Walking With Jesus

Understanding the Nature of Sin

“Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.” (Romans 3:9 NLT)

The only appropriate response to the glory of God is worship. Anything less is blasphemy!

That’s why Ray Comfort wrote: “Once we catch a glimpse of the holiness of God, the existence of hell becomes a most necessary conclusion. If God is good, He must be angry at evil and He must have a place of punishment for those who do evil.”

For years I have wrongly believed that the unsaved people with whom I’ve shared the Gospel understood what sin is and that they are sinners. But the Apostle Paul in Romans 3 explains that “No one is truly wise (no one understands the position sin has put them in); no one is seeking God.”

John writes in chapter 3:18: “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” Then in the next verse John explains the basis for God’s judgment: “And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.”

To try to explain holiness and heaven to a sinner is like trying to explain to a four-year-old why green beans are better for them than candy bars. They want what they like, they don’t have the wisdom to understand the long-term effects of unhealthy eating. Neither do people who are walking in darkness have the capacity to understand the long-term effects of “ungodly” living.

So, how do we help people to desire the light? How can we explain what sin is to someone who doesn’t really care? We start with the 10 Commandments.

Paul wrote in Romans 7:7: “I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, ‘You must not covet.’” And in Romans 3:20 Paul wrote: “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”

Sin literally means “to miss the mark.” But what’s the “mark?” Think of a bullseye on a target. God’s law is boiled down into two commandments: Love God and love others. But without any knowledge of what love is, we can draw many wrong conclusions. It’s like saying to your seven-year-old son, “You’re a good basketball player” because he made a layup. He may be showing promise, but he’s not “good” yet.

Unless lost people understand that they have broken God’s laws, they can’t understand why He would punish them. It’s great news for us as believers to understand that we had a penalty for our sin-debt that we couldn’t pay, but Jesus paid it for us. He took our place and assumed the punishment we deserved.

But if someone doesn’t understand they have a sin-debt they can’t pay; it won’t make any sense that Jesus, or anyone else, has paid it. They must understand the wrath that awaits them is because they have broken God’s laws, and there’s a “wage” to be earned. “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 3:23)

We so water down sin as believers, how can we expect unbelievers to understand or even care that they’re sin is separating them from God. But if we help them to see that they’ve lied, stolen, taken God’s holy name in vain, have lusted and committed adultery in their heart, and the penalty for those, and many other sins, is death, then we have a framework within which they can understand why their sin is subject to judgment. Then the fact someone has paid their “debt” begins to resonate and their heart can open to the truth of who Jesus is and what He’s done for them.

If you want to learn more about this vital topic and how to more effectively share the Gospel with those you love, please check out this free book by Ray Comfort, below: Free Wonderful Book

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Glory of God

“For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT)

Human beings fail to recognize the glory of God in direct proportion to their unwillingness to see themselves as filled with iniquity. The higher the esteem with which we see ourselves, the more difficult it is to see the beauty and majesty of God.

In Exodus 33 when Moses asked to see God’s glorious presence, God told Him: “You may not look directly at My face, for no one may see Me and live.” Yet, Paul writes in Colossians 1:19: “For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ.”

Think of the brilliance of the sun. During the noontime brightness, to look at the sun for more than a few seconds can be literally blinding. Yet, the Bible declares that on the mount of transfiguration: “As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light.” (Matthew 17:2) It was in this context that God spoke again saying: “’This is My dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him.’ The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.”

One day every person, living and dead, will come into God’s Holy presence. But on that day, there won’t be any semblance of self-sufficiency. No one will be pushing to the proverbial front of the line. On that day every knee will bow involuntarily. It will be reflex – BOOM – our knees will hit the ground and our faces will be hidden in shame and terror to be in the awesome presence of Holiness and Perfection.

On that day we’ll see as we’ve been seen. With no pretense of goodness, every eye will be opened, and every heart will be illuminated with the Truth of who Jesus is and has always been. There will be no misunderstanding that we are sinners in the hands of an angry God. Why anger?

