Confident Hope

Hope. It's what every person is craving right now. But where does it come from? Stuff? People? Government? Money? Certainly, not certainty.  Circumstances has proven to the world once again that nothing is “for certain.” So, if hope doesn’t come from these things, where does it come from?
 


Friends, our hope comes from the resurrected Christ. This concept is so challenging for we mere mortals to accept. Jesus is victorious. He conquered death. By accepting His sacrificial gift to us, we are afforded SO many ridiculously amazing gifts in life - like salvation from death, freedom from sin,  purpose and mission for life, joy in the midst of suffering, and HOPE. 



What’s different about our hope? Our hope is not a wish. It is grounded in a concrete understanding of the person in whom we place our hope. Therefore, our hope is more than a “oh please, oh please.” It’s a “I know. I know.” We know that God has a plan. We know that He is at work. We know that He hears us when we pray. We know that He is aware of our deep need. Our need for financial provision, medical attention, and face to face companionship and He is working on our behalf for His glory. We know that He has won the battle over ALL sickness and death. We know that He has placed us here for this time and season to love and serve in ways we haven’t realized yet (or maybe you have and to that I say, “Keep on keeping on, friend!”) We know WHO God is! And, that is where your hope comes from. 



Not stuff. Not people. Not governments. Not money. Not certainty. 



The resurrected Christ! 



As, Paul wrote, "I pray that God, the source of HOPE will fill you completely with joy
and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 



God is your source of HOPE. I pray that you seek Him, find Him, be filled with Him, so that you will overflow with CONFIDENT HOPE to those you text message, FaceTime, buy groceries from, and wave to from across the street. 



Take courage friends and remember His name - Immanuel, God with us. 



W.W.J.D.

W.W.J.D

This was once the “it” phrase in church youth groups around the country. When I was younger I had bracelets in various colors that had these letters printed or sewn on them. Other children my age had t-shirts that proudly displayed the acronym. Unfortunately, many of us wore these items as Christian fashion statements instead of allowing the question to penetrate our hearts and lives.

As I grew a bit older I realized the importance behind the letters. You see, W.W.J.D. stands for “What would Jesus do?” During my senior year of high school, I selected this acronym to mark one side of my class ring. Why? I realized that I would be making life changing decisions after high school. It was, and is, my opinion, that the way to make those decisions was by asking the question, “What would Jesus do?”

Isn’t it sort of cheesy? Wasn’t it a bit overdone in the 90’s? Perhaps, but the power of the question is not diminished by its popularity. The question, “What would Jesus do?” is significant and powerful regardless of how many times it was printed on a coffee mug, sewn on a t-shirt, or tattooed on an arm.

How significant can it be? It’s not scripture. But, the concept can be derived from scripture. Ephesians 5:1 says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

Did you grow up with a sibling? Do you remember copying them? You did and said exactly the same as your brother or sister. You imitated them.

The word, "imitate" is a verb and means: “Take or follow as a model. Copy.”

Scripture tells us to be imitators of God. We are to “take and follow” Him “as a model.” We should be copying Him, doing what He does. Therefore, each moment of our day should be filtered through the question, “What would Jesus do?”

Whether this acronym is a blast from the past or new to you, I challenge everyone to remember W.W.J.D.

When you’re on Facebook – What would Jesus do?

When you’re shopping in Walmart – What would Jesus do?

When your husband says something hurtful – What would Jesus do?

When your wife disrespects you – What would Jesus do?

When you’re at church – What would Jesus do?

When you’re all alone – What would Jesus do?

Perhaps you’re asking, “Why are you writing a blog so simple and basic?”

Well, in my life I struggle to look like Jesus each day. I have yet to receive a perfect score on my "Did you act like Jesus today?" exam. I need to ask myself, "What would Jesus do?" every day so that I can make the choice to imitate Him. To have compassion like Him. To pray, have faith, and love like Jesus. To be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). 

What would happen if we, the body of Christ, started imitating Him?

I can think of a few things...

Our families would change.
Our churches would change.
This world would change.

How do you know that? Take a look at the New Testament and observe the difference Jesus made in the world. Then notice the impact His followers had. We can have the same impact and it all starts by asking, “What would Jesus do?”

