A story has been told about a woman who lost everything in hurricane Katrina.  She was staying in a shelter and the one rule of the shelter was that no food could be brought in.  There were people who checked everyone who came in to make sure that no food was brought in.  This lady forgot about a pack of Skittles that happened to be in her jacket pocket.  After holding it together emotionally through losing everything in the storm when they tried to take her Skittles away the lady lost it.

Isn’t it interesting that many times we can “keep it together” during the big problems in life, but we seem to always “lose it” in the small stuff?  For situations like this we have familiar sayings such as “the straw the broke the camel’s back” or “one cupcake over the line.”  They and other phrases mean the same thing, this has pushed me too far.  Like many in the country my family and I have been facing some pretty intense trials.  It all came to a point here recently and I wanted to lose my mind.  It got to the point I had to simply laugh to keep from crying.  In desperation and frustration I just poured my heart out to God and I told Him exactly what was on my heart and my mind.  It was when I finally got quiet that God reminded me of two verses (both of which I have preached at various points in time).  The first was Psalm 46:10a, “Be still and know that I am God.”  That one gets me every time.  I know He is God and I know that He has a plan, but the being still sometimes gets a little hard.  The other verse was Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”  Look at that, don’t be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap.  Oh wait, that’s not all of that verse is it?  The verse conclude “if we faint not.”  God promised us that we would have trials in life (John 16:33), but what He didn’t say is how long they would last.

So how do we make sure we can survive not only the storms of life, but also losing our bag of Skittles?  I think that answer is found in two verses and part of another verse.  1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”  We must remember that God loves us and according to Hebrew 4:15 He understands what we are going through.  The second verse is Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  This is another one of God’s great promises, that we will have renewed strength and we won’t be weary or faint, but to have this happen we must “wait upon the Lord.”  That means even when things are getting difficult and it seems like our boat is taking on water, we must trust that God is God in the sunshine as well as in the storm.  We must simply trust Him with the outcome, after all He saw the storm coming and had already prepared for it long before we ever knew it was coming.  Finally a simple reminder from Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  It may not seem as though God is working things out for His glory and our good at times, but He is.  One final piece of advice from someone who sometimes himself forgets this, don’t wait until your load is so heavy you are being crushed under it to give it over to God.  As it comes cast it upon Him, wait for Him to work it out, and while you are waiting simply worship Him!

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him

“It’s not fair”-ah the charge against every parent brought by children who did not receive what they wanted or thought they deserved.  Has anyone ever asked you, why do you love God?  I imagine if I were to ask several people that question I would receive several different answers.  Undoubtedly most of the answers would be from a positive perception of God such as “He loves me, He is allowing me to go into heaven, He has forgiven me, etc.”  While certainly those are all true and worthy to praise God for I have a slightly different thought.  One reason I love God many would say is from a negative perception, but I would challenge that notion and submit to you that it is actually a positive thing.  One reason I love God is because He is just.  Inherent in the meaning of the word just is the word fair.  A parent, boss, coach, or whoever when charged with not being fair almost instantly retorts “life’s not fair.”  Like it or not life isn’t fair.  Some people seem to get all the breaks while others seem to have everything break on them.  The boss may like one employee over another.  Parents (unfortunately) may at times treat one child better than another.  None of this is right, but in a sinful, fallen world that is reality.  This reality only enhances my love for God because He is just.  God has given us standards for our life such as there is only one way to heaven (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), we are to live a holy life (1 Pet. 1:16), and if we reject God’s way to heaven we will suffer for all of eternity in hell (Rev. 20:15).  Those are just three of the standards that God has given us.  However, they show us how God is going to deal with each person regardless of money, race, education, sex, etc.  The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus Christ is the “same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).  Like it or not, people treat us differently based on how their day is going many times.  In a confession of a sinful, imperfect father, there are days that what my three boys do makes me laugh and other days makes we want to pull my hair out.  What changed other than the day?  My attitude of how I perceive what they are doing.  They are doing the same thing, I am just looking at it differently and many times that is because of the type of day I have had (again this is wrong and I pray God continues to work in me-Phil. 1:6).  But God isn’t like this!  Abraham when speaking with the “Angel of the Lord” concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah asks an important question, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  In other words, can I expect and trust that God in the end will do what is right?  Because God is just I have no doubt that in the end He will do what is right.  That means that if I follow His ways from my heart I have nothing to fear in the end, because He will do what He has said He will do.  Of course on the other hand because God is just, those who reject His standards also know what is coming (even if they want to deny it).  At the end of life no one will be able to charge God with not being fair, because He will have had only one standard from beginning to the end.  God is not responsible for how we live and deal with His standard, He is only responsible for enforcing His standard.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!

