Pointing Your Children to Real Heroes!

 Who is your hero? When I was a kid, I read many comic books.  Superman was my favorite. I went through a season where I probably bought every Superman comic for a year or so.  I looked up to him not because he was an unstoppable force but because he always did the right thing.  He was always trying to protect and help people.  The only problem was he wasn’t real.  Despite the fascination of our culture with superheroes, they don’t exist. As I became a teenager, I started to look to musical artists as heroes.  I grew up right as grunge music became popular and Nirvana sang the anthem of my generation.  I loved Nirvana and thought of Kurt Cobain as a hero; however, as I have matured, I have come to realize that he is no hero at all.

A hero is someone that you can look up to, someone you can attempt to emulate.  Heroes are typically born from suffering and adversity.  In my estimation pop stars, actors, social media stars, and celebrities make terrible heroes; however, these are the people our children are looking to.  These are the people they are trying to emulate.  Please understand that I don’t think all artists and celebrities are bad people.  I just don’t want my children to think of them as heroes.  Think for a moment about their message. First, they are prioritizing entertainment.  This is a major problem in our culture.  People are addicted to entertainment.  We can’t wait to escape from our lives into a screen or concert or some entertainment experience.  Second, the life of a celebrity is driven by fame and fortune.  Is this what we want our children to chase?  Are these the priorities we want them to have?  Celebrities and artists are not heroes.

Who are the heroes we should be pointing our children to?  This year in our school curriculum we looked at the lives of several people I would consider heroes.  Three that stood out to me are Hudson Taylor, Sergeant Alvin York, and Corrie Ten Boom.  These are people who faced immense adversity for the Lord.  They were not perfect people, but they did the right thing.  They trusted God through their trials.  These are people we can truly call heroes.

Hudson Taylor was a British missionary who devoted his life to winning China for the Lord in the mid-1800s.  He faced many trials such as illness, the death of his first wife, the death of three of his eight children, being deserted by co-laborers, persecution, and financial strain; however, through it all, he persisted.  He preached the gospel and planted churches. Today many of the millions of Chinese Christians can trace their spiritual lineage directly back to the influence of Taylor.

Sergeant Alvin York was a country boy from the hills of Tennessee.  He was a drunkard and troublemaker in his youth.  He was saved and turned away from a sinful lifestyle to serve the Lord.  In 1917 he was drafted into the Army to serve in the Great War; because of his religious beliefs, he objected to killing and tried to get a religious exemption.  His exemption was denied, and he was forced to go.  He proved himself to be an expert marksman in basic training where he still wrestled with the fact that he would have to kill his fellow man.  After much prayer and counsel from his superior officer, he decided that to make peace, sometimes men must fight.  He went on to fight bravely in World War I and earned a Medal of Honor for his part in the Meuse–Argonne offensive.  He was instrumental in taking out a machine gun nest that had the Allied soldiers pinned down.  He single-handedly killed 25 enemy soldiers and captured 132.

Corrie Ten Boom was a Christian living in the Netherlands during World War II.  Her city suffered German occupation and while her family was not bothered at first by the Germans, they knew many of their Jewish neighbors were suffering. Defiantly, her family hid many Jews in their home and participated in the Dutch Underground Resistance to help Jews escape Nazi persecution.  Corrie, along with her sister and father, was arrested and sent to a concentration camp.  She alone survived the experience.  Her faith was the reason she helped the Jews, and her faith was what sustained her in the harsh conditions of the camps.

These are just a couple of examples of real heroes.  We can point to many others throughout history that bear the same title.  We find many heroes in the Bible, like King David or the Apostle Paul, and of course the greatest hero of them all, our Lord, Jesus! We can go on and on and name so many more.  These are the type of men and women we can point our children to, the type they should look up to.  Let’s redefine what a hero means and point our children to true heroes!

See the Example, Be the Example

The best way to learn is to imitate someone.  In many professions, this is called on-the-job training.  You watch someone perform a task then you perform it under their supervision until you are proficient in the task.  This is also true in our Christian walk.  This type of training is called discipleship.  Discipleship has an aspect of formal training, which is what we often think of when we hear the word.  We see this in many settings like worship, small groups, discipleship groups, Bible studies, devotions, etc.  This type of discipleship is very important; however, it is not the only form.

