Burdens

John Bunyan (1628-1688) was a simple “Tinker”, in that he fixed common household wares such as pots and pans. He had a limited education and became one of the most famous writers of all time. His famous allegory “The Pilgrim's Progress” became the most read book in the English language other than the Bible.  It is impossible to know how many copies of his book were made, because once it was published without copyright laws (they didn't exist in the 1600’s) people made copies of their own and sold them for profit.  Everyone had a copy of Pilgrim's Progress, it was read by all walks of life, taught in universities and if you haven't read it, you should.  

Though he started out as a tinker he was also a preacher and because he didn't belong to the Church of England he wasn't allowed to preach.  But that didn't stop John from fulfilling his calling.  At the age 32 he was jailed for preaching and spent the next 12 years there.  While in jail we was allowed two books, a Bible and the “Fox’s Book of Martyrs”.  With time to think he began to write his famous allegory.  In the book the main character “Christian” is walking up a road with walls on each side and the walls were called salvation, the way was hard and difficult because of the great burden he was carrying on his back. As he followed the road he claimed a hill and on top of that hill stood a cross.

As he approached the cross he could see just below it an open grave and as he neared the cross the burden on his back loosened and fell from his shoulders and tumbling into the grave where is was seen no more.  He stood there for a while to look in wonder because it was very surprising to him, that the sight of the cross should ease him of his burden, that he had carried for so long.  He looked until he was overcome and “tears were sent down his cheeks.”  

We all carry burdens, we carry the past, and all we carry sins—what we did to others, what others did to us and it goes on and one.  And the longer we carry those burdens the heavier they get.  These burdens wear us down, tire us out, result in all kinds of disorders, diseases and if not eventually relieved will take our lives.  What hope do we have? 

Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Mat. 11:28-30 ESV)

Jesus wants to relieve you of your burden, he wants to free you and give you rest!  He wants to walk along side you in this life and help you.  As a Christian we don’t have to worry about those things that once weighed us down.  As we draw near to the cross they will fell off and into the grave where our savior once laid and we will never see them again.  He has freed us to turn from sin in repentance, he has given us a new heart to serve him with ease. Live thankfully, live humbly, hopeful and joyful, for in Christ we are free.    

But God.....

“So it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:8)

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers.  He was falsely accused and thrown into prison and was forgotten about.  He had every reason to be bitter, every reason to lose hope and to give up.  Have you been there?  Have you been treated unfairly?  Has something happened to you that isn't justified?  I cannot image what went through Joseph’s mind those years, but everywhere he went God blessed him.  In Potiphar’s house he managed everything and his master was greatly blessed.  When he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, she lie and he went to prison.  He did the right thing by fleeing from her advances and he suffered.  Have you ever suffered for doing the right thing? 

While in prison again he is used to be a blessing and the keeper of the prison puts Joseph in charge and the keeper is blessed.  When the king’s cupbearer and baker are thrown into prison, each has a dream and Joseph interpreted their dreams.  He asked them not to forget about him and to mention him to Pharaoh.  The cupbearer forgets about Joseph and he sits in prison for another two years.  It is only when Pharaoh has a dream does the cupbearer remember Joseph.  After he interpreted Pharaoh dream he was released from prison and put in charge of Egypt.  It is after this he faces the brothers who had sold him into slavery.  He has forgiven them because he sees now God’s plan all along was to save them and many others, “So it was not you who sent me here, but God.” 

We don't always understand the ways of God, why allow Joseph to suffer for doing good?  Wasn't there and easier way of doing this?   I have come one conclusion about this life and it’s not about our comfort.  When we look back through time it is out of suffering the greatest triumphs arise.  Suffering has a way of refining us and making us dependence on God out of necessity.  One thing that is clear in the story of Joseph is he never lost faith in God, in fact everyone around him saw he was blessed no matter what circumstances he found himself in.  Through the trials and tribulations Joseph’s faith was stretched and strengthened until he understood why.  In the end he was a stronger person and was able to forgive and glorify God in a pagan nation. 

What are you going through?  This morning I want to encourage you to give it to God and trust he has a plan for it.  Trust that nothing happens to you that isn’t part of God’s glory.  You are one of his children and he is looking after you and building your faith.  Trust God and his goodness, encourage other who are suffering, be a part of God’s blessing.     

