Walking With Jesus

Are You a Guy or a Man?

“The disciples were amazed. ‘Who is this man?’ they asked. ‘Even the winds and waves obey Him!’” (Matthew 8:27 NLT)

When you’re with a group of men you might see, hear, or smell any number of things, but if you asked why, the common response is: “It’s just a guy thing!” And that’s true even if it’s a Christian group of men. The basic premise behind the acceptance of uncouth behavior among men is that they’re just being “men.” But are they?

The setting for the above verse is, Jesus has been resting from a physically tiring day of ministry, but while He slept a fierce storm arose and the water was coming into the boat in an alarming rate. The disciples literally were fearing for their lives.

I’m confident they tried everything they knew to do to remedy the situation, but to no avail. Finally, in literal desperation, they awakened Jesus and, to be heard above the noise of the storm, they were shouting at the top of their lungs: “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

Have you ever been awakened from a deep sleep? You may have been in the midst of a dream, so to be suddenly awakened is somewhat disorienting. I’m not suggesting Jesus wasn’t in full command of His senses, but listen to what He said first: “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!”

Of course, the storm is still raging, so Jesus would have had to speak loudly also. What’s my point? The disciples’ first response to the storm is fear. Jesus’ first thought was faith. What’s the implication? It’s as if Jesus is saying: “What do you have to be afraid of, I’m with you!” Then, as a means of illustrating His point, He rebuked the wind and waves, and there was peace and calm.

It was then the disciples asked the question at the top of the page. So, what does all of this have to do with whether you’re a guy or a man?

Being a guy is fun. You can be “yourself.” Laid back, unguarded as to your behavior, after all, “I’m just a guy.” Belch, pass gas, have a hot dog eating contest, who cares, it’s just a “guy” thing. Depending on the nature of the crowd of men, it can involve drinking, drugs, illicit sex, even the taking of another person’s life. Where am I going with this?

Being a “guy” essentially means to give liberty to your basest self. It’s a “no discipline, no rules, and no holds barred” kind of attitude, quite unlike the behavior of our Savior. But don’t misunderstand. I believe Jesus had a great sense of humor. I suspect He played tricks on His disciples, laughed, and had a good time with them, and there’s certainly a place for that for us.

But when it comes to our faith in Jesus, we’ve got to allow Him to lead, discipline, and instruct us. We must learn to become a man, a man of God, not simply a guy among guys.

Burk Parsons wrote: “It’s easy to be a guy, but it takes courage, integrity, character, honor, strength, discipline, and humility to be a man.” Guys joke and cut up, and that’s okay, but there comes a time when we’ve got to set our rowdiness aside and discipline ourselves to intentionally grow in our likeness of Jesus.

Real men love Jesus and, thus, love and are faithful to their wives, treat their children with tenderness and kindness, and walk in a way that deserves to be followed. Jesus was a Man among men who not only taught us, but showed us with His life, what it means to be a man. Let’s follow Him as closely as we possibly can – TOGETHER!

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Is the Age of Accountability?

“Then He said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:3 NLT)

Because responding to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him is generally believed to be an adult decision, the issue then becomes, what happens to a child who dies before they’re mature enough to make that decision? Thus, the issue of the age of accountability.

Since I mentioned the age of accountability in yesterday’s post, I decided to address it today. Depending on your frame of reference, you may never have heard this expression, so let me seek to give explanation as to what it means and why I believe it’s true, even though it’s not specifically mentioned in the Bible.

There are, of course, other categories of people to consider in this teaching. For example, a person who, for reason of mental or emotional or even physical imbalance or instability, is unable to understand what it means to yield their life and allegiance to Jesus. These kinds of issues have to be entrusted to the Lord’s wisdom, for as much as we’d like to think we know who can be held accountable for their decisions and who cannot, ultimately, it’s the Lord’s call.

Personally, when I think of the “age of accountability,” I think most often of children. Jesus loved children and used them as examples of what we, as adults, should act and look like as His followers. How so?