Discipleship has on-the-job training.  This means we see the example of a more mature Christian and learn from them.  This principle is readily apparent in 1 Thessalonians 1.  In verses 2-3, Paul makes it clear that the Christians in Thessalonica get it.  They are par excellence when it comes to faith.  This is only the case because they took seriously the gospel call in their lives.  In verse 4 Paul remembers the time he shared the gospel with them, and God showed His power in their lives through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Then in verse 5, Paul reminds them of his character.

Paul along with his companions sought to live holy and righteous lives so that they could be an example to the church.  Paul says in verse 5 that they did this for the sake of the Thessalonians.  This doesn’t mean that Paul did not seek to live a holy life at other times, but that he was hypervigilant to be a godly example for their benefit.  This led the Christians to a deeper and more mature faith and before long the church at Thessalonica became an example to all the believers in the entire region (verse 7).

The example they set was one of faith, they trusted in the Lord above everything else.  In verses 9-10, Paul points out how the Christians in Thessalonica turned away from idols and worshipped the Lord alone.  They also watched expectantly for the Lord’s return.  They had a heavenly mindset as they patiently lived out their lives on earth.  This is a sure sign of maturity.  This would have been a powerful example to other believers.

There are two things I think we can learn from this passage.  One, we must find and imitate godly examples.  Paul was a great example of faith for them to look at, but Paul was not perfect. He was the first to tell you that he was a sinner saved only by the grace of God; however, there was something that Paul did very well, he made it clear that his focus was on Jesus.  Even when you looked at the example of Paul you were pointed to Jesus.  Paul did not seek to exalt himself, rather he sought to exalt Jesus in everything he did.  This is important when we look for a godly example.  We cannot just find someone who calls themselves a Christian and hitch our proverbial wagon to them.  Often when we find a teacher who makes themselves the star, they fail either morally or theologically.  If you affix your faith to that person then when they fail, you are left shattered and broken.  We must always remember that people are imperfect.  We should never exalt a person, rather we look for examples that seek to keep Jesus as the center. Second, as we mature in our faith, we must become an example of godliness.   We should not shy away from being an example rather we should encourage it, provided we are looking to Jesus for our example.  My prayer is that my life and the lives of those in the church will encourage all the believers in our community.  We want to live a life that brings glory to God and helps others to glorify Him as well.  Let’s remember the words of Paul from 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”  Let us be the example of Christ that we want to see in others!

Ask Questions!

The modern world assumes many things that are contrary to the Bible.  The world assumes that God does not exist. The world assumes evolution is a fact.  The world assumes the Bible is just another book full of errors.  They assume Jesus was just a man whose miraculous powers were greatly exaggerated by his followers.  These are not only assumptions by the culture we live in but they are also common objections to the Christian faith.  People use these “facts” as a reason why they will not become Christians.

This is not a new problem.  From the first day of Jesus’ resurrection, people have sought to discredit Christianity.  This has been a problem for the church for the past 2000 years, which is why Christians have had to develop a defense of our faith.  This is commonly referred to as apologetics.  The word apologetics comes from the Greek word “apologia” which means to give a defense of something, in this case, we are presenting a defense of Christianity. This is what Peter is highlighting in 1 Peter 3:15, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” This is the goal of apologetics.

On Sunday nights during Student Gathering, Alex and I have begun a new series.  It is based on the book by Alex McFarland, The 10 Most Common Objections to Christianity.  This book tackles all the questions I mentioned in the first paragraph and more.  We felt it was important for our students to begin to think critically about their faith.  We want them to understand why they believe what they believe.  We also wanted to challenge any that might have bought into the world’s lies.  Students can also use this information as they reach out to their friends.

One of the major reasons I wanted to do this series was to get students to start thinking and to ask questions.  When I was a teenager there was an unspoken rule in church that you don’t ask certain questions.  I think it is important to ask all kinds of questions, especially ones about faith.  Our God is big, and He is not afraid of our questions.  This is the reason He has given us His Word. We can study the Bible and find answers to all of life’s big questions.  God tells us in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

God’s word is the first place we should look when seeking to answer questions, but we should not discount things like science and the natural world.  It is no surprise that God designed the universe to point to His glory.  If you examine the intricacies of the world, you can’t help but see a grand design that points to the grand designer!  We have given the students so many examples to help them answer questions like, “Does God Exist?” and “Did God create the universe in 7 days?”.  One great resource that we have pointed the students to is Answers in Genesis (answersingenesis.org).  Ken Hamm has developed a robust website full of apologetic science.  Science and faith do not stand opposed as the world would have you believe.  Science confirms a great and glorious creator God.

