Tag: carry the message

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Why Does This Whole Thing Seem so Familiar?

I don’t have a whole lot of free time, but when I do, sometimes I like to watch old TV shows. There’s a lot of demented stuff in today’s shows, or they find ways to ratchet up the tension so much there’s no way you’re going to sleep soon after watching it. With the old stuff, yes, there might be more plot holes, or the show was written for an audience with less access to information than today’s audiences, but there’s usually no problem falling asleep after (or even during) the show.

One of the old shows I watch is Magnum, P.I. (not the remake…the original 1980s Tom Selleck version). This is a show about Thomas Magnum, a former Navy SEAL doing freelance work as a Private Investigator in Hawaii. In the show he’s constantly bumming favors from his Vietnam buddies and rarely pays back what he owes them. He gets to enjoy the lavish accommodations, including the famous red Ferrari, of a famous author’s Hawaiian estate in return for providing security advice (much to the chagrin of the estate’s caretaker, Higgins). He’s often dealing with clients that can’t pay his full rate, getting cornered in an alley by some burly dudes that don’t like him snooping around, or trying to avoid Higgins’ pair of Dobermans.

As I watched one episode, there was something about the plot that seemed very familiar, like I’d seen it before. Every 4th of July, Magnum had a tradition of spending the day alone at sea in a little boat called a surf ski. (It’s kind of like a kayak, but it’s got an open top and is easier to fall out of.) While he was out at sea, a reckless boater got too close and capsized him. He got separated from the surf ski and paddle and got caught in one of the strong currents near the islands, and he ended up needing to tread water for like, 12 hours or something crazy like that. I didn’t remember what happened in the end, but I remembered that part of it.

It turns out Magnum, P.I. was a show my dad used to watch when I was a kid. Although I was a bit too young to watch the show when it originally aired, he must’ve been catching this one as a rerun while I was dawdling and trying to avoid going to bed one night. The thought of having to tread water for hours blew my mind as a young kid (and who knows…maybe it subconsciously had something to do with my becoming a lifeguard later), and left a strong-enough impression that I remembered it more than 35 years later.

You know, back before they had TV shows, and way back before paper was readily available, people had to rely on other means to pass down significant things from one generation to the next. The Old Testament Israelites, few of which could even read or write at an advanced level, used markers and oral tradition to keep alive the memory of God’s faithfulness to them. They’d build monuments to serve as reminders for times when God saved them from destruction, or recite the story of how the Lord liberated them from Egypt (the retelling of which is commanded in Exodus 13:3-10, and still today occurs at the Passover seder). Many of the Psalms themselves are written in ways that aid memorization; some Psalms have a verse starting with each successive letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Other Psalms are sung at specific times of the year to commemorate certain things.

Even though we currently have what seems like limitless information available at our fingertips, it’s important to remember and celebrate the information we already have. The Lord’s faithfulness to us is second to none, and His grace and mercy toward us far exceed anything we deserve. Despite the fact that we’re bombarded with more information per day than any generation in history, don’t forget the importance and relevance of God’s actions toward us all. It’s the most important and consequential thing you’ll ever hear about, so don’t forget it, and be sure to pass it on to those around you.

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You’ve Got Me Seeing Stars

I enjoyed showing various video clips to my kids when they were little. When she was a toddler, I showed my youngest daughter a computer-generated animation accompanied by “Twinkle, twinkle little star.” It was slow-paced, so it easily held the attention of young little eyes. This particular version, about two and a half minutes long, featured an owl who looked up at the night sky and decided to fly up high to get a better look at a star hovering above.

As he flew to a great height, the star came to greet him. The two new friends frolicked along the tops of clouds for a bit, to the owl’s great enjoyment. It was utter happiness for the two, sharing these magical moments. Alas, all things come to an end, and eventually the owl began to fall back to earth as the star watched, waving goodbye, ending this brief friendship.

