Where has the line gone?

(I put all the verses in full at the bottom for anyone who chooses to read them)

When Jesus was here on the Earth, he drew a distinct line in the sand through the words that he spoke and the life that he lived out. To those who choose to follow him, he has made it known that there is no middle ground.  You are either with him or against him. (Matt. 12:30)

He also made it clear what was necessary to be with him (Matt 16:24)(Luke 9:23)

When we compromise the gospel or sugarcoat the message to make it more acceptable to others they aren't being shown where the line has been drawn. Also, when we compromise our beliefs in an attempt to fit into this world a little better, we trample back and forth over the line Jesus drew  in the sand. When we serve God on church days and the world every other day we blur the line. We have done this so often that the line that Jesus drew has become indistinguishable to the world and even to many Christians. As those who Jesus has left to continue his work until his return we need to hold the line and we need to make sure that the line is made known to the world. How will we know when the line is being drawn in our own lives? The world will treat us the way they treated Jesus. This includes being challenged in our faith not only by the world but also by those who we have called our friends and family. (Matthew 10:32-36) (Luke 21:17, John 15:18-19)

 

THE sweetest graces by a slight perversion may bear the bitterest fruit. The sun gives life, but sunstrokes are death. Charles Spurgeon

Let's get back to living out the life that Jesus called us to!

Mike

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me. (Matthew 12:30 NLT) 

 

Then Jesus said to his disciples,  “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24 NLT)

 

Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me". (Luke 9:23 NLT)

“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.    But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household!’ (Matthew 10:32-36 NLT)

And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. (Luke 21:17 NLT)

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.    The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. (John 15:18, 19 NLT)

Sick kids and lessons through the trials

  Kids with stomach bugs are never fun and always messy. From extra laundry to emptying buckets it seems like every minute is filled with useless work that is unproductive. But amongst this chaos God shows you things that are often very timely.

  When our kids are sick, their little bodies are trying their best to expel a bug from their bodies; something that doesn't belong there. Sometimes it came through eating something they shouldn't have. Perhaps a food that was once good but was not consumed at the proper time. Maybe something that would be good in the future after the patience of waiting for it to cook properly. Other times they touched something they shouldn't have. Maybe someone else was sick and we didn't care to stay away until the bug had completely left. Whatever the reason, there is a bug where it shouldn't be and it needs to be gone. Boy do their bodies do a good job of getting rid of it and quickly.

  But wait, just when we think it's gone that bug will rear its ugly head again... and again... and again. If you aren't careful and head back to your regular food/drink/activity too soon then it will knock you back down.

  Such is life isn't it? We try to add things to our lives too soon or too late. We take up things of others that were not meant for us. These things live with us until a time when God tells us it needs to go. It's never fun, always messy, and often seems pointlessly long. We purge this thing until we are sure it is gone then out of nowhere we need to purge it again... and again... and again. The process will knock us out and make us leave our regular routine behind.

  Once it's gone through all is well though right? Wrong. Don't forget to take time to rest. Rest in God's presence. Rest in his word. Let him sing songs to you and nurture you back to health. Don't rush too fast back into the day to day or you may just find yourself back in that place of purging. God tells us to come to him and rest:

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28)

  You may feel better, but you're not quite there yet. Our Father is that parent who truly does know what's best. He knows when something is too much to restart just as we know to feed our kids crackers and toast for days and days. Despite my little guy desiring yogurt and ice cream and chocolate, as his parent I know where that will put him when consumed too soon. You may want to continue with whatever your life looked like before the hardship but God knows where that will put you if you go back too soon.

  You may feel like the purging process was needlessly painful. Purging a friendship that was harmful, stopping those words you say, the activities you participate in, or any other thing God has decided needs to leave your life may seem unnecessarily messy. The fascinating thing though? My kiddo's bug will make his body stronger. It will provide some immunity. It will make him more able to defend against other sickies that try to invade him later. Your "needless" painful process does the same. It will provide you with faith in God's ability to get you through the hard times. It gives you wisdom to share with friends during their hard times. It gives you stories to share with your kids about God's goodness.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance" (James 1:2)

  So after your trial, rest in God. Don't return to the normal too soon. Let his guidance give you time to heal and in turn you be stronger for it.

