What would they call us?

If you are a sports fan, you may have noticed a few of the more over the top fans at a sporting event. Fans who are so different from a typical person you might encounter on the street, that even without saying a word, you know who they are rooting for. Duke University has fans who camp for days in advance to get tickets to a game. Keep in mind that the college basketball season is played in the winter time. Even in Durham, NC camping in January is a little out of the question for most rational people. Many of these fans will go even further by painting their whole bodies blue and white, just to show their allegiance.  These people have been called “The Cameron Crazies,” after the venue that hosts the Duke basketball games.

If someone looked at your everyday life what would they call you? Would your life be different enough for others to know where your allegiences were? Would they call you pretty much, “just any old average person?
As Christians, we are called to be salt and light to a world in dire need of salvation.

Isn’t it interesting that in Acts 1, at the end of verse 26, it says, “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” What I find interesting is the simple thought that the Christian’s didn’t name themselves.  But rather, they were called(or named) “Christians” by those watching their lives. I wonder if it would be the same today. Could someone look at your life or look at my life and name me a Christian?  A humbling question for sure. (Chris Tomlin, Forward to the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan.)

Those who were the first to be called Christians were not merely different or quirky. But like the Cameron Crazies, the differences pointed to a source. Their lives looked like people who followed Christ, hence the name “Christian.” What would the world call you or me? Humbling indeed.

Sign of the Times

 It is almost impossible to drive very far without seeing a sign or billboard, advertising a yard sale, real estate open-house, or community event. Signs are a part of life in our culture. There is an old church that I must pass by every time I leave my neighborhood. This morning they had a large and colorful banner advertising Vacation Bible School. This church posts many such signs throughout the year. When I pondered this fact today It occured to me that I never see very many people at this church. Ever. Not on Sunday morning. Not for the many special events throughout the year.

Even today signs, on their own, usually are not enough to compel people to go out of their way to go to some place or event. The main reason we try a new restaurant or go see a new movie is the recommendation of a friend or loved one. I think this is especially true with introducing people to Christ. Signs, bumper stickers, and web-pages are all useful, but what really matters to people is hearing from people they respect and care about. 

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.  (John 1:40-42)

Notice that this scripture passage does not tell us that the first thing Andrew did was make a clever sign or have some bold message printed on a t-shirt. He told someone very important to him the life changing truth that he found in Jesus. I believe that this is still the best way to reach people with the gospel. We should not rely on church marketing, or some television ministry to reach the people we care about. We must make the difference by tirelessly inviting, encouraging, and serving people in a way that shows God’s love for them through our lives.

Real Freedom in Jesus

I read a blog that was incredibly powerful and beautiful to me. I wanted to share it with you. It is a little long, but well worth the time investment. Happy 4th of July. Take some time to thank God for our freedom, So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).

Real Freedom in Jesus

Posted: 04 Jul 2008 03:31 AM CDT

The 4th of July is a different sort of ‘Independence Day’ for me. On July 4, 1995 my multiply-disabled son entered the world and my life came crashing down around me—and would soon include a deep and intense bitterness toward God.

I never denied that God existed or is powerful; I concluded he was mean and capricious. But it also began God’s work of creating an affection for him and for the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. I am often astonished, when thinking back, that I am now able to praise God for his goodness in giving my son his autism and blindness.

None of this happened easily or by accident. I can point to five specific things that God brought to bear on my life:

1. Faithful pastoral leadership.

I can still remember Pastor Tom Steller, now leading The Bethlehem Institute, walking up my front steps with a note from Pastor John. And I remember sitting with and emailing Pastor David Michael.

These men, with great courage and biblical conviction, entered into dangerous territory. My attorney, a man trained in conflict, said that my intensity and bitterness frightened him. But my pastors never wavered from bringing a message of hope and absolute certainty in the sovereignty and goodness of God, even when I pushed them away.

2. Faithful people of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Shortly after my son was born we dropped everything at church—our small group, volunteering, Sunday school class and attendance. One couple refused to let us go and loved us with a gracious, firm, consistent tenderness that made me want to understand how they could love someone like me, my wife or my son so completely.

3. A faithful father.

My own father was the first person in the world to understand and communicate my son’s value and inherent worth as a creation of a good and loving God to me. Through 13 years, he has stood with me through much pain and sorrow—and joy.

