To Tell The Truth

 

“When regard for truth has been broken down or even slightly weakened, all things will remain doubtful.” Augustine

 
A store manager heard his clerk tell a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for a while, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.” Horrified, the manager came running over to the customer and said, “Of course we’ll have some soon. We placed an order last week.”
  Then, the manager drew the clerk aside. “Never,” he snarled, “Never, never, never say we’re out of anything- say we’ve got it on order and it’s coming. Now, what was it she wanted anyway?” The clerk said, “Rain!”
  Ours is a dishonest world. Honesty is sacrificed…often for greed. It seems that in election years, the lies are more plentiful and flagrant. But God’s Word repeatedly reminds us that God is the God of truth, and His people are commanded to be people of truth. A healthy church—a body of believers that follows Jesus as the head must be a place of truth. It’s where we love each other enough to be honest and admonish each other truthfully when needed. It’s a place where we’re lovingly truthful about the sins that cause us to stumble because sin has such damaging consequences.
  One University of Massachusetts study found “that 60 percent of people lied at least once during a 10-minute conversation and told an average of two to three lies.” The study also found lies told by men and women differ in content, but not in quantity: “Women were more likely to lie to make the person they were talking to feel good, while men lied most often to make themselves look better.”

  In Ephesians 4:15-16 Paul writes: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Apparently, the church in Ephesus had a truth problem. They’d gotten to the point where they preferred hearing stuff that made them feel good rather than what was true.

  One of the benefits of connecting with other believers is their ability to see sin in us that we’re blind to. We need this aspect of body life because part of the damage sin causes is blindness. We can see the speck of sin in another person’s eye but may be blind to the 2 x 4 plank that’s in our own.
  In God’s Word of truth, we’re reminded of how sin does this. 1 John 1:8 talks about Christians who deceive themselves by thinking they’re without sin. “If we claim we are without sin, we deceive ourselves—and the truth is not in us.” Here are a few more. Obadiah 1:3, “The pride of your heart has deceived you.” Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” Our sin blinds and deceives us. Author Michael Novak put it this way: “Our capacity for self-deception has no known limits.” We deceive ourselves all the time into thinking we’re better than we are. One of the biggest lies is that most of us think we’re basically good. We’re not.
  Remember that famous scene from the movie, A Few Good Men? Jack Nicholson is on the witness stand and Tom Cruise says, “I just want the truth.”  Nicholson screams, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” He has a point. The fact is the truth we need to hear can be very hard to handle. It’s hard to honestly admit our failures and flaws.
  Yet there’s a vital part of truth that’s life giving and sustaining. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:31). So, the truth about the truth is this – it will set you free, but first it can make you miserable. Some pain and misery are necessary for spiritual growth.
  We need to see our own sin—we have to face it—we have to handle it—if we’re going to move forward on toward spiritual maturity. A Christian who can’t admit that he or she is wrong is not growing toward Christlikeness. Remember God opposes the proud. He only gives grace to the humble.
  That’s why we need body life, close spiritual friendships and small groups. It’s where the power of connecting with other Christians comes in. Those who know us, really know us, will see things about us that we miss.
  Did you know we can only see about 60% of our body without a mirror or a reflective surface of some sort? Its why wives ask their husbands that dangerous question: “How do I look?” All kidding aside, others can see things about us that we’re blind to. If those who really know us truly love us, they’ll tell us when we are walking around with a two by four in our eye. They’ll tell us the truth, the truth we need to hear. They’ll tell us when we’ve got a sin problem and don’t look or act so good.
  In June of 1938, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, wrote a letter to his editor Stanley Unwin explaining why he was behind schedule finishing the final draft for The Hobbit. Tolkien told Unwin that instead of drafting more material, he had decided to start over and rewrite the first three chapters.
  What motivated Tolkien to go back and start the whole thing over again? It was the loving criticism he had received from his friend, C. S. Lewis. Apparently, Lewis read chapters, liked the story, and encouraged Tolkien, but he also took the time to critique it and make specific suggestions for its improvement. For instance, Lewis told Tolkien that there was too much dialogue, too much chatter, too much “silly hobbit talk.” According to Lewis, all this dialogue was dragging down the story line. 
  Tolkien grumbled in response to Lewis, “The trouble is that ‘hobbit talk’ amuses me—more than adventures.”
  Yet he still accepted the advice. Also, in the first draft of The Lord of the Rings, the story centers on a hobbit named Bingo, who sets out with two companions, Odo Took and Frodo Took. As Tolkien does revisions, Bingo becomes Frodo, and is joined by his friends Sam and Pippin. I wonder, would The Lord of the Rings have been nearly so popular if the main character had been called Bingo? But more than just names have been transformed. Tolkien’s revised version is shorter and much clearer, too.
  When J.R.R. Tolkien rewrote the material, he cut nearly half of the dialogue.  On page after page, he deleted long conversations and picked up the action. As a fan of those books, I don’t think I would have enjoyed them as much without Lewis’ input.
  Each of us needs a C.S. Lewis in our lives. We need someone to encourage us on toward God’s best. Are you open to one in your life? Are you a Lewis in someone else’s life? We will never be the mature Christians God desires us to be or the church that glorifies Him until we learn to “speak the truth in love.”

