Sunday, April 30, 2023

Not just volunteers, servants of the Lord

“Don’t assume you have to be extraordinary to be used by God. 
You don’t have to have exceptional gifts, talents, abilities, or connections. God specializes in using ordinary people whose limitations and weaknesses make them ideal showcases for His greatness and glory.”   Nancy Leigh DeMoss                   

  April is National Volunteer Month. It began in Canada in 1943 and came to the States in 1974. It took on a new energy with President George Bush’s 1990 “Points of Light” speech encouraging volunteerism. 
  At Grace, we are so thankful for volunteers, yet we’re not just volunteers. We’re called to something much greater and with much more significance. As believers, we are serving the Lord Jesus Christ. It goes back to an upper room where Jesus took on a slave’s task and washed His disciples’ feet.
  After our Lord had washed their feet, He makes a shocking statement: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet” (John 13:17). He was their Lord. Today Jesus would be “the boss.” You’d have thought that Jesus would have said, “Now wash my feet,” but He doesn’t. Instead, He urges them to do the one thing that was hard to do, that they didn’t want to do – serve each other.
  It’s easy to serve the boss or whoever is in charge. It’s easy to serve our families, whether our spouses or children or even our grandchildren. That’s natural. It’s not natural to serve those that you’re not “naturally” related to. In fact, it’s unnatural. Yet, as Christ-followers, we are supernaturally related. Because of the cross, we’re brothers and sisters in Christ. No one becomes a Christian by serving, yet Christians are saved to serve. A believer who doesn’t serve the Lord and others has missed God’s will and is an anomaly.
  It can be difficult to say exactly what a servant does, but you know one when you see one. It is hard to get a good definition of what servanthood is, but you know what it is when you experience it. Today when we’re honoring and showing special appreciation to all of the volunteers at Grace Church, we don’t dare attempt to list them out – there are so many who serve the Lord here at Grace that we knew that we’d overlook some.
  In that upper room lesson, Jesus teaches us that serving Him is more often than not, humble and unnoticed. For example, when was the last time that you noticed the restaurant worker clearing and wiping tables as you were dining out? You probably didn’t…and that’s what Jesus has called us to. Very few of His servants are famous as this world counts fame. Few of them are great. There is no reason that you’d know any of them but they make a difference in eternity. What does it mean to serve the Lord?
  We serve an audience of One. It’s a repeated theme of Scripture. In our occupations, marriages and homes, community and church, or wherever – we are first to be serving the Lord. We do what we do for Him. If no one notices, He always notices. It’s so freeing and helps keep our motivation in check. Our sinful hearts want to be noticed. Yet when we serve to be noticed, we lose being noticed by the One who ultimately counts.
  Being a servant begins with an attitude not an action. Being a servant doesn’t start with what you do, it begins with the attitude of your heart. The most important attitude is that of love. No service is acceptable to the Lord without love. Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
  Service without love is drudgery. It often can breed resentment and pride. Yet love for God purifies our service and lightens the burdens that we face in this life as we do the Lord’s work. It’s not a coincidence that Paul’s extended treatment of love in 1 Corinthians 13 comes in the middle of a section where he is teaching the church about the use of spiritual gifts and serving the Lord in their local church community.
  Servants come in all sizes, all shapes, and all colors. Those who serve the Lord are some of the most ordinary people in the world. Mannford George Guchki said, “The servant of God may be a very ordinary person with a very ordinary manner of life.” No one is too young or too old. It was a young servant girl that God used to bring General Namaan to Himself (2 Kings 5). A little fellow giving up his lunch was used by Jesus to feed 5,000 (John 6). Two of the individuals who first saw Baby Jesus were senior senior saints, Simeon and Anna (Luke 2). No one is too young or too old to serve the Lord. Our retirement program is literally out of this world!
  Anyone can be a servant if they have a servant’s heart. What is it that makes the difference between being a servant and not being a servant? Is it mowing a neighbor’s lawn? Is it taking a meal to someone who is sick? Is it giving money to those in need? No, because you can mow a lawn with a servant’s heart or you can do it out of a sense of obligation. You can make a meal because you want to serve somebody, or you can do it because you want to win favor and have them praise you. You can give money because you really want to help, or you can give money in order to curry favor with somebody. The same action can be the action of a servant or the action of a proud, self-serving person. What makes the difference is the motivation inside your heart. When we do what we do as to the Lord, it’s so freeing!
  Some believers will find it easier to be a servant than others. Perhaps because of our background, temperament or even position in life, some find it easier to serve. Yet, God’s Word commands us all to be servants whether we find it easy or difficult.
  The Lord Jesus is the model of being a servant for us. There are two verses we ought to tattoo on our souls. Mark 10:45, “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” and Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Why did He come? He was a servant and came to serve. Look nearly anywhere in the Gospels and you will find Jesus serving. He’s our example. We are to be like Him. We are to serve because He first served us!
  We’re so thankful for those who serve the Lord at Grace! It’s a privilege to honor you! You’re following in the footsteps of our Savior! 