After the turkey was eaten and the naps taken, like many Americans on Thanksgiving night I watched the Washington Redskins play the Dallas Cowboys with my family.  At the end of that game something happened that shocked me.  DeAngelo Hall, a player for the Washington Redskins made a very unselfish play.  It was late in the fourth quarter and Dallas was trying to make a furious comeback and to do that they had to try an onside kick.  The kick went right to DeAngelo Hall for the Redskins and he ran the ball down the sidelines for what looked to be a sure touchdown.  However, DeAngelo slide down at the two yard line and allowed a Dallas player to touch him.  A commentator later said that was the most “unselfish play” he has ever seen from DeAngelo Hall or any modern-day player.  This is shocking because like many of today’s athletes, Hall many times falls into the “look at me” crowd.  Maybe you are asking yourself, why is this important isn’t the point of sports to score as many points as you can?  Most of the time you would be correct.  Yet on this occasion DeAngelo did the right thing.  If he would have scored a touchdown, then Washington would have had to kick-off to Dallas and they could have run the kick-off back for a touchdown, and then tried another onside kick.  If they would recover the onside kick they would have probably one or two opportunities to throw a Hail Mary pass to try to win the game (I know that is a very unlikely scenario, but possible nonetheless).  Since DeAngelo was effectively tackled at the two yard line, Washington’s offense had to come onto the field to snap the ball, and with Dallas not having a time out left, one kneel down by Washington and the game was over.  Therefore, the possible scenario for Dallas became impossible, and thus makes Hall’s slide not only unselfish but also intelligent.

Now consider what Jesus did on behalf of all humanity.  Paul tells us in Philippians 2:6-8, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”  Notice the Creator stepped into His own creation, became a part of His creation, and ultimately laid down His life for His creation.  2 Corinthians 5:21 reminds us, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (sermon text used by Dr. Don Cockes @WBC yesterday).  Then we are reminded in Mark 10:45, “ For even the Son of man came not to be ministered (served) unto, but to minister (serve), and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus Christ showed us the most unselfish example possible by coming into the world He created and laying down His life for those He created.  The result of Jesus’ unselfish sacrifice is given to us in Ephesians 2:13, 19 “Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ; Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”  We were once alienated from God, but because of the blood we are not “fellowcitizens of God.”  One unselfish act, made a world of difference!  Are you living for yourself or for God?  As Christians (those who are to be Christ-like) we are to follow the example set for us.  If Jesus lived selflessly, how can we who love Him live any different than He did?  May our live reflect what Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!

Many people have heard the song “Turn, Turn, Turn.”  It was written by Pete Seeger and recorded by The Byrds in the ’60’s.  Many people know the song, but I wonder how many people realize it is taken from Scripture?  Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Have you ever said to yourself “there just aren’t enough hours in the day?”  That is a statement that I utter to myself fairly often, but Ecclesiastes shows us that that is not technically true.  God has given us enough hours in a day to get accomplished what He desires us to accomplish.  Therefore one thing we need to do is to check our schedule and examine our priorities.  Are we engaging in activities that God does not want us engaged in.  I’m not necessarily talking about sinful activities, I’m simply referring to a schedule filled with “things to do.”  It seems this time of year especially there is a huge list of “things to do.”  From Christmas parties at work, to family gatherings, to church services, and the always dreaded Christmas shopping.  Through all the clutter in our life and the busyness in our life, I want to encourage us to not forget or neglect four very important things.

