1 Corinthians 15:14-15 3/26/2024

“…if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.  Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.“

If all Easter means to you is wearing fancy clothes, and eating some chocolate eggs, you are in danger of  overlooking the most profound occurrence in all human history.  Hallmark treats Easter as a secondary holiday, but Easter is the lynchpin to our salvation.  

Paul makes it clear that Easter is ground zero.  If  the resurrection didn’t happen, then all our preaching is useless, this blog is futile, your faith is in vain …  The resurrection is absolutely essential to the gospel, and without it there is not the slightest bit of  “Good News”.

Paul goes a step further and says we should be looked on with pity if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. We would be idiots to worship a god who is rotting in a grave somewhere… But the inverse is true as well, if Jesus came out of that tomb, you would be foolish, not to worship Him.  Paul then doubles down and says if Jesus is still dead, we aren’t only stupid, we’re liars as well. We are false prophets. Logic demands that either Easter is the most critical day in the history of  humanity… or meaningless. And that determination is based solely on the resurrection. 

So, as you can see, there is not a lot of middle ground here – and still that is where many of us try to stand.  Don’t do that this Easter.  This time  look for truth instead of eggs.  Examine the evidence and decide what you believe. There is literally nothing more important than what you do with the historically documented empty grave of Jesus. 

If He rose from the dead, then radically commit your life to following Him.  If you think they stole His lifeless body, then just dress up and hunt for eggs … Nothing between those two responses makes sense. He is either everything to you – or He is nothing to you.  Make your choice carefully – because those who choose incorrectly are truly the ones who should be looked on with pity.

"It's not about the bunny; it's about the lamb." - Anonymous

Psalm 119:108 3/19/2024*0320*

“Be pleased to accept the voluntary offerings of my mouth, Lord, And teach me Your judgments.”

How many times will God speak about the power of the tongue before we decide to regulate our words?  Excuse the pun, but we give this dangerous sin “lip service” on Sunday morning and then unbridle our tongues for the rest of the week to spread, gossip, lies, and hurtful words toward any and everybody who is the slightest bit different than we are.  

The tongue is called a fire that comes straight from Hell.  We are told that it controls the whole body and can lead us into complete destruction… Yet we smirk and say things like, “I probably shouldn’t say this but…”, or “did you hear about so and so ?”  And Heaven forbid if someone has a different political opinion than we do – We will rip them to pieces with a smile on our faces. We spew venom at them with the  same mouth that praised their Heavenly Father on Sunday morning…  The book of James says, that ain’t right.  

The psalmist asks God to accept the  “voluntary offerings of my mouth”.  So, let me ask you point blank –   Did God see the things you said yesterday afternoon as offerings?  Were they fragrant and pleasing in His sight?  The answer to that question is important.  Yesterday, no one made me say what I chose to say, and between you and me – few of my comments reached the level of sacred offerings… This makes the end of the verse where David requests to be “taught His judgement” a bit dicey. 

So let me challenge you to take gossip, slander, and using words as weapons, off the “acceptable sin list” today.  If we hear ourselves misuse our tongues, let’s react to that as we would to physically attacking someone or stealing.  Stop tolerating our disparaging comments as though they were junior varsity sins and start seeing them for what they are … evil.  

Today let’s make our words honoring and sacrificial to His glory,  less degrading to others,  and less self-aggrandizing. The best way to do that is to just keep our mouths shut until we purge our hearts of the pride that pollutes our words.  

Make everything that comes out of your mouth an offering today.

“Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit, YOU choose.”  - Solomon 

2 Timothy 4:1…5 3/12/2024*1227*

 “…Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.  For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; …  But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.“

This chapter challenges me every time I read it. 

I am pretty good “in season”… I can speak truth at weddings, graduations, funerals … no problem. But I am not as good at a restaurant or a business meeting.  Probably because I understand what Paul says in verse 3,  “… the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine”… Make no mistake, that time has come. 

Most people today don’t want to hear the truth. So, occasionally I hesitate to speak it to those not expecting it, aware that their response may be less positive than those at a Bible study. But Paul says to Preach… doesn’t matter who’s expecting it or not. Like a good coach, he says “get your head in the game and … endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”  Apparently, winning popularity contests is not part of my job description. I cannot conduct myself in a way that avoids hardship because ministry is hard. 

Being an ambassador in a country that wants nothing to do with you involves suffering. Evangelism isn’t for sissies.  But it is for rescued souls like me, who have been redeemed, reborn, and repurposed to become disciple makers.

This passage says to expect some hardship.  You put on football equipment before a game, expecting to be hit – You better put on the full armor of God for the same reason.  Because unless you’re on the sideline, you are going to take some shots…  Like a linebacker on the goal line, I should know an attack is coming.  It’s my job to not only take the hit, but step into it and stand my ground.  My response to the collision is the game changer.   

Paul has delivered a pretty clear pregame speech this morning, and it is directed at me… He’s saying “Buckle up, Cupcake … You win the race, but you better be prepared for some bumps along the way”.

"It's your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop." – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Nehemiah 4:16…18 3/5/2024

 “From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows, and armor … Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked...” 

Nehemiah had a mission… He was rebuilding the wall that protected God’s people.  At first, Nehemiah’s enemies laughed, but as the wall began to come together, his enemies decided to attack the builders.  So, Nehemiah called an audible… He adapted and adjusted job assignments and equipment.

I learned early in my coaching career that clinging to your game plan after your opponent makes effective adjustments is unwise.  So, at times we would modify our approach, but we never abandoned our objective of winning the game.  

The church must remember the same principle … As our ministries become successful, the enemy may attempt to hinder our plans. When that happens, we may need to alter our method… But we can never stop doing what we have been called to do.  We have been commissioned  to make disciples, and nothing can interfere with that objective.

The devil will mock, threaten, and attack. Our success may cause him to intensify his  assaults. Don’t ignore the escalation . You may need to adjust. Sometimes you will need to build with one hand, and fight with the other.  But keep building …  and keep fighting, trusting God for the outcome. 

Legend has it, that during the attack on Pearl Harbor a Chaplain was asked to pray for his men as an enemy plane was zeroing in on them … He put his bible down, manned a gun and said, “praise the Lord and pass the ammunition”.  Similarly, Nehemiah in essence says, “praise the Lord and give me a hammer”.  Though threatened, his faith in God, and his resolve to complete the mission were unwavering. 

So, I have two questions for you:  

1. Are you building anything for the Kingdom worthy of being attacked? 

2. Are you prepared to fight for it?  

Our commission is clear.  No one said it would be easy. So, get busy, pray,  and pass the ammunition.  Adjust, evolve, multitask when you need to - but never forget your calling. 

“God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply.” - Hudson Taylor