However, our transformation will not be complete if we only ask, “What would Jesus do?”

No, you and I must move on to the second step.

You and I, through the power of the Holy Spirit, must choose to do whatever it is Jesus would do. No matter what situation we find ourselves in we must be obedient. And, if we are obedient then:

We will speak as He speaks (to those we like and those we dislike).
We will move as He moves (when we do and do not want to).
We will go where He goes (no matter if the location is rich or poor).
We will do what He does (whether it is culturally acceptable or not).
We will love how He loves (unconditionally; with truth and grace).
We will serve as He serves (all of mankind). 

We will live as He lives (submitting to the Holy Spirit's work in us, so that we might be holy as Christ is holy).

We will be imitators of God.

And the world around us will change. Because of us? No, because of Christ within us. 

It all starts with one question, “What would Jesus do?”

You see, it is so much more than a bracelet... 

Craving Something Salty...

As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I love food. My three most favorite times of the day are breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’m not picky. Whatever makes its way onto my plate will inevitably find its way to my stomach. I really enjoy sharing a meal with people – my husband, family, or dear friends. When I share a meal with my family, my grandmother never fails to cover her food in salt and pepper. Most of the time she won’t taste the food before smothering it in seasoning. She adores the flavor of salt and pepper, especially salt. In her opinion, it makes everything better. Her meal is not nearly as satisfying without salt.

Salt has been important throughout history. You can go on Amazon right now and purchase a book on salt and the influence it has had on mankind for centuries. Salt often symbolized wealth since it was a frivolous extra. Then it became a necessity for preservation.  Meats were salted and vegetables stored in a brine so that their shelf life would extend through barren winter months. Now it has returned as a delicious extra on our tables; used to add pop and zing to certain items like corn on the cob in the summer time.

Have you noticed that after you ingest salt you crave liquid? This is true for me. After I enjoy a box full of hot Chick-Fil-A waffle fries that have been perfectly salted, I can’t help but take a long sip of my half-sweet/ half-unsweet iced tea. Salt makes us thirsty.

This is why Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth…” in Matthew 5:13. You, as a follower of Jesus, have been placed here to make people thirsty.

Thirsty for what?

Thirsty for living water – a supply that never runs dry.

It is the water Jesus told the Samaritan woman about in John 4: 13-14. “Jesus said to her, ‘“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

Thirsty for Jesus.

We are called to be the salt that causes people to want a drink of everlasting life.

This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Jesus knew that. That is why He continues in Matthew 5:13 saying, “…but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”

What do you do with salt that has gone stale while sitting in your seasoning cabinet? You know the kind, you finally need to use it but it has developed a salt rock inside the container that refuses to separate. You attempt to use it but upon tasting it you realize it is bland. 

Regretfully, because you hate to waste, you dispose of this salt. It cannot be used on the meat as a rub, or in the soup as part of the broth; it is purposeless. Why? It has lost its flavor. And what is salt without flavor?

That’s what Jesus is communicating in Matthew 5. Salt without flavor has no purpose. Salt without flavor is not going to lead anyone to drink the living water.

So let’s take away the example for a moment. As a Christian, your purpose is to lead other people to Jesus Christ. The problem is that our salt has lost its flavor.

How did that happen?

Well, are we any different than the rest of the world? What about you is unusual to someone who doesn’t claim Jesus as their Savior and Lord?

Are you just as negative?

Are you just as worried about the state of our world?

Are you angry? Do you lose control and fly off the handle at work?

Do you gossip with the girls during mani/pedis?

Do you accept sin because you don’t want to be alienated for believing in Scripture? Have you accepted sin in your own life by excusing it as a personality trait?

When we do these things, our salt becomes less flavorful. It becomes useless.

Why? Well, who would want more of what you have if it is exactly like what they have?

People look for something different – something salty.

I may sound like a broken record to those who read this blog often, but this is the truth. We must strive to look more like Jesus every day. We do not have time to be flavorless. We must become salty again so that men and women in this world will want to take a drink from the water that brings everlasting life – Jesus Christ!

So what can one do to become more flavorful?

First, you ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Ask Him to reveal what does not belong; what is causing your salt to be flavorless.

