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Forgiving is not an option. It is central to the Christian message. It’s reiterated throughout the New Testament.
Forgiving is easy until you need to do it. All of us have been hurt by somebody or we have hurt somebody. Once that happens it is hard to forgive them or it’s hard for them to forgive us. The reason it is so hard because for such a long time, and it still around some today, we have equated forgiving with forgetting. This is one of those dumb things that many smart Christians believe. Many smart Christians believe that once you forgive somebody everything is forgotten. Forgiveness doesn’t erase God’s memory nor does it erase the memory of the person who has been hurt.
If you just read this scriptures and build a belief system on these scriptures alone you would come to the conclusion that God doesn’t remember anything:

Isaiah 43:25
“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.
Hebrews 8:12 says
And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.”
Hebrews 10:17
Then he says,
“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”

These verses sure does sound like God forgets.

If you look up forget in any English dictionary its primary meaning is the inability to recall something. Forgetting is the opposite of remembering. The scriptures do say that God forgives our sins and remembers them no more in other places as well, many smart Christians believe he literally erases them from memory as they never happened. We think God gets spiritual Alzheimer’s after we ask for forgiveness,
But you need the rest of the story.

You also need to read:

Hosea 9:9
The things my people do are as depraved
as what they did in Gibeah long ago.
God will not forget.
He will surely punish them for their sins.
Amos 8:7
Now the LORD has sworn this oath
by his own name, the Pride of Israel:
“I will never forget
the wicked things you have done!

We’ve got a problem. Some scriptures say, “he remembers them no more” and the others say, “I will never forget.”

Do does God forget or doesn’t He forget? The answer: Yes, he does

Just because you are forgiven doesn’t mean God forgets. If God literally has no memory of those events you asked forgiveness for, it would mean that you and I would know things that God doesn’t. The Bible would contain stories He can’t remember. Do you hear absurd that sounds?

So what does the Bible mean when it speaks of God remembering our sins no more? It means God no longer responds to us in light of those sins. Our sins no longer derail our relationship with him. They no longer garner his wrath. They are gone completely from our account. But them being gone doesn’t mean he can’t remember all the things we’ve done. An omniscient God doesn’t forget anything.

When we are talking about forgiveness, there are two realms. There is the spiritual and eternal realm where forgiveness wipes the slate clean. In the spiritual realm, “he has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Psalm 103:12      And when God says, “he remembers them no more” – he doesn’t forget them – he just no longer holds those things against you. But there is another realm.

On the earthly/temporary realm forgiveness is a different story. God forgiveness seldom, if ever removes all the consequences or restores all that we’ve broken. On earth, we are simply given a second chance by God. On earth, trust has been broken. On earth, relationships are broken. On earth, people get damaged physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. God’s forgiveness hardly wipes the slate clean in the earthly realm. People don’t forget. People like revenge.

Despite God’s forgiveness, there are still consequences. In other words, God’s forgiveness doesn’t eliminate the consequences. The scriptures teach us despite being forgiven you still deal with the consequences.

Look at the story of King David and Bathsheba.

David fessed up, acknowledged his sin, he repented, and cried out to God. You can read about it in Psalm 51. To his relief, God assured him that he was forgiven and that his life would be spared. David sins were cast from the east to the west. God remembered his sin no more, meaning, God was giving him a second chance. God was no longer going to hold these sins against him. All of this was happening in the spiritual realm.

God didn’t remove the consequences. What happened in the earthly realm?

• David was told that the sword would never depart from his hand: he’d always be at war – no peace.
• He was told that his own son would one day dishonor him in public.
• The temple he had always dreamed of building for God would be left to another.
• He was told the son conceived on his night of passion would die a few days after birth.

In other words, some times  there are severe consequences in the earthly realm. No one ever forgets in the earthly realm. Everyone reminds you of your past in the earthly realm. You might be forgiven by God but in the earthly realm you have to deal with the consequences.

Look at Jared. This is the guy who sold a lot of sub sandwiches for Subway.   He was their spokesman for years. This past week he sinned in a big way. Jared like child porn and got caught.

The consequences:

• Prison
• Divorce
• No more working for Subway as a spokesperson.
• He has to list himself as a sexual predator.
• He knows what will happen to foundation he has started.

He can ask God for forgiveness and God will cast his sin as far as the east is from the west and God will give him another chance.  But I don’t think you want him watching your kids.

God gave King David a second chance. He took King David’s (who was a murderous adulterer) best poetry and reflections (much of what he wrote was after his affair with Bathsheeba) and published it in His Holy Book. And Jesus even quoted him!

This is what God’s forgiveness does – it gives you a second chance. God is not going to hold anything against you after you ask forgiveness.  David experienced God’s forgiveness. In the eyes of God he was a new creature and He made him righteous and just. But forgiveness and being a new creature did not stop the consequences. When we experience the forgiveness of God (while we still have to experience the earthly consequences of the sin) God will restore you and give you an opportunity to forgive others. 

What does Biblical forgiveness look like on the earthly realm?

First of all, stop keeping score! Biblical forgiveness doesn’t keep score.

Matthew 18:21-22

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

You don’t keep a tally sheet of how much they have forgiven you and how much you have forgiven others. We forgive others because we have been forgiven by God.

It doesn’t mean we forget …. We just don’t keep score! Love keeps no records of wrong but you don’t let them do to you whatever they did to you again.

In Charleston, SC a couple of months ago (June 2015),  a white deranged racist boy killed 8 black people. There were no riots or protest. How did the family respond? Watch this  clip (done by ESPN) of the young man whose mother was killed in that shooting.

Forgiveness is greater than not forgiving.

Do you think those kids will ever forget? I don’t think so. They have chosen not to keep score.

Secondly, Go buy a mirror! In Biblical forgiveness you look at yourself first.

In Matthew 18, you read about a servant who owed his king over a million dollars. The servant couldn’t repay it. When asked for an accounting he asked for more time. The king gave him something better. He graciously forgave the entire debt and sent him on his way. You would think that this man would be one happy man. But what does he do? he confronts another servant who owed him about $10 and demanded repayment.
When the king heard about it, he was furious. The king throws him into prison and Jesus ends the parable with these confronting words, “this is how the heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The father didn’t get amnesia, he remembered.

Biblical forgiveness always begins with a look in the mirror. It doesn’t start with the wrong that has been done to me; it starts with the wrongs I have done to others. We asked the question, “what have I done and how have I been forgiven?’ And then go offer that same kind of forgiveness to others. If God has given you a second chance – then we are to offer to others a second chance. This doesn’t mean you have to let others walk all over you. It is the complete opposite. You walk even taller than before because you know you have forgiven them. You know you have been set free and you want them to experience the same thing.

