Yelping for His Glory!

“Technology and social media have brought power back to the people."   Mark McKinnon

  Are you travelling this summer? Going on vacation? When you’re on the road, how do you determine where you’ll stay or where you’ll eat?

  Jane and I will hardly step foot into a new place without first checking it out on either Tripadvisor or Yelp. TripAdvisor has become the most commonly accessed travel review website today with up to 50 million users every month and is the most widely recognized, used, and trusted travel website. Among 3,641 users surveyed by PhoCusWright, 69% found TripAdvisor reviews to be “highly or extremely accurate;” 92% agreed with the statement that TripAdvisor hotel reviews “help me pick the right hotel for my travel needs;” and 83% usually or always take a look at TripAdvisor reviews before selecting a hotel. Social media officially took over travel in 2010—or so the scientists say. That’s the year, according to a Cornell study, that “guest experience mentioned in customer reviews” became the factor most frequently cited by consumers in surveys about the process of choosing a hotel. While most of us still look at a hotel’s web page, what has more credibility though aren’t those pristine professional hotel pictures, but the average person’s review of the hotel. The hotel is a paid salesman whereas the reviewer is a satisfied (or dissatisfied) customer.

  Most churches have web pages and Facebook pages. For an outsider, those fall into the category of “paid sales people.” While they have some merit, they don’t have the powerful influence a satisfied church attendee has. And it has even more potency when the post isn’t on an “official” church website or social media outlet. 

  Can I encourage you to prayerfully consider using social media for Kingdom purposes? How can we do that? Let me offer some suggestions.

  Pray and think before you post. Social media has replaced talking with our tongue to talking with our fingers. All of us regret saying something that was poorly timed, said in haste, was hurtful or even sinful. The same is true when we’re talking with our fingers. God has promised to give us wisdom (James 1:5). As we know that the Lord Jesus hears what we say, He sees what we post. Words on a page lack the added clarification of tone or facial expression. Most of us hear written words at a much louder volume than they’re often intended. Obviously, if you wouldn’t say it to the person if they were right in front of you, you shouldn’t post it.

  Use social media to build bridges, not walls. Social media has redefined communication. It’s replaced personal interaction, phone calls and e-mails. People are relaying their most private and important information in semi-public status updates. The very nature of authenticity and identity is being challenged. With the push of a button, one can transform themselves into whoever they want to be. Facts about myself can be added or deleted. “Friends” are casually collected and I can transform myself into the very person I wished I were back in high school.

  Yet, with all of our “friends,” a sad outcome of social media is increasing isolation and loneliness among users. You may have lots of people you consider friends, yet not have any confidants with which you can discuss deep personal matters. Facebook allows people to connect, but users lack the meaningful bond that results from intimate conversation and contact.

  As part of a church family, the Bible commands us to encourage community, “one anotherness.” As a Christian, my priority must first be “us-ies,” not “selfies.” It’s one reason that when we’re with other believers, we should let those outside the family know it, and not just when we attend a worship service. Lost people aren’t surprised when a Christian attends church (hopefully, they’re surprised when we skip). Just as most of us post pictures when we’re with our biological family, when we post pictures and comments when we’re with our spiritual family, it sends a message of supernatural family and our love for God and each other to a lost and lonely world.

  Use social media to direct the focus toward a victorious returning King, not a deteriorating, dying world. This world is a big mess and everyone knows it. So is it something that a Christian needs to continually draw attention to or obsessively post about? So why do we?

  For most of us, the problem doesn’t begin with our posting, it begins with our thinking. Zig Ziglar used to call it “stinkin’ thinkin.” When we’re secularized by the negativity of a lost world, we fail to obey Scripture and think like a believer. Philippians 4:8 is a command, “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.”

  Yes, we must deal with sin and negative things. But if we truly believe that Jesus is King and that He really is in control, and that one day soon the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25) will bring justice and right every wrong, then all that’s currently wrong shouldn’t be our habitual mental diet. A Christian should be the most encouraging, positive, grateful person that most of their friends know. That should come forth from words whether verbal or in a post. When our thinking is spiritual, it will overflow with the fruits of the Spirit. When we are living out our mission as the “salt of the earth,” a thirsty lost world wants what we have.

