What is the greatest gift you’ve ever received? Don’t go Sunday School on me and say, “Jesus.” I realize he is the greatest gift but let’s be real about gifts we receive on earth for a moment. I would love to hear from you on this. Email me or facebook it. What is the best gift?
Then answer this question, “why?” Why that gift? What made it great?
Some gifts are great because of who gave them to you. Other gifts are great because of their actual value. Other gifts are great because of when you got them. Gifts can be great because of the personal meaning behind them. You can love a gift because the person that gave it to you put so much thought into it and knew exactly what you wanted with out asking. Maybe you love a certain gift because of the impact it has had on your life.
Gifts can be great for many reasons. There are only a couple of common threads among great gifts. The first is that you accepted it. A gift not received is not a great gift, it is just a great thought. The second thing is that someone gave it to you. Gifts are never purchased nor borrowed. They are given.
God has given you some gifts. Have you accepted them? They are great gifts if you will stop and see the value of them. If you will allow yourself the time to stop and reflect and consider what it means that God has uniquely gifted you for his purposes, it will make a difference in how you view that gift.
The first gift that we receive from God is faith itself. Then there are many others that follow. One that all Christ-followers have in common is spiritual gifts. We also all have our natural gifts or talents. The problem with these gifts is that many people never accept the gift. They never unwrap and put to use what God has given them and in so doing they miss out on so much of what life as a follower of Christ is about.
Do you understand the value that God has given you in being a part of His Body, the Church? There is great value in what God has gifted you to do. The issue is will you accept those as gifts and then give them away for the benefit of others. Will you allow yourself to become the gift that God uses to bless someone else?
Do you see those gifts as valuable? God did.
P.S. My greatest gift is difficult. My dirt bike when I was a kid. A mountain bike from my wife. My uncle’s entire theological library when he died. They are all great but for different reasons. But honestly the greatest gift anyone ever gave me was when my wife gave me her True Love Waits Ring on our wedding day. The ring symbolized a promise kept as a new promise began. It is a gift that is unique and priceless.
My thoughts on life as a Christ follower.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Way of the Manger
Since I became a father, Christmastime always causes me to consider fatherhood as I think about the actions of God the Father. Those thoughts are mixed this year with some encouraging words I heard recently. I received a great compliment from several people recently. The compliment was that they saw me as a great dad. They had observed my love for my children and how I act towards them in such a way they felt led to tell me about it.
That compliment humbles me. I do truly love being a dad. It is pure joy for me. Honestly there are certain things that are no fun. Changing diapers always stinks – practically, figuratively, and financially. But in the midst of all the things you have to do, it is the things that I get to do as a parent that make it fun. Just today as my 3 kids sat and ate breakfast with me I sat there and thought about how beautiful they are and how much they bless my life. (It helps that all 3 were eating what I cooked without complaining.)
This has caused me to think about God the Father at Christmas. I am excited about Christmas. I get to bless my kids and others with gifts. It is always fun for me. What about Christmas for God? Was it fun for him? God the Father sent his one and only son from that place which is perfect to where everything is imperfect. He sent his son from the Holy, orderly, and peaceful world of Heaven to the unholy, chaotic, and fractured world of Earth. He sent his son to this world knowing that he would suffer all the pain and hurt it causes. He knew that Jesus would not become like the world ye he knew all about the world he would live in. God the Father also knew that the sole purpose of his birth was the same purpose of his death, yet he sent him anyway.
God sent his son into this world, not because he did not love him, but because he loved him enough to send him into the world to fulfill his purpose – to be the Savior of the World. He sent Jesus into a world that was not like him and would not like him so that we might become like him. We have now been lavished with God’s love so much that we have been given the title Children of God. (John 3)
As parents and people we must make many tough choices in this world. Choices we make are often about living in the protected environment of “Christiandom” or venturing out into the world at large. I hope during this Christmas season you will stop and consider the loving act of the Father in sending his son into harm’s way. As parents we must make choices about when and how our children will live in the world around them. I have learned from Daniel that he wants to be in the world and not of it. He desires (even as a 6 year old) for the world to see how much he loves God. If I do not allow the risk of the hurt the world could cause, I will prevent him from fulfilling God’s purpose for his life. I need great wisdom as a father.
I believe we learn this by doing ourselves. We, too, have been sent into a world that is not like us and does not like us. The truth is that God with us is still with us because he lives in us. This Christmas will you take that gift where it is needed? Will you take Jesus to the people who need him?
