mondayschoolblog

Men, dads, grandpa’s you are the number one influence in the life of your children, your wife, and other young men you encounter. They have gathered together enough statistical evidence over the last 20-30 years that tells us that 80% of our children would go to church and follow Christ if the father would take the initiative and lead the way spiritually in their home. And the opposite is true. If the dad doesn’t take the initiative only 20% of our children would go to church and/or follow Christ. In other words they would see no need for the church or Christ in their life.

To put this in simpler terms, if dads not doing it, it is more than likely that the kids are not going to do it. If the dad is absent in spiritual things, our kids will more than likely will not be. I am not saying moms  don’t have a spiritual influence in the life of their children – but statistics are telling us you are second in line to your spouse. Obviously there are exceptions. But there aren’t very many. We are learning that there is something about those scriptures that say, “men are to be the spiritual leaders in their homes.” I know it not very politically correct to say that in the day and age in which we live, but I am betting on it that most moms and grandmas desire their husbands to take the spiritual lead in their homes (am I right ladies?).

A lot of men have passed off their responsibility for being the spiritual leader in their home to their spouse. According to the scriptures, that is not the way God had intended it to be! God needs men. God needs dads, God needs grandpa’s to take the spiritual initiative. God needs men who after God’s own heart! 

There is an even deeper issue going where we are failing our kids – many kids don’t even have a dad living at home. In 1960 – 82.5% of children lived with lived with a dad and mom in the home. 17.5% of children lived apart from their biological father. In 1970 – 77.6% of children lived with a dad and mom in the home. 22.4% lived apart from the biological father. In 1980 – 67.8% of children lived with a dad and mom in the home. 32.2% lived apart from their biological father. In 1990 – 61.7% of children lived with a dad and mom in the home. 38.3% lived apart from their biological father. This statistics doesn’t measure the number of dads who lived at home and weren’t emotionally, physically, or spiritually there for their kids. You could arguably equate these statistics with the decaying of the moral fabric in our society to the lack of men leading in their homes, the continued rise of single parent families, and the creation of the Caitlyn Jenners in our world – young boys/girls who are confused about their gender identity.

Men, dads, and grandpa’s, God has given you (according to the scriptures) this influence. He has given you this role to carry out in the life of your family and the other places of influence that you have. The scriptures point to the importance of the father’s role in the life of their kids.

Proverbs 17:6 says, “the glory of sons is their father.”

Men play a significant role in the life of their children.

• You can destroy them or give them life.
• You can discourage them or push them along.
• You can defeat them or give them dreams.

That is the power God has given you in the life of a child and in your home. Pretty scary isn’t it?

In meeting with young fathers through the week I encourage them to step up in their homes and be the leader God has called them to be. In meeting with young couples, I encourage the groom to be the spiritual leader in their home. What I am learning first hand is that  dad’s and grandpa’s are relinquishing their role and influence that God has given them. In some cases they also abuse this influence.

Yes, men are to provide for our families, be men of integrity,  take care of our homes and protect our kids/ wives, and love our wives. But first and foremost, we are to “seek him earnestly.” (Heb. 11:6) This is the greatest gift we can give to our spouse and kids.

I Corinthians 16:13-14 gives us this challenge:

Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong. Your every action must be done in love.

God has designed men to be courageous and to be godly examples in our homes and in our community. God has designed men to love and serve through controlled strength. He has designed men to stand to stand firm in the faith when waves crash and the beach erodes around us and around those we are called to lead, love, and protect. He designed them to build the lives of those we are responsible for on the bedrock that is Christ.

This can’t happen unless our own lives are founded on Christ. God wants men to do what men are designed to do! It starts with a relationship with Christ.

Then we need to start to:

Look upward.

God has called us first of all to be His worshipers – to hunger and thirst after Him. We hunger and thirst for a lot of things But nothing on this side of heaven will satisfy the longing in our heart. We try to satisfy the longing of heart with toys and stuff but those things always come up short and never fully satisfy. In fact they leave us longing for more money, more stuff, or more hours at work.

Psalm 73:25 – tell us, “I desire you more than anything on earth”

To desire Him more than your stuff will satisfy the longing in your heart because it is Him we are longing for in the first place. We just fill this desire with other things hoping they satisfy but deep down we know that they can only provide a temporary fix.

The psalmist (who is a guy) also says, “As the deer pants for water so my soul thirst for you.” This doesn’t appear to be a very manly thing to do but these psalms were written by men. It is the greatest thing you can do for your wife and kids, because when you hunger and thirst for him,  he changes you from the inside out and who gets the benefit. Our wife and kids.

Look Inward

This is tough for men to do (except if there is a fishing pole or fire involved). When you look upward it leads to an inward look. As soon as Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord (looked upward), he immediately became aware of his own sinfulness. It was the same with Job, Peter and John (Job 42:5,6; Lk. 5:8;Re. 1:17).

 2 Corinthians remind us, Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still (take a look inward), and know that I am God!”

In other words, when you become aware of His presence in your life you begin to realize how much you are not like Christ. When we become aware of our own shortcomings and how much we fall short of the glory of God – you are humbled and see your need for forgiveness and your need for God.

All throughout the scripture men were humbled. Jonah who got stuck in the belly of big fish, preached the shortest sermon ever recorded and a whole nation turned to God. Zacchaeus, the wee little man, had Jesus in his home. When Jesus left he was paying back everything four times the amount he cheated everybody.The pattern continues through the OT/NT – men meet Jesus, they talk, they were humbled. 

When you look upward and inward it leads to

Looking outward.

When you realize how much God has blessed you and forgiven you, you become a blessing to others. Since God has forgiven you so much, you forgive all who have harmed you. Since God has been so good to you he makes you aware of the needs of others around you. He who understands he has received freely from God, gives freely to others.He doesn’t seek any gain from others. Serving others becomes a way of life.
I Corinthians 16:13-14  reminds us that we to:

Be alert – Look for opportunities to be a blessing to your family and your community.

Stand firm in the faith – Never relinquish the spiritual leadership that you have in your home. Never give up on seeking God with all your hear, mind, and soul.

Be strong – This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Understand that God is with you wherever you go. In issues of integrity – he is with your wherever you go.. In issues of moral purity – he is with you wherever you go. In difficult decisions – he is with you wherever you go. In the midst of financial crisis – he is with you wherever you go. In days of uncertainties and your are not sure what to do – he is with you wherever you go.

And in everything you do – let every action be done in love. In other words, act like men who understands how much God loves them and return that love to your kids, your wife, and to those that know you.

We are called to look upward, inward, and outward. If we only look upward – that man would live an unrealistic life. He would be so heavenly-minded that he would be of no use here on earth. These kind of men miss the world around them. If you only look inward – that man would be depressed and discouraged most of the time. They think they are the only who falls short of the glory of God. They do things out of guilt rather than the glory of God. If you only look outward – that man’s work becomes shallow and self-serving.

To be strong and alert and stand firm in the faith we need to look upward, inward, and outward.

Men, be spiritual leaders in your homes.

Men, be a spiritual influence on the generation coming behind you.

Men, be who God designed you to be in issues of integrity, morality, and spirituality.

