Protection from the Cold of Sin

Yesterday, we got about twice as much snow as the meteorologist predicted we would.  In the morning, the forecast was for around an inch on the ground for our area.  What was not made clear by the meteorologist, was the fact that the snow would instantly stick to the roads and driveways because the road temperatures were below freezing.  Our town had not even laid any salt on the roads when the snow began. Within 15 minutes of the snow starting, all the flowerbeds, roofs, roads and driveways were covered with a slick layer of snow.

 I began to think about how easily sin can stick to straying or stumbling hearts as I looked at the stark contrast of a snow covered driveway and warm, mostly untouched, grass next to it.  Proverbs 4:23, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life." Are you allowing the springs of your heart to chill and be easily affected by the cold snow and ice of sin?  Or is your heart's springs hot with Christ's love allowing it to easily ward off the sinful cold of this world?

We have to keep working on our relationship and walk with Jesus to help protect us from the cold of sin in our hearts.  Though this is a daily need it does not have to be a constant struggle.  Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  When you keep hearing around you how hard it is to follow Jesus and to do daily devotions, you begin to believe it yourself.  This scripture shows that growing a relationship with Christ is neither difficult or burdening.  In fact, it is the opposite.  Jesus Christ will strengthen you, fill you with lift your burdens, and walk with you to protect you from the daily attacks of the enemy.  


I hope that you will warm your heart up today in Christ.  Your time with Christ should be just as enjoyable and wonderful as curling up next to a fireplace on a cold winter day.  He will gently warm you inside and out.  He will keep you protected from the cold sins and temptations of this life.  He will feel you with peace and the assurance that you can make it through each day with Him by your side.  


Blessings,


Greg  

Relational Breakdown

For most of my life, I have felt like a loner.  I have friends but most of them seem to be friends of convenience.  What I mean by this is friends at work, church, and through my wife.  I don't want to come across as cynical but I always feel like the friends I have are only there because of the shared connection.  I believe that I have come to this belief because of the multiple times this has been true in the many moves of my life.  I can count on one hand the friends I have in my life in whom I believe wouldn't change or disappear if I moved towns, jobs, or churches.  

I had a brief conversation at work today about one of my coworker's disdain for cars.  I made the case that cars were wonderful and that no one would really want to go back to walking and/or riding in a horse and buggy but she claimed that she would.  We continued the talk by discussing how going back to a horse and buggy time wouldn't be all bad because everything would've been much closer.  Our towns would shrink back to the horse and buggy radius.  You would only know a limited amount of people because of a limited travel ability and it would be necessary to depend on the people you knew because of these limits.

It is so hard for me to conceive of a time when everyone in a town knew everybody else.  I think for most of my life these towns have been disappearing.  With the telephone, the automobile, airplanes, and the computer, we have had the ability to travel and communicate in ways not really imagined by most of historic humanity.  Ironically in all this new found travel and communication breakthroughs most of us in the western world have actually reverted to a state of less personal and real communication and friendships.  

The distance has created more of an opportunity to not communicate instead of an opportunity to meet more people.  The cell phones, texting, internet, and more have seemingly created an impersonal form of communication that makes us feel connected and yet has succeeded to make most of our friendships superficial.  We find ourselves wanting to communicate through text, emails, and within massively multiplayer online role playing games instead of meeting people, calling people, or even picking up a pen and writing a personal message.  Many of us have become recluses from direct contact desiring to only develop deep relationships through a computer or cellphone screen.

The implications to Christianity, in my opinion, has been devastating.  Many of our friendships within the church are acquaintance level at best.  We no longer want to take the time to know how the person next to us in the pew is actually doing.  We have lost the community aspect of church.  We also have developed a great fear of deep conversation with another human being in the flesh.  The idea of having to go out meet people and tell them about Jesus terrifies the average church goer today.  

If Jesus, the disciples, Paul, and all the prophets of the Old Testament had been afraid of human interaction or having tough discussions, Christianity would not exist today.  Christianity requires relationships.  There is no other way to truly show another person the love of Jesus that resides within you.  If you find yourself falling into any of these traps that tend to pull you into yourself and away from others, I implore you to run to Jesus and pray that He open your heart to His will.  Paul said in Romans chapter 10:14-15, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news," is taken from Isaiah 52:7.  The Bible always intended for us to tell the good news to others.  This was the original purpose of the Hebrews.  They were to be the people who would demonstrated God's glory to the world.  Jesus also came to demonstrate God's glory to the world.  Through these examples we can see the importance of us demonstrating God's glory to the world.  Though I do believe that texting, Facebook, twitter, etc can have a positive influence in evangelism, a direct personal relationship will always be the most effective tool for the kingdom of Christ.  Spending the time to share your life with another and live Jesus' love to them is ultimately the most effective way to touch a person for Christ.  So I hope you will turn off you computer, cell phone, and tv for a while, even if it means taking a break from my blog ;), and go out to spend some time with people in the flesh, and share the love and salvation Jesus gave to you.  Like in the picture at the beginning of this blog, you may be the one who has the opportunity to reach down and help a brother off the steep cliff they are struggling with.