What are some child-like characteristics that we ought to emulate in our lives as believers? And even as I contemplate what to write, I realize that some children mature at a much faster pace than others. Also, as a rule of thumb, girls mature faster than boys. My 12 year-old son was going on 6, when my 12 year-old daughter was going on 20. 😊

Consider these general characteristics of young children: humility, vulnerability, sensitivity, submission to authority, gentleness, kindness, tenderness, love, and meekness. You may think of others, but those are the ones that come to mind first for me.

Think, too, of the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Many of these are evident in a child’s life and, if that child comes to the Lord at a young age, can be nurtured and developed much more easily than in an adult.

A rule of thumb I’ve used as a parent and pastor is Baptism. In the Bible, responding to Jesus’ invitation to life and the investment of our lives in His Kingdom, is an adult decision. Infant baptism is not found or taught in Scripture.

When I was a pastor, when a child desired to be baptized, I often had to discern between whose decision it was, the parent or the child? My daughter was about 7 when she expressed interest in receiving the Lord and following Him in water baptism. My son and stepson were a little older, but I left that decision to them.

Baptism is an outward, visible picture of an inward, invisible event. When I was a pastor I baptized by immersion because I believe it’s the clearest picture of what happens in our heart and life. Paul talks about this in Romans 6. When we’re lowered into the water it’s symbolic of being lowered into a watery grave, paralleling Jesus’ dying and being placed in a tomb. Then, like Jesus, we rise to new life in Him, declaring that sin and the grave have lost their hold on us, thus, freeing us to walk in newness of life in Christ.

There are always issues of maturity, home environment, and others, but my rule of thumb is that most children reach the “age of accountability” by around age 12.

I hope this is helpful.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Do You Expect?

“Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” (Ephesians 5:2 NLT)

As a pastor I was privileged to sit with people in the best times of their lives and their worst times. A parent’s worst nightmare is the loss of a child, but for a parent who loves and is following Jesus, a child who isn’t following Jesus is a close second.

People who don’t know Jesus likely wouldn’t understand the pain of having a child who isn’t prepared to die. What do I mean by that? As I understand the Bible, God’s eternal written Word, a person who dies without an intimate and personal love relationship with Jesus will be separated from God, and, thus, from believing parents, loved ones and friends, for all eternity.

A believing parent who loses a believing child has the hope and expectation of a joyful reunion when they leave this earth to be united with Jesus and their child who preceded them in death. The pain of loss is still very real and takes time to work through, but ultimately, there is comfort in knowing you won’t be separated forever.

On the other hand, an unbeliever who loses a loved one or friend, has no hope of ever seeing their lost loved one again. So, on some levels, their pain is intensified. Although there are some clergypersons, friends and loved ones who will seek to comfort grieving persons by assuring them: “Your loved one is in a better place.” The truth is, if the person who died didn’t know Jesus, assuring them their loved one is in a better place is just a lie.

People, even lost people, who understand that, will often raise questions about the circumstances of their loved one’s death. I’ve heard things like “Why didn’t God do something?” “If your God is so powerful, why didn’t He heal my loved one/friend?” “If God is so loving, where is He now, when I need Him?” And on and on the questions go.

While I’ve never asked a grieving person this question, I’ve sometimes wanted to ask: “What do you expect Him to do?” Yes, of course, you wanted Him to step in and stop the crisis that resulted in the death of the one for whom you grieve, but what about the inevitable “next time” they die. What then?

What’s my point? Simply this – God HAS done something! The most loving Parent – our Heavenly Father – gave His ONLY SON so that whosoever will may come to the Cross and find forgiveness and new life. Why is that so vital to understand?

Because God’s tremendous, unequalled sacrifice, was given for the express purpose of giving us an alternative to being forever lost and being forever separated from those we love the most. That’s why it’s so critical that, as children of God, we must live well and pray well and share well with those whom we love the most, about the love of the One who sacrificed everything, to give us hope of eternal life.