Men, examine yourself and let your faith be genuine.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (click on pick to listen to it)

24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”
37 Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.
40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

Can you envision a world without evil? If you can, we would not be in

it. Why is their evil in the world? Why didn’t God not simply make us so that we could not be sinful? This is the question of free will. Without free will we would simply be God’s puppets . Which means we could not truly love God. God desires a relationship with us – one that involves a choice. Because of that he allowed evil to exist. 

I John 5:19 reminds us, “We know that we are children of God and that the world is under control of the evil one.”

The Evil One has existed on this earth since Adam and Eve. When Jesus was born, soldiers were sent to kill all baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. The folks in Bethlehem witness the evil acts of an evil king. At the same time,  Joseph had been warned in a dream to flee. Joseph (OT) experienced the evil of man several times. The Evil One was allows to try to destroy Job’s faith. Almost every King during the times of which the scriptures were written was evil. They oppressed people and made them slaves.

In the 20th and 21st century we have witnessed all of kinds of evil:

• Thousands of Jews were killed in the Holocaust.
• ISIS is destroying human life.
• We have the memory of Columbine, Sandy Hook, and various university shootings.
• We have witnessed Charles Manson use mind control to manipulate his followers to kill others.
• We have witnessed cannibalism with Jefferey Dahlmer.
• We have witnessed Osama Bin Laden’s men crash into the towers and kill thousands of people.
• The U.S. dropped atomic bombs twice in retaliation of Japan bombing Pearl Harbor.

God is never the author of evil but He does allow it to happen. We like to blame God for the evil things happen. We also wonder why God doesn’t do anything about it. But even with his own son he didn’t stop it! He let evil men beat, mock, and destroy his son. God didn’t and still doesn’t stop evil from happening. In the midst of them destroying his son,  He was showing them grace. Even while He was on earth, Jesus didn’t even stop the evil in this world while he was here. His mission was not to eliminate the evil. His mission was to convince the world that His Father still, despite the evil, loved the world.  He let evil things happened to him to convince the world that God’s grace was there for  those who are evil and as well those who are good. He lets evil things happen  convince us that his grace is there for everyone who receive it and apply it to their life. God’s grace will not eliminate evil – but it has  the power to change someone’s life. Ann Spangler says, “Grace looks at every individual with respect and with love and the realization that they have the ability to know God, that there is something marvelous about the fact that they’re a human being with the ability to make choices and think.” Everyone has the ability to know God!

In a world that seems to be engulfed in evil, we sometimes forget in the midst of all this evil, there is wheat also growing in the field.  If you are a Christ follower, we are to look at every individual with respect, love, understanding knowing they have the ability to know God. It doesn’t mean they will accept God into their life but an act of grace, mercy,  compassion allows the Holy Spirit to penetrate the hardness of their heart. God wants everyone to experience His grace because he doesn’t want to destroy anyone. 

2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

God does not want anyone to be destroyed but He will destroy evil.

If God’s not going to eliminate evil, it’s certainly not our job to destroy evil or try to eliminate it.

What’s our job?

Our job is to let people know that God loves them. You can only do that by showing grace. Like the Indonesian village whose church and village was burned down by ISIS. In addition, ISIS killed hundreds of Christ followers. So what did they do? They took an offering of $5000 and gave it ISIS to help repair their mosque. (Voice of the Martyr). They didn’t retaliate. They showed grace. The Holy Spirit penetrated the hardness of their heart and some of them repented! God doesn’t want to destroy the people of ISIS he would rather they repent. But according to this parable, He will eventually destroy evil.

Our job is to be the fragrance of Christ.

2 Cor 2:15a – Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.

In the midst of injustice, in the midst of evil, in the midst of conflict, in the midst of unfairness, we are to be the fragrance of Christ. Where there is hurt, we are to be the fragrance of hope. Where there is injustice, we are to be the fragrance of peace. Where there is conflict, we are to be the fragrance of self-control. Where there is unfairness, we are be the fragrance of patience.

We are to be the perfume in an otherwise smelly situation.

Our job is to be the dispensers of grace. (credit to Philip Yancey for this phrase).

Does this mean we allow injustice to take place?  Does this mean we can’t oppose positions that are unbiblical? Does this mean we just allow evil to happen to others and let the “weeds” rule the world? Absolutely not!

Looked at Daniel did – he loyally served a corrupt empire. He did not compromise what he believed. He did not give up his Christian values to meet the secular expectations. He faithfully served a number of good and bad king and never stopped praying.

Look at what Esther did – she entered into a union with a non-God follower and through her godly influence she saved God’s people.

There was Obadiah, Jonah, Paul, Elijah, and anybody else you can read about in the Scriptures. They all opposed injustices, unfairness, and evil with grace and truth. Despite the evil they walked through, grace allowed them to speak truth and love to the people at the same time.

Grace is not grace unless there is truth involved. If there wasn’t a right and wrong we wouldn’t need grace. If there wasn’t good and evil we wouldn’t need grace. If there wasn’t justice and injustice we wouldn’t need grace. If there wasn’t fairness and unfairness we wouldn’t need grace. There would no reason for grace if there wasn’t evil in the world.  We wouldn’t have needed Jesus to die on the cross, need churches, or Christ followers.

Yes, evil destroys other human beings. Yes, evil creates unfairness. Yes, evil creates injustices. Yes, evil creates horrible consequences. According to this parable, God sees evil as an opportunity to demonstrate grace by being the salt and light of the earth. Grace shines brighter in the midst of darkness. Grace shines brighter when someone wrongs you and you respond with love, mercy, and compassion. The truth becomes powerful when grace is director. God sees evil as an opportunity for change to occur. Otherwise, he would pull the weeds. But according to this parable he is not going to pull the weeds.

Things sometime have to get darker before truth is heard. You can tell your kids not to touch the stove over and over again. The truth is you will get hurt. but there are some who need to touch the stove in order for the truth to be understood. You can warn others of the consequences of having sex before marriage, or how abusing alcohol, drugs, tv, internet or food or too much of anything can destroy your life. To be honest, in the darker moments of my life is when I heard Jesus the loudest. Why? Because I was desperate for answers. I was desperate for peace in my life. I was desperate for something to happen. It would be nice if Jesus would just answer our prayer and not let our kids nor us experience evil or dark times. But then, we would have no reason to pray and be with God.

The last four verses reminds us that evil doesn’t win!

40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

Until that happens. Until Jesus returns. We, Christ followers, are to stay in the weeds. We are to show grace to those who don’t earn it. We are to speak truth when people don’t want to hear it. We are to be compassionate when people need it. We are to show mercy when people don’t deserve it.

God needs you and I to stay in the weeds. He needs you and I to face the evils in this world. He needs you and I to pray against the evil forces of this world.  He needs you and I to speak truth with grace.

God doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed.

He wants everyone to repent!

Will you do it?

This a beautiful picture of how grace and mercy work together. The sermon is by Joel Forman, student pastor at the Marion First Church of God  and the director of the Exploration Station after school program. Click on the pic to hear it.

