Dad, should your children follow you?

 

“Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.”   Charles Kettering

 
Henry Bosch shares this story: As a schoolboy, I worked with my father during the summer months. Each morning we stopped to pick up the early edition of the newspaper at a small grocery store. One morning when we got to work, my father found that by mistake he had taken two newspapers instead of one. He first thought of paying the man the extra price the next morning, but then after a moment’s consideration he said, “I had better go back with this paper. I don’t want the man at the store to think I’m dishonest.” He got in his car, drove back to the store, and returned the paper. About a week later, someone stole money from the grocery store. When police pinpointed the time it occurred, the grocer remembered only two people being in the store at the time—and one was my father. The grocer immediately dismissed my father as a suspect, saying, ‘That man is really honest. He came all the way back here just to return a newspaper he took by mistake.’ The police then focused their investigation on the other man, who soon made a full confession. My father’s honesty made a big impression on that non-Christian storeowner, and on me.” Henry Bosch’s father lived out what it means to be a Christ-follower.
  Dads, what’s important to you? According to one recent Pew Research Survey, Dads place a high priority on their children becoming honest, ethical and hardworking adults. The majority of dads say it’s extremely or very important to them that their children be honest and ethical (93%), hardworking (87%) and ambitious (64%) as adults.
  What do you believe are the priorities to teach your children? Being honest and ethical is important and over the years I’ve had fathers tell me many different things. Most want their children to know how to work hard and to be good providers for their families. Some want their children to know how to play sports and be winners. Others want their children to get good grades, go to college, and have a good career.
  All of those are good things, yet in nearly forty years of ministry, I can’t remember a father ever sharing with me: “I want my children to know Jesus as their Savior and go to heaven.” I’m sure some believed it, yet I can’t remember a single Dad expressing that to me. Interestingly, though I’ve had mothers express that and even fret that they’re child had not yet committed his/her life to Christ.
  It’s tempting to put behavior before belief. One though can be very moral and not know Jesus. The Savior echoed that powerful sentiment with “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36). If we focus on the wrong thing, even good things, we can raise our children to be successful failures.
  So, how do we teach our children what should be the top priority in life? Where do we start? We need to personally know what it means to be a believer. If heaven and God’s forgiveness is a “hope so,” we and our children are in real trouble. Would you want directions to some destination if the person sharing them said, “I think this is how you get there…”? No, we want someone who knows the way.
  Even better when you’re unsure of how to get somewhere is to have someone say to you, “I’m going there. Follow me.” Dad, do you know based on God’s Word that you’ve been forgiven and that you’re going to heaven when you die? If you don’t know how to go to heaven, you won’t be able to teach your children and that would be a tragic loss.
  Yet, heaven is so much more than having your ticket punched for eternal life. Our children will value what we value whether it’s caught or taught. My Dad was in retail for years and later invested in and sold commercial real estate. He also invested in the stock market. It’s not a surprise that one of my brothers became a stockbroker and the other began in retail and later ended up as an executive in the fashion industry.
  Hollywood dynasties, business dynasties and political dynasties are common. Children often follow in a father’s footsteps. They will have the same interests and values, spend their leisure time the way they saw modeled and even will have the same type of friends that their parents had. 
  Dad, what do you truly value? What do you love? What’s your focus? Where do you spend your time? If your children follow in your steps, what will their life be like? What will they teach your grandchildren to value?
  American educator, A.E. Winship, decided to trace the descendants of Jonathan Edwards almost 150 years after his death. His findings are remarkable, especially when compared to another man from the same time period known as Max Jukes.
  Jonathan Edwards’ legacy includes: 1 U.S. Vice-President, 1 Dean of a law school, 1 dean of a medical school, 3 U.S. Senators, 3 governors, 3 mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 Military officers, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers, 100 clergymen, and 285 college graduates. How is this explained? Jonathan Edwards was a Christ-follower who loved the Lord. As a result, he was also hard working, moral and ethical.
  Max Jukes’ legacy came to people’s attention when the family trees of 42 different men in the New York prison system were traced back to him. He lived in New York at about the same period as Edwards. The Jukes family originally was studied by sociologist Richard L. Dugdale in 1877. Jukes’ descendants included: 7 murderers, 60 thieves, 190 prostitutes, 150 other convicts, 310 paupers, and 440 who were physically wrecked by addiction to alcohol. Of the 1,200 descendants that were studied, 300 died prematurely.
  These two legacies provide an example of what’s called the five-generation rule. “How a parent raises their child — the love they give, the values they teach, the emotional environment they offer, the education they provide — influences not only their children but the four generations to follow, either for good or evil.” What a challenging thought!
  Dad, if someone studied your descendants four generations later, what would you want them to discover? Do you want an Edwards’ legacy or a Jukes’ one? Being a Christ-follower can determine where your children and grandchildren will spend eternity. The life you live today influences the legacy you leave tomorrow! So, where are you going and what are you leaving behind?

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. 

2024: Grab Your Parachute!

 

“Maybe sometimes it’s riskier NOT to take a risk. Sometimes all you’re guaranteeing is that things will stay the same.” Danny Wallace

 

In 2024, I want to be like Dorothy Hoffner. Last October 4^th this 104-year-old Chicago woman jumped 13,500 feet from a plane to take a chance of becoming the oldest person to tandem skydive. She ditched her walker to skydive, and it wasn't even her first freefall. She first skydived four years ago on her 100^th birthday, but she wanted a redo because, she said, she didn’t want to be pushed out of the plane…she wanted to lead the jump. On October 4^th, she did just that. Hoffner tumbled out of a plane while 13,500 feet in the air, strapped to an instructor. White hair billowing in the wind, she parachuted down to a grass landing area. “Age is just a number,” Hoffner told a cheering crowd. After cheers and congratulations from friends and family, she was handed back her red walker.  

