and the WORD of the year is...

 

“Authenticity is more than speaking; Authenticity is also about doing. Every decision we make says something about who we are.” Simon Sinek

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2023 is authentic—the term for something we’re thinking about, writing about, aspiring to, and judging more than ever. A high-volume lookup most years, authentic saw a substantial increase in 2023, driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.
  Authentic has a number of meanings including “not false or imitation,” a synonym of real and actual and also “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character. While clearly a desirable quality, authenticity is hard to define and subject to debate—two reasons it sends people to the dictionary.
  Authentic is often connected to identity, whether national or personal. Words frequently modified by authentic include cuisine and dish, but also self and voice. Celebrities like singers Lainey Wilson, Sam Smith, and especially Taylor Swift all made headlines in 2023 with statements about seeking their “authentic voice” and “authentic self.” With the rise of artificial intelligence—and its impact on deepfake videos, academic honesty, the line between “real” and “fake” is increasingly blurred.
  If anyone should be authentic and live authentically, it should be Christ-followers. Notice that I didn’t say “perfectly.” We all blow it. We all sin. I’m continually astounded at the evil within my own heart. What we must have is a new heart. That only comes when someone commits their life to Christ. It’s impossible to work up. Instead by the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling us, it’s worked out. It’s in Christ that we have an “undivided” heart. As Psalms 86:11 says, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”  

  Living authentically is a command that echoes throughout God’s Word. It’s woven into the very fabric of our faith. Obviously, since “authentic” is the word of the year for 2023, it’s as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago. To be authentic will challenge us, shape us and free us.
  When we think about living authentically, we usually think about honesty. We think about telling the truth, about not lying or deceiving. That's certainly part of it. But living authentically is about so much more than just honesty. It’s about integrity. It's about being true to who we are, to who God has created us to be and who Jesus has given us new life to be.
  Living authentically first means living with integrity. Integrity is about being the same person in all situations. It's about being the same person on Sunday morning as you are on Saturday night. It's about being the same person in public as you are in private. It's about living in a way that's consistent with our beliefs, our values and our faith.
  Living authentically first means living transparently. Transparency is about being open, being vulnerable, being real. It's about letting others see us as we really are, not as we wish we were. It's about sharing our struggles, our failures, our doubts, our questions, our joys, our victories.
  Living authentically first means living faithfully. Faithfulness is about being true to our commitments, to our promises, to our word. It's about being reliable, trustworthy and being dependable.
  Living authentically isn’t easy. It’s certainly not comfortable or convenient. But it’s worth it. It pleases God and it’s what He’s commanded us to be. It brings us closer to Him and ultimately is so freeing.
  Most of us struggle with being authentic Christ-followers in three areas: our marriages and families, with money and business and in private.
  When it comes to our marriage and family, it’s amazing that we’re often kinder, have our words and temper more under control with even a cashier at McDonald’s than we do with our own spouse or children. If our faith is authentic, our families should be able to testify to that.
  The Bible never says that “money is the root of all evil.” It’s “the love of money that’s the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). It’s that love that tempts us to fudge our ethics, cut corners at work, cheat on our taxes, etc.
  Character is who you are when no one is looking. It’s when we’re alone late at night or out of town without accountability that we’re tempted to act with a divided heart. Temptation whispers, “Who will know?” God will.
  Perhaps as never before social media has increased the temptation to sanitize our lives so that we only ever share the highlights of our lives: the best pictures, the flattering news and happy family events. Our image is carefully managed and squeaky clean. But those who are far from God are looking for the real deal – neither worldly compromise nor phony religion. God has called us to be authentic in our faith and to be true representatives of Jesus Christ as we attempt to reach people with the gospel message.
  Everyone loves someone authentic. Sadly, genuineness is an unusual trait. When how we live matches up with who we say we are in Christ, authenticity shines through. The walk matches the talk.
  Authenticity is attractive, drawing people to Jesus. Our world is looking for those who are real. As God builds the distinguishing marks of authenticity into a believer, it increases God’s influence in our world.
  Most of us cringe when we have to show others our driver’s license photograph. We look either washed out from too much light, or shadowy and suspicious from too little. Our eyes look either goofy and wide-eyed, or droopy and sleepy-eyed. Our hair is hopelessly out of place. And our smile? “Good grief,” we say to ourselves, “do I really smile like that?”
  But then there’s the opposite extreme—the studio portrait. With the photographer’s magic, the right background highlights our colors. The most flattering angle emphasizes our strong points. The lighting softens our features. The air brush can blow away any wrinkles or imperfections.
  As radically different as they are, the driver’s license photo and the studio portrait have one thing in common – neither is realistic. If we want to influence others for the Lord, it’s important that the portrait others see is real. In the end, only God sees our “real” selves. Yet it’s imperative that by His grace we strive to be authentic if we truly desire to bring glory to Him.