~ Carly ~

Easter Story - The lessons you can learn from Judas

As the Easter season comes upon us, we will hear again the story of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us. He allowed mankind to hand him over to death and place him on the cross. We will rejoice in the fact that he rose again proving he could not be overcome by death and that, through this sacrifice, he offers us salvation from our sins. This is a wonderful fact and I am excited to share in the celebration of Easter every year. As I dive into the story once more, I realize there is so much to take from it. Jesus is the main plot, but there are other sub-plots to the story that we can draw understanding from. We can learn something from the fickle nature of the Israelites, who called out to Jesus with praise while he rode into Jerusalem on the donkey (Matthew 21:9) and then less than a week later called out to have him crucified (Matthew 27:22). We can learn from the fear that led to the three denials by Peter about his association with Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75). Perhaps the largest warning given through the story is that which can be learned by taking a look at Judas Iscariot.

             Reading through all four Gospels, you would be hard pressed to find even a verse that sheds this man named Judas in a positive light. He is known simply as the betrayer. He is known for the kiss (Luke 22:48).

 

            Did Judas always intend to betray Jesus? It would seem the answer to this is no. In Matthew 24:14-16, we read that Judas found an opportunity to make some money by betraying his friend. It says “From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:16). It wasn’t until after being offered something that Judas looked to betray Jesus Christ. Judas had a price. Much like Esau in Genesis 25:29-34, Judas valued what he could get more than what he already had. Esau valued a bowl of lentil stew over his own birthright and the Bible says that, from then on, he despised his birthright. Judas valued 30 silver coins over his friendship and relationship with Jesus and, therefore, ultimately despised Jesus. Jesus himself warned about what Judas was going through when he said, ”No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). The lesson we can learn from this is simple. Who or what do you serve? Is it God? Is it something else? Is anything worth enough to you to betray God for? If your answer is yes, I’d suggest you run as far away from that thing as fast as you can. You will regret it later. How do I know? Judas did. We will see more on that later.

Did Judas really understand what he was doing? He may have intentionally betrayed a friend but he very likely didn’t understand the consequences to his actions. Proverbs 16:25 says “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death”.  Judas likely thought he was doing the right thing by getting Jesus into the custody of the religious leaders. Judas did not truly understand or believe in who Jesus was. Jesus was aware of this fact. He told it directly to his disciples when he said, “’But some of you do not believe me.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)” (John 6:64). What do you believe? Are you on a path that seems right but ends in death? If the path does not lead to Jesus please take concern in this. Jesus himself said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me (John 6:35, 36). Jesus also said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12). Jesus wants you to believe in him and also follow him. Judas physically followed Jesus but he could not spiritually follow Jesus because he did not truly believe that Jesus was who he said he was.

        Did Judas regret his decision? You bet he did. The Gospel of Matthew is the only one that records what happened to Judas after he betrayed Jesus:

When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.” Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5)

 

Those 30 silver coins that were so valuable to Judas such a short time ago suddenly had no meaning at all. He realized that without Jesus, there was nothing of value. He realized he had traded his own salvation for a little money. I pray that all of us get to this point before it is too late like it was for Judas. The point when we realize that Jesus is all we truly need. Are you to that point? If not, what is in your way? Do you not believe? Do you serve something else over God?

 Charles Spurgeon wrote a yearlong devotional called “Morning and Evening” and on March 25^th, he writes of Judas’ kiss. Here is a selection from that piece:

 "But what if I should be guilty of the same accursed sin as Judas, that son of perdition? I have been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus; I am a member of his visible Church; I sit at the communion table: all these are so many kisses of my lips. Am I sincere in them? If not, I am a base traitor. Do I live in the world as carelessly as others do, and yet make a profession of being a follower of Jesus? Then I must expose religion to ridicule, and lead men to speak evil of the holy name by which I am called. Surely if I act thus inconsistently I am a Judas, and it were better for me that I had never been born. Dare I hope that I am clear in this matter? Then, O Lord, keep me so. O Lord, make me sincere and true. Preserve me from every false way. Never let me betray my Saviour. I do love thee, Jesus, and though I often grieve thee, yet I would desire to abide faithful even unto death. O God, forbid that I should be a high-soaring professor, and then fall at last into the lake of fire, because I betrayed my Master with a kiss."

 Mike

A story for you…

Today, I feel like telling a story:

One day a young man decided it was time to start saving money for his retirement. He realized that it was important to be prepared for that time in which he would no longer be able to work. However, he was not really sure what was the best way to do this.  After some research, he came to the decision that a bank would be a good place to get advice on this. 