  Unlike Dorothy Hoffner, too many of us essentially live in a rut. Someone defined a rut “as a grave with both ends kicked out.” Here are some risks that I wish people would consider taking in 2024.  

  Get out of your safe zone and check out if what the Bible says about God and going to heaven is true. I have many friends who’ve decided that they don’t believe there is a God, and that this world is basically a machine. They believe that this life is it…when you die, you die. Many of them are well educated and very intellectual. Most of them are good people who sincerely care about others.

  Maybe they have but if they haven’t, in 2024 I wish that they’d check the evidence out for themselves. What I’m asking isn’t big, it’s just reading the four biographies of Jesus in the New Testament for themselves – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. My concern is that so many have swallowed what they have been taught and never checked it out for themselves. If they did, maybe they’d come to the same conclusion…yet I know of so many that once they actually read the Bible for themselves with an open mind, were overwhelmed with who Jesus is, how much God loves them and that He cares for them and their deepest needs. So, if you’re a skeptic, in 2024, please take a risk – take the time and check out the evidence for yourself.
  Get out of your safe zone and check out whether what you believe about going to heaven is what God says in the Bible. One of the most frightening statements you’ll ever hear is: I think that God is like… And when someone dies, most of their friends and family aren’t honest about where they actually are. Someone could have blown off God all of their lives. Often the only time they mention God’s name is as a swear word but in the end, according to the conventional wisdom no matter how you live, everyone goes to heaven. Listening to these conversations, you’d almost think that they’d give Hitler a pass.
  Yet, since heaven is God’s Home and He created it, shouldn’t He set the standards for who lives in His Home. God is loving but He’s not stupid.
  What Dad would sacrifice his only child for someone else, particularly an enemy. Yet, that’s exactly what God did when He sacrificed His Son, Jesus, on the cross for the sins of the world. Do any of us really believe that we could somehow pay God back for such an unbelievable sacrifice by being good, going to church, being a nice person…at our best we’re all still a big mess. So, if you’re religious but trusting what you think or have been taught, yet never checked out what God actually says in His Word about going to heaven, check out whether you are right.
  The Book of Romans was written by Paul, a very religious guy who believed he was going to heaven because he was so religious. He found out he was dead wrong. Why not check out what Paul wrote and see if you’re right? In 2024, do some biblical fact checking for yourself.
  Get out of your safe zone and take a step forward spiritually. Isn’t it amazing that those of us who know that we’re going to live with Jesus for eternity are often focused on temporal changes rather than spiritual and what are eternally significant changes? Perhaps it’s a sinful habit that you’ve been rationalizing about. Clinging to it is causing you to limp spiritually and withholding God’s best for your life. This is the year to repent and replace it with what God wants you to do.
  Perhaps there are some spiritual habits that you know that you need to make part of your daily life, yet you keep procrastinating. Maybe it’s regularly reading your Bible, instead of just on Sundays when you’re at church. Maybe it’s committing to increase your prayer life or becoming more faithful in your church attendance or even joining a small group Bible study. So, if your spiritual life is like a rocking chair and not really going anywhere because some things need to change, make 2024 your year!
  Get out of your safe zone and make what for you is a leap of faith. One of my heroes in the Bible is Caleb. When everyone else was shaking in their sandals in fear of the giants, Caleb with Joshua was singing a duet of “We can do it! We can do it!” When God finally brought Israel into the Promised Land, Caleb was 85-years-young. Rather than sitting out and saying, “I’m old. It’s someone else’s turn,” Caleb is biting on the bit to take new territory. Even though there were giants there, Caleb said, “I want that mountain.” Caleb was a man of faith who’d have gone after Moby Dick in a rowboat with a bottle of tartar sauce.
  That’s who I want to be. That’s what I long for our church to be. Maybe for you it’s inviting that neighbor or co-worker to church? Maybe it’s sharing the gospel with that one you’ve been praying for that they will come to Jesus…and God is sending you? Maybe it’s giving so it tightens your budget a bit? Maybe it’s serving in a ministry where you’re not a natural or you’re nervous? It’s time for the people of faith to step out in faith. It’s time to dream big because we have a BIG God and go big!
  In 2024, I’m packing my parachute! How about you? Let’s stop playing it safe and take some risks!

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. 

 

The Gift of Peace

 

“What peace can they have who are not at peace with God?”  