Can we help you spiritually? 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. 

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

If that's the worst thing...

"Life is 10 percent what you make it 
and 90 percent how you take it.”   
                                                                                            Irving Berlin                                    

 
Well, spring has sprung and it’s allergy season…though it seems like most of my life is allergy season. If we have an early morning meeting, you might suggest that I cut back a pack or two. The first part of my morning is often spent hacking and coughing. That’s often followed by uncontrolled sneezing. And no, I’m not a smoker. I’ve been battling this since I was a child. This year though does seem to be a bit worse.
  Then, my 2012 Camry seems to want to nickel and dime me to the poorhouse. It was in the shop a few weeks ago for an O2 sensor. I didn’t even know that it had an O2 sensor. Apparently, it wasn’t the O2 sensor but the catalytic converter. And did I mention that I’m having to replace my antiquated computer? I’m considering a bank robbing ministry but orange really isn’t my color…besides, Jane refuses to drive…
  In the parable of the Sower, Jesus talks about God’s Word being choked out of our lives. “This is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). We tend to focus on the temptation and struggles with riches, probably because for most of us, we don’t think it’s our struggle. We miss though the choking out by “the cares of the world.” That’s the normal life struggles we all go through like car problems, allergies or computers wearing out. The list is endless.
  All of us have those days when we can relate to the Kindergarten teacher who was helping one of her students that was having trouble putting on his boots, and asked his teacher for help. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn’t want to go on. Finally they got both boots on. She grimaced when the little boy said, “They're on the wrong feet.”
  Sure enough, they were. The teacher kept her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the correct feet. The little boy then announced, “These aren’t my boots.” The teacher sighed and pulled the boots off. The little guy then said, “They're my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear them.” The teacher felt like crying, but she mustered up the strength to wrestle the boots back onto his feet. “Now,” she asked, “where are your mittens?” The child piped up, “I stuffed them in my boots...”
  If that’s the worst thing that happened to me, I’ve had a good day. Did you know that today 110 people will die in a car accident. Today some 49,000 will receive a cancer diagnosis and today nearly 600,000 will die from some type of cancer. This year nearly 830,000 marriages will end in divorce. Some 37 million Americans over 12 years of age are illegal drug users. 100,000 will die of a drug overdose this year. Those are some of the more common maladies that we face. Probably, this week you’ll hear about a friend or loved one dealing with one of them. Hopefully, it won’t be you.
  Yet, think about the petty stuff we whine about. I’m guilty. The other day I was driving in downtown Burlington and someone began to pull out right in front of me. I had to slam on my brakes. My hand immediately went to my horn. I didn’t want to have a wreck. It was a warm day and my windows were down. And though they were in the wrong, they called me an obscenity. It really ticked me off. I had to pray and ask the Lord to give me a quiet heart because my flesh wanted to give them a piece of my mind (which I can’t afford to lose). But there was no accident. It was just one nasty word from someone who I probably scared, too.
  My point is that most of us need a huge dose of perspective. I know that I can certainly use one from time to time. Most of the things that irritate us, frustrate or anger us – just aren’t that big of a deal – particularly in the grand scheme of things. Most of us get irritated, frustrated or angry because we’re too focused on one person – ourselves. It’s amazing the more we become focused on God’s will and plan, instead of our little inconveniences, the less that the trivial bothers us.
  An indication of this is what are we primarily focused on. Our world is negative and chronically focused on bad news and what’s wrong…and there is a lot of wrong in this world. BUT the God who rules this world has a lot right going on. It’s going on all around us. We just miss it.
  Because we’ve been so contaminated in our outlook by a sin-filled world, we miss what our Heavenly Father is doing and what’s right in the world. A good test of what our outlook is: Do you tend to see what’s wrong or what’s right? Do you see more of the good or bad? Do you focus on the negative or positive?
  We could probably more easily justify being negative if this was all permanent. For the child of God, the very worst of this world is temporary. As a believer, I’ve got a new body waiting for me that doesn’t have allergies. And if you’ve committed your life to Christ, you’ve got a new one waiting for you, too.
  Jesus didn’t just want us to be focused on going to heaven. He wants us to bring heaven or His Kingdom of heaven here. We do that by having His perspective. We do that by seeing God’s hand in this world. We do that by being grateful. We do that by being encouragers and helping others to see God’s working here. You see, my best day wasn’t yesterday and it’s not today. It’s tomorrow! It’s as the blind hymnwriter, Fanny Crosby wrote:

  And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace.
And tell the story—Saved by grace.

  That’s the perspective that we all need because that’s the real world!  

Can we help you spiritually? 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. 



Sunday, April 16, 2023

Kings, Congress & the Gospel

“Our representative democracy is not working because the Congress that is supposed to represent the voters does not respond to their needs.” Shirley Chisholm

Another election is done. Already the rhetoric and gearing up for 2024 has begun. There will be promises of programs and economic resurgence.
  One of the most common ones is a promise of tax cuts. It’s “red meat” for a naïve constituency. Anyone with a basic understanding of finances knows that you can never cut what is coming in unless you first cut what must go out. Until there are cuts in programs and spending, there will never be lasting tax cuts. Unfortunately, when our elected leaders attempt to make the most basic cuts, special interest groups fight for those programs like two dogs fighting for the last bone.  
  None of this is new. It shows once again the relevancy of the Bible. This morning we’re continuing our study of 1 Samuel. When the people of Israel demanded a king, Samuel warned them of the cost – the king would take and take and take, and then he would take some more (1 Samuel 8:11-18). God knew the propensity of government leaders to pad their own pockets. It's why Old Testament Law included limits and prohibited them from living at a level above the people they ruled.
  God-ordained government. His plan was for it to benefit and protect its citizens. But government without God takes from and harms its citizens. America’s founding fathers knew this and sought to limit our government.
  In spite of God’s commands Israel’s kings soon were living like “royalty.” It happened in ancient Israel. It’s happening in America.  
  The founders of our country held to a Judeo-Christian worldview. They knew that when laws are subject to the whims of the powerful, its citizens lose rights and freedoms. As the kings of ancient Israel failed to live under God’s laws, Congress has benefits that they’ve given themselves that the average person can’t even dream of. Yet, God planned for government to live at the same economic level and under the same laws as those it governed. If today’s members of Congress had to live like the rest of us, many of our current problems would be solved.
  Please understand this is not partisan and is true of anyone in Congress. For example, even a freshman in Congress makes more than airline pilots, dentists and nearly makes what a doctor makes though in Congress no education or experience is required. Admittedly, there should be realistic income for setting the laws and running the country. Yet, being a member of Congress includes a minimum annual paycheck of $174,000 which is more than twice as high as the average private-sector salary of $73,000.
  Healthcare. Millions of Americans are anxious about the cost of their healthcare, but not members of Congress, their staffs and other federal employees. They enjoy special health care privileges denied to the rest of us. Members of Congress have a large portion of their health insurance subsidized by the public despite making more than four times than those at the poverty level. And unlike doctors and patients in other federal health programs, congressional and federal employees, as well as the doctors and hospitals that care for them, are not drowning in a sea of regulations. The increasingly unintelligible rules, regulations, and guidelines afflicting Medicare largely are absent from their healthcare program.