The young man went to the bank and told a banker that he was ready to start saving for retirement and wanted to know how he could do that. The banker said to him that he was making a very good decision and that all he needed to do was open a bank account. The young man was very excited. Was it really that easy? He opened up a bank account with the banker and walked out of the bank with a smile on his face. 

Over the many years that followed, the man would visit the bank. He would walk in the doors and, with a smile on his face, think about how this bank was where he opened an account for his retirement savings. He would even talk to and thank the bankers there for helping him open a bank account. 

Many years later, when the man was very old and no longer able to work, he came into the bank to collect his savings for retirement. He walked up to a banker and asked for his savings. Upon checking the account, the banker informed the man that there was nothing in it. How could this be?!? The old man was told that he needed to open a bank account and then he would be ready for retirement! He asked to speak to the bank manager. 

The old man explained to the bank manager that many, many years ago he came to the bank and opened an account so that he would be ready for retirement but now there was nothing in it. The manager assured him that there must be some mistake and asked the old man what he had put into the account over the years. With a bewildered look on his face, the man informed the manager that he had never put anything into the account. When he had inquired about saving for retirement, he had only been told by the banker that he should open an account. He was never informed that he was required to put anything into it. 

The bank manager's face grew solemn. He explained to the old man that some of the bankers that had worked at the bank over the years were lazy. Many concerned themselves only with how many bank accounts they could get people to open and often forgot to advise those people on how to sow into those bank accounts to grow their savings.  The bank manager wished that there was something he could do for this old man. He wished that the man had sown into his account over the years so that the manager could give him all that he had given back to him along with much more gained in interest.  The manager walked the old man to the door and told him that he was very sorry but there was nothing he could do for him. The old man left very bitter and very disappointed.

Mike

A Season of Thorns

I fear what Christmas means to the world and to me. Everywhere I look, I see thorns choking out the very message that I desire to see sown into the world. The message of salvation offered through Jesus, the son of God, is one that is meant to be shared every day. It is meant to bring us to a place of salvation through faith which in turn allows peace and joy to be poured out upon us by the God of hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NIV)

 

Peace and joy are words that are thrown around a lot at Christmas but they are something that we don't see very often in the Christmas season. Instead, I see thorns thriving in this season. They are fed very well by our fleshly Christmas practices. In the parable of the sower, Jesus talks about how the word is sown into this world. He specifically references sowing among the thorns.

 

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. (Mark 4:7 NIV)

 

The seed sown among the thorns is unfruitful. Later, Jesus explains what the thorns are that destroy the fruit of the word.

 

 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. (Mark 4:18, 19 NIV)

 

At a time when the name of Jesus is so often heard and the promise of his salvation is shared, it is being missed because of the season of thorns that it is being shared in. The Message version words Mark 4:18,19 a little differently and it sounds eerily like the Christmas season.

 

"The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it. (Mark 4:18, 19 MSG)

 

This is a season when people worry about whether they will get their shopping done and how they will ever manage to make it to all of the Christmas gatherings they have been invited to. It is a season when many people spend a lot of money that they don't actually have or that should have been spent elsewhere. It is a season when our love for "things" is so painfully placed on display for all to see. Paul makes a statement about our tendency to turn back to those things that we have been set free from through Christ.

 

But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces ? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. (Galatians 4:9-11 NIV)

 

That bolded verse stings a little. Jesus has set us free from the ways of this world! Yet, we turn back to the world on a regular basis. We allow the thorns of the season to choke out the fruitfulness of the true Christmas spirit. As long as Christmas is a season of sowing into the flesh it will not be a season that leads to the truth! Perhaps we can find a solution to the thorns of this season.

 

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:7-9 NIV)

 

Are we sowing into the Christmas of the flesh or the Christmas of the Spirit? Does our indulgence in food, family time, rest, and material things lead to the destruction of the fruit of the true Christmas Spirit? The origin of "Christmas" is simply "Christ's Mass". It is meant to serve as a recognition towards and remembrance of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he was for us. Should we not be doing this every day? If we want to make a difference by sharing the message of hope and salvation, we need to be doing it all year long. If we want it to be fruitful in this season, we need to beware the thorns in our own lives. Stop feeding them! Stop allowing the thorns to creep up in your life and kill the true Christmas Spirit. Only then will we be able to see a harvest. 