4. A faithful wife.

My wife and I have not walked the same path; hers has been much harder than mine for many reasons. But by the grace of God we are together and I thank God every day for this woman whose spine is made of steel and who loves me and our four children.

5. The sovereignty of God as revealed in his word.

I remember a particularly heartbroken, bitter email I sent to Pastor John. He had every right to discipline me, but instead wrapped the words of the bible around my heart. God used those words from the bible, among many others, to create longings I didn’t have, to start a dead heart beating, and to reveal, when I was incapable of seeing, the beauty, sufficiency, and majesty of Jesus Christ and his cross.

God has done it all, and it was his word that proved decisive.

Living with a boy, now a teenager no less, who will always be dependent on someone for all his needs is hard. I have a daily, often hourly, fight for joy in my salvation. Yet, through my oldest son’s daily care, through my youngest son’s premature birth, and now through my wife’s ongoing battle with metastatic cancer, God is not just sustaining me, but revealing more of his goodness because he is sovereign over all these things, for his glory and my good.

So, on this Independence Day I am grateful to Jesus for my real freedom in him and for giving me my boy to help me see it: So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).

Happy birthday, Paul.

(Author: John Knight)

Where are the other nine or 19,999?

A few nights ago the NBA Championship was decided. The Boston fans, understandably, were jubilant in there celebration. I wonder what would have happened if only one fan in the entire crowd would have celebrated wildly at the end of the game, complete with green and white face paint, fist pumps, and screaming until hoarseness took over. Imagine every other fan in the building quietly gathering up the family and very quietly and orderly leaving the building. That would be a surreal site, especially considering that the home team won the championship. Could all of these fans have witnessed the same thing and reacted so differently from the one fanatic fan? Consider the following account from the gospel of Luke.

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19)

To me this is as surreal as the hypothetical Boston Celtic, one-fan celebration. Jesus asked “Was no one found to return and give praise to God?” Have you ever been in a worship service and seen some worshiping so intently and sincerely while nearby others seemed to take part in an almost routine way? This might naturally cause you to wonder if they all witnessed the same miraculous change in there life? Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed?” The Leper who returned to praise and give thanks, did what you would expect from someone healed of such a horrible disease, one that was physically, socially, and emotionally debilitating. The actions of the other nine lepers is baffling. Our praise for God should be like the Samaritan leper.

Bringing healing and victory to us cost Jesus His very life, don’t be among the nine. Rise up and praise Him, He deserves our love.

Our Father’s good Pleasure

“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind…. your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:29-32)

In this passage, Jesus tells us two wonderful things about our heavenly Father: First, he knows our needs, and is faithful to provide for those who seek His Kingdom. Secondly, giving His kingdom to us is a pleasure for God.

The Phrase, “Your Father’s good pleasure” might better be translated: “God chose it gladly.” To me this is a beautiful verse that shows our heavenly Father’s amazing love for us. There is a great price that had to be paid to give us the kingdom; He chose it gladly.

Many people have less than perfect relationships with their earthly father, others have mourned the loss of their fathers, and Father’s Day is a painful reminder for them. Be encouraged, our eternal heavenly Father gladly chose to love us. Happy Father’s Day.

The Greatest Cause

We live in a unique time in history. Even the richest and most influential people in our world are not satisfied with merely enjoying the spoils of wealth. It seems that everyone has a cause to champion. Giving back to society in some ways is almost expected today. Indeed, if we see need all around us, and we do nothing of purpose, our lives are a waste. There are many worthy outlets or causes to get behind, preserving animal habitat for whales and owls, getting bent up light bulbs that use less energy, and turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth, are a few of them.

In recent years in Christian circles, much has been made of fining purpose for our lives. Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven life,” was a number one best seller. The reason for the success of this book is likely due to the fact that we all want to make a difference for God with the short time that we are here on earth. The secret is finding out practical ways to do this. I read something yesterday that could be used to form the perfect mission statement for all people.

The greatest cause in the world is joyfully rescuing people from hell, meeting their earthly needs, making them glad in God, and doing it with a kind, serious pleasure that makes Christ look like the Treasure he is. John Piper.

This statement contains many key elements for a fruitful Christian life; evangelism, serving people, praise and worship, and discipleship. If you are anything like me, it is hard to remember a twelve step list for happiness. Even trying to remember four steps might be a stretch. I challenge you to study the quote above, put it on a note-card if it helps. If this was the cause that God’s people all joined in on, God could use to make a difference that lasts an eternity.

