Don’t Get Caught With Your Pants Down

Sometimes when comparing two things we do so by saying that the difference is as day is to night. There is no similarity, opposites that even dim wit would understand.  War and Peace, Love and Hate, Happy and Sad, Light and Darkness are examples of extreme differences. We are fully aware of such opposites. 

In first Thessalonians 5, Paul mentions the difference between night and day in reference to those who are Christians, and those who are not. He warns us that a time is coming when destruction is coming upon the world and the day of the Lord, Jesus’ second coming, will surprise those who are not ready to meet him. He says, “For you yourselves (Christians) are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” 

There have been times while working outside late in the day, being so caught up in what I was doing, that darkness sneaked up on me. There were tasks I could not finish. That happened to me a few times when I was a kid playing in the woods. It’s pretty scary being in the woods when it is dark. But those who are lost can’t imagine how horrifying it will be for them when Jesus comes and sudden destruction comes upon them.

Paul, speaking to the believers in Thessalonica,  writes, “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.”  Paul also mentions that God intended for all people, every person he created, to avoid the darkness and destruction. “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Now we wait for Jesus’s return. In the meantime what are we to do? I’m glad you asked. Paul gave us a to-do list while we wait. Here are some of those things.

Encourage one another and build one another up, 

Be at peace among yourselves. (Those fellow followers of Christ)

Encourage those who are struggling in the faith.

Help the weak, 

Be patient with everyone

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, 

Always seek to do good to everybody. 

Rejoice always

Pray without ceasing, 

Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Do not quench the Spirit.. 

Abstain from every form of evil.

A Ministrry to All the World in One Place

I love the Church where God has called Sherri and me to serve. I certainly know that there are no perfect churches, but I had let myself believe that Christ Baptist Church was as near perfect as any church In which I had been associated. Recently we had a tragic split with over 200 people leaving. This was devastating, and it hurt us, but now we are recovering, growing and ministering.

Christ Baptist Church has been partnering with Refugee Hope Partners for several years. This past Sunday afternoon a large number from our church went to the Cedar Point Apartment Community where refugees from over 30 countries have been given a place to live. I think most of the refugee population comes from African countries. A young couple from our church is living there to minister to these people who bring with them their culture, their language and their pain from having to flee their homes. 

We went there to interact with those refugees, to love them and to have gospel conversations with them if possible. Often the only way to have those gospel conversations, due to the language barrier, is to show them the love of Jesus through our actions. 

One conversation that I had was with a little girl from one of the African countries. She was probably ten years old. A fellow member from our choir and I met her as we were going down to the basketball court to pick up trash from our event. She stopped us and asked why we had trash bags. I told her what we were going to do. Most of the children are learning to speak English at their school and from the Refugee Hope Partners at the apartment complex. We could understand what she was saying.

She said, “Why do you want to do that?”

 “Because we want to make the basketball court look better before we leave,” I replied.” 

She said, “That’s not your trash! Why do you pick up trash that’s not yours?”

I said, “Because it is the right thing to do, that is what…” Before I could say, “Jesus wants us to do…” she had run off to play with some of her friends. That was the extent of my verbal gospel conversation that day. 

I love my church. I love the opportunities that I would never have if I was not a member. I love how God uses Sherri, me and  our brothers and sisters in Christ’s body of believers called Christ Baptist Church. Where else would I be able to go into all the world and speak the powerful name of Jesus in just one community where over 30 countries are represented. I am so glad that these dear people have found refuge in our backyard. God is bringing the nations to us whether we like it or not. Will we take advantage of the opportunity to share the gospel to all who come?

I Am

Jesus said, “I am the Vine.” We are branches. If branches trust the Vine and remain attached to the Vine, the branches will produce much fruit—Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness. Gentleness, Self-control. Today if we do not recognize these fruits growing out of our hearts we have a serious problem with our branch.

Jesus said. “I am Bread, the bread of life.” We must eat this bread, not just bread from a loaf, but the Bread that has come down from heaven. If we eat this heavenly bread and believe, we have life, eternal life in heaven. 

