hope

We Remember 25 Years Later

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I can still remember where I was 25 years ago on 9/11/2001. That was the day that everything changed. I recall walking into the church office where I worked at the time and hearing about a plane that had flown into a building. It was so random and no one knew anything yet about who did it or why.

When the second plane hit, I think that’s when just about everyone figured it out. This wasn’t random. This was orchestrated. I spend the rest of the day in shock, feeling numb and disconnected and unable to process the scope of the tragedy that had just unfolded.

Those next few days were horrific as the rescuers combed through the wreckage looking for survivors but finding mostly bodies and debris. I can’t imagine being on the ground seeing what those people were seeing, especially when you consider how many were jumping from the towers because of the intense heat and flames.

Those days were also beautiful. We came together as a nation for the briefest of moments. For one shining moment, we weren’t white or black, male or female, young or old. We were all Americans. There was a spirit of cooperation and compassion that pervaded our way of life. Churches were full the next Sunday as people were seeking answers,

I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. It blows my mind that a significant portion of the population wasn’t even alive in 2001. So many know about the events only from reading about them in textbooks or seeing videos on social media. It’s easy for the next generation to forget and for all the lessons we learned to be forgotten.

That’s why it’s vital that we remember. It’s important that we pass on what we saw and what we learned. Life is precious and fleeting, and only a life that honors God is worth living. So many of those we lost were God-fearing men and women. We may never fully understand the why until heaven, but we can know that God took what was evil and made it into something good.

We can love each other well, never take those people in our lives for granted, and use every opportunity to tell people what’s most important to us — that Jesus still loves and saves sinners like us. We can keep the memories of those lost on 9/11 alive as we continue to remember.

The Word

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“Christians are persons who no longer seek their salvation, their deliverance, their justification in themselves, but in Jesus Christ alone. They know that God’s Word in Jesus Christ pronounces them guilty, even when they feel nothing of their own guilt, and that God’s Word in Jesus Christ pronounces them free and righteous even when they feel nothing of their own righteousness…

Because they daily hunger and thirst for righteousness, they long for the redeeming Word again and again. It can only come from the outside. In themselves they are destitute and dead. Help must come from the outside; and it has come and comes daily and anew in the Word of Jesus Christ, bringing us redemption, righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. But God put this Word into the mouth of human beings so that it may be passed on to others. When people are deeply affected by the Word, they tell it to other people. God has willed that we should seek and find God’s living Word in the testimony of other Christians, in the mouths of human beings. Therefore, Christians need other Christians who speak God’s Word to them. They need them again and again when they become uncertain and disheartened” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

The quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi says to preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary to use words.

I think if we want to communicate the gospel clearly, it’s always necessary to use words. Otherwise, we are teaching and preaching a gospel of good works and good actions. What we do flows from who we are, and if we are truly born again and made alive, then our actions will match.

Also, the Bible states that part of the salvation experience is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. That part isn’t what saves you. It’s grace through faith that saves you. But the confession shows that you are truly a child of God and are trusting in Christ alone.

That said, we need to preach the gospel to ourselves and to others over and over again. I’ve heard it said that we never outgrow our need for the gospel. We may learn deeper meanings and uncover more truths and applications to our lives, but we always circle back to John 3:16 in the end.

Having a Bible is great. Carrying one around is even better. But what makes a difference in your life is when you spend time reading it, studying it, meditating on it, memorizing it. That’s when the gospel really takes root and real change happens. That’s where you learn to discern truth from half-truths and falsehoods. You recognize when someone is teaching error or heresy.

Lord, help us never to get past your gospel. Help us to preach it to ourselves and each other regularly. Help us to love and treasure Your Word above anything else, so we can grow in maturity and become more like You every day. Amen.

RIP, Dolly

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

It still doesn’t seem real. I drove by her Brentwood property on my way to work and saw all the flowers and the sign that read “We will always love you.”

I was only 5 years old when Elvis Presley passed away, but this has that kind of feeling to it. It’s not just another celebrity passing or even the death of an icon. This is a once in a generation kind of loss.

I’ve read a lot about Dolly’s faith lately. Ultimately, the only ones who can know for sure where she stood with God are God and Dolly Parton. In these days, anytime anyone dies who is even remotely famous, no matter what kind of life they led, they are automatically assigned to heaven in most people’s eyes.

But I believe that Dolly won’t get into heaven because of her generosity. All those millions she donated and all the programs she funded aren’t a ticket to paradise. It won’t be because she was caring or had a good heart.

And it’s also not about having the correct views about issues and doctrines. Obviously, there are some essentials that you have to believe, but it’s not about having a 100% correct theology or worldview.

If Dolly is in heaven right now, it will be because she said yes to Jesus. The Bible says that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. That and that alone are what get you into heaven.

