You will absorb what you are rooted in, and what you absorb will change you.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
The Most Rejected Man in History
Our society is plagued with rejection. We have a Heavenly Father who can identify with us.
“That Just Happened!”
Friday, January 4, 2019
No Regrets
I’ve said it before, and looking back at it all, I still can honestly say, I have no regrets... None whatsoever. Now that is not to say that I have never done anything wrong or never done something that I wish never happened. Don’t put that on me. I never said that I’ve never sinned, I said that I have no regrets... There’s a difference. Sinning was my action. Regret is my feelings or my response to my action. There is so much in life that effects us only to the extent that we allow it to effect us by our response.Perhaps it would be helpul to take a moment and reread that last sentence again...
I should also point out there is a difference between remorse and regret. There is a difference between feeling sorrow over something you have done and regretting it. There are judges who have the difficult duty of deciding that a child should be separated and taken away from their neglectful and maybe even abusive parents. I’m sure they feel sorrow over having to carry out such a judgment but in light of the health and safety of the child, I doubt they regret it.
The same could be said (kind of) when it comes to sin. I indeed do feel sorrow and remorse when I recall the sins I have committed and the negative effect those actions have had on others, especially those who were under my leadership. That being said, I don’t regret them. The reason being, there simply is no point in regretting them. At the end of the day, there is nothing I can do about my past. Even if somehow I had the ability to go back in time and stop myself from making a mistake there would be no point. The Bible says that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
So even if I could change the bad things I’ve done, the fact that I am a natural born sinner means I probably would have messed up another way. I can not pardon myself, I can not redeem myself, and I can not save myself. Only Jesus can do that. So you see there really is no point in having regrets when it comes to the sins of my past. The blood of Jesus has taken care of my past, the blood of Jesus is taking care of my present, and the blood of Jesus will take care of my future. #ItIsFinished
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Insiders and Outsiders
““Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads
to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the
road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” -Matthew 7:13-14
“I
have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They
too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” -John
10:16
Have you been to a
mall recently? They’re practically empty these days. Except for that time when
Build a Bear offered a “pay your age” sale... My wife and I went to a mall
awhile back just before most of the department stores open. We went into Belks
to browse around. I noticed that all of the entrances were closed off by gates
except for the one we entered through. I remember passing by these gated
entrances and seeing people on the other side awkwardly staring at me from
behind the gate wanting to get in.
Almost as though they
couldn’t figure out how we got in. To the customers on the outside looking in,
it appeared as though Belks was closed. Closed to everyone that is, except us
and the few customers that came in through the one gate that was opened. I am
ashamed to admit, instead of informing these puzzled seekers where the open entrance
was, I just kept walking around minding my own business.
We Christians do the
same thing when it comes to the eternal life we have through Jesus Christ. We
are free. We are “in” with God. People on the outside are staring at us,
wondering how we got in, and we avoid them when we know how to get in. If we
are honest with ourselves, sometimes we treat Heaven as though it is closed off
to people except for those who belong to the “in crowd”. That is unacceptable
for a people who have been commanded by Christ to take the Gospel to the ends
of the earth. Revelation chapter seven reveals that one day Heaven will be
populated by multitudes of the redeemed from “every nation, tribe, people, and
language”. That means the exclusion of any group of people from hearing the Gospel
violates Christ’s command.
There are two sides to
this story however. What is not mentioned in my story is, Belks was actually
open for business. Those on the outside looking in just didn’t want to go in
through the right door. Heaven isn’t closed off. The curtain has been torn, the
door has been opened. We just have to enter through the right door; Jesus
Christ. Our society wants Heaven to be like Burger King; “Have it Your Way.”
Eternal Life isn’t have it your way, it’s “Have thine own way.”
There are not many
diverse roads to salvation each catered to the individual “seeker”. There is
one road, one gate, one way to Eternal Life. His name is Jesus Christ. He is
not an alternative, He is the answer. All the blessings of the Kingdom of God
are ours to enjoy, but we must enter through the one door that has been opened
to us. That door was opened by the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
When it comes to
Eternal Life, both those on the outside and on the inside are wrong. Those on
the outside should realize that the gates to salvation and eternal life are indeed
open, but they must enter through the right door; Jesus Christ. He is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John
14:6). Those on the “inside” should realize that we should engage those on the
outside and show them the way “in”.
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