A Test You Can Pass Everytime

When bad things happen to folks who love Jesus, most folks have a crisis of faith. They just can’t imagine why God would allow something difficult or tragic to come into the life of someone who is really living for the Lord. The first question anyone asks when hard things come is, “Why?” That’s what everyone wants to know. They want to know why - which is understandable, but also unanswerable. You see, God hardly ever invites any of us to the ‘why-things-happen’ meetings. We simply don’t know why God allows bad stuff to happen. When the world caves in, the real question folks ought to be asking is, “What?” In other words, when bad things happen to someone you love, or even to your very own little self, the first question should not be, “Why is this happening?” but, “What do I need to do next?”

I know, I know, hardly any of us deals with our problems in that way. When it hits the fan in our lives, most folks usually go through all kinds of emotions ranging from fear and worry to anger and panic. Now, obviously those type of emotional reactions don’t do any good, whatsoever, but it’s really easy for us to recognize that right now, when we’re comfortably seated in front of our computers. The problem is that when we’re in the middle of tragedy or trouble, we don’t really think all that rationally. 

So, here’s my idea: Let’s take advantage of this little window of time where things are relatively chill and use this opportunity to completely redefine hard times. Let’s figure out how the Lord wants us to see our difficulties and troubles right now, so that maybe we can short circuit our natural tendency to freak out. So, without further ado…

Lee Presents: A More Accurate (And Biblical) Outlook On Hard Times

• Hard times are not the end of the world, because I belong to another world that’s eternal. (Philippians 3:20)
• Difficulties do not have the power or potential to ruin my life, because God is in control of my life and is working everything together for my absolute best. (Romans 8:28)
• Tragedies do not mean God has abandoned me, because He promised He would never leave me or forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5)
• The bad things that are happening to me are not punishment for my sin, because Jesus took my place on the cross and paid for all of my sin once and for all. (1 Peter 2:24)
• Problems do not mean that God hates me or is mean to me, because He showed His love for me in the fact that He gave His Son for me. (John 3:16)

The following is what the Bible actually does say about problems:

Hard times are experiments. Seriously. It’s not that God is mistreating you or leaving you or punishing you or hating you. When you go through a hard time, it’s God making you into something. He’s testing out your faith. He’s showing you where you are and where you need to grow. It’s just like an experiment in Science class. We believe certain things - but how do those theories stand up in our heart when the heat is turned up? You see, God isn’t lashing out at you - He’s training you! God isn’t punishing you or abandoning you - He’s making you better at this! Now, doesn’t that just absolutely change the game?! I mean, seriously. If I know for a fact that my hard times are just experiments and not some crisis where God has become mean or left me high and dry, then I can face them in a completely different way! If I know for a fact that this is just a practical experiment for my faith, then I can not only face it, but I can face it with joy, knowing that there is no doubt I’ll make it to the other side!

That being said, check out what James says in Chapter 1 of his book: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”

Guys, hard times are just a work out! God is training you. He wants to develop your muscles and reflexes. He wants us to get better at simply hanging on to our faith, and hanging in there. Now, that’s a test you can pass. 

A Priceless, Top-Secret Concept

Do you want to know a top-secret truth of the Christian life that almost no one knows? Now, when I say almost no one knows this thing, I’m not exaggerating even a little bit. This is not hyperbole. This is one of those absolutely life-changing concepts that only a few people are truly in on. The funny thing is that this truth is not ‘top-secret’ because it’s sensitive information that only a select few folks should be allowed to know. In fact, the reason only a few people know this is because there aren’t that many people who want to know it. Thing is, this concept is so life-alteringly (pretty sure that’s a word) important that I would put it up in the Top 10 or maybe even Top 5 things every Christian should be thinking about pretty much all the time.

Whoa. That’s big, right? Okay, well after all that build up, here it is: Stay Teachable.

Now, I know what you’re thinking… you’re probably thinking, “That’s it? “Stay teachable” is in the Top 10 or even higher? What?” And look, I know it sounds a little anti-climactic, (especially after all that build-up) but hear me out. 

People who knew and walked with Jesus in the New Testament were referred to as ‘disciples.’ That word ‘disciple’ simply means ‘student’ and that’s what it means to know Him and have a life with Him because He is a Teacher. In other words, He knows how to be, and I don’t, so if I start hanging around Him, I need to understand that I am putting myself under a Teacher who expects to be able to tell me what to do and how to be. 

Almost everyone who comes to know Christ is all about being taught and guided when they first get on this whole Jesus thing. They approach the Scriptures with a teachable attitude. They approach their spiritual leaders with that same teachable attitude and most importantly, they approach Jesus that way as well. The problem actually comes from their spiritual growth. When most Christians grow in the Lord, they oftentimes get to a place where they basically think they have it down and they stop listening to anyone. They don’t listen to their leaders, the Scriptures and eventually even the Lord! 

The following is a very important and very sophisticated spiritual maxim that I want to tell myself everyday, and it goes like this: “Until my heart stops beating, I ain’t there yet.” In other words, humility is vital. I need to wake up everyday longing for the wisdom of Jesus. I need to recognize the fact that I absolutely have to depend an other-worldly brilliance, insight and purity of motive which I don’t posses to come into my heart from outside my heart and tell me how to be. I need Jesus everyday. I am staggeringly dependent. I haven’t arrived. On my own, I am not wise. I need Him and I need the Scriptures and I need wise people in my life who love me and when I get all of those things, I need to permanently put myself under the yoke of being taught. I am not a professional. I am a permanent student. I am a disciple.

The Secret of Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. I love this holiday. And look, it’s not because of the turkey or the football or even the gathering of family together… no, it’s just the heart of the thing. I love the idea that we set aside a whole day for such a beautiful emotion as thankfulness. When you think about it, we Christians ought to have the market cornered on giving thanks. Of all the people in the world, we should be the most thankful. In fact, when you consider what we believe about what we have in light of what we deserve, the only appropriate response is gratitude. 