I Believe

“If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9 HCSB)

There has to be a confession, do you believe?  Do you believe in Jesus Christ, have to confessed him publicly, do you believe God raised him from the dead?  Have confessed with your heart? 

Do I trust the risen Savior as my only hope for salvation?  Have I handed him my sin and trusted in his forgiveness.  How would I answer these questions kneeling before the throne of God?

I have confessed Christ with my whole heart and I have given him my life and I am saved.  The text doesn't say anything else is required of me to be saved.  The result of my salvation leads me to repentance which is the turning away from sin, but it starts with confession and belief.  I stand on the promise of the scripture for salvation, I plead it before God every day of my life.  Let my mouth continually confess “Jesus is Lord”, until I haven’t breath in my lungs to speak and let me confess it before the throne of God on the Day of Judgment. 

In this life I need this salvation, I must be saved from sin, saved from the guilt of sin, from the power of sin.  But also I must be saved from the punishment of sin and from sin itself.  It is only when I’m freed I can be the person God wants me to be.  It’s only when the Son has broken the chains of bondage to self and to the world that I can love Him with all my heart and turn to my neighbor with the same love.  It is only in Christ, I can find this freedom and it comes only when I declare and believe in my heart “Jesus is Lord” and believe that God raised him from the dead. “You will be saved” this the promise I hang onto, “I am saved” is the cry of my joy in my savior Jesus. 

This life is short and fleeting, it’s over before you know it.  You don’t get to do it again until you get it right.  You have one shot, one opportunity, to believe.  Standing before the throne of God is not the time to confess your believe…..because He is right before you.  Now is the time to confess, now is the time to believe, what are you waiting for?     

   

The Conquers

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (Rev 2:7 ESV)

We are far too easily pleased C.S. Lewis once said and I think that is very true.  As a Christian we are to fight the good fight, not give up but endure.  It's the way of God to be a warrior, not a warrior in the sense of overcoming another, but in defeating the enemy sin.  We have been placed in the middle of enemy occupied territory and we are to fight.  We are not fighting with our own means but by grace, through faith in our Lord fighting through us.  In him we are more than conquerors, we are victorious children of the king.  We carry with us faith, salvation, truth, righteousness, truth, the gospel, and defend it with the word of God.  We stand our ground against injustice, we protect the innocent and care for the poor and needy.  We pray for and carry one another in love for the kingdom to come. 

Great is our King, great is our Lord.  There is nothing he cannot do, nothing that he does not know, and he is everywhere.  Everything is held together by his grace, every creature takes a breath because he first gave it to them and will take their last because he allows it.  It is in him we endure to the end, it is in him we don’t give up.  One day when your last breath leaves your body, you will depart this world and enter into the presence of this Lord and King.  If you are part of the kingdom, he will allow you to eat the fruit of the tree of life.  You will no longer suffer the pain of life, or taste the sting of death. No longer will you shed tears of sorrow, but only will shed tears of joy.  This is where I place my faith, this is the hope that carries me and the grace that sustains me. 

     

The Light of Men

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.”  (Isa 9:2 HCSB)

One of the things I have always loved about this time of year are Christmas lights.  Right after Thanksgiving you start to see people decorating their homes and everywhere you look you see Christmas lights in all sizes and shapes.  In Rocklin there happens to be what I think is one of the best displays of Christmas lights I have ever seen on Pebble Creek Drive.  If you have never gone to see the houses along the drive during the Christmas season, it’s well worth your time.  But where did this whole idea of Christmas lights came from in the first place?  What does the birth of Jesus have to do with Christmas lights?  In the Christmas story we know the wise men were guided by a great star that appeared over Bethlehem the site of our Saviors birth, but I think there is something greater than a star at work here.  The prophet Isaiah told of a time when the people walking in darkness would see a “great” light.  What could possibly be bigger than an enormous star? 

I think we have to start from the beginning.  In the Bible everything starts in Genesis and in chapter 1, all of creation including light started with “In the beginning God created”.  The another place the Bible talks about creation is the Gospel of John chapter 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. 