Jesus said, “I am the Way.” All of us are on our way to somewhere. As  we began our journey we didn’t know where we were going or how to get there. The Way has told us where we should not go, and how we can get to where we should go. He says to us, “I will take you to the place where your Father is waiting. Just believe that I am the only way to get you there. Follow me.”

Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” Someone lies to us. Every day he tries to  fill our minds with his lies. He is a liar, but Jesus is the Truth. We will know what the truth is if we read and study the word. Jesus is the Word. When the liar tempts us with his lies, we must tell him what the Truth says. The liar hates when we do that.

Jesus said, “I am Life.”  He is the only one who can give us the ability to produce good spiritual fruit. He is the only one who can give us spiritual bread that sustains us while we are on this earth. He is the only one who can take us where we want to go. He is the only one who can open the mysteries of the Word which is the only real truth. He is the only one who can give us life, his life, the life which makes us one with him and the life that makes us children of the Heavenly Father. 

Jesu is the Great I Am. He is everything we need him to be.

The Master Playwrite

 One of the perks of being retired is that I can go out on my porch early in the mornings to watch a production which no man has ever been able to produce. It is a drama, a musical, a comedy, a mystery and much, much more. Its unique artistic composition far exceeds every category or genre  ever imagined  by any human. It has run much longer than any Broadway play, dating back to the beginning of time. It is the same yet always different. With a cup of coffee in hand I await the performance.  

Right on time, but slowly, the curtain begins to rise. In panoramic splendor the sun appears, it’s light so complete that it fills every space previously taken by night’s darkness. Breathtaking colors showcase the sky as the sun’s rays shine through the clouds. The cast of characters begin their entrance on stage and they are ready to play their parts.

The birds could be heard tuning their voices in the predawn,  and right on cue they assume their spots, perching on the bird feeders to eat their breakfast. The sparrows, yellow finches, blue birds and red birds show off their lovely colors. The robins prefer to search the ground for their fill of insects and worms. The mockingbirds fly to a feeding post that they have claimed as their own. When other birds get too close those selfish hams chase them away, usually over dramatizing their parts. Their angry warning is very unmelodious which is strange since they have such a beautiful song when they behave themselves. The humming birds zoom to the feeder, take a few sips and zoom away taking their act to other houses in the neighborhood. A bevy of doves roost under the shrubs near the feeders. I wake them up when I go out to replenish the bird’s feeders. Those lazy doves don’t like that I have disturbed them from their sleep, and make a big fuss as they fly away. It’s never long before some of them return to get a few bites of bird seed and peanuts that have fallen on the ground . 

The birds are not the only characters. Sometimes I see an angel waking from her sleep among the blooms of my mandevilla with petaled arms raising skyward to praise her creator. I watch my dog chasing a toad, but not sure he wants to catch it. Sometimes a bashful rabbit will join the cast as well as a squirrel or two looking to steal seed from the birds’ cherished stash. I make an off stage guest appearance by yelling at the squirrels to go away. Lizards, mice, a stray cat and even a snake have added to the wonder of the Master’s production. 

When you take time to watch and listen to the sounds and sights of an early morning play you will never be disappointed. God provides all kinds of entertainment on his glorious stage. Instead of a standing ovation, worship and praise should be offered to the One who has created all things for us to enjoy, and thank him that he is always in control.

Anger

"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." James 1:19-20

Anger is easily recognized. There is yelling, cursing and screaming. There might be fighting. Sometimes anger is silent. It sits in a dark place where it festers, bubbles and spews until it begins to grow . That may be the worst kind of anger because at some point that time-bomb that has been ticking for maybe weeks violently explodes. Anger shows itself in many ways. The worst cases of anger are those that are very destructive. 

Our nation is full of anger. It has caused much division. Politics has become one of the major causes of anger. The pandemic has been a dangerous fire keg that has set people ablaze with anger. The media, I’m sure, prides itself for causing thousands to be filled with hate and anger. The more angry their viewers and readers are, the greater their audience, and the more money they make. There is so much anger these days that people who are not angry think that there is something wrong with them. Not really! 