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. 

 

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. 

In a world of lies, We must be people of truth

 

“A lie is a snowball; the further you roll it, the bigger it becomes.” Martin Luther

   It was like a real-life scene out of George Orwell’s classic, 1984. The Department of Homeland Security launched a new initiative called the Disinformation Governance Board. This board's stated function was to protect national security by combating “misinformation, malinformation, and disinformation.” It’s not enough that Facebook tells us what’s true and untrue, now we’re to trust the government to do that because we all know politicians and the government never lie. 

  Just during the last century, Joseph Goebbels headed the Nazi propaganda effort. He’s credited with coining the term “The Big Lie” which means that if you tell a lie often enough, people will believe it’s true. 

  Japan blasted propaganda at American forces through several women called “Tokyo Rose.” Their messages were aimed at demoralizing troops by claiming they were losing the war. Most soldiers who listened on their radios treated it as entertainment. 

  Stalin employed newspapers, Pravda and Izvestia, and TV “news” shows to lie to his citizens. He and his successors used jamming devices to block signals from Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty. Soviet leaders didn’t want the truth to reach Russian ears.

  But why would anyone believe the U.S. government—or any government—could be an arbiter of what is true and what is false? A brief trip down recent memory lane should dispel such misplaced faith.

  Eisenhower lied about U-2 flights over Russia. Kennedy lied about a “missile gap” between the United States and the U.S.S.R. Johnson lied about the Gulf of Tonkin incident that got us more deeply into Vietnam. Nixon lied about Watergate. Reagan lied about aid to the Contras in Nicaragua. George H.W. Bush lied about not raising taxes. Clinton lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Obama lied when he said, “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.” The Washington Post calculated Trump made more than 30,000 false or misleading claims over four years! They can’t all be “fake news.” And now we have President Biden, who lies about how well the economy is doing and whose Secretary of Homeland Security lies about the southern border being secure.

  While government and unbelievers may be able to rationalize lying, Christ-followers cannot. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 8:44). The 9^th commandment is, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

  Because our Lord is the God of truth, a command that saturates Scripture is that Christ-followers are to be committed to truth. “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Eph. 4:25). “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices” (Col. 3:9). Yet, lying is so enticing and tempting. Here are the spheres in which we most commonly lie.

  We lie to ourselves. It goes all the way back to the Garden. Rather than taking personal responsibility Adam lied and blamed both God and Eve. Eve blamed the serpent…and self-deception was born.

  Some become very good at lying to themselves. In fact, there is no one who is better at deceiving you than you. It often begins by convincing ourselves that we’re victims. We wouldn’t do ____ if we’d had better parents, or a better environment. A lost world and much of pop psychology have taught us to live in a state of perpetual victimhood because if we’re victims, then we’re not responsible, yet the Bible teaches personal responsibility (Romans 14:12).

  Self-deception becomes part of our daily dialogue with simple statements like, “I’m irritable because I had bad a day at work.” That’s a lie.

  First, it means that temptation is irresistible. Second, it means that God’s grace is not sufficient. Third, it means our behavioral choices are uncontrollable when we encounter adversarial circumstances.

  We lie to our spouses. Foundational to a healthy marriage is trust. There cannot be trust if there is not honesty. If you’re mate believes that they need a “fact-checker,” your marriage is in trouble.

  We’re most tempted to lie when we’re afraid. For example, a wife may lie about how much money she spent or how she truly feels because she fears her husband’s reaction. Husbands may lie about sexual temptation or to avoid conflict.

  While it is acceptable to ask for time to process and share the truth, there is never an excuse for lying. For example, when someone just gets home from work and is tired, that’s not usually a good time for a candid conversation but that conversation still needs to happen.

  We lie to our children. It’s not a sin to not tell everything that you know yet it is always a sin to lie. For example, a parent with a child facing surgery doesn’t have to go into all of the details of what the surgery will entail or the pain that comes with recovery.

  There are times that we withhold truth from our children because of their age. Corrie ten Boom shares a wonderful story of how her father handled the sex questions that illustrates this.

  “So the line had stuck in my head. “Sex,” I was pretty sure, meant whether you were a boy or girl, and “sin” made Tante Jans very angry, but what the two together meant I could not imagine. And so, seated next to Father in the train compartment, I suddenly asked, “Father, what is sex sin?” He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack over our heads, and set it on the floor. “Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?” he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. “It’s too heavy,” I said. “Yes,” he said. “And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.” Too often by being “honest,” we ask children to carry loads far too heavy for them.

  While the government may get away with a “department of disinformation,” Christ-followers must be committed to truth. Are we those others can trust? Are we honest in all of our dealings? Does our walk match our talk? Do we keep our promises? Are we those whose word is our bond? It’s what God has called us to be. Will you be that person?