It doesn’t mean you have to trust them again. Trust takes a while to rebuild. Just because you have forgiven them doesn’t mean you have to forget but you do remember how much God has forgiven you.

You don’t have the ability to cast sins as far as the east is from the west.

You don’t’ the ability to remember their sins no more.

You do have the ability to forgive knowing how much you have been forgiven.

Every time you forgive you become more like Jesus.

One of the things that Christians mistakenly believe is that faith can fix anything. We say things to people like, “If you have enough faith … it will happen”.
• “If you have faith everything is going to work out.”
• “If you have faith God is going to heal you.”
• “If you have faith God is going to protect you.”
• “If you have faith God is going to protect your children.”
• One of the things that a lot of Christians used to say and actually believe is, “it’s because you don’t have enough faith that you got cancer – or some other dreaded disease.”

None of those statements are Biblical and none of them are true but many Christians believe they are true. The statements (and there are more) are what Larry Osbourne calls, “urban faith legends.” There was a period in time when scientist convinced people who earth was square. They believed the ships they saw disappear fell off the earth. In reality, they were either shipped wrecked or they found a new place to dock and didn’t know how to get back.  A guy named Capernicus (and some others) came along and said, “no, the earth is round.” Well, he was considered a heretic for suggesting such a thing. Now, if you believe the earth is square people will consider you a little loony. The “square earth” was just a legend. People simply believed it because …. well …. they were told to believe it.  An urban faith legend  like “faith can fix anything”  starts when someone says some words in Sunday School or in a small group a or God forbid heard a preacher preach it a number of years ago and people started to believe it and a lot of other people began to believe it and all of sudden we call it “truth” because …. Well …. Everybody believes it so it must be true.

The truth is faith can’t fix anything.

We have made faith (according to Larry Osbourne) a mixture of intellectual and emotional control, when properly harnessed, can literally change the outcome of a situation through positive thinking and clear visualization. Successful people tout this as a key to their achievements, what survivors of great tragedies cite as the source of their endurance, what televangelist credit with healing power, and what motivational speakers make a sweet living telling others at conventions.

Faith is not a skill we can master if only we try harder.Faith is not a shield that will protect us from life’s hardships and trials. Faith is not a magic potion that removes every mess. Faith is not something that if we had more of it we would be a better Christian. The scriptures teach that we only need a mustard seed of faith.

The root word for faith in the English Bible is the same root word used for belief and trust. The kind of faith the Bible advocates and that God wants from us has far more to do with our actions than our feelings. Biblical faith is so tied to actions of obedience that the Bible ridicules the very idea of someone claiming to have faith and not acting on it. (Larry Osbourne)

Let’s look at a couple of verses that help us understand what faith really is:

Hebrews 11:1 – Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, “Jump! I’ll catch you.” He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: “Jump! I will catch you.” But the boy protested, “Daddy, I can’t see you.” The father replied, “But I can see you and that’s all that matters.”

Is faith going to save this boy life? Is simply believing that his father sees him going to save his life? What’s going to save his life? HE HAS TO JUMP and trust this father even though all he can do is hear this father’s voice.

You can’t separate faith, belief, and trust. We try to but the Bible doesn’t separate them. They all come from the same root word. Like we learned in the last blog entry…. Deciding to follow Jesus and actually doing it are two different things. Deciding is just an intellectual process. It doesn’t mean you have faith. Faith comes when you jump!

If you look at the rest of Hebrews 11 you read about men and women who took a jump. You read,  it was “by faith so and so did this”, It was “by faith so and so did that”. These people lived in the assurance that God could see what they couldn’t see and they jumped. Just because you jump doesn’t mean there will be a happy ending. Many of these people who jumped were tortured, beheaded, sawed in two, laughed at, killed with the sword, and stoned.

We tend to equate faith with happy endings. Just because you jump and live in obedience doesn’t mean there is always a happy ending. These people jumped with the assurance that their Father was going to catch them and not with the assurance the Father would protect them. God has never protected his people from harm. He has always expected obedience.

Hebrew 11:39 reminds us:

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.

What’s the point in putting our faith in God if we there is the possibility that I won’t receive all that God has promised. Faith is not based on whether or not God keeps his promise. The truth is God always keeps his promises but we might not get to see that promise fulfilled. The people who we read about in Hebrews 11 had great faith but did not receive all that God had promised.

Putting your faith in him is still trusting him when he doesn’t heal your loved one. Putting your faith in Him is still trusting him when you don’t get the job you wanted. Putting your faith in Him is still trusting him even though you don’t get that raise you have been praying for. Putting faith in Him is still trusting Him even when you are going through tough circumstances.

I worked with a single parent family in my student ministry days. This single mom was an incredible lady. She wasn’t a single mom by choice. Her husband was mentally unstable due to some chemical imbalances in his brain. Even when they were married, she basically raised the kids on her own. After being treated for these imbalances for a couple of years, he passed away.  She never gave up her faith in Jesus, even though everything around her was collapsing. She wanted good things to happen. She wanted her kids to be happy and have a happy life. She wanted to have a husband who would love her and care for her. She kept following Jesus. She kept seeking after him. She kept asking me question after question, “why, why , why?” I kept saying, “I don’t know” but we (the church) will walk through it with you.

You may have doubts or we might be convinced that all is lost. Doubts and discouragement are part of the journey of faith. Doubts and discouragement are a great indicator that you are coming to the realization that you don’t have control and that you need help! This single mom cried out for help. Her husband failed her. One of her kids caused her all kinds of grief but she never stop trusting, she never stopped believing, she never stopped crying out to God.

Despite what we see, despite the circumstances we might be in, despite the doubts, all we need is a mustard seed of faith to follow God’s instructions. We are the one who create the emotional mountains not God. We are the ones who say it’s impossible – not God.

Matthew 17:20 reminds us:

“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

That statement is true …. “we don’t have enough faith” but all you need is the faith of a mustard seed.

So how do you get the faith of a mustard seed? Trust that what He says is true! This is what children do.

Children have the faith of a mustard seed. When a child says I’m sorry  the other kids believes him and they go play. A child trust his parents. That’s all they know to do. A child trust the adults around them to protect and help them.

Read the about the faith of this little boy.