There is risk in this mission, but is that not truly the Way of the Manger?
That compliment humbles me. I do truly love being a dad. It is pure joy for me. Honestly there are certain things that are no fun. Changing diapers always stinks – practically, figuratively, and financially. But in the midst of all the things you have to do, it is the things that I get to do as a parent that make it fun. Just today as my 3 kids sat and ate breakfast with me I sat there and thought about how beautiful they are and how much they bless my life. (It helps that all 3 were eating what I cooked without complaining.)
This has caused me to think about God the Father at Christmas. I am excited about Christmas. I get to bless my kids and others with gifts. It is always fun for me. What about Christmas for God? Was it fun for him? God the Father sent his one and only son from that place which is perfect to where everything is imperfect. He sent his son from the Holy, orderly, and peaceful world of Heaven to the unholy, chaotic, and fractured world of Earth. He sent his son to this world knowing that he would suffer all the pain and hurt it causes. He knew that Jesus would not become like the world ye he knew all about the world he would live in. God the Father also knew that the sole purpose of his birth was the same purpose of his death, yet he sent him anyway.
God sent his son into this world, not because he did not love him, but because he loved him enough to send him into the world to fulfill his purpose – to be the Savior of the World. He sent Jesus into a world that was not like him and would not like him so that we might become like him. We have now been lavished with God’s love so much that we have been given the title Children of God. (John 3)
As parents and people we must make many tough choices in this world. Choices we make are often about living in the protected environment of “Christiandom” or venturing out into the world at large. I hope during this Christmas season you will stop and consider the loving act of the Father in sending his son into harm’s way. As parents we must make choices about when and how our children will live in the world around them. I have learned from Daniel that he wants to be in the world and not of it. He desires (even as a 6 year old) for the world to see how much he loves God. If I do not allow the risk of the hurt the world could cause, I will prevent him from fulfilling God’s purpose for his life. I need great wisdom as a father.
I believe we learn this by doing ourselves. We, too, have been sent into a world that is not like us and does not like us. The truth is that God with us is still with us because he lives in us. This Christmas will you take that gift where it is needed? Will you take Jesus to the people who need him?
There is risk in this mission, but is that not truly the Way of the Manger?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Are you free?
I have never lived without freedom. My life has always had certain unalienable rights. We, as Americans, have very little understanding of what it means to live under oppression. I think that too often causes us to take it for granted.
Today, I encourage you to thank someone who fought for those freedoms. The Americans that most appreciate the freedoms we enjoy are the men and women who have put their lives on the line for those freedoms. I think I understood this difference one Memorial Day as I sat on the porch and listened to some stories told by Wendy’s Uncle Jack.
Uncle Jack is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He stayed in the military until he retired as a Lt. Colonel. Uncle Jack is a great communicator. That day as I listened I did not realize that I was privy to a special moment. As we left that day, my father-in-law (Pops) asked how I had started that conversation. I told him I did not really remember how we got there. I then learned that Pops had never heard his brother talk about Vietnam that much in the many years that had passed since the war had ended.
Uncle Jack talked about what he saw in Vietnam in the lives of the people. He told me about one of his toughest days in commanding his troops and the devastation a battle had caused in a local village that was out of their site line during the battle. I could tell that day still stung in his memories.
Pops then shared with me the story of the first time Jack went to the Vietnam wall. It was in 1997 while I was engaged to Wendy. Their family was in D.C. for a family reunion. While they were driving to the wall Pops asked Uncle Jack how long it had been since he had been there. He answered, “Never.” The surprising thing about that answer is that Uncle Jack had lived in D.C. for many years.
Pops told me that when they got there Jack began to walk down that wall. There was one particular spot that he stopped and got very quiet. I do not know what that spot represents to him, but since the wall is in the chronological order of the war, I would imagine it represents one really bad day. I am sure Uncle Jack had many of those as an officer. I am sure there are names on that wall that he had command over. I would imagine that those names are difficult to read and the memories are not easy to bear.
Why do I share you these stories? I learned something from Uncle Jack that he does not even know. I was not even there to see it. I learned this. Freedom is expensive. It costs more than most of us could ever imagine. Some of you, men and women who have fought for it, understand it better than others.
No freedom is free. Our spiritual freedom carried a great price. Jesus said, “I have come not to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” It is also said in God’s Word about us, “You are no longer your own. You have been bought with a price.”