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. 

Close Your Window!

 

“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives.” D.L. Moody

 

  Earlier this month a Massachusetts man left the sunroof on his family’s minivan open in 63-degree weather only to return to the vehicle two days later to find it filled with about nine inches of snow. Steve Maguire of Scituate said he and his family took a ride in his wife’s minivan on a Saturday with the windows down to enjoy the record-high temperatures in New England. 

  “Saturday was so beautiful I'm like, ‘I’ve got to get some of the kids out of the house,” he told a local TV station. “It was 63 degrees here.” But Maguire said he didn’t realize until returning to the vehicle that he’d left the sunroof open, allowing about nine inches of snow to accumulate inside.

  “When I opened the van, I’m thinking it's Valentine's Day. It’s my wife’s car. This is not going to end well. I came in and said, ‘I hope you're in a good mood because there are about nine inches of snow in the van.’”

  Maguire said the situation could have been much worse. “This could only happen in New England. I’m grateful it wasn’t rain, and it was super easy to clean up because it was so light and fluffy.”

  Here’s the kicker! Maguire admitted he should have known better. “I’m a high school teacher and one of the electives I teach is meteorology. So if anyone knows the weather, I should know the weather.”

  That’s my problem. It’s probably your problem too – I know better than I do. I know that I shouldn’t say what I say, but the words are out of my mouth faster than a bass spitting out a hook. I know that I shouldn’t get irritated at that person talking on their phone at the next table in the restaurant but the heat is up in my heart faster than a microwave. I know I shouldn’t look down on that homeless person asking for handouts but “King Scott” who has it all together is ascending the throne of my soul.

  I’m so grateful that my Heavenly Father is gracious, as I come to Him again and again because even though I knew better, I didn’t do better. I’m a “spiritual loser,” yet He still loved me and gave His Son to pay for my sin…and He always forgives me (1 John 1:9).

  This is a reality of all of life in a sin-contaminated world. Knowing something, knowing the truth too often doesn’t break down into transformed behavior. As James warns us, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

  But you must know the truth before you can apply the truth. The Bible is the source of truth. It’s the absolute standard. Maguire knew the truth of meteorology, yet failed to live up to what he knew. We do the same thing.

  There are two spiritual disciplines that are vital for a healthy, growing Christian life – reading God’s Word and prayer. When I open my Bible, God speaks to me. When I pray, I speak to God. Yet, there is no excuse for a Christian in America to not regularly spend time in the Word. We will never do the right things as believers if we’re not letting God’s Word soak through our souls.

  Please understand, I’m not suggesting some kind of spiritual Olympics. Five or ten minutes consistently in the Word is a great place to start. Start with one of the four Gospels or the Epistles. It’s much better to read some Scripture consistently than to read none and stay spiritually ignorant.

  Truth without application is foolish. James continues with, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:23-25). The purpose of looking at yourself in a mirror is to make change as necessary. That’s true of God’s Word, too.

  The purpose of reading God’s Word is not for education or information. It’s for life-change, spiritual transformation. The same is true of listening to a sermon or participating in a small group. As John Stott said, “We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.”

  Reading my Bible is a waste of time if it’s not being applied to my life if I’m not becoming more and more like Jesus. It’s spiritual work. The Holy Spirit must empower me and work in my life to bring about that change. Yet, if I don’t know God’s truth, He doesn’t have material to work with.

  In America, it’s polite to say “good sermon” to the preacher as we exit. BUT it’s not a good sermon if it’s not applied to our lives. It was just a nice talk. The purpose of God’s truth whether read or listened to is to make you and me more like the Savior (Romans 12:2).

  Faithful application begins on the inside. James 1:19, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James’s initial focus isn’t external, it’s internal. God is much more concerned about my heart and character than He is about my behavior. The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, peace, patience, self-control, etc.) begins in my soul and will then be evidenced in my life.

  Too many Christians erroneously believe Christianity is evidenced by externalism, i.e., the way you dress, the things you do or don’t do. It’s not! That was the focus of the men who crucified Jesus, the Pharisees. It’s why a lost world is often repulsed by professing Christians.

  It’s increasingly common today to see online or in our churches “Christians” claiming to defend the gospel who fail to demonstrate attitudes and character in line with that same gospel. They’re arrogant, mean, and sometimes even hateful.

  The most wonderful thing that can be said of us was said of those early disciples, “And they recognized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). That happens as we spend time in God’s Word and sit under Bible teaching – and apply it to our lives. To know the truth but fail to apply it is as foolish as leaving your sunroof window open in the middle of January. 

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. 

The “Doctor of Dishonesty” is Dishonest

“The truth doesn’t cost you anything, but a lie could cost you everything.”

  A recent news story, “A Famous Honesty Researcher Is Retracting A Study Over Fake Data” was one of those “Are you serious?” moments.