  Obviously, we need to be discerning. Yet, if others can post when they’re blitzed, should a believer be ashamed to post how the Lord answered a prayer, or something they read in their devotions that touched their life, or a special song that encourages them, or how the message during worship moved them? When the Lord stretches your soul, it helps advance His Kingdom to let others know it. Even when you’re on vacation and visiting a church, think how you might encourage that family of believers by sharing how God used their ministry to be a blessing to you. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if every believer had a non-official “Tripadvisor” account where we faithfully posted how the Lord always walks with us, guides us, blesses us and shapes our trip on our journey through this life? It’s not that everything is perfect yet even in the mess of this world, we’re never alone. Maybe it would encourage our friends who don’t yet know Him to check out having our Savior as their “Tripadvisor,” too? 

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.

We are family!

“Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in. He attaches far more importance to godly intercourse than we do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation.”  C.H. Spurgeon

  If you’ve been a Christian for very long, you know that one of the most common questions when seeking to ascertain someone’s relationship with Jesus Christ is: “Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?” What’s so noteworthy about that question is that if you search the pages of Scripture, you’ll never find that expression “personal.” Our radical overemphasis on a “personal” relationship with God is a very American yet not a biblical or theological construct. Instead, what we find in the Bible is a God Who is at least as concerned with His group (me/you in relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ) as He is with the individual (me in relationship with God). Yet, American churchianity has been shaped by a worldview diametrically opposed to the teaching of Scripture and the outlook of those early Christians. American Christians have been taught to believe that my individual fulfillment and my personal relationship with God is far more important than any connection I might have with brothers and sisters in Christ. We become oblivious to biblical truths like “Jesus died for His Church” (Ephesians 5:25) and also forget that ultimately all Christians will spend eternity in heaven together.

  In our naïveté American believers, have in very subtle ways, been conformed to this world. Yet, there’s great hope for Spirit led transformation. God’s vision for community, for spiritual family, as reflected in the lives of those early Christians, offers a powerful antidote to the relational ills that so often characterize the lives of contemporary evangelicals. It’s essential that we grow and mature in a biblical understanding that a local church, our local church, is a family.

  It’s encouraging to see this beginning to take place within our church in places like our 50+ group, women’s ministry and their recent “Garden Getaway,” our quilting class. Even our recent men’s fishing outing helped us gain new ground in our understanding that our church is a family. Our Sunday Morning Live classes and other small groups continually help us gain ground in this area. Even teams who serve in a ministry together like our worship team or midweek ministries increase our understanding of church as a family. God has so much more joy and fulfillment for us when we understand that our church is a family.

  Yet, for most of us, this is so foreign that we’re going to have to immerse ourselves in the study of church as a family to begin to grasp it. Even when we’re part of the church as a family, we may not even be aware of it. We’re rarely purposeful when we’re part of the church as a family. In other words, we’re part of it, yet often don’t even realize that we’re part of it.

  With this in mind, please join us in our summer reading of Randy Frazee’s, The Connecting Church. A New Testament understanding of the church as a family is so foreign to us that it’s going to take both prayer and a study of God’s Word to begin to reprogram our misconceptions of New Testament Christianity. Add to that, the book is a mere $12, not much more than a McDonald’s lunch. The book is written in a conversational style, and though thought provoking, it’s not some dry theological tome. It will challenge you and stretch you so that you have a greater understanding of what the Bible teaches about what it means to be part of a spiritual family.

  Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer. It’s easier to create opportunities for fellowship when the weather is warmer. Fellowship is a planned investment. While it’s going to mean a shift in our thinking, schedule and priorities, you’ll find that the investment is well worth it. Much of it can be done in the midst of the normal stuff of life.

  For example, if a lady is headed to Milwaukee or Chicago to shop, ask another lady or several other ladies from church to go along. Include a stop at a coffee shop or perhaps a place for lunch in the trip. Maybe you’re dropping someone off at the airport, why ride alone?

  Determine to stretch out of your normal and safe social circles. Ask someone to go along who you don’t normally spend time with. Maybe someone you hardly know. Perhaps even someone that grates on you a bit. Stretch out of your world. For example, if you’re older, ask someone younger. If you have kids, ask someone who’s single to come along. If you have older children, ask someone with small children. Spiritual family and growth is not about playing it safe or being stuck in the familiar.  

  Here are some other areas that you might consider. If you’re a walker, runner, biker, golfer, motorcyclist, ask someone else to join you. Do you have love bonfires, going to the beach, having a picnic? Then, ask another family or two to come along. If you’re headed to a Brewers game (even a Cubs game), invite someone else. Even if you’re headed to watch your child play ball, ask someone to tag along. Your child will appreciate the extra cheering section. Stop at a local ice cream place afterwards.