David, a 2-year old with leukemia, was taken by his mother, Deborah, to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to see Dr. John Truman who specializes in treating children with cancer and various blood diseases. Dr. Truman’s prognosis was devastating: “He has a 50-50 chance.” The countless clinic visits, the blood tests, the intravenous drugs, the fear and pain–the mother’s ordeal can be almost as bad as the child’s because she must stand by, unable to bear the pain herself. David never cried in the waiting room, and although his friends in the clinic had to hurt him and stick needles in him, he hustled in ahead of his mother with a smile, sure of the welcome he always got. When he was three, David had to have a spinal tap–a painful procedure at any age. It was explained to him that, because he was sick, Dr. Truman had to do something to make him better. “If it hurts, remember it’s because he loves you,” Deborah said. The procedure was horrendous. It took three nurses to hold David still, while he yelled and sobbed and struggled. When it was almost over, the tiny boy, soaked in sweat and tears, looked up at the doctor and gasped, “Thank you, Dr. Tooman, for my hurting.”

How do they do that? I believe they trust. He trusted his mom. He trusted his doctor. The two-year old was totally helpless – all he could do was trust. Trust is jumping in knowing the Father is going to catch you. 

James 2:14 says this,

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

Many consider faith just positive thinking. If we think positively enough God will see it our way and when it doesn’t happen the way our positive thinking said it should happen, we get angry at God or the pastor or a Christian friend because God failed them.

This verse in James tells us that faith is action. Faith is not hoping something happens. Faith is making hope happen. 

You can believe in God and not have faith. You can believe in God and not trust Him. 85% of the people who live in the USA say they believe in God. Satan believes in God. But he doesn’t put any faith or trust in God.

What separated these people out from the rest in Hebrews 11 was their action. They jumped in trusting the voice of their Father. 

We can say we believe in God all we want. We can say we have faith in God all we want. But if there is no action that follows …… well …. We are just a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal that’s making a bunch of noise for no reason at all.

Faith can’t fix anything but what you do with your mustard seed of faith can move mountains.

When you look around, you begin to wonder if Jesus really matters. People seem to be doing find without him. It causes me to ask the question, “Has Jesus just become an old fashioned thought?” “Does Jesus just matter for the conservatives who are against abortions, against gay rights, against big government against this, and against that?” “Do we just throw his name around to prove our religious points?” ” Are the scriptures right that salvation can be found in no one else?”
When we were coming back from Jamaica, I got to sit next to a woman who was from Egypt. She was with some corporation from Egypt who was sending a couple special Olympic kids to America. She had just gotten married. She showed me her wedding pictures. We talked about her wedding. Then she asked what I did for a living. I hate it when people ask me that question. But she did. I told her I was pastor coming home from Jamaica. She asked what we did in Jamaica I told her we served a church in Jamaica. We financed a work project and we help lead their worship service. Our conversation took a dramatic shift about the Muslim faith. She explained to me that not all Muslims are hateful and mean. Just the ones you hear about are hateful and mean. She said that is all the media wants you to know. By our conversation , she and her new husband were devout Muslims. I began thinking, “does Jesus really matter to her?” She fell asleep before I got to ask the question.

I decided to look it up. I wanted to know if Jesus matters to Muslim.

Muslims acknowledge the impact of Jesus and recognize Him as a significant person within their own religious system.

The Quran describes Jesus in the following way (from Cold Case Christianity):

• Jesus was born of a virgin.

We believe that.

• Jesus was to be revered.

Jesus is held in high regard within the Muslim worldview.

We believe this too …

• Jesus was a prophet.

Islam affirms Jesus (known as “Isa” or “Eesa”) was one of God’s most important prophets. Muslims also acknowledge Jesus was sent specifically to the Children of Israel.

The christian Bible tells us that.

• Jesus was a wise teacher

While Muslims acknowledge Jesus was a wise teacher who had many disciples, they believe the teaching of Jesus was limited by the will of Allah. We believe that Jesus was limited to doing the will of God.  Muslims also believe Jesus’ disciples identified themselves as Muslims.

• Jesus was a miracle worker

We believe he was  miracle worker.

• Jesus ascended to heaven

Islam also acknowledges Jesus ascended into heaven in bodily form. While Muslims acknowledge the ascension, they either deny that Jesus was crucified or that He died on the cross. Most simply believe Jesus’ death was an illusion (and some even believe that Judas Iscariot was mistaken for Jesus on the cross).

• Jesus will come again

Islam acknowledges Jesus will return in the future (during the latter days). The Hadith (a collection of sayings from Muhammad) describes this Second Coming of Jesus. While Muslims acknowledge the Second Coming, they maintain Jesus will return as a Muslim (“Ummati”) and as a follower of Muhammad, returning to earth to revive Islam.

With such similarities – Does it even matter what you believe anymore? One thing I learned from my Muslim travel mate is that Jesus mattered to her. He matters to her enough to have a Christian friend. It might be in a different way …. But He still mattered to her.

This brought up a big question: Does Jesus even matter to Christians anymore?

People can live the Christian life without knowing Jesus. If the Christian life is just based on good behavior, being conservative, and serving others. You don’t need to know Jesus if that is what recognize as Christianity.

Does Jesus matter anymore period?

In Luke 5 we learn how much Jesus mattered to Matthew:

27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?[e]” 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

Jesus mattered much to Matthew. After he met Jesus, he invited Jesus to his home as the guest of honor. Not only did he invite Jesus but he invited all of his tax collecting buddy’s and some of the other disciples of Jesus. Matthew believed and understood that Jesus mattered because people mattered to Jesus.

He did the most odd thing – he mixed Jesus followers with non-Jesus followers.  He didn’t invite them to a prayer meeting or bible study. He invited them to party and Jesus was the guest of honor.

The local congregation I pastor did this in the  summer of 2014 and 2015. We hosted a big Matthew party at our local water park. We rented the whole park and gave school supplies out. We invited Christians and non-Christians. We had Bible trivia all night long.

What I personally discovered on this night is that there are people who don’t know the simplest of stories from the Bible.  To give you an idea, I asked the question, “what did Jesus die on?” , none of the workers up front knew the answer.

These people who don’t know the Bible stories matter to Jesus. They have yet to discover that Jesus matters to them.

Those of us who follow Christ – does Jesus matter to you? • Is he just a nice guy who walked the earth and did some nice things. Is he just a prophet who walked the earth to warn people . Is he just a good teacher who was wise and just. Devout Muslims believe those things. I know – I met one. She believed in making a difference in the world just like me. She wanted peace in the world just like me. She wanted to good in the world just like me. God mattered to her so much she began telling me about Him and how our God’s are not different.
Does He matter to you?

• To let him change the way you think.
• To change the way you look at others.
• To tell others that you know Him.
• To not hide your light under bushel
• To not let your faith with Christ lose it saltiness?
• To spend time with Him every day to get to know Him?
• To spend time in prayer with him?
• To love your enemies
• To love those who persecute you
Is He becoming greater in your life and you becoming less?