Let me close with this thought. An unbelieving couple who loses their small child, even a stillborn or aborted child, has an investment in heaven that can and should, give them an incentive to come to the Lord. Life begins at conception, so for that life to be cut short in the womb or before the age of accountability, that child will be in heaven. Of course, the age of accountability is another conversation that we’ll look at more closely tomorrow.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Learning to Trust God

“And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, ‘Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!’” (Mark 10:24 KJV)

Trust can be a very fickle companion. Why? Because it’s dependent upon the validity of at least two components – the trust-er and the trust-ee. What does that mean? It means I can trust in an idol made of wood, believing my devotion to that idol will bring good karma into my life. Or I can trust my intellect and conclude there is no God. I can trust that one brand of peanut butter is better than another. And on and on it goes.

Life is filled with decisions we make every day involving trust, yet of all the ways we exercise trust, the only one that will determine where we’ll spend eternity is our trust, or lack thereof, in Jesus. Trust and belief go hand in hand.

In Mark 9 we read Mark’s account of the time Jesus’ appearance was transformed. This is often referred to as His “transfiguration.” Peter, James, and John witnessed this miraculous occurrence, but as they came down from the mountain Jesus was met by a father whose demon-possessed son wasn’t healed by the other disciples. So, he said to Jesus: “Have mercy on us and help us, if You can.”

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That’s where a lot of people find themselves in their consideration of Jesus. We place our trust in the pursuit of riches, but even if we find wealth, it never satisfies. We place our trust in relationships, believing if we find that special person, we’ll be satisfied. Or we place our trust in our own ability to find satisfaction in work, athletics, video games, or whatever, yet none offer the forgiveness, peace, contentment, and ultimate satisfaction we seek.

Then we “try” Jesus. And our attitude is: “We’ve tried everything else, maybe You can help!” And, if we’ll listen, we’ll hear Jesus say to us what He said to this bewildered father: “What do you mean, ‘If I can?’ …Anything is possible if a person believes.”

In this context the word Jesus used that’s translated “believe” means “to place one’s trust in (Jesus).” Trust is a critical element if we’re going to be a Jesus follower, that begins with “saving faith,” but is tested every day as we bring our needs to Him.

David Jeremiah wrote in a recent Turning Point devotion: “When we trust God for daily provisions, it teaches us to depend on Him and His faithfulness to us. He knows how to give us daily bread, daily strength, daily encouragement, daily opportunities, and daily fellowship with Himself and others.”

Think of a small child learning to walk. I realize you may be an exception, but most of us struggled to pull ourselves up, learn to balance, then risk taking that first step. What happened then? We fell, got back up and tried again and again and again.

Learning to trust God is a process that, like learning to walk, involves trying and failing. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons the Lord’s prayer includes asking for daily provision. Realizing how faithful God is to provide our needs (not always our wants), builds His credibility in our hearts and minds and enables us, over time, to trust Him with our whole lives.

Having walked with the Lord for nearly 60 years, I have no reservation in my trust of Him. The issue with which I have wrestled the most in my life isn’t if I can trust God, but if He can trust me.

Blessings, Ed 😊

When the Tail Wags the Dog

“Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to You. Holy Father, You have given Me Your name; now protect them by the power of Your name so that they will be united just as we are.” (John 17:11 NLT)

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” It’s not a stretch to think that a lack of friendship is at the root of a lot of unhappy believers.

Have you ever wondered why there are so many churches of the same “persuasion” in any given city? It would be nice if we could attribute that to evangelism. But, unfortunately, often it’s because the “board” couldn’t agree on the color of carpet in the sanctuary or what color to paint the nursery.

We’re so prone to pettiness in the Church, not because we don’t have “right” beliefs, but because we just don’t like each other. Most of the churches in which I pastored were small. Trust me, there’s a reason small churches stay small, and it’s not because the Lord doesn’t want them to grow. The overriding reason is that there are generally people in the church who are too threatened by new people, so they create division and disharmony to “scare away” anyone who might cause a threat to the disunity of the church.