  Renowned psychologist Dan Ariely literally wrote the book on dishonesty. He was known as “Dr. Dishonesty.” But now some are questioning whether the scientist himself is dishonest. 

  His landmark study that endorsed a simple way to curb cheating is going to be retracted nearly a decade later after a group of scientists found that it was based on lies, faked data. According to the 2012 paper, when people signed an honesty declaration at the beginning of a form, rather than the end, they were less likely to lie. It was a seemingly cheap and effective method to combat fraud and was adopted by companies and government agencies around the globe. It made a splash among academics, who cited it in their own research hundreds of times. Apparently, Dr. Ariely, a frequent TED Talk speaker and Wall Street Journal columnist – lied about his experiments and data. The psychologist who literally wrote the book on dishonest behavior is just another liar. 

  Let’s be honest though. Most people don’t think lying is that big of a deal. It’s not like it’s stealing or murder and we easily rationalize it. Spouses lie to each other in the name of keeping the peace; parents lie to their children and vice versa, employers and employees play the game. Advertisers lie to increase the bottom line. Politicians are renowned for “fake news.” 

  Yet, even many of the people of truth, Christians, don’t view lying as the grievous sin that it is. Christians who’d never steal, watch porn or swear, think little of the sin of lying and don’t consider it a moral wrong. While their lies may not be blatant. They may rationalize their little “white lies.” Yet, they’re a violation of God’s standard of absolute truth. 

  There’s a scene in the movie Something's Gotta Give that succinctly captures. After catching the man she loves on a date with another woman, Diane Keaton is chased out of the restaurant by a guilty and distraught Jack Nicholson. When he finally stops her, he pleads, “I have never lied to you, I have always told you some version of the truth.” She replies, “The truth doesn’t have versions, okay?” And that's the truth. The truth may have many sides. It may be complicated or hard to understand, but it exists. It doesn’t have versions. It’s what makes truth the truth. 

  Yet, many of God’s children have trouble with the truth. We may not be outright liars, but we shade it to make it fit more comfortably into our lives, to prevent it from disrupting them from our careers to our relationships.  

  What does the Bible say about truth? The Bible teaches that truth isn’t an abstract idea or philosophical puzzle. It teaches instead that…

  Truth is a person­—the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The Apostle John, reflecting on the whole of Jesus’ life, wrote, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In Jesus truth took on human nature. Jesus is the truth and lived a completely truthful life. 

  God Is True. In order to understand more fully what the Bible means when it says that Jesus is the truth, we need to understand that truth is an attribute of God’s nature. God is true. Scripture repeats this over and over: “This God—His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.”

  All that God is and does is trustworthy. Every word He speaks is true. It’s why we can run to Him, throw ourselves on Him, depend totally on Him because He is true. Because God is true, all truth belongs to Him and finds its ultimate meaning in Him. 

  All God Says Is True. In a letter to one of his coworkers, Paul used this vital wording that God “does not lie.” One of the Psalms writes, “All Your words are true…” (Ps. 119:160). God’s Word, the Bible, is true because God is the God of truth. Lying is rooted in the Fall of man (Genesis 3). God created a world originally birthed in truth. It was when sin invaded and perverted creation that lying poisoned our world. 

  Lying is rooted then in our souls but most lying doesn’t start with lying to others, it starts with first lying to ourselves. How does someone become a convincing liar? They begin to believe their own lies. The dishonesty of the soul produces the lies of the life. As Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” 

  Lying is culturally acceptable and easily contaminates Christians, who, are because they are children of the God of truth, must be people of truth. 

  Where are we most tempted to lie? When we feel a sense of shame like being late for an appointment or caught in an awkward situation. We lie when we fear the truth will hurt or complicate a relationship, failing to realize that the lie will cause more damage than the truth ever will. Dishonesty is an IED to a relationship. 

  Christians too easily lie when it comes to financial matters, like on our income taxes or selling a car or other product, or when you owe someone money. Exaggerating is a form of lying. We must be careful with the truth if we’re told a rumor or are reminiscing and telling a story when we tell someone how much we paid for something or when asked for our opinion or advice. 

  What must we do when we lie? Confess it to God (1 John 1:9) and He immediately forgives us. Jesus died and paid for all of our lies on the cross. Then, come clean with the one you lied to (James 5:16). 

  When we admit that we were dishonest, it does two things. Often the other person begins to respect us for coming clean and secondly, the shame from the admission is an incentive against further lies or deception. 

  How can we get a firmer handle on truth and honesty? Love the truth. Philippians 4:8 urges us to meditate on the truth. We must learn the truth by saturating our minds with good things, like the Word of God. The truth will set you free. Live the truth. Ephesians 4:25, “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” (NLT).  

  God is a God of truth. We are to be people of truth. It’s evidence of our spiritual DNA, that we know Jesus and God is our Heavenly Father! 

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. 

