I have been cursed with a weakness that has at times wreaked havoc on my life.  In fact, it’s a double curse, and I’ve been spending a lot of time recently trying to overcome this terrible flaw of mine.  Worse than any addiction or disability, it threatens everything I put my efforts into.  Just what is my Achilles’ heel, you ask?

I am an intelligent man.

I am one of those men who always got A’s in my classes throughout high school and college.  I could fall out of bed and write a ten page paper.  I could study the night before and ace an exam. 

And, to make things worse, I am a man.  A self-reliant, figure it out myself, thanks for your input but I’ll be okay on my own, I don’t need to ask for directions, I’ll find it myself, red-blooded man. 

Like I said, I am doubly cursed.

Some of you, either because you are also an intelligent man or are married to an intelligent man, understand where I’m coming from, get why this is a double curse.  My brain has a default mode that tells me “you can figure it out yourself.”  This mode has kept me from seeking out help, looking for advisers, despite being surrounded by some of the most Godly, wise people for most of my adult life.  During my time in seminary, I was chosen to be the research advisor for Haddon Robinson, named in a recent poll as one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world and author of Biblical Preaching, used in many seminaries.  Before I came to NewLife, I worked for Brian Doyle, founder and director of Iron Sharpens Iron, a men’s ministry that puts on men’s conferences around the country.  And since I’ve lived in this area most of my life, I know plenty more pastors, professors, and Godly men and women.

Yet somehow, despite being around all of these incredible men and women of God, I did not sit at their feet, gleaning every bit of wisdom that I could from them.  I listened to the self-reliant lie in my head that told me again and again “you’re an intelligent man – you can figure it out yourself.”   In the process, I missed incredible opportunities to prepare myself for the challenges that would eventually come. 

Donald Miller, in his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, writes “A general rule in creating stories is that characters don’t want to change.  They must be forced to change.”  And, in another place, he writes, “Humans naturally seek comfort and stability.  Without an inciting incident that disrupts their comfort, they won’t enter into a story. They have to get fired from their job or be forced to sign up for a marathon.  A ring has to be purchased.  A home has to be sold.  The character has to jump into the story, into the discomfort and fear, otherwise the story will never happen.”

Miller’s words have proved to be true in my life.  As my comfort and stability are disrupted more and more, I am finally understanding on a heart level the importance of Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”  I am understanding how essential it is to have mentors, advisers, counselors, and to not settle for just anyone but to seek out the best.  I can not go back and do things differently, unfortunately, but I can resolve to not repeat the same mistakes in the future.  I am finally recognizing that being an intelligent man may help me get an A on a test, but it can often be more of a hindrance in the real world, where having the humility to seek out help is better than a foolish self-reliance. 

 What about you?  Who is mentoring you?  Who are you going to for counsel and advice?  Or are you like me, falling into the trap of thinking you can figure it all out on your own?

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  (Matthew 5:11-12)

As I pondered Eric’s sermon this past Sunday on John 8:1-11, with the condensed message of laying down our stones and not judging others, I started to think about the proper reaction of those being judged.  How are we supposed to react to those who are judging and persecuting us, whether the accusations are true or false?  As with most questions of this type, if not all, the answer is found by looking to Jesus as our example. 

We are to be meek like Jesus was in the midst of His persecution.  Consider what it says in Mark 15:3-5, “The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, ‘Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.’  But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.”  His response was silence.  What did He do in response to those who whipped and beat Him, to those who spat on Him, to those who mocked Him?  Nothing.  He gave up His right to defend Himself and His cause, to exercise His authority.  He could have cursed them.  He could have responded with the perfect answer as He did with His other run-ins with the Pharisees which would have defeated any accusation they had against Him.  He could have sent a heavenly host of angels to attend to Him and defeat His persecutors.  Actually there is an infinite amount of things He could have done, but He chose to remain silent, forfeit His right and His authority to sinners who were not worthy to loosen the thongs of His sandals, and instead withstand the false persecution.  Why?  So that He could bear the sin of us all.  So that we will no longer be condemned.  So that we will no longer need to care what man says about us or what man can do to us because our confidence, strength, and life depend solely on the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:3-4, Psalms 118:6).  Man can persecute us, but man can NEVER snatch us out of God’s hands.  “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). 

We can rest assured that Jesus will have the last word and He will judge justly.  We are to leave judgment into the hands of the One who is supremely just and sinless, not to us, who can be so easily swayed by emotion and circumstance, especially if we are being falsely accused.  In the midst of persecution, we are to still follow Jesus, giving up our rights and being meek, so that God may be glorified through our obedience.  Yield to Him who is mighty and worthy and just.  Just as we are to lay down our stones instead of casting judgment on others, we are to lay down our rights instead of unleashing a counter attack on our accusers; perhaps throwing stones of judgment ourselves. 