Am I being cynical? Probably. But it deeply saddens me that we allow people to serve in positions of leadership in our churches who, in some cases, aren’t even believers in the Lord. They may have business knowledge or social skills, but they have no business leading Christian churches.

Most division in the church isn’t caused by wrong belief, it’s caused by wrong hearts. We want our way more than we want God’s way and we’re willing to do what we must to get our way. But the tragedy to me is that it doesn’t end there.

In Jesus’ longest prayer in the Bible His heart’s cry was that we, as His followers, would be one as He and His Father are one; that we would find our unity in Him, illustrated by our love for one another, not only among individual groups of believers, but across denominational lines. Yet, here again, we’re more in love with our preferences than we are with Jesus.

We let the proverbial “tail” wag the dog when we choose doctrines over Christ. What does that mean? It essentially means we allow doctrinal preferences to take precedent over oneness in the Body of Christ. How so? Take for example speaking in tongues.

When I was in ministry the church group with which I was ordained was “non-Pentecostal.” That was just a way to let people know we didn’t speak in tongues. Tongues was a very divisive issue when I was first in ministry, and I was adamant about it . . . until I met a few Pentecostal Pastors. Long story short, some of my best friends in ministry were and are my brothers and sisters in Pentecostal churches. I spoke in their churches and they in mine. Christ’s love bonded us together when doctrines of man tried to keep us apart. Eternal security is another “hot” topic, not so much on a theological level as on an emotional level.

Some doctrines become platforms upon which people’s faith is built, more than guideposts to help us navigate our walk with Jesus. My security as a believer isn’t built on a doctrine, it’s built on Jesus. Whether or not I speak in tongues is secondary to whether or not Christ owns my heart and is enabling me to hear His still, small voice.

As people of God, we must hold tightly to Jesus, but in so doing, we must also hold tightly to one another. The battlelines are becoming more and more clear between those of us who profess faith in Jesus and those who want to destroy anything that even hints of godliness.

We’ve got to stop letting our personal preferences divide us and allow God’s Spirit to unite us. If we’re going to be in heaven together, we might as well start liking each other now. It’s among our most powerful witnesses to an unbelieving world, and in my humble opinion, it’s just more interesting and enjoyable to have friends who don’t believe exactly like me.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Gospel vs Religion

“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.” (Matthew 6:16 NLT)

In our July 10^th worship, Dr. Bryan Loritts shared a message based on Mark 2:18-22. The specific topic of these verses is fasting, but Dr. Loritts digs into what the real issues are. I invite you to click on the link and watch the entire message https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqPSYqQxLgc, but in my post today I’d just like to highlight a few of his points.

Much of his message contrasted the differences between the Gospel of Jesus and religion.

Because there is so little emphasis placed on fasting, some may not even realize what it means. Dr. Loritts said: “Fasting is physically abstaining from food to experience the supremacy of the Giver over the gift. Be patient with yourself.” His intent here was to encourage someone who seldom if ever fasts to begin with a single meal or perhaps one day without eating, not start with a 40 day fast.

Dr. Loritts also said: “A very good thing becomes a very bad thing when it becomes an ultimate thing. The Gospel is not about Our Performance, But Our Pleasure.” This would be easy to misunderstand. He coupled this quote with Psalm 16:11 which says: “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever.”

“An ultimate thing,” as used in the above quote, refers to a personal conviction that seeks to become an ultimatum for everyone. For example, prayer is a wonderful and essential part of anyone’s walk with the Lord, yet, let’s say for sake of illustration, that I always pray with my head bowed and my eyes closed. But my conviction is so strong that I begin to teach and demand that that’s the ONLY way God will hear our prayers. That’s when a very good thing becomes an ultimatum, thus dividing people, not uniting them.

And just to be sure no one misunderstands, that’s NOT how I always pray (with my eyes closed and my head bowed) and it’s not what I believe about prayer (that that’s the ONLY way God will hear us).