Conspiracy Theories

“People love conspiracy theories.”  Neil Armstrong

Just recently a Reddit user posted an unsubstantiated theory that the furniture company, Wayfair is involved in child sex trafficking, suggesting certain products on its website may actually be representing children for sale. The conspiracy theory went viral.

  The user posted a screengrab of Wayfair’s website showing armoires that cost five figures with human names for the products, which led them to speculate that the pricey cabinets were, in fact, people for sale. But there was no truth to the accusation. The products in question are industrial grade cabinets accurately priced. Still Wayfair temporarily removed the products from their site to rename them and provide more in-depth descriptions and photos that accurately depict them, clarifying the price point.

  Horribly, Adolph Hitler was right, ““If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” I wonder how much time and money Wayfair has had to spend to kill that lie. But Wayfair is not alone. Most companies and leaders know what it is to be slandered and lies about them to be accepted without question. 

  With the easy access to social media and the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the current crisis is ripe for conspiracy theories. Roughly one-third of Americans believe that the COVID-19 outbreak was intentionally planned by people in power. 71% say they’ve heard at least “a little” about a conspiracy theory that the coronavirus outbreak was intentionally planned by powerful people, including 19% who say they have heard “a lot” about this. Most conspiracy theories share a common premise: A powerful group of elite individuals are withholding or distorting the truth. Only the elites know the truth and everyone else believes a lie.

  It hasn’t helped that the virus is new and medical responses are continually changing and developing. As a result, there have been contradictory approaches and information (and misinformation). Then, it originated in a repressive country without any freedom of information or freedom of the press. It’s a recipe ripe for paranoia and wild speculation.

  Yet, the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Ephesians 4:25 commands us, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21 admonishes us to “test everything; hold fast what is good.”

  So, do I believe that there are conspiracies or plots? It’s possible BUT I don’t know and neither do you. We don’t have proof, nor are most of us in a place where we’ll ever be able to confirm a conspiracy. And if it is actually taking place, what will we be able to do about it other than build a cabin in the north woods and hide out for the remainder of our days?

  What is unequivocally true is that Christians are to be people of truth, who live in truth, think on truth, and share the truth! Too often the people of truth are the most susceptible to being consumed by conspiracy theories. As the people of truth, we seem to easily slip into a bottomless rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. Yet, it hurts us and it hinders what God has called us to do – share His truth. Sharing unsubstantiated rumors undermine our message of absolute truth that determines one’s eternal destiny.

  Isn’t it also possible that many sincere people who may differ in their worldview from us are being slandered? Scripture teaches that slander is a serious sin and that God hates slander (Prov. 6:16, 19). James calls it demonic behavior (James 3:15-16). Engaging in slander is scandalous.

  Yet, many Christians share hearsay. You can hardly glance at social media without seeing a Christian (often a pastor or Christian leader) posting claims that they can’t possibly know to be true. They’re not Washington insiders or international authorities. They’re merely spreading what they learned from what is too often not a credible source.

  We must remember that our Enemy is the “father of lies” (Jn 8:44). Soon after Satan entered the Garden (Genesis 3), he spread the first conspiracy theory, convincing Eve that the most powerful of “conspirators”—the Creator God was secretly trying to keep the first humans from having their eyes opened in a way that would make them “like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve became the first in a long line to believe powerful forces were secretly conspiring and withholding secret information.

  Instead of thinking about what we’re unsure of, Scripture commands us: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). There are serious consequences when we ruminate on conspiracy theories instead of what we know is true.

  We soak our souls in fear. COVID-19 is a serious virus. When we focus on what’s rumor and can’t substantiate those claims, we increase our own anxiety and that of those who listen to us. One of the most repeated commands in Scripture is that we are not to live in fear (2 Tim. 1:7).

  We open ourselves up to anger and rage. When we feel helpless and that we have little control, we easily succumb to a very dangerous emotion – rage. Fear can quickly morph into anger because it provides an object: they are to blame, they caused this, they deserve retribution. There is nearly always some target that we can use as a scapegoat.

  We drown in doubt. The darkest day this world has ever known was when our Lord was crucified. Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave. But for those three days His disciples were drowning in doubt. Like that first Easter God confronts our fears with His presence. God is “with us” (Ps. 23:4). He has “called you by name” (Isa. 43:1), and nothing can separate us from our Heavenly Father and His great love for us” (Rom. 8:35-39).

  We hurt our witness. The gospel already seems too wonderful to be true. That God loved us and sacrificed His Son to pay for our sin, that salvation is a free gift and we can be forgiven by accepting God’s gift of salvation. It’s unbelievable! When we spread theories we can’t substantiate, it hurts our gospel witness. Not only that, but we’re distracted. We become “conspiracy theory evangelists” when God has called us to share His message of hope and forgiveness.

  This world is terrified and has great difficulty with truth, yet we’re called to be God’s people of truth. During this season of isolation, fear, and uncertainty, let’s determine to be intentional about leaning into God, His truth, and engaging others. It’s a real remedy for hurting hearts. Our world needs God’s truth. Let’s determine to share that!