In the same chapter of John we find this verse “Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:4 HCSB)  What is being said in these verse?  Here is what we see, everything that exist is because God created it.  Nothing exist outside of God and everything was created by the Word, the Word and God are one.  In the Word life exist, In the Word we find our being and in the Word we can know God.  The light of men is “knowing”, think about like this.  I can look at myself in the mirror with the lights off and I can image I am still in my youth or I can picture myself anyway I want to.  But once I turn on the light I see the truth, I can see the reality of what I truly look like. (Regardless if I like what I see or not!)  

The reality is we live in darkness, we stumble around in this life though many of us try to do the best we can, but we are in the dark.  Not knowing the truth about ourselves or the world around us.  As a result we live painfully short of God’s perfect holy standard.  In fact while we are in the dark it is impossible to know God.  It is only when we receive the light we can see ourselves as we really are and we can know the source of the light.  If you keep reading John you soon realize the Word who is the “light of men” is Jesus Christ.  Here is where it really gets good!  The Creator became a man and entered into creation and by doing so became the light by which we can truly know God.  Jesus is much more than star, He is the maker of stars!  The heavens leap into existence by His—Word, “Let there be light”.  Merry Christmas and pray you'll spend this Holiday Season celebrating the light of men Jesus Christ, and share Him with others!  

     

"Our Strength"

This week I find myself in the middle of a Seminary semester and I’m tired!  Physically and emotionally.  I’m trying to continue ministering and commuting to school about 120 miles away.  What happens in trying to keep up with all the reading I find myself sinking further and further into academics and I lose connection to the one thing that can carry me through and that is the Holy Spirit.  Once we start trying to do things in our own strength we soon lose momentum and eventually run out of gas.  I picked up a book of “The Essential Works of Charles Spurgeon” and in the back of the book he is addressing primarily pastors, but there is something here for all of us.  Here are some of the highlights and you’ll see what I mean.

   

"If we make a treaty with error or sin, we do it at our own risk. If we do anything that we are not clear about, if we temper with truth or holiness, if we are friends of the world, if we make provision for the flesh, if we preach halfheartedly and in league with errorist, we have no promise that the Holy Spirit will go with us." 

"When the Spirit of God is gone, even truth itself become an iceberg. How wretched is religion frozen and lifeless! The Holy Spirit has gone, and all energy and enthusiasm have gone with Him."

"We never go a step towards heaven without the Holy Spirit. We never lead another on the heavenward road without the Holy Spirit. We have no acceptable thought, word, or deed apart from the Holy Spirit. Even the uplifting of the eye in hope or the ejaculatory prayer of the heart's desire must be His work. All good things are of Him and through Him, from beginning to end. There is no fear of exaggeration here."

"Every Man who goes to the land of the heavenly knowledge must work his passage thither; but he must work out the passage in the strength of the Holy Spirit or he will arrive at some island in the sea of fancy and never set foot upon the sacred shores of truth."

"No, we know nothing till we are taught of the Holy Spirit, who speaks to the heart rather than to the ear"

I am drawn to Spurgeon like a moth to the flame!  I read his sermons and writings and I am amazed how penetrating his words are 130 years after he spoke them.  He lived in the scripture and sought the Spirit to guide him in a time when the Victorian world around him was in the midst of the industrial revolution and reason was the new champion.  This is the age of Darwin's new thought, God was being marginalized and for profit thousands in the greater London area was suffering.  I can't help to see but see some parallels of our world today. 

We live in the technology revolution or the information age.  We will receive millions of bits of information daily and we have to sift through this deluge of information and try to make sense of it all.  In this flood of information is a growing hostility towards Christianity and an intentional effort to confuse those who profess to believe or who are thinking about faith.  This presents a problem for those who are not grounded in their Bibles and unsure of their faith. On top of all that we are busy, busy running everywhere and going no place. How in this time do we slow down enough to even begin a relationship with God, let alone sustain one? 

We have to slow down and take the time to spend time with God.  To place the Lord first in our lives requires effort and a shift of priorities.  What I know this much is true, we will not do anything until we see the value in what we give priority to.  But the dilemma is if we have never given priority to your faith how can you know it should be a priority!  As a Christian I can do nothing apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.  John 15:5, Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing”.  I need to draw near to Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit.  Without the strength of the Spirit I am helpless.  It is only when we take the time to earnestly seek Christ in His word and through prayer that I will find the strength I need to continue. 