Even so, let’s be honest: We’re not thankful all the time. Gratitude may be appropriate, but it doesn’t always come naturally. I know that in my heart, sometimes thankfulness is not only absent, but I find myself filled with nothing but pure, visceral bitterness. Now, the Bible says that the will of God for us is literally to be thankful all the time, no matter what happens, (1 Thessalonians 5:18) but the question is, how can we possibly do that?! How can we be thankful even when we are in the midst of a situation that completely sucks and feels totally unfair, unreasonable or even tragic and wrong? Well, this may sound weird, but the answer is time travel

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Whoa, time out. Did you just say time travel?” - and yes, I totally did, but hang with me, because I’m going somewhere with this.

About seven months after Christy and I got married, my mom walked out on my dad. The next year or so of my life was the hardest season I have ever been through. I couldn’t believe that God allowed this to happen to my family, and as I watched everything I had always leaned on fall apart in front of me, I was eaten up with anger, bitterness and confusion. Why us? Why now?  

Now, I’m 32 years old. I’ve been married for over 10 years and have a family of my own. When I look back on all that happened, I see everything differently. I still don’t know why it all happened, but I am able to see amazing and beautiful things that came out of the ashes of that mess. For instance, Christy and I have an awesome marriage. She’s my best friend and the two of us are absolutely pouring our hearts into this relationship. We are completely committed. We are on an intense mission to give everything we have to this relationship every day, and honestly, one of the reasons we feel that way is that we lived through the emotional devastation of divorce right there at the beginning of our marriage and it steeled us for the life we now fight for and enjoy. Jesus used that disaster to give me something beautiful I may have never had otherwise. In a way, now that I’m on the other side of that hurt, I’m thankful for what happened, because it ensured that I would resolve never to do the same thing.

In Revelation 5, we get a glimpse into the future. It’s like traveling through time into heaven at the end of everything when there’s no more problems, pain, drama, trouble, poverty, sickness, sin, death or tears. Jesus is seated on His throne as the unrivaled King of every molecule in the Universe and everyone in heaven is singing a song to Him that goes like this: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

You see, when this world is over, and we’re all worshiping Jesus together in heaven, we’re going to be on the other side of all of our problems. Heaven is going to clear up the confusion and unravel the mystery and we’ll be able to see all of the beautiful things Jesus was bringing out of our struggles. In the end, everyone will be thanking Him for the amazing ways He turned pain into praise. I believe that Revelation gives us that glimpse as a time traveling promise to help us have a thankful heart right now, in the middle of the hurt. One day you’ll see it. On the other side, you’ll be thankful. Why not go ahead and trust Him now? I know you don’t understand it all yet, but why not go ahead and believe in the future? Let’s beat the rush and thank Him today.

Arresting Your Thoughts

Do you every feel like you’re going through your day, making it just fine, when all of a sudden, a thought comes to you out of nowhere that just changes everything about the way you were feeling and makes you have emotional reactions you just didn’t have a few seconds ago? For instance, let’s say you’re just driving down the road, when out of the blue, you remember that thing so-and-so said that really hurt you. Now, even though you were doing just fine, you’re not anymore. Now you’re feeling hurt all over again. Now you’re feeling angry and small and stupid. The more you think about it and dwell on that thing that happened, the more upset you get, and before you know it, you want to go do something about it! You want to get so-and-so back and hurt them the way they hurt you, right?

Or, how about this example: Let’s say you’ve really been doing great in handling a certain temptation that’s been a problem for you in the past, but then, all of a sudden, a commercial comes on, or you get a text message from that one friend, and before you know it, you’re right back there where you used to be - where you swore you’d never be again, hating the way it feels to fall one more time. Does anybody know what I’m talking about with that?

Let me start off by saying that if you know how it feels to go through a situation like either of these, I’m sorry, because I know how it feels too, and I can tell you from experience that it sucks out loud. You’re going along doing great, making changes, walking with the Lord, feeling strong and then it feels like the slightest little thing changes, and BOOM! You’re right back where you were. The question is: What happened?! How could you get derailed in one little second from a walk that had been going so well for so long?

The answer is very simple and it is this: You need to learn how to arrest your thoughts.

Now, some of you are wondering what in the world I mean by that. How do you arrest your thoughts? What does that even mean? You can’t handcuff ideas, and lock up the way you think, right? 

Actually, you can and should. You see, sometimes thoughts come into your head that you didn’t ask for or originate. These thoughts trigger certain emotions, insecurities, doubts and fears. Before you know it, you’re emotions are outrunning all the progress you were making in your faith and you feel terrible. Sometimes your thoughts get your emotions so ramped up that you actually go straight from feeling terrible to doing something terrible to make yourself feel better. This is exactly what the Enemy wants.

Check out what Paul has to say in 2 Corinthians 10:5 - “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Wow. Isn’t that awesome? Paul wrote this verse in the Greek language and the word we have translated ‘captive’ was literally the word, “prisoner.” There are certain thoughts that come into your head that you should treat like a prisoner. You should arrest them. You should detain them. You should be appalled at them and long to see them behind bars. Today, your mind will be bombarded with destructive thoughts. You will think about certain insecurities, lies, doubts and fantasies that will bring you down and stunt your spiritual growth, and when you feel them creeping in, don’t entertain them! Don’t invite them in and feed them and nurture them! Don’t let them find a comfy place to sit down in your mind and heart - take them captive! When you feel insecurities, fears and worries creeping in, say to them, “You are under arrest!” The way you do that is to be ready with the truth. You can take your destructive thoughts captive by knowing what Jesus says that’s true of you. That means you’re going to have to invest in Him. Spend time with Him in His Word, soaking up as much ammo as you can, so that when those thoughts show up, you have what you need to take them out.

Dethrone Your Heart

Let’s say you had a friend who always wanted to borrow your car, but every single time you loaned your friend the keys, they drove too fast through one of those traffic cameras, giving you a ticket; or worse, they drove the car into a tree or off of a bridge. At some point you’re going to stop handing over the keys to your car, right? Let’s say you had a friend who always needed to use your phone, but whenever you loaned them your phone, they texted offensive, mean, crude things to people while pretending to be you just to start all kinds of drama. I mean, at some point you would stop giving that friend your phone, right? What if you had a friend that you dearly loved, but every time you told them a deep and important secret, they betrayed your trust? Even though you love them, at some point you’re gonna have to stop telling them your secrets, right?

