salvation

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?”

Trust in an Unchanging God

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“Blessed be your name ever-living God. Our neighbors die; friend after friend departs; few of us have not lost someone dear to us; but you abide the same and there is no end to your years. We come to you. You are as strong to deliver today as you were in our fathers’ time; as true to your promise and as mighty to perform your covenant as when you spoke to Abraham at Mamre (Genesis 18) or worked mightily in the field of Zoan for the children of Israel (Psalm 78:12, 43). You God, are forever strong and mighty. Never can your arm know paralysis, nor can your brow decay. We look up to you with joyful confidence, knowing that you are an inexhaustible fountain of every good thing, and believing that you will supply our need out of the riches of your fullness of glory by Christ Jesus.
Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

That’s our only hope, folks. Everything else we lean on and depend on will collapse. Every other avenue will lead to a dead end, but God is faithful. Jesus ever lives to intercede for those who belong to Him and God the Father knows how to give good gifts to those who ask. We are secure in the everlasting arms, no matter what.

Remind yourself of that every day, every hour, every minute. Breathe in God’s mercy and breathe out God’s grace because He is as close as your next breath. If all you have are sighs and groans, God knows what they mean. If your only prayer that you can speak in the dead of night is simply to whisper the name Jesus, He will hear and He will come.

My prayer more than ever is for everyone reading these words to know the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding and human wisdom, to find the rest that He promises those who come to Him in faith, and to live in the abundant life that comes to anyone who believes on the name of Jesus. Truly, as I keep hearing lately, He’s where the joy is.

The Real Winners

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So I watched the Super Bowl (or at least most of it). I low key wanted Seattle to win, but I was not going to be a bit disappointed if New England won. Still, I made it into the 4th quarter when Seattle was up 19-0 and decided that it was basically over, so I went to old school Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury.

Spoiler alert: Seattle won.

My favorite these days isn’t so much when my team wins, which is probably a good thing. My Tennessee Titans haven’t won very many games lately and watching them sometimes is about as fun as a root canal. Actually, the root canal may be more enjoyable.

But I love seeing where former and current players have given their lives to Jesus. I love how they can boast not in any individual statistics or games won or lost, but in the fact that they are known and loved by the God of the universe.

That’s the real victory. I know the cartoon is probably supposed to be mocking heaven, but I’d love to think that’s how I will enter heaven. It will be such a sweet relief and an overwhelming joy. I won’t be able to point to a single thing I’ve done for the reason that I got in, but I can say with the thief on the cross that the Man on the middle cross said I could come.

It’s only by the blood of the Lamb. Because Jesus died for me and took my place on that cross, I can live eternally. Because instead of my own sin I now possess the righteousness of the only One who ever lived a perfect and sinless life, I can come boldly to the throne of God. Because of Jesus, I will one day walk through those pearly gates confidently because my confidence is on the grace that saved me and sustains me.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to hoist that Lombardi trophy and be able to have bragging rights about being the best team in the world for at least the next year. I know that the percentage of people on Super Bowl winning teams has got to be minuscule compared to all those who have played football at any level and are watching from the comfort of their couches.

But I will know the joy of walking victoriously into heaven and that victory will last not just for the next year but all the way into eternity. And that offer goes to anyone who says yes to Jesus.

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.

In Place of Joy

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“For many, Christmas is no longer the day to celebrate the mystery of the birth of God among us, the God hidden in the wounds of humanity. It is no longer the day of the child, awaited with prayer and repentance, contemplated with watchful attentiveness, and remembered in liturgical solemnity, joyful song, and peaceful family meals. Instead, Christmas has become a time when companies send elaborate gifts to their clients to thank them for their business, when post offices work overtime to process an overload of greeting cards, when immense amounts of money are spent on food and drink, and socializing becomes a full-time activity. There are trees, decorated streets, sweet tunes in the supermarkets, and children saying to their parents: ‘I want this and I want that.’ The shallow happiness of busy people often fills the place meant to experience the deep, lasting joy of Emmanuel, God-with-us” (Henri Nouwen).

It seems strange for me to be posting a Christmas blog on January 7, the day after the Epiphany. But if you think about it, it makes sense. At least to me it does.

When you focus on all the wrong parts of Christmas, like the buying and getting, the wrapping and decorating, the parties and the food, then at some point it has to end. But when Christmas becomes the arrival of Emmanuel, then it never ends because Emmanuel has not left us nor will He ever.

I love all the other stuff. But it gets weird if the Christmas tree is still up and decorated in July. But I think the idea of treating others with kindness or giving to the less fortunate or being Jesus with skin on never gets old. That can be 24/7/365.

Above all, the greatest gift of Christmas is one that we can give to anybody anytime we share the hope of salvation in Jesus with anyone who hasn’t heard it before or who needs to hear it again for the 300th time. That’s the only part that we get to take with us to heaven — those who will go with us because we were faithful to share the good news.

3rd Sunday of Advent 2025

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“O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.”

Today, I’m thankful for faithful ministers and stewards of God’s word who are proclaiming the true gospel of Jesus Christ. In the age where many no longer tolerate the truth but want their itching ears tickled, I’m grateful that my pastor still preaches about sin and hell and the need for forgiveness.

After all, the whole gospel start off with bad news first that we are all sinners who have turned away from God and the wages of those sins we have done is death and hell. But the good part comes next. God so loved the world, including and especially sinners, that He gave us Jesus, so that whoever believes in Him might not be eternally separated from God in hell but might have true eternal life.

My prayer is that everyone who name Jesus as Lord and Savior will be diligent to make their salvation sure and not assume that because they prayed a prayer a long time ago that they don’t need to worry about how much they love and obey God presently. If we’re truly saved and of God, then we should be different from the world. We should speak and act and think and live different from the world so that they can see our good works and glorify God in heaven.

So thanks to Aaron and Jay and Mike and Michael and all the others who continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ through a variety of media and methods. I know that one day you will hear the very words from Jesus Himself “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

A Good Advent Prayer

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“Dear God,
Speak gently in my silence.
When the loud outer noises of my surroundings
and the loud inner noises of my fears
keep pulling me away from you,
help me to trust that you are still there
even when I am unable to hear you.
Give me ears to listen to your small, soft voice saying:
“Come to me, you who are overburdened,
and I will give you rest…
for I am gentle and humble of heart.”
Let that loving voice be my guide.
Amen.” (Henri Nouwen)

Those loud outer noises really crank up around this time. Buy this, buy that. max out your credit card to show your family and friend how much you love them. The more you spend, the better the gift.

The loud inner noises have a way of showing up at this time as well. You’ve got to make this season perfect or you’re not really celebrating the season right. You’re probably already screwing it up and it’s not even Christmas yet.

But that still, soft voice still speaks. If you lean close to the manger, you can hear the voice that arrived in the form of an infant saying, “For you, I came. For those just like you, I gave up a throne for a manger, a crown for a cross, royalty for servanthood. I did it all for you.”

Jesus didn’t come to affirm those who are well. He came for the sick to make them well. He came to seek and to save the lost, leaving the 99 to find the one. That’s you. That’s me.

That’s the same voice that says, “Come to me, all who are weary and overburdened, and I will give you rest.”

That’s the voice that says, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

That’s the voice of Him who will come again in triumph over all those loud voices that try to lead you astray. One day, those voices will all be silenced forever, but the still, small voice will be the voice that says, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17-18, ESV).