I need to slow down and take time for Christ, I need the Holy Spirit to help me love the people around me, to understand the scriptures and to even pray.  There is nothing I do as a Christian I do that I don’t need the Holy Spirit enabling power. It is only when I recognize this weakness that I am made strong Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9:  

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me.”

Jesus said this to start the beatitudes:

 "The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. (Mat 5:3 HCSB)

It's when we humble ourselves before God and confess our weakness to Him that we are made strong.  Its when we finally realize we cannot manage our own sin, when we acknowledge we cannot meet our own expectations, let alone those others impose on us.  When we are finally broken by the weight of it all and God picks up and enables us to do far more than we could ever imagine.  

Our faith, our ministries, our lives, everything we do as Christian's has to be dependent and empowered by the Holy Spirit, apart from Him we are helpless and our efforts are but powerless and heavy to carry.        

Inexcusable

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” ― C.S. Lewis

I have thought a lot about forgiveness over the last week.  I write this having experienced the death of my father.  My father finished well. He was adored and loved by the people around him and especially his family.  This is despite a horrible beginning.  All of dad’s closest family members carry the scars of his sins.  As a result we all spun out of control for a period of time, some longer than others.  All of us were terribly hurt by the “inexcusable” sins of this father and husband.  What has amazed me the most was how all of us who were impacted—God is working in our lives, actively working.  He in His own time is healing and mending our hearts.  We have all tried different ways to cope with his sins.  We have turned to sin in the hope of finding temporary relief and as a result we have lost spouses, damaged relationship and hurt others as our father hurt us. We have all tried to ignore the problems, we have finger pointed, we have even tried to hurt each other and we have all carried some level of resentment.  Fact remains we still have a lot to work through and we need each other more than ever.  What my father did was inexcusable. 

If the story ended right here it would be a tragedy.  But the beauty of this story is not in the man and his sin but in a God and His love.  It’s the story of a selfish man and a humble God who gave His life for selfish sins.  God died for men like my father in order that His glory may be displayed in his life.  Once God grabbed hold of my dad's heart He made him a new creation in Christ.  My father started to live for something other than himself.  My father could not have possibly saved himself it was an act of God.  It didn't happen overnight but over time and as his physical health declined he learned to lean on God’s love, strength and mercy.  In the end through suffering my father learned to be dependent on God and His grace and as a result God begun a “mighty” work through him.

In the end my father was surrounded by the people who he had hurt the most.  This wasn't because of anything my dad did but because of the work God did in him.  God had forgiven him of the inexcusable sin he had committed against God by the way he lived his life.  My father understood the height of God’s grace because he understood the depth of his own sin and the wake of destruction he had left behind. It was by God’s grace my father was who he was and it was by God’s grace his family surrounded him as he took his last breath. 

God forgives the inexcusable in our lives, and there is nothing I have done that deserves God’s grace and mercy and yet he loved me despite my sin.  He didn't just say I love you, he did something about the inexcusable in our lives by doing the most improbable.   He became flesh and lived the life we could not and sacrificed that life.  He died for our sins and was buried in our place.  But this story doesn't end there, he rose again and became life.  We live because Jesus lives, we will die in this body and we will rise again because Jesus is alive!  Christ did the improbable to forgive the inexcusable.  Through Christ we must do the same.  All I can do is invite you to come taste and see the goodness of the Lord for yourself.

Wiped Out

"He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross." (Col 2:14 HCSB)

ἐξαλείψας (exaleipsas) means to destroy something entirely, to wipe it out. In the HCSB it is translated erased. Think of this verse in this way--Christ's sacrifice on the cross wiped out any debt of sin you had, past, present, future--He took and nailed it to the cross! Nothing is left it is gone! You did nothing, He did it all. That is what we put our faith in when trust Christ. We trust this is true and believe it with the way we live. Live thankfully, full of grace towards others because much grace has been shown to you.