Blessings,

Greg 

Broken Past, Hopeful Future

There is a fine line between hate and love.  Unfortunately Christian history is filled with "Christians" proliferating hate in the name of love.  What seems so obvious to us today was not so simple at different points in history.  We now live in a time where everyone in the western world has access to the Bible and we each have the ability to read and understand it.  This has not been so for most of Christian history.  Imagine trying to be a follower of Christ and only getting input from a priest.  Most of the people in Christian history would not have been able to read the Bible even if it had been available to them.  There have been many times in our history where "the church" spawned more hate and murder than the most sinful of nations.  Oh how well the devil has been able to harm the world's view of Jesus through jaded followers.

I would like to believe that since we now live in an age were the Bible is readily available and accessible to all in the western world that we would no longer have the problems of our past.  Unfortunately, we all know that this is not true.  We still have people who twist the Bible and then teach their twisted perspective to willing followers who chose not to read and understand the Bible for themselves.  What is even worse is today we not only have hating, bigoted, vile people who profess Christianity, we also have many Christians today that believe Christianity is no better than any other religion and is only one way to find peace and heaven in this world.  The devil is still at work in our churches and there is still a large majority of people who have chosen not to read the Bible for themselves but to be swayed and wooed by men who intend to use the Bible for their own purposes.

Though I have to admit that I struggle greatly with both ideologies in our world today, I know that the only answer to truly battle the false teachings within the Christian realm is to truly live Christ authentically and boldly.  Hatred plus hatred does not equal love.  Vile words plus vile words does not equal peace.  judgment plus righteous anger does not equal living Jesus.  We have to live love.  We have to live truth.  We have to stand for the principles that Jesus set in place.  We have to love our enemies and let Jesus be the judge not us.  We have to be willing to humble ourselves to serve.  We have to be willing to go the second mile with the one who forced us to go the first mile. We have to be willing to lay down our lives for our brothers.  We have to be willing to sacrifice everything we are for the love Jesus lived and died for.

Jesus did not reach the world for himself by fighting the world but by dying in the place of sinners that they may have salvation available to them.  We have to learn from Jesus, Paul, and the disciples.  We have to stand up and be  different from the world.  We have to live love even when the world wants to perpetuate hate through intolerance.  We have to want to speak the truth when the world want all truth to be equal.  We have to live counter culture.  We have to authentically live Jesus daily no matter the consequences, which may include: broken relationships, lost jobs, and persecution.  Jesus intended for His followers to draw the world to Him not repel the world from Him.  It is our time to live authentically in Christ!  I challenge you to stand up and live Christ fully today.

Blessings,

Greg

Sheep, Goat, or Least of These?

Have you ever looked into the mirror and not recognized the person looking back at you?  I have been growing a beard and my hair out for the last month in an attempt to stay warm in the cold weather.  As I looked at myself in the mirror at work today, I marveled at how easily I could be mistaken for a bum.  This could be seen as comical in some ways but to me it opened my eyes to how we could all be one step away from the person on the street.  Every person on the street has a story.  I would even venture to guess that most of the people on the street had a normal life during an earlier stage of their life.

For many of us, this is a hard reality to accept.  It is much easier to believe the lie that all bums are there because they choose to be.  We can help develop our apathy towards people on the street by telling ourselves that they would just use the money for alcohol and drugs anyway.  Maybe you have even told yourself that giving a homeless person money would just be perpetuating a lifestyle.  Though all of these statements may be true at any given time, there is nothing in the Bible supporting the belied that we shouldn't love them anyway.  Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."  


Do we as Christians desire to teach, minister, and reach out to the sick today or do we prefer the healed who have it all together and have something to offer us?  Those who are sick, jobless, and/or unsaved are messy.  They have baggage.  They need extra support, extra love, and extra attention.  I find that many of us today, including myself, want to just be around the people who lift us up, who affirm us, and who make our lives easy and peaceful.  Dealing with the "sick," as Jesus put it, is difficult.  Jesus demonstrated he cared very much about the less fortunate.  This is best seen in the parable of the sheep and goats told by Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46.  The goats who did not care for "the least of these" were cursed to Hell.  I don't know about you but this parable brings me pause because I know there have been many times in my life I turned my back to the least of these.


As I stared in the mirror at the man before me, I realized that I'm closer to the "least of these" than I allow myself to believe.  The Lord showed me that the outside appearance does not reflect the inner heart.  The sheep before being sheared appears mangy and unkept to the world but the shearer knows that underneath that mangy wool is a beautiful innocent lamb.   We are each lambs of Jesus and he loves each one of us greatly.  Jesus looks past our outward appearance to our hearts.  As "little Christ's," we should also take the time to see past people's appearance to their heart.  I hope today you will walk with a new perspective and compassion for the different people you encounter.


Blessings,


Greg   

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I don't know about you but Christmas and Thanksgiving are my two most favorite holidays.  I love being able to spend time with family.  I love getting to see the people I haven't seen since last year.  I love to connect, to relax, to share, and to partake in all the wonderful food.  I love these holidays because if you take the time to reflect on what they really mean, your life changes and you begin to focus back on the things that really matter like family, friends, charity, and living love.

Thanksgiving helps to redirect my heart to Jesus because I would have nothing to be thankful for without Him.  Thanksgiving brings an acute reminder in my heart that everything I have is from the Lord.  My thankfulness runs deep in the satisfaction that I have a good and loving God.  I bask in the loving family around me and the wonderful time and conversation we get to share together.  I cherish the fact that I have so many people who love me and in whom I also love greatly.