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. 

Persecuted Christians in America???

“Christ’s followers cannot expect better treatment in the world than their Master had.”  Matthew Henry

  Does broad brush labeling bother you? Do you hate it when someone accuses you, just because you’re a Christian and have a certain worldview, of being “hateful” or “phobic”? One has to wonder – do those outside the Church really believe that Christians don emotional hazmat suits because we’re petrified that we might encounter someone who is a “sinner”?

  It’s frustrating when we’re caricatured by untrue broad brush labels like “hateful” and “phobic.” Yet, I find that we Christians do the same thing. We throw out broad brush terms. One that I believe we far too easily use is the word “persecuted.” It is true that things have changed in America and Western Culture. Religious freedom that we’ve taken for granted is being attacked. Personally, though, I have a hard time calling it persecution…maybe marginalized, but not persecuted.  

  Do we really believe liberals, feminists, those in the media or Hollywood are all the “enemy?” I don’t. I have Christian friends who’d probably be classified as liberals or feminists. Though I don’t personally know anyone in Hollywood, I know that there are Christians there, people who love Jesus just like you and I do. Do I believe that some of those who would be classified “liberals” are wrong? Yes, and when we get to Heaven, God will straighten them out (just kidding J). My point is that there are those who love the Lord and who are committed Christians in nearly every career field with various ideologies. They don’t all dot their “i’s” like we do.

  Yet, sadly, you’ll hear Christians, particularly in the “Christian” media whine about how Christianity is under attack and we’re being persecuted. While I’d agree that “persecution” is taking place in some isolated places in America, to be called a “naughty” name isn’t exactly what Scripture means when it talks about persecution. We need to stop saying that liberalism or other ideologies are a threat to Christianity, because they’re not. A threat to what? To somehow make Christianity untrue? Do we really believe Christianity or biblical truth is built on some sort of strawman and needs us to protect its validity?

  Too many Christians are paralyzed by fear. We talk about how liberalism or Hollywood are threats to Christianity. Compelling cases are made for why Christians should devote money, time or other resources to protect Christianity against these growing and seemingly innumerable threats.

  First, truth does not fear scrutiny. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the life” (John 14:6). Evil men who have sought to destroy God’s truth, repeatedly find themselves crushed underneath its weight. His truth is inescapable. Even our conscience has His truth stamped on it with a sense of what is moral, and what is right or wrong (Romans 2:14-15).  

  Second, fear is not of God. To be afraid, to view that anything could be a threat to Christianity implies that, somehow, Christianity could be put on some type of “endangered religions” list, or that Christians could become extinct altogether. It’s a lie fueled by hearts which have made power and influence idols.

  Christianity’s dominance in Western culture is not what legitimizes it. While it’s true, Christian dominance is being overshadowed by other religions and worldviews, the Christian faith is not dependent on cultural dominance to prove its validity, but by the dominion of our eternal, glorious God. God has not called us to be Crusaders, but rescue workers. When we claim some individual or group is threatening Christianity, it’s an insult to our omnipotent God. For God, competing worldviews are nothing. Christianity doesn’t have to be a popular worldview to be the right one.

  Personally, I’d have a hard time in heaven looking fellow believers in the eye who were beheaded by ISIS and then complain I was persecuted because I was called names or treated like I was some wacko. It’d be hard to complain that the Supreme Court taking away the right to pray or have a Bible study in a public school is persecution to believers who whispered songs in their worship services so they’d not be heard and arrested.

  Persecution is when the government, as we find in North Korea and other communist countries, seeks to control all religious thought and expression as part of a comprehensive plan to control all aspects of life. These governments regard religious groups as enemies of the state because they hold religious beliefs that contradict political ideology and challenge loyalty to the rulers. Persecution is when basic human rights are taken away, when Christians aren’t allowed freedom of expression, assembly, religious belief and movement. It’s when believers are executed for their faith, detained or tortured. As has been the case since the birth of the Church, many of our brothers and sisters in Christ live under governments who restrict or abuse religious freedom. Christians suffer deeply and are denied basic freedoms that all human beings should be entitled to.

  It is rare for us to face real persecution in Western culture. Being unpopular is not persecution. We need to develop some spiritual backbone. 

  Personally, I am amazed and humbled that fellow believers facing persecution rarely ask us to pray that their persecution will end. Instead, they beg us to please pray that they will be faithful and stand strong for Jesus through the persecution. They’re primary concern is not to be delivered, but instead to persevere in the trials they face in a way worthy of King Jesus. It’s time for us to stop whining and follow their example! 

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. "

The word of the year is "Post-Truth"???

“Truthiness: the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true.”  Stephen Colbert

  One of my favorite apps on my smart phone is a dictionary program. When we go on vacation, if there’s a strong possibility we won’t have cell service so I can’t access it, I’ll pack a dictionary.

  Oxford Dictionaries recently announced The Word of the Year for 2016. It’s “POST-TRUTH.” Talk about a “huh?” moment.