  Do you love to go to garage sales? Find a friend to join you. It could be an extra bonus if they happen to own a truck or large van J. Have a theme party or invite others to join you at a unique restaurant. Maybe find someone who needs an extra hand, perhaps an elderly person or someone who’s been in the hospital recently, with some yard work. Invite another family to join you. Then, share a meal together afterwards. Even just go see an older person and spend some time with them.

  Ask someone to help you with a project. Jane and I have some lifelong friends in Detroit, Russ and Linda Johns. Our friendship was born one Saturday when they asked me to help them wash some walls.

  Fellowship and growth though require that you must change it up. If you hang with the group you always hang with, you’re never going to grow in a biblical understanding of fellowship or stretch spiritually. Sadly, you’re more likely to harden yourself within the lines of a closed circle and clique.

  So let’s commit as a church family to resist the cultural lies that personal happiness, individualism, me-time must take precedence over connections that we have with others in our church family. Too often we run from uncomfortable, even painful, redemptive relationships that God has placed us in. The tune of radical individualism has been playing in our ears at full volume nearly all our lives. We’re dancing to the music with gusto and it’s costing us dearly. It’s costing us a close walk with the Lord. It’s also costing our church family and hindering God’s will, glory and plan. 

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. 

If readers are leaders, what are non-readers...

  “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”  Groucho Marx

 

  When I was in grade school, each year my school dragged us down to listen to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. How many ways can you spell b-o-r-i-n-g? At least we were out of the classroom and the seats were comfortable. I still remember working my way down the program, trying to track where they were in their repertoire of arrangements, and how much longer before we could escape. I couldn’t stand classical music. If I never heard another symphony or classical song, it’d be too soon. And then I grew up…

  Continually, you’ll hear people say, “I don’t read.” 24% of adults didn’t read a single book last year. 75% only read one book. There’s a direct connection between pragmatic illiteracy, in that people know how to read yet choose not to, and a lack of being able to reason in a logical, rational manner. Engage the average person, often even in the Church, on nearly any issue and you’ll soon hear the claptrap that’s propagated throughout the cultural mainstream.

  Why don’t people read? Because for too many, they associate reading with school or homework. Once you graduate from school, who still wants to do schoolwork? It was once my view of classical music.

  Somehow in our physical exercise obsessed world, we’re ignorant of the fact that our brain is like a muscle. It only grows stronger with use and practice. Scientists have demonstrated how your brain grows and becomes stronger when you learn. They’ve shown that when people study hard and learn new ways to study, their brains change and grow. But if your brain isn’t used, it atrophies. Victims of brain atrophy are all around us.

  Is it any wonder that as we become a non-reading society, there’s a deterioration in communication skills? Listening to far too many, you discover a very limited vocabulary, primarily composed of monosyllable profanities and obscenities. Much of their communication “education” has come from the media, popular movies or the top 40. Think Cee Lo Green.

  Someone astutely observed that in five years you’ll be the same person that you are today except for the books that you read and the people that you meet. Look back over your life. How much have you changed? How much have you grown over the last five or ten years? Then, how many books have you read during that same period of time?

  As Christ-followers, a lost culture pressures us to conform whereas the Christian life is to be transformational. Reading God’s Word, listening to faithful preaching and teaching, engaging in godly conversation, and the reading of good books are invaluable tools to assist in this process of transformation and what Scripture calls “the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). Add to that, there are a multitude of other transformational benefits that can be derived from reading including…increased intelligence, stress reduction, problem-solving skills, improved analytical thinking, better memory, broader vocabulary, better concentration and focus…to name a few. Yet, like anything worthwhile, reading books require time, effort and commitment.

  Though we continually talk about quality education, society is addicted to a junk food brain diet. Rather than reading, most spend their time watching TV, going to movies, or watching sports. While none of those are wrong, any more than periodically having a Big Mac, they’re not going to help you move forward in what Jesus died for you to have – a transformational life.

  This past week Jane and I went to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was entertaining. I appreciated, too, that it was clear who the good guys and bad guys were. Yet, there was a subtle message about an evolutionary worldview and a ridiculing of moral purity, specifically in language. But for the most part, there was zero transformational benefit. There was nothing in that investment of my time and money which made me a better person, much less a better Christ-follower.

  Be honest, what TV show, movie, sports event, video game, Internet activity actually delivered some transformational benefits in your life? Did watching encourage you to love Jesus more? Make you a better spouse or parent? Were you kinder, more committed to serve others after watching? Or, were they subtly conformational, in that they lowered your tolerance for sinful behavior or even opened you up to be more accepting of unbiblical worldviews?

  While I can find little benefit there, I can think of countless books that have made a huge difference in my own soul and life. So how can we grow up in our reading?