                                                                    Matthew Henry 

Two artists set out to paint a picture that was to represent perfect peace. The first painted a canvas depicting a carefree boy sitting in a boat on a little lake without a ripple to disturb the surface. The other though painted a raging waterfall, winds whipping spray about. Yet on a limb, overhanging the swirling water, a bird had built its nest and sat peacefully brooding over her eggs. Here she was safe from predatory enemies and though surrounded by the roaring falls, she was totally at peace.
  Peace isn’t just the absence of conflict. In fact, peace is best appreciated and understood when conflicts raged all around.
  Alexander Maclaren said, “However profound and real that Divine peace is, it is to be enjoyed in the midst of warfare. God’s peace is not [inertia]. The man that has it has still to wage continual conflict, and day by day to brace himself anew for the fight. The highest energy of action is the result of the deepest calm[ness] of heart. That peace of God…is peace militant.”
  A relationship with God isn’t like some magic wand to be waved over all of your problems. True peace doesn’t come that way. As we make the tough choices to trust Him and hold fast to His grace, His peace surges through us. As hard as life is, militant peace arrives at the instant we exercise faith during the battle. It gives us strength to say, “I can do this. I can make this tough choice for the honor of Christ. I can, I will trust Him!”
  Peace is something that we all desperately need and want. It’s one reason why countless millions are spent annually in search of peace. Every year thousands of people seeking personal or family peace flock to professional counselors. Diplomats fly around the globe pursuing peace between nations. Our courts are jammed with cases arising from a breakdown of peace between individuals or corporations. But all this money and time hasn’t worked. Seemingly, there is less peace than ever before.
  Peace, the kind of peace we need and yearn for, is a gift. It’s a gift that God lovingly gave us when He sent His Son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace, into our world. 2,000 thousand years ago angels announced God’s peace in His Son to a group of poor shepherds.
  The peace the Lord Jesus gives isn’t just any kind of peace. The Bible tells us that this peace is a type of peace that enables us to experience an inner calm in spite of circumstances that would normally cause us to unravel. It’s like the calm like the eye of a hurricane…perfect stillness and peace while storms rage all around.
  The best picture of the gift of peace that Jesus brings us is seen in Jesus Himself. The way that the Lord Jesus lived His life showed that when it comes to peace Jesus knew what He was talking about. He fully deserves the title: Prince of Peace. For example, the very storm that caused His disciples to panic, made Him drowsy. Remember? The disciples feared that their boat would be their tomb but to Jesus it was a cradle. Another time, when Jesus was teaching a crowd of 5,000 men (not counting women and children) His disciples panicked because it was supper time, and they were worried about how they’d feed the huge crowd. When they informed Jesus, He faced that situation with unworldly calm.  As He began His earthly ministry and told people in the synagogue that He was the Messiah. They responded by trying to throw Him off a cliff, but He calmly walked through their midst. The professional mourners at the home of Jairus laughed in His face when Jesus told them the little girl was only asleep. Then He calmly entered her room and raised her from the dead. Even the raging demoniac in the graveyard at Gadara didn’t scare Him. On the cross while the other two prisoners cursed their executioners, Jesus prayed for them, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
  Isn’t that the kind of peace that we all long for? Wouldn’t you like to be able to face the trials of life like Jesus did? Doesn’t this particular gift of Christmas seem appealing to you? Jesus came to give us peace, yet there is only one way to have this peace.
  You must surrender your life to King Jesus. The Bible teaches that we’re all sinners and at odds with our Holy God. There’s no such thing as a “good” person. Most of us aren’t even nice. So, to experience this gift of Christmas we must first make our peace with God. We must resolve our part of the conflict between God and man that began when sin entered the world. When Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God’s laws, really just one command, they broke their relationship with our loving Creator. Every human being since has done the same thing.
  Instead of living our lives according to the will of our Creator, each of us willfully chooses to live according to our own self-will. Isaiah 53:6 describes this selfish rebellion when it says, “We all…like sheep…have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way.” When sin entered the world, peace left it. Since then, all of us go our own way instead of God’s. We disobey His laws in thought, word, and deed. Yet Jesus came to make peace between God and man a possibility again. In dying for our sins, Jesus carried the guilt of the entire human race in His own body. Jesus became our peace offering.
  A peace offering is a gift or service for the purpose of securing peace or reconciliation. In the Old Testament there are dozens of references to the Jews recognizing this enmity between themselves and God by bringing peace offerings, sacrifices to God in His temple. But Jesus came to be the peace offering to God for all humanity. His sacrificial death on the cross is the source of this gift of peace.
  It’s what Ephesians 2:14 means when it says, “For He [Jesus] Himself is our peace, Who has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, for through Him we have access to the Father.” To have inner peace then, we must personally accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We must claim Him as our peace offering.
  Jesus is the first Christmas gift. He’s God’s gift to YOU! It’s the message of John 3:16. But a gift is worthless unless you personally accept it. You can believe there’s a gift, know all about it, but it doesn’t become yours until you accept it. Jesus came to give us the gift of peace with God. That’s the beginning of true peace. My friend, have you accepted God’s gift?

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. 

Mom, please don't be Jane Fonda

 

“I can’t think of a better way to use my abilities than in service to my children.” Lynda Sittser 