Besides remaining silent and bearing the unjust persecution of his accusers, even though He did have the power to overcome it, He also responded with love.  It was our sin that nailed Him to the cross, but it was His infinite, never-ending love for us that He chose the brutal, torturous suffering of the crucifixion.  It was the ultimate, infinite sacrifice that paid the infinite debt we accrued due to our sin.  And it was paid in full so that we could be in communion with God for eternity and experience His love in a more intimate and personal way like never before.  “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).  We were still enemies to God, and yet He loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us so that we could have eternal life.  Or as John 3:16-17 so beautifully puts it, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” 

Further, Jesus says this in the Sermon on the Mount, “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).  Jesus always practiced what He preached, and so we should not expect any other reaction from Him besides love for His persecutors.  He did not whip those for beat Him, or spit on those who spat on Him, or curse those who mocked Him.  Instead, he cries, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).  But often times we do not respond to our accusers in love, but rather in anger, bitterness, resentment, or even judgment towards them.  What is worse is that satan wants you to give into these “acts of the flesh” (see Galatians 5:19-21) because in doing so, you are not following Jesus.  Furthermore, if you give the devil an inch, he is going to take a foot.  And what started as just a bit of anger turns into resentment, and Christ’s love and reconciliation are nowhere in sight.  But, I praise God that we are no longer in bondage to sin, but alive and free in Him who loves us (Romans 6:11-13).  Praise God that the law of sin and death no longer has a grip on you and that the Spirit of Life has set you free (Romans 8:1-2).  But we are not to use this freedom to indulge the flesh and respond with anger towards our persecutors, but rather, server one another in love (Galatians 5:13). 

The only way we can serve and respond in love is through the love of Christ.  The same love He had for us as He was hanging on the cross to bear the guilt and shame of our sin.  The same love that conquered death.  It’s the same love that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 which says that “[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”  Living a life of love requires a commitment of dying daily to our flesh and taking up our cross.  Jesus commands us to pick up our cross and follow Him to Golgotha, warning us that we must lose our life for His sake in order to save it (Matthew 10:38-39).  As we carry our cross and follow our Savior, we must be prepared for the persecution that lies ahead.  And we must be prepared to respond in love. 

The way we react to persecution will reflect who we are in Christ.  If we lash out with hate and judge our accusers, we might think that God’s judgment will not be good enough.  Or perhaps we are too impatient, thinking that we know what is best and can justly and righteously deal out punishment.  Or maybe it is selfishness that demands swift and immediate retaliation for the unjustified accusations against us.  However, if we respond in love, we are following Christ.  We trust that God will take care of any injustice for He alone is just and righteous.  We love those who hate and persecute us, knowing that the love of God can conquer and transform anyone.  By showing love to our accusers, we are sharing with them God’s love, mercy, and compassion which will have a far greater impact on them than if we were to respond in anger.  We need to be meek and endure the attacks and persecutions.  We need to love them as Jesus loves them.  We should be praying for our accusers, that their hearts may be healed and transformed.  And as it says in Romans 12:14, we are to “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”  I encourage us all to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus as we take up our cross, and let His love shine though us at all times, even in the face of unjust persecution.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:5-7)

I am so inundated with thoughts of spiritual and moral recovery that I have created a “traffic jam” in my mind.  I could literally write a rambling list of, or inventory of, self-realizations, focus items, or epiphanies to run an endless ink well dry.  But, one thing is weighing heavy on my mind; now stay with me, this could be a delicate situation:

 I am genuinely happy to be a Christian neophyte.  I am happy to be curious, in wonder, a seeker of truth, and be laden with religious fervor.  For once in my life I am not hiding from a difficult pursuit.  But then again, this time I am not alone, I have Him. As a new convert I have eyes and ears that soak up everything.  This data is filtered through the maze of a person who is seeking to abide and live in a Christ-like way, yet tainted by a lifetime of old habits, thought patterns, and cynicism.  Also, I know I could be easily influenced, in both negative and positive ways, by the company I keep.  I really want to do “life” the right way now, but I know that I have to be careful and real with myself and with the new behaviors and patterns I adopt, especially by example from others.  So again, “Who do I count on to help me in my walk with Christ?”

 I have met so many incredible people in my short walk.  I have seen understanding and forgiveness that has made me literally cry.  I have seen unselfish deeds and generosity that makes me shiver with joy.  I have heard the praises of God that has made me melt with appreciation.  I have seen God work through others that makes me want to surrender all that I am, and have, just to be part of something that wonderful. 

Then I have seen the turmoil of the devil’s hand.

 I have met devout Christians who judge others, yet live without taking a self-inventory; I have met Christians who speak with a gossiping tongue, yet act without mercy against those who “bruise” their ears; I have met Christians who impose their will on others without accepting the will of God upon themselves.  I have met Christians who have put personality before principles, even those principles that are the very fabric our Saviors teachings.

 So at times it leaves me to muse:  “Who is really LIVING the Way verses ACTING the Way?”  I don’t want to be a hypocrite by assessing or judging others, but I do feel I should be wary of those who offer a warm embrace with their hands one moment then serve a self-righteous slap the next moment. Or maybe I’m all wrong here; I mean, maybe my whole observation and concern is moot.  After all, the one thing our Lord desires the most is for us to love each other unconditionally, right?  Maybe some of my Christian Brothers and Sisters, especially those with questionable behaviors and actions, are put before me to further my walk with Christ; to sharpen me; to teach me true love through grace, or ironically through the absence of grace.

I guess I can answer my own question now:  “Who do I count on to help me in my walk with Christ?”  Well, coming to know Christ, through the Bible, is my first step; after all it is the instruction manual for good living.  Good knowledge, coupled with earned wisdom, and even some common sense, will help me to embrace my fellow Christian Brothers and Sisters instead of “sorting them out”. We are all different.  We all need each other’s colors to complete the human rainbow. We should let God figure out who will share our walk with us. Accept each person as they are, if there is something that person needs, or could improve, or change, then give and guide them with love, wisdom, openness, and grace.