That is just incredible to think about! I am in awe of Christ and his goodness towards us. The more I think on the verse the more I want to serve Him and share Him with others. We all struggle with sin and the desires it produces in our hearts. We try and try to overcome sin on our own terms and fail miserably. Yet here is the key, Christ has overcome sin, he has destroyed its hold on you, he removed it! Why do we live as if sin still rules over us? Because I believe we have a small jesus, and he cannot take away our BIG sin. The reality is we have a HUGE JESUS who took away the sins of the WORLD! Want freedom from sin that rules over your life? Look to Christ, trust in Him, seek Him, make much of Jesus in your life, He is BIGGER than any sin. God is good!!

Abundant Joy and Eternal Pleasures

Did you ever think it was ok to live life with abundant joy?   Did you ever think it was not sinful to seek pleasures?  The question is where do you seek them?  Every human being on the planet wants to be happy.  I have never come across anyone who is always seeking to be miserable and it they are I promise you for some strange reason and in some strange way—it pleases them.  The reality is we are all wanting to be happy in some way.  We also like to enjoy pleasure, we seek pleasure in a variety of ways, food, sex, relationships, sports, television, movies, music, and I could go on and on.  What we fail to understand sometimes is its ok to seek joy and pleasure, what matters is where and in what.  If we seek joy simply for the sake of joy it can become idolatry.  And if I seek pleasure simply for purely pleasure sake it too will become idolatry and it will eventually enslave me.  How do I escape idolatry and enslavement and still have joy and pleasures? 

The Psalmist answers this question like this.  “You reveal the path of life me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.” (Psalm 16:11)  Our ultimate joy and our ultimate pleasure can be found in God and in God’s glory.  It is in Him everything finds its purpose and meaning.  Through Him we can understand what joy really is and we can understand and truly experience pleasure as Christ lives through us. Maybe you have hit a rough patch or life has gotten you down, get on the path of life with God and enjoy Him.   

~PS    

Words and Flaws

One of my personality FLAWS is I take criticism personally. Being in ministry means you will be criticized and there isn't any way around it.  I’ll go one step further being married means you are going to be criticized. Having teenagers, neighbors, friends, family, I think you get the point.  Not everyone is going to agree with you and that is alright.  As I write this I realize my choice of words is reflecting my flaw.  Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean its criticism!  Maybe they are just trying to help you, what is their intent?  Most people I know have good intentions and truly don’t want to cause harm, but truly want to help you.    

I have two thoughts, first is thankfulness. God is forever working on me to be better. He loves me and wants me to be more like him in every way and thus he uses other people to help shape me. The second is grace. God extended me grace, even when I am stubbornly defiant. He has done this in the past and continues to extend me grace to guide me along, to learn to trust him.

The question for us all then is how are you going to handle the person who takes what you said wrong and runs with in directions you never thought of or intended? Do you lash out at them, or do you try to love on them and extend them grace? Do you say I'm sorry or do you take a stand?

Proverbs 15:1-2 says, "A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness."  How we respond matters.  What we say at the moment we read or hear something reflects our hearts.  Jesus said in Matthew 12:34b “For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.  When I read this Proverb I see the heart of the person.  The heart that loves God and loves others is the one who answers gently and who answers not to prove a point or to win the argument for argument sake, but wants the other person to grow in knowledge of truth. Plus I want to stay humble to know there may be a lesson for me to learn from the other person!  

The heart that is centered on self throws out the harsh words and is quick to criticize for the sake of being right.  In the process that person ends up being the fool.  Sadly, I know this not by observation but by experience, for I have played the fool far too many times in my life and in ministry. 

Paul said in Ephesians 4:29, “No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.  “No foul language”, looks like this in Greek πᾶς λόγος σαπρὸς, and literally means (no word rotten) Paul is using the word σαπρὸς (sapros), which means something that is in decay or unpleasant.  The word is meaning something has died and is rotten.  So the question to ask in light of this is, are your words killing or are they giving life?  Are you building up or are you “killing” something with your words. 

I am trying to be less the fool and more like the wise man. I love the people God has placed in my life. From my wife, my sons and family to my extended family in the church and everywhere else. And I am thankful he uses every one of them to help me grow, especially those closest to me.  I want my words to give life to others, to build them up and to help them grow in Christ. 

You should ask yourself a question before you say something, Are my words going build the other person up or kill something.  Something to think about.