  She’s a former fashion model, one of America’s most famous actresses, and part of a Hollywood Dynasty. She’s been in some 54 movies and is the recipient of two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy away, the AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Her first exercise video was the highest-selling of all time. She’s worth over $200,000,000.00. From our culture’s perspective, she is the epitome of success. Yet, in an interview earlier this year with Chris Wallace, Jane Fonda shared that the biggest regret in her life was not knowing how to be a better parent. “I was not the kind of mother that I wish that I had been to my children.”
  You have to appreciate her vulnerability and candor. The mothers who should frighten us are the ones who think they’ve arrived and have it all together. Any honest Mom and really every parent would acknowledge that they’ve made a lot of mistakes. How could they not – there are no perfect mothers and there has only been one perfect child – Jesus. Even His Mom made some big blunders.
  So on this year’s Mother’s Day, let me share some advice on how to potentially cut down on some of those regrets for the future. (This goes for Dad too and grandparents).  Keep the main thing the main thing. In other words, you can’t have it all, so focus on what’s truly important.
  Periodically, I’ll hear someone bemoan that they think they have ADHD. Though there are some who are diagnosed with ADHD and we don’t want to disparage that. Yet, stop and observe the world around you and I think you’ll find that we essentially have an ADHD culture.
  Most of us carry what is essentially a toddler having a tantrum. They’re in our pockets and purses. Smartphones can make us stupid. Those rings, chirps, and vibrations can distract us from what’s truly important.  
  In 2015, Brandie Johnson, a mother of young twin boys decided to conduct a little experiment: She took an hour one morning to unplug and simply watch her boys play. She also decided to keep score. When her boys looked over to see if she was watching them, she’d make a mark on a piece of paper. She ended up with 28 marks. She wrote:
  “As I sat quietly in the corner of the room I tallied how many times they looked at me for various reasons: to see if I saw their cool tricks, to seek approval or disapproval for what they were doing, and to watch my reactions. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was on some sort of technology what message would I have been sending? 28 times my angels would have wondered if the World Wide Web was more important than them.” Brandie that it was more important to be there for her boys than to be connected somewhere else.
  While work is important, relationships are more important. Most Moms are in the workplace today. There’s increasing pressure to move up the ladder and/or work longer hours. Few employers value the bottom line of your family. Then, in our consumer-driven culture, it’s tempting to overextend ourselves so our children don’t have to “do without.”
  Because it’s so much a part of our world, we fail to stop and ask “Do without what?” Toys, gadgets, bigger and better vacations? Larger houses and better cars? We feel the squeeze. As believers, as those who know all of this world is temporary, periodically we need to stop and evaluate what we’re investing in, how we’re spending our time, and what we’re living for?
  Jesus asked, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). If we have all the “stuff,” this world says is important and only provide for our children the temporal, but fail to direct them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and living for the eternal and what truly matters, what have we accomplished?
  You can’t have it all. Each of us must choose and the earlier we choose the better. If you wait until the teen years to begin investing eternal truth and values in your child’s heart, it may be too late.
  It’s not easy though. The cultural peer pressure is relentless. Frequently, Christian parents are concerned about the ideology and worldview being taught in their child’s school, yet missing the values and worldview they’re teaching by example in their own lives and focus. They’re pressured by parental peers to have their child involved in nearly everything…because that’s what good parents do. Yet what your child needs is not another activity, they need YOU – time with you, learning from you, and talking to you. They need to know your Lord and Savior. Very few voices are going to share eternal values with them. No one is as vested as you are in their spiritual future. You are the best hope that they have of knowing and living for what has true significance.
  A prime quality every mother and parent needs is a sincere faith (2 Timothy 1:5). The word “sincere” means, literally, “not hypocritical.” Phony faith is a mask put on in front of church members or out in public but set aside in the home. The parents may be fighting as they drive to church, but when they drive in the parking lot, they act as if everything is just wonderful. Kids smell that kind of phoniness a mile away.
  G. Campbell Morgan was a gifted preacher of another generation. He had four sons who all became preachers. Someone once asked when all of the family was there, “Who is the greatest preacher in your family?” Though there was great admiration for their preacher-Dad, the answer without a moment’s hesitation was: “Mother.”
  Jane Fonda may have blown it but she got one thing right – she owned it. Every mom, every parent will look back with some regret. The only perfect parent is God the Father. Yet, let’s seek to limit regret by being focused on Him, depending on His grace, and prioritizing what has eternal significance. When we fail, confess it (1 John 1:9) and ask for God’s grace both in your life and in the life of your children. 

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. 

Is there a Christian response to violence ad mass shootings?

“In the face of evil and tragedy be not weary in well doing. 

Never cease to be moved by the suffering of others. 

Mourn with those who mourn.” Ben Watson

Already this year there have been nearly 70 mass shootings. There have been more mass shootings at this point in 2023 than in any previous year since 2013. With Jane’s growing up in East Lansing, the shootings at MSU took my breath away. We’ve been on that campus many, many times!  Yet, it’s not just mass shootings. Violent crime is growing rampantly everywhere, particularly in urban areas. For example, you have a 1 in 185 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Racine. A 1 in 60 chance of being one in Milwaukee and a 1 in 24 chance in Chicago. It’s a Mad Max world. So what’s a Christian response?

  First, we need to be honest, there are no simple answers. After each mass shooting self-appointed experts flood social media with solutions. Many are quick to blame access to guns, yet many mass shootings and violent crimes happen in places with the strictest gun controls. One doesn’t need a gun to attack people. Just recently, Weng Sor drove a rented U-Haul and struck nine people in Brooklyn.

  Obviously, there does need to be some gun control. Convicted felons or those with a history of mental illness shouldn’t have access to guns.

  For a myriad of reasons, we have a mental health crises. While some who commit violent crimes are evil, many others suffer from mental illness. Because of their derangement, they’re a danger to themselves and others, and society needs to be protected from them.

  Violent crime and mass shootings are a vertical problem. They reveal the sin inherent in our world and a breakdown with the God who created life. The core solution to reducing violence is not another policy or law. It’s in addressing root causes that result in someone carrying out these horrific crimes. Guns, vehicles, and bombs are the symptoms of the problem. The real problem is the heart of the perpetrator. It’s first a spiritual problem.

  Violence happens because of the brokenness and evil inside each of us. We’re all naturally rebels against God and slaves to sin, compelled to do its bidding. Jesus came to set us free from our sin. The main problem in the world isn’t weapons, bad parenting, poverty, or any other social malady. The problem is that we’re estranged from God and in need of redemption.

  While this doesn’t mean that there isn’t value in dealing with problematic societal structures, it does mean that the primary blame doesn’t reside with politicians, gun dealers, or law enforcement.

  Mourn with those who mourn and pray for all the victims. Christians are to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). With so much violence, it’s easy to become desensitized. We’ve seen so many reports of tragedies that we can forget to remember that the lives lost were someone’s sons and daughters, someone’s spouse, or someone’s parent. As Christians, we’re called to identify with the pain of others.