Because finally, justice will be served! Satan and his devilish emissaries will be sentenced to their eternal home in the lake of fire and misery. Those who rejected their only Hope, the Lord Jesus, will be separated for all eternity from those whose faith and trust has been placed in the only One whose Name is above every name. The slain Lamb of God who is now present as the roaring Lion of Judah will take His place on the throne of honor at the right hand of the Father.

John records in Revelation 5:11-12: “Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’”

We can’t possibly begin to understand what a gift we have in Jesus, the holy, spotless, perfect Lamb of God, who is Himself the embodiment of the glory of the Father, until we can finally see ourselves as the filthy, wretched, shame-filled, peons of Satan that we are apart from His mercy and grace. To dare believe there resides in us a microscopic speck of goodness apart from Jesus is to spit in His beautiful face and to spurn His sacrifice.

Kneel before Him in humble recognition that apart from Him you are nothing and apart from Him you can do nothing! Let your heart fill with worship, adoration, and praise as you realize your sin nailed Him to the Cross. But realize too, that if you’d been the only person on earth who needed a Savior, Jesus would have died for you! Let your life become a vessel of honor, pure and wholly devoted to exalting the King of kings and Lord of lords with however much life you have left. He alone is worthy!

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You a Good Person?

“Don’t be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” (Galatians 6:7 NLT)

Imagine you’re on vacation. You’re driving with your family to a beautiful destination. The surrounding area is already “teasing” you with it’s unique and inviting majesty, so much so you didn’t notice that you went from a speed zone that was 75 mph to 55 mph. You’re awakened from the charm of the landscape when you hear the siren and glance in the mirror to see the lights on the Police cruiser, and the officer signaling you to pull over. You get a ticket, but since you were going 20 over the limit, you have to go to court.

The judge is responsible to uphold the law, one of which you have broken. So, when you stand before him, does he care that you were on vacation? That you’re a doctor, lawyer, or candlestick maker doesn’t (or shouldn’t) have a bearing on the fact that you have broken the law. Does the judge care if you love your wife and kids? That you haven’t missed a day of work in 13 years? That you tithe your income and volunteer faithfully at your church?

While all of that is commendable, none of it changes the fact that you have broken the law and there’s justice to be served. What’s my point?

When we share the Gospel of Christ, we too often get sidetracked by people who want to change the focus of our conversation with them from fact to feelings, from conscience to emotion. It’s no longer about the fact they’ve broken God’s laws, it’s about “I’m a good person, and God loves me too much to condemn me.”

We misunderstand the nature of sin. Sin is a violation of the laws of a Holy God who is not only loving, He’s just. We want to believe He’s too good to allow anyone to go to hell. The fact is, He’s too good NOT to allow people to go to hell.

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com

You be the judge. A young girl is kidnapped. She’s drugged and forced to do unspeakable things, that not only violate her body, but her soul. Ultimately, she’s murdered for trying to escape. The perpetrator is arrested and comes to trial. You hear testimonies and watch video evidence that is irrefutable. There’s no question of his guilt. What would you do? To let him go free would be a travesty. Justice demands a guilty verdict! What would you think of a judge who would let a guilty person walk?

Yet, we violate the laws of God without remorse and expect Him to ignore our sin because He’s a God of love. It’s a violation of God’s holiness to ignore our unrepented sin.

Paul wrote in Romans 1:18: “But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Then in verse 21: “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.”

Ray Comfort wrote in his book “Faith Is For Weak People” (page 52): “Sinners bring God down and lift man up. They give praise to nature rather than the Creator, and then they imagine that He doesn’t think sin is serious. The Scriptures, however, warn that in His holy eyes, lying, stealing, lust, hatred, blasphemy, adultery, fornication, greed, rebellion, and a thousand other sins are extremely serious. Divine justice cries out for retribution, and hell makes perfect sense. It is frighteningly reasonable.”

