Month: February 2020

“I’m Never Coming Back!”

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Picture Joe, a man who realizes he has some sort of problem. Despite drugstore medicines, he isn’t able to cure himself. So, he drops by the local hospital to see if they can help. But after touring the facility, Joe is appalled.

“I don’t want to stay here. Every single patient has a problem. Viruses, appendicitis, broken bones, cancer, diseases, failing kidneys… I don’t want to be like these people. I’m never coming back!”

Instead, Joe signs up for a local gym membership. Maybe exercise will help? However, on his first visit, Joe studies other gym members. He races to the check-in desk.

“I want my money back. I heard this was a good gym. Now I see it’s not.”

“What do you mean?” asks the trainer on duty.

“Just look! All of your members have serious shortcomings. That woman doing leg extensions has flabby arms. The guy on the bench press has a beer belly. And check out those people on the treadmills. Every one is huffing and puffing. From what I’d heard, I thought this gym was full of perfect specimens. I don’t want to be like these people. I’m never coming back!”

As a last resort, Joe visits the local church. Maybe a little religion will help. At first, he’s pleased with the atmosphere. Yet, as time passes, he notices… One man got defensive after a minor criticism. Pride, eh? A woman sitting behind him let slip an unkind remark about another woman. A gossip – in church? And during the service, a couple people had the gall to fall asleep. Wouldn’t they stay awake if they sincerely valued the sermon? 

“I expected these church people to be perfect. But they’re not. I’m never coming back!” 

Dear friend, no reasonable person would imitate the fictional Joe’s reactions to a hospital or a gym. But some people do copy his reaction to church. The truth is, no matter which people you scrutinize, you’ll find flaws. Yep, even in church. But, thank God, He doesn’t require people to become perfect before they worship in His house. In fact, the Bible reveals that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God is perfect. People definitely aren’t. (By the way, not everyone who attends church is actually a born-again child of God. We know they’re among us, and we pray for God to open their eyes to their spiritual need.) 

But the cool truth is that Jesus Christ died to take the punishment for the sins of all people. Placing your faith in Christ won’t suddenly make you faultless. But trusting Christ brings God’s forgiveness of sins and a new relationship with Him. He adopts us into His family. Then, as we worship God and learn more of Him, bit by bit He irons the wrinkles from our lives and makes us more like Himself. Some learn faster than others, but no Christian is 100% flawless. 

So, if you step into church and find a bunch of imperfect people—stick around! There’s room for one more. After all, we gather to worship HIM, not other people.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).

Delicious Poisons

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Years ago, before cell phones (yes, ancient history), I joined a church group on a two-week camping & mountain-climbing trip in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado. After days of hiking, one teen guy discovered some mushrooms. He collected them, fried them, and he and his girlfriend ate them.

When our outdoorsman guide found out, he was appalled. Many mushrooms in Colorado aren’t edible, he reminded. 

“But they tasted good,” objected the boy.

The guide looked him in the eye. “Some of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world taste delicious.” Then, to the rest of us he said, “Please, don’t anybody eat anything you find without checking with me.”

For the rest of that afternoon, we waited to see if that teen guy and girl got sick. (Even if they had, there was no way to summon help so deep in the mountains.) Fortunately, nothing happened. On this occasion, ignorance didn’t prove fatal.

But that guide’s words stick with me. Even things that are tasty can poison us. Recognizing the danger in advance should help us avoid swallowing questionable foods. But do we exercise the same caution concerning things that we allow into our eyes and ears?

Whenever anyone starts gossiping or criticizing someone else, one pastor I know interrupts to ask, “Is this a prayer request?” He will not stomach gossip and trash talk. With a simple question, he shuts it down.

What about the books and magazines we read, the TV shows and movies we watch, or the Internet sites we click to visit? Do we refuse to allow unwholesome sights and sounds into our brain? There’s a battle raging for your mind. Even a spell-binding story can dress up evil as good, can deliver carefully crafted immorality in a way that makes it look enticing, tantalizing…

The Bible agrees there is pleasure in sin—but only “for a season” (Hebrews 11:25). Satan knows how to make sin look slick and enjoyable. But he doesn’t show you the flip side—the damaged relationships, the broken homes, the emotional baggage, venereal diseases… The list goes on.

“I know it’s wrong, but it feels so right,” some object.

Sure, it does. Just like the tastiest mushrooms can be deadly.

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” Psalm 101:3

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.” Psalm 119:9-10

The Conversations that Count Most

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Warning: When you and a friend chat in a restaurant, a writer might be listening. It’s not that writers are nosey. The problem is that writers of fiction must constantly come up with fresh tidbits to sprinkle into their pages. When we find ourselves in public places, our antennae are up. Interesting snippets might get jotted down for later consideration.

But have you ever noticed that most conversations are less than gripping? While writing in coffee shops, I’ve often paused to listen to chatty neighbors. People discuss their pets, their pet peeves, their jobs, Aunt Mildred’s gall bladder, their classes… Few conversations touch truly vital topics. Yet, we as human beings are social creatures. We long to share thoughts with others. Short of capital punishment, one of the worst penalties is solitary confinement—isolation from fellow humans.

No wonder we long to connect. God Himself placed that quality inside humans. The Bible tells reveals that God created humans in His own image. He used to talk with Adam and Eve in the garden. As Alex and Stephen Kendrick point out in their Defined Bible study, “All human beings from Adam and Eve onward are created to know and relate to God.”* That was our meaning for existence, to know and enjoy a relationship with God. But the first couple rebelled against God’s one taboo and became sinners. They broke that close fellowship with the Creator. 

We could not restore the fellowship on our own. The barrier of sin in each life is too tall and thick for us to remove. So, God manifested Jesus Christ in the womb of a virgin, to live a sinless life and to voluntarily die, taking upon Himself the penalty for the sins of all who will accept His ultimate sacrifice. Faith in Christ provides forgiveness of sin and restoration to fellowship with Him. Accepting Christ actually transfers us into the family of God! 

As the apostle Paul described it in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Wow. Adopted by GOD into His family.

What a privilege believers have, but too often take for granted—the ability to fellowship with our Creator, our Heavenly Father, in prayer. He, too, doesn’t require us to bring earth-shaking topics to the table. But He enjoys hearing from us, His children, with whatever is on our hearts.

As Jesus said, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:5-6

Do you know God? Have you talked with Him today? If the answer to either question is No, He’d love to hear from you!

*Defined. Nashville: Lifeway Press, 2019, p. 17.