Our behavior and actions towards others reveals how much He matters to us. If we can’t love our enemies and our neighbor, if we can’t love others who are different than us – we are in deep trouble. If we can’t do that then God matters very little to us because those are his two greatest commands.

We make time for things and people that matter to us. We make time for people who matter to us. We make time for things that matter to us.

If I am reading the scriptures correctly, God makes it pretty clear that He is to be the only One who matters:

Matthew 6:33 – Seek first the kingdom of God

John 3:30 – He must become greater, I must become less

Jeremiah 29:12 – if you seek me you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart.

Jesus meant so much to Matthew that he wanted his tax collecting friends to meet Jesus. I am sure he was hoping that Jesus would matter to them as much as Jesus mattered to him. I’m sure that is why he through the party.

Long before you born you were knit together in your mother’s womb. When he knit you together he put a longing and a desire inside of each one of us to know Him.  We are all created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:27 –  So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

He created every human being because they matter to Him. Not everyone has discovered that God matters to them.

My wife never mattered to me before I met her, built a relationship with her, and had children together. Before all that, I didn’t even know she existed. There was point in my life that God didn’t matter to me. I went to church. I did church things. I even read my Bible. Memorized verses. Prayed.  God still didn’t matter to me. I always knew I mattered to Him. Sunday school teachers, pastors, and Christian camp speakers taught me that. God didn’t start mattering to me until I was eighteen years old.

Before God mattered to us we had scales on our eyes keeping us from seeing how much God mattered. (Like Paul in Acts 9 and every other person before they met Christ.)

As I learned at our big outreach event:

• Not everyone knows that they are created in the image of God.
• Not everyone knows that they are loved by God.
• Not everyone knows that Jesus died on the cross for them.
• Not everyone knows about Daniel, Noah, and Mary (the mother Jesus).

Once they understand those things God will begin to matter to them. Once they understand how much God loves them then God will begin to matter to them. God will change their life. They will become infected with Jesus.  Once they are infected – they become contagious.

Once God matters to you – you become contagious.

If God matters to you then loving others will matter to you. If God matters to you then going the extra mile will matter to you. If God matters to you then taking up your cross daily matters to you. If God matters to you then letting others know that they matter to God – matters to you.  If God matters to you then you just don’t pray about something – you do something too!

How much does God matter to you?

(clic on the pic to listen to it)This is a vexing question – Do people matter to you? Really?

One day while Jesus was teaching in a sizeable metropolitan area, he found himself surrounded by a large group of irreligious people. Once a year church goers. Undesirables. The Unconvinced. The spiritually confused. The morally bankrupt people of the town. People God wouldn’t probably have any use for. Off to the side was a huddle of religious leaders who were shaking their heads and talking to each other in muffled tones. They were complaining about the fact that Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of the Holy God, was hanging out with – well, let’s say it – THOSE kind of people. Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking. So he moved the whole procession over to where those in the “holy huddle” were standing. Then in a steady forceful tone, he began to tell a series of stories.

Matthew 18

12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Jesus continued after he told the story about the woman who had the ten coins. She lost one of them. So she lit a lamp, swept the house, turned over the furniture, and searched relentlessly for them. Then he told the story of the two lost sons. One was lost because he was super religious and the other was lost because he walked away from this father. Jesus was so ticked off over the discussion of the religious leaders (the holy huddle) were having about who matters to God and who doesn’t that he told these stories to make it clear who really matters to God. When Jesus listeners put all of these stories story together, they were probably crushed by the weight of God’s love. A love so large that it could look beyond the sins and treasure the wayward people behind them. A love so powerful that it could patiently endure years of resistance, selfish pleasure-seeking, money-chastising, and power wielding.  (help from Pastor Bill Hybels)

In the face of all this, God’s love says, “Even though you’re way off the track, you still matter to me! You really do!”

John 3:16-17 reminds us,

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

God wants no one to perish. He wants everyone to have eternal life. He destroyed the earth with a flood. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. None of those worked. People still turned away from Him.

So, what did God do?  He sent his one and only son into the world – not to destroy it – but to convince it that everyone matters to Him. He doesn’t want anyone to perish so one man’s blood was shed for the sins of many.

He has chosen you and me to convince the world that they are still loved by God!

Despite our prejudices. Despite our predetermined value system of people. Despite our cliquish nature. Despite our economic divisions. You and I are charged with convincing the world (those around us) that they are still loved by God.

These things (prejudice, predetermined value system, etc…) do not matter to God. What matters to God is that there are many out there who are not convinced that God loves them. These things are what keep us convincing the world (those people around us) that they are loved Him.

God has never been concerned with how much money we make, how big our house is, how many cars we own, or how big our barn is. Those are things that we are concerned about. Those are the things that we are to repent from. Those are the things we are to confess when we pray.

• “God forgive me for my haughty spirit.”
• “God forgive me for not loving others the way you do.”
• “God forgive me for not loving my enemy the way I love my own family.”

The thing that matters most to God – PEOPLE! What matters to God is how well you love others! Church buildings don’t matter. Budgets don’t matter. It’s people that matter to God. We’d better be using the things and resources that God entrust us with and invest it in the life of others!

We exist to convince others that they are still loved by God. He hasn’t abandoned them. He hasn’t forsaken them. He hasn’t turned His back on them. This is exactly what Jesus did. He wanted to convince those around him that they are still loved by God.

He didn’t have a building or budget or church to call his own but yet he had the greatest single impact on the world than any human being has ever had. Why was he born? For people Why did he walk the earth? For people.Why did die on the cross? For people.Why did he return? For people. Why did he return to heaven? For people.

Everything he did – he did for others. He wanted everyone to know that they matter to Him. 

You are reading this today because you understand that you matter to God and God matters to you. You have heard the message that God loves you. You have responded to that message and are loving Him back the best way you know how.

God wants the world to know that people still matter to Him.

As God walked the earth in human form (Jesus) – people were attracted to Him. It wasn’t because he was good looking. He probably looked more like Archie Bunker than Tom Selleck. He probably looked more like Fred Sampford of Samford and Son than Brad Pitt. He probably looked more like Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood than Chris Evans (Captain America). It wasn’t because he had a lot money like Trump, Gates, and Hugh Hefner. It wasn’t because he was powerful.

It was because He cared. It was because He did something.

He simply didn’t say, “God loves you” I hope you find someone to heal you. I hope you find someone to care about you. I hope you find someone to meet your need. I hope you find someone who will invest in you. He did something. He healed them. He cared for them. He met their need. He invested himself into the life of others. 