Now, anyone who reads those questions would agree that the answers are obvious, but at the same time, pretty much all of us do something almost exactly like this every single day of our lives, we just don’t see it. So, what is that thing we all do? Simply put, our problem is that we follow our heart.

Now, before you stop reading this and scroll on down away from the rest of the post, hang with me for a second. I mean, you’re probably thinking, “How can following your heart be wrong? I thought believing in yourself and going with your gut and following your heart were the basics of life! Isn’t that the whole point of every commencement speech?!” 

You’re right. That is the point of every commencement speech, but that doesn’t make it sound advice. I want to show you a verse that could change everything: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” - Jeremiah 17:9

There was a big movement among Christian men a few years back (because some dude wrote a best-selling book) that was all about following your heart. The idea was that people had become passive and pitiful and the answer was to get out there and just go with whatever your heart would tell you. “Follow your dreams!” it said. The book talked all about William Wallace and being a warrior or whatever. I mean, it sounds exciting and everything, but there is a deep problem with this philosophy, and that problem beats anywhere from 50 to 90 times every minute… The problem is our heart. The problem is that our hearts are fallen, broken, sick and desperately wrong. Every stupid thing I’ve ever done in my life was because I followed my heart. Every cycle of sin and filthy betrayal were because I listened to my heart. Your heart will betray you and lie to you. It will take you down the primrose path to destruction, ruining your relationships and shipwrecking your life.

The question is, if we’re not supposed to follow our hearts, what do we follow? Well, I can tell you the answer to that question in one word: Jesus. Follow Jesus. Don’t follow the dramatic, emotional and unpredictable longings of your fallen, terminally-ill heart - follow Jesus. Stop bowing your knee to your own heart. Crown Jesus your king instead of your own instincts and feelings. Follow the One who is perfect in wisdom and always filled with peace. Follow the One who loved you enough to give His blood and life for you. Follow Jesus. Give Him the keys. Tell Him your secrets. Get with Jesus every day and find out what it looks like to follow Him.

Why Isn't Your Life Working?

You ever feel like life seems okay, but only at certain times, and then when it’s not okay it’s awful? As in, when you’re with your friends and you’re hanging out together, it’s all good and you feel sorta happy and fulfilled, but then when you’re by yourself, it’s not just a little bit worse - it’s completely terrible? Do you know what I mean by that? It’s as if normal life is average - not too bad and not too great; but if there’s not something going on, you don’t even want to show up for life.

What’s the deal with that? Why is it that life sometimes goes from just-plain-functional to code-red-disaster in a matter of seconds? And why is it that the kinda-good times (when you’re with your friends and doing really cool stuff) are only kinda good? Where is the part where you’re just so excited to wake up and get into a new day because your life is just so stinkin’ real and full and just outrageously alive?!

Well, before we talk about what the answer to this question is, I want to call a timeout and tell you some stuff… first of all, if you ever feel this way about your life, I want you to know that you’re not alone. You’re not some kind of freak who just so happens to be the only down and depressed or struggling person on planet earth. Tons of people feel this way. Tons of Christians feel this way. I know I’ve been there a million times before and I’m sure I’ll be there again. The point of bringing up this issue is not to make you feel bad for the way your life is going. The point of bringing it up is to encourage you and help you find your way out. In other words, I know how it feels to be there, and I’m sorry it’s going this way for you, because I know how much it sucks. Not only that, but because I know how it feels, maybe I can help by giving you a strategy for getting out. 

Okay, the reason life isn’t working properly right now is very simple - you’re drinking from a broken cup. 

What I mean is this: Your life is supposed to be about Jesus. It’s supposed to be filled with Jesus. Your day is supposed to be overwhelmed with thoughts of Him, conversations with Him and time spent with Him. You are supposed to get the energy, joy, purpose and fuel for life straight from the unlimited storehouse of His indestructible life, but truth be known, most of us give a nod to Jesus as we go about the rest of our lives. We build our lives around our jobs, our friends, our school, our other interests, our love life or even our food and favorite movies. Jesus becomes just another bullet point on that checklist, but it wasn’t supposed to be that way. 

Jesus was supposed to be the absolute center and source of every single thing we think, do, create and experience, so that we enjoy all that other life stuff as gifts from His heart. Here’s the thing: Making Jesus ‘just another item on the checklist’ for the day changes living life into drinking from a cup with a hole in the bottom. You keep filling it up and you might even get something to drink at the very beginning, but before you know it, all you had is gone and the cup is empty. The way life was made to be lived is with Jesus in every moment. When you do that, it’s like jumping into an endless ocean of your favorite drink with the cup in your hand - no matter how much you fill it up, there’s always more - in fact, you’re swimming in it!

How To Have A Quiet Time - PT. 1

It’s Going To Be Different For Everyone

What should I do for my quiet time?

Do you have your quiet time every day?

What should I be reading in the Scriptures?

Do you journal? Do you know of any good devotional books?

I hear these questions constantly. No joke. Seriously, I probably get some form of these questions (either on tumblr or facebook or in person) every week. I’m finding out that tons and tons of people who love Jesus and have been walking with Him for a while don’t really spend any consistent time with Him during their week, or else they are incredibly consistent, but the thing they’re doing doesn’t really give them anything spiritually, so it doesn’t mean anything to them and they might as well not do it. So, what is a ‘quiet time’ all about, and what should a person do?

Well, in response to this, I’ve decided to put together a series of posts on what it means to spend time with the Lord and what that time ought to be about and could possibly look like. Here in part 1, we’re just going to talk about why it isn’t going to look the same for every person out there.

First of all, you should probably know that the whole ‘quiet time’ thing is not really in the Bible. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have a devotional time with the Lord, but I am saying that there is no clear, Biblical directive or plan of action for this type of thing. In other words, there is no Bible verse that says, “Thou shalt have thine quiet time every morning, first thing when thou wakest up, and it must last for 27.5 minutes.” You see, Christians are always looking for the rules to follow. In other words, “Tell me exactly what to do, when to do it and for how long so that I can know that I have fulfilled the requirements and made God happy with me for the day.”