First, don’t forget or neglect Bible study and prayer time.  These are our chance to communicate with our Heavenly Father and His opportunity to communicate back with us.  Bible study and prayer are also a source of renewal.  God’s Word can re-energize us each day.  The second thing we shouldn’t forget or neglect is corporate worship.  Hebrews 10:25 remind us, “forsake not the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some.”  During this time of year there is a greater chance that we will have scheduling conflicts.  It seems like the closer to Christmas we get, the more gatherings we have.  Another source of strengthening is worshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It also helps us keep our focus on the “reason for the season.”  The third thing we should not forget or neglect is our family.  We work so many hours and we try to make a little extra money this time of year.  Many times it is because we want to make sure that we have nice things to give our children, our spouse, or family members for Christmas.  The truth of the matter is this, you can always replace the “stuff” you give to others that gets lost or stolen.  But you can’t replace the time you miss with your family, and they can’t replace you.  Go ahead and schedule time to be with your family, because if you don’t you will end up leaving it out.  Finally, you should not forget or neglect rest.  Have I mentioned yet how busy this time of year is?  It is very common for us to work/play an average of 18-20 hours a day during the Christmas season.  Since there are only 24 hours in a day, that schedule doesn’t leave much time to recharge.  All the way back in Genesis God demonstrated the principle of Sabbath for us.  He worked six days and rested on the seventh.  If it was good enough for God, then it must be good enough for us.  Build into your schedule each day and one day per week a time of rest.  It is a time you can read your Bible and pray, spend time with your family, worship, or simply be still.  When we get worn out and worn down many times we get sick or we get grumpy (or in many cases both).  It is during these times that we are more susceptible to temptations from the devil and  many times with increased temptation comes increased sin in our life.  I propose to you that if we do not neglect these four things during this Christmas season, we will not only remember the reason for the season but we will also enjoy this time of year.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!

Most people are aware that at a certain time of each year, salmon swim upstream.  Can you imagine spending all that effort to fight against the current?  What if I told you, many people are doing just that with God?

During Jesus’ earthly ministry many people came up to Him.  They asked Him many questions and many asked Jesus to do something for them.  While it seemed that Jesus was very popular in His day, the problem was many of those coming up to Him were not coming out of love or curiosity but rather to find fault with Him.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were not tolerant of Jesus.  In fact, they tried to trap Him so they could kill Him.  In Matthew 12 we see Jesus do something that absolutely enraged the religious leaders, He healed a man on the Sabbath.  I won’t go into Sabbath-day laws here, but suffice to say the religious leaders were dead set against doing anything on the Sabbath (even though themselves violated their own traditions).  The religious leaders were all about following the law, but many times they missed the aspect of loving people.  I saw a quote late last night that said, “too many people love the way they do church more than the people God wants in their church.” I want you to take a moment and let that sink in.  If we are more concerned about keeping things as status quo in church than reaching out for those God desires to save, we have a major problem.  (It would be at this point if I was preaching this I would ask the church to say “Christians have a major problem.”)  Continuing in Matthew 12 the Pharisees then accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Beelzebub).  Then we come to the verse that caught my attention.  Matthew 12:30 says, “He that is not with Me is against me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.”  This goes to our works.  More than us saying “I love Jesus”, what does our life show?  Are we working in harmony with God’s plan or are we working against it?  This isn’t just talking about the atheist who wants Christ removed from the public square.  This is talking about those who come into God’s house with their own agenda or like the Pharisees they desire traditions over genuine love for God and others.  I pray we will all take a long look inside of ourselves and ask God to examine us to make sure that our hearts, motives, and actions are right.

Don’t be that salmon fighting the current.  The power will either be in you and working through you or working around you, but God will always be working!

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!

What do athletes and politicians have in common?  They talk a great game but most of them deliver sub-par performances.  When I use to play baseball our team loved when the other team talked to the papers before the game.  We called it “bulletin board material.”  We would cut out the article and hang it in the dugout.  It served as inspiration for us as a team, although our coach would also tell us to let it serve as a reminder that talk is cheap.  It seems as athletes could use that reminder in this day and age of social media.  Virtually everything you say is heard and/or recorded these days.  My dad always told me “son let your play on the field do your talking.”  Anyone can go out and talk a good game, but it is better to not say anything and play a good game.  Proverbs 14:23 says, “In all labor there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.”  In other words, hard work has its reward but simply talking only leads to poverty.  There are many Christians and even churches who talk about what they are going to do or what the church should do.  However, there are very few Christians or churches actually doing it.  We all get in our holy huddle and talk about the need to serve the community and to share the Gospel with those around us.  Yet sadly enough for the most part it simply isn’t happening.  While we who have been saved by God’s grace sit back and talk about what we are going to do, there are many people dying and going to hell.  This should break our hearts as Christians because it should have been and could have been us.  But someone loved God and us enough to come share the Gospel with us, and God drew us with His love and grace, and we were saved.  The question is, do we love God and others enough to stop simply talking about what we are going to do, and actually get out there and do it?  The longer we sit and talk, the more people who die without Christ and go to hell.  Eventually it is going to be someone that we know and that we care about.  Are you willing to sit back and talk about it while someone you care about goes to hell?  Learn to share the Gospel and then share it, it just might save someone you care about.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!