My challenge is don’t be afraid to ask questions!  Ask questions then seek the answers first in God’s word and then in trusted Christian resources.  Don’t just take the word of anyone about what you believe.  Do your own research and study.  You must develop a robust theology so that you can give a defense.  We must all be ready!

“…if Satan can’t take away our faith, he might be able to intimidate us to such a degree that we are paralyzed, that we are not quite as bold as we were before. And so, not everybody is called to be a professional apologist, but we are all called to study apologetic issues and to see that there are reasons for the hope that is within us.” R.C. Sproul – Ligonier.org

Can You Really Change?

Can you really change?  New Year’s is a time of reflection.  We think about what we dislike about ourselves and what we need to change.  Often those changes revolve around bad habits.  The top resolutions according to a Forbes article are: improved fitness, improved finances, improved mental health, lose weight, and improved diet.  In the past I have also seen people resolve to drink less, meet certain career goals, travel more, and be more spiritual. What do all these resolutions have in common?  They all have to do with change.  

The desire to change and improve is a uniquely human experience. I believe that this desire is fueled from deep within our souls.  Even if we refuse to acknowledge it, people know they are flawed.  They know they are imperfect and in need of something better.  Christians know this to be true because the Bible reveals the truth to us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.God is the standard of perfection.  He is just, righteous, and holy.  Since this is the case and we are His creation, created in His image, I believe there is an innate desire to be better.  We want to overcome this sin-sick world and be perfect.  This is why we have a desire to change.

The question remains: can we change?  The pessimist says that we cannot change, that people virtually remain the same and that change is temporary.  The optimist says that change is surely possible provided one is willing to work for it.  What does the Bible say on the subject?  The Bible is a proponent of transformative change through the power of the gospel.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” 2 Corinthians 5:17.  In Christ we can change; we go from dead to alive, from sinful to righteous.  This is the only true and lasting change.

This is the change that I have experienced in my own life, as I reflect on my life before Christ and realize how much I ran from God.  I also realize how offensive my sin was to God.  This is not to say that I still don’t struggle with sin despite being freed from it.  The battle with the flesh continues to rage even for the new creation.  This is why we need to continue in our transformation of becoming like Christ.  The work of sanctification (becoming like Christ) is not completed until we go to be with the Lord.  Christians should be people that believe in change and strive to develop throughout our lives. 

The way we change, however, is not through trying, but rather through faith driven surrender.  We must continue to strive for greater and greater faith.  Jesus continually challenged His followers to have faith. “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” Mark 11:22-23.  Notice that Jesus tells us to have faith in God.  Faith in ourselves gets us nowhere, only faith in God means anything.

The beginning of true change starts with faith and continues as we surrender daily to the Lord.  There is no amount of trying that is going to bring us lasting change, it is only when we stop trying and start surrendering, we truly find hope. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2. When we submit to the Lord we can be transformed.

This new year, take time to reflect on where you are personally, physically, and spiritually.  It is a great time for self-assessment and, as you reflect, remember to take your deficiencies to the Lord.  God cares about all the concerns in your heart.  Whatever you are struggling with, ask God to help you.  With faith driven surrender to the Lord we can change to become more like Christ!

Parenting – When All Else Fails…

Recently I was discussing parenting with another father.  We lamented that parenting is difficult with children of any age, especially when it comes to discipline.  Children need discipline.  It must be measured, biblical, and consistent.  What happens when our discipline seems like it is failing? Sometimes it seems like nothing we do gets through to our children.  Some children can be punished in all kinds of ways, and it doesn’t even phase them.  What is a parent to do? 

As I said, we must remain consistent.  One of the worst things a parent can do when raising children is to become erratic or overly emotional in discipline.  Children need to know what is expected, then if they disobey, they must be punished.  I am sure that no parent likes punishing their child.  It is certainly not something I like to do; however, as a parent that seeks to honor the Lord, I must consistently discipline my children.