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. 

Don't go all Betty White....

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”  C.G. Jung

  Okay, I’ll confess. I love Halloween candy. When I was a kid, I loved candy corn and peanut butter kisses…today, not so much. For as long as I can remember, my favorite candy bar has been Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

  Every birthday, Christmas and virtually any other holiday, my wonderful family, knowing my love for them showers me with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in all shapes and sizes. (FYI: November 4^th is King Tut Day. Wouldn’t it be nice to honor old Pharaoh by giving Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup to me? You may not know that November 13^th is World Kindness Day. I’ll kindly take any Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups you send my way.)

  The one area Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups fails abysmally in though is marketing. They have the worst commercials. They’re nearly as annoying the Kit Kat ones. Hands down, Snickers has the best candy bar commercials. I’m sure you’ve seen them. An individual is acting uncharacteristically irritable or whiny. Finally, someone hands them a Snickers and they transform into just who we’d expect them to be.

  One has some young men playing a pickup game of football. In their midst is Betty White playing poorly and making snide remarks to her teammates. Finally, someone on the sideline tells her to eat a Snickers and we hear the tagline: “You’re not you when you’re hungry. Eat a Snickers.” After eating a Snickers, the individual returns to their authentic self.  

  Authenticity is a popular buzz word. Isn’t authentic what you’re like most of the time? Wouldn’t authentic be what you’re like for 10, 20 or 100 years? What if you were that way for millennia…wouldn’t that be your authentic self? One of the most wonderful summations of authenticity is said of Jesus in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Jesus is authentic. He hasn’t changed and never will. Did you know though that one day soon, every believer will be authentic and you don’t need a Snickers bar?

  Last Sunday we studied Luke 9:27-36. Remember, Moses and Elijah met with Jesus in the Transfiguration. Moses had been dead 1,500 years. Elijah was whisked away alive in a chariot of fire 800 years before. When they met with Jesus on the mount, they were authentic. Neither of them were ever going to change. Moses no longer struggled with anger management. Elijah no longer battled depression. They were in their glorified state.

  Two of the most encouraging verses in Scripture for me as I deal with this earth suit and seek to be authentic are Romans 8:29-30: “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.” What those verses simply mean is that in God’s mind because He’s eternal and already living in the future – every believer is already in their glorified state. They are authentically perfect and glorified. In other words, our perfect, glorified state is who we really are. So if you’re a believer, your glorified state is who you really are and it can never be improved on.

  As a child of God, I want to more authentic now in anticipation of the authentic I’ll ultimately and eternally be. Becoming authentic simply means I’m more and more like Jesus. It’s spiritual maturity. It’s not instant or automatic; it’s a gradual, progressive development. Referring to this process, Ephesians 4:13 says, “this will continue until we are…mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like Him” (CEV). Three vital commitments contribute to us being more authentic today.