That title probably seems highly out of place.  After all, I have said from the pulpit many times, “control is just an illusion.”  Hopefully by the end of this post it will make sense what I mean by this title.

My beloved Virginia Tech Hokies have contributed to a high anxiety level this college football season.  This past Thursday was especially rough as I watched a team play 58 minutes of excellent football against a very good team.  Yet college football fans know that the game is 60 minutes long and so you can imagine even if you didn’t watch the game that something went terribly wrong in the last two minutes of the game. Something did go terribly wrong, the defense forgot to tackle the man with the ball which is fundamental to playing good defense.  The Hokies let another game get away from them.  It would be easy for both the offense and the defense to point fingers at each other and say “you didn’t do your job.”  The defense could say “if the offense would have gotten a first down then they may have been able to score a touchdown or run more time off the clock and we could have won.”  The offense could say “we got you the lead but you couldn’t stop them from scoring so it is your fault.”  Both sides would have valid arguments, but it wouldn’t change the outcome.  What does all of this have to do with us walking closer with Christ?

In football, if you play offense you can’t control what the defense does and vice versa.  As a pitcher, I could not control if the batter hit the ball, the catcher caught the ball, or even if the umpire made a correct call.  All I could do is make sure that I threw the ball where I was suppose to.  In life you can’t control many of the situations you find yourself in.  All you can control is how you handle them, and thus the name of this post.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:44, “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”  I cannot control the circumstances of life, but I certainly can control how I respond to them.  Truthfully speaking how I respond in a given situation is an indication of my faith in Christ.  Do I trust that Christ can work through any and all situations?  Do I trust that God is going to take these difficult circumstances and work them out for the best?

In response to what the offense or defense could have said to each other after Thursday’s game, I would say they are both right.  However, I would also say, if you would have simply done what you were suppose to, it wouldn’t have mattered what the other side of the ball did.  You may not control what happens in your life, but it is possible for you to control how you handle it.  Let’s make sure we handle it in a way that glorifies our Father in heaven and that sets an example for believers and unbelievers alike.

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!

Have you ever gotten into a conversation or been in a situation that is absolutely frustrating?  Have you ever been around someone who knows everything, or at least pretends to?  Many times these situations lead us to speak first, think second.  I must confess that many times my mouth is 100 miles down the road before my mind even shifts out of neutral.  One such example from my marriage may provide you with a good laugh.  My wife and I were traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway one evening.  I had a pretty stressful and frustrating day and was thinking about that as my wife was speaking (guys a little marriage advice, listen to your wife when she speaks).  Now because I was not paying attention I cannot refute her version of the story (but that doesn’t stop me from denying it).  She says that she told me that she loved me and that she didn’t deserve a guy like me.  That is not what I heard, but my response was “I couldn’t agree with you more.”  Diana busts out laughing and I get indignant with her and says “I am pouring out my heart to you and you are laughing at me.”  I was thoroughly convinced that I was in the right here and I was getting angry.  It is then that she repeats what she said to me, and it was at this point I knew two things needed to happen.  First I needed to ask for her forgiveness for getting upset with her.  Secondly, I needed to find a 24 hour florist and quickly 🙂  Everyone (except me) gets a great laugh out of that story and it certainly is not the only time I made a fool of myself by speaking before thinking.  But how many times have we gotten upset about something that we didn’t fully understand?

James 1:19-20 reminds us, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”  God gave us two ears and one mouth.  That tells me that we should do twice as much listening as we do talking.  We may not agree with others on certain things, but one thing is for sure, arguing with them is not going to win them over.  As hard as it is at times, we need to sit down with the person and hear their entire story and reasoning before making up our mind.  You may find that you have the same goal just a different way of approaching it.  Sometimes you may actually have to agree to disagree but at least you will not have started a war of words that was completely unnecessary.

