love

Prone to Wander: A Prayer for Prodigals and Deconstructers

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“O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above” (Robert Robinson).

I read where Robert Robinson, author of the famous hymn “Come, Thou Found of Every Blessing”, actually walked away from his faith for a while but eventually returned. I don’t know any details. I know that God’s power to restore and redeem His own children is amazing and never failing.

My prayer is for those who have altogether left the true faith or have watered it down to make it humanly palatable. I pray you come back. I pray that you will know that the God who made you is the same God who loves you. He is the same God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as revealed in the Old Testament. He is the same God as the God who became incarnate in Jesus in the New Testament. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Truly, we are the ones who are prone to wander. We’re the ones who will drift into error and heresy if we forget our first love or quit striving for Christlikeness and settle into complacency and compromise. It’s easier to let go of our convictions for the sake of so-called peace and fitting in. It’s so much easier when we’re liked and when all people speak well of us. But Jesus said woe to those when everybody praises you and says nice things about you.

The truth of the matter is that Jesus said much that made people quit following Him. He said some hard truths that people didn’t like because what they heard made them uncomfortable and challenged them to change. He preached love toward those who were the least but He also emphasized repentance because the Kingdom of God was at hand. He told the woman that He didn’t condemn her but also to go and sin no more.

Lord, I’m praying that those who have fallen away will come back to true faith. I’m praying for some who were never Yours but who thought they were and even did amazing things in Your name though You said that You never knew them. May they truly embrace Your gospel of grace and find forgiveness and salvation in You. May they know not my truth or their truth but Your truth because You are the Truth, the Life, and the Way.

Restore Your truth to churches and denominations that have lost their way. Redeem them to places where Your Word is taught and Your gospel is preached. Revive Your Church, Lord, so that we can again be the ones who bear Your name well and share Your love faithfully until everyone has heard. Amen.

God’s Hall of Fame

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“Your name may not appear down here in this world’s hall of fame
In fact you may be so unknown that no one knows your name
The Oscars and the praise of men may never come your way
But don’t forget God has rewards that he’ll hand out some day
This crowd on earth will soon forget when you’re not at the top
They’ll cheer like mad until you fall and then the praise will stop
Not God, He never does forget and in his hall of fame
Just by believing on His Son, forever there’s your name
I tell you friend, I wouldn’t trade my name however small
That’s written there beyond the stars in that celestial hall
For all famous names on earth or the glory that they share
I’d rather be an unknown here and have my name up there” (Jim Caviezel)

That’s the goal — to have my name up there and to have other names up there as well because I wasn’t ashamed to speak the name of Jesus. Hopefully, that’s the goal of every believer because any fame down here is fleeting and and remembrance of your name will soon fade and you will be forgotten.

I remember a pastor saying once that at best this earthly life is like an airport terminal. It can be warm and inviting. It can have all sorts of amenities and comforts. It may be the best airport terminal you’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t mean you want to live there forever. It’s just a stopping off place.

Heaven’s our real home. We’re just pilgrims and strangers here. It’s easy to forget when 99 out of 100 voices tell you that this life is all there is. But the one that speaks a different word is the one who goes to prepare a place for you that will be your forever home.

To Love Is to Tell the Truth in Love

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“Anyone who sets himself up as ‘religious’ by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world” (James 1:26-27, The Message).

I’ve been watching videos on Youtube from a guy named Becket Cook. He’s a former homosexual who is now a kind of apologist for orthodox biblical Christianity. One of his tenets is that it is not truly loving to affirm anyone in their sin, whether it be in the LGBTQ camp or pre-marital cohabitation or any other sinful lifestyle. He say that the most loving thing you can do is to tell someone the truth in love.

If I believe that the Bible is true, then I must live by it and I must also be willing to abide by what it teaches when it comes to alternate lifestyles and behaviors. I must come from the place where I view my sin just as seriously as I do anybody else’s. Homosexuality or adultery is no more sinful than my pride or my judgmentalism. It’s all sin to God and we are all called to repent.

To love is to be compassionate as Jesus was. He reached out to those who were marginalized and excluded from society. He never turned away anyone who sought Him out in faith. But He also always told them the truth. He never compromised for the sake of acceptance and peace. In fact, many people quite following Him because He spoke the truths that made them uncomfortable and convicted.

We need both. Compassion and conviction aren’t mutually exclusive. We need to hold to our convictions in the midst of compassion toward those in need but we also need to be compassionate when we’re sharing our convictions about what we believe and why.

The point is not to change an aspect of the person. It’s not to get a liberal to vote conservative or to get a gay person into a straight marriage. It’s about redeeming the whole person with the whole gospel. That means that every part of the person needs to be transformed and renewed. The gospel isn’t about making bad people good or making good people better but about making dead people alive.