Second, through the power of the Holy Spirit, commit to removing those things that do not belong in your life. Disengage from sinful behavior and thinking. Allow Him to form you in a way that reflects the image of Christ daily. This will revive your salt and bring back its usefulness.

Third, you must share your relationship with Jesus with everyone you know. If salt is not being sprinkled, it does not transform what is around it. By sharing your story, the Gospel, with others around you, through word and deed, a thirst develops in this world for what you have – Jesus Christ.

So, remember my friends, “You are the salt of the earth…”

Be flavorful today.

For Hearts Overwhelmed by Tragedy

I shared with you earlier in the year that the “one thing” I was going to focus on in 2016 was writing, which is what I believe God has asked me do. So I took to the keyboard and have tried (unsuccessfully at times) to write an encouraging blog once a week. The very year that I have focused on pursuing this calling has been a year drenched with tragedies – personal, national, and global – which have left me heart broken and sometimes afraid. In the midst of these moments I come to my corner, open the Bible, and hear the voice of God directing me through these difficult times. These thoughts I share with you.

Over the past few weeks our world has seen tragedy after tragedy. Our televisions scream headlines our way while our computers shout opinions at us. By the time we figure out how to respond to one incident, we are hammered by another. Many of us are running for the proverbial hills looking for a way out of the chaos. And some of us have lost sleep wondering about the state of our nation and the world. Worry has become our companion; fear, our neighbor.

Perhaps you have not experienced this in that past few weeks or months. True confession: I have.

In these moments, I open my Bible and God speaks.

Hear these words today:

In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (emphasis added).” He also says, in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (emphasis added).”

When Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, He was close to fulfilling His purpose by being crucified, resurrecting, and returning to heaven. Jesus knew that the disciples’ time on earth would be filled with difficulty and uncertainty. You see, the disciples did not know it but they would face unfathomable amounts of persecution after Jesus returned to heaven. They would be driven out of villages, despised and hunted down by government officials, beaten, imprisoned, burned, exiled, and crucified. Therefore, Jesus gives them peace. Not just any peace… It doesn’t come from government officials, journalists, political commentators, protest organizations, small groups, pastors, hymns, etc. No. This peace comes directly from Jesus Christ.

Do you remember the story of the disciples in the boat? They were sailing on the Sea of Galilee when a storm came and rocked them so furiously that they were overcome with fear. Where was Jesus? Asleep. He had peace. You see, He knew who was in control over all things. Therefore, He had peace in the midst of the storm. Interestingly enough, that’s what He used to calm down the wind and waves. Jesus said, “Peace, be still.” [Read Mark 4:35-41]

This is the peace He offers us. Peace that is rooted in the character of God, not the condition of the world. A peace that always remains and never changes because it comes from Him.

Jesus understands that this world is disturbing and terrifying at times.

This world is under the curse of sin, therefore we will have trouble. There will be disease, famine, hate, war, and persecution. The world will hate us as they hated Christ (John 15:18-19). It will be difficult, uncertain, and at times, painful.

However, we need not fear a battle that has been won nor be afraid of an enemy who has been conquered. The Bible tells us that Jesus has “overcome the world.” When Jesus rose from the dead, He defeated Satan – conquered Him. That’s why the Bible tells us that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).” Jesus won it all. Satan truly has no authority. Therefore, worry and fear have no purpose in keeping you company. No matter how much evil you see in the world, remember the Christ within you. Jesus won the victory. In doing so you have peace through Him.

As you look around and see pain, sadness, devastation, murder, and hatred you might be tempted to panic, worry, fear, or doubt God.

Friend, “Peace, be still.”

Open the scriptures and find your hope, strength, promise, and peace in the Word of God.

Perhaps you are like me and these words from Jesus are exactly what you need today: “Peace I give to you… Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid… but take heart; I have overcome the world.”

What is Wrong with the World?

Dear friends, this is the most difficult blog I have written thus far because I want it to be communicated in the proper way, but have no control as to how it will be received. Still, I must write it because I feel like we, as the body of Christ, must grasp hold of what I am about to say. So without further ado:

Over the past week our nation has been swept away in the shock and heartbreak following the terror attack in Orlando, Fl. We have been consumed by it. News anchors share their opinions as politicians make statements as to what they will or won’t do in order to prevent another attack. Radio hosts ask people to call in and share their anger or hurt with the listening audience. Bloggers, like myself, rush to their computers to spout their words of wisdom or disgust while social media users share every post they can about what happened or is happening regarding said tragedy. This is our response. It has been for decades. We rush to share our thoughts so we can process what we have experienced. 