Like I said, I am truly happy to be a “new” Christian.  I never want to become complacent.  I would rather always be a wretch who needs God and is subservient from the constant barrage of self realized deficiencies, realizations, and in awe of His grace that He gives me than be “comfortable” with myself to the point where I stand against another Christian Brother or Sister.  So my answer to my own question is: “We all walk together”.

As many of you know, I am the father of three young children – Ryan (5), Will (3), and Nate (1).  When each of them was a baby, I used to put them down for bed at night by standing near the crib, holding them in my arms, and singing quietly to them before laying them down.  If you have children of your own, you know that it can be a challenge getting little ones to go to bed without crying for a parent to come and pick them up again.  One question that often went through my head during the nighttime routine was which approach would help them go to sleep more peacefully:  keeping my eyes closed while I sang to them, or keeping my eyes open.  For a time, I went with the eyes closed approach.  By closing my eyes, I reasoned that I was showing them by example that it was time for sleep. 

Ultimately, however, I settled on the latter approach – putting them down with my eyes open, looking them in the eyes as I sang to them.  And every time I did that, I was reminded of Psalm 121, especially verses 3-4:  “He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”  I see Psalm 121 as a reminder that our God never sleeps, that He is always watching over us, and it is for that reason that we can sleep, even when we are faced with the most anxious and fearful trials, for our security is ultimately in His good hands.  We can sleep and cease our working and planning every night, knowing that He never sleeps and never stops working and planning on our behalf.  And we have His promise in v. 7-8 that He will keep us from all harm, watching over our every step.  Not that we won’t have troubles, of course, and painful situations in life, but that ultimately God our Father can protect our soul from the only thing that can truly harm us, the loss of His love and protection.

When I keep my eyes open as I sing my child to sleep, I try to communicate to him that he can sleep peacefully because his father is keeping his eyes open, protecting him, and that ultimately His Heavenly Father continues to protect him, even when his earthly father goes to sleep. 

It is 5:30 in the morning as I am writing this.  God brought Psalm 121 to my mind again this morning, convicting me that this quality of God is meant to be one of the characteristics of my life as a husband and father.  Because He does not sleep, the family of God can rest secure, knowing that He never stops working and planning on their behalf.  On a smaller scale, this is the call on my life as a husband and father – to emulate my Father by giving up sleep or anything else that is necessary in order to allow my family to rest secure.  To work and plan so that they can sleep in peace, knowing that their father cares for them and will not let harm befall them, and ultimately knowing that this is even more true of their Father in heaven.  Thank you, Lord, for your tireless work and care for your family; Lord, please help me to be a father like you are.

One of my most treasured memories of Eve had to do with prayer, of course.  Eve used to come to our Thursday noon prayer meetings at the church office, and one day she came with a big notebook to show me.  In that notebook, she had collected hundreds of prayers, Scriptures, promises of God, and personal prayers.  Reading through this book was like looking into the portfolio of a renowned artist, or the compositions of a virtuoso musician.  Eve’s passionate heart, full of trust in her God, was displayed on every page.  As she showed me the book, she recommended that I add a “prayer focus for the week” to the weekly Pulse, and I did just that, often drawing on something from Eve’s prayer notebook in order to stir our church’s hearts towards greater faith and prayer. 

The verse I usually like to preach on when I lead a memorial service is Ecclesiastes 7:2 – “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man.”  At every funeral, we are reminded of the finality of death, the importance of living every day to the fullest, and the need to make sure we are right with God.  We are also reminded of how uniquely special the life we have been given really is, and the opportunity we have to forever impact the lives of others.  One of my favorite quotes comes from the late Christian musician Rich Mullins.  Reflecting on death, he wrote, “I think we cry at funerals – even at funerals of people we don’t like – because we realize what a miracle a life is.  You realize, ‘This will never happen again.’  There will never be this exact combination of genes, there will never again be the things that have created this person to be what he is.  God has spoken uniquely here, and it’s gone.  It’s over.  And I think there is some regret, because we all realize, boy, we didn’t pay enough attention.”  God spoke uniquely when He created Eve, and blessed are those who took the time to pay attention to what He had to say through her.

Do you have any meaningful memories of Eve?  If so, please share a comment below.

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.”

This passage speaks powerfully to those times that we find ourselves having sinned against God and feeling like we are not worthy to be forgiven.  We feel like we need to wallow in our shame and guilt, and that our fellowship with God has been damaged.  But the truth is that God is always quick to forgive and restore, and Satan is the one who wants nothing more than to convince us that God doesn’t love us, can’t forgive us, and that we are unworthy to call ourselves a Christian.  This passage from Micah is a wonderful call to recommitment after we have fallen.  The enemy may laugh at us and call us all kinds of names, but we know that he is defeated, that the Lord has already pled our case and established our right if we belong to Jesus.  And so we can say with confidence, “Do not gloat over me, my enemy!  Though I have fallen, I will rise.”  And we can waste not one second more wallowing in guilt and shame, instead returning speedily to our merciful and loving God.