We must also commit ourselves to prayer.  There is a temptation to make parenting all about behavior modification.  We want our children to act right so we focus on their actions rather than their motives.  What we should be focusing on is their heart.  There are things a parent can do to help direct our child’s heart but ultimately the Lord is the one who changes the heart.  That means we must commit ourselves to pray for our children.  When you are at the end of your rope, when you don’t know what to do, or when discipline doesn’t seem to work – pray!

When all else fails, we must remember to operate in gospel love.  The way God loves us is how we need to love our children.  In the Jesus Storybook Bible God’s love is described as “Never-Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.”  This is a fantastic way to define God’s love for us.  This is the essence of the gospel.  God loves us and refuses to give up on us, that is why He sent Jesus to pay the penalty for sin so that our relationship with Him could be restored.  This is the love of our heavenly father.  This is the love that parents need to emulate.

I remember a particularly challenging season with one of my children.  It seemed like we were always butting heads and discipline didn’t seem to work.  At one point I looked at them and told them, “I love you and I’m not going anywhere”.  I had to remind them that my love is not based on their behavior.  My love for them is unconditional.  From time to time our kids need to be reminded that we love them regardless of their behavior.  We need to tell them, even though our love is imperfect, we want to love them like God loves us– with a never-stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.

This is what gospel parenting looks like.  We go after the heart of our child in the same way that God goes after our heart.  Children are in as much need of a savior as we are.  They are also in need of discipleship as well.  We must remember to teach them the gospel repeatedly! But we cannot force them to follow Jesus.  We pray that God would call them to salvation, but even as we are waiting for them to believe in Jesus, we must disciple them.  We must teach them to follow Jesus, not just to obey for obedience’s sake. Rather we obey because Jesus loves us, and we love Jesus. 

My encouragement to parents is to be patient.  Parenting is hard at any stage.  I see parents with young children struggle as their babies exhaust them.  I see parents of toddlers struggle as these tiny humans exert their sinful will.  Older children will struggle with more complex emotions, which makes parenting hard.  Teens will struggle as they want to grow up way too fast.  All of it is hard, however all of it is joyous.  Raising our children is worth it, every struggle is worth it.  God doesn’t give up on us and we must not give up on our children.  If you feel lost as a parent, turn to the Lord, He will give you what you need.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

Standing Up for Jesus

Recently I was studying Daniel 3, the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol.  The heroes of this story are three Jewish young men: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  These three young men stand up to enormous religious persecution and refuse to worship the king’s idol.  This story inspires courageous faith in Christians.  We are challenged to stand up for what we know to be right according to God’s Word in the face of worldly pressures.

This story is full of application, especially if you study a little about these three young men in Daniel Chapter 1.  In these verses you will realize that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were exiles from Judah.  God used Babylon to punish His people for their idolatry.  In doing so they conquered Judah and exiled numerous people.  As a part of this exile, the King selected many young men to come and be trained in Babylon so they could serve in his kingdom.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not the only ones taken from Judah.  You have heard about Daniel, but there were others. 

This is interesting because in Chapter 1 they experience their first test.  They were expected to eat the king’s food.  This food did not conform to the food laws that God had given His people.  It would be a sin to eat this food.  Of all the Jews there only Daniel and the three young men stood up for their faith.  In this situation God blessed them and they succeeded in gaining favor with their captors.

Again, they are tested in Chapter 3 when they are told they must bow down to the king’s idol.  Daniel is not present in this situation, presumably he is handling matters elsewhere for the king.  We know from other examples that he would not bow down to the idol.  He would have stood up for his faith just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did; however, one must ask the question, “were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the only Jews present?”  Doubtless there were others, but for fear of death they chose sin.

I am sure the peer pressure for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have been enormous.  Just three men standing in a sea of idol worshippers.  They probably felt alone and afraid.  I am sure the other Jews looked at them as if they were crazy.  Many of them probably rationalized their sin because all they had to do was bow down. They could bow their knees without bowing their hearts…right?!

Jesus was clear in Luke 9:26, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”  Denying Jesus in any form, even bodily, is still sin.  What the other Jews did on that day, in the Plain of Dura in Babylon by worshiping the idol, was sin. What Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did was stand up for their faith.  They are clearly the example we should be looking at in this story.