  “Post-truth” is defined as “an adjective relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Sadly, post-truth is not new. This concept has been in existence for some time. It’s just that Oxford Dictionaries have seen a spike in frequency of questions regarding post-truth this past year with the political situations in Britain and the U.S.A. It’s an outcome of postmodernism and relativism. Words devolve so that eventually they have little definable meaning.

  This compound word, post-truth, exemplifies an expansion in the meaning of the prefix “post” that’s become increasingly prominent in recent years. Instead of simply referring to the time after a specified situation or event, as in post-war or post-match, the prefix in post-truth has a meaning more like “belonging to a time in which the specified concept has become unimportant or irrelevant.”

  Post-truth appears to have been first used in a 1992 essay by late Serbian-American playwright Steve Tesich in The Nation magazine. Reflecting on the Iran-Contra scandal and the Persian Gulf War, Tesich lamented that “we, as a free people, have freely decided that we want to live in some post-truth world.” A book, The Post-truth Era, by Ralph Keyes appeared in 2004. Comedian Stephen Colbert, has popularized an informal word related to post-truth, truthiness, defined as “the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true.”

  Rather than wringing our hands or clucking our tongues, a post-truth world presents opportunities as well as challenges for the Church. Ours is a skeptical, cynical age where truth is increasingly in short supply.

  Be honest. Who do you really trust? Cynicism begins to creep into our hearts, contaminating our outlook on life. It’s not the way God wants us to live. His will is for us to choose to focus on the truth (Philippians 4:8). Polls show we don’t trust that our leaders, political or corporate are telling us the truth. If we listen to someone in the media with a different worldview than ours, we listen cynically, even questioning their integrity and commitment to truth. We’ve reached a sad point where we expect lawyers, lobbyists, journalists, talk-show hosts, politicians and anyone else on the public stage to spin truth in a self-serving way. Truth is devalued and sometimes totally lost. Lloyd Steffen insightfully observed, “Honesty now looks like a dubious virtue if not an actual vice. It is studied and examined as a stratagem rather than as a hallmark of character.”

  We can make a difference! Truth is not optional for the Church. God commands us, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16). Honesty is the first rule of all relationships. The New Testament further unpacks this, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25). In a culture where words are increasing exponentially and truth is cheap, believers are to always tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. For the Christ-follower, “truthiness” or “post-truth” are never options.

  Yet, commitment to truth is a choice. Scripture warns us that our hearts are deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9). Lying is easy, even “natural” because of sin. It’s all-consuming. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal how greatly entrenched deception is in our hearts. I question if it’s possible to persuade someone who is dishonest to be truthful. Instead, they must first be confronted with the truth of God’s Word. It’s the revelation of God’s Word and holiness which dispels deception and reveals our sinfulness.

  We must also realize how vile lying is – it’s Satanic. Satan was the first liar. Lying is so repugnant to God that the only instance we find of Him striking someone dead in the New Testament was when Ananias and Sapphira lied to the church (Acts 5). Afterwards, the Apostle Peter made two powerful observations – Satan had filled their hearts and they had lied to the Holy Spirit. If we wanted to convince people to be honest today that would work! Let a few members in the congregation keel over if they lied and everyone would immediately clean up their act.  

  Post-truth is a relationship murderer. We’re social beings. God designed us to need relationships to be happy and fulfilled. We innately want to get along with each another and live in harmony. That’s impossible if we can’t trust one another. When truth isn’t a given in a relationship, disappointment and insecurity are inevitable. Lying erodes the foundation necessary for healthy relationships, making real ones impossible. When we succumb to post-truth, we become very anxious about reaching out.

  It’s imperative that we’re able to trust one another if we’re going to be the healthy Body of Christ God designed us to be. As God defines what it means to be holy and pure, He also defines what it means to be truthful.  

  In some ways, dishonesty is like a person with allergies. When it’s determined what they’re allergic to, everything that causes them to react allergically is removed from their world. Post-truth causes God to react. God doesn’t just dislike sin. He hates it and will not tolerate its very presence. When we lie, we separate ourselves from Him, becoming like those described in Romans 1, “they exchange the truth of God for a lie.”

  “Post-truth” may be a new word. But it and no other word that’s describes someone dishonest should characterize a Christ-follower. God’s will is for every believer to be a committed truth-teller. We can’t do it in our strength. We need the Spirit’s power. God is the God of the truth. Christ-followers are to be people of truth. We’re to be different. Because of the new life we have in Christ, we must always be known as the people of “present-truth.”

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.

Got Compassion?

“Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.”   Francis Schaeffer

  It’s amazing how God works in our lives! Oftentimes, I’m staggered by how patient the Father is with me. We human beings tend to get out of balance and out of whack so easily. We swing from extreme to extreme…and I knew better…I just didn’t do better.

  At one point in my ministry, I swung to the extreme of orthodoxy versus compassion and love. Orthodoxy is so much easier. I found, too, it fed my ego more than compassion, after all, “I was right!” But sadly, I wasn’t.