  1. Never neglect the supremacy of God’s Word. The most important book for the child of God to read is God’s Book. If you’re a young believer or struggle with being a disciplined reader, start with the basics like the Gospels or one of the New Testament letters. It’s better to take small, consistent steps forward, than to stay stuck because you’ve made reading your Bible some type of spiritual Olympics.

  2. Begin with your own personal taste yet something brief. Because it had been talked about so much, I determined one summer to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It was over a 1,000 pages. If I hadn’t been a disciplined reader already, I know I would never have finished it. So start with an average book. Most are between 150 to 200 pages. More importantly, start with something that YOU are interested in. If you love sports, there scores of Christian sports biographies. If you love drama, then pick up a well written book of Christian fiction. Think about what you’re interested in and no doubt, there’s a Christian book that fits it. While there’s nothing wrong with secular books. In fact, Christians need to read them, yet most of us need to first strengthen our mental grip on a biblical worldview, which is why I’d suggest a Christian book first.

  3. Find a book partner or group. The Bible commands fellowship. Why not enjoy community through reading? This summer we’re encouraging our church family to read a book together. Why not join us? Perhaps partner with a friend and meet weekly to discuss it. Because we believe reading together is important, our leaders continually read a book together.

  Today I enjoy classical music. I grew up and got over school. God gave each of us a mind that we’re to be wise, faithful stewards of. What goes into our mind, comes out in our life. So what are you putting into your mind? Reading good books is a great mental diet to help you grow in grace. 

Looking for quality used Christian books and other types of books at prices lower than even Amazon. Check out our family's used bookstore at resurrectedreads.com. 

Saying "Good-bye" to the Super Woman Syndrome

“I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.”   John Wesley

  Mother’s Day, though a good holiday, isn’t a biblical one. In our day of cataclysmic change, the role of mothers specifically and women in general has radically changed since 1914 and that first Mother’s Day. God’s Word and the standards of what it means to be a godly woman though will never change. Yet, there’s tremendous pressure to “conform” to the standards of a godless world when it comes to the roles of women. Sadly, these false standards of what it means to be a woman often invade the church.

  Fortunately, the derision of stay at home mothers seems to have abated in recent years. Probably, the cultural disparity hasn’t changed much since Hillary Clinton’s demeaning remark about stay at home moms in 1992, “I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas….” Rather, it’s so rare today to find a stay at home mom, it’s a moot point. The Bible doesn’t commend either working women or stay at home ones. The woman of Proverbs 31 was definitely a working woman, though within the then acceptable confines of an agrarian society. Yet, there are many other areas where a Christian woman feels pressure to conform to the standards of this world that have nothing do with being a godly mom.

  One of the most flagrant is appearance. From Madison Avenue to Hollywood, all showcase women of flawless beauty. It’s ironic that even female newscasters of conservative Fox News, for the most part, look as if they’ve walked off the stage of a beauty pageant. Rachel Maddow couldn’t get a job at Fox even if she was the next Sarah Palin. Fortunately, there’s been push back with the featuring of oversize models. Every woman feels the pressure to focus more on her outer appearance than her inner one.

  Closely related to our obsession with appearance is sexuality. Last week The Wall Street Journal carried an article, asking if lovers should reveal to a new partner how many sexual partners they’ve previously had. A Texas State University study found that the average number of sexual partners was eight. (Results weren't broken down between men and women.) Lisa Mattson, who’s sex life is used an example in the article felt she’d greatly upped her morality standards when she met her now-husband, 11 years ago, in that she dated him three to four times a week for a month before she had sex with him. Sexuality is the cultural currency that makes one valuable. High schools are attacked as prudish if they dare to tell a girl her dress is too revealing for prom. Wives, married to men addicted to porn, feel pressure to commit acts they feel are revolting. All of this is passed off as normal. A woman committed to purity and holiness is ridiculed as old fashioned and hopelessly out of touch.

  Then, pity the mother who confesses that her brood is not taking music lessons, dance lessons, involved in after school sports, on a traveling team, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church youth group, FFA, etc. Everyone “knows” a good mom fills her children’s lives with activity. A mom who seeks to maintain some sanity in the family schedule is caricatured as nearly being neglectful and possibly should even be reported to social services.