The problem with this approach is that it doesn’t work. You don’t have to go down a check-list of chores everyday to make God happy with you. The moment you trusted in Jesus, you were declared completely accepted by Him and righteous in His sight for all of eternity. We don’t do anything we do in our Christian life in order to make ourselves more acceptable to God. We are declared totally accepted already. Not only this, but no one can tell you every single little thing you need to do in order to have a relationship with God, and that’s really the whole point.

The Bible doesn’t spell out exactly what you need to do in your quiet time because God wants an actual relationship with you. He wants a real, live relationship between your heart and His. He wants you to love Him and get to know Him. No one can make a list of requirements for you and God to achieve a relationship. You just have to spend time together and develop a relationship yourselves. And folks, this is really the whole point of the thing: Relationship. Friendship. Love.

That’s what God wants with you. So, let’s start there… think about the people in your life that you’re closest to. Think about the folks you really love. How did you get there with that person? How did you develop that relationship? Was it playing on the same soccer team? Was it that you both really loved Star Wars? Was it going to the pool together in the summers? Was it camping under the stars or sleepovers with popcorn and cheesy movies? Well, these types of things tell you what friendship means to your heart. So look, why not take a night, stay up late, pop some popcorn, start talking to Jesus and see what happens? This is about a relationship and it’s going to look different for every person out there. Love is organic. It grows where it will on its own terms. Don’t force it, but don’t neglect it either.

The Reason You're So Frustrated

Okay, there are a million ridiculous and terrible things going down in your life right now, am I right? The drama is through the roof, the expectations of others are out of control and all the stuff that could go wrong is going wrong at precisely the wrong moment, right? You have problems you can’t solve and people you simply can not handle in your face, and the pressure of all these things combined is enough to make you want to absolutely lose your mind! 

What in the world are you supposed to do when you are completely and totally frustrated? How did you get there, and why does it always happen to you? A life with Jesus is supposed to be filled with all kinds of peace, isn’t it? So why do you sometimes feel like a frenzied, unstable, active volcano about to explode?

Well, let me begin by saying I’m sorry. The reason I’m saying this is simply because I know how you feel. I’ve been right there where you are countless times, and I’m sure I’ll be there again. It sucks to feel this way. It is such a helpless feeling when you are so frustrated that you just want to rage and rant and then tear the world apart. But the question is, how do you get out of it without getting arrested? In other words, what are you supposed to do in these moments? Well, as is usually the case, the answer to this very complicated and volatile issue is very simple. In fact, the main problem is that you have forgotten one little word.

Now, you may be thinking, “Wait, what? The reason I’m completely and totally frustrated  right now is that I’ve forgotten one word? Are you crazy?” - but I’m not crazy. It’s true. And here’s the word: Mercy.

Mercy?

Yep. Mercy. The word you’ve forgotten is ‘Mercy.’ Here’s what I mean: When people are frustrated, it’s because their circumstances did not meet their expectations of their circumstances. In other words, I expected my day to go like this, but instead, it went like that and now I am rightfully pissed. You see what I mean? The problem is that we feel entitled to things being a certain way. We feel entitled to comfort. We feel entitled to owning nice things. We feel entitled to being surrounded by only fun and cool people all the time. We feel entitled to get our way at all times. The problem is that life doesn’t work that way. We don’t always get our way, and (here’s the deeper issue) we aren’t entitled to that anyway!

When the Apostle Paul was in a Macedonian dungeon, lying on his lacerated, bleeding back with his feet in the stocks, he was praising Jesus and saying things like, “Rejoice always! I will say it again, rejoice!” Now, that seems crazy, but when one of his jailers was ready to commit suicide, he knew exactly who to go to! He went to the guy who was happy when it didn’t make sense and said, “How in the world can I get some of whatever it is you’re on?!” 

So, how could Paul be filled with joy and praising even in the most awful circumstances? He understood mercy. He understood that we aren’t entitled to anything, but have been given the mercy of God. We were dead in our sins! We were the enemies of God! We were lost, but in His mercy, God raised us up to life! God has freely poured out His love on us, filling our lives with blessings we could never earn! Every breath we breathe is by the mercy of God. Folks, this is such an important concept. If you are going to be a disciple of Jesus, you simply have to get this down! Keep the word ‘Mercy’ close to your heart. Keep it on your tongue. Live every single moment not in a sense of frustrated entitlement, but in the joyful gratitude of someone thriving on endless mercy.

How To Know What Matters

How are you supposed to know whether or not the stuff you care about really matters? What are you really, really into, and how are you supposed to know whether or not that’s a worthwhile thing or not? How can you tell if you’re wasting your life or wasting your time? Do ever look at your own life and just ask yourself whether or not the stuff you’re doing is important?

Right off the bat, you should know that most people don’t really care. What I mean to say is, what I’m talking about here is very important, and the really cool thing about you is that you’re actually a thoughtful enough person to care about it in the first place. Lots and lots of people don’t care in the least. Some folks live day in and day out and never stop long enough to look at their own life and ask the really important questions. Some people never stop to think about why they’re here and whether or not their life has a point, but that’s not you… after all, you’re still reading, right? The real question is this: Can I really know whether or not I am giving my time, energy, passion, money and heart to something that matters? How in the world can I know this?

Well, my friend, the answer is really just a very simple question and here it is: Do you care about stuff that will matter to you in 1,500 years? 

You are an eternal creature. You weren’t just build for a normal human lifespan. You were made for eternity, and you know it. Your time in this world is very limited. We are going to be out of here soon. The Bible says that God has placed eternity in the hearts of people - in other words, every single person (whether they love Jesus or not) can feel deep down inside them that this life isn’t all there is. We can all sense that there is more… that there is something in store for us beyond death. Those of of us who know and love Jesus have come to find out that eternal life in heaven is in store for us because of what He has done. We believe and know that as soon as we close our eyes on this world, we will open them to paradise in the Kingdom of God where we’ll be with Jesus forever. 

Thing is, your car won’t be there. Your house won’t be there. Your favorite outfit won’t be there. Your bank account and retirement fund won’t be there. That sports team you love won’t be there. The government you currently pay taxes to won’t be there. The real question is this: What is still going to matter once you’ve stepped foot into forever? Think about it… what is eternal? 