(click on the pic to listen to it) In the 1960’s, a Yale Divinity School graduate and Southerner named Will Campbell befriended student named Jonathan Daniels. Campbell and Daniels were each involved in the civil rights crusade. Campbell’s theology was undergoing some testing in those days. Much of the opposition to his civil rights work came from “good Christians”. Campbell found allies more easily among agnostics, socialists, and a few devout Northerners.
“In ten words or less, what’s the Christian Message?” one agnostic had challenged him. The questioner was P.D. East, a renegade newspaper editor who viewed Christians at the enemy.
Campbell replied, “We’re all bastards but God loves us anyway.”
The definition stung P.D. East, who, unbeknown to Campbell, was indeed illegitimate and had been called “bastard” all his life. He put that definition to a ruthless test on the darkest day of Campbell’s life. A day when the Alabama deputy Sheriff named Thomas Coleman gunned down Campbell’s twenty-six year old friend Jonathan Daniels.
That night Campbell spoke with P.D. East and got “the most enlightening theological lesson I ever had in my life.” P.D. East pressed Campbell on whether his definition of faith would stand the test.
Was Jonathan a bastard?” P.D. asked first? Campbell replied that though he was one of the most gentle guys he’d ever known, it’s true that everyone is a sinner. In those terms, yes, he was a “bastard.”
“All right. Is Thomas Coleman a bastard?” That question , Campbell found much easier to answer. You bet the murderer was a bastard.
Then P. D. pulled his chair up close, placed his boy hand on Campbell’s knew, and looked directly into his eyes. “Which one of those bastards do you think God loved the most?” The question hit home, like an arrow in the heart. (Yancey – What’s So Amazing About Grace?)

Which one do you think God loves the most?

The Sheriff who gunned down Johnathan Daniel? or Johnathan Daniel? or Both?

John 3:16 reminds us, “God so loved the world …..”

That is  difficult to swallow isn’t it? God loves the Sheriff just as much as he loved Jonathan Daniel. Even the person you hate the most deserves to experience the love of God when they really deserve the wrath of God. What we learn from this little story is the free offer of grace extends not just to the undeserving but to those who deserve the opposite. (Yancey)

Christ followers may build walls with people they hate or feel superior to because of the color of their skin or their economic status, We can’t afford to build any more walls.A relationship with Jesus tears down those walls.

What we will learn in this following parable is that Jesus tears down the skin color wall, the socio-economic wall, or whatever wall we build in our heart and mind.

Before you read the parable, you need to know that Samaritans were a mixed race produced when Jews from the northern kingdom intermarried with other people after Israel’s exile. There was a deep hatred between the Jews and Samaritans.

Luke 10:25-37
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Parable of the Good Samaritan
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Despite their differences in religion, despite their differences in economic status, despite their difference ethnicity, despite the hatred between these races, the good (but despised) Samaritan still treats the Jewish man like a human being.

Jesus is tearing down every prejudicial wall between human beings. It was shocking to the listener of the story to hear Jesus say. “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.” A Samaritan helped a Jew! I am pretty sure they fell off their proverbial chair.

One of the key elements of grace is compassion.

Compassion allows you to do something for someone despite the walls that you and/or the society have built. Compassion allows you to love and care when everybody else tells you it is the wrong thing to do.

Compassion literally means – “to suffer together”.

In the story of the good Samaritan, we read about the Samaritans who hated Jews and Jews who hated Samaritans. He was the only one willing to suffer with him. After all this happened Jesus ask an important question:

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?”

It was the one who did something! The despised Samaritan did something. Not because he had to. The Samaritan helped a Jew. Not because he was expected to …. But because he was filled with compassion. The man had (not the Jewish man) a need. The other man (not the Samaritan man) could help meet the need. Remove the labels and you have a man helping another man. Despite the difference in race between the Samaritan and Jew – he did something. Despite the intense hatred between these two races – he did something.

Jesus teaches us that hatred and prejudice get you nowhere. Hatred and prejudice only breed more hatred and more prejudice. I saw this first hand when we dropped my sister off at her high school in 1970. Schools were being forced to desegregate. I watched my sister walk through shielded police to get into the school because they were afraid of a riot.  On a more personal level, our best friends growing up were African/American. They were the Browns. I got my best friend to come to church with me and get involved in kid’s choir. We also got a couple of other boys from the family to come to church. One of them stayed long enough to get married in the church. They didn’t stay very long because there were a few people in our church who had trouble with skin color and ask my dad, “why on earth are you bringing those people here? They don’t belong here.“

Christ followers are called to show compassion. The church in the book of Acts grew exponentially not because of the great preaching and great music and great looking buildings. It grew exponentially because they showed compassion to people who they religiously disagreed with. They showed compassion to the people who had been abandoned and left for dead. They came in cared for them. This is why the church grew so much so fast. They were willing to suffer with them.

How do you show compassion (or suffer with) to someone you hate or simply disagree with? How do you show compassion (or suffer with) to someone who society tells you shouldn’t?

#1 You begin by asking the question …. “do they deserve to know that they are loved by God?”

If you can answer yes to that question – then do a simple act of kindness. When I worked with the homeless in Atlanta, GA a number of years ago, our leader told us the greatest thing you can do for a homeless is not give them money, or buy them food – those are good things – but to look them in the eye and treat them like a human being.

Our enemies, the people we don’t like, the people we don’t agree with, and those who deserve something other than the love of God are to be treated like a human being! Compassion allows you to treat them like a human being. You don’t let them leave your presence without them knowing they are loved.

“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

When you love others you are loving God. We learn to love others by loving God. The opposite is true to. If you refuse to love others, there is no way you can love God. You can’t love others without loving God first. When you love, compassion will follow.

#2 Ask God to help you show compassion

Showing compassion is not a natural we thing we do.  In fact,  it is a supernatural thing that happens inside. People who have gone through cancer can show compassion (suffer with) those who have cancer. There is a breaking that happens inside of you. When your heart is broken for them you can pray for them, you can listen to them, and you even create time for them.

If you are having trouble loving those who are less fortunate than you – go and hang out at your local mission that serves meals a few times a week. Sit with some of the regulars and you will learn they suffer the same way you suffer.

Go to a nursing home and ask if you can visit with some one who hasn’t had a visitor in while. You will definitely learn compassion by sitting a listening to their story.

Go and visit your children and youth ministries. You will see the most compassionate people in action.

Go to a different country and experience a culture that is different from the one you live in. Ask God to help you then go to these places that will teach you how to do it.

#3 Do something to demonstrate and says God loves them too.

He just doesn’t love you! He also loves your enemy. He loves the person you can’t stand to be around. He loves your supervisor who you can’t stand. We tend to think God only loves the lovely. But the profound truth in this simple song is often missed:

Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world

Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight

Jesus loves the little children of the world

God loves PERIOD.

One of the greatest pictures I saw during the riots in Baltimore is a little black boy handing a white police officer a bottle of water. Here was a boy who recognized someone’s need and he had compassion for him. The greatest way to demonstrate the love of God is through simple acts of kindness. They don’t have to be extraordinary acts – they simply need to be acts that causes something to break in you.

I believe this is what makes grace so amazing – compassion.

We are learning in the 21st century that people are not drawn to Jesus by church buildings, great programs, or even great preaching. Religious people are.

People are drawn to Jesus by the compassion of his followers.

Jesus is the only one who can tear down the walls that you have built or have been built for you. If you love him, you will show compassion to others. Jesus is the only one who can show you what you need to do and give you the courage to do it. Jesus is the only one who can give you the courage to do an act of kindness that says, “God loves you too.” It’s an awkward feeling at the start – but when you keep doing it time and time again – something supernatural happens inside of you.

How compassionate are you?