If you are a man, or if you know of any men, looking for brothers who will stand and encourage and fight for you as you strive to become the man God has called you to be, I would encourage you to come to NewLife on a Wednesday night from 7-8:30 for Fight Club.  If you have any questions, contact Anthony Varesio at 860-306-3920 or anthonyshope@yahoo.com, or Eric Stillman at 860-869-4580 or nlcfpastor@gmail.com.  For more info, visit http://www.glastonburyfightclub.com/.

Or does the gospel shed some light on what is really going on?

Let me use my issue as a case study in how the gospel helps us get at the root of the issue instead of just modifying behaviors.  The Bible tells us in Romans 1 about what happened when we rejected God, and in 1:25, we read :  “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator– who is forever praised.”  Instead of worshiping and serving God and looking to Him for our life and significance, we have turned to created things and treated those as our God, our source of life and salvation and significance.  The Biblical word for this is Idolatry, and it is summarized by the first two commandments in Exodus 20 – Don’t have any other gods beside the one true God, and do not make an idol out of anything in this world.  Wherever we are experiencing behavioral or attitude challenges, if we scratch beneath the surface we will find an idol – something besides God that we are looking to for our life, salvation, and significance.  There is some idol that we must have, that we are afraid to lose, and that causes us intense anxiety, anger, fear, or depression when it is threatened.  And when we look beneath the idol, we will find that there is something about God, something about the gospel, that deep down we do not truly believe.  And therein lies the key to truly overcoming our issues.

So what is my idol?  What am I looking to for my life, my salvation, my significance?

In the case of how I spend my time, my idol seems to be comfort.  In my heart, deeper than my faith in God, is the belief that salvation and “life to the full” is found in a life of relaxation and doing nothing stressful.  My heart believes that if I could just keep all problems and threats at arms length or out of my mind, I would find true joy, peace, and salvation.  This means that when faced with a to-do list, no matter how I’ve structured it and no matter what motivational quotes I’ve posted around the room, unless I am vigilant I will instinctively go for the things on my list that are the easiest or bring me the most happiness, and stay as far away as possible from the things that threaten my comfort.

Here’s the problem – like every idol, the idol of comfort fails to deliver on what it has promised.  Keeping stress and difficult things away does not lead to a relaxing life of comfort.  It may give moments of comfort and peace, but there is only so long I can keep the stress and challenges away before they must be dealt with, and by the time I have to deal with them, they are ten times worse than they would have been if they had been dealt with up front!  And so this idol, promising a life of comfort, in the end brings precisely the opposite – a life of more stress and discomfort.

Cue the blessed words of Paul in Romans 7:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do– this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God– through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:15-25)

As I said, beneath the idol of comfort is a disbelief of the gospel at the heart level.  I do not believe that the path to true peace and joy must pass through struggle and discomfort.  I do not believe that I will find true peace by walking with God wherever He leads instead of going my own way.  I have taken my eyes off Jesus instead of heeding Hebrew 12:1-3:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

So how can I change?  I may find some help in behavioral changes – new strategies, systems, accountability partners, deadlines, etc.  But true change will only happen when the idol of comfort is rooted up.  And the idol of comfort will only be rooted up when I truly believe that true peace is found in Jesus, no matter where he takes me.  Until my heart is captivated by the Savior who endured the “discomfort” (greatest understatement ever) of the cross for the joy set before Him, I will continue to avoid discomfort.  Until I believe that “If God is for me, who can be against me?” I will continue to avoid situations where I feel that people are against me.  Until the greatest desire of my heart is to know Him and follow Him, believing that by His side is the safest place to be, I will continue to struggle with time management.

In the end, therefore, the answer is not in finding the right strategy or system, even though those are important helps in the process.  The deeper solution is found in learning to love God with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind, so that following Him will always be the first, second, and last thing on my to-do list, wherever He leads.

This summer, beginning on June 13th, I’ll be preaching through different interactions with Jesus found in the gospel.  From Peter walking on water to the woman caught in adultery, from Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to Jesus healing the blind and the lame, these stories serve as pictures of the God we serve, in all of His power and compassion.  If you are not currently following any Bible reading plan, I would encourage you to spend your summer reading through the Gospels, the stories of Jesus’ life, and let God open your eyes anew to who He is and how He deals with His people.

As I prepare for this summer, I would love to hear from you – what story or stories are most meaningful to you, and why?  What is it about Jesus that attracts, intrigues, or challenges you the most?  Let me share a three of my thoughts below:

(1) I have always been fascinated by the fact that Jesus was a sinless friend of sinners.  In John 8:46, Jesus asks the Pharisees, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?”, and in Hebrews 4:15, we are told that Jesus was tempted in every way we are, yet was without sin.  Yet somehow, despite His perfection, it is obvious on every page of the Gospels that the outcasts and sinners of society loved to be near Him, while the religious people wanted to kill Him.  This just blows my mind.  I think that many Christians believe that in order to relate more to those who seem far from God, they need to be relevant to them, that perhaps by behaving more like the people of the world, we can seem more “real” to them and therefore point them more easily to God.  But here is Jesus, without one sin, and those who feels rejected by the religious elite (and therefore by God) just want to be near Him.  If that is not the case in our lives (or in our church), we would be wise to ask how we are different than Jesus.

(2) It can also be shocking to see how directly Jesus communicates with people, especially when He is confronting them.  I think that Jesus often gets a reputation of a meek and mild teacher and healer, a wise sage who is just loving and nice to everyone.  But the Gospels reveal someone who did not hesitate to sharply confront people, even his own disciple Peter when he turns to him and says “Get behind me Satan!” in Matthew 16:23.  The target of most of his sharpest criticism is the religious elite, something that should make all of us who are part of the church stop and reflect on whether or not we are displaying Christ to the world. 