  Insider Trading. Despite passing the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, Congress gutted the primary disclosure component. While still making it difficult to make trades on inside information, this means a member of Congress doesn’t have to publicly disclose his/her trades and potential insider knowledge. Perhaps that’s why some 50% of Congress is made up of millionaires, compared with only 1% of America as a whole. How do you become a multi-millionaire earning $174,000 annually?
  Retirement Benefits. According to figures from the Census Bureau, the average Social Security recipient will net $15,000 a year in benefits while a public workers' pension will average around $26,000. By contrast, a retired member of Congress who's served 20 years will average $59,000 annually in pension benefits. On top of that, members of Congress (actually all federal workers) have access to the Thrift Savings Plan, a 401(k)-like investment vehicle with fees of just 0.03%. To put it into context, this means just $0.27 in fees for every $1,000 for their Thrift Savings Plan, compared with the average 401(k), which charges around $5 in fees for every $1,000! Over a lifetime, it means thousands less in fees for congressional employees compared to public and private-sector workers.
  Office Expenses. The Congressional formula includes staff salaries, office expenses, travel and office space. The amount for staff and general office expenses are the same for each office. But if a district is far from DC, has many inhabitants or expensive real estate, they’re given a larger budget than a rural district close to Washington. The annual rate is nearly $1 million, yet still more than half the members of the House exceed that.
  First, these examples are a small portion of the many perks members of Congress receive. This also does not include either the executive or judicial branches. The Bible is up to date. God saw this coming. He knows the darkness of human hearts and that those in power often abuse it.
  Second, all of the governments of this world are temporary solutions. Only the gospel and transformed lives can truly make a difference in the culture and in eternity. Yet, where are most of us focused? Be honest. Which do you talk about more – the government or the gospel? Only one will have an influence on the community around us? If you could never talk about the government again or never share the gospel again, which one would bother you more? To be honest, it’s tempting to talk about the evils of government that’s far away because it doesn’t hold you and me accountable to be salt and light and Christlike so that those in our circle of influence see the transformation that the gospel makes in our own lives.
  Christians know that our world is a disaster. We must be wise and invest our lives where we can make a difference both now and in eternity. Here’s a vital question: Am I more concerned about where my family, neighbors or co-workers will spend eternity or about who they vote for?

Can we help you spiritually? 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. 

Sunday, April 9, 2023

What if Jesus is still dead?


 “No religion stands or falls with a claim about the resurrection 
of its founder in the way Christianity does.”  Craig Blomberg