Doing something demonstrates you care.

Why do we buy our kids presents on special holidays when they really don’t need it or deserve it? It is because you care. Why do you give 10% of your income to the church when you really could use it to pay another bill? It is because you care. Why do you continue to do silly things for your spouse when they don’t deserve it? It is because you care. Why do you continue to serve others when all they do is seem to take advantage of what you have done? It’s because you care.

This is what people were attracted to. Jesus cared and he did something. 

All Jesus had to offer was himself. He didn’t own anything. He didn’t have any money. He didn’t have a van ministry, a youth and children’s ministry, or discipleship classes to send people to. He didn’t even have a church to invite people to.  But yet, what Jesus did. How he cared. What he did infected a lot of people. 

The lame man mattered to him– others left him to die by the pool. No one would help him get in the pool. Jesus healed him. The blind man mattered to him – he gave him his sight.  The prostitutes matter to him – he healed them and said sin no more. Religious leaders mattered to him – some were convinced he was the real deal and started following him. The tax collectors matters to him – Zacheus gave back  4 x the amount he had stolen. Matthew became a follower and many others because of Matthew ended following him to. The poor mattered to him – he fed them and healed and gave them hope.

They weren’t affected by Jesus. They were infected with Jesus. He infected them with hope! He infected them with life!

If you are reading this blog (which you obviously are) you have been affected by Jesus. That’s probably why you are reading this. We go to church. Read religious blogs. We do good works. We meet for Bible studies. We do a lot of nice things. This is what people do who are affected by Jesus.

Not everyone reading this blog has been infected with Jesus.

If you are infected with Jesus, He takes you from the sidelines and puts you in the game. The early church was so infected by Jesus that they served their pagan (irreligious) friends when the government and religious leaders left them to die during a plague. They risked their own life for them not so that they could win them over for Jesus  but to demonstrate to them their lives matters to God.

Once people understand that they matter to God – the Holy Spirit has an open door to change the heart.

David Blough (there is a blog entry about him on June 28th) shared a couple of weeks ago about Gelen (pronounced Geelynn) Robinson. Gelen is the son of the former Purdue/NBA great Glen Robinson.  David convinced Gelen (a professed atheists) that he mattered to God. He had confessed to David that he was an atheist. David simply told him he mattered to God and talk to him about what it meant to have a relationship with Him. This 6’4′, 270 lb, chiseled out man, under the stars in South Africa, wept like a baby and God changed the direction of his life. David also shared about how he and a teammate met with another football player who grew up Muslim. They got the same result. They had convinced  him that God still loved him.

David confessed to us that morning (blog entry on June 28th) that he was not ashamed to be a Christ-follower. He is not ashamed to talk about Him. He’s not ashamed to live the Christian life in front of his atheist and Muslim friends. Not only has Jesus affected his life, I think it is safe to say that he is infected his life.

If you are reading religious material, then your life has been affected by Jesus. The question is are you infected with him?

When your infected with Jesus – he changes the way you look at people. He changes your attitude towards people. He changes your heart towards people. He changes the way you think about people. He changes the priorities of your life. He changes the way you handle your income. When you are infected with Jesus – people begin to matter. 

This is what it means to be infected with Jesus:

We risk our lives, our well-being, and our resources because people matter.

When you are infected with Jesus – you no longer can sit on the sideline and just be a fan of the Christian faith. You want to participate because you know people matter. When you are infected with Jesus – you no longer serve yourself – serving others becomes your priority. When you are infected with Jesus – you can longer hate your enemies – but you are compelled to love them. When you are infected with Jesus – you no longer can do nothing – you are compelled to do something. When you are infected with Jesus – you don’t ask “why are we doing this?” – you ask “what can I do to help?” When we are infected with Jesus – we understand how deeply he cares about us – it motivates us to care deeply about others. When you are infected with Jesus there is a joy unspeakable, a faith unshakable, a peace unbreakable, a love unfathomable. 

Is this not what we want to infect our communities with?

Jesus did. Those who caught it – their lives were changed forever.

The disciples did. Those who caught it – They changed the culture in which they lived.

The question is, will we continue to do it? Will we continue to communicate to others that they matter to God?

It starts with asking what really matters to you?

A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor’s office. The husband had been suffering with an illness for some time. After the examination, as they waited in the waiting room the doctor came back out and asked the wife if he could speak to her alone in his office to talk about her husband condition. He had been suffering from a rare disease for some time and because it was accompanied by acute stress. His life was really in jeopardy. He called her in and he said, “I have some difficult news to tell you. Unless you make some significant changes in the way you interact with your husband he’s probably not going to make it.  Of course, that upset her and she began to cry and she asked, ‘What can I do?’ The doctor told her, ‘let me give you somethings you could do over the next few months that could address his condition.'”
“First of all, in the morning when he comes down its very, very important that you keep his life stress free. So, you need to be made up in the morning and dressed and looking as best you can. Greet him with a smile as he comes down the stairs. Always have a nice full breakfast fixed for him. Ask him what his day is about and encourage him and tell him he can make it. Then we he comes home at the end of the day, you need to be nice to him, never speaking of your problems to him but always be willing to listen to his. Always be available to him. And because stress in one of the major things manifesting this illness, you need to be available to him all times sexually.” She listened intently. After it was over they got in the car and started on the way home. As they were driving home the husband turned to her and asked. ‘What did the doctor say to you?’ And tenderly she looked at him and said, “you’re going to die.”

Real manhood is dying. It has been dying a slow death for the last number of decades. We seem to be producing a bunch of boys who never give up their boyish ways, their boyish thinking, and their boyish actions. It is true that boys will be boys. But, as I Corinthians 13 taught us a few blog entries ago there comes a point in a man’s life that we must give up our boyish thinking and reasoning. Vs. 11 says, “11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” Many men are still thinking and reasoning like a child. Men are refusing to grow up and take the spiritual leadership in the life of their family.

This past month I got called to be a part of a team of pastors and community leaders to address the issues of reconciliation within our city. They asked the question “what can the church do to make Marion a better place to live.” Realizing I wasn’t the smartest kid on this block, there were a couple of guys with masters degrees, a couple of missionaries from Africa, and a few other ministry leaders, and me. It was one of those things where I couldn’t figure out why I was invited to be part of such a group. It was an honor and I wanted to represent our church well. When asked, “what is your dream for Marion”, no one was willing to go first. Being the brave soul that I am, I responded, “my dream for Marion is for people to know Christ.” As I listened to others share, I began to think I really missed the question. Then we were asked a second question, “What are some of the obstacles for this dream to become reality?” I was smarter this time and didn’t answer first. When it finally came to me, I answered, “Men not being men. Men not leading in their homes. Men not taking the initiative in the society in which we live.” By the reaction of  the group, I realized that I was hitting the nail on the head.