  Then, in this physical beauty crazed, sexually charged, frenetic activity parenting culture, a mom is only successful if she’s also a dietician. Good moms give their family “good” food. Add to that, some have nearly spiritualized that it must be “natural.” Visit a Christian bookstore and prepare to be assaulted by countless books on “biblical” diets like Slim For Him; More of Jesus, Less of Me; The Daniel Plan; Made to Crave…to name just a few. To suggest Scripture has a biblical diet is akin to suggesting that the opening lines in Macbeth, “Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble” indicate Shakespeare meant his play to be a tale about cooking. Mark it down, a moms isn’t going to be scolded at the Bema Seat because she served her family GMO foods.

  All of these, and there are others, are all manmade values. While at some level, they’re good things to practice – they have little to do with godliness. A pagan Buddhist could have these same values. There’s no spiritual merit here and they do little for your family in the Kingdom.

  So what does contribute to being a godly woman? What are some biblical values a woman who loves the Lord should focus on?

  Stay submitted to Christ. Loving obedience and humble surrender before the Lord are actions that put our lives in right perspective before Him. Neglecting time with Jesus will only result in following a wayward, self-focused heart that often forgets the lordship of Christ. Our lives are not our own; we were bought with the blood of Christ.

  Stay in Scripture. God’s Word is the only sure guide for being wise, godly and a good mom. It tell us the inerrant truth and acts as our guide. As with counterfeit money, Christians can discern counterfeit messages because we are so thoroughly familiar with truth and the original.

  Stay in Prayer. Prayer is part of our submission to Christ, as we realize our need for communing with the Father of all truth. Gaining wisdom through prayer is like grocery shopping: shop on an empty stomach and you’re more likely to make poor decisions that suit our immediate needs. The person who fills up on a hearty meal before shopping makes wiser decisions and can discern options more clearly. When we stay in prayer and Scripture, seeking wisdom and discernment, we’re more likely to see life with a clearer understanding of Biblical, gospel-centered truth.

  Stay in the local church. The Church is Christ’s bride and His instrument for accomplishing His will and spreading His glory to the world. The Church is comprised of individual believers who, when submitted to Christ, in His Word and in prayer, can teach and encourage each other in all truth (Colossians 3:16). The local church is one of the few places that will encourage you to be a godly Mom, based on truth from God’s Word.

  “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). 

Looking for quality used Christian books and other types of books, too at very low prices. Check out our family's used bookstore at resurrectedreads.com. 

Friends...more than an old TV show

“The only way to have a friend is to be one."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Last weekend Jane and I returned to our old stomping grounds – Detroit. I mean, if you’re going to look for a wonderful getaway spot, what better place than Detroit…right? Okay, I’ll confess…the truth is that there was a huge book sale taking place. Over a 100,000 books is worth making a drive for if you’re a bibliophile. On top of that, we were able to use it as an opportunity to spend some time with my nephew, Bryce Pegram, and his wife, Chelsea, along with visiting some other old friends. We had a great time! It was just nice to have a brief getaway.

  One of the highpoints was being able to spend some time with our old friends, Gary and Sally Papp. Jane and I have known Gary and Sally for some four decades. Yet, though we knew Gary and Sally in college, we didn’t really know Gary and Sally until we all attended the same church in the suburbs of Detroit. It was then that we began spending time together.

  When our son, Ben, was born, we were at their home before he entered the world. Sally would often watch our kids. Gary helped us move. In fact, when we moved to Burlington, Gary drove the moving truck from Detroit to Burlington. And though separated by hundreds of miles, we’ve stayed in touch. They’ve stayed in our home and we’ve stayed in theirs. We try to get together when we can. And it all goes back to becoming friends when we all attended the same church some thirty years ago.

  As you read the Bible, you discover that close and lifelong friends are made in the local church. It’s true that people make friends other places like their job or neighborhood. Yet, when you change jobs or move, frequently those friendships wane and die of extinction. That’s not the case with friendships within a local church – why? Because biblically speaking there should be an added depth of connection – we are also brothers and sisters in Christ. We are literally blood brothers and sisters because of the shed blood of Christ. A healthy church must be a place of growing friendships.

  On top of that, this is a very lonely world. Biblically, a church must be a place where healthy friendships are made. Sadly, there are often barriers to that which can begin devolving the church from a growing church family to little more than a closed social club. Let me share some of them.

  Longevity can be deadly to growing friendships. The longer you’re in a church, the easier it is to become entrenched in your friendships. You have history and familiarity. It’s just comfortable. And that’s great if you’re on the inside track and part of the clique. You find that you essentially talk to the same people each week. You even tend to sit by or near the same ones. If you do something outside of church, it’s with the same ones over and over and over again. Sadly, though it’s a clique that’s unwelcoming to others, yet those on the inside don’t even realize it. Our friends Gary and Sally already had lots of friends in their church. They didn’t need any more friends, yet they went out of their way to include us.

