."Beyond Fluff"

  Maybe it's just me. I'm not real sure people know what the true nature of being spiritual minded and walking by faith is all about. Maybe I've missed something and that could be possible. I've missed things before but when I read how Jesus made a difference in the lives of those with faith, they worked against the norm of the people just as Jesus did. 

  In John 5 we have the healing of a paralytic. Take some serious time and read the whole chapter but one thing is for sure, this man went against what the religious people around him thought and he sided completely with Jesus despite all the ridicule. 

  Have you ever felt like you have just messed up your life completely and accomplished little? Some people battle through life feeling as if they are going nowhere. Look back over your life from this moment. Is your life half done? Is your life 3/4 done? What has your life been about up to now? Those could be questions many think about but are afraid to ask. And here comes Sunday, the resurrection day. Someone is singing from their heart "Jesus!" There is a name above all others. 

  There is simply too much fluff and syrup today! Christmas and Easter are poured over as if life is about those days. We need to move beyond what the world uses as fluff and syrup twice a year. We get the fluff and syrup in sweet sentiments we read or someone forwards us something from the internet. It's this kind of stuff that thickens the heart that keeps us from perceiving the true nature of Jesus. Don't allow all the surface stuff to blind you to the truth of Jesus as you find in His word. Look at His life carefully and take His claims seriously. There you will see how much interest the Lord takes in us. All the syrup and fluff can be blinding to the real Savior and while feeding our fleshly desires.

  The world we live in is steeped in traditions. Jesus exposed He was not part of the traditions of men (Matt. 15). The humans God created are up to their eyes in injustices and sins. But it was because of all this that Jesus came to rescue us. We have messed things up badly in our personal lives sometimes. We have distorted and bent the world out of shape in regard to the true value of what it means to be spiritual. Jesus came to bring order to a world of chaos and in the lives of mankind. Too many with all the fluff they go after and all the syrup they pour on their lives get so bogged down you would think that walking with Jesus was some sort of magic wand. We go after this and 'poof' all is well with us! We move from story to story, from certain days as our renewal and think its all well. We need the real Jesus. We need to put our faith and trust in His teachings and listen more closely to what He desires. Our focus needs to be intently on Jesus alone and let all the other things go by. Maybe the movies are having a greater impact on us than Jesus!

"The Purpose of the Church"

  It seems the church is missing something. While everyone is caught up in different ideas of the church and its worship of God, something has slowly been pushed to the side and many do not even realize it. I've gotten three different emails over the last week stating the idea that the church is a hospital for the sick, not the well. That's not true. The church is the saved! The church is the body of Jesus directed by Him being the head. It is made up of people who once were enveloped by sin and death but now are free from condemnation and sin. The church is sanctified. The church is made up of saints. I see no sickness here. That's why we assemble to worship to praise Him who delivered us and made us whole. The church is the 'gospelized'!

  In all this we see that as long as people are abused in this world, people are lonely, families are crushed and destroyed, people sense that nothing will ever change, no matter what governments say, no matter who has the greatest armies, no matter how many laws are enacted, as long as there are such in this world the church needs to be preaching the gospel of salvation. That's what we've lost. People are caught up in having fairs for the neighborhood children, feeding, clothing everyone to show we care (and yet we need to show we care) but it's the gospel that will truly change the lives and thinking of people! The gospel we should be proclaiming is about a Person, our Savior! The truth of the gospel is true even if one has been born into a prison-like society where predators suppress the truth by evil and vile means. Even if the gospel is met with rejection and not believed upon, it's still God's power and true!

  Listen church, a day will come when all wrongs will be righted!! When are we going to believe that? We can feed, cloth and let ever child laugh for a day but that will not help them one bit eternally. (I want you to know I am not saying we aren't to help the downtrodden. We put emphasis on the wrong side of things!) It's the gospel the church is failing to teach. It's the gospel those apostles were sent into the world to share with others. It's the gospel that the church preached when persecutions hit in that first century. It's the gospel that will bring people into fellowship with their Creator and that's for eternity. When Jesus set foot on this planet, He could have feed, clothed and healed every single person He came in contact with but He didn't. Why? He came to save!

  We are to uphold the Lord Jesus Christ in His gospel. Only the NT Church has that message!!! As long as there is a world in awful need there will be the need for submitting to the Lordship of Jesus telling His redemptive story to each one we possibly can. As people come to believe that gospel, people from all walks of life, in difficulties or gain, they will gather with all the saints and worship the One who bought them and will be thankful for the gospel message. CHURCH, WE NEED TO GOSPEL PEOPLE!