Then, lastly, let me make one comment regarding “The Gospel is not about Our Performance, But Our Pleasure.” Our performance, or, in other words, our efforts to be good enough for God to accept us, is the exact opposite of what God desires. Jesus has done everything that needs to be done on the Cross. He purchased our salvation by His blood. There’s nothing more that we can do to add to what He’s already done.

That’s what Dr. Loritts was addressing in the diagram when he wrote: “religion works for approval, the Gospel works from approval.” As Christ followers we do good works that the Lord has outlined in advance for us to do, but we do them because we’re saved, not in an effort to be saved.

And the “pleasure” of which Dr. Loritts speaks is the pleasure derived from our closeness to Christ, not from the sensual pleasures of the world. Although, there are numerous things I do in the course of my day – reading the Bible, praying, worshipping, serving, loving my wife and family, and on and on – all of these things give me great pleasure.

My walk with Jesus is not duty-bound, it’s love-bound. I do what I do because God loves me, and I love Him, not in an effort to win or deserve His love. There’s nothing any of us could ever do that would cause God to love us more and there’s nothing we could ever do so wrong to cause Him to love us less. Love is never at risk when we’re walking with Jesus.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Is Your Life’s Goal?

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” (Philippians 1:21 NLT)

What is it that brings you the most satisfaction? Closing that big sale? Making that goal in a critical game? Winning the hand of the one you love? Cooking that perfect meal? Doing well on an exam? Landing the job you’ve longed to have? Obviously, there are many possibilities.

Sometimes we’re like the little boy in Sunday School class. The teacher held up a picture of a squirrel, then asked the class: “Who can tell me what this is?” The teacher called on little David, but he seemed hesitant to answer. Finally, he said, “Well, I see the whiskers and the bushy tail, but I’m going to have to go with Jesus.”

Sometimes, we can’t imagine exactly how Jesus fits into the scenario we’re considering, but it just seems like He should be the right answer. So, in terms of a life goal, to think of Jesus as the answer on some levels just doesn’t seem to fit. How in the world can a person, even God, be our goal?

That’s actually a very reasonable question. If our goal is to become a god, that’s an issue. However, if our goal is to become LIKE God, we’re getting close to finding a good plan.

Consider what Paul wrote in Romans 6:12-14: “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”

As we allow the Holy Spirit to live in and through us, our lives give evidence of God’s life in us. That’s what Paul was talking about in the verse at the top of the page from Philippians. If our life’s goal is to allow the Holy Spirit to conform us to the likeness of our Savior, little-by-little Christ’s life will come to the forefront of our lives as little-by-little sin’s hold on us dies.

The reality is that the moment we yield our lives and allegiance to Jesus, His cleansing blood washes us of sin and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. We’re given all the tools we will ever need to be everything the Lord desires us to be; however, it takes time for our will to conform to God’s will.

On some levels we still want what we want when we want it. The attractions of worldly passions still seek to pull us into sin and disobedience, but God’s Spirit will give us victory as we learn to trust Him and begin to want what God wants for us more than what we want for ourselves. When we fail, we seek forgiveness, but we continue to move forward.

To some degree we’ll fight this battle ‘til our dying breath, but we mustn’t lose sight of our goal. If Christlikeness is our heart’s desire, over time, with the Spirit’s help we’re able to take captive our thoughts for Christ, we’ll begin to think and act more like Jesus. It all begins with a decision.

In this season of my life all I want is what God wants for me – nothing more, nothing less! Am I as much like Jesus as I’ll ever be? I pray not! I want to continue to grow in Him until my dying breath. I/we will never deserve all that God has given and done on our behalf, but we can grow in gratitude as we realize more and more fully how helpless we’d be to find our way home without Him.

So, I’ll ask you again – just between you and the Lord – what is your life’s goal? I pray it will always and forever be – Jesus!

Blessings, Ed 😊

Is God’s Love Enough?

“For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NLT)

PLEASE NOTE: I am not and will not suggest in this post or any other that God is inadequate in any way to meet our every need, but there are contingencies. What does that mean?

