salvation

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.

Two(Ish) Year Anniversary

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Today, I got an email from CarMax congratulating me on my one year anniversary. On this day in 2024, I purchased Clifford the Big Red Jeep, my 2018 Jeep Wrangler with a little over 29,000 miles on it. That was a good day.

Sometimes, you need little reminders of God’s blessings to tide you over. Honestly, if I were to really pay attention and take note of each blessings, I’d be too busy thanking God to have any need for anything to tide me over. I’m literally overrun and overwhelmed by blessings, most of which I routinely take for granted.

But Clifford is a visible, tangible reminder of God’s goodness to me. Many times, I’ll be anxious over God’s ability to meet a need or to help me in a certain area and then I’ll see that red Wrangler and recall how faithful God was in that moment and how He will be faithful again.

Also, I am reminded of God’s faithfulness through family and friends who genuinely love me and want God’s best for me. Sometimes there are days when they will believe for me when I can’t believe for myself. Hopefully, I will return the favor when they’re in times of weakness.

The best reminder of all for me is the promise that every single morning God’s mercies are new. Just like that hot now sign at Krispy Kreme means there are new donuts, every new sunrise is a billboard for God’s new mercies. Every new day filled with birds chirping and flowers growing is a gift. I’m sure God’s mercies are abundant enough so that one dose could last me a lifetime, but still I get fresh new mercies right out of the oven every single day.

That Lamentations 3:22-23 promise is one that I’ve read countless times, yet the more I let it sink in and soak in the more I am blown away by the magnitude and the generosity of the promise. I pray that everyone who reads these words will be just as blown away by this one of many promises by God to us. And may we all claim this verse every single day.

Suffering and Speaking Out

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“If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:13-18, The Message).

The old adage says that we should preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words. According to 1 Peter 3, you will need to use words. It won’t be enough that people see you living differently. They need to know why you’re different. Why it is you don’t live like almost everybody else, and especially why you don’t react like the rest when bad things happen.

Suffering is the school where God prepares us to be ready. How we handle hard times is what gets people’s attention, but the logical next step is for them to want to know more. If all you have are your actions, then the message is unclear. If all you have are your words, you’re hypocritical. You need both.

As I was watching a podcast video earlier today, it struck me that there are no throwaway parts to your story or your life. God uses all of it. God works all of it for good. The mess becomes the message. The test becomes the testimony. God’s redemption of you becomes the billboard of God’s grace to get people’s attention and make them curious about what is unique about how you choose to respond rather than to react.

There’s always a reaction and a response. We react to a diagnosis of cancer or to losing a job or to going through financial hardships. People see how we react and ask how and why we acted that way. That’s where the response comes in. That’s where the Holy Spirit gives us words to tell people about the hope we have that makes us joyful rather than bitter.

Lord, You promised that suffering is not an if but a when. It will happen. As we walk through trials, strengthen us and enable us to endure with grace. May others see You at work in us, so that they’ll be drawn to want to know more not about us but about You. Give us the words to say that will glorify You and point others to You as their ultimate hope and salvation. Amen.

The Third Sunday of Lent

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“Almighty God, 
you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: 

Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, 

that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 
one God, 
for ever and ever. 

Amen.“

If you’re keeping score, you know there are four more weeks until Easter Sunday. That means 28 more days of Lent. How are you doing with your Lent fasting so far?

I realize not everybody gave up something for Lent. I gave up social media, so I have no idea what’s going on in the outside world. At least I’m missing everybody’s politicized takes on what’s going on in the world, which is probably not a bad thing some days.

But hopefully Lent is a time when we give up something to make room for something better. Hopefully, we replace the time spent watching television or on social media (or eating chocolate) with time to spend with God in worship, adoration, and prayer. Often, we end up substituting in another mindless addiction to take the place of whatever we gave up. Guilty as charged.

But I hope to take whatever time is remaining before Easter Sunday to devote to prayer. At least I hope to spend it reading actual books (including more of the Bible) and going outdoors more. It’s almost like if your life is closed room, it’s good to open up the windows and let in the fresh air.

The older I get, the more I understand that we need God’s help to please God and to do what God wants us to do. Any self-driven efforts will fail and fall far short of what God wants. But if we’re living in the resurrection power of the indwelling Spirit, we can do what pleases God.

Lord, help us to desire You more. Help us to seek You above any amusement or mindless entertainment that helps to pass the time. Help us to know how precious our lives are and to redeem the brief amount of time we’re given in comparison to eternity for Your glory and our greatest good.

Thank You for Your grace that seeks after us even when we’re not all that interested in seeking after You. You are relentless in chasing us down not to punish us or to chastise us but to show us a better way to think and to live. Help us to want for ourselves what You want for us. Amen.