We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard. We all need to repent and to be forgiven. We all need a Savior who will pay the debt for those sins that we could never hope to pay. We all need a righteousness that we can’t produce on our own but has to come from somewhere else. We need Jesus.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

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I’m dusting of a favorite quote of mine and bringing it back for an encore performance. This was reportedly found among the possessions of a young pastor in Zimbabwe after he was martyred for his faith. This is proof positive that those who live and die in Christ leave behind a legacy that will live on until eternity. May it be the prayer and the anthem of your faith going forward as you strive to be among the fellowship of those who are unashamed to bear the name of Christ:

“I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I’m done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power. My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear. I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!”

Celebrating 54

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It seems lately that the time between birthdays gets shorter and shorter. I feel like I just had a birthday and now I’m having another one? Back in the day, it took forever for my next birthday and now I seem to have one every three months or so.

But honestly, I’m grateful for each one. I know many people, including two uncles and a cousin, who won’t get to celebrate growing old. Aging isn’t a burden that everyone must bear but a privilege that not every one gets to share. I do think that every morning I wake up is a gift from God, so I’m taking my life for granted less and less these days.

This year, I’m officially 54. At one point in my life, that would have seemed really old? Now? Not so much. Now I see people in their 20s and think how they’re super young. I imagine that as a 10 year old even people in their 30s were old to me. It really is about perspective.

Also, birthdays are less about presents and more about presence. It’s not so much the gifts as much as the people sitting around the table. At this point, if all they did was show up and wish me a happy birthday, I think that would be enough. That and a good birthday dessert. But mostly the people.

I love that I get to look forward to my older nephew’s birthday in March, then my younger nephew in April. My sister’s is in June, followed by my niece’s in October. We round off all the birthday shenanigans with my brother-in-law’s in November and my Dad’s in December, not forgetting my Mom’s in January. So basically, I get to look forward to birthdays all throughout the year.

Birthdays are good because birthdays mean that the people you love are still here. And that in and of itself is worth celebrating. Above all, it means we’re celebrating and declaring all over again the goodness of God for giving us people in our lives who love us and are there for us.

I’m certain that I enjoyed my birthday so much that I want to do it all again in 2027, God allowing. Also, thanks to everyone on social media who wished me a happy birthday. I took a short break from my social media fast to read every one of them. I am grateful, and I am blessed.

Randomness at 9:30 pm on a Wednesday

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I think more and more about heaven lately. Not because I necessarily want my life here to end any time soon. I just think my ideas of heaven seem more and more inviting the more I understand better what’s waiting for me there. Tonight in my Bible study, we talked about how we will instantly recognize those we have loved and lost just as Peter, James, and John recognized Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration.

I sometimes wonder what age we’ll be. I’ve always heard that we’ll all be 33 because that’s when most people are in their prime plus that’s when Jesus made His ultimate sacrifice for us. I’ve also read that we’ll somehow both be young and old at the same time, maybe with youthful faces but with eyes that highlight years of wisdom.

I only know that as life here gets more chaotic by the minute, heaven sounds more glorious. Also, I could do without allergies and sinus issues due to the up and down weather we’ve been having lately. It’s spring one day, then back to winter, then back to spring, then back to winter, etc.

I know for absolute certain that there will be zero anxiety and stress in heaven. There will be nothing that will make us anxious or cause us to worry. After all, the Prince of Peace will be in our midst, never to leave us or forsake us. Plus, no more taxes or bills to pay or 45 minute commutes to work.

I don’t know if there will be food, but I imagine it will be all of the flavor with none of the fat and cholesterol. Or maybe fat and cholesterol will suddenly be good for you and not turn to fat or make you fat. Whatever’s there, it will be better than anything I can currently imagine down here.

I Wish You Knew

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One of my favorite artists, Keith Green, has a song entitled “Song to My Parent (I Only Want to See You There),” and I think that expresses my sentiments over so many people I know. If there’s anything I’ve learned from 53 years of being alive and over 45 of those as a child of God, is that having Jesus is so much better than not having Him. My worst days with Jesus are better than my best days without Him.

It’s not about avoiding going to hell, although hell is real. After all, God won’t force anyone to be with Him and He will respect the choices that we have made, even if we choose to be separated from Him. The best part isn’t not being in hell but looking forward to an eternity in heaven with the abundance of joy in this life as well.

There are so many stories and testimonies of people who were hopelessly lost and hopelessly addicted, but Jesus found them and now they are brand new creations. They aren’t improved versions of their old selves. They are something completely new that only God could have dreamed of and made into reality.

It’s amazing when God opens your eyes and you really see everything for the first time. Everything makes more sense. Sure, suffering and pain still exist, but now they have meaning. We still lose people we love, but now we grieve as those who have hope. I’m finally starting to get what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains” (Acts 26:29, NLT).