  And we need to pray for those who have experienced tragedy. Every victim has a mother and a father. Many times they have siblings and extended family. The victim of violence is not the only victim.

  Some will retort that “thoughts and prayers” are unhelpful. Christ-followers know that prayer is the most powerful tool we have available. Through prayer, we have access to the God of the universe, the only One who can bring peace to violent situations and comfort to those who have experienced loss. We must be committed to lifting up those in need.

  Violence and murder are natural outcomes of a “Culture of Death.” Genesis 1:27, says “God created man in His image, male and female He created them.” When a culture doesn’t value Imago Dei, that every human being is made in the image of God, then violence and murder of all kinds are tragic byproducts. If one doesn’t value life at its beginning or end, why would one value life in the middle? If one doesn’t believe “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), for every human being,  the move to take the life of another human being becomes easier to rationalize.  

  While we can’t change the world, we can work to change “our world.”  Since 1982, 134 mass shootings have been carried out in the United States by male shooters. In contrast, only three mass shootings have been carried out by women. Many mass shooters were loners and suicidal prior to carrying out their rampage. The average age is under 35.

  God has designed us for community. He has designed us for relationships. God has not called Christians to live safe lives but invested ones. Too many of us are so busy that we fail to notice those around us with deep needs. It takes very little effort to invest in young people or single adults that God brings into the sphere of your life. Knowing their name, some of their interests and engaging them in conversation humanizes them.

  God designed the local church to be a Christian counterculture from the world. While the world may be filled with disrespect and rudeness, we value kindness and graciousness. While violence may fill the streets, we must cultivate an environment of love, peace, forgiveness and healthy relationships. While environment is not a guarantee against acts of evil, it’s profoundly important. In our families, in our small groups, in our teen and children’s ministries and in all our interactions, we must cultivate an environment that gives people the alternative of a biblical worldview of Christlikeness to the cruelty and emptiness that our world offers.

  We can share the only true hope. Only the gospel of Christ offers true hope. Only Jesus can reconcile us to God and help us reconcile with each other. When we come to Christ, we receive not only forgiveness for our sins, but we also get a new family as we’re adopted into the family of God.

  In the aftermath of great evil, as believers we must cling tighter to the gospel, realizing that we are all lost without it. We must boldly share it. If we truly are concerned with the evil in the world, we must point those around us to the only hope of solving the heart problems that births all evil.

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. 

Now THIS is exciting!

 

“If coming to know Christ is the greatest thing that has happened to you, it only makes sense that the greatest thing you can do for someone else is to introduce them to Him.”  Bill Bright 

Did you watch Sunday’s Super Bowl? It was a nailbiter, particularly if you were a Chiefs or Eagles fan. In the nearly seventy Super Bowls only about a dozen have been close like Sunday night’s game. 

  Can you imagine though if after the Chiefs win that there is no confetti, no party streamers, and no presentation of the Lombardi trophy? Kansas City had something like half a million fans lining the parade route last  Tuesday to welcome the victors home. But what if there had been no victory parade, no celebration…nothing?

  What gets you excited? What news do you find that you just have to share? Do you share with everyone when your team wins? Or, when you graduated from high school or college? How about when you got engaged? Or, had your first child? Everybody gets excited about something, right? So what is it that does that for you? When we’re excited, we have to share it.

  Many years ago we had a woman attending our church who was given a terminal cancer diagnosis. Her doctor told her, “Just go home and prepare your will…your terminal.” I’ll never forget my conversation with her later. What could I say?

  Fortunately, she got a second opinion, and what the first doctor diagnosed as terminal cancer, turned out to be cysts which though serious, were safely surgically removed with no further complications. Do you think that she was excited? Do you think that she had to share her good news with everyone? You better believe it!

  As Christians, we have much better news, the greatest news. Prior to salvation, we were doomed to a Christless eternity. Now we’re forgiven but not just for the sin we committed in the past but for every sin that we will commit in the future. We have a new Father and a new family, one that is so huge it will fill all of heaven. We will never be alone ever again. Jesus has promised to always be with us. We have a new citizenship and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We’re given a new nature so we desire things that are good and wonderful and have eternal value. We even have a new body awaiting us. And the list goes on and on and on.   

  What we have is better than winning the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the World Series, the Stanley Cup, the Mega Lottery all rolled into one, plus so much more. All of those things are only for this life, yet salvation is for all eternity. Redemption is the best thing that will ever happen to any of us.

  Those words from Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade, have echoed in my heart since I read them a few weeks ago. What a powerful insight! “If coming to know Christ is the greatest thing that has happened to you, it only makes sense that the greatest thing you can do for someone else is to introduce them to Him.”

  Sadly think about all of the things that we talk about BUT Jesus. I’m not talking about being some religious nut. The last thing a lost world needs is another religious wacko. Yet our world desperately needs those who are born-again to share the gospel. The gospel is this world’s only hope.

  Today we’re celebrating our 5^th Anniversary in this building. We built this building as a tool. We built it to be a place where believers can get a bigger view of our awesome God as we study God’s Word together so they leave here to share Him with all those they come in contact with. We want it to attract those who haven’t yet met the Lord Jesus so that we can introduce them to our Savior. As a church family, we want to be Jesus’ PR people.

  African-American pastor, E.V. Hill, pastored Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in L.A. for over forty years. One of his most well-known sermons was entitled: When is God at His Best?

