Thank You: It's NOT just the thought that counts

“As the Lord loveth a cheerful giver, so likewise a cheerful thanksgiver.”

John Eliff

  This is a little embarrassing, yet, I’ve found when you need to do something, dive in. It’s an area that the Spirit has convicted me about. Godly friends have encouraged me, telling me they’ve seen growth in this area of my Christian walk, yet I know I have a long way to go. Preaching about ministry at Bill Lincoln’s Installation Service a few weeks ago made me aware that I owe you an apology. What’s my struggle? Gratitude, telling others I appreciate them, saying “thank you.” Unfortunately, it’s not one of my strengths. A growing spirit of gratitude is truly the Spirit working in me. Forward steps of sanctification are a God-thing in my life.

  Please understand, I’m not excusing my failure. I’m an adult. Children are victims, adults are volunteers. That means that adults must take responsibility for who they are, and then by God’s grace, choose to change.

  So, this is also for parents who want to help their children become godly adults. Gratitude wasn’t modeled for me. It may seem hard to believe, but I wasn’t taught to say, “Thank you!” I can’t remember ever being encouraged to write a thank you note. While it may have happened, I don’t remember anyone in my home expressing gratitude of any kind.

  But what was modeled was harshness, pettiness and a constant barrage of criticism. Nothing was ever good enough. There was no affirmation or encouragement. Because it wasn’t modeled during those formative years, it’s a missing part that I’ve had to learn and develop as an adult. Please help your children’s future by encouraging and modeling gratitude today.   

  And wonderfully, God blessed me with a wife who has a strength where I have a weakness. Add to that, through the years Jane has lovingly put up with my ineptness in this area.

  The bottom line though is that I’ve failed you, terribly in this area. Over the years, I’ve not told you nearly enough as my church family how grateful I am for you! Though I haven’t verbalized it, words are not enough to express how much I love our church and how thankful I am for you!

  I know that I’m rough around the edges, yet you are so continually gracious and kind to me. I’ve often quipped, “God has a sense of humor – He put me in the ministry.” Many colleagues in ministry ooze kindness and graciousness. It’s not my default setting. Yet, even though I may not say it, I am so thankful for you! Here are just a few of the many reasons.

  You’re gracious when I teach the tough stuff from Scripture. At Grace, we’re committed to expository preaching and systematically working through a book of the Bible. Because of that approach, we often deal with truths in Scripture that’d be easier to skip. They confront us, rattle us and make us uncomfortable. Yet, we can’t dodge them because they’re part of God’s written revelation. When some of my friends preach through a tough text, they get push back. Not me. It’s very rare that I have anyone ever question what I shared in a sermon or a Pastor’s Pen. In fact, quite the opposite. Often, I’m thanked or encouraged for saying the “hard things.”

  You’re so kind to my family. Then, I have friends in the ministry whose wives or children are brutalized by their churches. Some have become so discouraged that they left the church and even the ministry.  

  As you know, Jane is not just my wife, she’s my best friend. I don’t know if I could stay in the ministry if I went through what some of my friends have. Yet, you are so kind to Jane! My wife is not just the “pastor’s wife,” she’s surrounded by loving sisters and brothers. It’s been very, very rare for something harsh or unkind to be said either to or about Jane. 

  Add to that, you allowed my children to be…children. They weren’t and aren’t perfect, yet you’ve been so kind to them. Only very, very rarely (like almost never) did we hear, “Pastor’s kids should…” When they were young and we had ministry responsibilities which required both Jane and me to attend, many were willing to babysit. Our children were continually encouraged and affirmed. That’s why they love and appreciate you because you’ve been so kind and loving to them. Recently, when Aaron got married in Taiwan, our family was overwhelmed at your thoughtfulness.

  You encourage me to take breaks. Periodically, I’ll have a pastor friend call me who is being criticized about his vacation or taking time off. Yet, I’m encouraged to rest, take time off, and go on vacation…not do more.

  Our godly leadership is a continual blessing! In my thirty years at Grace, I’ve been so blessed with godly, committed leadership. In many churches, leadership meetings are huge arguments and fights. It’s not uncommon for people to leave in a huff. While there are strong opinions, differences and disagreements among our leadership, we’ve been free of politicking, and carnal, self-willed agendas. I’m grateful for godly leaders who think outside of the box, who can differ without being divisive. They know how to have an opinion without being opinionated. Sometimes there’s a need for confidentiality. We’re blessed with those who practice discretion.

  Over the years I’ve appreciated being privately pulled aside and graciously corrected because I was off track. And over the years, I’ve been able to graciously correct, yet not offend. It’s living out, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend…” (Proverbs 27:6). 