(3) I am also encouraged and challenged by Jesus’ range of emotion.  In the gospels, we see Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, displaying zealous anger as he overturns the tables of the money changers in the temple, anxiously sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, and tenderly touching and healing a leper.  Jesus was no robot impassively walking through this world, but he fully experienced everything.

What about you?  If you have any thoughts to share, post a comment below.  And consider reading through the Gospels with fresh eyes this summer.

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:35-40)

My family moved to our current home back in October of 2000. We purchased our home with great hopes and expectations that God wanted to use us to reach out to our new neighbors, even though we didn’t know a single one of them. We didn’t know how or when we would be used, but we knew we would be used.

The very first day we moved in, move-in day was rather hectic, as they usually are. It was just my husband and me and our six young children moving things in. In the midst of unpacking, it suddenly occurred to me that we had an empty refrigerator and empty cupboards. Knowing there was a small convenience store about two minutes away, I told my husband I was going to drive down the road and pick up something to bring back for lunch. I asked him to watch all the kids.

As I was leaving, our daughter, a toddler at the time and who loved to be stuck to me like Velcro, began to cry that she wanted to come. Since I was only going to be gone about 10 minutes, I asked my husband to keep her with him. There was just so much confusion going on with the move-in that I thought it would be best for her to stay home during my brief trip.

I returned home about 10 minutes later. My husband informed me that our daughter had sat on the front steps crying and screaming for the first few minutes, then went in her room and fell asleep on her bed. She had been fast asleep for several minutes.  I thought, “Well, at least maybe I can make some progress with unpacking now that my Velcro has been removed.”

My husband told me he needed to go to Home Depot to pick up some things for the house, and so off he went.  A couple minutes after he left, I was inside unpacking when I received a knock on the front door.  I thought to myself, “Oh, I wonder if one of our new neighbors is stopping by to say hello?!”

I opened the door. My jaw just about fell to the floor when I saw it was a uniformed police officer with his cruiser in our driveway.  I stumbled through, “Hello, how may I help you?”

The officer said, “We received an anonymous phone call that there was a crying and screaming child at your house. I am here to investigate the call.”

I wanted to throw up. I again stumbled through, “Well, yes, apparently there was.” I then told him what my husband shared with me and volunteered to let him come in and see my sleeping daughter.

He politely declined, then said, “I see the ‘SOLD’ sign on your front lawn and the moving truck. Are you just moving in today?”

On the verge of tears, I responded, “Yes we are.”

He shook his head and said, “Wow. I sure hope your neighbors don’t continue to give you a hard time. This wasn’t a very nice welcome to the neighborhood.”

I thanked him for his kindness before he left.  Needless to say, when the officer pulled out of the driveway, I began bawling like a baby. I hated our new house, our new neighbors, our new neighborhood, everything. All my hopes and expectations for reaching out to our new neighbors went straight down the toilet.

I had a full-blown pity party for myself that lasted for several days. Finally, when I stopped crying long enough to hear God’s still, small voice, I heard Him say, “Are you finally done? Now let’s get to work on reaching out to your neighbors.”

I asked God how. The first thing He laid on my heart to do was bake some homemade carrot cake for my three closest neighbors and to bring the cake and my children to introduce my family to them. Perhaps our neighbors had heard we have a large family and were intimidated by our size. A warm introduction might help break the ice and show them we are really a friendly family.

After this initial ice-breaker, the Lord then laid it on my heart to have an open house and invite our neighbors to come over for a harvest party (remember, we moved in during October). We had the party and laid out several Christian tracts on the goodies table (a gentle hint at our Christian faith).

The following April, the Lord laid it on my heart to host a neighborhood Easter children’s party at our house the day before Easter. This event included a more obvious sharing of our Christian faith. A couple neighbors came.
Following those two events, the Lord laid it on my heart to begin a more widespread neighborhood outreach. He gave me the idea of putting together baskets of three items: (1) a jar candle with a handmade tag saying the Bible verse that Jesus is the Light of the world; (2) a bottle of sparkling water with a handmade tag saying the Bible verse that Jesus is the Living Water; and (3) a plate of my homemade cinnamon rolls with a handmade tag saying the Bible verse that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Over the course of several weeks, the Lord laid it on my heart for whom to make the gift baskets and when to make them and have my children come along with me to deliver them. They were always very well received by our neighbors.

Several years ago during Christmas time, the Lord then laid it on my heart to have my children make a couple gingerbread houses with a handmade gift tag saying the Bible verse that we are to build our house upon the Rock.  I then had my daughter, who by this time was older and ready to learn the art of neighborhood outreach, deliver them herself to a couple of our neighbors (one familiar and one new to the neighborhood). Again, the gifts were very well received.

I continue to pray about ways to reach out to our neighbors.

I hope my testimony inspires others to think outside the box when sharing the gospel with neighbors. God is a very creative God and is ready and willing to give us ideas if we are willing to do the legwork.