(click on the pic to listen) In 2003, Eric Smallridge, of Tallahassee, Fla., was found guilty of two counts of DUI manslaughter. While driving at twice the legal limit for alcohol, he hit a car carrying Lisa Dickson and Meagan Napier, both 20, killing both girls instantly. He got 22 years for the crime, which sounded just about right to Renee Napier, Meagan’s mom.
“I felt like our system had served us well and justice had been served. I definitely felt that,” Renee says.
But a few years later, a woman came forward and asked the judge to reduce Eric’s sentence by half. She claimed Eric was truly sorry for what he’d done and deserved leniency. The judge obliged — partly because of what she said, but mostly because of who she was.
Renee’s 180-degree shift began with the single turn of a single phrase. First at Eric’s sentencing and later in a letter, Renee told Eric she’d forgiven him, even though, at the time, she hadn’t — not really. At trial, Eric had actually been pretty defensive and unapologetic.
“I could hate him forever and the world would tell me that I have a right to do that,” Renee says. “It’s not going to do me any good, and it’s not going to do him any good. I would grow old and bitter and angry and hateful. … In my opinion, forgiveness is the only way to heal.”

Forgiveness IS the only way to heal your broken heart/spirit.

• If someone has hurt you – forgive them
• If someone has disappointed you – forgive them
• If someone has betrayed you – forgive them
• If someone has “done you wrong” – forgive them.

They don’t deserve it. The will never earn it. But Jesus did it ……. ALOT!

Why did Jesus forgive? It was not because he had to and it was expected of him. It was because He wanted the people to know how much His Father loved them. 

If you are wondering whether or not you should forgive someone, you do not have to nor is it a requirement. Instead one must ask the question, “how much do I want them to know that God loves them?”

Forgiving someone is not about making yourself feel better. You never feel better after you been hurt by someone. Forgiveness really has nothing to do with what you want. Forgiveness allows others to experience the love of God.

Jesus forgave Peter for the worst thing you can do to another human being.

Look at Mark 14:66-72

66 Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by 67 and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.”
68 But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.
69 When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again.
A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.”
71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time.
 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept.

Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. He was part of what they call the inner 3.  Peter spent three years traveling with Jesus. Sitting around campfires with Jesus. Laughing with Jesus. Peter is the one who said, “don’t wash my feet but wash my whole body.”  Peter is the one who boldly answered, “you are the messiah,” when asked by Jesus “who do YOU say that I am?” One could argue that Peter was one of Jesus’ best friends.

Yet with win the pressure was on he completely denied that He even knew him!• I sometimes wonder what was more painful, Peter’s denial or the nails going through his hands and feet. I am willing to bet that they were equally painful.

You have more than likely walked through some painful things in life. One of the most painful things I have ever had to walk through happened when I got home three hours after my curfew. I tried to be quiet. I tried to open the backdoor quietly and sneak in. When I opened the backdoor guess who was waiting for me on the back steps? My mother.

Before I tell you this rest of the story, I want you to know that my mother and I had a great relationship (she passed away a few months ago). But both of us messed up this night.

My mother was furious  and began yelling at the top of her lungs. Being the mature son, I yelled back at the top of my lungs. This went on for a minutes and each time the our voices got louder. Neither one of us was willing to give in. Finally, she said words that no child should ever hear: “I wish you would have never been born!”

I didn’t know what to say back. I was stunned. I turned away from her and walked to my room in silence. I began thinking, “my mother just told me, ‘I wish I never knew you! She wished I never existed!'” When someone wishes you never existed whether it is out of anger or not, it causes excruciating pain.

Most people said things to our spouse, our kids, a friend, or our parents that we wish we could have taken back. Because of him weeping bitterly, I am sure Peter wishes he could take back that moment of failure and verbal betrayal. But he couldn’t. I couldn’t. My mom couldn’t.

So …… what needs to happen?

Someone needs to step up and begin the process of forgiveness. Otherwise, hatred, bitterness, hardness of heart, and the dehumanization of another human being or as Yancey called it in my last blog entry,  “ungrace”, takes place.

If you are a Christ follower, that someone is you!

Matthew 5:15 tells us,

“But if you do not forgive other their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Jesus is telling us forgiving others is important. Why is forgiveness so important?

When you forgive (according to Lewis Smedes), you surrender  your right to get even. Someone needs to give up their right to get even others wise God cannot begin the forgiveness process.  Forgiving someone is a verb not a noun. Someone has to do something in order for God to do something.

This is why it is so important: If you’re harboring bitterness, if your holding a grudge, or if there is hate in your heart, you are just as guilty as the one who has hurt you.

 Look at what these scriptures say,

I John 3:15

Anyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgement. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement.

Forgiveness is a big deal. There are some eternal consequences if you don’t.

Secondly, you give your enemies humanity back. Even though Jesus was treated cruelly, he still saw those who were mistreating him as human beings. He said, “father forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.”

Your enemies are created in the image of God – just like you. Your enemies are loved by God – just like you. Your enemies have sinned against God – just  like you. They are a person who deserves the opportunity to experience forgiveness – just like you.

When there is no forgiveness you are saying that person is not created in the image of God.

Forgiveness is a big deal

The third reason forgiveness is important is you get the freedom to wish that person well. They are not going to be your best friend. You probably won’t invite them to your house any time soon. You probably won’t name any children after them. But you get the freedom to hope they do well.

Romans 12:15 says,

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn.”

When you refuse to forgive someone – you are not hurting them – you are hurting yourself. You are the one who is being held spiritually and emotionally hostage.

You read about this in the story of Joseph. He was able to forgive his brothers for trying to destroy him. He told them, “what you meant for evil, God turned it into good.” This is exactly what God will do – if you choose to forgive. He will turn your hurtful situation into an opportunity to do something supernatural in you and the person who has offended you.

Forgiveness is supernatural.  God is the only person who can turn what was intended to harm or destroy you into something that will draw you closer to Him.

When you forgive, you are willing to be open to the what God wills.

If you remember the story from the last blog entry, you read about the young seminarian who forgave the members of the gang who beat him up and God opened up their heart. The supernatural began to happen. God’s will is for all mankind to know him. The young man was set free from bitterness and was able to share with them how much God loved them. Some of the gang members came to know Christ because the young seminarian was able to forgive and let go of the bitterness.

Forgiveness is important because Jesus forgave us and he tells us we are to forgive others. Do others deserve to be forgiven.   NO.
Are others entitled to forgiveness?  NO.

This is where grace comes in. It is a supernatural act of God (it can’t be explained fully how it works) that allows the process of forgiveness to take place.

You can’t forgive without grace and you can’t give grace without forgiving.

Jesus forgave Peter. He went on to become the rock of the church.

Jesus forgave my mom. She continued to love me as  her son.

Jesus forgave me. I was able to love her back.

I forgave my mom and my mom forgave me. How do I know that happen? I was able to mourn when she left this earth.

For forgiveness to begin, one must ask the question, “how much do i want the other person know they are loved by God?”

You can’t afford not to forgive.

There is the true story of a seminary student in Chicago who faced the unconditional love test. Although he preferred to work in some kind of ministry, the only job he could find was driving a bus on Chicago’s south side. One day a gang of tough teens got on board and refused to pay the fare. After a few days of this, the seminarian spotted a policeman on the corner, stopped the bus, and reported them. The officer made them pay, but then he got off. When the bus rounded a corner, the gang robbed the seminarian and beat him severely. He pressed charges and the gang was rounded up. They were found guilty. But as soon as the jail sentence was given, the young Christian saw their spiritual need and felt pity for them. So he asked the judge if he could serve their sentences for them. The gang members and the judge were dumbfounded. “It’s because I forgive you,” he explained. His request was denied, but he visited the young men in jail and led several of them to faith in Christ.