  Busyness can be deadly to growing friendships. We’re all busy. We all have lots of things going on. Personally, I go to bed feeling some level of guilt nearly every night because I didn’t get more done. Most of us suffer from the tyranny of the urgent and find ourselves absorbed with that which screams for attention. Then, we’re selfish…okay, at least I am. I like “me time.” I want to spend time with my wife, read a book or watch a show.

  When we get Home, I think that those of us in the American church are going to be very embarrassed that Jesus really is not impressed with our completed “To Do” lists. Read the gospels and you’ll find that our Lord was supremely relational. Yet, if anyone had too much to do, it was Jesus but He always found time for others…often “others” that most would want little to do with. That means that if you want to touch lives, you have to make it a priority. It has to be valuable to you and you have to schedule it. Let’s be honest. Most of us know we should build bridges with others but it’s just an idea that somehow never finds its way onto our schedule. The end result is that it rarely if ever happens. But Gary and Sally were extremely busy, too. As I recall, at the time, Gary was working something like 60 hours a week. Yet, they made time for us and invested in our lives.

  We become so focused on our biological family that we neglect our spiritual family. Gary and Sally lived in the same area that Gary had grown up in, so they had lots of family in the area. In fact, Gary’s parents lived just down the street from them. They also had two children who had full schedules. They had a lot of family obligations, yet somehow they balanced out their biological family with their spiritual one. And they’re still doing it today. They’re faithful grandparents, seeking to influence the next generation. Their daughter, Michelle, just had her sixth child so she now has six under six. Add to that, her husband is in the military and must often be gone, so they help out probably more than most grandparents. But they made time for us last weekend and were talking about interacting with other believers later that week. In fact, Gary even carved out time for a mission trip to Russia.

  One of my favorite shows is Bluebloods. I appreciate that included in each episode is the weekly family multi-generational Sunday dinner. In our anti-family culture, it’s refreshing. Yet, most of us tend to be extremists rather than balanced. We’re so determined sometimes to be family oriented that we become family obsessed.

  One of the greatest needs is for lost people and for new believers to see a normal Christian family in real time. Too many have no idea what a normal family is like. Normal may be eating in front of the TV, everyone yelling at one another, someone getting intoxicated. So to see a Christian family that’s not perfect yet seeking to faithfully live out God’s grace in spite of their redeemed sinfulness is a powerful message.

  So why are you here? The Christian life is not about me, it’s about Him, it’s about others. We grow in grace as others, new as well as “old” others, find significant time and a place in our lives. We must continually grow in selflessness and a spirit of sacrifice. It’s what Jesus has called us to. Each of us needs to be on the lookout for those who may be new, engaging them in conversation and looking for ways to build bridges with them outside of a worship service. With the warm weather and more outside activities, this is a great time to take some spiritual steps forward in ministering to others.

  Will you take some of those steps? It will help you grow and be more like Jesus who consistently loved and reached out to others.   

Looking for quality Christian books (and lots of other books) at very low prices. Check out our bookstore at resurrectedreads.com. 

 

You can't prune your family tree

“Whatever my ancestors did to you, none of them consulted me.”

             Tad Williams

  Poor Ben Affleck. Over the years he’s had a history of womanizing, as well as drug and gambling addictions. For the past decade he’s been married to Jennifer Garner and is the father of three children. Periodically, rumors surface that he’s still fighting his demons and they’re threatening his marriage. But in our politically correct world, it’s not his checkered past or current struggles that seem to bother him the most – it’s what his ancestors did – over two and a half centuries ago that make Ben blush.

  Recently, it came out that when Affleck participated in Henry Louis Gates’s PBS program Find Your Roots, and it was discovered — Gasp! — that Affleck’s roots include slave owners. According to an e-mail exchange between Gates and Sony CEO Michael Lynton, Affleck wanted to suppress this aspect of his family tree. The correspondence, found by the New York Daily News from the leaked Sony emails, shows Gates struggling to square the unprecedented request with his own editorial judgment. Gates wrote, “To do this would be a violation of PBS rules, actually, even for Batman.”

  In our Politically Correct world to have had slave owners in your family tree is something that you want cut down, burn up and ultimately seek to eradicate all of the evidence. It’s noteworthy in our distorted, upside down values world that Affleck’s personal history and issues don’t seem to bring nearly the embarrassment or motivation for a cover-up that something some ancestor he never knew did hundreds of years ago.