  He began his message by referring to the book of Genesis. He talked about creation and described what happened during those first seven days in such amazing detail. Then he said, “This was amazing. It was powerful—but it wasn’t God at His best.” He turned to Exodus and talked about how God delivered the Hebrew people from bondage. He described the plagues, miracles, and the parting of the Red Sea, and again, Hill said, “This was powerful and amazing but it wasn’t God at His best.” He followed this same line of reasoning with the birth of Christ, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. Each time he’d say, “This was powerful and amazing but it wasn’t God at His best.” So when is God at His best? At the end of his sermon, Pastor Hill finally answered that question:

  But God is at his best when he saves lost souls. Would you like for me to tell you when He was at His best? It isn't even in the Bible. God was at His best nearly 51 years ago, with a little country boy, whose mother couldn't make enough money to feed him, and who some people in the country helped raise. At 11 years old, walking down Grandma Jodi's lane, this great, big, old God came all the way down and got right into my heart. Then He got up in my head. Then He got all over me. I didn't know what was happening to me; I didn't understand it. I had to go home and tell Mamma about my experience. She said, "I think God has saved you, boy."

  That is God at his best — when He saved me. When He — the great God of the universe — came all the way down and got into the heart and spirit of an 11 year old boy. Every time He saves a lost soul, that's God at His best. Not the moon and stars. Not the hills and mountains. Not the trees and valleys. Not the rivers and lakes and oceans. But God picking up a drunkard and making him a preacher, picking up a prostitute and making her a singer, picking up people down and out and putting them on their feet, causing us to stand and say, "Glory, He saved me. I'm saved."

  That's God, the Savior, at His best. God is at His best when He's saving. I am but a wretch. It took a miracle to put that sun in place. It took a miracle to put the moon in space. But when He saved my soul, cleansed and made me whole, that was God at His best.”

  At Grace Church, we’re committed to being part of God at His best! That’s what must excite us! We’re committed to sharing with those around us how they can be part of God at His best! Our DNA is sharing how others can meet our Savior so they too can experience God at His best! 

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. 

Now this is really frightening

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” H. P. Lovecraft

 Recently, something very odd yet noteworthy came out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unless you’re a student of world religions, you’re probably not familiar with the name – Patriarch Kirill. As the Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Patriarch Kirill, is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

  Archbishop Kirill is a very close friend of Vladimir Putin and his close political ally. This relationship has had serious theological ramifications.

  Recently, Patriarch Kirill said: “The church realizes that if somebody, driven by a sense of duty and the need to fulfill their oath, goes to do what their duty calls of them, and if a person dies in the performance of this duty, then they have undoubtedly committed an act equivalent to sacrifice. They will have sacrificed themselves for others and, therefore, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has committed.”

  Wow! The head of the Russian Church said that. Basically, he promises the total forgiveness of sins for any soldier if the soldier dies on the battlefield in support of Mother Russia. According to Patriarch Kirill, if a soldier dies for Russia, he’s forgiven all of his sins and goes to heaven. It’s not just a frightening promise. It’s a life and absolutely unbiblical!

  We need to be very clear on this. There is no such message of salvation found anywhere in the Bible. It’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it’s a repudiation of the gospel. It’s actually a perverse form of work’s righteousness, suggesting that these soldiers can earn salvation by the way they die on the battlefield. In other words, dying for Russia is a “good deed” and guarantees heaven for the one who died fighting for Russia.

  Tragically, this isn’t far from what many believe about going to heaven. They believe that you go to heaven because you’re a good person or that you obeyed the Ten Commandments or that you’re moral.

  But is being good a guarantee of heaven? It’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible clearly says that it’s God’s grace because of Jesus' death and payment for sin on the cross that guarantees entry into heaven. It’s not anything we have done or can do. You can’t “do” anything to merit heaven.

  In spite of the obvious evidence to the contrary, most of us want to believe man is basically good. That’s hauntingly illustrated in the words of Anne Frank that she penned in her diary in 1944: “It's really a wonder I haven't dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” While young Anne wanted to believe people were basically good, she and her family were hiding from the Nazis, who ultimately discovered them, sentencing them to the Death Camps. Being good enough to go to heaven has some major problems.

  Good deeds are arbitrary. First, who determines what the standard of goodness is? Me, you, the Dali Llama, the Pope? Is it the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, or the Five Pillars of Islam we must adhere to? What’s good enough for God to let us into heaven?

  Then, how many really keep them? In one religious discussion group, someone asked, “What’s good enough to get someone into heaven?" Some responded, "You have to keep the Ten Commandments and follow the Golden Rule." That was followed up by another question, "So how many keep those two things (the Ten Commandments & the Golden Rule)?" The answer: "Even though we don't keep them perfectly, we should all do our best." A third question followed: "Do any of you do your best all the time?"

  No one could respond with anything near a resounding "Yes," so the group lowered the standard again. They felt if you tried to do your best most of the time, you’d make it. But what does most of the time mean? Does it mean 51% or 90%? In the end, they admitted they were unable to determine the level of commitment that was necessary for salvation.   

  Good deeds offer no assurance of salvation. Those who believe being good gets you into heaven live in the realm of “I hope so.” If you talk to someone trusting in their goodness to get them into heaven and ask them, "Are you going to go to heaven?" They’ll nearly always say, "I hope so."

  A standard of good deeds ultimately asks God to approve of evil. Any system which demands less than perfection must allow some evil, and then must also ask God to approve of this evil. But if God allowed imperfect people into heaven, heaven would no longer be perfect. Heaven is a place without any suffering or sin, not just a place where there is minimal suffering and sin (Rev. 21-22). If you had a pitcher of 100% pure water and added just a little bit of poison, would you still want to drink it?