This is a beautiful picture of grace in action when someone has wronged you:

• He had been wronged.
• He was beaten severely.
• He pressed charges.
• Then wanted to serve their sentence
• Went to visit them in jail.
• He ended leading several of them to Christ.

For Christ followers – this is one of the hardest things to do. Why is it so hard for Christ followers to love someone unconditionally when they have been wronged? Loving someone unconditionally is not our natural response. From nursery school on we are taught to succeed in the world – in the words of Philip Yancey – the world of ungrace. oWe are trained to work hard for what we earn and the early bird gets the worm. There is no such thing as a free lunch.  We are trained to demand our rights. You get what you pay for. We want fairness. We want people to get what they deserve.

If you read the gospels you hear a totally different story.  We did not get what I deserved. We deserved punishment and got forgiveness. We deserved wrath and got Gods love. God’s grace is free of charge, no strings attached. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less. (Yancey) What God gives to us is totally undeserved and unearned.

In the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). You have the younger brother who went and squandered his inheritance. You have the self-righteous older brother who stayed at home and did everything by the book. The younger brother excepted the forgiveness of the father. The older brother couldn’t show his younger brother grace. He thought that what his father did for the younger brother wasn’t right. He thought his younger brother deserved to be punished.

What did the father do? He ran and he embraced his younger son! He also had a talk with his older son when he wouldn’t come to the party. The younger brother accepted the father’s forgiveness. The older son hardened his heart and wouldn’t come to the party.

What this story teaches us is that – whether we like it or not God loves the undeserving.  The older and the younger brother did not deserve to be loved. God loved them both unconditionally. The younger accepted his love but the older brother rejected it. Christianity is the only religion that makes God’s love unconditional. The Buddhist have the eight fold path, the Hindu has the doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant and the Muslim code of law offers a way to earn God’s approval.

What’s puzzling to me is, “why do many Christians make God’s love conditional?” The younger brother and the older brother were both trying to make God’s love conditional. The younger brother had a speech already that gave the father the conditions he was going to come back on. The older brother had another kind of speech ready that said he was being treated unfairly. We still try to do that. We still try to make God’s love conditional.We still try to tell God who deserves to be loved and who doesn’t. We still try to measure up to God’s standard of living. The truth is none of us can measure up to God’s standard of living. The police officers in Baltimore can’t measure up and the young black man whose spine was broke can’t measure up. Label them any way you want but Romans 3:23 reminds us we all fall short of the glory of God. This is why we need to understand God’s amazing grace.We need grace to enable us to unconditionally love those who don’t deserve to be loved.  We need grace to be able to love those who have wronged us. (our prodigals)

Like I said in the previous blog entry there  is nothing your children did that convinced you to love them. You simply loved them. You accepted them as they are. You have bought them gifts when they didn’t really deserve it. There are people in our life who have wronged us, hurt us, and discouraged us. The gospels to teach we are to love them.

Do they deserve it? No.
Do they have to earn love from you?….. No.
Do they have to jump through hoops, stand on their head, and shout, “I love Barney!”  No.

God tells us simply to love them.

Jesus did this all the time. He was mistreated by Pharisees but he still loved them. He was abandoned by his closest friends but he still loved them. He was mocked, ridiculed, and left for dead by his enemies. Despite the unfairness of the way he was treated he still loved them. He couldn’t make them love him back. He couldn’t make them understand that what they were doing to him was wrong. He simply said Father forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing.

If you are a Christ follower, you are called do the same. We are called to love the undeserving. We are called to go the second mile. We are called to love our enemies. We are called to love our neighbor as our self.

It’s totally unfair. Grace is totally unfair because it’s about the other person not getting what we think they truly deserve. Sometimes grace lets the other person win. Sometimes grace lets the other person get their way. Sometimes grace lets them go scot-free without any kind of punishment.  This is where the Christ-followers are going to make the difference in a world filled with ungrace.

Remember the story at the beginning? The young seminarian tried to take their punishment. He didn’t give up there! No he went the second mile and went to the guys who beat him up! He introduced each of them to Christ. He loved his enemies and some of them became his brothers in Christ. Didn’t it make a difference in those guys lives? You better believe it. Whether they followed Christ or not they experienced the unconditional love of God.

How do you do that?

First of all, one must be convinced that everyone deserves to experience the love of God. Like them you were undeserving. It appears that the more undeserving a person feels the more that person feels drawn to Jesus. On the other hand, the ones who believe they are deserving (the ones who think they are more righteous than others, the ones who have their life together) feel threatened by the Jesus (like the older brother). It doesn’t make a difference how righteous or how together your life is – you are still no more deserving to be loved by God than the looters of Baltimore or Ferguson.

Secondly, you must lead with humility.

I met a young man whose name is David Blough. He is one of the most humble young men I have ever met. He shared his story of how Jesus has changed his life. David is a sophomore at Purdue and according to ESPN is one of the top six quarterbacks in the nation.  As impressive as his accolades are, he knew that everything he had been given to Him to by God. I sensed from him he didn’t think he deserved any of the accolades he was receiving. His humility gave it away. He simply was honored that coaches across America would consider him to be their starting quarterback. He leads with humility.

Leading with humility means you don’t have to be right all the time. You don’t have to proves others wrong all the time. You don’t have to hold grudges against others. Leading with humility  is the only way you can love someone with unconditional love. Like in the last blog entry, find the most difficult person in your life right now and humble yourself. Don’t think of yourself better than them. In fact, loving them unconditionally means you think they are better than you. 

Jesus didn’t think he was better than others. He simply humbled himself and loved others. He served everyone. Paul didn’t think he was better than others. He called himself the worst of sinners. The young man at the beginning of this entry didn’t think he was better than the kids who were in jail. His prevailing goal was to introduce them to Jesus.

Thirdly, live in grace.

Grace says the person who wronged you needs to be loved by you. Grace says there is nothing fair about loving others unconditionally. Loving others unconditionally requires a lot of grace. That’s how we love our spouse, our kids, our best friends.  It’s easy to love them unconditionally. Jesus says, we are to extend grace to others whether they are deserving or not.

We all have prodigal people in our life. People who have cashed in their relational inheritance by wronging you. We are called to go and love them with an undeserving, unconditional, unmerited kind of love. Who knows? Maybe the might meet Jesus.

Will you love the prodigal’s in your life the way the Father loved His prodigal?

(click on the pic to listen to it) When CS Lewis overheard a group of young biblical scholars debating over what made Christianity so different from the other religions. He said the thing that separates Christianity from all other religions is grace. All of the other religions require you to do a certain group of tasks in order to measure up or earn your way to heaven.
In Christianity you can’t earn anything thing. Everything is given to you as a gift. It’s up to you to open the gift. No one can earn a gift. If they had to earn it …. Then it isn’t a gift. It was a reward for good behavior.

Think about this for a moment;

• Our children don’t earn a birthday party
• Our children don’t earn their Christmas presents
• Our spouses didn’t earn our love.