If Jesus is our Lord, we are free. We must always remember, however, that our freedom was not free. It carried a great price.
So, today, to our veterans, we say, “THANK YOU!” I personally want to say Thank you to Uncle Jack and his son-in-law Louis, and Louis’ son, Matthew. These 3 generations have bravely served in the Marine Corps and all during times of war. Thank you for showing me what freedom costs. Thank you for showing us how to be willing to pay the price, not just for your own freedom, but for the freedom of the Vietnamese and the Iraqi people. You – and the others who have served like you – have taught us much.
Also, today, tell Jesus “THANK YOU!” He, too saw a people that were not his people, and he paid the ultimate price for their freedom.
Today, I encourage you to thank someone who fought for those freedoms. The Americans that most appreciate the freedoms we enjoy are the men and women who have put their lives on the line for those freedoms. I think I understood this difference one Memorial Day as I sat on the porch and listened to some stories told by Wendy’s Uncle Jack.
Uncle Jack is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He stayed in the military until he retired as a Lt. Colonel. Uncle Jack is a great communicator. That day as I listened I did not realize that I was privy to a special moment. As we left that day, my father-in-law (Pops) asked how I had started that conversation. I told him I did not really remember how we got there. I then learned that Pops had never heard his brother talk about Vietnam that much in the many years that had passed since the war had ended.
Uncle Jack talked about what he saw in Vietnam in the lives of the people. He told me about one of his toughest days in commanding his troops and the devastation a battle had caused in a local village that was out of their site line during the battle. I could tell that day still stung in his memories.
Pops then shared with me the story of the first time Jack went to the Vietnam wall. It was in 1997 while I was engaged to Wendy. Their family was in D.C. for a family reunion. While they were driving to the wall Pops asked Uncle Jack how long it had been since he had been there. He answered, “Never.” The surprising thing about that answer is that Uncle Jack had lived in D.C. for many years.
Pops told me that when they got there Jack began to walk down that wall. There was one particular spot that he stopped and got very quiet. I do not know what that spot represents to him, but since the wall is in the chronological order of the war, I would imagine it represents one really bad day. I am sure Uncle Jack had many of those as an officer. I am sure there are names on that wall that he had command over. I would imagine that those names are difficult to read and the memories are not easy to bear.
Why do I share you these stories? I learned something from Uncle Jack that he does not even know. I was not even there to see it. I learned this. Freedom is expensive. It costs more than most of us could ever imagine. Some of you, men and women who have fought for it, understand it better than others.
No freedom is free. Our spiritual freedom carried a great price. Jesus said, “I have come not to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” It is also said in God’s Word about us, “You are no longer your own. You have been bought with a price.”
If Jesus is our Lord, we are free. We must always remember, however, that our freedom was not free. It carried a great price.
So, today, to our veterans, we say, “THANK YOU!” I personally want to say Thank you to Uncle Jack and his son-in-law Louis, and Louis’ son, Matthew. These 3 generations have bravely served in the Marine Corps and all during times of war. Thank you for showing me what freedom costs. Thank you for showing us how to be willing to pay the price, not just for your own freedom, but for the freedom of the Vietnamese and the Iraqi people. You – and the others who have served like you – have taught us much.
Also, today, tell Jesus “THANK YOU!” He, too saw a people that were not his people, and he paid the ultimate price for their freedom.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Face to Face with a Facebook Friend
This past Sunday I had the cool privilege of preaching at my home church. Cook Baptist in Ruston is a great place. The people there have always loved me and supported me. They are absolutely awesome.
I had two bonuses on the trip, too. That Sunday was my mom’s birthday. She is an absolutely amazing woman of faith. My mom was up at 4 AM on a Sunday morning for her own birthday cooking for college kids’ lunch and loved it. She rocks. I hope hearing me preach on her birthday was better than hearing me sing for her birthday all these years. (Although it would have to be one awful sermon to be worse than hearing me sing,) The other bonus was getting to deer hunt with my dad. He rocks, too. My parents are great people who love Jesus. Another cool thing was that I got a spike, but what I really want is to kill one of the 8 points my dad kills all the time – like last week. He must still be living better than me or something.
Anyway, the title of this blog is not really about any of that. It is about the sermon I preached at Cook. That was the title of it – Face to Face with a Facebook Friend. Facebook is a great site to catch up with old friends. In so doing many of my old friends have been a tad surprised to find out I was a pastor.