  As Vice President, George Bush, represented the United States. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience in a communist country. Mrs. Brezhnev reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.
  Jesus Christ’s resurrection is central to the celebration of Easter, yet fewer than half of American adults make the connection. The Barna Group asked people to describe what Easter means to them personally. Only 42% tied Easter to the Resurrection. Adults between 18 and 25 were the least likely of all ages to connect the two together. David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, commented, “The Easter holiday in particular still has a distinctly religious connection for people, but the specifics of it are really fading in a lot of people’s minds.”
  The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational. There is no Easter and no Christianity if Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead. If Jesus hasn’t been raised from the dead—bodily—Christianity is lost. If His body is decaying somewhere in the Middle East today, it’s a disaster for our faith. Everything rises or falls with Easter! What are some implications if Jesus is dead and not resurrected?
  We have no hope of rising from the dead. Jesus wasn’t “mostly dead,” He was completely dead. The destiny of the Christian to another life, resurrection life, depends on the deliverance of Jesus from deathly decay. One reason we celebrate Easter is that we know it foreshadows what God is going to do with everyone who belongs to Jesus at the end of time. Our souls are with Jesus as soon as we die, but our bodies are at rest, awaiting the day of resurrection when Christ returns and says, Wake up! I am making all things new. If Christ hasn’t been raised, there is no hope of a future resurrection.
  Our preaching and teaching is false and pointless. If Christ hasn’t been raised, then every time anyone preaches, it’s just babble or noise. It’s an empty pep talk. It may make us feel better but it won’t change the fact that Jesus is dead and buried, and that one day, we’ll all be dead and buried, too. Death has won. If Christ had not been raised from the dead, He wouldn’t have conquered sin or death or hell. There would be no good news. There would be no sermon or message. Bible-believing churches and preachers would be like liberal preachers who say that Jesus is a great moral teacher and that we can learn a lot from his teaching and His example. However, they miss the point that makes Jesus unique – He has been raised from the dead! He is alive! He is our Savior and Lord!
  Our faith is worthless. Christian faith is not generic. It’s not just important that you believe something, but that the Someone you believe in is actually able to save you! True faith has power because of who we believe in, not simply because we believe in it.
  When we buy a product we want to make sure that we can trust it to work the way it’s supposed to. When you buy a car you’re looking for reliability. A car you know will carry you safely for years to come. The car company tries to earn your trust by giving you a warranty. The warranty tells you how long and to what extent you can trust them and their product. Some are three years and 36,000 miles. Others are 5 years and 50,000 miles, and some are 10 years and 100,000-mile warranties. The problem with these warranties is they eventually run out. You can trust them but only for a period of time. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, we can’t trust Him with our lives and we obviously can’t trust Him with our eternity.
  We are still in our sins. Without the resurrection of Jesus, we also don’t have forgiveness. Our sins have not been removed. We are still guilty before a holy God. The power of sin has not been broken, and the sentence of death has not been challenged. Sin and death are connected. The sign that sin has been taken care of is that death dies—death is reversed and is overcome by new life. What happened on Easter morning vindicates what happened on Friday afternoon. Christ’s resurrection validates His cross. Easter is why we can say Good Friday. If Christ is not raised, the consequences to a fallen world are catastrophic. Good Friday becomes the true Black Friday. There is no payment for sins if Christ is not raised. This consequence follows from the previous one and means that every human being will face the full, unmediated justice of God for all eternity.
  Believers who have died are lost forever. Without the resurrection of Christ, every funeral ends in hopelessness. There’s no hope of heaven. Everyone you’ve grieved is gone for good. We’ve believed in a Jesus that’s powerless over death. He couldn’t raise Himself so He can’t raise us.
  On one occasion Michelangelo, the famed artist, turned on his fellow artists completely indignant. Michelangelo said: “Why do you keep filling gallery after gallery with endless pictures on the one theme of Christ in weakness, Christ on the Cross, and most of all, Christ hanging dead? Why do you concentrate on the passing episode as if it were the last work as if the curtain dropped on Him with disaster and defeat? That dreadful scene lasted…a few hours. But to the unending eternity, Christ is alive; the stone has been rolled away and He rules and reigns and triumphs!” He was right! Our Savior is alive!

Can we help you spiritually? 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. 

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Who's YOUR King?

 

“Life is about making your own happiness and living by your own rules.”  Aimee Mullins

 