I’m hopefully optimistic that Dolly is in heaven. I believe that she trusted in Jesus for her salvation. Was her faith perfect? Even she would admit that she’s a sinner like any of us. But was her faith real? I think so.

I hope most of all that at her funeral someone will be bold enough to proclaim the gospel of God so loving the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life. That’s how you get into heaven.

Missing Kairos

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Sometimes, I’ll drop by Brentwood Baptist Church on a Tuesday. I’ll slip into Hudson Hall and look around for a moment or two. Usually, the lights are out, so I’ll turn on my phone’s flashlight and wave it back and forth in front of me. Typically, there will be chairs set up similar to when Kairos was still a thing.

I miss Kairos. For those who weren’t a part of the magic, Kairos was a young(ish) adult event that happened every Tuesday from 2004 to 2024. Since then, it has transitioned into something called Rally, which is more of a college ministry centered around small groups and monthly gatherings.

I’m thankful for Rally, but I do miss Kairos. I realize that as Ecclesiastes says, there is a season for everything. Perhaps, Kairos had a season and now it’s over. Maybe it served its purpose for what God intended to do through that particular ministry. I know it was very influential in my own life, as well as the lives of many, many others.

I was blessed to be a part of it for over 18 years, most of which I served as a greeter and prayer counselor. I saw some very talented people come and go through the years. We had some incredible speakers, singers, musicians, and tech people. We had people who were gifted in areas of hospitality and serving. But most of all, God showed up.

Was it a perfect ministry? No. Did we get a few things wrong over the years? Probably. But we tried to be obedient to the calling God has placed on us for such a time as this. The years to come will tell how successful we were. But then again, God never called us to be successful but simply faithful and obedient.

I may be the only one who’ll say this, but I miss Kairos. But there’s not a day that goes by where I’m not thankful that God allowed me to be a small part of it for all those years. I’m blessed.

A Good Reminder

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

If you need a little encouragement, just go to Romans 8, particularly verses 31-39. They’re some of my favorite promises from God in all the Bible. Nothing can or ever will separate me from the love of God in Christ. Nothing can remove me from being His child or from being eternally saved and eternally secure.

The worst that the world can do to me is to hasten my homeward trip to heaven. They can’t destroy me. They can’t defeat me because my God is undefeated and undefeatable (which probably isn’t a word but should be in my opinion).

Let these words soak into your very marrow and read them over and over again to yourself. Say them out loud if that helps. Remember that God’s love is forever for those who are in Christ Jesus:

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.

We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:31-39).

We Need to be Needy

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“The disciples are needy in every way. They are simply ‘poor’ (Luke 6:20). They have no security, no property to call their own, no piece of earth they could call their home, no earthly community to which they might fully belong. But they also have neither spiritual power of their own, nor experience or knowledge they can refer to and which could comfort them. For his sake they have lost all that. When they followed him, they lost themselves and everything else which could have made them rich. Now they are so poor, so inexperienced, so foolish that they cannot hope for anything except him who called them” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

We need to be needy. I think American Christianity has made it to where the idea of a life of faith is one where you gradually become more and more self-sufficient, where God is great in theory but you get to where you can handle just about anything on your own.

Then I look at those ragtag disciples of Jesus. I remember how the religious leaders who tried to shut them up recognized two things right away about these men: 1) they were unlearned and ignorant about a lot of things, probably uncouth and uncivilized, and 2) they had been with Jesus.

That was what being a disciple meant back then. Your whole life revolved around your rabbi. You ate when he ate, slept when he slept, moved when he moved. You learned to quote the rabbi in all matters of conversation. You eventually got to where you spoke and acted just like your rabbi.

We’ve made discipleship into head knowledge where having a head full of Bible facts means that you’re mature. But then why are so many older believers still acting like spiritual infants and still ignorant when it comes to what they believe and how to live it out? Why do so many Christians not look very much like their Christ?

The key is obedience. We don’t need new information as much as we need to live what we’ve already learned and obey what we already know. We need to get back to being children when it comes to faith (as opposed to being childish) and be willing to look foolish and needy in the sight of others so they can see how much we rely on Jesus for everything.

Lord, help us to be wise and childlike, willing to appear ignorant in the eyes of the world but identified as those who have been around Jesus a whole lot. Amen.

We Wrestle Not

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I’ve been thinking a lot about what the late John MacArthur said. When it comes to those who are holding views that don’t align with the Bible, we must not view them as enemies but as our mission field.

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph, 6:12. NLT).

In other words, people are not the enemy. The real enemy is the spiritual deception behind the lies. The prince of the power of the air is the enemy. And he is a defeated foe.

The best way to deal with those who wish to undermine biblical principles is to pray for their salvation. Pray that God leads them to the truth — not my truth or their truth or anyone else’s truth but THE truth that is personified in Jesus Christ.

