Those Who Need It Most
I don’t know how it happens, but it is almost a certainty. I would host a Read more…
Condemnation
For the second time in three years, I was selected to participate in the juror selection process for the Franklin County Court. After a morning of waiting, the lawyers agreed upon their panel and dismissed me from the juror pool. However, while I waited, the bailiff told us that Franklin County has approximately 2300 cases backlogged, and all of these individuals are awaiting their day in court. How exhausting it would be to wait for your trial to begin. Whether you consider yourself guilty or innocent, waiting that long would drain anyone of hope and energy.
The defendant was accused of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. It is not a trivial case, but one that greatly affected both parties. However, the part that astonished me was the date of this alleged event: February 20, 2021. Where were you on that day? What were your whereabouts? Who did you talk to? What did you say? If I looked back at a calendar, I could figure out where I was, but I don’t think I could tell you about any conversations that day. I am sure that day has more significance for the parties involved in that case than it does for me. For them, those questions are probably seared into their memories. However, after that much time, I am sure that details have been misremembered or forgotten.
The defendant was accused of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. It is not a trivial case, but one that greatly affected both parties. However, the part that astonished me was the date of this alleged event: February 20, 2021. Where were you on that day? What were your whereabouts? Who did you talk to? What did you say? If I looked back at a calendar, I could figure out where I was, but I don’t think I could tell you about any conversations that day. I am sure that day has more significance for the parties involved in that case than it does for me. For them, those questions are probably seared into their memories. However, after that much time, I am sure that details have been misremembered or forgotten.
Two weeks ago, on Sunday morning, as we studied Galatians, we analyzed what it means to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. As we dissected the passage, we came to one of Jesus’ more pressing discourses on the fruit that is evident in our lives.
Matthew 12:33-37 – “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Consider these words of Jesus. There will come a day when we must give an account for all the things we have said. Rightfully so, as we serve a just and righteous God, we should all be prepared to share what we did in this world with the time we were given. Similarly to the defendant in the court case, we must share where we were on February 20, 2021. Here’s what I probably can guarantee… I was more than likely guilty of missing God’s mark of holiness on that day or one of the adjoining days.
I can imagine myself attempting to give an account of my life. I would stutter and stammer at my moral failures. Line by line, word by word, I would grasp the tragedy of my life. Every thoughtless word, every cruel deed… accounted for. After a lifetime of trying, I know that I will have missed the mark, I know that I will receive the verdict of- GUILTY. Thankfully, Jesus, the Son of the living God, will advocate for us in our bleakest case.
1 John 2:1-6 – “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
I love how this passage does not give us a license to sin, but for those in Christ, we have the best defense lawyer on retainer. Not only will Jesus represent us, but he has also already paid for my failures. And yet, I must give an account. Combining this passage with Jesus’ statements in Matthew 12, we must understand that our treasures, the part of my life that I have buried deep down within our hearts, demonstrate if we genuinely know and love God. We do this by “walking in the same way in which he walked.” Walking as Christ did doesn’t make me innocent of my crimes, but rather an acknowledgment that my sins are paid for, just not by me.
Romans 7:24-8:2 – “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
We deserved a sentence of death; however, we received the sentence of life because we were represented by Jesus. This should propel us to not live according to deeds of the flesh but by walking in the Spirit. We deserved to be condemned for every careless word and deed; however, we can stand before the throne of righteousness covered by the blood of Jesus, where there is no longer any condemnation.
Broken Teeth
Theo has started losing his “baby” teeth. I find the whole process a little traumatic… for me. First, the teeth begin to wriggle and become loose, and as time progresses, you can see the gums recede a little more, making future extraction easier. Last week, the sequence came to a head; his permanent teeth were beginning to push his deciduous teeth out of the way, stretching the nerve and causing him some discomfort. The “toothlings” needed to come out. Thankfully, his fantastic mom came to the rescue and plucked the temporary biters from their impermanent location.
Theo was immediately proud of his new toothless smile. For him, it was a marker of maturity and growing older. Most of his friends had already lost some of their teeth, and he was anticipating the day when he could show them that he, too, was in that prestigious club. We didn’t anticipate how this event would affect his youngest brother, Milo. As soon as Milo saw the vacant tooth cavity, he screamed, “I don’t like broken teeth!” When he first saw the hole where the tooth had been, it had not finished bleeding yet… it was a disturbing sight. He squealed and ran away, causing his older brother to chase him around the house.
Under most circumstances, we are not supposed to lose teeth. It is ordinarily traumatic. We usually wouldn’t promote ripping your teeth out to demonstrate your maturity. If you encountered a person tugging on their incisors and claiming to be older because of it, you would consider them foolish. However, we celebrate this stage when we know that removing temporary teeth is healthy and a natural byproduct of aging. We approve because better; newer teeth are coming in to replace the “baby” teeth—a more permanent solution to what previously existed.
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 – “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf. 16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
There are a lot of Christ-followers that are still living for themselves. They hold on to the life formerly there, never accepting being a new creation. It is like inserting your deciduous teeth into your mouth because you want to enjoy your food more. You can’t grow older and hold onto your youth; our youth is intended to be momentary; we are meant to grow older; it is a part of God’s perfect design for our lives. Life after Christ is transformative; it is better, and you become a new creation. Let us not go back to the days before our new life. “The old has gone the new has come”, so don’t be upset by your old broken teeth.
Being Available
Being Available
“How you do anything is how you will do everything.” – Source Unknown.