Are you a good person? Paul records the words of the Psalmist in Romans 3:12b: “No one does good, not a single one.” To rely on our own goodness to get us to heaven is eternal suicide.

Blessings, Ed

What Are You Cultivating?

“My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.” (Job 4:8 NLT)

As I write today, I’m basking in the joy of corporate worship. My soul is refreshed as I ponder the privilege of being with my brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing in the singing of songs of praise and honor to our Savior, and listening to a message from God’s Word.

Why do I value worshipping with others so highly? The same reason I value my individual times of worship and prayer. I’m cultivating the soil of my heart, seeking to water and nourish the presence of God in me.

May I make an observation? I listen to a lot of Christian music, mostly when I’m driving, but I hear a big difference in what’s on the radio and what I hear when I’m at church. “Yeh,” you might think, “because the songs on the radio are professionally produced and are much better.” Quite to the contrary, for the most part the songs on the radio, as good as they are, are performances, but what I experience at the church I attend is worshipful. The men and women who sing at church aren’t seeking to draw attention to themselves, but to direct our attention, praise, and glory to Jesus.

In my desktop devotional calendar today, the quote was: “The reality of knowing Jesus comes as a result of hidden prayer, and personal Bible study that is devotional and consistent in nature. Christ becomes more real to those who persist in cultivating His presence.”

“Cultivate” is an interesting word. According to Webster’s Dictionary it means: “to prepare and use soil or land for growing crops, till, to break up the surface soil around plants in order to destroy weeds, prevent crusting, and preserve moisture.” There’s more, but you get the idea.

So, what can we learn? Preparing the “soil” of our hearts takes time and effort. What happens in your garden if you don’t pay attention to the soil? Weeds grow! Plants die! What happens in your heart if you don’t pay attention to what your “soil” is seeing? Hearing? Being exposed to?

At best, we get distracted. At worst, we lose our way. What measure of faith we have gets choked out by the draw of the world. What we think about comes about! What we feed our mind and heart produces a “crop.” The produce of our life will either be honoring to God, or it won’t, there’s no in between.

Cultivation is intentional. Paul writes in Galatians 6:7-9: “Don’t be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”

We can’t grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus by constantly feeding on the “crumbs” of another’s efforts (i.e. a book we’re reading or a sermon from our favorite Pastor). The roots of our faith only deepen when we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us from God’s Word – who is Jesus – through prayerful reading and studying the Bible, His written Word, as well as individual, and corporate worship.

If you desire a “harvest” of fruitfulness for the Lord, cultivate the “soil” of your heart and grow seeds of faith that will honor and glorify Jesus.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Understanding the Word of God

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 NLT)

One of the most common errors we make when thinking about God’s Word is focusing exclusively on the written words of God, the Bible. The Word of God is Jesus, who is the central figure throughout the whole Bible. And understand, I’m not being critical. I often refer to the Bible as God’s Word, because it certainly is a summation of God’s interactions with man from the beginning of time.

However, in the context of how God speaks, we can’t lose sight of the fact that Jesus is THE Truth. There is no truth apart from what is consistent with who Jesus is and what He proclaimed in His life on earth. Yes, of course, the Spirit speaks through His written word, the Bible, but nothing in the Bible will ever contradict the Truth of who Jesus is.

It’s not uncommon to believe that if we understand the written word, we’ll see the living Word more clearly. And that is true. But we must also understand the reason for reading and studying the Bible in the first place. Our goal isn’t simply to gain more knowledge or to gather information, it’s to apply what we’re learning with the end goal of personal transformation. We can memorize the Bible from cover to cover, but if it doesn’t enable us to look and live more like Jesus, we’ve wasted our time.

The Pharisees, who were largely responsible for the death of Jesus, had memorized the writings of Moses, consisting of the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Pentateuch. Yet, they completely missed the key Figure in those writings, and rather than worshipping and honoring Him, they had Him crucified.