Christmas continues the process that Thanksgiving starts of realigning my heart to Jesus.  It can become so easy to get all tangled in the world throughout the year.  Our hearts get pulled in all directions by our spouses, family, jobs, errands, and our desires.  We can become so cluttered by life that we forget about the work that Jesus has done in us.  I know it is a sad prospect but I suspect that many of you have experienced piling the many worries and desires of this world in front of Jesus.  Christmas is my time to purge all of these things out of my heart again so I can see Jesus and the cross clearly again.  It is a time where I can reflect on His life and the sacrifice He made for me just in humbling himself to become a human.

I absolutely love Christmas music.  There are so many beautiful songs that bring so many new and wonderful insights into the birth of Jesus.  I love songs that tell stories of Christ's love in people being lived out authentically at Christmas.  I love to cry to songs such as Christmas Shoes and I desire the iconic white Christmas on the actual day each year.  There is absolutely no place I would rather be than with my family at Christmas.  I have quit jobs because of being hindered from spending time with my family and participating in Christmas programs at Christmas.  I love selecting or creating the perfect gift for someone and watching the joy of them opening it on Christmas day.

We have been given such a great gift in Jesus!  This world tries it's hardest to pull our hearts away from the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Don't get caught up in all the lights, Santa celebrations, and sales that you forget the true reason for the season.  Without Jesus there would be no Christmas.  Without Jesus there would be no reason for thankfulness or Joy.  Without Jesus there would be no salvation or understanding of true love.  Center your hearts on Jesus this holiday season.

Blessings,

Greg

Plans for Good

Have you ever received a gift that is so precious you would protect it with your life?  Have you ever been faced with the prospect of losing that gift?  On top of that have you ever been in that situation, knowing that you had no control over whether you would be able to keep the gift or not?  Well that was my day.  The more precious the gift the higher the emotional stakes are when uncertainty happens with it.  It is awful wondering what the results will be.  It is awful wondering whether you will be able to keep the gift or not.  At times like these your learn real quick that the going ons of this life are completely in the hands of God.

There were two passages in scripture that I had to hold onto today as I faced the fear of loss and pain.  The two passages were Romans 8:38-39 which says, "I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" and Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."  I don't know about you but I find peace and strength in the promises of God.  I trust the Word and lean on it fully.  I have put my whole heart, strength, and faith in God and He has never failed me.  

God provided me with peace and certainty amidst my fears today.  God gave me unspeakable joy as he lifted my heart and showed me that He truly does have plans of good for me.  I am so thankful for the many ways God shows himself to me daily.  I am so thankful that He is ever-present and working in my life.  I pray that each person who reads this blog would know the truth of Jesus Christ as Savior and have a deep and close relationship with Jesus in their heart.  If you do not,  accept Him today.  You will never regret it.  You will never be the same again.  You will have full peace and assurance from this moment on that the God and creator of the universe is on your side and loves you.  Will you let Him in your heart today?

Blessings,

Greg

Just Can't Make Up it's Mind

One of the greatest and worst attributes of Indiana is that it's weather never stays the same.  Everyone who has ever lived in Indiana has heard the phrase, "If you don't like the weather, wait a while and it will change."  This has been especially true of this fall so far.  We have had days in the thirties and days in the eighties all in the same week.  We had snow tonight and we will have temperatures of sixty-five degrees this coming Monday.  We have had days that start out freezing and become perfectly pleasant t-shirt weather and days that start out perfectly pleasant and end up frigid and windy.

Most of my job involves working outside and I have to admit that I am having trouble acclimating to the constant weather changes.  My sinuses and my ears have been all messed up.  I have been getting headaches from the weather changes also.  All of this is compounded by the fact that, even on the coldest of days, I have to walk into the house where I work and shed layers of clothing or I will be burning up because the average temperature of the house where I work is 75 degrees.  It is such a funny sight to see coworkers quickly walking to the house in essentially summer clothing even when it is freezing cold outside.

Have you ever struggled with your Christian walk feeling like this?  Sometimes you are passionate for the Word and resting in the Lord and other times you feel far from Jesus.  These mountains and valleys or hot and cold moments can make a walk so difficult.  I don't know about you but I struggle much more in these times than I do when I have a consistent daily walk with Jesus.  When I am disciplined and spend time in the Word, speaking to the Lord, and relying on Him throughout my day, week, and month, I find that I am much more at peace and centered in who I am in Christ.  This is not so when I have a day of intense prayer and devotion followed by a week of nothing.

Our walks in Christ and outward witness should not appear to the world as Indiana does with weather.  What I mean by this is that the world should not expect that how we are acting or who we are will change in the next few moments.  We should be consistent in Christ.  We should walk a life full of love, grace, faithfulness, peace, and self control.  Our walks should model a daily walk with Christ that is unhindered by the ebb and flow of the world.  We have to be so careful to make sure that we are not letting each little life crisis pull us away from our daily walk with Christ.

Through reading the Bible, spending time growing in Christ through small groups, regular church attendance, constant prayer, and complete faithfulness to Christ, we will be able to weather the ups and downs and heat waves and cold snaps of the world.  I have been working to be more consistent in Christ through following a daily bible reading plan.  I am trying to store up the words of the Bible in my heart for those times of fluctuation.  I am trying to drop to my knees in prayer when I encounter daily struggles.  I am trying to build strong Christian relationships to help give me strength in my time of struggles.  I still have a long way to go but one step is still one step.  I hope you will work to draw closer to Jesus on a daily and consistent basis also.  May Jesus help to protect and uplift you in all you encounters each day.