Here’s what’s going to matter to you in 1,500 years: Loving Jesus and loving people. Relationships are still going to be going strong in 1,500 years and beyond. Love is going to be important. If you want to know whether or not you’re wasting your life or wasting your time, look at your life, look at the things you care about and ask your self this: “Is this thing about loving Jesus or loving people?” Don’t store up treasure here on earth! Store up treasure that will last! Invest in things that are long-term! Love Jesus. Love people. Don’t waste your life, pour your life into things that will matter to you in 1,500 years.

I'm Leaving

What would change about your day if you remembered that you’re leaving soon? And I mean leaving here for heaven… In other words, you know Jesus and He has given you forgiveness and a new life and promised you a guaranteed place in heaven and soon this life will be over and you’ll be in paradise forever with no more drama, no more pain or problems or fears. So the question is, what would change about your day if you really, truly remembered the fact that you’re leaving here for heaven and then lived like it was really true? Why don’t you do this - go to a mirror, look yourself in the eye and say, “I’m leaving soon. This world is not my home. It will never feel like home. Jesus has reserved a place in heaven for me. That is my home, and I am leaving here soon.” 

What if you started every day like that? What if the first words out of your mouth when you woke up were, “I’m leaving.”? What if you kept that little phrase on your lips all throughout your day so that whenever something stressful comes up, your gut reaction is to say to yourself, “No big deal… I’m leaving soon.” What if that phrase was sort of like your motto - so that whenever you would normally be tempted to feel afraid of the future, instead, you just automatically whisper to yourself - “Whatever, I’m leaving soon anyway.” What if those two little words were your ‘go-to’ words whenever you feel discontent with where you are or what you have or what you want? What if the instant you started feeling discontent, you just said to yourself - “I’m leaving.” - and what if that changed everything?

In Philippians 3, Paul talks about these people who are enemies of the cross of Christ and he says these folks are only focussed on this world and what it can offer and they are obsessed with what they can get for themselves, and then he says that you and I are different. What’s different about us? Just one little thing…. Check it out. He says, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

We’re eager for heaven. That’s what makes us different. Our longing for heaven is the thing that changes the whole game. We’re not looking to this world to fill us up or make us happy or give us worth. We’re leaving. That’s what separates us. Don’t you see that nothing in this world can touch you? Don’t you see that the worst this world can do is take your life, and that ain’t much after all? Dang! When my last breath flies out of my face, I’m going to close my eyes on this busted up, hateful world and then open them on heaven and home. I’m going to open my eyes on the face of Love Himself and He’ll smile, and then I’ll smile and He’ll say, “Welcome home.” 

We’re leaving soon. Our problems will be over soon. Our fears are less than nothing. Our worries are pathetic compared to the glory that awaits us. Our trials and sufferings are hard, but they’re almost over. We’re leaving. We won’t be here for long. Say it to yourself today: “I’m leaving.” Say it tomorrow when you wake up: “I’m leaving.” Say it when you’re afraid and worried and tempted: “I’m leaving!” Say it over and over and over again: “I’m leaving!”

Think Backwards! Keep Your Soul!

When Jesus calls you to a sacrificial life that’s completely devoted to Him, He’s not just trying to win something. It’s not a show of arrogance by a person trying to be the best. Jesus isn’t asking you to lay down your life for Him and the sake of His Kingdom in order  to prove how awesome He is or to stroke his own massive ego. No, it has nothing to do with that. 

At the same time, He’s not calling you to a sacrificial life because He’s some kind of a fun vacuum. Jesus isn’t trying to make your life stilted and boring. He’s not just calling you to the Kingdom of God in order to keep you from having a good time. Again, it has nothing to do with that. 

According to Jesus, the reason He is calling you to a sacrificial life that is completely devoted to Christ and His Kingdom is because that is actually the shortest route to happiness on the planet.

Wait, what?

I know, it sounds weird, but it’s true. You see, we automatically think that the way to guarantee our own happiness is to be selfish… We think that if we get our own way and accumulate more and more stuff, then we’ll be happy; but it doesn’t work. It turns out that a life of selfishness and personal ambition only leads to us losing our very soul. The most confused and troubled people in the world are the ones who have the whole world in their hands but have an empty, lonesome heart.

Jesus wants us to think backwards. He said that if we gain the world, we lose our very selves. He said that if we reverse our natural instincts and give away our lives for the sake of the Gospel, we’ll actually gain our lives, enrich our souls and be filled with joy. Now, how can Jesus get away with saying something this radical? Well, that’s very simple. Jesus made the world and He made us. He is the manufacturer of the human heart, so He knows how it works best. He knows what fuels it and what kills it. It’s like reading the manufacturer’s handbook in the glovebox of your car. They know how the car works best because they made the thing. 

Jesus made you. He knows what will give you life and what will steal your life away. In other words, if you want to lose your very self, go ahead and spend your life on your own desires; but, if you wanna be happy, listen to the Maker and lay your life down for Jesus and the Kingdom!

Why Little Children?

Once Jesus said that anyone who doesn’t receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. But, why did He say that? What did He mean? What do little kids have that I don’t have?

Here’s some traditional crap people always say:

Little kids have a pure faith.
Little kids are just so innocent and sweet.
Little kids are more kind and loving.
Little kids are selfless and giving.

You know what? The people who say that stuff have obviously never had kids and/or have never hung around any actual human children. Look, kids can be a ton of fun and they are full of life, but they are not necessarily all those things people always say they are. They don’t all have this amazingly pure faith automatically. Kids ask the question “Why?” more than anyone in the world. They aren’t automatically more selfless, innocent or sweet. They can be viciously selfish and filled with all kinds of duplicitous scheming. Kids don’t have to be taught how to lie and bully and exclude other kids weaker than themselves or different than themselves. Now, obviously I’m not talking about every kid in the world, I’m just saying that kids are just junior humans, which means they are fallen and need to be saved just like the rest of us.

So, what in the world did Jesus mean when He said you have to be like a little child?

Well, when this little scene with Jesus and children happens in the book of Luke, the writer tells us that the children that were brought to Jesus were actually infants... they weren’t little elementary school-aged kids - they were babies! Jesus was saying that you have to change and become like babies!