You go God!

There is a prevalent notion being indoctrinated in the hearts and minds of people today that we each possess deep inside of us some sort of power and purpose that would revolutionize our lives, if we could just tap into it. The indoctrination is by no means a subtle one. Television, magazines, and “self-help” (an oxymoron)  books, all encourage us to get in touch with ourselves, pamper ourselves, and look out for ourselves. We all just need cheerleaders to pump us up and make a big deal of us.Talk show hosts become spiritual gurus, who unashamedly encourage Self-Worship. “You go girl.”

The problem is that God did not make us to worship ourselves, but to worship Him. Because of this fact, we will never find purpose and contentment with worshiping ourselves.

We are taught in a thousand ways that love means increasing someone’s self esteem. Love is helping someone feel good about themselves. Love is giving someone a mirror and helping him like what he sees. This not what the Bible means by the love of God. Love is doing what is best for someone. But making self the object of our highest affections is not best for us. It is, in fact, a lethal distraction. We were made to see and savor God– and savoring Him, to be supremely satisfied, and thus spread in all the world the worth of His presence. Not to show people the all-satisfying God is not to love them. To make them feel good about themselves when they were made to feel good about seeing God is like taking someone to the Alps and locking them in a room full of mirrors. (John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life.)

We are all worshipers. It is what we were made for. The secret to finding purpose and joy in life lies in the object of our worship. There is no room for both ourselves and God on the throne. Make room for the King.

Friend of God

In the course of our lives we will each be called many things. Student, son, daughter, father, mother, employee, boss, husband, wife, American, and Christian are a few of the examples. Perhaps the most amazing and joyful thing that anyone could be called is “friend of God.” This is the exciting reality for those who follow Christ.

Greater love has no one than this; that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:13-15

It is difficult to imagine that the sovereign and holy creator of everything would go to so much trouble in order to call fallen sinners “friend”. Christ showed the greatest love imaginable by laying down his life for His friends. Accepting the salvation that is available to us because of this awesome display of love is not a sacrifice, but the only rationale response that we could have to such love. Having friends in high places certainly has its rewards.

Complete-ly Weak

Our society places a high standard on strength. We strive for a strong heart, a strong investment portfolio, and strong relationships. From an early age, we are taught that being strong, independent, and self-sufficient, is the ideal that will lead to happiness in life.

The problem is that we are not self-sufficient and strong. We are flawed because of sin. We cannot anything to overcome this fatal deficiency. The awesome news is that in the economy of God, our weakness makes us complete.

Men of faith rise up and sing, of the great and glorious king. You are strong when you feel weak, in your brokenness complete. (Shout to the North, by Martin Smith)

When we realize that we are weak and in need of God for our salvation, purpose, and direction, only then are we seeking the correct source of hope and joy. The more we trust God’s power over our own, the more His power will transform us, and bring glory to HIm.

“My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This truth is a major stumbling block in Christian evangelism. How do those with a disdain for weakness, become convinced that they are weak and in need of a savior? Some people even question Christianity on these grounds. “After all, isn’t Christianity for the weak?,” they may ask. These people might be on to something.

Christianity is for the weak, the spiritually sick. And according to Jesus, that’s all of us-whether we realize it or not. (From the book: If you Could ask God one Question, by Paul Williams and Barry Cooper)

Self-help is an oxymoron. If we could help ourselves we would not need God. God created us for His glory. Here is the news flash: You are weak, and helpless to do anything about it on your own. Praise God.

Hungry for Worship

Oh God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you’ My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. You satisfy me more than the richest of food, I will praise you with songs of joy. Psalm 63:1& 5)

At a time of his life where David had pretty much lost it all. He was on the run, in the desert, hungry, tired, dishonored, and demoted. Yet David is hungry for God. Praising God with songs of joy is more satisfying than the richest food. David Crowder says that in this particular Psalm, “David almost makes Job look like a whiner.” Even in the toughest situations, David understood where to find joy. In worshiping God.

Our whole culture, saved and unsaved, is starving for an extraordinary glimpse of God. Worship it the most powerful tool we have for satisfying the hunger of famished, injured souls, for breaking down spiritual strongholds of pride and unbelief, and for ushering in the gift of true joy. (Sally Morgenthaler, Worship Evangelism)

Hungry? Worship satisfies. Bon appetit.