It means that while God loves every person who has ever lived, is living, or ever will live, not every one of those persons will be in heaven when they die. Why not? Because eternal life is contingent upon a person’s belief in Jesus – “so that everyone who believed in Him will not perish…”

Why is that so important to understand? There seems to be, especially in America, a very lax view of sin, largely, I believe, due to our misunderstanding of the relationships between God’s love and His justice; His law and His grace; His expectation of us and our personal desires.

Belief, as used in the verse above, is far more than an intellectual assent. It means “to commit one’s trust; to place confidence in; to entrust to His fidelity.” In short, it’s a commitment of everything we are or ever hope to be to the will and purpose of God through our faith in Jesus His Son.

What are the practical implications of not understanding this? If my lack of motivation to turn away from my sin is based on my mistaken understanding that because God loves me, He’ll overlook my sin and not allow me to go to hell, I’m not going to see any reason to develop godly disciplines. I won’t have any motivation to read God’s Word, pray, or even attend church. I won’t feel compelled to walk in holiness or seek God’s forgiveness when I sin. My relationships won’t be centered on my need to have fellowship with likeminded believers, or I won’t have any desire to share Christ with those who are lost in my spheres of influence.

Salvation and sanctification are parallel tracks that lead us to Christlikeness. Salvation is what God does when we repent (turn from) our sin, seek His forgiveness and cleansing, and place our full trust for eternal life (that begins the moment we meet Jesus) in Christ alone.

Sanctification is the work of God’s Spirit who, by His powerful presence working in and through us, sets us apart for sacred use. God’s Spirit will lead us into truth, enable us to understand and apply that truth to our life, then give us the strength, motivation, and courage to actually live out our life in Christ daily in ways that will impact the lives of those in our spheres of influence.

God’s love is given to us to enable us to find forgiveness and a new life of freedom FROM sin, not to give us a license to continue to walk IN sin. In Romans 6:6-7 Paul writes: “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”

God’s love is an ever-present reality in our lives whether we’re walking with the Lord or not. God IS love, so His love for us is never in question. The issue isn’t “does God love me?” The issue is, “will His love alone rescue me from an eternity of torment?” And the clear answer from Scripture is “No! Not unless and until we respond to the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice, given to us because of His limitless love.”

God’s love will not force us to yield our allegiance to Him anymore than I could have forced my wife to marry me just because I loved her. She had to receive my love and choose to love me in return. A relationship with God is dependent upon two mutually agreeable wills to allow that relationship to work. Without that, God’s love for us alone is not enough to make us right with Him.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Why Do You Pray?

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:5-6 NLT)

Since I never know who will be reading these posts, I can’t assume to know whether or not you pray; however, some who have responded to my posts have indicated that they’re seeking to know the Lord, thus, hopefully, do pray regularly and as a matter of habit.

Prayer works in much the same way as conversation with another human being. It gives understanding, builds relationship, opens our heart and mind to one another, and creates common ground. Certainly, the focus of prayer, as the focus of any conversation, depends largely on the depth of the relationship.

Why we pray often depends somewhat on our needs on any given day; however, prayer to a believer should be as natural as breathing. We don’t pray because we need SOME-THING, we pray because we need SOME-ONE! That’s a critical difference between speaking with God and speaking with another human being.

Our dependence shouldn’t be and, on many levels, CAN’T be on another human being. As believers in Jesus, our dependence is upon Him alone. He is our sustainer and provider. He may use jobs or other means, but ultimately, He has engineered circumstances in our lives to create a means of giving us what we need to be all He desires us to be.

That’s one of the reasons we shouldn’t fret when we don’t get that “perfect” job or lose a relationship we really wanted. There are multiple reasons we need to trust the Lord without reservation, most of which we wouldn’t or couldn’t understand even if He tried to explain them to us.