Blessings,

Greg  

The Light of Job

I am working on a chronological daily reading plan and this week I have been working my way through the book of Job.  I struggle on many levels with the book of Job.  I think my own American understanding of the world has colored my perspective of God.  As I read the book of Job, I have a great problem with the idea of God allowing all those awful things happen to Job as a way to show that Job will remain faithful to God despite them.  I think I struggle so much with the idea of God doing this because I know that I would fail that test miserably.  I can't even imagine surviving the first round the Devil exacted against Job more less making it to the direct assault on Job's body.  I also am not sure that I would've been able to be confident in my own righteousness against friends trying to persuade me to confess my sins to God.  

You have to admit that Job's faith was pretty incredible.  He spent a considerable amount of time arguing for his innocence to his friends despite all that had happened to him.  I think the thing I struggle with the most in the book of Job is the fact that Job truly was innocent.  It seems to me that this is why God allowed the devil to do all he did in the first place.  Job lived a life that honored God.  Job was as far as we could tell practically sinless.  

I struggle in so many ways each day in my walk as a Christian.  Like the photo at the beginning of the blog, I sometimes struggle with being right next to the light but not living in it.  I stumble in my heart, my mind, my words, and my actions daily.  I'm not even sure I have ever made it through one day without sinning.  It is like I walk in the light for a time but take wander into the dark from time to time.  I can't even imagine living a mostly sinless life.  I can't imagine being such an honorable and Godly man that God would have so much confidence in me to allow the devil to test me knowing that I would not turn from Him.  I want to be able to live a life that honors and is devoted to God like Job was.  I hope that my faith and walk will grow to the level of holding fast to God no matter what I experience or encounter in this life.  I hope that i can become a man who walks in the light and truth of God all the time and never wanders into the dark.

I am not done with the book of Job yet though I do know that a point is coming up where Job questions God and God gives him the riot act.  I can't even imagine the pain Job must've felt.  It is hard for me to see that my life truly is about God and His kingdom.  I am not on this planet to live an easy and blessed life.  Though God may give me a blessed and generous life, I have to remember that everything in my life is from Him.  It is so funny that I think I own things in this life.  I believe the book of Job makes it perfectly clear that the Lord can give and take away and there is nothing we can say about it because God is perfectly just in both actions.  

I know this blog is not particularly uplifting but our understanding of God and His sovereignty is a lesson we better not miss.  We need to remember that our lives are to be lived for Him only.  We have to remember that any possession we have has been given to us by God.  We have to remember that as Christians we are to live for His kingdom only.  Can you trust in God no matter what?  Can you surrender your heart to Him fully no matter what your life looks like?  Can you give up everything and still praise Him daily?  To have a full and real relationship with Jesus, we need to be able answer yes to each one of these tough questions.

Blessings,

Greg

Joyful Moment in Time

There are certain times in life that are huge!  Those moments you will never forget.  Each moment is etched vividly into your mind.  The exact words, sights, and sounds of the moment forever locked into your memory.  Everything about your surroundings, the time of day, the weather, and what you were doing brought to full awareness.  When this moment in your life is a moment of joy everything around you seems more colorful, more beautiful, and more amazing.

In these times of joy you remember the wonderful power and goodness of your God. You are reminded of His sovereign power and grace to bring you to that moment.  In these joyful times of your life, I hope you will praise the Lord because He is the one that brought you to that day and moment.  I for one know that I have an awesome and loving God.  I know His timing is perfect and beautifully crafted.  I know He gives me everything I need to fully be able to handle all He gives me.  I am blessed to have a relationship with such a wonderful Lord.  I hope you feel the same way too.

Blessings,

Greg

What if Jesus Had Come in Our Day

I was thinking about what if Jesus had come in our modern day.  I though about how His ministry would've been different.  I thought about whether he would've travelled the world.  I wondered if He would've utilized social media and modern day technology.  I thought about how His message might have been different.  I wondered what the parables would've been about in our day.

I honestly do not think Jesus would have done much with Facebook or Twitter.  I doubt he would've created a website for himself or worried about campaigning to be the top religious person in the world.  It seems to me that Jesus' strengths focused on sharing one on one relationships.  Sure, Jesus would've been able to provide perfectly thought out comments and questions to make people think on Facebook and Twitter but I don't believe His ministry was about hits, likes, or followers.

In the Gospels it seems that Jesus' main draw was His authentic and consistent life that gave His words authority.  He meant what he said and His character backed up the kind of person he was.  His power was in real life conversation and interaction.  I believe it was experiencing the love and compassion on His face, the power of His words, and the healing in His touch that changed the opened hearts and changed the world. I believe he would've used a phone only to plan a meeting in person.  He would've understood that love is best demonstrated face to face.  In doing miracles in our modern world, He probably would've told the people he healed not to go to the newspapers, TV stations, and online forums.