I’m closing with the song Keith Green wrote for his parents with the hopes of seeing them in heaven one day. He may be gone, but his legacy of music and testimony lives on:

“I need to say these things ’cause I love you so
And I’m sorry you get angry when I say that you just don’t know
That there’s a heaven waiting for you and me
I know it seems every time we talk
I’m only trying to just make you see

But it’s only that I care
I really only want just to see you there

Please try and overlook my, my human side
I know I’m such a bad example, and you know I’m so full of pride
But Jesus isn’t like that, no, He’s perfect all the way
I guess that’s why we need Him
‘Cause by ourselves, there’s just no way

And it’s only that I care
I really, really only just want to see you there
To see you there

Close the doors
They’re just not coming
We sent the invitations out a long, long, long, long time ago
We’re still gonna have a wedding feast
Big enough to beat them all
The greatest people in the world just wouldn’t come
So now we’ll just have to invite the small

And it’s only that I care
I really, really only want just to see you there

Isn’t that Jesus?
Isn’t it Joseph and Mary’s Son?
Well, didn’t He grow up right here?
He played with our children
What? He must be kidding
Thinks He’s a prophet
Well, prophets don’t grow up from little boys
Do they?
From little boys
Do they?”

Unfinished People

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“Unfinished people are dangerous.

Moses wasn’t Moses overnight.

He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Rage took over.
Looked left. Looked right. No witnesses.

So he killed him.
Buried the body in the sand.

Forty years later he’s still running when the bush burns. Still seeing blood on his hands.

“Who am I?” he asks.

God sends him anyway.

Not from murderer to hero.
From murderer to man still being worked on.

Paul didn’t become Paul overnight either.

Stephen preached. Rocks flew. Skulls cracked.
Coats piled at Saul’s feet while he approved.

Years later, after writing half your New Testament, he’s still begging God about a thorn.

God doesn’t say, “You’re finished.”

He says, “My grace is sufficient.”

Your Bible reeks of in-progress redemption.

Exodus doesn’t hide the murder.
Acts doesn’t hide the coats.

KJV. No polish. No PR team.

God will still be working.

You’re not disqualified.
You’re under construction.

Same clay. Same Potter. Same wheel.

Build anyway. Fall anyway. Get up anyway” (The Biblical Man/4 AM on X).

I love that. I don’t think he’s saying that there shouldn’t be consequences to our actions, especially if we break the law and harm others. But nothing we do disqualifies us from God’s grace. Ask Moses. Ask Paul. Ask the thief on the cross. Nothing.

Who you’ve been and who you are don’t necessarily automatically definie who you’ll be. Only God can do that. And God can use the murder and the sin and all the wrong you’ve done and turn it into something positive. He can take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good.

That’s the gospel. Still.

Gatekeepers or Grace Givers

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I think if we’re not careful, we can become gatekeepers of the grace of God. I read recently we judge ourselves by our intentions but others by their actions. In other words, we’re more lenient with ourselves than with others. I see a lot of professing believers posting about how they hope the other person gets karma (which almost always seems to be for somebody other than me).

It’s especially evident when it comes to people we don’t like or with people who think and vote differently than I. It’s almost as if God’s grace exists with exceptions for Donald Trump (or his supporters) and Kamala Harris (and her supporters). We make grace something you have to earn instead of a free gift.

But the truth is that no one is worthy of God’s grace and mercy, but everyone is welcome to it. I’ll say it again because someone out there (maybe me) needs to hear it again: no one is worthy of God’s grace and mercy but everyone is welcome to it.

That means that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. With no exceptions. Anyone who acknowledges their sin and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, believes in Him by repenting of their sins and turning to His free gift of salvation, and confesses Him before others will be saved.

I think I get judgmental when I forget how it took the same amount of Jesus’ blood to save me as it took to save anyone else in history. It took all of it. I was (and still am) as much in need of the grace of God to save me and sustain me as anyone else who has ever lived.

The gospel means that no one is too lost to be found, too messed up to find grace, or too far gone to be saved. That’s the hope for the world and the message that every believer has to share with anyone who has ears to hear.

Act Yourself Into a New Way of Feeling

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“Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshipped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship” (Eugene H. Peterson).

To act when you don’t feel it isn’t authentic. Often, it’s obedience. I do what’s right because I know it’s right and not because I feel it’s right. If I waited every time until I felt like worshipping or reading my Bible or tithing, I would do all those things a lot less.

Feelings are fickle. So often they are unreliable guides to base decisions and actions upon. I may not feel like it because I’m tired or hungry or not feeling well. Sometimes, feelings are based off of false or incomplete information. When I find out a key missing ingredient, my feelings change.

Faith is not a feeling. Love is not a feeling. Both are acts of the will. You are stating that I believe in something enough to put my full weight into it whether I feel like it or not. I love by acting in such a way that seeks the betterment of the other whether I feel it or not. Often when I commit to faith, the feeling follows. When I act in loving ways, then I feel loving.

Above all, worship is an act. It’s a declaration that God is worthy. Even when I don’t feel it, He’s still worthy. Even when I feel He’s absent or silent, He’s still worthy because my feelings may trick me or lie to me but God never will.