Prayer is our lifeline, especially when we realize the Lord cares about every detail of our life. As we age, we have the proverbial “aches and pains” for which we take aspirin or ibuprofen, and I don’t always lift those to Him. But what I am quick to lift to Him are symptoms I don’t normally have. Anything out of the ordinary I want to check in with Him first.

That’s especially true with my spiritual health. There are times I feel, for lack of a better term, “weird.” I have wrestled with depression for many years, so I seek to be alert to my mood swings. We’re all different and there are things that can alert us to a spiritual, relational, emotional, or physical issue for which we should seek the Lord. But why?

We pray, fundamentally, to seek God’s will and direction for our life; but that process is affected by virtually every avenue of our lives. If I’m “off” physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally, or in any other area of my life, my walk with the Lord can be hindered. And, yes, of course, we pray for others and their needs, but the principle is still applicable.

We pray because we NEED to pray, not necessarily because we FEEL like praying. Right feelings follow right actions. If we do the right thing, we’ll feel the right way about it. There are mornings I pray, not because I want to pray or feel like praying, but because I know it’s the right thing to do. I need God’s input and guidance, regardless of how I feel, especially if I don’t feel well.

God rewards us for our efforts to stay connected with Him, primarily by giving us more of Himself. That’s a reward worth working for.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Who Was Demas?

“Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica…” (2 Timothy 4:10a NLT)

Have you ever had someone close to you, someone you trusted, betray you? It’s a sickening, gut-wrenching experience. I can only imagine how Paul felt when Demas left him. We don’t know a lot about Demas, as he’s only mentioned three times in Scripture. Two of the three were in the context of his partnership with Paul in ministry.

Thinking of Demas’ desertion causes me to wonder why people who once seemed so committed turn and run when troubles arise. Demas certainly witnessed firsthand the miraculous ways God used the Apostle Paul, but he also witnessed Paul’s imprisonment for his faith. Perhaps Demas wanted to ride the coattails of Paul to “stardom” in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps he aspired to carry on Paul’s ministry or be held in the kind of esteem with which Paul was held. We can’t know for sure.

It causes me to consider my own motives as I pursue the Lord. Who or what is the REAL basis of my commitment? Who owns my allegiance? What motivates me to do what I do in ministry, whether as a pastor, leader, or volunteer? Whose attention am I craving? What rewards am I seeking and why? These and many other questions arise as I see those who come and go through the doors of the church.

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Early in my ministry I was very naïve, believing virtually everyone who came to church was seeking Jesus. I trusted leadership, believing they had God’s will and purposes foremost in their minds and hearts. How deeply saddened and disillusioned I became when I came face to face with blatant hypocrisy.

Was Demas a hypocrite? Or was he just misplacing his allegiance, that should have been to Jesus, but instead was given to Paul. How many “faithful” church members who serve and lead and give and attend aren’t “on fire” for Jesus at all but are fully devoted to their “rock star” preacher or pastor, who once he/she leaves, their “fire” goes out.

My spirit tends to believe Demas never fully committed himself to Jesus, he was more aligned with Paul. Paul was a “superstar” who was able to give Demas inroads to people and opportunities that might have enabled him to make a name for himself. But when Paul ended up in prison, it caused Demas to rethink his future.

“Is this really the future I imagine for myself?” he must have thought. Whatever motivated him, at some point he made the decision to leave Paul and forsake whatever plans he might have had to be a person of prominence in the early church.

How many “rising stars” in the church today are seeking to make a name for themselves? But at what cost? Is it worth the faith and disillusionment of those who trust them, and believe they’re genuinely loving and serving Jesus? My guess is, they don’t care.

So many are leaving the church today, not because of Jesus, but because of disappointment in leaders and others they’ve met in the church who may not even know Jesus themselves. We want to treat the church like a business or any other type of corporate structure, leaning on our own understanding, and ignoring the guidance of God through His Spirit and His Word.

May the Lord help us to identify and seek to restore the “Demas’” in our churches before it’s eternally too late, not only for them, but for those whom they’re leading astray.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