This morning, The Hartford Courant had yet another story about the ongoing debacle of priests with a history of pedophilia.  The story was concerning the Diocese of Norwich and its attempts to keep secret hundreds of documents pertaining to Thomas Shea, a retired priest accused of molesting as many as 16 girls at 11 different parishes over his 40 year career.  The potential scandal in this case is that one of the letters was sent to Joseph Ratzinger, the man who is now Pope, when he was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the office that decides whether accused priests should have trials that could lead to them being defrocked.  Regardless of what is in those documents, the fact remains that this whole scandal is a black eye not just on the Catholic Church but on the very name of Jesus.

James, in the third chapter of his letter, writes that not many should presume to be teachers, because they will be judged more strictly (James 3:1).  In Ezekiel 34:2, God says “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?”  The warning is clear to anyone who desires to become a leader, teacher, or pastor of people in God’s church – don’t do it out of selfish reasons, be it prestige, honor, monetary reasons, or anything else.  And once you are in a position of leadership, your responsibility is to serve and care for others as a shepherd cares for his sheep.  Leaders in the church can be sure that if they misuse their position, they will be judged more strictly, for when others are harmed through their teaching or actions, leaders can not only hurt many people, but can also reflect poorly on the God they serve and do damage to the kingdom of God.

Certainly, we serve a God of great grace, a God whose forgiveness and restoration can extend not only to the victims of child molesting priests, but also to the child molesting priests themselves.  We should never become so self-righteous and judgmental that we forget that we are all sinners saved by grace, all capable of unspeakable acts of wickedness if placed in the right circumstances.  We are all desperately in need of God’s grace and mercy, and just as God used the murderer Paul to spread the gospel around the world, God is able to redeem even the most hopeless situation.  But do not presume on the grace of God by acting in sin because you believe that you can just ask forgiveness tomorrow for whatever you do wrong today.  The harmful effects on others and on the name of Jesus are worse than any fleeting pleasure you might receive.

I am curious whether the ongoing child molestation scandal in the Catholic church has had an impact on you or on those you love.  Has it affected your faith in God at all?  Has it damaged your trust in church leadership?  If you have any thoughts or experiences to share, please leave a comment below.

“It seems as if this is virtually the same conversion story that I’ve heard from so many Christians. It is primarily based on fear. What a sad reason to change your life as there are so many other ways. Fear, as a motivator, doesn’t seem like a very nice reason to embrace a religion, but it seems as if it is the main reason that so many people do. Just because you are filled with fear about death or your own failings as a person, that doesn’t validate a religion or God…”

While I can’t say that I saw fear as the primary motivator in Shore’s conversion story, the commenter’s point was worthy of reflection, because it reflects the way many people view religious people – their motivation to believe in God is fear, or guilt, or pride, something other than love and attraction to the beauty of God and the gospel.  The argument goes that people believe because they fear the unknown, or are afraid of death, or need to believe that there is a reason for life, that we are not just cosmic accidents, suffering until we die. 

Is this true of you?  If you believe, is it because of fear, or guilt, or something ignoble?  Are you just too weak to face reality?  And what about your day to day discipleship?  What motivates you to read the Bible, to go to church, to love your enemies, to serve others, to try to live a pure life?  Are you afraid of judgment?  Do you feel guilty if you don’t do what you know you are supposed to do?  Are you following God out of pride?  What is your motivation?

This past Sunday, I talked about how the gospel, the good news that Jesus died for our sins in order to save us and restore our relationship with God, affects our attitude towards money.  In 2 Corinthians 8:7-9, Paul encourages the Corinthian church to be generous.  But notice how he speaks to them:

“But just as you excel in everything– in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us–see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”

Paul is very clear with them:  I am not commanding you to be generous.  I am not telling you to give so that you will feel guilty if you do not, or laying down a new law that you must follow or else you will be punished.  No – instead he appeals to the gospel, to the grace of Jesus, who gave up heaven and all he had to become poor, so that in return we might become heirs of God, rich in every way.  Paul’s clear desire is that the Corinthians would be so captivated by the grace and generosity and goodness of God that the desire of their hearts would be to be full of grace and generosity and goodness with others.  He refuses to use guilt, fear, the law, or pride to motivate the church to obedience, but appeals to the gospel.  He goes on in verse 7 of the next chapter to say “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  Once again, he will not let them give reluctantly or under compulsion; his desire is that the gospel would captivate them until they became cheerful givers, generously giving because of the joy that comes from giving to others.  He wants them to believe, as Jesus said, that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)  And if they are not generous, if they are not cheerful givers, it reveals that they have not yet grasped the wonder and grace and generosity of God.

What is your motivation?  Why do you believe, and why do you follow God?  Consider why you call yourself a Christian, if you do; why you go to church, why you give to others, and so on.  God’s desire is that you would be motivated by the gospel, that you would love others because He first loved you, that you would serve others because He serves you, be generous because He is generous with you, give your best in everything you do because He gave His best for you.  If you find yourself in a church or ministry that uses guilt and fear or pride to manipulate you into faith and obedience, run away, for they do not share our Lord’s heart.  Meditate on the gospel, on the amazing grace and love of our Lord Jesus, until you are transformed into a person whose sole motivation is to be like Him, so that He might be glorified in everything you say and do.

