he could sniff me. I don’t remember eating peanuts that day, but I do remember Alvin’s yellow teeth chomping my poor little pinky finger and his entire body shaking as he tried to bite harder. Years later I can still show you my scar (if you have a good imagination) and I will not turn my back to a squirrel.
It is scary how much damage a mouth can do, some people live their whole lives scared from mouths, and they may not have even been bitten. The wounds that hurt the worst are from what someone said. That is why God warned us that our tongues are dangerous weapons. We have the power in our mouth to point people toward God or to turn them away from God completely. Our tongues can cut people very deeply and those wounds are hard to heal and even harder to forget.
So the next time we start to say something we should not, maybe we should think about the damage that we are about to do and the scars we are about to leave. And the next time you see that squirrel playing in your yard, be warned that he may be eying your “finger food.”

Easter Everyday

2009-04-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Elvis has never called me on the phone. I saw a lady on TV the other day who said he had called her recently. It amazes me that all these years later people can still have hope that he is alive. It is hard for me to believe that he was smart enough to pull off that kind of hoax in the 70’s only to get caught at a 99-cent store in Podunk, Indiana buying some crunchy peanut butter. If you want to believe that he is alive that is your decision. And if he is alive I hope that he realizes that not even the King of Rock-and-Roll can escape death forever.

Today, as we celebrate Easter, it is easy to get distracted by the eggs, family activities, candy and even all the church activities. None of these are bad, but in the middle of all of these things let’s not forget why we celebrate. The King of Rock and every other human has or will have an appointment with death (unless Christ comes back before then.) But, we can celebrate because some 2000 years ago, this thing that terrified so many people was beaten by Jesus, God’s son who came and became like us, so that we could live without fear of death.

You may say, “How do you know that Jesus beat it?” I know because He told us, Revelation 1:18 says, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (NKJV) When Elvis calls me and tells me he is down the street, I will believe that I was wrong, but for now we can celebrate that we serve a risen Savior and nothing can change that.

Red Rover

2009-04-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

“Red Rover, Red Rover, send Joshie right over!” My heart started pounding as soon as I heard my name. I had been chosen. The goal is to run as fast as you can and smash through the other team’s line, forcing two of them to lose their grip on each other’s hands. Adrenaline was flowing, my seven year old feet were moving as fast as they could, my breath whistled through my missing tooth and I thought, “Today I will prove them wrong and bring victory to my team.” I set my sights on two little girls, they were the weak link, and I charged full steam. I smashed into their line, momentum pushed my feet forward and gravity pulled my rear-end down, clothes-lined by two little girls. Skinny little Josh was just not big enough for that game.
Life is a lot like Red Rover, your name gets called; you try your best and hope that in the end you’re still standing. Some of us experience failure early in life and start accepting that we are failures, no matter how hard we try; we just keep falling. But then you hear something, is that your name being called? Your heart starts pounding and you realize that it is. Jesus is calling you, He has seen all of your failures, He knows how weak you are, but He still loves you. So, when we see that we have failed, Jesus sees that we qualify for mercy and grace and He offers that gift to everyone, even failures.
It is nice to be chosen.