We simply give it! Why? Out of love for them. We didn’t have to do it. We aren’t forced to do it. But because of our love for them we wanted to do it.

Grace is one of those gifts that God wants to give us. Like our children, spouse, or special friend there is nothing we can do to earn it. He’s not going to force it on us. He simply says here it is and do what you want with it.

You can abuse it – but it will do you no good and it won’t change your life.

or

You can use it and experience freedom from religion, freedom from having to perform, freedom from spiritual check lists, and freedom from having to make God proud of you.

Grace says, “I am already proud you.” Grace says, “I already love you”. Grace says, “You are free to love God with all your heart mind and soul.”

Look at John 8:1-11

8 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

This is the story of the prodigal daughter. The story begins early one morning when a crowd gathered in the temple courts to hear Jesus teach. The Feast of the Tabernacles has just come to an end, which meant that great crowds would still be in Jerusalem. As Jesus teaches, he is suddenly interrupted by a crowd of men surrounding an embarrassed woman. The men are insistent on pushing their way through the crowd until they (and the woman) are standing before Jesus.

Who were these men? They are “teachers of the law” and Pharisees. They were the religious leaders of the Jewish people. That meant they were well-educated, well-known, and reputed to be men of wisdom and high moral standards. If anyone had a question about the Law of Moses, these were the men who had the answers. But although they were religious, they were not godly and their intentions on this day are not good. As the story unfolds, we discover that they are proud, self-confident, arrogant, ruthless, cunning, clever, calculating, and thoroughly hypocritical.

Who was the woman? We do not know. Was she single, engaged, or married? We do not know. What previous relationship might she have had with any of these men? We do not know. Is she very young or is she middle-aged? We do not know. This text tells us all we know about her; everything else is speculation.

How did they catch her in the “act of adultery?” Again, we can’t be sure, but something fishy seems to have been going on. The rabbinic law was very specific on this point. Since adultery was technically a capital offense, the law demanded that any accusation be a literal eyewitness testimony. It would not be enough to say, “I saw them entering the bedroom and then I saw them leave.” It must be more detailed and precise than that. Hearsay testimony would not be accepted for a charge like this. So how did these men “happen” to catch her “in the act?” We don’t know.

And that leads to a crucial question. Where is the man? Adultery by definition requires two people. It is not likely that the man somehow escaped but the woman didn’t. Perhaps it was a set-up. Perhaps they talked the man into seducing the woman so they could catch her in the act. By prearrangement they then let the man go free. As the succeeding verses make clear, these men didn’t care about the woman one way or the other. If this is a set-up, they have already caused adultery and apparently would be willing to cause a murder as well, so great was their hatred of Jesus.

The answer to all these questions can be answered in vs. 4-6a,

4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him….

What these religious leaders intended for evil. Jesus turned it into something good. They wanted to destroy this woman to prove a point. They wanted to trap Jesus and destroy Him.

What Jesus does is simply incredible. He took the focus off the woman and turned the focus on to the religious leaders.He turns to them and says, “if you have never sinned …. cast the first stone. The religious leaders wanted to talk about the woman – Jesus wanted to talk about them.

In the midst of this story, Jesus shows her grace. He was the only sinless man there. He could have thrown the stone! The law told him he had permission to kill her. Adultery was a capital offense and  punishable by death. Jesus simply says to her, “where are your accusers and go and sin no more.”

Jesus gives her an undeserved gift. That’s what grace is an underserved gift. There is nothing she could do to deserve it. There is nothing she could say to talk Him out of it. All she could was love Him back by accepting it and sin no more. 

The same is true for us. All we need to do is love Him back by accepting it and sin no more.

Paul elaborates in Romans 6:6 what Jesus means by “sin no more.”

6 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

If you truly have experienced the grace of God – the desire to sin diminishes. It diminishes because you KNOW you have received something that you KNOW you didn’t deserve. This is why those who have come out of dark circumstances seem to understand grace better than those who have just studied it and/or talked about it.

I mentor a young man who wants to become a better dad. As a married, young, man he was into drugs and alcohol. He wife threatened him one day to grow up or get out. She started going to church. He promised her he would go to church. After several failed attempts she said, “stop messing around and start leading the way.” He knew he deserved divorce. He had failed her many times. He knew he deserved jail. Instead … he found Christ. He started going to church with his wife and  he hated it at first. One Sunday morning he noticed a little eight year old singing at the top of her lungs and raising her hands in worship. God broke him. Several weeks later, he made a commitment to follow Christ the rest of his life. He’s a better dad. A better husband. A better man. He didn’t do anything. He simply started loving God. Grace allowed all this to happen.

This man deserved divorce and jail. Instead, he got life.  This woman  in the story deserved, according to Rabbinic law, death. Instead Jesus gave her life!

This is what grace does – it gives life.

• It saves marriages
• It restores relationships
• It changes the direction of people’s lives

God has been doing this since time began. In the OT – Israel deserved death but God gave them life time and time again. For those who choose to love Him back – he always gives life. You also see it all the through the New Testament:

• The woman at the well. She brought the whole village out to meet Jesus.
• Zacchaeus. He gave back 4 times the amount that He cheated out of people.
• The publican. he couldn’t stop praising God and praying.
• The prostitute. She had been set free and couldn’t crying and washing the feet of Jesus with her tears and hair.
• All of the disciples who had deserted him. They came back together and carried the message redemption forward.

When you experience the grace of God something happens in and to you. How can you tell if you have experienced the grace of God in your life?

• You go from having to go to church to getting to go to church
• You go from having to pray to getting to pray.
• You go from having to read the scriptures to getting to read the scriptures
• You from having to serve to getting to serve.
• You go from having to – getting to
• You go from having an ungrateful heart to a grateful heart.
• You are thankful for what God did for you on the cross.

When you love God back you will begin to experience life – you begin to experience grace at its fullest. You KNOW you don’t deserve it. You KNOW you can’t say sorry enough. Because of what you have experienced you want others to experience this grace. You don’t want to keep to yourself. You want people to experience the life you have experienced.

Grace creates a grateful heart. In many cases it causes tears in your eyes or forces you to your knees knowing that you don’t deserve what’s going on your life right now. Like the woman in the story your response to this grace is to want to love Him back. When you love Him back you don’t want to sin anymore. You want to thank him by giving Him the control of your life and allowing His spirit to change the way you think.

This woman knew what she deserved but instead she experienced the unmerited favor of God.

All of us know what we really deserve.We know that we are not entitled to grace but God gives it to us freely. Our job is simply to receive it and open it up.

God is giving you this gift the same way he gave it to the woman in this story.

He is asking us to one of three things:

1. Stop throwing stones at other people
2. Open the gift and go send no more
3. Or both

There is a story about a grandfather who wanted to see how much his four-year-old granddaughter knew about the Easter story. He put her on his lap and asked, “Julie, why do we celebrate Easter?” Without hesitating, she said, “Jesus was crucified. After He died, His body was put into a grave. They rolled a big stone in front of the opening. A bunch of soldiers guarded the tomb. On the third day, there was a big earthquake and the stone rolled away.”

Grandpa was pleased with how much his granddaughter knew about the Easter story but then she continued, “When the earthquake happened, the entire town came out by the grave. And if Jesus came out and saw His shadow, they knew there would be six more weeks of winter!”

I Corinthians 15:17 

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

Jesus is not a fairy tale.