  Authentic Christians consistently spend time with Jesus. The most precious story of all time is how Jesus loved us and came into the world to die for our sins so we could be forgiven and have a relationship with Him forever. The Bible is God’s love letter to us. As we read the Bible, we must depend on the Holy Spirit to teach us. Every time we open God’s Word, we should pause and ask the Spirit to teach us God’s truth and make us more like Jesus. Sadly, too few Christians actually read their Bibles. Please read your Bible regularly. Not only does it change your relationship with God, it will change your relationship with everyone else.

  Authentic Christians faithfully attend church. There aren’t a lot of things I’d die for. Yet, the Bible tells us that Jesus loved His Church so much He died for her. If you love Jesus, you love what He loves. We’re deluded if we tell ourselves we love Jesus and don’t love His Church. It’s like someone saying, “I love you but can’t stand your son.” It just doesn’t work. God has designed worship and church attendance to help us grow. We sing, pray, and listen to God’s Word together, not alone.

  Most believers have no idea of how frequently they miss church. Look back over the past three months and note how often you missed. It may shock you. If you evaluated it on a percentage scale, comparing it to how often you exercise, go to work or school, you’d know how much that low percentage hurts you. And it’s much more than just attending. It’s being engaged. It’s coming prepared and letting the Spirit work in your heart.

  Authentic Christians value being part of a small group. If you were invited to a weekly group and meeting with them guaranteed you’d increase your income 10%, most would join. The eternal benefits of being in a small group are greater than a 10% income increase. Jesus first chose a small group, the disciples. God has designed us for community. It’s hard to have community other than a small group. They’re crucial to your spiritual growth and authenticity. Personal growth and discovery happens best in a small group. You learn, ask questions, involve yourself in the lives of others, and generally make yourself vulnerable with others who are doing the same. You develop deeper friendships. When people really know you, your life becomes more transparent. There are opportunities to discuss life’s difficult issues with others who hold a biblical worldview. Lives are sharpened and spiritual growth is encouraged. Authenticity happens. 

  Too many Christians are often carnal because they’re spiritually hungry. They’re not authentic. It’s a lot like Snickers…“You’re not you when you’re spiritually hungry. You must consistently spend time with Jesus, faithfully attend church, and be part of a small group.”

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. 

Captain and Tennille...and authenticity

“But above all, in order to be, never try to seem.”  Albert Camus

  Was one of the songs you had as part of your wedding, The Wedding Song by Captain and Tennille? Certain love songs are trendy. For a brief period while they’re popular, it seems like they’re part of nearly every wedding.

  That was certainly the case with The Wedding Song for those from that era. Some of the biggest love songs of the early 1970’s were popularized by Captain and Tennille. This famous duo had five albums certified gold or platinum and scored numerous hits on the US singles charts. Some of the most enduring included Love Will Keep Us Together, Lonely Night (Angel Face) and Muskrat Love. From 1976-1977 they even hosted their own television show where they sang their repertoire of songs.

  Captain and Tennille were married for nearly forty years. They wrote songs about love, talked about love, sang about love, acted as if they were madly in love – they were only missing one thing – LOVE, authentic love.

  That came out in her recent book, Toni Tennille: A Memoir, the female half of the famed duo. Toni spills sad secrets from her career and marriage in this new self-titled memoir. In her autobiography, Toni Tenille now seventy-five covers everything from her childhood in the South to her often-troubled marriage to Daryl Dragon, “Captain.” She shares she wrote some of her most popular love songs out of unrequited yearning for her husband. Describing her husband of 39 years as emotionally distant, she says she often tried to reach him through the lyrics to her love songs she wrote. “I felt that he just didn't know what love was,” she says of Captain, from whom she split in 2014. “I thought if I showed him what it was, if I were able to give it to him, that he would open up like a flower. It never happened.”

  How sad! To talk, even sing so much about love but know so little about it. Captain and Tennille were part of my teen years. It saddened to me to learn it was all little more than a façade. Stuff for the stage yet missing from life, inauthentic. It was verbiage without reality.

  As I read this, it struck me that sadly their “love life” is a parallel experience for many Christians. Many Christians know “Christianese,” yet know so little about Jesus Christ. They talk, even sing “church talk,” yet like Captain and Tennille, there’s more talk than a deep relationship with Jesus. Sadly, like Captain and Tennille, the price is very high.