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Feet

Physically, my feet are far from beautiful. Somehow, Carly agrees to touch them from time to time but I can clearly see the truth. One of my big toes is missing a toenail, I have big curly hairs on my toe knuckles, and the bottoms of my feet are usually dry and cracked. I know that the chances of this ever drastically changing are small at best. If I want to have feet that I can call beautiful, I believe there is only one way I can accomplish this. Stick with me on this. I promise I'm going somewhere...

I believe that I can have beautiful feet. To accomplish this I am required to offer up my entire body to God. Romans 12:1-2 says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

If I am to approve what God's will is I need to know what His will is. I'm pretty sure that is mentioned somewhere. Jesus talks about it in John 6:39-40.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

So God's will is that all who look to Jesus and believe in him will have eternal life. Jesus left the task of helping others to come to know him to his disciples right before he ascended into heaven. This is documented in Matthew 28:19-20.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Chances are that if you have come to know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour that somebody told you about him. That may have been a relative, a pastor, or a friend. They had beautiful feet. You may be thinking that I've lost it. I've probably never seen their feet. How can I know that they are beautiful? Romans 10:13-15 says so.

 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

If you look at this closely, you will notice six steps that have taken place. Just for fun I will call it the Kingdom Growth Cycle:

1) You have heard about Jesus
2) You believed what you heard
3) You called on the name of Jesus
4) You were saved
5) You were sent to share about Jesus
6) You went and shared about Jesus

I look at this cycle and I see one particular spot that it tends to break down. So many of us have made it to step 5. We have been sent to share what we have been shown about Jesus. Why don't we go? Step 5 is the great commission of Matthew 28:19-20 and it is the necessary step to restart the cycle. When we GO and we start this cycle in the lives of others we cause ourselves to have beautiful feet.

I'm reminded of when Jesus washes the disciples' feet in John 13. I can imagine what their feet looked like. We see how often Jesus and the disciples travelled and we know much of their travelling was walking. Roads weren't what they are today and shoes weren't what they are today. Their feet were dirty. They were likely calloused and probably a little worse for wear. Their feet were not physically beautiful. But Jesus saw what they would do for His kingdom after he was gone. He saw that they were his servants' feet. To Jesus their feet were beautiful.

I want beautiful feet. Not beautiful in my eyes or my wife's eyes. Beautiful to Jesus. I want the feet from Isaiah 52:7:

How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of those who bring good news,

who proclaim peace,

who bring good tidings,

who proclaim salvation,

who say to Zion,

“Your God reigns!” 

Mike

I remember when...

...I was sitting in the car with my dad in front of Canadian Tire in a parking lot in Grimsby. I can’t remember exactly how old I was but I’m guessing it may have been around the age of 6 because I distinctly remember that I was wearing some of my hockey equipment. I remember when I asked the question. I can’t remember exactly what I asked and to be perfectly honest I don’t remember what the exact answer given was. I do remember that was the day that I consciously made the decision that Jesus needed to be in my life regardless of what I thought that meant at the time.

For any Christian believer, that moment is one that passes in and out of memory but never vanishes from the heart. I am forever tied to that moment in which I acknowledged that by my own strength and my own works I am not good enough. My understanding of the decision that I made that day has grown over the years. I understand what it means to have Jesus Christ in my life. I realize that I am a sinful man in need of the grace that was achieved through the sacrifice that Jesus became. I see what Jesus meant when he said that I must deny myself, take up my cross, and follow him. I know that I often fail miserably at living up to the example that Jesus set for me. I rejoice in the fact that when I do fall down, he picks me up, cleans me up and points me back in the right direction.

If I could go back to that day and tell that much younger version of me all that would transpire over the next 20 or so years, I think that the little boy sitting in that car in his hockey equipment would be amazed at all of the things I’d be able to tell him that God has done in my life. He would probably be startled by many of the things that I have done to make the journey thus far so much more difficult than it has needed to be. I would definitely be embarrassed to have to explain to him some of the things I have done. He would not understand why I did them because he knows them to be wrong.

Undeniably, the hardest and darkest points in my life so far are the points where I have turned my back on Jesus and forgotten about that decision made some 20+ years ago. In those dark times, when I have been wandering lost and unsure of where to turn, that choice I made shines through the darkness like a beacon leading me back to Jesus.

Do you remember when you made the decision to pursue Jesus? If so, I hope that you also never forget it and that in troubled times you can use it to bring you back to a place of peace. If you have never made that decision I can only say that after so many years I would still make the same choice a million times over. I hope you will too.

Mike