This is not the first time this happened (lack of men leading). Back in the time of Isaiah, the nation of Israel experienced the same thing. Because of Israel’s rebellion, they turned away from God. They didn’t think they needed God anymore and they decided to go their own independent way. God brings a judgment through this prophet. He said through this prophet, “because you have ignored me, because you don’t think you need my instruction, and my understanding. I am going to take away from you real men.” As Isaiah pronounces this judgement he begins to describe what that society will look like without real men.

Isaiah 3

The Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,
will take away from Jerusalem and Judah
everything they depend on:
every bit of bread
and every drop of water,
2 all their heroes and soldiers,
judges and prophets,
fortune-tellers and elders,
3 army officers and high officials,
advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers.
4 I will make boys their leaders,
and toddlers their rulers.
5 People will oppress each other—
man against man,
neighbor against neighbor.
Young people will insult their elders,
and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.
6 In those days a man will say to his brother,
“Since you have a coat, you be our leader!
Take charge of this heap of ruins!”
7 But he will reply,
“No! I can’t help.
I don’t have any extra food or clothes.
Don’t put me in charge!”
8 For Jerusalem will stumble,
and Judah will fall,
because they speak out against the LORD and refuse to obey him.
They provoke him to his face.
9 The very look on their faces gives them away.
They display their sin like the people of Sodom
and don’t even try to hide it.
They are doomed!
They have brought destruction upon themselves.
10 Tell the godly that all will be well for them.
They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!
11 But the wicked are doomed,
for they will get exactly what they deserve.
12 Childish leaders oppress my people,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you;
they send you down the wrong road.

Let me simplify this passage of scripture:

As men go, so goes the life of the society. (Dr. Robert Lewis)

I think he’s right. The statistics and the physical evidence proves it. More and more kids are fatherless – over 25 million kids are without a dad. This doesn’t count the number of dads that are home but still not there. Men are continuing to refuse to step up in the life of their family and establish boundaries for their home. Men have been refusing to step up and take responsibility for their action. Godly Men have been refusing to take the initiative when it comes to being the spiritual leaders in their home.  Because of this, women are being forced to do things they shouldn’t have to do. They do it because they see a need and they step up and meet it. Read the papers, internet, or whatever type of media that keeps you informed and I think you would agree, “as men go, so goes the life of the society.”

What can we do to change the tide?

1. Become like Jesus. 

You don’t have to be the savior of the world. You don’t have to die on the cross. You don’t have walk in his sandals. That is impossible to do. You “simply” live out Luke 9:23:

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.

2. Turn from your selfish ways

Like Jesus – We must die. Which means we are to die to those things that keep us from being the men God has called us to be.

• Die to having our own way.
• Die to boyish reasoning.
• Die to our fears of leading boldly.

As I have been reflecting about my dad this past month, I discovered some things about him when my family was cleaning out the house I grew up in to get ready to sell.  We discovered a Bible that the Army distributed to him. In the Bible, he had written down every place had been in WWII and the date he was there. Of course his name was in it just in case he was shot and killed. I learned that my dad was at the battle at Normandy. A lot of guys on died there.

As I was pondering on this news I just learned,  I realized that he was willing to die for the freedom for people he didn’t even know. Facing death or the threat of death forces you to grow up pretty fast. It forces you to think about what’s really important. It forces you to step up and get your priorities in order.  I learned that he was willing to die for a greater cause. That greater cause was protecting the freedoms  you and I have in this great nation. In Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation,  he discovered with almost all these men that came back  that they went from investing their lives in the battle field to investing their lives in their communities. In other words, they continued to invest themselves in a greater cause.

We don’t have to die a physical death to become like Jesus. But we are to die to those things that keep us from being the men God has called us to be. Like Jesus and the generation before us  we are to give ourselves away to a greater cause.
That cause is:

• Loving our wives the way they deserved to be loved
• Introducing our kids to the things of faith.
• Being the men that God has created us to be.

Just remember, no dad is perfect but we are called to impact the life of our wife, kids, and community.

3. Like Jesus – we are to take up or cross daily.

Mom’s take up their cross daily.  They sacrifice something everyday for their children. It is not a have to but out of love for theirs kids, their well-being, and their future. They give sacrificially. Soldiers in the midst of war take up their cross daily. They sacrifice something every day for our country.  It is not a have to but out of love for their country, our well-being, and it’s future. They give sacrificially. School teachers in the midst of the school year take up their cross daily. They sacrifice something every day dealing with everybody else’s snot – nosed munchkins. Dealing with parents who think their child is the only smart one in the class. What a thankless job. It is not a have to but of their love for teaching and impacting the next generation, their well-being, and their future.

Take up our cross daily = we are to sacrifice something daily to benefit others not because we have to but because we get to.    – Tom South

Men, We are to take up our cross daily. We are to sacrifice something daily for our family.  It is not a have to but out love for our families, their well-being, and their future. You give sacrificially. Jesus, being our perfect example,willingly sacrificed his life for our well-being. So we could be set free and live in real freedom.

4. We are to follow Him

Which means we are to  (like Him)

• Be watchful
• Stand firm in the faith
• Act like men
• Be strong
• Let all you do be done in love (I Corinthians 16:13-14)

Like Jesus (Philippians 2) , Do not think of yourself equal to God. Empty yourself and become a servant to your family, your church, and your community.

Philippians 2:6-8 – Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

I saw a beautiful picture of a man emptying himself and becoming a servant of his bride to be. I met with the potential bride and groom for several weeks. I had challenged him to do several things. In our time together I challenged him (in front of her), to stop everything he was doing and pray for her when he saw her stressing out.  On the night of their wedding rehearsal. She was stressing out. As I watched from a distance, I saw him grab  her hand, lead her to the altar, and pray for her. He emptied himself. He knew there was nothing else he could do. He chose to serve her rather than chastise her.

James McDonald reminds men,

We are not women

We are not animals.

We are men, created in the image of God, called to be like Jesus, and lead like Jesus.

This is not an easy thing to do.

Men,

• Turn your face toward God
• Seek first the kingdom of God
• Be a part of something much greater

If we don’t turn from our selfish ways, if we don’t take our cross daily, if we don’t empty ourselves and get on our knees and pray for those we love …..

Well …..

As men go, so goes the society.

(Click on the pic to listen to it)

One time a little boy was asked to define Father’s Day and he said, It’s just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much on the present.THE IDEA FOR CREATING A DAY for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Her father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.