  In 1988 when our little family pulled into Burlington, I never imagined that God’s plan would be for us to serve the Lord here for 30 years. Now I can’t imagine serving the Lord anywhere else! I’m very blessed. I have the greatest church family! I love you and am so thankful for each of you…even though I drop the ball and don’t tell you enough. Thank you for putting up with my shortcomings. By His grace, I’m growing in this area.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Light in the Persecuted Church

“The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.”

Carl F.H. Henry

  How many Bibles do you own? If you add a version of the Bible that you have on your computer and smart phone, how many do you have? If you needed a Bible, how much trouble would it be for you to purchase one?

  Recently, Chinese social media users began noticing that they couldn’t find Bibles listed on some of their nation’s most popular e-commerce platforms. Shoppers who searched the word “Bible” on internet retailers began receiving a “no results” response. Why? The Chinese government had banned Bibles from online purchase but only Christianity is being targeted.

  Among China’s main religions, which include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and folk beliefs, Christianity is unique for having its writings banned from commercial brick-and-mortar bookstores. Until the internet, Bibles could only be obtained in church bookstores but Christians rightly suspicious of being seen purchasing a Bible were wary of purchasing of them publicly. Sadly, millions of Chinese now have no means of attaining a Bible.

  This latest crackdown on China’s Christians comes two months after the government began implementing other regulations on faith. Now religious groups must have government approval for any sort of religious activity, including using one’s personal home for a religious practice, publishing religious materials, calling oneself a pastor, or studying theology. One provincial government engaged in a multi-year campaign to remove crosses from the tops of churches. Last fall, the Communist party reportedly visited Christian households in the Jiangxi province, forcibly removing dozens of Christian symbols from living rooms and replacing them with pictures of China’s President Xi Jinping.

  In Iran, Islamic Clerics are warning against the spread of Christianity.  House churches are hunted down. Conversion to Christianity is viewed as an action against national security. Still Christianity has been growing at a fast rate in the last couple of decades in Iran, which greatly concerns the Islamic government. Mohabat News, an Iranian Christian News Agency, reports that this high rate of conversion is occurring despite the rigorous Islamic indoctrination of the youth. Waves of arrests and harassment of Christian converts is taking place with many facing long prison sentences.  

  World Magazine (03-31-18) recently reported on the work God is doing in Vietnam. Since 1975, when the United States left Vietnam, the evangelical population in Vietnam has multiplied nearly tenfold from 160,000 to 1.57 million. With the Fall of Saigon, the Communist government kicked out foreign missionaries, commandeered Christian schools and hospitals, and closed churches. Some Vietnamese pastors fled the country on U.S. military planes, leaving their flocks without shepherds.

  Pastor Huy Le of Grace Baptist Church, who was 7 years old at the time, recalls the hunger and suffering his family faced those first few years. The North plundered the resource-rich South and implemented collectivist rice farming, which led to extreme food shortages. Local officials often called in Le’s father, then the pastor at Grace Baptist Church, for interrogations. Authorities closed all the Baptist churches except for Grace Baptist (which only experienced a temporary closure). Le believes it was spared because of its location in Ho Chi Minh City and because his father decided to stay.

  Pastor John Nguyen (not his real name) a house church pastor in Ho Chi Minh City, grew up hating the North Vietnamese. But God worked in his heart and he determined to plant a church in the heart of Vietnamese Communism. He moved to Hanoi and started a small seven-member house church. By 1998, it had grown to 20. Often God kept Nguyen from getting caught by the authorities. Police showed up at Bible training minutes after he stepped out of the room. Once while walking to a training class, he saw police rushing toward the meeting location, so he stayed back. For a time, he moved his Sunday service to 5 a.m. so it’d be over by the time the police started their workday. Pastor Nguyen said, “After being persecuted severely, more churches have been planted. Some places only had one church, but after persecution, it became five. Facing difficulties cannot deter the growth of the church.”   

  God is working! The gospel is reaching the unreached and seemingly unreachable. Some of His greatest work is taking place in what are considered America’s enemies. That’s always been the case for the gospel.

  In Acts 2, Peter preached the gospel to the very ones who crucified Jesus weeks before. The national enemy of those Jews were Romans, yet Paul longed to share the gospel in Rome. Eventually, he went, not as a missionary but as a prisoner and was probably martyred, according to some accounts by the Emperor Nero.

  Jesus said, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you…Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:10-12, 44). 

  Are you obeying? Do you love your enemies? Even our nation’s enemies? Loving your enemy means you pray for them. It means forgiving them. It means praying that God will send out more laborers to work in His harvest fields. Will you pray that God will send more laborers? Will you pray that God will send them out from our own church? 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Are YOU investing in the future?

“You will never influence the world by trying to be like it.”