  As we read the pages of Scripture, we find that the Jews essentially took the same approach. They were very proud of their heritage and ancestors. After all, they were God’s chosen people. Somehow they mentally chose to cut down, burn up and eradicate from their collective memory all of the evidence of idolaters, adulterers, perverts, murderers, thieves, liars and basically any other sinful, debauched and criminal behavior from their family tree.

  This tendency to whitewash ourselves or our history is one of the reasons I’m cautious when I’m reading an autobiography or a biography written by a spouse or child. Because of the personal relationship or for their own reputation, candid honesty is often lost. Sometimes out of love, we don’t share or even choose to forget some of the dark facets of our family member’s life. Then, sometimes the opposite is true. A wounded family member exaggerates how bad a person was because they’re looking back through the eyes of their own personal pain.

  But that’s never the case with God’s Word. As we read the Bible, we find that while Scripture is never salacious, there is no expunging of the record or a cover-up. That’s because we all come from the same rotten family tree. It goes all the way back to the Garden and our first parents. That reminds us of some important truths.

  We all come from bad people, we are bad people and we have bad children. Like Ben Affleck, we often want to edit out skeletons in our family’s history. When it comes to our own shortcomings, the tendency is to gloss them over. When it comes to our children, we excuse and justify.

  But we’re not just bad by nurture, we’re bad by nature. Theologians call it “original sin.” Our ancestors, no matter how far or short of a distance from us, all had the same sin nature that we do. The evidence for it in our children is demonstrated as soon as they can exercise a personal will. A small child screaming that she wants a candy bar in the checkout line isn’t just tired or needs a nap, he’s willful and wants his way.

  Our crimes against God then are not circumstantial or environmental. We do what is wrong because it’s our nature. Even placing us back in Eden wouldn’t change that. That’s why giving people better housing, education, health care or even jobs will never bring about long term behavioral change. The wrong doing may become more educated and even “white collar” rather than gangsta style, but it will still be there. We have a heart problem, not an environmental one.  

  Evil is evil in the sight of God. Even in the Church, we like to categorize sin as big and little. Let me share just three examples.

  Alcohol/drug addiction are considered big sins among Christians, somehow though being a materialist/consumer is socially acceptable and even envied. Some believers are addicted to spending and buying – a newer house, car, furniture, clothes, gadgets, vacations, etc. There is no concept of stewardship or honoring the Lord with the finances He’s entrusted to them. They’re as addicted to spending and consuming as a heroin addict is to heroin. Don’t believe me? Challenge them to NOT spend except for necessities for the next three months. They’ll go into withdrawals.

  We would never use obscene language, somehow though complaining and criticizing is given a pass. How many of us, even as Christians who have so much to be thankful for, thank God or others? Not only do we fail to praise the God who gave it to us, we fail to thank the instruments He used like our family, friends or even brothers and sisters in our church family. So when was the last time you affirmed or encouraged someone compared to how many times you criticized or complained? To be candid, obscene language hurts the Kingdom much less than complaining or criticizing.  

  Smoking is horrible, anger just comes naturally. Smoking is not only a big sin in the church, our culture has made it one and even taxes it. Yet, holding something on fire between your lips does less damage than letting loose a volley of fire from your tongue. Christians who’d never consider smoking often have a smoking hot temper. Those closest to them are seared by their explosions, tiptoeing around them much as they would walking through a minefield.

  The bottom line of all this is that there’s not enough dirt in this world to bury all of our sinful skeletons. We’re not good or nice people. In God’s sight, sin is sin, whether it’s adultery or anger. Instead of trying to bury what can’t be buried, we need to celebrate God’s grace who in His mercy and grace paid for all our sin with His own Son’s life and pulled us out of the pit, “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug” (Isaiah 51:1). And we need to share with others who hopelessly attempt to bury their skeletons and clean up the sinful corpse of their life, the true hope that only God’s grace can bring.

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Hitting a grand slam for Jesus!

“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." Bob Feller

  For me, baseball and Hank Aaron are nearly synonymous. It’s hard to believe it’s been over forty years, but I still remember April 8, 1974. That was the day Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record, sending his 715^th career home run out of the ballpark.

  In his autobiography, I Had A Hammer, Aaron recalled that he and his wife, Billye, hosted a party after the historic game. When he got some alone time, Aaron realized the true impact of his achievement. “When I was alone and the door was shut, I got down on my knees and closed my eyes and thanked God for pulling me through…I had done something that nobody else in the world had ever done, and with it came a feeling that nobody else has ever had—not exactly, anyway. I didn’t feel a wild sense of joy. I didn’t feel like celebrating. But I probably felt closer to God at that moment than at any other in my life. I felt a deep sense of gratitude and a wonderful surge of liberation all at the same time. I also felt a stream of tears running down my face.” The Atlanta Braves weren’t a great team when I was growing up but Henry Aaron was a great player. He gave me a love for the game that’s never waned.