I believe His ministry would've been in all the places many of us have no interest driving through much less having to walk through and engage people.  He probably would've visited the local bars, the casino's, and the crack houses.  I doubt he would've have been afraid to talk to the professed atheist, the homeless, the addicted, or the gangs.  Jesus made it clear that he was not here for the well but the sick.  He probably would've offended many churches as He choose to spend time with the people on the street instead of preaching and fellowshipping with the people in the church.

I believe Jesus still would've spent most of His time mentoring a group of 12 men.  He had no intention of bringing the truth of His gospel to the whole world himself but through the Jews and those He poured His teachings into.  Chances are that Jesus would've never set foot in America.  He probably still would've been born, raised, and died in Israel.  We probably would've only heard about Him in the states as a passing mention in the evening news around the time He was crucified.  Chances are most of us wouldn't have even heard about His teachings unless we had gone to Israel on vacation.  For those who have problems with that last sentence, remember that Christianity wouldn't even exist if Jesus had come in our time instead.

I don't know about you but many times I have wished that Jesus would've came in our modern era.  I wish that I could've spent time getting to know Him in the flesh.  I wish that I could've seen the miracles He performed and heard the sermons and parables He taught.  The reality is though that Jesus came to bring the Gospel to the Jews and intended for them to bring it to the world.  Because of this fact I still would've likely only heard about Him or truly had a chance to know more about Him after He was gone. More than likely more of His words would've been available.  There might have even been youtube footage of the sermon on the mount.  Who knows we might've been able to listen to Jesus' messages on podcast after He died.

I guess the point of what I am writing is that even if Jesus had come in our modern era, His words and teachings would've still been the same.  His ministry would've been to the same region.  He still would've died a horrible death by today's standards.  And many would've seen Him, met Him, heard Him, and been healed by Him and yet still fell away.

We have everything we need to know about Jesus at our fingertips.  We have been given such a blessing to see His ministry from four different Gospel perspectives.  We have been given the Holy Spirit and a complete Bible to understand God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in a way that the early church couldn't have imagined.  Each one of us has the ability to own a copy of the Bible, which has only been the case for about 500 years.  We have missed nothing by not having Jesus in the flesh with us today.  Jesus provided everything we would need to know about Him and the Gospel truth.  Though the idea of Jesus coming in our day is interesting, I am so glad that Jesus choose to come when He did and how He did.

Blessings,

Greg

Intolerant Tolerance

In listening to a sermon by David Platt, he spoke on tolerance and got me thinking about the ways of this world today.  I find it interesting that we live in a culture today that champions the idea of tolerance of all religions and yet is intolerant of intolerant religions like evangelical Christianity.  We live in a culture that does not believe in spiritual absolute truths and yet lives by absolute truths daily such as 2+2=4 and the law of gravity.  Does it not seem convenient for the world to make all spiritual truth equal?  This would never work in the realm of science.  If I decided to walk off a bridge because I didn't believe in the law of gravity, I would still fall to my death anyways.  Though this is true of science beliefs the world says that it is not also true of spiritual beliefs.  The problem is that, if in fact Christianity is true, then all other religions really are going to hell without Jesus whether they believe their spiritual beliefs are true our not.  If there is not absolute spiritual truth and we all have to be tolerant of everybody else's beliefs, then none of us has to feel conviction of sin or anything contrary to what we want to believe.  I find it ironic that this world, especially the modern college campus, champions the idea of religious tolerance so loudly and yet seek so passionately to destroy the claims of Christianity.  How can supposed tolerant people be so intolerant.  

In a sermon I was listening to by David Platt  called The Gospel and Homosexuality where he said this about tolerance in our world in all context, "We have created the idea, the belief that every idea in the world is equally right, equally true.  so to disagree with some one is intolerant but the reality is tolerance in and of itself implies disagreement.  If you and I agree on every single thing, I don't tolerate you.  I don't tolerate your beliefs if I agree with all of them.  If you believe that Jesus is the Lord of the universe then I don't tolerate you for that. On the other hand, if you deny that Jesus even exist then, yes, I would passionately disagree with you but it is at that point that I would tolerate you."  Our world has so confused the meaning of words such as tolerance that we all feel we are bad for standing up for our beliefs.  We have come to believe it is wrong to believe in absolute truth.  Many of us have become to scared to proclaim Jesus as the way and the truth and the life because it is infringing on other people's truth.  

We have to be so careful not to be drawn in by the ideas of this world.  If we allow ourselves to not proclaim Jesus due to fear of being viewed as intolerant then we are quietly allowing people to go to hell.  Jesus was not afraid of absolute truth and he was not afraid to challenge those who spoke against His Father.  We have to stand up for our beliefs and proclaim them with boldness and compassion.  We can no longer allow this world to keep our mouths shut or allow this world to scare us into their view on tolerance.  We must be the salt and light to the world and trust that Jesus' truth will ring in the hearts of the people around us.  Stand tall for Christ brothers and sisters and stand for absolute truth in Christ this moment.  

Blessings,

Greg   

One Body Under Jesus Christ

Tonight we had a prayer service in the community where our church plant is.  It's purpose was to pray for all those involved in the school corporation of the community.  All of the churches in the area decided to unite together for this cause and to pray together as one body of Christ.  I believe tonight was a beautiful display of what Christianity was intended to be.