So if we are going to be swift to hear, we need to allow the person to say what they have to say without interruptions.  To be slow to speak, again here the person out and only after they are done should we respond.  And for the sake of the Gospel and relationships, don’t jump to anger, make sure you have all the story and all of the facts.  Remembering to do twice as much listening as talking will preserve and strengthen your relationships with people, and cause you to have to call the florist much less!

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”  Like it or not once you have identified yourself as a Christian to people, they begin watching you, especially those who are against Christianity.  It is very easy for us to assume they are watching to see if we are going to slip up and fall into sin, thereby giving them an excuse to avoid becoming a Christian and labeling you as a hypocrite.  However, I think that most people just want to see a genuine person, especially those who claim to be Christians.  We can all think of countless of examples of people who say they are Christian but then make no attempt at following Christ’s example.  I truly believe the unsaved are not rooting for Christians to fail, I believe they just want to see something genuine.  And that is why as a Christian we must be careful in how we live our life.

The context of 1 Thessalonians 5:22 is Paul telling Christians in Thessalonica to live a godly life because the return of Christ could be at any moment.  The word “abstain” means to refrain from or to completely avoid.  The key word to this verse however is the word “appearance.”  Paul was instructing the Christians in Thessalonica as well as us to not only avoid evil itself, but anything that could be construed or misconstrued as evil as well.  Sometimes what you do is not necessarily wrong, but it doesn’t look good to those watching you or it causes another Christian to stumble in their walk with Christ.  If it doesn’t pass the “eye” test or it causes a brother or a sister to stumble then even if it is not forbidden in Scripture, we as Christians have no business doing it.  A simple rule of thumb is, if I have to ask should I, then I shouldn’t.  That is not another burden or unnecessary restriction for a Christian.  Rather because we love God and we love others and want to see as many as possible come to faith in Christ, we willingly give up the right to do certain things if there is a chance it could keep others from coming to faith in Christ.  We must realize as Christians that the devil desires us to sin, not so that he can laugh at us, but so that he can try and keep others from coming to Christ.  Therefore, be careful in how you live, because even if you don’t see them, they are watching!

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!

We here on the East Coast have been preparing for the days leading up to the landfall of Hurricane Sandy.  Yesterday here in Virginia the grocery stores were packed looking like when the weather channel calls for snow in the area.  All along the eastern seaboard people have been getting batteries, candles, lanterns, boarding up businesses and houses, and making sure they have the necessary supplies to get through several days of horrible weather and potential power outages.  But all this got me to thinking, are we as diligent about preparing for eternity as we are a storm?  The Weather Channel and other media outlets have been good about warning those in the path of this storm of the potential destructiveness that is coming with this storm.  Yet as I woke up this morning there are people in the northeast and other parts of the east coast that decided they could ride it out and are now in need of being rescued.

Believe it or not there are a lot of people who try to “ride” life out despite the numerous warnings that life is going to end, and sometimes it will end unexpectedly.  All you have to do is read the newspaper or read online, not all the people who are dying each day have lived a “long” life.  And yet many people feel that they are bigger than life and that there is not an eternity to prepare for, just like those who think despite the warnings of an approaching storm, they decide they can ride it out and will be fine.  The truth of the matter is this, the Bible speaks very candidly about eternity.  James 4:14 says, “. . .For what is your life?  It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”  Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”  These are just two verses that speak to the certainty of not only death, but an afterlife as well.  For those who believe they can “ride” out life and that since God is loving He would not send them to hell or you don’t believe in a literal hell.  It should be noted that Jesus spoke of hell and its literal existence three times more often than He spoke of heaven.

The best method concerning an approaching storm or your death is to be prepared.  The best time to prepare for a storm is when it is several days away.  The best time to prepare for eternity is now.  Don’t be like the people who wait until the last possible second to go to the store to prepare for the storm, because you just might miscalculate when the “storm” (death) is going to happen and you may be stranded.  The biggest difference between riding out a storm and not planning for eternity.  If you get stranded in a storm, rescuers might be able to get to you in time, if you die without being prepared for eternity, there will be no one to save you.  Make the necessary preparations for eternity now, trust Jesus Christ, believe that He died on the cross for your sins, He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the grave.  That and that alone will save you and prepare you for your eternity.

P.S.-eternity is a lot closer than you think!

By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him