The bottom line is that God is not pleased when you and I become angry, especially if we are his. James wrote that we are to be slow to get angry. Yes, there are times that anger is appropriate, but we must never go ballistic. There is never a time when we allow ourselves to lash out at another person, or do horrible things to someone even if they have been hateful and cruel to us . The best thing we can do is turn and walk away. I guarantee that most likely the person who attacked you verbally will feel foolish, childish and possibly regretful about their actions . The most important thing about keeping our cool when we are in a situation when we  are about to lose it  is to calm down and allow God to produce his righteousness in us.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall inherit the kingdom of God.” The Bible says that anger does not show that we have the righteousness of God within our hearts. In these days when the world is full of anger we who are Christians must be careful to not be like the world. If we do not exhibit the righteousness of Jesus, who will?

Stain

You buy an item at Lowes, Home Depot or some hardware store and somewhere stuck on the side of that item is a sticker with a barcode. It serves a good purpose for the store, but very often it is a source of frustration for you. You can’t peel it off, wash it off or scrape it off. The glue on the back of the sticker will not let go. I have tried those ways to remove stickers and failed every time, but there is hope. There are ways to remove those stubborn stickers.

Like stickers there are some stains that are just as hard to remove. They stick to us and they stain us. When we sin we stain our hearts. If we don’t deal with it immediately that stain will set in and there is nothing we can do to remove it. We may make excuses, or resolve to not return to that sin again, but that never works. In some cases we like our sin so much that we want to continue in the sin. We don’t want anyone to know about our sin so we hide it. Hidden sins are dangerous. They cause a big, dark, ugly stain on our hearts, and our relationship with God is damaged. 

As Christians we can not afford to let that happen. We can pick at the sin stain, try to peel it off, promise ourselves that we are done with that sin, but none of those things work. We become very frustrated, and our guilt tears us to pieces. 

Jeremiah 2:22 says, “Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt (sin) is still before me," declares the Lord GOD. This is why we are so frustrated and feel so helpless. There is nothing that we can do that will cleanse our sins, but there is something that can. 1 John 1:1 is the answer, “…the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. ... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The blood of Jesus is the answer. When we go to him and confess our sins he will forgive and purify us. That means he will remove the stain on our heart. It feels so good to be pure in the eyes of God, and to be rid of the burden of guilt. We should thank him everyday for making us whiter than snow. 

“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Bread

Bread may be the number one food item of all time. Have you ever noticed how many different kinds of bread there are on the bread shelves in grocery stores? We can't have a sandwich without bread. We expect complimentary bread when we eat at a nice restaurant. Think of the number of eating establishments that would go out of business if there was no bread. 

We don't like to think about it but bread makes us fat. Too much bread is not good for us. Bread tastes so good that we forget that it is causing bulges to form around our midsection and yes, even our our rear ends. We look in the mirror and see that our girth has suddenly enlarged immensely, and we say, "Whoa, how did that happen?" I'll tell you how that happened -- too much bread! 

There probably should be a warning label placed on all bread items, Warning: Bread Will Make You Fat! When I am hankering for my favorite meals I don’t want to be reminded that bread is fattening. I don't know what I would do without Sherri's wonderful cornbread. And I love her homemade biscuits. Beans would not be the same without cornbread. Country fried steak and gravy just wouldn't taste as good without biscuits. I would be greatly offended if Sherri started putting that warning label on her delicious iron skillet baked cornbread and her hot, fluffy biscuits. 

People loved their bread in biblical times as much, if not more than, we do. The rich people ate bread made from wheat, and poor people made their bread from barley. Bread was a staple for people in Jesus' day. Jesus talked about bread when he taught. Actually, he talked about two kinds of bread. When Jesus fed the five thousand he satisfied their physical hunger. The next day he told them how he could satisfy their spiritual hunger. He said, "I am the Bread of Life. If you eat my flesh and drink my blood you will have eternal life." This is the only way that man can have eternal life. 

If you think about what Jesus was saying, he was warning these people and us concerning our eternal well being. This was pretty much Jesus' warning label: Failure to Eat the Bread of Life Will Lead to Destruction. Unfortunately, many were offended by what Jesus said, and they rejected him.  Just like the day when Jesus was teaching the difference between the two types of bread, people today are offended when they are confronted by the warning that only the Bread of Life will give eternal life. I love my wife's cornbread and biscuits, but I love the Bread of Life more. I am not offended at all.