Though I completely agree that there has to be parameters set on who qualifies as a Christian body, I believe we are doing a great injustice to Jesus by arguing over who has the better church.  It is important that foundations of Christianity be set as criteria between the denominations and some of the parameters that would be included is the belief in an inerrant Bible useful in modern day teaching, Jesus as the one and only savior of the world and the only way to heaven, the acknowledgment of sin in our lives, and the acknowledgment of the Holy Trinity to name a few.  The devil has weakened the church so significantly today through our division.  We are all one family in Jesus Christ.  I do not believe that there will be different denominations in heaven.  I do not believe that Jesus looks upon denominations with happiness and joy.  I also do not believe we will ever reach the whole world for Jesus Christ as a separated and divided religion.  Jesus' own words in Matthew 12:25 are, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand."  


Are we not followers of Jesus living to proclaim and extend the kingdom of Christ?  So can Jesus' words apply to us?  We have got to learn to work together instead of spending all our time coming up with jokes and reasons magnifying our own differences.  I believe that Jesus' words in Matthew 7:3-5 also should be haunting to how different denominations treat each other today saying, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye."  Folks, I understand that there are certain denominations that have no resemblance to Biblical Christianity any longer but we need to focus on the brothers and sisters of other denominations that share many of our same beliefs and come together to reach our communities and world for Jesus.  We can't do it alone and no denomination has figured out the one and only right way to be a Christ follow, contrary to popular opinion in certain denominations.  


I guess I write all of this tonight because I see so many instances of Christians working against each other instead of working together.  Why do you think the world doesn't want to know Jesus?  Could it be because they are truly watching us and they have enough dysfunction in their lives without needing to add Christianity to their list.  Both Jesus and Paul warned of false witnesses but I don't remember anywhere in the New Testament where divided churches were written about positively.  I don't remember Jesus saying, "go out and make your own sect of disciples and then enlarge your own sect as much as you can making sure that people understand that your sect is the best."  I don't believe that is in the great commission.  


As to the picture I posted for this blog, my wife came up with this analogy, "We are all the beautiful feet of Jesus.  It is just that there are many different shoes represented across the world.  Therefore we need to quit worrying about the different shoes someone else is wearing and focus on getting down and dirty spreading the gospel of Jesus to the world."  The centralizing theme in our lives should be Jesus and Jesus only.  Lets drop the labels of "denominations" and embrace the label of  "Followers of Christ."  Now I know that these things that I just said can be abused and people can twist these words and ideas for other things that are unbiblical and un-Christian but the main idea here is that we are all family as Christians and we need to start acting like it.  We need to start loving our brothers and sisters whether they are apart of our denomination or not.  We need to start working together instead of trying to get credit for an event as our own.  We need to remember our priorities again, which is simply to win souls to Christ for the enlarging of His kingdom and His glory.  Let's lay down our prejudices, traditions, and human stubbornness at the feet of Jesus and let Him begin to do a great work in us.  I believe if we could just do this we would see a revival and winning of souls across the world larger than the world has ever seen.  


Blessings,


Greg

Gasoline

(Disclaimer: This photo was not taken the same day as this story)

Today as I was out doing my errands for work, I ended up getting sprayed with gasoline while filling one of the mower containers.  I had not put the tip of the dispenser far enough into the container hence it sprayed everywhere when I pulled the trigger.  A pretty decent amount of gasoline covered my left hand, my left arm, and my left leg.  I was none to pleased, of course, and proceeded to figure out a way to remove it from my clothes.  I found that there was nothing I could do till I got home and could change to wash the clothes.  It turns out that it is easy to be covered with gasoline and yet difficult to remove it.  I noticed that the fumes from the gas were quite noxious and I ended up with a hurting throat by the time I made it home for lunch to change.  I had visible stains on my clothes and anyone passing by could immediately tell that I was not someone to stand close to.


When I was covered by the gasoline I was embarrassed because of the mistake I had made and worried about how people would perceive me.  The gas had soaked through my clothes in the places it had sprayed me and I had to also wash my skin to remove the substance and smell.  I could not just use soap and water to remove the gasoline.  I had to use a special soap to remove it from my skin and clothes.  While I had the gasoline on my skin and clothes I was a walking time bomb.  All it would take was a spark to severely hurt or possibly kill me.  All I could think about till I was out of the clothes was what would happen if I came across this spark or flame.

Isn't interesting that many of the parallels of gasoline work also with sin.  It is easy to get in to but hard to get out of.  It affects you body, mind, and soul.  It requires the Lord to remove the soiled parts of your heart for a deep cleaning.  It affects those around you and put off an aroma that typically repels them from you or in sin's case maybe entices them to you.  Sin invades your thoughts and clouds your judgment.

The Bible says these things about sin.  John 3:20, "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed."  Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Jeremiah 2:22, "Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord God."  Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."  Romans 5:8-10, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."


Sin is something we have all be covered with.  No one can remove it but Jesus, who has conquered all sin.  All we have to do is ask forgiveness for our sins and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and He will come in and cleanse us of our sin.  Though we are justified, which means we are presented as completely spotless and worthy of heaven before God because of Christ, it takes the rest of our life's to be sanctified, which is the Holy Spirit completing a continual work in us to bring us into a closer and closer likeness to Christ taking the rest of our life and only being completed upon our arrival to heaven.  I hope you will lay your sins at Jesus' feet today and trust Him to do a good work in you and produce spiritual fruit in you for the rest of your life.  If you choose to do this or choose to recommit yourself to Christ today, remember what Jesus said to His disciples at the end of Matthew about how we should live as followers of Christ, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."   