For thousands of years people have tried to prove that Jesus’ death and resurrection is just a fairy tale. For thousands of years people have tried to prove that his death and resurrection isn’t a fairy tale. It is a never ending battle of words against words.

Scientists have attempted to explain away any possibility of near death experiences by saying that “Within the first 30 seconds after the heart had stopped, all the mammals displayed a surge of highly synchronized brain activity that had features associated with consciousness and visual activation. The burst of electrical patterns even exceeded levels seen during a normal, awake state.”

I have had “tweeting battles” over the past couple of years with atheists who for some reasons follow my tweets that are mostly scripture (tweet me at @trsouth87). It has been a never-ending war with words. There is no way I could prove that God exists and they can’t prove to me that God didn’t exist.

As important as I think words are, and as much as I like to prove others wrong, and as much as I want to persuade them and you to believe that his death and resurrection did happen. As much as I want to persuade them and you that without his death resurrection there would not be hope. As much as I want to persuade you to believe that without his death and resurrection your faith is futile;

If his death and resurrection doesn’t cause you to think different
If his death and resurrection doesn’t cause you to have a different attitude
If his death and resurrection doesn’t affect the direction of your life
If his death and resurrection doesn’t affect what or who you put your belief in
If his death and resurrection doesn’t affect the way you think and feel

Your faith is futile which means it’s powerless.

His death and resurrection is only a fairy tale. His death is only a fairy tale with a happy ending if it’s not transforming your life.

Believing in his death and resurrection and knowing that’s it true and saying “thank –you for dying on the cross for me” does not transform your life. Even showing up for church on Easter doesn’t transform your life. Like some my atheist debaters on twitter ask me – show me the evidence! Show the commitment. Show me the surrender! Show me you meant it.

A young man who was a part of my student ministry years ago use to steal from me. He came to know Christ and immediately he started running. Not a marathon. It was more like a 100 yard dash to him. He used to sit in my office and read scripture all the time. He would ask me questions. It got rather annoying. I sat him down and told him he was going to fast. He is going to burn out and flame out. Well, he didn’t listen to me. He flamed out. After he flamed out, he was kicked out of his house. He still came to church after that only to unlock a window so he could sneak in at night to sleep on the youth couch. He didn’t have any food so he ate the candy in the youth room. During this time he was on drugs, getting drunk, and was totally messed up. He finally joined AA. He rediscovered his faith and started following Christ. again. One day he stopped in my office. He started talking and tears were flowing down from his eyes and his voice was quivering. He asked for forgiveness for all that he had done and for all the candy he stole. I knew he didn’t have a job but he handed me a $50 to pay for all the candy he stole in that 6 month period of time.

He was transformed. He was committed. He life and his decisions reflected it. He knew that Jesus had died for him. He knew that Jesus was resurrected from the dead for him. It took him a couple of years to let that story sink into his heart and mind. Once it did …. his life was flipped right side up.

It’s a true story. The cross and tomb are still both empty! He was raised from the dead. He walked the earth and thousands witnessed it. It changed the history of the world.

It’s not just a matter of believing that its true. All of us believe in something. Even atheists believe. For an atheists they believe that the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection is just a fairy tale. It’s a nice story OR it is just a legendary story. It is just like all the other religions stories.

Who or what you believe in does matter. Belief is an intellectual pursuit of the truth. All of us in here have a belief system. It effects are daily life. How we spend our time? How we make decisions? How we spend our money?

Many people have made Jesus a part of that belief system. Do you see the problem? Many have only made Jesus a PART of their belief system. When he becomes a part of the belief system he becomes one of many gods we worship. What I mean by this is that He becomes just a plaque on the wall, or a Christian book or magazine, or a Jesus bumper sticker or that little fishy emblem simply declaring who we believe in. The bottom line is not everyone who believes in him actually puts their faith in Him.

One of my favorite stories is about the great Charles Blondin.Charles Blondin’s greatest fame came in June of 1859 when he attempted to become the first person to cross a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile across the mighty Niagara Falls. He walked across 160 feet above falls several times, each time with a different daring feat – once in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, in the dark, and once he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet! On one occasion though, he asked for the participation of a volunteer. In 1859 at Niagara Falls, A large crowd gathered and a buzz of excitement ran along both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oooohed!” and “Aaaaahed!” as Blondin carefully walked across one dangerous step after another — blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow. Upon reaching the other side, the crowd’s applause was louder than the roar of the falls! Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: “Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?” The crowd enthusiastically shouted, “Yes, yes, yes. You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. You can do anything!” “Okay,” said Blondin, “Get in the wheelbarrow…..” Everyone believed that Blondin could do it … no one was willing to put their faith in him.

Anyone can believe – but believing is just an intellectual pursuit.

Faith is more of a heart issue.

When Jesus was crucified and pronounced dead everything the disciples believed was crushed. He had told them a couple of times that he was going to die and would be resurrected. Once it actually happened what they believed was put to the test. It now went from a head issue to a heart issue:

“Am I still going to follow Him?”

Am I still going to believe in Him” ….. Even though He’s gone?”

Believing affects your head. Faith affects your heart.

After Jesus death and resurrection, the disciples were immediately transformed from men who were hopeless and fearful after the crucifixion into men who were confident and bold witnesses of the resurrection.

But there still was doubt – The women who saw the empty tomb, couldn’t believe their eyes. They couldn’t find his dead body any where.Was it stolen? If it was they would have brought in the first century CSI unit and they would have been able to produce a body to stop the successful spreading of the Christian faith in the very city the crucifixion occurred. Was He even dead? Wasn’t he just unconscious? I am sure he woke from being beaten near to death and stabbed in the side, removed the 2 ton stone, overcame the soldiers, and vanished from history after a few meetings with his disciples in which he convinced them he was risen from the dead.

Or did he really rise from the dead? Am I just being gullible? Jesus said it would happen. The disciples said it happened. The women saw the tomb rolled away. They saw the linens they wrapped him in on the slab. Hundreds of witnesses actually saw Jesus walking around. Is it gullible to believe that the supernatural happened?

I have been told by some atheists over the past couple of years that I was believing in a fairy tale and that Jesus was just an emotional and psychological crutch. If they ever tell me that again – I am going to say, “yes, He is my crutch” what’s yours?”

Believing in and putting your faith in his death and resurrection changes the direction of your life.

• His death and resurrection transformed the criminal that was hanging on the tree hanging next to him into a committed follower.
• His death and resurrection transformed some hopeless and fearful men and women into bold witnesses of the resurrection.
• His death and resurrection transformed a pagan holiday which worshiped the god of fertility and the god of weather into a Christian holiday where we now celebrate his death and resurrection.
• It turned this weak, little boy who was shy and timid and literally walked on in jr. hi school, ignored in high school, and didn’t have a clue to what he was going to do with his life in college, into a man who now boldly proclaims to you that his death and resurrection did happen and putting your faith in him, giving your heart to him will change your life.

Fairy tales are nice and they make us feel good and they always have a happy ending but they can’t change your life. But understanding (understanding is where the heart and mind come together) that a man loved you so much He was willing to lay down his life to prove that He loves you. He is simply wanting us to love Him back. That’s why he came back to life. So we could love him and prove to us that it was just a fairy tale.