Well, I too have thoughts regarding this terrible day, and I would like to share them with you. If you would be so kind to allow me, I would appreciate it. 

As I scroll through my social media newsfeed, I continually see people, including my brothers and sisters in Christ, posting this question: “What is wrong with the world!?”

Friends, I would like to answer this question in this blog.

The problem with the world is this: They do not have a relationship with Jesus. Simple. To the point. 

Yes, they might know of Jesus, that good guy who did some cool miracles a few thousand years ago. But Judas knew Him, yet he still betrayed Him. Simply knowing of Jesus is not the “end all be all.” In order to experience a transformation, one must encounter Jesus, experience salvation, and submit to Him. This is true for every human being – in the church and outside of it. The majority of people know of Jesus, like the children born in 2000 know of Elvis Presley, but they do not know Him personally. A relationship with Jesus is a foreign concept to many people. This is the problem with America – with the world.

We, as the church, have gotten fat and lazy in Zion trusting that the government would handle a job that we have been called to do. Christians have been spoiled by an America who was once dictated by morality. Now, we live in an America who knows not God. And those who do not know God serve themselves because that is all they know to do. (After all, without Jesus in your life, who would you serve?) 

Those without Christ have not been released from their chains of sin; instead, they revel in it. This is why we find people glorifying sin while trampling upon righteousness - which is contrary to the Word of God, as we can see in the following verses:

Proverbs 14:34: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

2 Peter 3:3: “…knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.”

Romans 1:28-31: “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”

These are only a few Scriptures highlighting the problems that result from choosing sin over righteous.

But I ask you, what are we to expect if they do not know Christ?

Why don’t they know Him?

We, as the body of Christ, have not done our job. We have not taken the gospel of Jesus Christ to our country. And here we sit during a time of great tragedy wondering what is wrong with the world. 

The problem is: humanity is living for itself. The longer they serve their human nature the more they will become enslaved to it and the “crazier” this world will become because we are in a downward spiral of immorality. 

For this reason, the greatest tragedy is that people, including the Muslim man, entered into a very real eternity without knowing Jesus Christ. People of God, this means on that horrific Thursday people found themselves in Hell. Because no matter how we try to rationalize it away or claim it doesn’t exist, men and women without Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will spend eternity disconnected from God in a place of indescribable torment. Pain, horror, fire, brimstone, but most devastating of all, complete separation from God. God, who is all perfection and goodness. This means that those men and women who enter Hell will never experience anything good again. Nothing. Why? Because they will be divorced from the only being who produces perfection, love, and all that is good. If you think this world we live in is terrible, wait until God disappears from the equation. That is Hell. 

So you see, the real tragedy is that there were men and women who died in that attack who did not personally know Jesus. 

When a follower of Jesus dies we are comforted by the knowledge that they will be with Him and we will see them again. When a person dies without salvation through Jesus, there is no hope. It is over in that moment. 

Friends, hear my heart. It is time for us to quit playing sides. Quit trying to make it things comfortable for yourself and others. Speak the truth. If you know Jesus then you are commanded to share the Gospel with the world around you. 

This is very real. 

We’re talking about Hell. 

We’re talking about no hope. 

We are not guaranteed how long we have here. Make it count. I beg you. Tell the people around you about Jesus. Make sure that they know the truth. Earnestly invite them to come to Jesus by sharing your story. Share the Gospel. Pray for their heart. Do little things to show them Jesus. You can’t force them to love Jesus but you can give them every chance before they enter eternity – which could be today. 

The attack in Orlando was a great tragedy. My heart breaks for the loved ones who have been left broken and empty. I hope that someone in Orlando is able to show the love of Jesus to those who desperately need His comfort, love, and peace. I cannot begin to imagine the emotions they are experiencing. All I can do is ask God to be present and use His people to minister to the brokenhearted. I ask you to do the same.

Friends, if you glean one point from this blog, let it be this:

Share the truth of Christ, because that is what is wrong with the world – they do not know Him.