The sermon I preached was about why I always hope that people on Facebook might see that I am not who I was. The truth about my life is not that I got saved and God changed my life, though. I was already saved. I just was not living like it. I shared a truth out of Romans 12:1-2 that God taught me many years ago now that I believe is the real reason for the change I have experienced in my life.
It was this. We always need to see God’s mercy. We often think about the part in this passage that says “offer your bodies a living sacrifice” or “do not conform to the pattern of this world” or “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. What we must realize is that all of that truth begins with these words, “in view of God’s mercy.”
The question I have to ask you is this, “Do you see it?” I do. I now see it every day. And it is new every day. His mercy is fresh in my life every morning. That is what changed my spiritual life. I finally realized I was not responsible for the condition of the living sacrifice. The mercy of God made that sacrifice holy and pleasing, not me. That truth really set me free.
Stop trying to sacrifice enough to deserve the mercy of God. Stop trying to quit conforming to experience the mercy of God. Quit trying to transform your mind so that you can understand the mercy of God. Just stop and see it. See the love of God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Understand that his mercy is already yours.
Then, get up and live your life in response to Jesus. Allow him to give you the power to no longer conform to the world. Allow the mercy of God to transform your mind.
Never lose sight of God’s mercy. He has never lost sight of you.
That is the confession of a Facebook friend. I am not who I was, because Jesus is more than I knew He was. And that my friend, is the mercy of God.
Do you see it?
I had two bonuses on the trip, too. That Sunday was my mom’s birthday. She is an absolutely amazing woman of faith. My mom was up at 4 AM on a Sunday morning for her own birthday cooking for college kids’ lunch and loved it. She rocks. I hope hearing me preach on her birthday was better than hearing me sing for her birthday all these years. (Although it would have to be one awful sermon to be worse than hearing me sing,) The other bonus was getting to deer hunt with my dad. He rocks, too. My parents are great people who love Jesus. Another cool thing was that I got a spike, but what I really want is to kill one of the 8 points my dad kills all the time – like last week. He must still be living better than me or something.
Anyway, the title of this blog is not really about any of that. It is about the sermon I preached at Cook. That was the title of it – Face to Face with a Facebook Friend. Facebook is a great site to catch up with old friends. In so doing many of my old friends have been a tad surprised to find out I was a pastor.
The sermon I preached was about why I always hope that people on Facebook might see that I am not who I was. The truth about my life is not that I got saved and God changed my life, though. I was already saved. I just was not living like it. I shared a truth out of Romans 12:1-2 that God taught me many years ago now that I believe is the real reason for the change I have experienced in my life.
It was this. We always need to see God’s mercy. We often think about the part in this passage that says “offer your bodies a living sacrifice” or “do not conform to the pattern of this world” or “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. What we must realize is that all of that truth begins with these words, “in view of God’s mercy.”
The question I have to ask you is this, “Do you see it?” I do. I now see it every day. And it is new every day. His mercy is fresh in my life every morning. That is what changed my spiritual life. I finally realized I was not responsible for the condition of the living sacrifice. The mercy of God made that sacrifice holy and pleasing, not me. That truth really set me free.
Stop trying to sacrifice enough to deserve the mercy of God. Stop trying to quit conforming to experience the mercy of God. Quit trying to transform your mind so that you can understand the mercy of God. Just stop and see it. See the love of God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Understand that his mercy is already yours.
Then, get up and live your life in response to Jesus. Allow him to give you the power to no longer conform to the world. Allow the mercy of God to transform your mind.
Never lose sight of God’s mercy. He has never lost sight of you.
That is the confession of a Facebook friend. I am not who I was, because Jesus is more than I knew He was. And that my friend, is the mercy of God.
Do you see it?
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Freedom of Life
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
One of the basic foundational truths of all of Scripture is the importance of life. The Bible begins with God’s work in the creating of life. God created all living things and then he said, “It is good.” God took very seriously the first act of murder. (It is interesting that it took only one generation for man to begin to think that he should take another one’s God-given right to life.)
God is strong in his judgment on murder. The Scripture speaks to the beauty and the activity of God in the creation of each life in Jeremiah where the beautiful words are written, “Before I knitted you together in your mother’s womb; I knew you.” We see the value that Jesus gives all life when he raises the widow’s son or as he takes time for the small child that others see as a distraction or as he speaks with love and mercy to thief on the cross.