His death and resurrection is not a fairy tale. Thousands of people saw Him die. Thousands of people saw Him walking around after he rose on the 3rd day. And millions of people have given their life for Him. And people still today are being martyred because of their faith and belief in his death and resurrection.

What about you?

Is your faith real or do you believe it is just a fairy tale?

(click the pic to  hear it) Ralph is a good old boy. He is in his late 80’s and he loves Jesus. I visit Ralph in the nursing home and just recently in the hospital. Ralph sits near the front at church and when God touches his heart, his hands come up offering praise to the God he loves. In one of my visits with Ralph I asked him about his soul. More precisely I asked him if he knew Jesus. He said, “yes!” He went on to tell me that a good friend of his invited him to his church in his 20’s. His friend had talked to him about knowing Jesus. When Ralph left this particular evening he was changed man. All his friend did was be his friend and invite him to church. The end of the story is Ralph now worships the only true God and his life was changed for eternity. All because of a friendship. At the end of our conversation, Ralph said, “people are full of sh** if they think they are going to get to heaven without Jesus.” I told Ralph, “I feel the same but I couldn’t say that from the pulpit.”

What caught my attention in Ralph’s story is it was his friend that took an interest in where Ralph would spend eternity. This man was Ralph good friend. This friend put his around Ralph’s shoulder and invited him to know Jesus.

Jesus did the same thing. Jesus became a friend to those who didn’t know Him.  And when they got to know Him they were changed. Read this passage of scripture

Mark 2:16-17:
16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Jesus is a friend to sinners.

Typically, “bad” people don’t like to hang out with “good people.” And…..”good” people don’t typically like to hang out  with “bad” people. I experienced this in high school. While I was in high school I was only invited to one party. I didn’t become a Christian until after I graduated from high school. I have come to the conclusion that I looked to nerdy and too good. So … I never got caught up in the “wrong” crowd. Nor was I ever invited to be a part of a wrong crowd in grade school, middle school, or high school. My reputation proceeded me. I went to church all the time.

Jesus liked spending time with sinners. He was invited to parties. I am confident that he went to so many parties that many of the religious leaders of his day labeled him a drunkard. He was God and He was perfect and yet it was “the scum” of the earth who were attracted to him.

They weren’t attracted to him because of his looks because Isaiah tells us there was nothing that would have attracted us to him.He didn’t look like Peeta of the “Hunger Games”. They weren’t attracted to him because of his charisma. For 3.5 years of His ministry he talked with them, ate with them, cried them, and even served them (them = “bad” people). According to this scripture, Jesus didn’t see people as good people and bad people. He saw them as either healthy or sick. The sick are the ones who know they are not righteous. For me,  this is a much better picture because when you label a person a “bad” person you are less likely to help them. We are much more likely to help a sick person.

Another thing we learn from Jesus is people were not just objects or projects. They were not people who needed to be saved. He cared about them and he listened to them. He offered them unconditional love , hope, and compassion. As you read the gospels you would discover that Jesus was attracted to them and they were attracted Him. He looked at them, no matter what label they wore, as an opportunity to be a friend to.

We also learn Jesus didn’t wait for them to come to church. I don’t think he ever invited anyone to church. He didn’t wait for them to come to him. He invited himself over to their house to eat and he wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Jesus isn’t just A friend to sinners: He is the only friend of sinners. He didn’t save them and them make them their friends. He was their friend and then they experienced salvation.This is a major key in Jesus effectiveness. He first became their friend. They learned to trust him and when you earn anyone’s trust they listen to you. I don’t think he looked at people and said they need to saved. He looked at people and said they need a true friend. 

He became a friend to the woman at the well in  John 4. He became a friend to the prostitute in John 8. He became Zacchaeus’ (a lying, cheating tax collector) friend. And when Jesus was having dinner with a bunch of Pharisees it was a former prostitute who came and washed Jesus feet with the most expensive perfume and she couldn’t stop kissing his feet. The religious people in this particular story  didn’t recognize him as a friend or even a guest. They looked at him as someone they needed to get rid of.

His desire to be with sinners is amazing – but what is even more amazing is that sinners desired to be with him. I think it is sad that the super- religious people wanted to kill him and the sinners wanted to be with him. Super religious people are often harsher judges than God himself. We look at the evil in others and it arouses our righteous anger. So we put on our robes, set out our little plastic Jesus, and pound our gavels without ever taking the time to hear their stories. Super religious people never listen to their stories – they are just thankful that they are not like that sinner over there.

There is a reason why people do what they do. If you look at the stories of Jesus and the people he interacted with – he didn’t concentrate on their sin and how bad they were. He concentrated of loving them, showing them mercy. Showing them grace. He sat around listened to their story. They became friends. And anyone who excepts Jesus as their friend – they will be changed. 

So, why don’t more people want Jesus to be their friend? The problem is with us super-religious people. Instead of being the one who profess Christ – we have become professionals at being Christians. God doesn’t need professionals.

The professional Christians tend to keep others focused on their sin and never introduce them to the Savior. In fact we can’t get past their sin enough to have a conversation. If we would simply take the time to listen to their story we would find out that they are not much different than many of the believers we know. We, professionals,  tend to condemn rather than encourage. When it comes to sin the only who has the right to condemn others is Jesus. God is asking us to take off our robes and put down our gavel and be their friend. Professional Christians talk rather than listen and are constantly trying to correct the other’s behaviors rather than just accepting others behaviors.

Jesus was not very good at being a Christian. He refused to condemn.  John 3:17 tells us, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  God condemned the world only once. It was so full of evil and so full of hate and so full of sin that he destroyed it by a flood. Only one family was righteous. Instead of condemning it again – He wants to save it. He refuses to condemn others. Jesus wants to be our  friend so that he can save it.

Romans 5:10 – For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

John 15:15 – I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

Only the true friend would give his life for you. Jesus is the true friend. He is the truest friend you will ever have. While you were yet sinners, while you were his enemy – he still wanted to be your friend.

What gets in our way of being a friend to sinners?

We make a lot of assumptions. Like the Pharisees we look on them like scum. We may not call them scum but our actions, body language, and attitudes towards them communicate that they are scum. We professionals  assume that they are really obstinate to Jesus the Savior and they want nothing to do with him. We assume that sinners think sin is fun and God is boring.  We assume sinners are far from God.

The reality is they might be closer to Jesus than most religious people.

Matthew 21:31-32

“I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

No sinner is irreparable or irredeemable. No sin is so great that the blood of Jesus cannot cover it. His love is so deep and wide that he can, in one moment of faith – forgive our past and present sin. Sin is not a problem for God. He has a way of escape.

Why aren’t people attracted to Jesus?

They haven’t experienced the true Jesus. The true friend. The Jesus we read about in the gospels.

We professionals spend a lot of time trying to attract sinners to Jesus. Sinners are attracted to Jesus.  The real issue is are we professional Christians attracted to the sinner? The city in which you live, your friends, your colleagues, would like to know the Jesus you know. Most of what people have about Jesus is negative. They have heard of the Jesus that glares down from the ceiling of cathedrals and shakes their finger at them. They have heard that Jesus was a good man that did some good things. They have heard that he was a really good religious teacher.

• But do others know that Jesus is not mad at them?
• Do others know He wants to be their friend first?
• Do others know that he lived on the earth and understands what they are going through?
• Do others know he wants to help them not hurt them?

Whose going to tell them?