"Want To Quit?"

  Don't you get tired of failing? You know, the struggles with sin and temptation in your life that keep rearing it's head over and over again? Someday's you feel like quitting. Those times when you think you've overcome and then 'bang' it tempts you back again and the dejection, the heartache and disappointment you might be to yourself and others. Is it all worth it? Are we alone in our battles?  We want to say 'no' but are we just saying words because that's what we are suppose to say? Others may not know what we struggle with and if makes us feel isolated.

  He lied! Not once but at least twice and who knows, maybe more. Another was drunk and exposed before his children. Then there was that one who was an adulterer. You can hear the world today, "Once an adulterer always an adulterer!" What about the one who was quick to speak his mind and tell the Lord the way things were going to be? Such arrogance and know it all pride only to fall flat on his face. These are just a few but I point them out as we know them as Abraham, Noah, David and the apostle Peter. Men of God yet failures. Men upon whom the ages have been written about from God to show us the grace of God and the love of God for the humble 'struggler'. You see, it's not about them or us. It's all about God! There were many men and women that the ages were written about that struggled and failed yet found themselves standing on holy ground with a holy God. He worked out their salvation as they trustingly placed themselves under His guidance and assurance from His word. They failed but they trusted in the Lord not themselves!

  Jesus enters the picture for us. Sin was dealt a death blow through Him. Sin no longer would be the master of those who belong to Him. We will fail and stumble, maybe badly at times, but instead of looking at us in our failure, we need to look to Him as a Savior! OUR SAVIOR! Sin wants its way with you but Jesus will have none of that. Don't let sin pound you into the ground. Be humble, repentant (that's what all these that we find written in God's word were) and move by faith to Jesus. The sinfulness of us will be cleansed by His blood. The failing of us He will be faithful to forgive completely. You see, it's all about Him not us. Do you feel overwhelmed with your sins? Your "Sin-Bearer" is waiting for  you to come and yoke up with Him and let Him take you all the way to the end. Do you trust Him? Maybe its because you don't trust you. We must stop looking at us. It's not about us. It's about the Lord Jesus who overcame sin and its power.  Never, never give up! God doesn't nor His Son. 

"What Do You Hear?"

  The streets were filled with people and noise. The horns honking, people talking loudly, multiple cars, tires squealing around. This is a normal day near Times Square, New York. In the midst of the noise, a Native American and his friend were walking in this area when suddenly, the Native American stopped and said, "I heard a cricket!" His friend was astounded saying, "What? You hear a cricket? How can you hear a cricket in the midst of all this noise?" "No, I'm sure of it!", responded the Native American. Listening carefully, they walked across the street to where some shrubs were growing. The Native American looked into the bushes and sure enough, he located the small cricket and his friend was utterly amazed.

  "That's absolutely incredible," said his friend. "You must have super-human ears!" "No," replied the Native American. "My ears are no different than yours!" The man responded, "That can't be! I could never hear a cricket in this noise." The Native American nodded his head yes and said, "Let me show you something." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a few coins, dropping them on the sidewalk. With all the noise of the street still the same, instantly several came over picking up the coins they heard fall on the concrete. The Native American smiled and said, "It all depends on what you train your ears to listen for and what you listen for is what is important to you."

  Jesus warned his disciples: "So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him." (Luke 8:18) How you listen is vital. Some listen to what they want to hear and they establish their whole thought process on what they want to hear. We need to hear the voice of the Lord through His word and nothing else. Some have trained the ears of their heart to hear only the bad or what they think is bad. No matter what is said, they will turn it to how they have trained themselves to listen. Learning to listen to the word of the Lord and listen with the intent of gain will be the difference between gaining spiritual insight or having spiritual gain taken away. And some wonder why they never seem to advance very far spiritually? 

"Looking Back"

  It was rather incredible. On May 6, 1954 a fellow named  Roger Bannister became the first man in  history to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Within two months, John Landy eclipsed the record by 1.4 seconds. On Aug. 7, 1954 the two met for a historic race. As they moved into the last lap, Landy held the lead. He was in position to win the race but as he neared the finish he was wondering where Bannister was. As he turned to look back, Bannister passed him quickly on the opposite side he looked. The race was lost by Landy. After the race Landy told a magazine reporter, "If I hadn't looked back, I would have won!"