So, what are babies like? Well, I’ll tell ya: Babies are helpless. Babies are completely and utterly needy. Babies can’t do a thing for themselves. Babies can’t feed themselves, they can’t clean themselves, they can’t protect themselves... dang - babies can’t even calm themselves down! Babies are the most shamelessly needy folks on the planet. Whenever they need something (which is always) they let you know by screaming until they get it! Babies are completely and totally dependent on the person who cares for them, and that’s what Jesus was talking about!

Jesus was saying that in order to know what it’s like to live a life with God, you have to become like a baby. You have to realize that you don’t have what it takes and that you need Jesus for absolutely every single thing that happens in your day. If you think you’ve got what it takes, you’re not there yet. When you’re helpless and needy and begging for Jesus to take care of you, then you’re exactly the person Jesus wants you to be.

Get Real! Dang!

Enough with the fronts. I’m over it. I’m tired of people smiling and bull-crapping everyone in their life about how things are going all the time. What’s the point? We’re all having a hard time, right? Most of us, most of the time are desperately hanging onto our faith in Jesus and asking God to help us, aren’t we? Am I the only one? The Apostle Paul tells us that we are guaranteed suffering and that we are destined to go through trials. So why in the world does everyone always say they’re doing “awesome” all the time?!

99 times out of 100, when you go up to somebody at church and say, “Hey, how’s it going?” they will say, “It’s great!” - Really?! Is it really going great? Why don’t people ever say, “Dang, it’s tough right now. It’s been a hard week and I’ve been a royal jerk and I’m just about 3 seconds away from losing my cool. Do you think we could go sit down somewhere and talk and maybe you could pray for me?” I mean, come on! If the New Testament is right about how many struggles and trials and problems we’re supposed to be walking through as the children of God, church ought to look like a battlefield hospital with little clusters of people who are hurting and praying and glad to see each other because they need so much support. 

Don’t get me wrong… we’re supposed to be joyful! We’re supposed to rejoice in our trials and we’re supposed to be filled with praise and singing, but that doesn’t mean we should be covering up our hurts and struggles, painting a false smile on our face and telling everyone we’re doing “awesome” when we’re not. 

So how do you do that? How can you rejoice in everything and not be a complete fake? Well, according to the book of 1 John, one of the fundamental keys to knowing God and walking with Him is simply being honest about who you are. John calls it “walking in the light.” He says we need to be honest about our sinfulness and our problems and struggles. If we’re honest, we have fellowship with God and with each other. If you’re fronting, you can’t be forgiven because Jesus didn’t die for a lie. He died for the real you. When someone gets real, everybody else feels compassion and forgiveness for that person. Then a funny thing happens: it makes everyone else get a little more real too. 

Walking in the light starts with you, right now. Just be honest about who you are and how you feel and how you’re messing up. Jesus loves that. You find His forgiveness when you’re real and other people who know Him will respond with love and honesty too. Before you know it, you find out you’re not alone and other people are struggling just like you are. You find out you’re loved and forgiven even though you’re a mess, and folks, there’s nothing that will make a person rejoice more than that.

What Do You Call Him?

Did you know the Disciples of Jesus never actually called Him Jesus when they talked to Him? Go ahead, look it up… now, I’m not saying that His name was too holy to use or something like that. They said the name, ‘Jesus’ whenever they were talking about Him, but when His followers were in conversation with Him, talking directly to Him, they didn’t use His name. And it didn’t matter if they were in a crowd of people, taking a leisurely walk, sitting by a campfire on a retreat or in the middle of a raging storm - these boys didn’t call Him by His name when they talked to Him. 

You know, when you talk about someone, you use their name because Identification is the most important thing, but when you talk to someone, you sometimes use nicknames or titles. You don’t always need to use their first name, because they know who they are. You do this nickname or title thing because you want that person to know who they are to you. 

So, what did the Disciples call Jesus when they were talking directly to Him? They called Him ‘Lord.’ They called Him ‘Teacher.’ They called Him ‘Master.’ Now, think back real quick… when was the last time you called Jesus, ‘Master?’

Do you know anyone who calls Him that? When was the last time you heard a prayer that started out like this: “Master, I pray that you would…”? Have you ever heard anyone call Him that? - And yet, the disciples did it like it was going out of style! Jesus is our Master. He is Almighty God who made us and then bought our lives with His own precious blood. He holds all things together and reigns over this whole universe. He has the power and the right to tell us what to do, but do any of us submit our lives to Him like that?

Now, don’t get me wrong - I’m not saying Jesus doesn’t want a close, familiar, mushy friendship with you - He totally does want that. He wants you to be free to be you in His presence, but isn’t there a place for this other attitude as well? What would happen to your heart if you called Jesus Master with your lips? Would that title work its way down into your heart and eventually out into your actions? Make no mistake, Jesus wants a love relationship with you. He doesn’t just want your behavior, He wants your heart. But an amazing thing happens when you actually give your whole heart to Him: you find that He begins to change the way you think and act. You see, we suck at running our own lives. We we try to be our own masters, we only lead ourselves into more hurt and pain. When you make Jesus your Master, you find out there’s nothing more freeing and more sweet than being led by Him.

Why You Desperately Need the Scriptures Today

A lot of people read the Bible, and I guess that’s nice. It’s been the best-selling book in print since ‘print’ was a thing. Some folks read it because it’s an important historical and cultural ancient document, and it certainly is. Some folks read the Bible because it has some beautiful poetry in it, which it definitely does. Some folks read the Bible because they are looking for moral or religious principles, and the Bible has those as well. People read it because they were brought up that way or because they feel they ought to or whatever. Here’s the thing: you need to read the Bible. You need to read it big time, but none of those reasons listed above has anything to do with why you need to read it.

You need to read the Bible because you need a brain transplant.

Yep, you. That’s right… you there, staring at your screen or your smart phone wondering what in the crap I’m talking about. I’m saying that you need a mind makeover. You, whoever you are, need your thought pathways altered today. That’s why you need the Scriptures. That’s why, whatever else you do today, you need to carve out some time with no other people in it, then get alone with God and read the Scriptures slowly.