It’s a plot often found in history and portrayed in movies of having two monarchs vying for the same throne. Alexandre Dumas, in his final installment of the Three Musketeers series, The Man in the Iron Mask fictionalizes a tale of the powerful and corrupt King Louis XIV. According to his book,  Louis XIV had a twin brother imprisoned deep in the Bastille. This twenty-three-year-old prisoner known only as Philippe was forced to wear an iron mask and had been imprisoned for eight years. He has no knowledge of his true identity or told what crime he’s committed. He’s imprisoned by the king to protect his throne. There can only be one king.
  This morning as we continue our series in 1 Samuel, we find King Saul hunting down David, for fear that David will attempt to take his throne. There can only be one king. Today is also Palm Sunday. David’s future son, Jesus Christ, entered Jerusalem as Israel’s Messiah. He is the one true king. With more than one king there is chaos and anarchy.
  Ours is a world of chaos because when Jesus is not king, there is misery. Yet, there are many false kings in the world. You could call them idols. That false king philosophy is what Aimee Mullins is purporting, “Life is about making your own happiness and living by your own rules.” It’s a worldview that ultimately leads to despair. False kings promise everything yet leave us empty in the end. There can only be one king.
  The conflict of the ages is to have other kings, any king but Jesus. Luke 19:14 records this insurrection against having Jesus as King, “We do not want this man to reign over us.” Yet, you’ll quickly discover that if Jesus is not King, we enthrone a false king. Even Christians who have sworn allegiance to King Jesus do this. Here are some of the more common ones:
  Self. Our culture is awash with selfishness. Too often it seeps into the church with what Eugene Peterson describes as the “replacement trinity,” my wants, my needs, and my desires. While those have their place, they’re usurpers who ultimately steal our joy.
  God created us. Jesus died for us and ransomed us from the slave market of sin. The only king who will bring fulfillment to us is the One who knows us and loves us. Self must be dethroned. It’s a cruel tyrant. Only when Jesus is Lord is selfishness dethroned.
  Money. All around the globe wealth is thought to be a savior. We encourage young people to go to college and get an education. That’s good yet the motivation is so that we can get money to have all of the things that we believe will make us happy. We have a terrible struggle with preventing money from being our king.
  Living for money is a cruel taskmaster. Money is a good gift from God, but it is not God. Our retirement accounts, stock portfolios, and benefits packages don’t save. Only Jesus can save. Wealth leaves those who serve it empty. They find, to borrow a term from Mick Jagger, “can’t get no satisfaction.”  When we look for fulfillment or measure our worth by what we have, we’re trusting a king who promises much yet can never deliver.
  Power. Power is intoxicating. Power and authority were granted by God at creation. He made us humans to serve under His rule in a way that imitates His rule of justice and order. But humans have a strange tendency to twist power for their own ends rather than exercise power with justice. And when power slips through our fingers, we go berserk. Why? Because we’ve deified power. While power is a gift from God, it is not God. Power only works if we have submitted ourselves to the Lord and His care first.
  Sexuality. Sex is God’s idea. He made human beings inherently sexual. It’s God’s beautiful plan for a man and a woman to unite in marriage and have sexual intimacy. But sexuality is a tyrant when we make it a right, not a gift. God’s good gift devolves into a source of pain and frustration, far away from God’s original design. Outside of God’s plan, it leaves us broken, scarred, and in spiritual and emotional shambles. Those of us who have experienced the brutality of unrestrained sexuality, know that pain from its wounding. Sexuality is a fantastic gift, yet a cruel master.
  Relationships. God designed us to have relationships as He does in the Godhead in the Trinity. He created us so that we could relate first to God and then to our neighbor. Too often a relationship is enthroned in the false belief that it will make life wonderful. But human relationships can never fill the hole in our soul because of sin. While we’re made for relationships, relationships with others (romantic or fraternal) can never replace the primary relationship of the God who loves us and made us! Relationships put on the throne in place of God are fraught with anxiety and frustration.
  Family. With the fragmentation of marriage and the redefining of family in western culture, it’s tempting to enthrone family as a defense against this cultural erosion. The conjugal family—one man and one woman whose covenant union produces offspring—is God’s plan. It’s profoundly good, and a necessary and foundational element of God’s creational design, but it is not ultimate. A spouse, a child and even a grandchild must be secondary to King Jesus. Yet even churches can enshrine the family. A church can become so focused on families that they ignore singles and gear everything toward married couples or those with children. Somehow we forget that even Jesus was single and never married.
  Couples who prioritize their children or grandchildren, yet not a relationship with the Lord or their spouse, will find that choice sows seeds of future destruction in their marriage and ultimately leaves their souls empty. When children are the glue for 18-plus years, a couple finds the empty nest is an empty relational cave. Statistics show that the divorce rate jumps once the children are grown. The marriage was allowed to wither for lack of attention. and they have little in common anymore.
  The Enemy of our souls entices us to choose fake kings. It’s tempting to divert our focus from the one true Lord who gave His life for us. Even good things can cause Christ to lose preeminence in our lives and become an idol. Tim Keller writes, an idol “is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” 
  Palm Sunday is a reminder that Jesus is the one true King. Is He your King?

Can we help you spiritually? 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.