Understanding that Jesus is the Word of God, the living, breathing, active Son of God, is critical in understanding the written words of God, the Bible. The issue is never “does God speak?” Of course, He does, it’s just a matter of tuning in to His frequency. How do we do that? How do we hear and process what He’s saying?

Pastor Pete Greig said: Trying to understand the Bible “without a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus leads to all kinds of issues. Jesus reframes the Scriptures to show how they’re all pointing to Himself.” To read the Bible and not see the fingerprints of Jesus throughout is to misunderstand why it was written.

My time in reading and studying the Scriptures isn’t simply to know more, it’s to see Jesus more clearly so that I might become more like Him. To the extent I reflect the life and character of Jesus in the way I live and love, to that extent I’ve understood what the Bible teaches, and I’ve heard Him speak clearly.

It breaks my heart to realize how few people who profess to know and love Jesus actually spend time daily reading and studying the Scriptures and spending time, specifically set aside, for conversation with the Lord in prayer. Yes, of course, we can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons and it’s not going to lead to Christlikeness, but we can’t assume to know, love, and serve Someone with whom we spend no time.

Greater understanding of the Bible results from greater time spent with it’s Author.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Serving the God Who Strikes!

“God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” (Matthew 26:31 NLT)

Though I’ve read the above verse dozens of times, I “saw” it for the first time this morning. Jesus is quoting this verse from Zechariah 13:7 in the context of telling His disciples that they will all desert Him when He’s arrested. They all swear their allegiance, but when push came to shove, they all tucked tail and ran. But what jumped off the page today was the first word – “GOD!”

It’s just so unexpected, so unlike the character of God to strike His own Son. Yet, the word used here has more than one meaning. In the context of the above verse “strike” means to “strike gently: as a part or a member of the body.” Almost like shooing a fly away that lands on your arm.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry God’s desire was to draw people to Jesus, not chase them away. But in that circumstance, it was necessary to push them away. But why?

First, for their own safety. The crowd that arrested Jesus had “swords and clubs.” Who would have spread the “Good News” if the 11 had been killed? Jesus had just invested three years of His life training them, what a waste to have them eliminated even before Jesus’ sacrificial death. But the more obvious reason is – they had to see for themselves (a) what cowards they were, and (b) how utterly dependent upon Jesus they were and must remain if they were to ever accomplish His mission.

Another factor to consider is that Zechariah is estimated to have been written nearly 600 years before Jesus was born. This was another Messianic prophecy verifying Jesus’ identity as the Christ. But “strike” can also be translated “to smite down, cut down, to kill, slay.” It’s as if this is God’s way of releasing Jesus into His inevitable path to death on the Cross.

To me, the unavoidable conclusion is that God the Father is clearly identifying with every step His beloved Son must take to pay the penalty for our sin. He’s involved and invested, regardless of the pain He suffers in the process. Why would He do that?

Only those selflessly and unconditionally drawn by their love for Jesus are willing to agonize with Him in His final act of suffering. Because only they held strongly to their hope that His death wasn’t leading to defeat, but final victory. He wasn’t dying for His sin, He had none. He was the vicarious sacrifice for our sin; the only suitable sacrifice to free us from the bondage of sin, death, and the grave.

Of all the thousands who followed Him in His life, there were only a handful at the Cross. They were there, as tortuous as it was, for Him.

Amid the mocking of those passing by, and even by those with whom He was crucified, God the Father once again showed up in power. After life was drained from His Holy Son’s body, the Father struck terror in the hearts and minds of the soldiers by the massive earthquake. And the Pharisees and religious leaders were dumbfounded by the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple being torn in two, thus opening access for anyone to come freely into God’s Holy presence.