My daughter watched, captivated, until this part. As she saw the look in the owl’s eyes, along with the star’s farewell wave, a profound sadness came over her and she began to cry. This was a completely unexpected reaction. Of course children want to be in the presence of their own mother from a very young age, but it turns out even a child too young to write her name understands the importance of togetherness and the pain of separation in others. Communion and fellowship are hardwired into us; we need others.

After we slip from this life into the next, there are only two possibilities for how we’ll spend eternity. The first is joyful bliss in the everlasting presence of the Lord. The second is the shock and pain of isolation from Him. When we picture Hell, we often think of fire. While eternal smoke from unbelievers is described in the Bible (Revelation 14:11), I think we usually miss the fact that folks in this category have no chance of ever getting right with, and spending time with the Almighty, other than standing before Him in judgment. While Christians can rest in the idea of Christ’s love, those who reject Him will themselves be rejected and cast into an existence of separation from Him (and likely everyone else).

Just a little reminder of what’s at stake here. You might very well be the only person to speak Christ to someone else. Don’t worry about messing it up. They’re already facing the worst-case scenario: eternity separated from the Lord. You can’t make it any worse, but you can help them gain the only thing that matters. Start a conversation today.

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Living Through a Tangible Example

This coming weekend is a three-day weekend for a lot of people, and it reminds me of an annual retreat our youth group participated in years ago (and probably still does). Every President’s Day weekend our youth group went to a nearby Christian conference center for a mini retreat. Many of the other churches from our denomination’s district brought their youth groups as well. It added some excitement to the mid-winter doldrums for a lot of our high-schoolers. It was always a very uplifting time that saw many kids dedicate or re-dedicate their lives to Christ.

One year during this retreat our youth leader, Allen, took part in an annual tradition for the retreat. He arranged to make pizza available for purchase, and our youth group would then meet together (just us in a smaller setting…no other church’s youth groups) for some deep discussions.

As you may be able to imagine, a large number of teenagers can go through quite a bit of pizza. Everyone was told ahead of time to bring some extra cash specifically for the purpose of buying however many slices of pizza they’d want. Allen announced that he’d get a slice count first, then collect the cash afterward. He went methodically through the roster he brought, keeping a record of how many slices each person wanted. Upon tallying all the orders, he asked “okay, last call, does anybody want to make any changes before we call in the order?” There may have been one or two changes to the orders, but it wasn’t long before he tallied up the final count.

As everybody started pulling out their cash, he announced a surprise. An anonymous member of our church was a big fan of the effect this retreat had on our youth group, and had volunteered to pick up the tab for the entire youth group’s pizza dinner. While buying pizza may not sound like much, it was a very real and practical way to love on the kids from our church attending the retreat that year. As jaws fell open, many of the boys, especially, tried to revise their orders higher, but Allen had seen it coming and purposely double checked before announcing the news.

This was a great way to demonstrate to teenagers the concept of having their debt forgiven. While this was an infinitely smaller debt to overcome than Christ’s redemption of our souls, it was an example that struck a chord and brought a tangible joy with it.

For those who have maybe heard of Jesus but might not be real familiar with Him, He serves as the bridge for us to cross an impossible gap. You’ve probably heard of Adam and Eve. For a time, Adam and Eve walked in sinless fellowship with the Lord. It wasn’t until they sinned (went against what they knew was right in God’s eyes) that death became woven into the human experience. Only someone without sin would be able to escape the lasting consequences of death, and only Jesus Christ has lived a sinless life. Since Christ was fully man, He wasn’t impervious to death, but since He was also fully God, He was impervious to staying dead. Since death has no power over the sinless, Christ was able to stare death in the eye and do as He wished. Although His sacrifice created a way to redeem us if we accept it, all of us are still destined to live with the consequences of our past sins. Everyone reading this will one day pass from this life into the next, but only those that have accepted Christ as their savior will spend the next life with Him in heaven.

I pray you’d experience a similar example of having your debt forgiven, and gain an increased appreciation for the gift Christ offers all of us. For those that have been Christ-followers for awhile now, please pray that those who are seeking truth would find it, and that God would move mightily in their lives, and in the lives of the teens gathering for the winter retreat this weekend.