One random trivia fact: The greatest number of long distance phone calls are made on Mother’s Day; the largest number of collect calls are made on Father’s Day!

In the spirit of family feud, here are the top five things a dad says:

5. I’m busy right now.

4. Just wait until I get home.

3. When I was your age ……

2. Just wait until I get home

1. Go ask your mother.

Dad’s say a lot of crazy things. The dad we are looking at today has probably said the most profound words a dad could say. Listen to Joshua (24)….

“So fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua took over for Moses after he died. God tells Joshua these infamous words for every believer before he took over  in 1:6, “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” He led Israel to a lot of victories. One notable one is battle of Jericho. At age 110 he summoned leaders of Israel to Shechem for a farewell address. He charged them to obey the Lord who had fought for them and given them an inheritance. He warned them of the danger of worshiping other idols, saying, Choose you this day whom you will serve.

As we have learned over the past couple of blog entries, we have looked at what it means to ACT LIKE MEN, we have learned that dad’s have an incredible influence over their child. One could argue, the dad determines whether or not their children will follow Christ. God has given men incredible authority to determine the direction of their family and influence the generation to come. God just needs men to ACT LIKE MEN.

My dad, fortunately, gave me a beautiful example of what it meant to serve his church and community. He did them both. He did them well. Some how he convinced me that church was important for family life. Some how he convinced me that serving others was important. Some how he convinced me to give myself to something bigger that took courage to do.  Some how he convinced me that following Jesus and serving in the church was the best option in life. Although my Valiant car which had a slide six engine and went 0-60 in 5 minutes, I have to be honest men, dads, and grandpas,  the example of serving the church and the community was the greatest gift he gave me. Nothing else compares.

It is said that a boy loves his mother but will follow his father.

There is a story about a pastor whose young son had become very ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of tests, the father was told the shocking news that his son had a terminal illness. The youngster had accepted Christ as his Savior, so the minister knew that death would usher him into Glory; but he wondered how to inform one in the bloom of youth that he soon would die. After earnestly seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit, he went with a heavy heart through the hospital ward to the boy’s bedside.

First he read a passage of Scripture and had a time of prayer with his boy. Then he gently told him that the doctors could promise him only a few more days to live. “Are you afraid to meet Jesus, my boy?” asked his devout father. Blinking away a few tears, the little fellow said bravely, “No, not if He’s like you, Dad!”

Dad’s, grandpa’s, men – You set the example. You determine the direction of your family. God has given you the power and authority combined with humility and a gentle spirit to influence those who are watching you. As a reminder from the last blog entry, we are not called to be perfect dads, perfect grandpa’s, or perfect role models. We are called to put away our childish behaviors, our childish attitudes, our childish reasoning. It’s time to grow up and put away those childish things.

Those of you who didn’t have great dads or your dad was absent or he was there physically but wasn’t there emotionally or spiritually – I encourage you to break that cycle. I encourage you to talk to your kids about Christ. I encourage you to admit where you have failed. I encourage you to sit around your dinner table and share stories, and laugh together. I encourage you to take the initiative in the life of your child because they will love their mother but they will follow you.

We can learn a couple of things from Joshua that will help us ACT LIKE MEN.

1. He was the spiritual leader in his home.

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A young man I mentor, who has six kids, was challenged by his wife to step up and be the spiritual leader in his home. This man was pretty childish, self-centered, and got his own way. This man was not a believer in Christ. He accepted his wife’s challenge and started going to church with her. This young man stepped up by first committing to follow Christ, then became a living example of what means to be a Christ follower. His young boys are following his example.

Men don’t do this naturally. We are good at showing up at their soccer games, baseball, football games, and other events our kids are involved in. This is an important role a dad plays. They also need to know why you don’t or do choose to serve God. If you are a Christ follower – you need to tell them why you follow Christ. If you are not a Christ follower, you need to tell them why you don’t follow Christ. Vs. 15 says:

15 But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.”

Men, we all serve somebody. I gave you the statistics a couple of blog entries ago on the impact we have on our kids – they will follow your lead.

What I hear Joshua saying is, YOU CHOOSE! Don’t pretend to be the spiritual leader in your home. Be it! Don’t pretend to be a Christ follower – be it! Don’t pretend to know Jesus – know Him! Make the commitment to be the spiritual leader in your home. Make the commitment to be a Christ – follower. Make the commitment to know Jesus! Lead the way. This is the greatest gift you can give to your family. Make the conscious choice. A choice requires a decision. A decision requires certain actions to follow. 

If you choose to be the spiritual leader in your home,

a. Stay close to God

This is done by being constantly aware of the presence of God. Scripture is important. Prayer is important. Worshiping together is important. Praying with your spouse and kids are important. These are ways we stay close to God.

b. Pass on to your children and spouse a love for God

This is the greatest thing you can do for your spouse and children. In Joshua chapter 3, verse 11, Joshua urges Israel to make love of God their special aim. There is a story about a little boy who was frightened by lightning and thunder, he called out one dark night, “Daddy, come. I’m scared.” “Son,” the father said, “God loves you and he’ ll take care of you.” “I know God loves me,” the boy replied. “But right now I want somebody who has skin on.” Our children want to see God’s love. How they first experience what the love of God is like is through their dad.

Our spouses, too, want to be loved.

Eph. 5: 25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.

How do our spouses know if they are loved or not? Are you willing to sacrifice for her?
Are you willing to let childish attitude, spirit, and reasoning die? Are you willing to take the initiative in spiritual matters?  Your spouse understands what sacrifice looks like. If you answer yes to all those questions …  your spouse will see that you love them.

2. The second thing we can learn from Joshua is that he had a vision for his life and family. He says, “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” This vision determines what decisions are made  This vision determines what direction you lead your family. If you don’t have a vision for your family Proverbs 28:19 says,

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

In other words, If you (dad) do not have a vision, especially in spiritual matters, then you run from this doctrine to the next. You will run from this belief to the next. Your kids will love your mother but they will follow their father. It does matter what you believe in. It does matter who you believe in. All of us have a spiritual side to us and your kids and your spouse will follow your lead.

Joshua lets his family know, “hey this is the direction we are going …. We will serve the Lord!” Now … does this mean we shove religion down the throats of our wife and kids?  Do we force our kids to follow Jesus? Do we NOT listen to our spouse, our helpmate, in spiritual matters? I think we know the answer to that question. NO. What it means, out of their love and respect for you, is that they will follow your lead. That is scary!

Men, dad’s, grandpa’s – We got this!