Perhaps the best example of someone being loved into truth is the Apostle Paul. He was an enemy of the Church. He persecuted and hated everything that the early believers stood for. Yet it was their prayers and an encounter with Jesus that led him to the light — in this case a literal blinding light on the road to Damascus. From there, this Paul became the most stout defender and proponent of the faith.

How cool would it be if some of the people who currently malign or twist Scripture eventually became the biggest apologists for the Bible? How amazing would it be if they were the ones pointing people to Jesus instead of to false doctrine or false worldviews?

Obviously, we should defend gospel truth. We should never stand by when people are being lied to and deceived. But we should also remember that those on the other side are just as much people that Christ died for as we were. They’re not the enemy. They’re the mission field, as we once were.

Getting Hold of God

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off the track. The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

If I’m not careful, prayer can become like my childhood letterd to Santa. Those typically started off with me stating how I’d been good all year and thus was worthy of all the loot I had coming to me. The specifics of those letters escapes me, but I’m sure that I was like every other kid back in the day who mailed actual letters in envelopes to an address somewhere at the North Pole.

We do the same with God. It’s like, “God, thanks for being God. Here’s what I want from You” and then the list of wants and needs begins. Sometimes, we even have a list of people we’re praying for (which is by no means a bad thing to do).

But prayer isn’t as much getting things from God as it is getting to know God. The more you know God, the more your wants and needs change. By the end, I suspect we’re praying God’s prayers back to Him. That means we’re asking God for what God wants for us and in us. We want the same things He does.

In the mean time, it is perfectly acceptable to come to God in prayer without asking for anything but simply to adore Him and thank Him for who He is. I think the less we’re concerned about getting answers, the more we’ll see God at work because our focus won’t be so narrowly limited to His hand.

The good news is that even if you feel you’ve been doing it all wrong in prayer and treating Him as Cosmic Santa, you can always start over in a sense. You can spend at least part of your prayer time in adoration and thanksgiving before processing to petitions. You can look for opportunities throughout the day to thank God for what He’s doing, even if you can’t always see what that is.

Again, the point as always is to pray. The best way to get better at praying isn’t listening to more sermons or reading more books about prayer but praying — and being around people who pray often and pray well. That has helped me a lot. I still think reading books of prayers is good, like the Book of Common Prayer or The Valley of Vision. But mostly just pray.

Grieving a Pet

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“I will never laugh at anyone for grieving over a loved beast. I think God wants us to love Him more, not to love creatures (even animals) less. We love everything in one way too much (i.e., at the expense of our love for Him), but in another way we love everything too little.

No person, animal, flower, or even pebble has ever been loved too much—i.e., more than every one of God’s works deserves” (C. S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III),

Thankfully, I haven’t lost a pet in a while, but I remember how much I grieved. My first cat Lucy was such a steady little presence in my life, and it broke my heart when she wasn’t there anymore.

No, I don’t think there’s any shame in grieving the loss of a pet. Absolutely not. There’s not a scale of acceptability over what kinds of loss are okay to cry over. It’s loss. It hurts.

Yout pets are constants in your life. They love you without conditions and without reserve. Even when you accidentally step on a tail or knock them on the noggin, they still love you. Even when you’re gone for days, they’re still just as happy to see you the next time.

And there’s a noticeable absence when they’re gone — a kind of void. The best way to celebrate the life of aa pet you’ve lost is to find another to love, preferably from a shelter or a place that rescues animals. Those are the kinds that need your love the most and will love you back the most.

But it’s okay to cry for a cat or a dog . . . or even a hamster or a parakeet. It doesn’t matter as long as they brought joy into your life and made your world better.

Another New Favorite

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I ran across another great worship song that strikes me as being a bit of a lament. It’s telling God, “This is where I am, and this is how I feel, but this is what I’ve come to learn about You.”

I hope these words will speak to you, especially if you’re in the midst of a struggle or a low period in your life. I’ve also included a video in case you want to hear it:

“How long will I have to hear the stories
Of how you were able
How long will I have to celebrate
The miracle that’s not my own
How long will I lift my voice and sing again
That you are always good
When I’m feeling all this distance
I thought I never would
How long

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me miracle or not

How long will I give myself
Before I give up waiting
How long will I have to hide behind this smile
That says that I’m okay
How long will I hold on to the promises
I thought I heard you speak
When every passing day
Just leaves me broken down and weak

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me miracle or not

I will sing it ’til my broken heart believes it
I’ll declare it ’til I smell the smoke of faith
And with my hands held high
I’ll scream it to the darkness
‘Til hope is finally louder than the ache

I will sing it ’til my broken heart believes it
I’ll declare it ’til I smell the smoke of faith
And with my hands held high
I’ll scream it in the darkness
‘Til hope is finally louder than the ache

As long as it takes for my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me
I know that you love me
I know that you love me miracle or not
Miracle or not” (Michael Farren / Mark Alan Schoolmeesters / Lou Fellingham)