Check this out: You, my friend, are a fallen, broken person. Now, don’t get me wrong. You’re awesome. You’re one-of-a-kind. You’re an individually beautiful expression of the creative power and genius of a loving and infinite God. The Lord Jesus is absolutely bonkers in love with you; but you are fallen, nevertheless. You were born this way. We were all born a complete mess and we’ve all made this mess into something even messier. One thing this means is that our natural minds are a disaster. The things we automatically think are just out-right wrong. My go-to patterns of thought are hopelessly off-center and that’s why I need Almighty God to speak to me. That’s why you and I need the Scriptures today.

My natural mind thinks that what I need in this world to make me happy is an increase in pleasure and possessions. I naturally believe that getting my own way is the thing that will be most satisfying to my heart. People believe that more sex, more fun, a better body and that perfect someone is all they need to make it through. You can’t even help it. Your brain thinks that winning and being strong are measures of success. You really do believe that if you had enough money, your worries would be over, don’t you?

That right there is why you need the Scriptures. Your brain is broken. It’s part of the fall. You need your mental highways to be demolished, reengineered and rebuilt. We all need this. Thing is, we’re all so fallen that we need this everyday. This is why Paul said, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” You see, we need the Word of God to renew our minds so that our whole lives can be transformed. If it feels like I’m saying that you don’t have the wisdom and the insight to make it through life on your own steam without completely screwing this thing up, it should. That’s exactly what I’m saying. Only God is really wise. Only God knows what you need to think and do. If you haven’t been with Him today, in His Word, you’re late.

En Garde!

“How did your fight go today? Did you win? Are you injured? Did you get your butt kicked or did you smash some heads?”

You know, I don’t know many Christians who greet each other that way, but dang, we ought to. Here’s the deal: You didn’t just wake up in your bed today. You woke up in a back alley with no street lights, surrounded by hostile thugs who want to take you out. The Bible is clear that we are in a spiritual battle all the time. There are invisible, malicious beings who are coming after you and will array themselves against you and attack you, lying about who you are, who God is and what life is all about. They want you discouraged, bitter, filled with guilt and shame, angry, insecure and completely focussed on yourself and your own wants. They want you depressed. They want you to give up.

If you were in the army and you were stationed in a war zone, you would wake up mindful of your duty. You would wake up everyday knowing that you were going to fight for your life. I think most Christians that become casualties in the spiritual battle are people who have simply forgotten that they’re in a fight.

This morning I was taking my daily run, and as I came around a bend in the road I saw a big, powerful dog milling around the stop sign at the end of the street. I wondered for a second about whether or not he would just run off and leave me alone, or else kindly let me pass. I thought, “Maybe this won’t be a big deal and I’ll just keep trotting along.” Well, I was wrong. When I got within 25 yards, the dog bared his teeth as the hair on his back stood up. He started running towards me and barking like mad. It only took a second for me to decide what to do. I started sprinting towards the dog and bared my teeth. I raised my hands up like I was about to punch and scratch and whatever else I had to do and then when I got really close I stomped the ground and yelled at the dog. 

All of a sudden, that dog turned and ran, yelping like he had just been whipped! Things is, I didn’t even have to fight! I just had to decide to fight. the spiritual battle is like that. Paul says in Ephesians 6 to put on the armor of God. That’s pretty much it. Just get dressed, God will do the rest. The main thing in the fight is deciding to fight.

Get used to it, friends. We woke up in a war zone today. You opened your eyes on an ambush. Don’t be afraid though. The One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Jesus said that all authority was given to Him, and that hasn’t changed one bit since He said it. Don’t forget, you’re in a fight. Simply decide to fight back, and you win.

Game Over!

Hey you, guess what? It’s all over! You don’t have to stress and struggle and constantly wonder anymore. The whistle blew! The buzzer sounded! The game is at an end…

What game? Well, I’ll tell ya - it’s that game everyone on the planet is always playing where we try and one-up each other. It’s that game where the motivation behind everything we do is to try to prove that we’re good enough, strong enough, fast enough, smart enough, pretty enough and successful enough. It’s that game you can never, ever win because no matter how hard you push and try, there’s always someone who outshines you.

That game made you date that guy you never should have, right? You were trying to feel better about yourself, so you played the game and got hurt. That game took you to all those parties you never should have gone too, right? That game made you look at all the wrong stuff again and again when you were all alone because you were so low and so lonely, right? Losing that game over and over made you feel so hopeless and empty that you hurt yourself, right? 

I’ve got news for you - the game was rigged. It was all a sham from the beginning. There are no winners. Even those folks who look like they’ve got it all are dying inside. If the game was about trying to prove you’ve got what it takes, you lost. We all lost. No one has ever won that game, and that is a very, very good thing.

When you realize you don’t have what it takes and you throw your hands up in desperation and tell God you need to be rescued, something incredible happens. It’s not that you win a rigged game… no, it’s better than that. It’s that GRACE comes into your heart and suddenly you don’t care about the games any more.

Grace is the laughter of God saying, “Okay, you don’t have what it takes - so what! I love you anyway.” Grace is the assurance of God saying, “You’ll always be mine no matter what you do forever and ever.” Grace is relaxing, because God is taking over the reigns. Grace is refreshing, because it comes brand new every morning. Grace is an oasis, because (Hallelujah!) you don’t have anything to prove anymore. Stodgy, grumpy church people are afraid of grace because they’re still playing the game. They’re afraid that if I tell you about grace, you’ll go and do whatever you want. But check this out: Grace is scandalous, dangerous and adventurous. Grace is the freedom to finally be you.

The game is over and Grace wins.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9

Wait - Really?

Dang, you really believe that God only forgave some of your sins and not all of your sins? Really? Well, what good would that do? And why on earth would you want to know (much less love) a God like that? A god who only forgave some of your sins would be some kind of cruel con-man, promising pardon and making you feel safe and then at the last second, finally bringing the hammer down harder with a maniacal laugh. Dang! Who wants a god like that?