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Passing the Baton, and Time is Short

(This has been kind of a stressful week where regular routines got tossed aside and our family had to call some audibles. Part of that change meant not having much time or mental energy to devote to a blog post. My teenaged daughter was sweet, saw that I was stressed about not having the time to write something, and offered to let me use something she wrote. So without further ado, here’s the worldwide debut of my daughter’s writing skills. Thanks kiddo!)

Witnessing to people is hard. You know that’s what God tells you to do, and you can’t imagine people you know and love going to Hell, but sharing the gospel can be very difficult.

Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 that “for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Thieves come unexpected and unannounced. As Christ said in Mark 13:32, “But concerning the day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

But what if you did know? What if you knew God was coming back, say, tomorrow at 3 pm? What are some things you would do before His arrival? I know one of my top priorities would be to tell my non-Christian friends. I would not care what they thought of me because I would know, Christ’s coming back! I would just want to save them from God’s wrath before it’s too late.

Well, we don’t know when Christ is coming back. But what we do know is that sometime, anytime, Jesus IS coming back. It could be tonight, five years from now, or maybe even tomorrow at 3 pm. The possibilities are endless!

My point is, God’s coming back. Those things you would do if Christ was coming tomorrow? Do them as soon as possible, for all we know, the Lord may be coming back tonight. Don’t be caught off guard.

What are some things you want to have done before Christ returns? How can you make them happen as soon as possible?

Lord, help me to live my life as if you were coming back anytime, because no one knows the day or the hour. Amen.

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The Good, the Bad, and the Awkward

If you don’t know me, let me just fill you in on a little secret…I’m sort of a weirdo.

(I feel like I can hear a bunch of virtual “Amens!” after that statement.)

A lot of people shy away from socially awkward situations. I can’t honestly say I enjoy them all the time, but I don’t really try my hardest to make them end, either.

Case in point: over the past couple of years people have been spending an unprecedented amount of time at home. I myself didn’t mind, but without anywhere to go, the four walls seemed to close in periodically. I definitely needed to get out and get some sunshine every now and then, even if the only thing I had to do was go for a walk or do something in the yard.

One sunny day a year or two ago I went for a walk, but it was a little chilly. I put on a fleece and a windbreaker, along with a hat that covered my ears. My hands get cold on walks, so I wore a pair of gloves. Sunny days call for sunglasses, so I grabbed a pair of those too.

The neighborhood I usually walk in has a bunch of cul-de-sacs, so I can do a lot of walking without actually being very far away from home. I had walked through this neighborhood many times before, and as I headed toward one cul-de-sac, I noticed a bunch of young kids, probably 5 years old or less, along with a bunch of moms, playing out in a front yard that was decorated with streamers and balloons. As I got closer, I could see that the driveway was also decorated. Someone had used sidewalk chalk to write in big letters “Happy Birthday Charlotte!”

Truth be told, I was very glad to see kids getting together in person and having fun, rather than trying to have some kind of virtual birthday party. But I also got the idea to maybe provoke one of those socially awkward situations.

Very aware of the fact that I was dressed like some thug who was casing the neighborhood, I considered for a moment whether or not I should proceed. That was probably part of the reason I decided to go for it. Slowing down, but not stopping on my trip around the cul-de-sac, I called out “Happy birthday, Charlotte!”

I had no clue which one Charlotte was, so I just kind of waited to see what would happen. There was an odd silence for a few moments. One of the moms, who I thought rolled with it pretty well, then spoke up. “Um, she’s around back, but I’ll tell her.”

I have no idea if that mom passed along my birthday salutation, but if she did, how did that conversation go? “Who said that?” “He didn’t say his name.” “Well, what did he look like?” “Eh, kind of like some guy that’s walking around the neighborhood deciding which houses to rob.”

I don’t remember if I told my wife this story or not, so when she reads this I may have just effectively banned myself from going for solo walks around that neighborhood.