  God has given me several wonderful gifts over the years to help nudge me back to spiritual balance. The one He has used most in my life is my wonderful wife, Jane. If you look up the word “compassion” in the dictionary, you’ll find Jane’s picture there as an illustration. Jane has a servant’s heart. She is consistently consistent. Sometimes I have to confess that I act more loving and compassionate than I actually feel like being.

  Maybe it’s when you are on the receiving end of compassion the Father rings a bell inside your soul. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been on the receiving end. It’s been a powerful reminder to me how important it is to know that your brothers and sisters love you and care for you. I think we assume they know…but assuming is always faulty. We also get busy and forget how important compassion is to others.

  Probably, our biggest issue as Christians at this point in history is we have allowed Satan to cause us to overreact. Our world knows so little of truth. Truth has become fluid and subjective. We live in what the prophet Isaiah described as: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20). In our defense of truth, Satan has often led us to jettison compassion for “truth,” causing us to forget that while we are to cling to the truth, God doesn’t need us to defend the truth. To be candid, for most of us, truth is easier. Yet, truth without love and compassion is often brutal…at the very least, heartless and unfeeling. We forget, too, the issues we face are not new. The 1^st century church faced the identical dilemma of having the truth in a world where there was little or no truth. So much so that Pontius Pilate bemoaned, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).

  As I look back over my life, I can remember very, very few occasions when “truth” in the hands of another was memorable and touched my life. Yet, I’ve lost track of how many times love and compassion from a brother or sister touched my life. Compassion was like medicine for my soul.  

  Some acts of compassion I’m sure seemed so simple, the individual probably gave them little thought. But they were huge for me! Even nearly five decades later, I still remember that Bob and Joyce Collins (Bob was my Sunday School teacher when I was a boy), sent me a card every month for several months just to let me know they were thinking of me after my Mom died. Or, Bob Wroten, Dan Hardin, or Kent and Rita Richards – all of whom would frequently drive out of their way (we’re talking at least ten miles), just to give me a ride to church. Or, the anonymous individual who gave me an airline ticket when I was in Bible College, so I could go home. I didn’t have the money. I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone but one day it just showed up in my mailbox at school. And I can’t tell you how many times that my soul has feasted for days, even weeks on notes of encouragement I’ve received.

  As I had no real family, I am so thankful for many of you who have made our family part of your family. We owe you an unpayable debt. For the rest of our lives, Jane and I will never forget how many of you were there for us as Ben was going through brain surgery. We were never alone at the crisis points of our lives because our family – YOU – were there.

  Yet, it’s hard to care for one another without some level of vulnerability. It was very hard for me to ask for prayer for myself when I learned I had pneumonia and was being hospitalized. It was humbling to admit I didn’t have my act all together. Yet, I knew I had to admit my need. It was the right thing to do and how could you even know how to care unless I admitted I needed care.

  Then, having others visit me in the hospital meant so much. Debbie Ranke even stopped by before her shift began to pray with me and give me a hug. She even graciously scolded me for being a workaholic…words I needed to hear. And words could never express how much I appreciated knowing I was loved and cared for.

  The bottom line is we all need care. I was truly embarrassed recently and apologized to one of our members for being so obtuse. Someone shared with me that this lady hesitated to go out at night to church events because she went home to an empty house. What a simple thing…for someone to go home with her and make sure she’s okay. Or, to at least be available for a phone call after she arrived home to know that all was well.

  Only those on the receiving end know how much it means when someone shares a meal. It’s not the meal, it reminds you that you’re loved. Or, visiting someone in the hospital or making time to go to the funeral visitation when someone has lost a loved one. It can be something as simple as knowing their name, the names of their children and taking a personal interest in their children…and even their grandchildren.

  Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). But are we? Are we known for our love for each other? Too often we let the excuse of busyness steal opportunities to share love. Yet, when we give love, guess what happens? We grow, we’re blessed, we’re fulfilled and our Father is pleased! Loving others is rarely convenient. It’s demands something too many of us greedily cling to – our time – Me time. We must make it a priority.

  And for us to love each other, we must be willing to pull aside the masks and become transparent. It could start with just some transparency about prayer needs, admitting we don’t have our act all together. We all struggle with a myriad of sins and temptations. How much more victorious we would be if we knew how to pray for one another and then did it.

  Then, share if you need help. What fun to paint a room with a brother or sister or install some gadget! Help someone plant their garden. I have lifelong friends to this day (Russ and Linda Johns) because when I was a young man, I helped them wash the walls in their home. Make cookies for a single. Open your home. Invite someone out for a cup of coffee or a bite to eat after church. 

  And yes, I’m going to be a broken record. Please don’t just attend the worship service. Be part of a small group…if for no other reason than for the fellowship. Switch what service you go to for a month just so you meet brothers and sisters you don’t know. May Grace Church be known as the church where we love each other and others…and God is pleased! 

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.