An Unglamorous Life

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“Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I do your will” (St. Ignatius).

I think sometimes the Church needs less rock stars and more foot washers. We need less leadership conferences and more servant mentality. We need to remember that the most important people in any body of believers aren’t necessarily the ones on stage or in the spotlight but behind the scenes and behind the stage on their knees in prayer.

The Church only functions well when every single person does his or her part and doesn’t sit in a pew as a spectator but is serving out of the overflow of God’s generosity through his or her giftings and passions. You are unique and have a calling to the local body that only you can do. And it’s not to take up space on Sunday or to be a statistic so the church can pat itself on the back for having impressive numbers every Sunday.

It’s as much about cleaning toilets as delivering sermons. It’s about making people feel welcome as they walk though the church doors, but also cultivating an atmosphere of worship that goes beyond praise and singing to every aspect of ministry and service. A true church has an attendance that varies from 10 to 10,000 but will always have an audience of One, because everything is for the glory of God and the lifting up of the name of Jesus.

I’m thankful to serve in a local church where so many are committed to serving and sacrificing so that people can learn about and grow to love Jesus. I’m thankful for a pastor who doesn’t lord it over his people but has a servant’s heart and a humble spirit. I’m thankful that every week God shows up not only in the amazing music but also in the preaching of the word and the prayers of God’s people. Kids are learning to worship by seeing their parents worship, because as much as children have to find their own faith at some point, it’s better caught than taught.

Lord, help us to serve sacrificially and live surrendered, remembering You chose to leave Your privilege to become human and take on the role of a servant who was obedient to the point of death, all for love of us. May we never forget that ultimately the only one we have to please at the end of the day is You and You alone. Amen.

And the Angels Rejoice

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I used to get super excited when my sports teams won. Especially when they won the championship for their league. The only problem with that is that a couple of years later no one can remember who the champs were except for a very small number of people.

Sometimes, I find myself really looking forward to a new book, a new movie, a new album. But then I get it, play it once or twice, and the novelty is gone. It’s still a great book/movie/album, but I can never again match the thrill of hearing/seeing it for the first time.

These days, I get excited whenever I read about someone coming to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I love reading about how the person used to be a satanist or a porn star or a Muslim but now is a follower of Jesus. I should probably be more discerning because not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord” is really a true follower and disciple.

But I also remember that every time one single lost person is found and comes home, the angels rejoice. They throw the party to end all parties. It’s an epic celebration in heaven, and it’s all for one single solitary person.

I think about that prodigal son who came home to a party. He didn’t deserve it. He had done everything to disgrace the family name and dishonor his own father. He hadn’t shown a pattern of changed behavior to show that he wouldn’t run away again. But he came home.

Maybe that’s you. You need to stop making excuses and stop living a lie and come home. The Father is waiting. To come home means doing a 180 from going your own way and doing your own thing to going God’s way and doing things God’s way. It’s called repentance. You confess that your way doesn’t work and that you want God’s way.

Maybe in the grand scheme of things one changed life isn’t a big deal. Maybe one person who turns from sin and self to the Savior isn’t noteworthy or noticeable and will never gain any national headlines. But God knows. Heaven sees. And they throw the most epic celebration ever. Every. Single. Time.

Praying for My Pastor

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Just to clarify, I go to a multi-campus church and my campus pastor is Aaron Bryant. The senior pastor of the main campus, Brentwood Baptist Church, is Jay Strother. Recently, Jay announced to all the campuses that he has been diagnosed with an cancerous abdominal tumor.

I normally don’t post things like this, but I believe that this is a time when God’s people should rally to pray for one of their own. This is when we step up for a man of God who has faithfully served the Church for over 20 years.

I’m praying and believing in faith for complete healing. I believe that God can remove every trace of the tumor, either through the capable hands of physicians or through miraculous means.

I’m praying that this sickness won’t end in death but it will be a glorious opportunity for the gospel to go forth as people see God’s hand in this.

I’m praying that God will strengthen Jay and his family through this time of testing and that he will come out stronger on the other side.

I’m praying that there will be people in heaven, including doctors and nurses and many others, thanks to Jay’s testimony of how he will use this trial as a means of communicating the gospel of Christ through both words and actions. They will see a peace about him and want to know where that peace comes from and where to find it.

I believe God is able to to immeasurably more than we can ask or think. I believe that whatever the outcome the Kingdom of God will continue to increase in Middle Tennessee and throughout the world.

I ultimately believe that either way is a win-win because to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Thank you, Jay, for your leadership and your pastor’s heart for your people. I and many others will be faithfully praying for you throughout this season and waiting to hear what amazing things God will do in and through you.

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?”