What happens when we face peer pressure to sin? Do we have the same courageous faith to look our friends, family, or coworkers in the eye and say I will not deny my God?  Are you prepared to stand alone?  Every Christian is called to have courageous faith even if we are threatened with persecution.  The world will try to attack you in many ways.  They will threaten your family, job, and personal well-being. Friends and family might ostracize you; they might even threaten you with death.  What will you say in those moments?  You need to decide now what you will do.  Our Lord, Jesus, gave everything for us, we must be willing to stand up for Him!

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:24-26

Stay Vigilant: The Downfall of Solomon

I was reminded this week in my devotion time how quickly we can turn away from the Lord.  I was reading through the life of Solomon and in the first several chapters of 1 Kings I read about how Solomon spent his life honoring the Lord.  In chapter 3 God came to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask for anything he desired.  He asked for wisdom which pleased God.  He gave Solomon great wisdom and as a bonus long life and riches.  Solomon grew into the wisest, most powerful, wealthiest king to ever live.  He was able to build a great temple for the Lord in Jerusalem.  He was recognized by all people to be a great and wise king, however he turned away from God.  What happened?

In 1 Kings 11 we see a drastic change.  Solomon turns from the Lord and begins to worship false gods.  The scriptures say that the reason was because he married many
foreign women.  It is recorded that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  These women were from all over the world and when they came they did not assimilate to the Jewish religion.  Instead, they kept their religious preferences and were allowed to continue to worship their own gods.  This was the reason that God forbade the Jews to marry from other nations.  There were rare examples of foreign women marrying Jewish men, but they were assimilated into the Jewish faith like Ruth and Rahab.  

Overall, God wanted to encourage full fidelity to Himself which meant His people must not worship foreign gods.  For Solomon the influence of the foreign women was too much.  He built altars to the gods and allowed his wives to make sacrifices and offerings.  This caused the downfall of Solomon and resulted in the kingdom being split.  His unfaithfulness to God caused so much pain and suffering for himself, his family, and the people of Israel. It is amazing to me that Solomon, a once great man of God, fell so hard and so quickly.  For all his wisdom he forgot one thing – stay vigilant.  From Jesus to Peter and even Solomon himself we are encouraged to keep watch and stay vigilant.

• Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
  – Mark 14:38
• Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8
• Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. – Prov. 4:23

There is a real danger in letting our guard down.  Christians, we must remain vigilant against the schemes of the devil.  He loves nothing more than to tempt us to fall and cause destruction in our lives.  Often this fall does not just affect us, it ripples out to many others in our lives.  In the case of Solomon, it affected an entire nation.  What could he have done differently; how could he have avoided such pain and destruction?

To avoid this, you must know what you believe and refuse to compromise.  Solomon knew the right thing, he was the wisest man to live, but he refused to stand on that truth. Instead, he compromised his beliefs and turned away from the Lord to false idols.  This is a good reminder for us, first we must know what we believe.  Do you believe the truth that is found in God’s Word?  You too can be wise if you will read it, study it, memorize it, and live it.  Second, you must refuse to compromise from what you know is right.  Solomon had 1000 women vying for his attention, that was enough to distract him.  The world is constantly trying to distract you.  We must remain vigilant and not get distracted to the point we fall like Solomon.  Don’t think it can’t happen to you.  Stay vigilant and keep your feet firmly planted on the Word of God, you can stand no matter what challenge comes your way.

3 Benefits of God’s Word

This summer we have been in the Psalm 119: Word of God Speak sermon series.  I have enjoyed this series immensely.  It has challenged me in my walk with Christ and helped me to grow closer to God through His Word.  I have been encouraged to continue to look to God’s word to strengthen my relationship with Him.  I have seen how beneficial God’s Word is in helping me to not just endure but to enjoy my daily life.  The Bible has many benefits which are spoken of in Psalm 119.  Here I want to highlight three benefits of daily interaction with God’s Word.

1. The Word Guides Our Steps – Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It should not take long for a Christian to realize that he or she needs help navigating life. Temptations and trials come at us relentlessly.  Moral choices always need to be made.  Decisions on life’s direction come at us fast and furiously.  The only place we can turn to find direction is God’s Word.  The Bible is a compass to help us navigate our path.  In Psalm 119:105, the psalmist compares God’s Word to a lamp.  We might think of a flashlight in our modern context.  Have you ever been walking down a dark path at night?  It is impossible to navigate without a flashlight.  The flashlight allows us to see a few yards in front of us.  We feel safe following the light because we can see a few steps ahead.  We cannot see the whole path, but as we keep moving forward in faith, we make it to our destination safe and sound.  In the same way, we must treat the Bible as a flashlight for our life.  We must trust it even though we may only be able to see a few steps ahead.  We must trust that God will direct our steps according to His will and we will arrive safely to where He wants us to be.
   