Here’s what’s really going on: you’re willing to believe you’re forgiven for some things and not others because you won’t forgive yourself for some stuff. It’s like you have a line in your mind representing what it means to ‘go too far’ and you’ve crossed that line, so now you’re screwed with God and yourself.  Now, whether it’s shame up one side or pride down the other, there’s a huge problem with this thinking and the problem is this: You think some sins are harder for God to swallow than others because they’re harder for you to swallow. What, are you holier than God or something? Here’s the truth: sin is sin. Rebellion against God is rebellion against God. It all cost the Son of God His whole life. We don’t have good sinners and bad sinners here. We have sinners, period. Whether you stole some cigarettes or betrayed your best friend, we’re all sinners. I work with guys in a county jail every week. A few months ago we had a guy in our Bible study who had been busted on a petty theft, while another guy (in the same Bible study) was in jail for murder. Both of these guys have been forgiven by Jesus and they are both clean and righteous in His sight, period.

Okay, so you’ve done some doozies… big deal! We all have! Every single one of us is polluted down in our hearts and we all need something drastic and dramatic to happen for us to be all-the-way forgiven, and DANG! That’s exactly what has happened! Jesus has taken drastic measures! He has dramatically and completely paid for all our wrong! When God says that belief in Jesus makes you forgiven, you are forgiven! All the way! Look, when you jump off a diving board into the pool, you don’t get a little wet… you get soaked, drenched - actually immersed and completely suspended in water. The grace of Jesus is like that. He doesn’t sort-of forgive you. He soaks you in forgiveness, drenches you in mercy and for the rest of eternity, you are completely suspended and surrounded by His grace. And that promise is guaranteed, no matter who you are or how bad you’ve been. When God says He has forgiven you, you are completely, totally, no-questions-asked, no-matter-what, end-of-story, forgiven! 

Folks, that’s why we call it Good News.

Dang! Just Be Nice!

Wanna know why people hate Christians so dang much?! (I probably don’t even need to ask this question, or even write this post for that matter) You already know why folks hate Christians so much… and for those of you hold-outs that still think the world hates us Christians because we’re so godly, wake up. I’m not talking about the good kind of hate that Jesus said to get ready for over in John 15 (verses 18:21) I’m talking about the kind of hating we don’t want to be getting from the world.

Yes, if you love Jesus, some people are going to hate you and work against you because they oppose Christ and everything that’s like Him. That’s a good thing to endure because you’re really walking with Jesus when you get that kind of thing aimed at you, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. What I’m talking about is people who are completely turned off toward God because of Christians. I’m talking about the kind of people who look at the way Jesus was and then look at the way certain Christians are and then scratch their heads, saying, “Now wait just a second… what is the deal here?”

The other day I saw that a certain dude was throwing his proverbial hat in the ring for the next presidential race in the U.S.  and it made my stomach turn… not because I am against that guy. (This is not a political blog) It made my stomach turn because it made me remember the last presidential race in the U.S. and the way some people are so incredibly loud, rude, cruel, condescending and downright mean. Here’s the worst part about it: outspoken and well-known Christians were among the loudest and meanest of anyone three years ago. I had non-Christian friends call me and write me messages asking why on earth these Christians were so volatile and vitriolic. Folks, this is not the way to win the world!

Look at what Isaiah said the Messiah would be like: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice” (Isaiah 42:1-3)

Now, the folks who love Jesus ought to be like Him. In fact, Jesus said that people would not know we are His because of our values, politics or our fine sounding arguments, but by our love. Period. You and I can’t undo all of the hate people have toward Christians overnight, but you can do this: you can really, honestly love the people you see everyday. Love them. Don’t criticize or judge. Find out what their needs are and meet them. Tell people you’re praying for them. Put your arm around someone that’s hurting. care about someone who can’t give you anything in return. Love people. Ask Jesus to give you the strength for it, and then just love people. In other words, be nice. I mean, that’s how you want folks to treat you… wow, that’s almost like something Jesus would have said… dang. Loving people is what you need to be about. It’s a revolutionary, radical concept for a lot of Christians, but you know what, it shouldn’t be radical. It should be normal. 

In Colossians 4 Paul said, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt…”

New Roads

Okay, so there’s this thing you’ve got going on in your life that’s killing you. You know the one I mean, right? You hate doing it, but for some reason you just can’t stop. You can feel it calling you, right? It’s like you’re old friends and this thing knows where you live and when you’re down it just finds you and calls you up, right? So, there you go again, and now you feel like crap again. You said you’d never do it again, but you did. You said you’d never call him up again, but you did. You said you’d never go back to her but you did. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, how in the world do I get out of this?

But here’s the deal: that’s not the right question yet.

The right question for now is not, “How do I stop?” but instead, “Why do I always do this?” And look, I can’t answer that question completely, because there may be tons of things going on there depending on what it is you’re trapped in, what kind of a scene you grew up in, etc. But I can tell you this: at least part of the reason you’re doing this thing you hate instead of stopping it is that you’re afraid to stop. Let me break that down a bit… The thing you’re trapped in is familiar. You know what it feels like to live here. You know what to expect. If you stop this thing (if you break up with that guy, or drop those friends you get high with or whatever) you will be walking into a whole new world you know nothing about, and that’s scary. In this world, even though it makes you feel crappy, you’re at home and you know your way around. Changing would be like walking into the unexpected.

When I drive around my hometown, I just get in my car and go. I don’t have to consult a map or check directions. I know two or three ways to get anywhere I want to go, but when I visit my friends in Chicago, I have to get on Google Maps, print out directions, consult the GPS on my phone, check mileage and even have someone in the passenger seat calling out the navigation. It’s a WHOLE LOT harder! That’s where you are right now. Part of the reason you can’t stop this thing is that when you do it, it’s like driving around your hometown. It may suck, but at least you know every turn. If you were to stop doing this thing, it would be a whole new world and you’re afraid to go there.  

Here’s the thing, I know that stopping this thing is scary because it’s a whole new set of roads you don’t know how to drive, but don’t be afraid, because you don’t have to know your way around. Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd.” You don’t have to know where to go, because Jesus will get you there. He will shepherd you. The real hard part is not going to be making it on the new roads… the hard part is going to be deciding to stop driving around your home town. Don’t be afraid of what life is like without this thing in it. Just step out. Once you do that, you’ll find you have a Shepherd waiting to guide you.