  Maybe that’s why a recent story about Colby Rasmus caught my attention. Rasmus played baseball for the Cardinals from 2009-2011 when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. His story is much more important than baseball. It’s a story about life, eternal life. It’s a wonderful account of how the gospel and the power of Jesus changes lives.

  Colby Rasmus hadn’t had a great career. His tenure with the Cardinals was very rocky partly due to the fact that he never played up to the expectations people had for him and partly because he and the manager, Tony LaRussa, didn’t get along. The Houston Astros, Rasmus’ new team, faced the Cardinals in a spring training game which led to an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. This is where it gets really good. In the interview for the article, Colby Rasmus, shared that he was at peace now because he found Jesus Christ. “I was lost for a while. I can remember (former Cardinal) Lance Berkman sitting next to me on the bench, talking about Jesus Christ and I didn’t really understand it. At the time, my family hadn’t really bought into that. Looking back, I see Albert (Pujols) and Lance and (Matt) Holliday and (Adam) Wainwright and I see this aura, this presence they had about them. I always wondered how they got that. Now I see what it’s about and it’s changed my life big-time. I focus on my family and I don’t get caught up in all that stuff like I used to. My time in St. Louis…the fans were always good to me and it tore me up a little bit when I didn’t play well, so I went through some rough times. Surrendering my life to the Lord helped me relieve those demons, so to speak.”

  Wow! Sometimes we think the famous and rich are beyond the gospel. They’re not. Colby Rasmus came to Christ the same way everyone else does. It’s the same pattern that God may have used to reach you. It’s the same pattern that God will use to reach your loved ones and friends.

  Most people come to Christ because of the influence of their friends. When talking about coming to faith in Christ, Rasmus mentions by name four guys who reached out to him, sat next to him on the bench, and cared about him as a person. The first step to influencing others for Christ starts with just being their friend. It can be talking at work or across the street. It’s just spending time with the lost, building bridges for the gospel.

  A normal Christian can be a more powerful witness than professional Pastor. The people who pointed him to Jesus were guys he worked with not a pastor, not the team chaplain. You have far more opportunity to influence someone you work with or live next door to than most pastors ever will have. I’ve said it so many times, I hope it comes back to you in your dreams – God placed you in your office, neighborhood, on a team, or in your school to be His light to people who’d never be interested in talking to a pastor. Insiders (like teammates) often have far more power to influence than outsiders (like pastors).

  A normal Christian struggling with a normal life has a super influence. As Christians, we need to be both like and unlike people who don’t follow Jesus. Rasmus’ Christian teammates shared the same job, temptations, struggles, lifestyle that he did. Your friends should look at you and realize, “You can be a Christian and be normal, have a family, be successful at work, have fun, etc…” Yet, he also said that he noticed his Christian teammates were different than him. Christians should be different in their integrity, generosity, patience, kindness, how they handle adversity, etc.

  The heat brings out the gold and others see the shine. Everyone eventually faces tough times. It’s often in those times that they’re willing to consider the gospel in a more serious way. For Rasmus, adversity came in the form of a disappointing performance on the field. For your friends it might be a broken relationship, loss of a loved one, health issues, marital struggles, depression, or a job loss. In those difficult times they’ll turn to someone to talk to. Have you built a good friendship, have you expressed your care and concern, have you proven safe and trustworthy so that in their moment of need they’ll turn to you?

  When something or someone is important to you, you naturally talk about it. Rasmus says that his teammate Lance Berkman sat on the bench with him and talked about Jesus. If Jesus is important to you, if you have a vibrant relationship with Him (not just a Sunday morning one), you’ll talk about Him because He’s always on your mind. Because we know how much Jesus loves us, we want to tell others how much Jesus loves them. Often, it’s best to put it in the context of your own life. Explain how you became a Christian and what Jesus means to you. Most people are interested in hearing your story.

  The things that are vital and make a difference take time. When it comes to the gospel, most of us are too easily discouraged. When those we care about don’t immediately respond to Christ or come to church when we invite them, we quit. As Rasmus’ story proves it takes time. Several years elapsed between his first exposure to his Christian teammates and his becoming a Christian, and that’s normal.

  Want to be a winner? Win your friends to Jesus? It’s much better than breaking some sports record. It will count for all eternity and they will be eternally grateful that you were a true friend who cared about their soul.