  Instead of a fulfilled authentic Christian life overflowing with what Jesus died to give us – a relationship with love, peace and joy – there’s lots of talk. When the heat of life happens, as it always does, who we are quickly bubbles to the surface – anxiety, anger, insecurity, fear, discontent – to name a few.

  Why is that? Why is an authentic Christian so unusual? Why are there so few Christians, when you really get to know them, their life varies little from even an atheist? Why are there so few Christians who are winsome? Who others long to be around, to have what they have, to be like them? Where their life makes others thirsty for the Water of Life?  

  There are many reasons. Yet, I think the most common, the #1 reason so few Christians are like Jesus is simply that they spend so little time with Jesus. There’s an insightful verse in Acts 4:13 which ought to be true of every believer: “And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

  Christian friend, do you want fulfillment? Do you want what Jesus longs to give you? Do you want what Jesus died and saved you for? Then, you must spend time with Jesus! Obviously, unlike Peter and John, we can’t spend physical time with Jesus. We have something much better, we possess Jesus’ Word, the Bible. Jesus is the Living Word; The Bible is God’s Living Word. Even Peter and John couldn’t be with Jesus, 24/7, yet we have God’s Word 24/7, every moment of every day.

  Why aren’t we more like Jesus? Why don’t we spend enough time with Him? There is one primary reason – We’re too hurried. We spend time on good things, yet neglect the best. When we make that choice, even the good things aren’t that good. If you asked the typical Christian why they don’t read their Bible and pray, most would respond, “I don’t have time…I’m just too busy”

  We have foolishly underestimated the immeasurable value of spending time with Jesus. And then we wonder why our spouse so easily irritates us, why our children so quickly get on our nerves, why do we have to work with so many idiots, why are there so many stupid drivers, why are there so many who can’t think and even post such ludicrous things on Facebook? Why we’re never satisfied? Why did does a dream vacation end up feeling more like a nightmare? Why doesn’t a new car, new furniture, remodeling project, new house, new toy, new job, even a new relationship…why do they ultimately fail to bring true and lasting satisfaction?

  Because only Jesus can do that. All the stuff of this world is like cotton candy, sweet at first yet over the long haul, it will never satisfy. Jesus is truly the sweetest Name I know. He’s the only One who can fill your soul. For us to have the fulfilled life He desires and designed us to have, we must regularly spend time with Him. Instead, too many Christians talk about Jesus, yet rarely spend time with Him.

  But we all have the same amount of time. Be honest. Think about all the time you waste on TV, your phone or the Internet. But you don’t have time to spend with Jesus, the One who loves you and died for you? Really?!?

  I’m not talking about spiritual Olympics where you spend hours reading your Bible or praying. Do you truly though not have half an hour or an hour each day? Spending time with Jesus will change your life, more than anything else you do.

  Perhaps make it a breakfast appointment. Don’t let anything but an emergency keep you from meeting with your best Friend. Close your ears to Satan’s lie that “you’re too busy…you just have too much to do.”

  In fact, if you spend time with Him, you’ll be amazed how much He will bless the rest of your day, even make you wiser with you time and more efficient. It’s a lack of faith that we believe what we do is so essential we won’t make time with Him a critical part of our life. Nothing else will so radically change your whole life as spending time with the Lord. Perhaps ask a Christian friend to be an accountability partner to encourage you to faithfully meet with the Savior, at least until it becomes part of your life. 

  Let’s not just talk about Jesus, instead may we because we spend our best moments with Him, truly know Him. Then, others will see Jesus in us! A plastic world is starving for authenticity. May we truly be Jesus to them! 

Looking for quality used Christian books and other types of books at prices lower than even Amazon. Check out our family's online used bookstore at resurrectedreads.com or visit our store at the Waterford Unique Antique Market at 209 North Milwaukee Street in Waterford, WI --  262.534.3500.