But God the Father isn’t finished “striking!” Soon Jesus will return in a majestic and terrifying display of power and authority. So much so that God has said: “every knee will bend to Me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.” (Romans 14:11)

Each of us will one day stand in God’s awesome presence to give account of our lives. It will be too late to beg for forgiveness, though I’m quite sure there will be massive and heartfelt sorrow. We’ll finally see as we’ve been seen. We’ll finally understand why God struck His Son and what horrific implications that has for those who across the centuries have ignored Him.

Please don’t ignore Him today. Come to Jesus while there’s still time.

Blessings, Ed

When Will It End?

“Look, I am coming soon, bringing My reward with Me to repay all people according to their deeds.” (Revelation 22:12 NLT)

Uvalde, Texas is the scene of the tragedy in the U.S. that has filled our news channels, as well as our hearts and minds in recent days. The horrifying reality is, until Jesus returns, these kinds of random, merciless murders will continue. Why? Why doesn’t God stop them? Why doesn’t He DO something? The short answer is – HE HAS!

The tragic loss of life is always magnified, and the grief intensified when children are the victims. Personally, I can’t imagine anything worse for a parent than the loss of a child. I’ve been praying for the parents and siblings of each child who was lost, and for the families of the three adults – yes, I’m including the family of the young man who was the shooter.

It’s easy to allow our hearts and minds to be filled with hatred, anger, and the desire to have someone pay! We’re always looking for someone or something to blame.That’s when we turn to the government, believing somehow, we should be able to legislate morality, forcing would be perpetrators to stop their bad behavior. If only it were that simple.

It’s also, unfortunately, the time many people turn their angry fists heavenward, blaming God for not sparing their child. Could He have saved them? He’s God, He can do whatever He pleases. So, why didn’t it please Him to save those innocent children?

Perhaps the better question is to ask: “Why didn’t He spare His only Son from dying in our place on the Cross? Why did He allow the sins of all would be repentant sinners to be laid on His only, sinless Son?

If anyone knows the grief those parents feel, it’s God. If anyone knows the heartache, the anguish, the suffering caused by the loss of a child, it’s God. Then why in heaven’s name didn’t He stop it? At what cost?

We either have freewill or we don’t? We can’t have it both ways! We can either exercise our will to sin and hurt people, or our freewill to serve God and help people. But it’s not simply the tragedy itself that impacts our lives, it’s the fall-out, the aftermath. It’s how we exercise our freewill to trust God and let Him comfort and guide us through the tragedy, or we stiffen our backs and shake our fist in His face.

God will not make us obey Him anymore than the parents of the 18-year-old who pulled the trigger could have made him get the help he obviously needed. Life isn’t fair and it won’t be until Jesus returns.

So, do we just give up hope that the world will ever get better? If we haven’t, we should because it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse. The only way to make anything better is by becoming better ourselves. How do we do that? There’s only one way – through yielding our lives and allegiance to Jesus. But isn’t that a little bit naïve? Aren’t there any good people who AREN’T serving Jesus?

Just as there are bad people who do good things, there are good people, godly people who sin and fail God and others. But the Bible is clear: “No one is righteous – not even one.” (Romans 3:10) Jesus is the only exception, and those He makes righteous through His sacrifice. Our ONLY HOPE is Jesus. To walk with us through the tragedies of life while on this planet, and, of course, for all eternity with Him in heaven.

When will it end? The moment Jesus returns to bring justice to all the world, to weed out the evil from the good, and to pronounce judgment on all mankind. Are you ready for that day? If not, Jesus is the only One who can prepare you. Put your trust in Him before it’s eternally too late. Click on this link – https://hutchcraft.com/the-bridge-to-god

Blessings, Ed

When the Well Seems Dry

“Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.” (Genesis 21:19 NLT)

Do you ever get discouraged? If not, you’re certainly the exception. Discouragement, disappointment, emotional ups and downs are a part of life – yes, even life in Christ. Does God cause them? No, but neither does He stop them. Why not? Because they’re part of the ebb and flow of life, and because His intention is to always use them to make us more like Him and more effective for Him.