How did I get here? It’s one of the most frequent questions that people ask me and that I ask myself. How did I end up ministering to a wonderful group of people in Richland, WA? The short answer is “by the provision and direction of God.” However, the long answer has many more twists and turns. If you were to summarize the direction of my life, you could do so with one phrase: “being available.”
I am not the most educated, well-spoken, or Christ-like person. I have no formal training in what I do; I left high school and joined the military, intending never to pursue a career in ministry. I am deeply flawed and inconsistent in how I approach ministry- sometimes, I burn hot and other times, I am lukewarm. What I try to do is, more often than not, I try to live by two principles espoused by Jesus: the greatest commands (Mark 12:29-31) and “zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:17).
For me, this means loving God and His people more than anything else. I am not saying I do this perfectly, or even close to that, but I believe it is how I got here.
When I was 18, the Air Force sent me to Minot AFB, ND. I worshipped with that congregation for only one month when the minister asked me to visit, and after a short informal interview, he asked if I wanted to teach the Jr. High/High School class. What had I done to garner this responsibility? I made it a point to be available. That is probably an understatement. I was there if the doors were open, worship times, workdays, potlucks, and even softball games. This mindset used to be the norm; however, now it is an anomaly. I was given opportunities to serve and be useful to God’s kingdom by merely being present.
Opportunities like this have followed me everywhere I have gone. I taught twice a week while I was in South Korea. When I moved to Albuquerque, I taught all age groups until, after seven years and with a lot of external encouragement, I applied for the full-time youth minister position. Yet, I never set out to be a teacher; I merely wanted to be involved. I do not believe I am not an aberration; there was a person who was the epitome of this in the New Testament, Barnabas. We often think of him only as the “encourager,” but his character and mindset were pivotal for the growth of the early church. Look at each of these passages.
Act 4:36-37– “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
What is Barnabas going to do? The early church needed funding… he donates the proceeds from his property. Later on, when there is a report of rapid growth in Antioch, the leaders in Jerusalem ask Barnabas to go and check it out (Acts 11:22). You can imagine other people avoiding the journey. In contrast, Barnabas accepts the task because he is available.
Then, when a young man named Saul converts from being a zealous Jew from the sect of the Pharisees, Barnabas travels to Damascus, reaches out to Saul, and takes him to Jerusalem.
Act 9:22, 27 – “Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. … 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.”
And then, when the opportunity came for the body and message of Christ to move across the Aegean Sea, who would they send? It was the guy who had been available every other time, the guy who accepted every other opportunity that came his way.
Act 13:1-3– “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”
I am still trying to figure out why I am where I am. What I have figured out is that whenever someone needs a servant, I can be there. Whether it is a moving party, workday, Bible class teacher, or a voice singing within a congregation, it may seem simple, but it caused the church to grow in the New Testament and will cause a body to flourish today. When people have big aspirations for a church to grow, I will always return to the Barnabas principle: are there workers? Are people willing to do everything for the body of Christ? More importantly, are people committed to simply “Being Available”?
Taxes
It’s Tax Day across America, April 15, when we pay our “dues” for the country that we live in. Some we feel are justifiably required, others are frivolous, and still, some we think are pure theft. It seems almost ironic that a country once embroiled in a revolution over taxation would one day require so many of them later.
However, taxes are precisely how a populous would fund their local or national government. American realist Benjamin Franklin supposed as much, stating:
“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
—Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, 1789
Two certainties are death and taxes, and no matter how much you try to avoid either, at some point, your audit will come due, and you will have to settle your account. There are always some notable celebrities who have ineffectually dodged taxation for a while until, finally, they are served a heavy fine for their evasion. I know many people dread April 15 more than any day of the year; one in particular would wait until April 15 to file for an extension. Not only could he not pay, but he also couldn’t bring himself to think of having to pay in the future. I am not a fan of taxes, but I cannot think of a better way to pay for many systems that care for the infrastructure and citizens around me. And so, like Franklin, it accepts the certainty of taxes.
Death and taxes are uncomfortable realities in this world. Most people avoid them because of the stress they bring. There is a part of us that knows the finality of the “deadline,” a specific date when there is no longer any time to adjust our ledger. Paul reveals this truth in his second letter to the church in Corinth.
2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.”
The anticipation of this event can be both comforting and disturbing. For most of us, we probably view it the same way we view Tax Day: We know it is coming, but we don’t want to consider what is actually due. I imagine many people would like to file an extension to extend their date. However, the reality is that we are merely reaping the product of our conduct.
Thankfully, the passage does not end there; Paul continues, describing that there is a way to erase every wrongdoing. He effectively communicates that these transgressions will not be counted against us when the final tally is taken.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21- “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
There is no thought more amazing than the words contained in verse 21. Even though Jesus never sinned, all our sins were charged or accounted to him so that we might be as righteous as he is. We all owe more wages (death) than we could ever repay, yet we will not have to pay that price. When that day of accounting arrives, and we stand before the throne, we enter that peace, knowing that through Jesus Christ, not a single wrongdoing will be counted against us.
It would be like our federal government sending you a letter informing you that you will never have to pay taxes again. No sales, income, or property tax will ever be charged. The benefits you receive have been paid in full, and you never have to worry about getting a “past due” notice in the mail. While taxes may be a necessity or certainty in this life, when you are washed in the blood of Christ, your sins are remembered no more, and you don’t have to worry about paying your final taxes.
“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.”
Marcus Aurelius