  The Bible teaches the impossibility of being good. Going to Heaven is only possible through Jesus Christ. We’ll never be good enough. It’s why Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

  God in His justice demands payment for our sins and God in His love offers the substitute. Jesus Christ is our substitute. He paid our debt on the cross of Calvary. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Christ, God's perfect Son, died and paid the total price for our sins so that we could be forgiven and go to heaven to live for all eternity. It’s what John 3:16 is all about. Salvation is a free gift from God.

  When someone gives you a gift, they paid for it. Your responsibility is to simply accept it. Patriarch Kirill is wrong and so is anyone else who believes “good deeds” can earn heaven. Only trusting that Jesus died for your sins brings God’s forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.

  Wonderfully, this means there is hope for everyone. Anyone can be saved no matter how good or bad they’ve been. Becoming a Christian means trusting in Christ so much that you risk your eternity on what the Bible says and what the Lord Jesus did for you in His life and in His death.

  My friend, are you a Christian? First, you must admit that you’re not a good person. Then, come to Jesus, run to the Cross, and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior? Will you do that? That’s what the Bible says. That’s true forgiveness and it’s how we know that we’re going to heaven.   

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.  

 

 

One Mistake Can Ruin Everything

“There’s always that one stupid mistake that changes everything.”

  Apparently, Britain is very serious about special delivery mail. One Kent, England postman was fired after being just one minute late with a special delivery. The mail carrier, Robert Lockyer, had worked for the Royal Mail for 28 years. In October of this past year, he was sacked after management accused him of “gross misconduct.” What did he do? Lockyer was making a special delivery at a bank on September 12^th. Special delivery items are guaranteed to arrive by 9am or 1pm the following day. Incidentally, Lockyer had already made around 1,500 of these in his career. Lockyer claims that he was made to wait in the queue with other customers at the bank, so it was 1:01 pm by the time he was able to obtain a signature to confirm delivery. Because he was one minute late in making the delivery, he was terminated. One small failure to meet the standard after nearly three decades of faithful work and it cost him his job. Wow!

  Can I share a tougher one? You can’t get into heaven unless you’re perfect. Adam and Eve lost Paradise and were kicked out of the Garden for disobeying God by eating one piece of fruit. They weren’t murderers or child molesters. They disobeyed God on one point. It cost them everything.

  Heaven is only for perfect people. It’s why Jesus could leave Heaven and return to Heaven. The Bible is very clear that, unlike us, Jesus was perfect. In other words, He was sinless (2 Cor. 5:21; Hebrews 4:15). But if Heaven is perfect and God lets someone imperfect in (like me or you), then Heaven is no longer perfect. It’d be contaminated. If you must be perfect (or sinless) to get into Heaven, for most of us it’s an insurmountable problem.

  I don’t have a little sin problem. It’s huge! Sin is like having a credit card for the first time. It’s easy to lose track of how much you’ve spent and get surprised by a gargantuan bill. It’s a lot like our sin “bill.”

  Let me illustrate. Most would admit to sinning at least three times a day (the truth is that it’s lots lot more than that but let’s use that). Multiply three times by a year and round it off. That’s 1,000 sins a year. Now multiply 1,000 by your age. Even for the youngest of us, it’s a big debt.

  Some hope that maybe God grades on a curve. He doesn’t. God doesn’t compare Ralph to George and decide, “Well, George isn’t as bad as Ralph, so he gets into heaven.” Most of us think that we’re not so bad because we compare ourselves to someone who is worse, often a lot worse. God’s standard according to His Word is perfection. None of us meet it (Romans 3:23). We’re all a huge mess when it comes to sin.

  It gets worse! The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death invaded this world when Adam and Eve sinned. As soon as they disobeyed God, they began to die. It’s not only physical death, it’s eternal death – separation from God. Because of sin, we’re not perfect and can’t go to Heaven where only perfection is allowed…and we’re dying.

  Back though to our credit card analogy. What if someone paid off that huge credit card bill? Would the person who owned the credit card and ran up the bill still have to pay it? No. The debt is completely paid.

  That’s why Christians love the cross! They know that on the cross Jesus paid their sin debt completely: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God gave His Son on the cross to pay the sin debt for all humanity. It’s why Jesus said, “I am THE way” (John 14:6).

  If there was any other way, God wouldn’t have sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, on the cross. The Bible says that there is just one way – Jesus. His death paid for all of our sin. A gift isn’t yours until you accept it (whoever believes in Him). Each of us must personally accept God’s gift of salvation.

  Recently, I read an old story about a man and his boy who were walking through the jungle and came upon another man who’d fallen into a pit dug to trap lions. He had been trying in vain for hours to climb out of the pit and had accomplished nothing except to exhaust himself. Nighttime was about to fall and both he and the man with the boy knew that if they didn’t get him out, he would die before morning.

  Seeing nothing readily available to make a ladder with, the man looked up and high in a tree just over the pit he could see a vine, that with one end cut would reach down to the pit and give the man something to hold on to and climb out. The problem was the tree was not very strong-looking and the branches couldn’t bear a lot of weight. But the man’s son, the little boy, volunteered to climb up in the tree and cut the vine, pointing out that his light weight could be borne by the slight branches.

  This father finally agreed. The boy climbed with his father’s knife up to the high branches, where he cut one end of the vine and it snaked down into the hole in which the man was trapped. But as he did so, the branch on which he was perched snapped under his weight and the boy came crashing to the ground where he instantly died.