Before Abram became Abraham, God made a covenant with him. In the closing verses of Genesis 15, God promised Abram that his descendants would be given the land that was then occupied by many other people groups. This was the land that would become known as the “Promised Land.”

There was just one small problem. Abram’s wife, Sarai (not yet Sarah), was getting older and had not been able to bear children. So, Sarai figured God must not know what He’s talking about and decided to take things into her own hands. Her solution? Give her Egyptian servant, Hagar, to Abram as his wife, so he could have children through her. That’s like saying: “Okay, I need a million dollars, but I only have $1,000, so I’ll go to the casino to win my million.” VERY bad idea!

Hagar became pregnant and gave birth to Ishmael, but when God kept His promise, as He always does, and Sarah gave birth to Isaac, trouble intensified between Sarah and Hagar, and Isaac and Ishmael. Finally, Sarah demanded that Abraham “get rid of that slave woman and her son.”

That always happens when we try to fulfill God’s promises without God. When are those kinds of decisions most often made? At times of spiritual or emotional “drought.” When God seems far away, and we believe the only option is to take things into our own hands.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that: “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” If that’s the case, then why do we have times of dryness in our hearts and minds?

May I be honest? I’m not sure. So, what do I do when these dry times come? My goal is to never forget in the darkness what I know to be true in the light. What do I know to be true in the light? God is light and in Him is no darkness. He always keeps His promises, such as, He will never leave me nor forsake me. There are many, many more, but suffice it to say, that for me, when I’m physically and/or emotionally dragging, there are things that become my “default” behavior.

For example, I don’t make major decisions when I’m “down.” I don’t trust my judgment. It’s helpful to let my wife know, but most of the time she knows before I do. But here’s the thing, In those times I find it very difficult to give expression to what I’m feeling. I’m cognitively aware that I’m “dragging,” but I’m also aware of God’s presence with me. I pray, thanking Him for what He’s doing in my life, that He’s with me and for me. I trust that He understands exactly why I feel the way I do, but I don’t have words to explain it. I think many times I’m just physically tired or emotionally drained.

What’s my point? I can’t be the only one who gets “down.” And, even as I write, I realize “down” doesn’t necessarily mean discouraged or depressed. It’s like having a “spiritual cold.” I’m just not 100%. The reality is, the proverbial “well of Jesus’ love and life within us” NEVER runs dry. For me, it’s just that I’m not as willing to run to the well. Sometimes I just need a nap!

Blessings, Ed 😊

When It’s Not Okay to Not be Okay

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1-2 NLT)

We’re creatures of habit and the older we get the harder it is to change. However, problems arise when we hold so tightly to our habits, we ignore our hang-ups; we get so comfortable in our sinful attitudes, our behavior becomes destructive to ourselves and others.

Matt Chandler wrote: “Our churches should be environments where it’s okay to not be okay, while simultaneously saying it’s not okay to stay there.” When “who we are” becomes code for “I’m not willing to change,” there’s a problem. When stubbornness becomes habitual sinfulness, that’s not okay.

The above verse is an excerpt from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and precedes His discussion of someone wanting to remove a speck from a person’s eye when they have a log in their own eye. What’s He describing?

Sin blurs our vision when it comes to our own sin but magnifies another person’s sin in our eyes. Typically, what we can’t face in ourselves becomes crystal clear when we see it in someone else.

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Let’s say for example, that you’re always late. Fifteen to twenty minutes late is your “on time.” But we have lunch scheduled and I arrive a few minutes after you. Of all people you should understand, right? Wrong! You jump down my throat about how valuable your time is and how inconsiderate it is for me to waste your time by being a few minutes late. A bit hypocritical, huh!

These are the folks who are the church’s professional “fruit inspectors!” When you do something that they don’t like, they’re not “judging,” they’re just inspecting your spiritual fruit. What should you do? How should you handle a person like this?