Speaking of awkward situations, we’re commanded to preach the gospel to those that haven’t heard it. We’re supposed to bring Jesus to “all nations,” including our own. That can be a very hard thing to do, especially if you’re overly concerned about the awkwardness that might come along with it! It’s a very important thing to do, though. Eternity hangs in the balance.

One thing to consider is identifying ways to make the conversation easier for the other person. In the example above, I imagine that if my wife, who’s a very outgoing and smiley person, had been with me on that walk when I wished Charlotte a happy birthday, that group of moms would probably have been much more at ease than they were with just me. Consider whether it would be beneficial to address multiple non-Christians rather than just “cornering” one.

Also, if you’re one to stare at someone with an uncomfortably piercing gaze when talking to others about Jesus, well…maybe it’s time to dial it back just a bit. It’s certainly an important topic, but a high-intensity demeanor may not be the right approach. Ultimately you’ll be the best judge of the situation, and trying anything is better than not trying at all. As long as you’re not prompting calls of “stranger danger!” you’ve got the potential to get something going.

Check out this link for eight tips about talking to others about Christ.

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It’s A Thick Blackness You Can Feel

November in northern Virginia can be a little unpredictable. Some days it’s very cold, other days it’s very mild. The 10-day forecast can vary quite a bit, so it’s a good idea to check in on it frequently.

One morning the temperature got pretty warm and a heavy fog settled over the area. When I say ‘heavy fog,” it’s hard to oversell how thick it was. On this particular morning, I headed into work well before dawn. Between the darkness and the fog, it was a unique experience. I don’t ever recall having been inside a black fog prior to that. It was a little freaky, to be honest with you. The darkness felt oppressive, and almost tangible. I imagine it’s kind of what it felt like during the plague of darkness the Egyptians encountered in Exodus chapter 10.

Well anyway, the usual commute moved a little slower than normal, and it was odd to see tail lights so close, yet still fading into the inky blackness. The route I took that morning involved a descent down a long hill, toward a traffic light at the bottom. I’d done this trip numerous times in the past, and always wanted to be at a certain point down the hill by the time the light turned yellow. That way I knew I had enough time for the next group of cars to get a green light and get through the intersection and still get there in time to take advantage of the left-hand turn arrow that came after that.

It was a strange and unsettling thing to be driving at normal speed, see numerous tail lights in front of me, many (dimmer) headlights in my mirrors, but not be able to see the faithful traffic light at the bottom of the hill.

Here we were, racing headlong into oblivion, and we couldn’t see far enough in front of us to stop if we came upon an unexpected hazard. We all gained a false sense of security in seeing others around us moving at the same speed, doing the same thing we were doing, and we all just kind of figured that since other people were doing it, it’s probably okay.

Well, thankfully I didn’t encounter any sort of hazard that morning, but if a deer had decided to venture across the road at an unfortunate time, I wouldn’t have had the time or space to do much about it.

This is where most non-believers find themselves today. They’re rushing headlong into oblivion, thinking that everything’s going to be okay because they’re in the same boat as a lot of other people. Things worked out fine for me that day, but others aren’t going to fare nearly as well for these people when they stand before the Almighty.

It’s our job to sound the alarm for them. We (Christ followers) formerly stood where they stood, and have escaped the fate they’re still rushing so quickly into: an eternity separated from fellowship with God.

People fill their time with busyness, equating being busy with doing meaningful things, thinking they’ve got plenty of time to think about the more spiritual side of things later, but in reality having no idea how much time they’ve got left to consider such things. The unimportant things of life distract from the central issue of humanity’s existence.

Christians are called to spread the reality of the situation. It’s our job to help wake them up. For their sake, I implore you to use the spiritual gifts you’ve been entrusted with. I’ve heard it said that the Creator of the universe preferred to die than to live without you. The reality is that the same holds true for all the other people out there, too. It’s up to us to let them know, so they can make their own decision.

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Why Do We Even Bother Going to Church?

What’s the point of church? Like, why do we have church?