Blessings,


Greg

Many Blessings

Today was a normal day.  I enjoyed being productive as I drove our zero turn and mowed the property.  I enjoyed listening to music and sermon podcasts while I worked.  The Lord taught and blessed me through the sermons I listened to today.  I shared a sermon with the youth and I think they enjoyed and learned a lot from it.  The Lord showed me that there are just certain times that it is best to let someone else teach.  I enjoyed playing guitar in our worship practice tonight and was glad that practice went smoothly.  I ended up being pleasantly surprised as our young adults stuck around a while to play hang man, hang out, and listen to some crazy fun music.

I am so thankful for a job I love working with some of the best people I have ever met.  I am thankful for a completely awesome God centered wife.  I am thankful that the Lord shows me what I need to teach our young adults weekly.  I am thankful that He has raised up Christian men in my life to mentor and instruct me on how to become a stronger man of God.  I am thankful for young adults who truly soak up the word of God and want to live more Christ centered lives. I am thankful for being able to have friends who love the Lord and love to hang out with us.  God is so good.  

All these things make me think about the old hymn called, "Count Your Many Blessings."  Thanksgiving is going to be here before we know it.  This year take the time to take inventory of the many blessings and things to be thankful for in your life.  Remember the one who gave each thing to you and thank Him above all else.  As I sit here, I wonder where I would be without the Lord and I shutter.  He has been so good to me.  I know that sometimes it is hard to see blessings in your life but please remember your circumstances shouldn't determine your thankfulness.  No matter what situation we are in today, we can always be thankful for the wonderful love, grace and forgiveness our God has bestowed upon us.  Also remember that there is always hope in Jesus as Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Blessings,

Greg  

Fixer of the Heart

This picture beautifully displays how I feel most of the time when I encounter struggles with people.  Part of who I am and how I have lived most of my life is as a fixer.  In my current job, I am a maintenance technician and if something is broken then I fix it.  If I have any problems at my house, I fix it.  If my car is broken, I fix it.  I think you get the idea. ;)  I get so frustrated when I have issues with friends, family, coworkers, and my wife where I can't instantly fix their problems, which is often.  I don't like tension in my relationships.  I don't like to see someone else hurting and not be able to fix what hurt them.  I don't like to have arguments that don't have immediate resolutions.

When I was younger, I was never able to understand why people are so much harder to fix.  In my mind, most people's problems seemed simple enough.  The Lord has taught me a lot through the years on how to better depend on Him when I encounter struggles with others.  The hardest lesson He has taught me, which I admittedly am still trying to learn, is I am not going to be able to fix the other person's problem.  I am going to have to put the situation in the Lord's hands and trust that He will resolve the situation in His time.

God has shown me that the situation is not always going to be fixed the way I want it to.  Sometimes I am going to have to watch and endure the pain of my friend or family and just support them with my love.  Sometimes the Lord has to show me that I am the reason or a part of the problem.  Occasionally the only resolution to the problem comes in my heart being able to forgive and accept the other whether they change or not.  Many times it takes me surrendering all of my desires and worries to the Lord and resting in His sovereignty.  I don't know about you but I don't like giving up complete control and I especially do not like to wait once I have.  I want things fixed now.  I have to admit though that I have learned so much about myself, my God, and the people involved when I fully trust in Jesus to remedy the situation in His glorious timing.

Romans 12:12 helps put into focus how we should act when facing trying times with another, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."  This verse speaks to me greatly and stings quite a bit because often times, I am anything but patient during tribulation.  1 Corinthians 13:4 takes patience to another level by referring to it as being a quality of love.  This verse helps me to see that I am hurting people by my impatience instead of loving them by trying to remedy the issue quickly.   Many times I feel as though I am being loving by resolving what is distressing me quickly.  I guess that is truly the crux of the matter.  Often times when I want something fixed it is because it is causing me pain not because I care about the needs of the other who is having trouble.  Whenever we face trouble, we have to learn to be loving by approaching the situation appropriately.  James 1:19-20 says, "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." When you combine Romans 12:12 and James 1:19-20, you begin to get a better idea of how God wants us to acts during situations like this in our lives.


I am so thankful that the Lord is continually working in my heart to make me more like Him.  He is the ultimate fixer of the heart as he works to fix us from the inside out.  I am thankful that I can place the problems I encounter in His hands and know that He is trustworthy to take care of them.  Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."  I am a witness to God's faithfulness and worthiness to trust in Him.  There is no problem too great for God and no situation too difficult for Him to handle.  


I must admit to you that many times the problem won't disappear instantly but have faith and He will bring you peace as you entrust the problem to Him.  Pray constantly for Him to do a work in you and the person in whom you are struggling with or supporting in their struggle.  He will bless you and keep you daily.  He also will continually work on your heart and the heart of the other person.  He will teach you how to love better no matter the situation and you will grow immeasurably in your walk through trusting Him with your struggle.  


Blessings,


Greg  

www.realchristianwalk.com

Echelon

These lyrics from the song Echelon by Pillar sum up what is on my heart tonight.  Please read them closely.  