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:16-24)

And now, excerpts from Bonhoeffer’s commentary (the whole commentary is much longer but worth reading):

The young man’s enquiry about eternal life is an enquiry about salvation, the only ultimate, serious question in the world.  But it is not easy to formulate in the right terms.  This is shown by the way the young man obviously intends to ask one question, but actually asks another… what he expects from the good master and great teacher is a weighty pronouncement, but certainly not a direction from God which would make an absolute claim on his obedience… The answer to the young man’s problem is – Jesus Christ… It is now a question of yes or no, of obedience or disobedience.  The answer is no.

When he was challenged by Jesus to accept a life of voluntary poverty, the rich young man knew he was faced with the simple alternative of obedience or disobedience… If, as we read our Bibles, we heard Jesus speaking to us in this way today, we should probably try to argue ourselves out of it like this:  “It is true that the demand of Jesus is definite enough, but I have to remember that he never expects us to take his commands legalistically.  What he really wants me to have is faith… It is not important that I should have no possessions, but if I do I must keep them as though I had them not, in other words I must cultivate a spirit of inward detachment, so that my heart is not in my possessions.”  Jesus may have said, “Sell thy goods,” but he meant:  “Do not let it be a matter of consequence to you that you have outward prosperity; rather keep your goods quietly, having them as if you had them not.  Let not your heart be in your goods.”  We are excusing ourselves from single-minded obedience to the word of Jesus on the pretext of legalism and a supposed preference for an obedience “in faith.”… If Jesus challenged us with the command:  “Get out of it,” we should take him to mean:  “stay where you are but cultivate that inward detachment.”  Again, if he were to say to us:  “Be not anxious,” we should take him to mean:  “Of course it is not wrong for us to be anxious:  we must work and provide for ourselves and our dependents.  If we did not we should be shirking our responsibilities.  But all the time we ought to be inwardly free from all anxiety.”  Perhaps Jesus would say to us:  “Whosoever smiteth thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”  We should then suppose him to mean:  “The way to really love your enemy is to fight him hard and hit him back.”  Jesus might say:  “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,” and we should interpret it thus:  “Of course we should have to seek all sorts of other things first; how could we otherwise exist?  What he really means is the final preparedness to stake all on the kingdom of God.”  All along the line we are trying to evade the obligation of single-minded, literal obedience.

How is this absurdity possible?  What has happened that the word of Jesus can be thus degraded by this trifling and thus left open to the mockery of the world?  When orders are issues in other spheres of life there is no doubt whatever of their meaning.  If a father sends his child to bed, the boy knows at once what he has to do.  But suppose he has picked up a smattering of pseudo-theology.  In that case he would argue more or less like this:  “Father tells me to go to bed, but he really means that I am tired, and he does not want me to be tired.  I can overcome my tiredness just as well if I go out and play.  Therefore though father tells me to go to bed, he really means:  ‘Go out and play.’”

There is an element of truth underlying all this sophistry.  When Jesus calls the young man to enter into the situation where faith is possible, he does it only with the aim of making the man have faith in him, that is to say, he calls him into fellowship with himself.  In the last resort what matters is not what the man does, but only his faith in Jesus as the Son of God and Mediator… So far then we are quite right; it is possible to have wealth and the possession of this world’s goods and to believe in Christ – so that a man may have these goods as one who has them not.  But this is an ultimate possibility of the Christian life, only within our capacity in so far as we await with earnest expectation the immediate return of Christ.  It is by no means the first and the simplest possibility… This is only possible and right for somebody who has already at some point or other in his life put into action his single-minded understanding, somebody who thus lives with Christ as his disciple and in anticipation of the end…

Anybody who does not feel that he would be much happier were he only permitted to understand and obey the commandments of Jesus in a straightforward literal way, and e.g. surrender all his possessions at his bidding rather than cling to them, has no right to this paradoxical interpretation of Jesus’ words… The elimination of single-minded obedience on principle is but another instance of the perversion of the costly grace of the call of Jesus into the cheap grace of self-justification.

The Imperfekt Chronicles
By Anthony Varesio

Romans 12:9-10 (NLT) - “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.  Hate what is wrong.  Hold tightly to what is good.  Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.”

I have a “bad” case of “Christianitis”.   The fire under my tail has been lit and the dissection of my every habit, motive, intention, and action is now subject to the self-installed microscope.   It can be downright annoying.  It was so much easier just being self-centered and letting my often misguided and “four-year-old I-want it now-stomping-on-the-ground-holding-my-breath-til-I’m-red-in-the-face” emotions steer this train wreck!  Do you know how hard it is not to spit out some random and snide remark at someone for not saying “thank you” when you just held open the door for them at the coffee shop?  Or, how about not hitting the car horn when the car in front of you took at least three seconds to go at a newly turned green light?  Annoying, just annoying.

Over the past year I’ve been experiencing these “Whispers from God”.  I liken them to Miracle- Grow for the conscience; they fertilize my conscience for better growth.  Then somehow the whispers seem to bring in their well armed reinforcements using related messages that are delivered through the Sunday sermons, or a television show, sometimes it’s one of those little daily devotionals on a calendar; even a comment from a six year old overheard while speaking to his Mom!  (I could have sworn the six year old even looked up at me, pointed, and winked)     

Anyway……..These whispers do a great job of lassoing in my usual wandering and flighty thought process and provide a focus on things I should be paying attention to, or should I say “praying attention” to, like “playing nice with others”. I started to really be aware of my internal attitudes and behaviors.  I thought about how many times I was slow to leave a stop light because I was in my eighth month of trying to figure out my new car stereo.  (You can’t drag your kids everywhere with you so they can manage your technology) Or, how many times someone did something courteous for me, probably even more significant than holding open a door, and my cranky mood pretty much prohibited me from even offering a half cocked, borderline sneer of a smile in appreciation.  I’m sure more than I would even admit.