Many people think it’s a place to bring non-believing friends, family members, or acquaintances so they can hear about God. It’s great if you can bring unchurched people to hear about God, but that’s not the main purpose for church services. When you get right down to it, church exists for believers to gather in corporate worship, be bolstered in their faith, grow in their knowledge of the Bible and the Lord, and then scatter for the purpose of executing different types of ministry on behalf of Jesus Christ.

If Christianity is a seven-day per week commitment, church is a pep talk. Church is where you go to hear one of God’s representatives proclaim the truth. It’s where you call sin “sin.” You’re supposed to walk away from church feeling uplifted and hopeful, but also a little convicted and a little uncomfortable. If you’ve got a pretty good handle on living the right kind of life for God, you should walk away from church with an increased sense of urgency for all the people that still need to hear about Christ.

There’s a problem that’s been happening with churches for a couple of thousand years now, though. There are too many churches that don’t want to be the bad guy by calling something “sin.” Some churches don’t want to touch controversial topics. Some don’t want to offend anybody. Others just want to do “feel good” messages.

A couple of seasons back I bought a new garden hose. The ones I had been using kept breaking near the connection where you screw the hose onto the spigot, so I bought one that had a more robust connection. It was great, I’ve still got it, and it’s still very sturdy. The problem is that I left it attached to the spigot too long, and now it won’t unscrew from the spigot.

I don’t know if it’s because minerals in the water precipitated out and solidified on the connection, or if the two different metals somehow corroded together, but the end result is the same: the two different items that were very distinct before have now become, for all intents and purposes, a single entity that’s now a liability. I shut off the water to the spigot, but can’t fully drain the hose for the winter. Assuming it doesn’t sustain any permanent damage through the winter it should still be able to function when things warm back up, but the hose has lost some of its value (I can’t for example, unscrew it and attach it to my house’s other spigot).

The reason the church exists is to act as the “salt and light” for the world. That is, it’s the means by which the earth’s decay will be slowed. The church exists to provide moral clarity for the world and to point the world to Christ. I will fully acknowledge that a greater percentage of people will ignore or choose to turn their backs on Christ than will follow Him, but that should not influence the Church’s purpose. To be effective at preserving the world, the Church must stand in stark contrast to it. Have no doubt about this: one day God will look at the state of the world and how badly its morality has decayed, He’ll look at the Church and how watered down some teachings have become, and He’ll say “that’s enough. I’m pulling all my children out of there.”

At that point, the earth will have no true church left; it will have to start over again with zero believers. There will be plenty of people that have attended church for years but have not actually embraced Christ as Savior. The earth will still have church members who are more concerned with social events and community garage sales than they are with evangelism, and those people will be confused about why so many parishioners are gone while they’ve been left behind.

Since the “salt and light,” or “preservative” has been removed from the situation, it’s at this point that there’s no longer anything holding back the acceleration of society’s moral decay. To everyone that’s left, God will say “you know what? I gave you plenty of chances. Have it your way, do whatever you want, but I’ve pulled all my people out.”

A note of encouragement to those of you that are pastors/priests/teachers. Those that have a leadership or teaching role when it comes to God’s word are going to be held to a higher standard when they stand before the Almighty, so now’s not the time to compromise for the sake of appeasing earthly voices. We’re counting on you to say it like God wants you to say it. Don’t water things down. Don’t talk yourself into thinking that the Bible means something other than what you know it’s saying. If you make a leap like that, you’re going to have to answer for it someday.

I could apply brute force to that hose to try to get it off, but by doing that I’ll run the risk of twisting and breaking the pipe it’s connected to. I can apply heat to try to cause differential swelling to break the hold, but that risks damage to the hose itself. I can try applying lubricants and penetrants, but odds are that I’m going to need to combine that method with another. In any case, there’s going to be some pain and discomfort associated with breaking that “merged” entity back into two different ones. It would’ve been much better if I’d simply removed the hose from time to time to ensure it wasn’t bonding too closely with the spigot. Let’s take the lesson here and make sure the Church’s teachings are distinct from the audience we’re trying to reach and aren’t getting too bonded to them. It will be a lot more painful to break them apart than it will be to just ensure they stay separate.