    Today is a very fulfilling day for me. Twenty-five years ago, I didn’t see this day coming. That speaks more to my lack of faith than anything else. This morning I’m at the Brick Church in Walworth and I have the privilege of preaching for the Installation Service for my good friend, Bill Lincoln.

  God’s work and hand on Bill’s life is nothing short of miraculous. Many years ago, Bill’s wife, Kathy, found our church. Though Bill knew Christ and had been active in his church as a teen, with the pressures of work and raising a family, he’d dropped out of church. Though he was very content with his wife and daughters attending church, it just wasn’t for him. But Bill started periodically attending. That also speaks powerfully of a godly, praying wife who doesn’t nag but prays that God will work…and He did.

  Bill and I became close friends. His workload was very heavy, and he was trying to balance it all out, and he’d fallen out of the habit of church attendance. When he’d miss church, I just let him know that he was missed. Our job isn’t to nag. The Holy Spirit always knows how to get our attention. We do need to balance that out with letting folk know that we love and care for them.

  God began to work in Bill’s heart and he began to grow spiritually. Eventually, he began assisting with our church teens. He was very good at it. The teens loved “Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln.” He went on to teach an adult Bible study and eventually, Bill became a leader in our church and chairman of our Body of Deacons. Satan knows how to attack and there were some very deep waters for Bill and Kathy, but God is always faithful!

  The Spirit began to tug at Bill’s heart for vocational ministry. Though he was past midlife, at a time when many are looking toward retirement, Bill enrolled in Moody Bible Institute and began studying for vocational ministry. The Lord opened the door for Bill to go on staff at the Brick Church. Last year, they lost their senior pastor and have now called Bill to be their senior pastor. Wow! What an exciting ride God often has for us!

  None of us are “self-made.” We all stand on the backs of those who came before us, who loved the Lord and faithfully served Him. None of us grow in grace or make steps forward spiritually without someone else investing in us. It takes time, commitment and sometimes money to invest spiritually in someone’s life, yet, there’s nothing more fulfilling!

  God has so blessed me! I literally have friends around the globe that God has allowed me to invest in their lives. Often, I was completely unaware of all that God was going to do or how He was going to direct their steps. And I am the product of the many who loved, prayed for and invested in me.   

  Recently, my youth pastor and dear friend, Kent Richards, went Home to be with the Lord after a long bout with Parkinson’s. I am truly where I am today because of Kent. He was one of the most Christlike men I’ve ever met, but as a teen, I made his life miserable. By God’s grace, Kent never gave up on me. He prayed for me, loved me and showed me who Jesus was by his life. After the loss of my Mom and dealing with an addicted Dad, I was so angry and bitter at God. Kent was one of the few people that I could candidly talk with and God used him as an anchor for my soul.

  Recently, I stumbled on a blog that Philip Yancey wrote about his own life of growing up fatherless in Atlanta. Philip and I grew up in the same church though he’s several years older. He mentioned one of the men that God used in his life, Bob Crain. Bob’s wife, Harriette, was my Mom’s best friend. For many years Bob and Harriette would have missionary kids live with them and poured themselves into countless young people. After my Mom was killed, they looked for ways to interact with me.

  Bob was in the Navy during World War II and even had a ship blown out from under him. God had blessed, and he was a successful businessman. Yet, Bob Crain’s real business was serving Jesus Christ. You know how children become interested in various things as they grow up. For some reason, at one point I became fascinated with rocks. Bob was one of the few adults that I could talk to about it. I remember a picture that he took of me as I am holding up a special rock in the mountains of North Carolina.

  And Bob was tough. If you blew it, he let you know it. You’ve never been chewed out until you’ve been chewed out by Bob Crain. He didn’t blow a gasket, he was just firm and let you know where you were wrong. He was one of the few men during those formative years of my life who could lovingly correct. Bob knew that sometimes the greatest gift you can give a young person is confrontation because you have a vision for the long game.

  David (Dad) Cummins had that same gift. I remember one time when I was responsible for mowing the lawn when he was out of town. I did an okay job (it was done but sloppy). Dad didn’t chew me out or go in a rage, but he let me know that he was disappointed. It’d have been easier for me if he’d yelled. Forty years later, I can still remember that “look.” It taught me that if your responsible and a job is worth doing, do it well. It also taught me that if someone is depending on you, don’t disappoint them.

  Though I longed for it, I never had a relationship with my own father. God used Psalms 27:10 in my life: “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.” What I lacked from a biological father and with the loss of my mother, the Lord richly provided for me with many spiritual Dads and Moms. 

  By God’s grace, I seek to give to others what has been so graciously given to me. I know that I don’t measure up but I’m trusting that the Lord will take even my shortcomings and use it for His glory! So, who are you investing in? Please don’t waste your life just living for self. Make a difference in the next generation. Make a difference in eternity!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Easter means living in Resurrection Power!