   
2. The Word Protects us from Sin – Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” The Christian’s fight against sin can often be weak and even non-existent. Many Christians walk regularly in sin because they are not regularly ingesting God’s Word.  The Lord tells us that His Word protects us from sin.  How does this happen?  When God’s word is taken into our hearts, it is used by the Holy Spirit to draw us close to God, to stand against temptation, and learn to love the Lord better.  However, as the psalmist points out, we are not only to be reading the Word, but we are also to be storing it up. How do we store God’s Word in our hearts?  The only way is through memorization.  We must be memorizing God’s Word!  Do you have a plan to regularly memorize Bible verses?  This matters because temptations and trials rarely come when it is convenient. They do not wait until we are feeling strong or having a good day.  Often, they come when we are stressed, tired and at our weakest.  This is when the stored Word of God shines through.  However, it cannot help us if we don’t have it hidden in our heart.  We must be people that are committed to memorizing God’s Word.  It will help us deal with the onslaught of trials and temptations in our lives.
   
   
3. The Word Makes Us Wise – Psalm 119:130 – “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” This point was made in a recent sermon by Pastor Alan — we can be wise by simply reading God’s Word.  What a fabulous truth!  We don’t need to be super-genius Bible scholars.  We simply need to regularly spend time reading the Bible.  Wisdom is not the same as intelligence. The simplest person can be wiser than the most intelligent person.  Wisdom doesn’t tell us all we need to know about a certain subject, rather, it helps to discern the right way to go in a given situation.  There are many intelligent people that have very little wisdom.  This is because wisdom comes from God, and by extension, His Word.  The Lord is not concerned with our intelligence; He is concerned with our heart.  In our heart we learn God’s word and we learn how to be wise according to God’s way.  The world has its own way of thinking and many times it is contrary to God’s word. The only way to stand in this world is to be wise in the ways of the Lord.  This will be accomplished by regularly meditating on God’s word. Meditating means we read it, then we think over it for an extended period, then we study it, and finally, see how it applies to our lives.  When we meditate on God’s Word, we learn the wisdom of God. 

I am encouraging all of us to be in God’s Word regularly!   Read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, believe it!  You must let the Word fill your heart and mind.  As Robby Gallaty said, “Get into the Word until the Word gets into you.”  If you don’t know how to get started, please email me at bgotcher@oakhillbc.org.  I would love to help you on your journey of faith.

The Mark of a True Believer

What is the mark of a true believer?  One of the marks is our eagerness to serve those in need. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 25 that He is very concerned about the outworking of our faith, especially in how we serve others.  Jesus takes time in Matthew 24 and 25 to speak prophetically about the future. He gives straightforward teaching about the end times punctuated by parables.  As He wraps up this speech Jesus speaks about the final judgment (Matthew 25:31-46).  

In this judgment all people will be separated as one divides sheep and goats.  The sheep in this section refer to believers and the goats to unbelievers.  The primary difference between these groups is whether they ministered to the Lord by serving others.  Each group seems surprised that this is the criteria the Lord is using to separate His followers.  They do not seem to understand at first that by helping others they were actually serving the Lord.

At first glance one might think that Jesus is speaking about a works-based salvation, but as we consider the whole of scripture, we understand that salvation comes only by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-10).   Jesus is speaking about works in the same way that James does in James 2:18. Our works display our faith, they are products of true gospel transformation.  In other words, a true follower of Jesus will desire to serve others because they are saved. They don’t desire to do it for an earthly or heavenly reward.  The true believer’s heart is transformed, and the outworking is to look for opportunities to help others in hard circumstances.  The pure motive of a believer does not desire a reward for good works; however, as Jesus says they will receive a great reward — the kingdom of God.