• Lead spiritually in your homes.
• Stay in close contact with God.
• Pass on to your spouse and your children a love for God
• Have a vision for your family when it comes to spiritual matters.

Men, which God will  your family serve? Men, are you willing to take the spiritual leadership in your home? Men, what kind of example do you want to leave?

You got this!

(Click the pic to listen to it)

Top ten reasons it is good to be a man:
1).Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.

2). A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.

3). You can open all your own jars.

4).You can go to the bathroom and the kids won’t bother you.

5). It’s easier to go to the bathroom in the woods.

6). Wedding plans take care of themselves.

7).Your underwear is $10.00 for a three-pack and you can where them inside and out so technically you have 6 pack for $10.00

8). You don’t care if someone notices your new haircut.

9). If you retain water, it’s in a canteen.

10). And the last one, four letters – ESPN .

Paul wrote these words in I Corinthians 13:11

“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.”

There’s a great need in America today for boys to become men. And just because you’re 21, 51, 61 or older doesn’t mean you’re a man. Age has nothing to do with it. We have a lot of fully grown people who are still boys. They’re still acting like children. It’s still all about me, and it’s all about selfishness, and me and mine, and what I can get, and what feels good. And we have a need for boys to become men and for men to be men of God and men of honor, men of faithfulness, men of courage, and men of selflessness and sacrifice and service. James A. Garfield said this: “I mean to make myself a man. And if I succeed in that, I shall succeed in everything else.”

In the scripture we looked at in the last blog entry, I Corinthians 16:13:14

“Be on alert. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong. Let all you do be done in love. “

Becoming a man starts first with a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the greatest gift you can give to your wife and kids and others around you. Then, we look upward, inward and outward and be the man who God has designed us to be. It takes courage to begin a relationship with Christ and let Him change the way you think. It takes courage to do away with childish things, childish thinking, and childish attitudes. It takes courage to lead your home in spiritual things. It takes courage to bring your family to church. (this is not the trend in the 21st century). It takes courage to love your wife, girlfriend, or fiancé the way she deserves to be loved.

It takes courage not to say anything when your spouse messes up. It takes courage to pull up along-side of your kid(s) when they fail or do something wrong. It takes courage to tell your kids about when you messed up as a child and then praying with them and teaching them how to ask for forgiveness.  It takes courage to take the initiative and join the ranks of Joshua who said, “as for me my and my house, we will serve the Lord.” As for me and my house – we will love our enemies. As for me and my house – we will forgive those who have wronged us. As for me and my house – we will love those who persecute us.
As for me and my house – we won’t flip off the person who cuts us off on the interstate because our kids are watching our every move.

God is not calling us men to be perfect dads or perfect men. Such a person doesn’t exist. You are not called to be a perfect dad. You are not called to be a perfect g-pa. You are not called to be the perfect role model. Paul makes it pretty clear with scripture what we are called to. We are called to stop speaking like a child, reasoning like a child, and we are to put away childish behaviors. 

There is a difference between being childish and childlike. If you want to know what childishness looks like, just watch your kids, or someone kids and you get a picture of childishness really quick. Then ask yourself how am I acting like that child? Children are naturally self-centered, “it’s all about me and what I can get.” For children it is all about feeling good for the moment. Children pout when they don’t get their way. Children say dumb things like, “I hate you!” or “I never get what I want!” Childishness expects others to be perfect when you are not. Childishness explodes in erratic and irrational behaviors.

Dads, I think we know where are kids pick up their behaviors. Unfortunately …. Not only do our kids pick up our good behaviors but they also take our childish behaviors to the extreme. The things kids pick up most on is how spiritually dull or indifferent we are. In the last blog entry I shared a statistic that reflected the effects dad’s and grandpa’s have on the life of a child when it comes to spiritual things. If dads are dull and spiritually indifferent – its more than likely, no matter how spiritual the mom is, 80% of the kids will choose spiritual indifference. Spiritual indifference is not caring anything about your spiritual life or the life of your family.

I discipled a guy who didn’t care about anything spiritual before he met Christ. Nor did his family.  A young man starting coming to the student ministry  with a friend. While in the student program at the church he came to know Christ and his life was dramatically changed. It changed so much his parents thought he joined a cult. So his parents came to check out this church in Sidney. I met the dad, spent some time with him – and he came to know Christ. Before he came to know Christ, the boy had to explain to his dad what was going on in his life. There were some verbal battles. But once the dad became spiritually alive and began to care about the spiritual things in his family – his son was free to pursue ministry. His son is now the children’s pastor of one of the nation’s fastest growing churches in America. The dad is now a head of a motorcycle ministry that raises money for cancer patient. And now the mom helps with the same ministry.

It’s an extremely scary thought. But it’s true. Dad’s, men – you have that kind of influence in the life of your child.  No matter how good or bad your dad was ….  Most little boys want to be like their what? Their dads. Most little girls want to marry a guy like who? Their dads.

Dad’s, grandpa’s, and other men, this is why we need the courage to take the initiative to lead spiritually in our homes by praying for our kids and spouse, asking for forgiveness when we mess up, seeking God daily through Hiss word and worship, and knocking continuely on God’s door begging him to give you the courage to be the man he has designed you to be.

Look at the courage of David. He didn’t know how to fix chariots or make armor. He knew how to watch sheep and play a harp. David knew how to use a sling shot. He wrestled bears and killed lions. David knew Goliath was no match for him. He wasn’t stupid though … he took 5 smooth stones just in case he missed.

Where did David’s courage come from?  David knew what he was designed to do. He loved God with all his heart mind and soul. He knew something had to be done. All the others were scared by the size of Goliath. David knew, “the bigger they are the harder they fall.” David knew this was an opportunity for God to be glorified! But his courage didn’t come from what he knew and what he could do – that helped. His courage came from knowing that God was with him – live or die. Success or failure. 

The same is true for us…. Courage comes from knowing God is with us – live or die. Success or failure and doing what we are designed to do. David was doing what he was designed to do – protect God’s sheep.

How do you know what you are designed to do? First, ask yourself, what are good at? And write down everything you are good at. Second, pray, “God, how can the way I was raised, the experiences I have had, the talents you have given me, and the time I have to bless others.” Listen. Then, do it! You are called to do something greater than you are. Something that takes courage.

We are called to do something greater. I believe that’s why many of us connect with movies like American Sniper, The Gladiator, or Braveheart. These kinds of movie get our heart pumping because we know these men were willing to die for something much greater than video games, ESPN, or whatever keeps you from stepping up and being the man God has caused you to be.

I think we can all agree ….. there are some childish behaviors we need to let die. There are some childish actions that need that need to disappear. And this takes courage.

Will you be that man?