“Perhaps the transformation of the disciples of Jesus is the greatest evidence of all for the resurrection. At the time of His death they were very much afraid. Peter went to the extent of vehemently denying that he knew Christ. But in a few days this same Peter fearlessly proclaimed the Gospel in the same city. There had to have been a sufficient reason for such a transformation.” John Stott

  In the days prior to Easter, well-meaning Christians often post on Facebook that Easter is more than bunnies, colored eggs, family events, or new Sunday outfits…and it is. Yet, I think even believers miss the significance of Easter. Often, we act as if Easter is essentially that Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave. We might go so far as to connect that His resurrection means our salvation is complete, our sins paid for, and our forgiveness and eternity in heaven are now assured. That’s all true. Yet, there’s so much more, so much that we unfortunately miss.

  In my circle of relationships, there is no one more than my Mother that I’d love to have alive again. It’s been almost fifty years since she was killed. It would be wonderful beyond words to have her back. BUT it wouldn’t radically change my life or turn my world upside down. Having my Mom would essentially be little more than another addition to my life as it is now. That’s not what Jesus’ resurrection is to be for the believer.

  The Apostle Paul longs to experience “the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). The disciples were paralyzed by fear after Christ’s death, yet after His resurrection there’s an unexplainable transformation. On Pentecost they laid it all on the line. It’s why, too, we find those early Christians described as those, “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:6). Jesus’ resurrection means our world is turned upside down. It’s to be lifechanging. We’re to be world changers.

  But for the average believer, Christ’s resurrection might as well be little more than chocolate bunnies and spring flowers. His resurrection hasn’t radically changed our lives. It’s hardly resulted in more than a yawn. So, no wonder much of the world scoffs at the resurrection. Why would they consider it as something radical? If it’s done so little to change us, why should they even consider it as a viable, lifechanging option?  

  Where do we begin if we want to experience resurrection transformation? We must return to the Cross. The Christian life begins with Jesus’ death. There’s no new life without the believer’s death to the old life. A constant, yet oft ignored teaching of the New Testament is the crucified life. Jesus repeatedly commanded His followers, “take up your cross and follow Me” (Matthew 10:38). A cross means death. Jesus was commanding us to die to our old nature and self. The Apostle Paul expounds on this death to the flesh and the resurrection life in Romans 6.

  It’s only after death to self that we can have resurrection life reality. Christ’s resurrection wasn’t taught in the early church as a symbolic representation of wonderful higher spiritual truths like, “We must always keep hope.” It was taught as a paradigm-shattering, impossible to dismiss fact that changed everything. No longer would life or death cause fear. Because of their experience on that first Easter, they believed that as our Risen Lord said, “Because I live—you will live also.” (John 14:19) This gives us something to cling to in life—cling to even when the death that comes for us all—comes. Jesus rose again, and we will rise too!

  Without Christ’s resurrection, the Bible is just another ancient work of literature…that makes no sense. It’s only because of the Jesus’ resurrection that Scripture makes sense. It makes sense because Jesus is the focus—His birth, life, ministry, atoning death and victorious resurrection is what Scripture is all about. The key to understanding the written Word is Jesus, the living Word or the “Word made flesh” (John 1:14). Christ’s resurrection is the key to understanding it all and why it must change us!

  For example, the Jewish sacrificial system only makes sense if it points to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The Passover meal only makes sense when paired with the Resurrection. The promise of Abraham’s descendants blessing the whole world only makes sense if you realize this happens through Christians sharing the good news of our Risen Lord. It’s only in the resurrected life that God’s Word makes sense and becomes life-altering.

  Many Christians fail to read the Bible. That leaves them living under the dead man of the flesh. God’s Word plugs us into resurrection power, giving us a new life direction. Instead of a new life, many believers live little more than a zombie like existence, dead but alive. They feed on the decomposing things of the old nature, rather than the living Word of Scripture.

  The resurrection is the beginning of the exchanged life. Christ’s resurrection is the source of the power that you can experience in your own life, every moment every day. The same power that brought Jesus from death to life is available to each believer. Freedom from sin and guilt, and hope in Jesus that the resurrection produced brings joy and peace. Because of the resurrection we can experience joy and peace that remain constant despite life’s circumstances. We see beyond this life to eternity and the God who has ultimate control over life and always acts according to what’s best for us. Because of the resurrection, we’re confident in our Father’s love and don’t need to fear the future. When we encounter trouble, we can trust God to lead us through it and accomplish His purpose in the process.

  Christ’s resurrection is much more than He’s alive. It’s that we too are alive for all eternity! Easter means that we can live the resurrected life!  

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.