Here’s a new bumper sticker for me:  “GRACE…. PAY IT FORWARD”.  God has certainly shown me grace on one or 7,021,630 situations. Yup.  Love those whispers!  Being nicer isn’t just God’s hope for all us; it also lets me off the hook!  No more carrying those cumbersome, day-wrecking, mood changing, bags of resentments!  They are back AND spirit breakers.  I like being nicer and more forgiving, so far.  ; )

One of the greatest realities of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is that those who trust in Him are adopted into the family of God, becoming children of the Heavenly Father, full heirs of all that belongs to Him.  At NewLife this past Sunday, I made the point that one of the greatest ways we can preach the gospel to the world is through following our Father’s example and becoming people and families who adopt others.  There are certainly formal ways to do this, by adopting or fostering children who have been abused or neglected or have no parents, but there are many other ways to have an adoptive attitude towards the world.    For example:

• Treat your neighbor’s children, or your children’s friends, as family, making sure they know that when they are in your house, they are part of your family, welcome to eat your food, spend the night, or to come to you for advice, prayer, or a listening ear

• Pay attention to people in church who are new to the area, especially those fresh out of college, away from their family and without friends in the area.  Welcome them into your home and become their family away from their family
• Look for young men and women who do not have fathers or mothers at home due to death or divorce, and be available to them
• Be generous with your money and time and possessions towards the people in your life, just as you would be with your own family

One of the things that attracted me the most to my wife Michele when I first met her ten years ago was how the kids in her neighborhood were always going in and out of her home.  I absolutely loved how she had welcomed these children into her life, and how much they enjoyed being around her.  I knew that this was the kind of home I wanted as well, one where people would be treated as part of my family, whether they were a part of my life for a day, a week, or a year.  I’m not where I would like to be, but that continues to be the goal towards which I strive.

Over the past year, our family began taking foster children into our home.  While the experience is still new to us and we are constantly evaluating its impact on our lives, our hearts have been touched by the teenagers who have spent time in our home.  As challenging as it has been at times, it has been remarkable to us how meaningful it can be to a young person who has experienced rejection and neglect his or her whole life to know that someone out there has chosen them and desires to call them family.

One of the most powerful books I have read on the issue of adoption is Russell Moore’s Adopted for Life.  There are many books on adoption out there, as well as many books on the gospel, but this is perhaps the only one that successfully weaves both themes together in a way that shows how adoption by Christian families is a witness to the adoption available to all in the gospel.  Moore and his wife adopted two boys as babies from an orphanage in Russia, and he shares in heart-wrenching detail what it was like for the children in that orphanage:

“Of all the disturbing aspects of the orphanage in which we found our boys, one stands out above all the others in its horror.  It was quiet.  The place was filled with an eerie silence, quieter than the Library of Congress, despite the fact that there were cribs full of babies in every room.  If you listened intently enough, you could hear the sound of gentle rocking – as babies rocked themselves back and forth in their beds.  They didn’t cry because no one responded to their cries.  So they stopped.  That’s dehumanizing in its horror.

The first moment I knew the boys received us, in some strange and preliminary way, was the moment we walked out of the room for the last time on that first trip.  When little Maxim, now Benjamin, fell back in his crib and cried – the first time I ever heard him do it – it was because, for whatever reason, he seemed to think he’d be heard and, for whatever reason, he no longer liked the prospect of being alone in the dark.”

 We worship a Father who, despite our rebellion against Him or indifference towards Him, gave up his very best in His Son Jesus in order to make us part of His family.  As Jesus says in John 14:18 when he is telling His disciples that He will be sending them His Holy Spirit to be with them forever, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”  This is the adoptive love of our Father.  Take a moment to pray for those who are in need of that kind of love in their lives, and consider how you can respond to the Father’s adoptive love by doing the same for others who are in need.

What do you think of topical sermons?

Over the past three and a half years at NewLife, I have tried different approaches to preaching.  For some series, I preach through a book of the Bible (e.g. Colossians) or the life of an important person (e.g. The Life of David).  For other series, I stay more topical (e.g. Death and the Life after that, Why Believe?).  My current sermon series, which I have called “Practical Christianity,” falls more on the topical side, in that each week deals with a specific topic (love life, parenting, work, money, etc.), but I am coming at it from the perspective of how to work out the implications of the gospel into each realm of your life (as Paul said in Philippians 2:12-13 – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose).

I am interested in your answer to this question because there are some churches that preach almost entirely topical sermons.  In these kind of churches, for example, there will be a series on what the Bible has to say about money, followed by a series on parenting, followed by a series on conquering your fears, and then one on love, sex, and marriage.  On the other hand, there are other churches that preach entirely verse-by-verse, going through one book of the Bible after another until you understand what it means and how it applies to your life today. 

I see strengths and weaknesses in both approaches, but I am curious to hear what you think.  Consider the following questions:

1) Is one approach more “right” or “Biblical” than another?
2) Has one approach helped you more in your spiritual growth than the other?
3) What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of preaching topically vs. preaching verse-by-verse?

If you’ve got an opinion, please share your comment below.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:13-14)