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A Bold, Bright Future Lies Ahead

Selfies start younger and younger these days

It can be tough to look at generations younger than you and think with confidence “this is who will one day lead the charge for spreading the gospel.” You know what, though? The same thing was probably thought about your generation at some point.

It’s exciting to see God work. From the Bible, we know that the world will get darker and increasingly hostile to Christianity. We also know the Gospel will continue to be spread, and that God wins in the end. Well if today’s not the end, God must intend to empower tomorrow’s Christians to continue doing His work effectively. He knew about radio and TV evangelism programs before the technology was even invented. He saw social media coming before anyone ever thought of it. The communication essentials of the future are already old news to Him, and He’ll pre-position followers to use them for His glory.

Another exciting thing to think about is that you, today, can play a part in future generations shining the light of Christ. The efforts you exert today may take a long time to bear fruit, but many a loud Christian voice once spent time listening to their Sunday school teacher, a Vacation Bible School volunteer, or a mentor that simply took an interest at a crucial time in their lives. I doubt the majority of churches would turn away new volunteers from their kids’ ministry, youth programs, or young adult projects.

This may be an odd way to think about it, but I’m part of an endangered species: I remember what life was like before the internet intruded into it. What’s neat to think about is how, even in spite of how much the world has changed, God still weaves experiences and encounters together in peoples’ lives with the knowledge that it’s heading somewhere bigger in the future. We didn’t formerly have a need for people to make Christian sound bites or short videos, but now we have YouTube and Vimeo. It used to be that a Christian “influencer” meant something totally different, but now they live on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. These are all things that people like me could learn, but we’ll never be digital natives like the generations younger than us.

The beautiful thing about that is it opens up limitless opportunities for people that are Christ followers, yet don’t feel at home in a traditional church setting. This creates a new space for innovation, where new ways emerge to spread the same essential message.

This one goes out to all those that never quite fit in or felt comfortable in church, but who still want to pursue Christ. People are hungry for what’s real, but they don’t know where to go to find it. If people don’t want to walk into a church, is there a way for you to bring the church to them? Above all, the most important thing is that Christ is preached. If you can come up with a new way to get that message to the people that haven’t heard it, you may have found the exact thing God created you to do. If you choose to do it, you may well be a blessing to others and at the same time be blessed in return.

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Quick Hit: The Power of Perception

I recently came across a thought-provoking quote from John MacArthur:

“Satan continues his efforts to make sin less offensive, heaven less appealing, hell less horrific, and the Gospel less urgent.”

It is impossible to put into words exactly how important it is that people make the switch from Hell to Heaven. This quote reminds us that even though the world continues to reject Christ and that its rejection of Him will become more emphatic, all Christians have received spiritual gifts and that if they haven’t already received a commission about how to use them, they will someday.

While nobody can predict how God will use them, He’ll put those gifts to work to bring revival, to bring comfort, to work salvation, to build up other Christians, and to spread the gospel. God can counter each and every portion of Satan’s advances in that quote, but He does it through people like you. The challenge is that you decide whether you take part in the calling God has presented to you. Try to live your life in a manner that when you come to the end of it, you won’t look back and say “I wish I’d tried harder to fulfill the calling God gave me.”

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Quick Hit #2

This past weekend I watched a movie where two men were being held captive by terrorists and forced to build something their captors wanted.

One of them, bemoaning his situation and ailing from a medical condition, complained to his fellow captive “They could kill you, they’re gonna kill me either way, and even if they don’t, I’ll probably be dead in a week.”

His companion, looking at the situation through a different lens, replied “well then this is a very important week for you, isn’t it?”

None of us knows exactly how much time we have left; it could be minutes, decades, or anywhere in between. The time we have here on earth is the only time that “counts” for making an eternal difference. Once we close our eyes for the last time and take our last breath here in this life, we’ll no longer be able to help save souls or build God’s Kingdom. The attitude we should have as Christians is “well then, the rest of this lifetime is very important, isn’t it?”

Are we making the most of the opportunities we have?