You know it's time for us to step it up
Another level now 'cause we finished warming up
So we rise up elevate to maintain fill up with octane
And fan the flame we regain all the names
The enemy took away
And like a green beret we will lead the way
Into battle so have no fear we will draw near
So that we can persevere like a gondolier
We headed straight to the top nonstop
Set shop at the top of the Rock
You'll feel the aftershock after we rock the spot
Cause you forgot these soldiers won't turn and walk
We take hard knocks come back for more
Cause we're hardcore we fight for the One who died for (you)
And like Saigon we're on the frontlines
And we carry on to the end times

[Chorus]
Now that it's on, we're out in the front of this marathon
With our armor on, stay strong we drive on (drive on)
Our echelon pressin' on 'til we reach the top
And you know we don't stop (our echelon)
Now that it's on

We're on the enemy's hit list
I'm hopin' you get this
You're takin' a risk when you resist the one who made you exist
Evolutionists we got love for you too but we're breakin' down
Walls seeking out the truth
I'm a soldier in this army of One
Like I told ya the battle's already won
So about face move outta the way I gotta pray for you
And this is how we do


Do you believe these words?  Are you ready to live like this?  We are at war folks but our war is not against our fellow humans.  Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  We have got to remember why we are on this planet.  We have to remember who our allegiance is to.  In a war you don't just walk back and forth between the enemy and the ally side without consequences.  


In a war, you must choose sides or die.   In Revelation 3:16, Jesus says this to the church at Laodicea, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."  There are spiritual consequences to trying to ride the fence.  The absolute worse place you can be in life is indifferent, apathetic, and passionless.  Jesus says that being these things is even worse than being cold, which means hostile to Him and the Gospel!  So are you ready to stand up and live out your love for Jesus so people can see it?  Does Jesus burn in your heart tonight?  Is He truly the center, the passion, and the desire of your heart?  If not, please take the time to seek out why.  There is nothing in this life that matters more than passionately following Jesus.  


I hope you believe this is true tonight.  I hope you life will display this truth daily.  I hope you will talk to me if you struggle with believing this.  I would love to pray for you if you are struggling with Jesus being the center of your life.  We, as humans, are driven by our passions.  We will be passionate about something whether it is family, work, politics, money, hobbies, the environment, technology, Jesus, etc.  I hope Jesus is at the top of your passion list.  If he is not, maybe it is time to reorganize your passion portfolio.  Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  What is your treasure and your passion tonight?  Who's side are you on?  


Blessings,


Greg

Who is on Your Heart Throne?

Have you ever discovered that the days you try the hardest to be perfect or keep your thought life pure is the very same day you stumble the most?   I have been experiencing these ups and downs since watching the movie Courageous.  I know that James says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds" but I wish that the trials didn't increase at the very moment you begin to work on walking more like Christ.  One thing I have discovered, is that much of the time when I experience stumbling, it is because I am trying to walk rightly on my own instead of allowing Jesus to perform a sanctifying work in me.  


Why is it then that I seem to struggle so much with allowing Jesus to change my heart and life.  Why do I constantly live like I need to rise above my sin and accomplish perfection on my own?  I know the answer to this question, which is my sinful nature is trying to walk as if I am my own God instead of acknowledging my need for God and inability to live rightly without God.  I know these things to be true and yet I still struggle with letting Jesus have complete reign of my heart. 

Have you ever been there?  Have you ever punished yourself for the many sins you commit each day and your inability to be pure for even a minute, let alone an hour?  Have you ever felt unworthy of being a follower of Jesus because of how often you stumble and because it seems to be an incurable condition?  Each one of these actions is due to your sin nature and temptations of the Devil.  Becoming a Christian, does not make you instantly pure and sinless like Christ but allows Jesus' purity and sinlessness become your covering, which allows you to be admitted into heaven through Christ's atonement on the cross.  Let me simplify that for you.  When you become a Christian you become a sinner saved by grace not a person who is now sinless and will never struggle with sin again.  

I find it enlightening the way Paul, in Galatians, talks about this battle in reference to our need for the Holy Spirit.  Paul says, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."  In order to walk a more sanctified life we have to, "walk by the Spirit."  Only through doing this can we expect to see a change in our behaviors, thoughts, and actions.  Paul puts it this way in an earlier part of Galatians saying, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."     

So each morning we have to remember to rely completely on the Holy Spirit to help us walk in Jesus each day.  Every time we try and put ourself before the Holy Spirit, we will continue to stumble.  So let Jesus have full reign of your heart's throne today.  In your surrender to Jesus, the fruits of the spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control, will begin to grow and flourish in you.  Also the sin that plagues you will continue to make you stumble less.  I do not believe you will ever reach a state of perfect sinlessness in this world but the Holy Spirit will continue to bring you into a closer walk with Christ daily till the day you do become perfectly cleansed and sinless upon your arrival into heaven.  


I ask that you also pray for me that I would lay down my life daily so that it is not I living but Christ living in me each day.  I want each of you to know that I am so thankful to be able to share with you each day.  I continue to hope that through my struggles, and the lessons the Lord teaches me through them, you may be blessed, encouraged, and strengthened in your own daily walk with Christ.  

Blessings,

Greg  (www.realchristianwalk.com)


P.S.  I wanted to share with you all another beautiful Indiana fall photo today. I hope it brings you peace and joy.  :)