The truth is that life is sacred. It is a God-given gift. Life according to the beautiful words of God begins when he begins the life in a womb. Life must be sacred to all those who love God because life is sacred to Him. He created it. He sustains it. And he sent his son to die for it. Jesus died so we could have life beyond breathing in and breathing out for a certain number of years. Jesus died so that life could be full of all that God desired it to be when he made it in the first place.
The issue of life must be a deciding factor for Christ followers when they vote. We must be willing to stand on the same principles and truths that the Bible is built upon and the God clearly established in his laws (and interestingly enough through His grace, too). People who follow Christ must choose to not vote for those who oppose every person’s God-given right to life.
I do not speak on many political topics with that much authority. Truthfully there is no wiggle room in the Scripture that will allow a person who stakes their life on the truths found within it to support people who believe they have the authority of giving or denying others the right to life.
Interestingly enough, it is not just a Biblical principle. It is an American constitutional principle, too. Our unalienable rights are LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The issue we are facing with abortion is that people believe their right to pursue happiness should give them the right to take away someone else’s right to life. Not only is it wrong Biblically and morally, it is wrong constitutionally.
Please hear this. God is gracious and forgives such acts. The man on the cross with Jesus found grace as did the soldier at the foot of the cross that crucified Jesus. The grace of God over the personal acts that rob a person of their right to life does not, however, mean that it should be legal in our society.
The taking of another’s life is wrong. The issue that most conservatives will not deal with in this discussion is why capital punishment is okay. I have a very straightforward answer to this one. When a person decides that they have the right to rob another person of their right to life, they give up the right to their own. Biblically murder is punished with capital punishment. God saw that as appropriate. He understood that a person that takes away a life has in some way decided that they should be the one that gives and takes away unalienable rights. That is not theirs to decide.
When you vote remember these foundational Biblical and Constitutional truths. We as a people must be willing to stand for life and that means we must stand against all political candidates that no longer believe life is an unalienable right. Life is not a choice!
One of the basic foundational truths of all of Scripture is the importance of life. The Bible begins with God’s work in the creating of life. God created all living things and then he said, “It is good.” God took very seriously the first act of murder. (It is interesting that it took only one generation for man to begin to think that he should take another one’s God-given right to life.)
God is strong in his judgment on murder. The Scripture speaks to the beauty and the activity of God in the creation of each life in Jeremiah where the beautiful words are written, “Before I knitted you together in your mother’s womb; I knew you.” We see the value that Jesus gives all life when he raises the widow’s son or as he takes time for the small child that others see as a distraction or as he speaks with love and mercy to thief on the cross.
The truth is that life is sacred. It is a God-given gift. Life according to the beautiful words of God begins when he begins the life in a womb. Life must be sacred to all those who love God because life is sacred to Him. He created it. He sustains it. And he sent his son to die for it. Jesus died so we could have life beyond breathing in and breathing out for a certain number of years. Jesus died so that life could be full of all that God desired it to be when he made it in the first place.
The issue of life must be a deciding factor for Christ followers when they vote. We must be willing to stand on the same principles and truths that the Bible is built upon and the God clearly established in his laws (and interestingly enough through His grace, too). People who follow Christ must choose to not vote for those who oppose every person’s God-given right to life.
I do not speak on many political topics with that much authority. Truthfully there is no wiggle room in the Scripture that will allow a person who stakes their life on the truths found within it to support people who believe they have the authority of giving or denying others the right to life.
Interestingly enough, it is not just a Biblical principle. It is an American constitutional principle, too. Our unalienable rights are LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The issue we are facing with abortion is that people believe their right to pursue happiness should give them the right to take away someone else’s right to life. Not only is it wrong Biblically and morally, it is wrong constitutionally.
Please hear this. God is gracious and forgives such acts. The man on the cross with Jesus found grace as did the soldier at the foot of the cross that crucified Jesus. The grace of God over the personal acts that rob a person of their right to life does not, however, mean that it should be legal in our society.
The taking of another’s life is wrong. The issue that most conservatives will not deal with in this discussion is why capital punishment is okay. I have a very straightforward answer to this one. When a person decides that they have the right to rob another person of their right to life, they give up the right to their own. Biblically murder is punished with capital punishment. God saw that as appropriate. He understood that a person that takes away a life has in some way decided that they should be the one that gives and takes away unalienable rights. That is not theirs to decide.
When you vote remember these foundational Biblical and Constitutional truths. We as a people must be willing to stand for life and that means we must stand against all political candidates that no longer believe life is an unalienable right. Life is not a choice!
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