According to Jesus, “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.” (Matthew 7:6) So, what should you do?

It’s no accident that immediately following these verses Jesus goes into a discourse on effective praying. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks the door will be opened.” (vss. 7-8)

Often our attitude can be challenged by people who profess one thing but live something else. They’re not okay and will likely never be okay except by a move of God in their lives. Without repentance and persistent dependence upon the Lord, it’s impossible to change. That’s the point of persistent prayer. To pray for those caught in the cycle of hypocrisy, but also for ourselves.

Satan’s plan is to drag us down by causing us to focus on the bad example of people who profess one thing but live another. We’re tempted to inadvertently follow their wrong path by complaining about them to others (gossip). That’s not okay either. Our goal is to pray consistently for them and to persistently pursue the Lord ourselves, seeking to learn what He would teach us through our interactions with them.

Not being okay is okay for new believers but is inexcusable for those of us who have walked with the Lord for many years. Our lives should be lived above reproach. That doesn’t mean we’re perfect, but it should mean we’re quick to admit when we’re not okay and be quick to seek forgiveness and correction from the Lord and others as He leads us.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What are You Waiting for?

“Another of His disciples said, ‘Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.’ But Jesus told him, ‘Follow Me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.’” (Matthew 8:21-22 NLT)

We place a lot of priority on our priorities! That’s the nature of man. We tend to believe that what is important to us should be important to everyone else and we’re dumbfounded when someone disagrees with us, when someone has a different set of priorities.

That’s what keeps a lot of people from Jesus. In the verses above Jesus sounds impatient, even cruel, to believe someone shouldn’t go to their father’s funeral, but should just drop EVERYTHING and follow Him NOW!” But the context suggests the person’s father hadn’t died. He likely wasn’t even sick. What the man was asking was to stick around until his father died, not knowing how long that would be.

In other words, the man’s priority was his family. He was postponing following Jesus until he felt he could, based on the dictates of his other commitments. How like so many today. “When I get married!” “When I have kids!” “When I get older!” “When I get more financially set!” “When I __________!” And you can fill in the blank. What’s my point?

If we’re not prepared to accept Jesus’ priorities when we first come to Him, then when? Jesus said to the man in the verses above: “Follow Me now!” Why the urgency? Because this moment is the only moment we have in which to make a decision about anything. Can you fix your flat tire yesterday? Can we plan a vacation tomorrow? And you’re thinking: “Duh, yeh. I can do whatever I want tomorrow!”

Jesus told a story about a rich man in Luke 12 whose very fertile fields yielded an abundant crop. So he said to himself: “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?”

We have no promise of the next breath. To think we can accomplish anything, then come to Jesus is arrogant and foolish. And the irony is, there’s nothing, literally NOTHING this world can offer that even comes close to what walking with Jesus can offer. My concern for people’s souls isn’t simply that they’ll miss heaven. The issue isn’t heaven or hell, it’s Jesus. To miss Jesus is hell, whether we’re living or dead.

We live near (not in 😊) a very wealthy community. I’ll sometimes drive by some of these houses and think about the priorities of those who live there. No doubt some think they’ve “arrived,” that they have it all! They may have all that money can buy, but most don’t have a clue what they’re missing.

Money can’t buy what Jesus offers. Forgiveness, hope, meaning, purpose, value, a sense of wholeness and contentment, a mission on this earth and a forever home in heaven.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:52: “It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown.” There will be no time to prepare or beg for forgiveness. It will be eternally too late. This verse refers to Christ’s second coming, but the truth is, that’s how we die. One second we’re here, the next second we’re not.

If you have any hope for life in Jesus, THIS moment is the only moment you have in which for you to choose Him. What are you waiting for? Open your heart to Him now, while there’s time. Please click the link below to watch a brief video explaining how you can be ready to meet Jesus when He comes for you. https://hutchcraft.com/the-bridge-to-god

Blessings, Ed 😊