  As I reflected on this, too many people live their lives in the past. They look at what has happened or how they were raised. Yes, things of our past history can have an affect on us but too many allow those things to make them who they are today. It affects marriages, relationships and even how you raise your own children. 

  Do you recall the day you were baptized into Christ? What was that about? You and Jesus coming together as one (Rom. 6). You being raised with Jesus in the working of God (Col. 2:12). You trustingly put yourself under Him burying your old self that was tied to sin in death. That means your past, all your past was laid to rest and you now belong to Jesus and you have a different Father! Why do many continue to live in their dead past?

  No one had more pain and did more harm to people than the apostle Paul. "Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief."  (I Tim. 1:13) Because of the mercy of God extended, Paul became Christ's. What he was in his past was dead in his past and he found grace, faith and love in Christ Jesus (I Tim. 1:14). What did he do with his life? He didn't deny his past but he embraced his present with Jesus. "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:13-14) His life was pressing forward! His goal was with God and Christ Jesus. His past was buried and forgiven.

  One can't grow in faith and love while looking back! Your past was buried with Jesus. Let Him deal with the things that are hurtful and sinful. Your present is to move forward and you can only do that by looking to Jesus and grasping His life knowing your heavenly Father will bring you safely home. Are you dwelling on your past sins or the sins others did to you? If you don't give them up to Jesus, you will die in your sins. Jesus gives us life and life abundantly. Grab hold by faith today!

"A Thorn"

  I once had a friend telling me about his encounter with a dog. The dog snarled at him and had that look of attack. My friend was always attracted to dogs so he decided he would try to pet him but knew in order to do that he had to do something to disable his ability to attack. He drew close as the dog began to bark and show his teeth. Suddenly he grabbed hold of the dog, taking him off his feet while wrapping his arms completely around him. The dog struggled but could not free himself from the grasp. The dog calmed down and upon examination my friend found a thorn lodged in the dogs front paw. It had to be removed. The dog was not going to allow this to be easy and began his struggle and snarling again. The thorn was removed. The dog became calmer and settled down allowing my friend to pet him. 

  As I listened to this it reminded me of what I have seen over and over in the lives of people. It seems when people are involved in sin or guilty of sin, they become this agitated, negative person and will turn on their loved ones in a second! Sin is a thorn which grows and festers and the longer it stays in your life, it begins to consume you. Those caught in sin do not see this. 

  David said long ago: "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer." (Psa. 32:3-4) David found himself suffering, wasting away, hard to accomplish daily tasks and was doing a lot of groaning. Why? He refused to acknowledge his sin to the Lord! 

  The longer one stays in their sins, the more this thorn hurts and the more miserable one becomes. When people are trapped in sin, they accuse the innocent of the very things they themselves are practicing. They trust no one because they know themselves as untrustworthy. They are on edge because they live on the edge of being caught or discovered. It has been this way from the beginning. Sin will take one down!

  But there is another way. David spoke the remedy: "I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord'; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psa. 32:5) 

  The longer one walks in their guilt, the worse their state of mind becomes and the agitation of their life continues to grow but when one turns to the Lord, willing to forsake their sin and confess, there one finds forgiveness (I John 1:9)!

 What about you? When is the last time you and the Lord had a heart to heart encounter and you were honest with Him? Until the thorn is removed, there will be no life, no peace and no relief from guilt. Jesus is waiting!

"No Distractions"

  We must beware that we can easily forget our purpose and focus. It's easy to get led into distractions if we aren't careful. We read from the teachings of Jesus about a rich fool that was so focused on his success that he continually focused on himself and forgot about his soul. The words came from God: "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you..." (Luke 12:20) 

  The things of this world come from all different angles. The evil one is at work, trying to get our attention here and there and he works diligently to get us looking at all the different elements surrounding us. In this, we can easily lose our love for God if we are distracted by the things in the world. We do not know that moment the words are spoken: "This very night your soul is required of you!"

 What are we to do? We need to proceed with a commitment in our heart to the Lord. We need to always know that our lives are headed beyond this earthly environment. We know that but believing that to keep our commitment is another story. We need to focus on what Paul's focus was: "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:13-14) 

  To the Hebrew brethren these words were written: "For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Heb. 12:3) These are for us as well.

   Walk with Jesus each day. Make certain your heart is set on the things above and you keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated. Don't allow this world and the things of this world that the evil one uses to distract you from your purpose. Grow in your love for the Lord. Grow in your faith and trust in the Lord. Seek the goal that Jesus died to get you to. There is nothing on earth that is worth our souls!