  As this Dad held the broken and lifeless body of his precious son to his breast and wept, he heard the voice of the man trapped in the pit calling out to him. He stepped to the edge of the hole and looked down, and the man said, “Look, I’m very sorry about your son. But that vine doesn’t look strong and the branches of the tree look brittle. I think you should provide another way – a safer way out of the pit for me.” The Dad looked down into the pit for a moment, then in controlled anger he quietly said, “My son died providing a way for you to be saved; and the only way you are going to get out of that pit is if you take advantage of it.”

  The Bible says two things: First, Jesus paid the sin debt with His own life and blood because He was the only one who could. Second, salvation and all that it includes - forgiveness, freedom from guilt, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - is a free gift (Eph. 2:8-9). It can’t be earned. How could anyone “pay” God back for the gift of His Son? You must personally accept God’s gift. Have you?

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. 

Being willing to get your hands dirty

“The Savior moved from divine doctrine to dirty feet in a very short space of time. We would do well to remember this.”  Derick Bingham

  Earlier this past week, Jane and I were able to spend some time with my “son” and his family. Though our time was limited, it’s so fulfilling to see his love for the Lord, his wife and his two little girls. True, it wasn’t my biological son, it was my son in the faith, Dustin Rider.

  During that brief window of time when God dropped Dustin and Erin, and their two precious little girls into the Grace Church family, I was instrumental in Dustin’s salvation. I’d regularly meet with Dustin and Erin for an evangelistic Bible study to work through the basics of salvation and life in Christ. And though Dustin and Erin were just baby Christians and struggling with a boatload of concerns, like moving to a job that was better for their family, and the normal issues of young Christians, they reached out to Nicole Poltrock.

  Because of their faithfulness and testimony, Nicole came to Grace Church and more importantly, came to Christ. Erin was instrumental in Nicole’s salvation. So not only am I a spiritual father, I may be a grandfather…at least a spiritual uncle.

  Now some of you are thinking, “Well, of course you did that – that’s what we pay you to do.” Wrong answer! If you’re a believer, “that’s what you were saved to do.” And if you really know Jesus, and if you’re growing in your faith and becoming a mature Christian, you’re nearly OCD about serving and sharing your faith. It nearly drives you crazy to NOT serve, to not show gratitude, to not share the greatest news that there has ever been of how you can be forgiven, of how you can have the Spirit’s power in your life to conquer sin, and know that this temporal, empty life is not all there is – you are going to be with Jesus for all eternity!

  The simple truth is that there’s something seriously wrong with a Christian who does not want to serve, share or give. If Jesus really saved you from your sins, if you’ve accepted His free gift of salvation truly comprehending that He died for you so that you wouldn’t have to face eternal judgment, then there is overwhelming gratitude. Not only did Jesus save you from something, He gave you new life, His power and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If there’s new life, there’s a new value system, a new behavior and a new worldview.

  Can you imagine a Muslim professing to having come to Christ, yet claiming that they follow both Jesus and Muhhamad? If you know anything about Christianity, you’d be dumbfounded and quickly point out to them that you can’t follow both. Jesus is Lord of all or He’s not Lord at all. The biblical reality is that you either have committed your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or you haven’t and are an idolater, or you’re a spiritual adulterer. It’s as foolish as getting married but still wanting to date. It doesn’t work.

  Salvation is revolutionary. It changes everything. When you come to Christ and realize how much He loved you and gave for you, you want to give, share and serve Him. You long to. You’re driven with a passion of unbelievable gratitude.

  Anyone studying their Bible, comparing much of what is called Christianity in America to what is normal Christianity in the Bible, quickly realizes that in America our churches are filled with people who know about Jesus but probably don’t know Jesus. One of the greatest indicators of that is that most “Christians” worship at the altar of consumerism.

  This was recently illustrated in our area when a mega-church planted a multi-site church. It was a reasonable decision. They had a large percentage of people who attended their church that were driving 30 to 45 minutes each week to attend. So they logically assumed that those individuals would want to worship locally. More importantly, they knew that these same church attendees would be much more effective reaching their lost friends in their community if they had a local church.

  Think about it. While a Christian might drive some distance to attend the “right church,” a lost person isn’t going to. They might do it a time or two but for them, a church is a church.

  Here’s the shocker! Though there was now a local church, though it was the same message (though the preaching is via video feed), though the new site needed workers who could minister in the new church plant, though it would help them more effectively reach their lost friends and neighbors – a huge percentage still drive every weekend over half an hour to the “mother church” to worship there. The original obviously does it a little better, bigger and brighter than the new multi-site church. I can’t help but wonder if a possible motive is that it’s easier to attend with no responsibility to be involved. The greatest problem though is that they’re not part of reaching their community and are disobeying the Great Commission, just to satisfy their own consumer desires.  

  Some 80% of our community do not attend church anywhere. What an opportunity we have. That’s why our ministry fair is so important. First, it helps YOU get to know others in this church better. Second, it gives you an opportunity to see where you (and even your family) might plug in to serve Jesus – the one who loved you and gave His life to rescue you.

  It comes back to this. If you truly know Jesus, you love Him and are overcome with gratitude toward Him. That means that you don’t really even need to be asked to serve, you’re looking for ways to serve. You don’t have to be asked to give, you can’t help yourself. And when Jesus has revolutionized your life, unsaved people are almost ready to pay you to shut-up because you can’t help but share His love and forgiveness with them. When you realize how much Jesus has done and given for you – you want to pour your life out in giving back to Him.

  Do you really know Jesus? Show me your calendar, show me your checkbook…tell me the last time that you shared the Gospel with a lost person. If you really know Jesus, when you’re in love with Jesus – no one ever really wonders. About five minutes with you and they know that you’re in love with the Lord of life who gave His life for you!