The goats seem equally surprised when they are told to depart and go forever into the eternal fires of hell.  They are wondering when did they see the Lord in these desperate circumstances.  It is implied that they surely would have helped had they known.  I am sure they are confused when it is clarified that by serving others, they would have been serving the Lord, however they chose to ignore their fellow man.  Their selfishness proved that they had no gospel transformation.  They would have only done good deeds to receive the reward and not be punished.  The goats were not repentant of their sin and most certainly were not redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

What both groups seemed to miss is that by serving others they are serving the Lord.  It did not matter for the sheep because the gospel had changed the priority of their heart to that of Jesus.  What is Jesus’s priority?  He told us plainly in Luke 19:10 that He came to seek and save the lost.  Jesus’s priority was people!  It is so plain that He loved mankind, His whole mission revolved around helping others.  He helped with their physical needs all the while driving at their greatest need, salvation for their eternal souls. The same love was transferred to His followers through the gospel.  True believers should have the same desire to help others.  That is why Jesus can identify His followers very easily. The criteria is simple: Jesus’s followers show their love for Him by how they love others through service.

A believer should be a willing, zealous servant.  They see the plight of others and seek to ease their suffering.  If you notice these acts of love in Matthew 25 are not extravagant, it is things like offering a drink, welcoming a stranger, visiting a sick person, clothing someone, etc.  These are simple acts that don’t cost a lot of money; however, they do cost something that many of us deem more valuable than money – TIME!  To accomplish these simple acts of service you must take the time to notice others, then take the time to serve them.  In our modern fast-paced, self-focused life are we willing to give up our most precious commodity?

From this passage a mark of a true believer is someone that serves others simply because they love Jesus.  Is this you?  Do you serve others?  Do you take the time to notice others around you that are hurting?  If not and you call yourself a believer, you need to repent and ask God to help you have a love for Him that is displayed in serving others.  Then just look around! There are hurting people all around us. Let’s commit to do the simple acts of service that show that we belong to Jesus.

The Joy of Children

Part of my job and calling at Oakhill is to be the Children’s Pastor.  I love this part of the job because I love kids! Kids are so much fun!  From squishy babies to precocious toddlers to funny older children, they are all a marvel of God.  I love to see them learn and grow, especially in the context of growing in the Lord. This is a special blessing of being involved in the children’s ministry.  I am positive the other volunteers at Oakhill feel the same way.

I am thankful that at Oakhill we love children. Our love is modeled after the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful that the gospel writers inspired by the Holy Spirit included the story about Jesus interacting with children in Mark 10:13-16:

“And [Parents] were bringing children to [Jesus] that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”

At this time in Jesus’ ministry, He was ministering to a great many people.  I can imagine a long line of people waiting to speak to Jesus.  This group of parents, knowing that their children were a most precious gift, brought them to Jesus to be blessed.  The disciples saw this as a waste of Jesus’ time.  They probably thought, “look at all these people that need Jesus’ help, these children are just taking up his time”.  As I said I’m thankful we get this glimpse into our Lord’s thinking about children. He rebuked His disciples and pulled the children in close.  We get the picture that Jesus might have put them in His lap as He blessed them.  This shows us that our Savior loved children!

First, he knew that these were potential future followers.  If these parents believed in Jesus and taught their children to do the same, then these children would be the future for the church.  He wanted them to feel welcome in His church. Second, Jesus wants us all to approach Him with childlike faith.  This type of faith doesn’t mean immature or devoid of theological thinking. It means that we have simplicity in our faith.  We need to trust Jesus like a child trusts a parent. Children with loving parents don’t have to wonder if their parents will take care of their needs. They know their parents are going to protect them. They just simply trust, it’s almost thoughtless, like a reflex.  We need to have the automatic reflex of faith in every stage of life. 

I am sure that this experience with Jesus left an indelible mark on the children He blessed.  I hope that many of them followed Jesus and learned to obey all that He taught.  Children are a great example of how we need to live in awe and wonder of our Savior.  As children grow in faith, they are like little sponges that are constantly amazed by all they are learning.  I pray we can all retain this attitude into adulthood.  We should continue to approach Jesus daily with awe and wonder. 

If we want to honor our Savior, then we will be like Him and make room for children in the church.  We will seek to love and disciple them. Most of all we will bring them to Jesus. We will share the good news of the gospel.  We will be living examples of the gospel to the children.  I’m thankful that Oakhill is a church like this!