So Where Are Your Eyes? (plus podcast)

(To listen to the podcast of this post, click here.)

Pastor Mike here. Hebrews 12:2 reads: "Fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of faith."

So where are your eyes?

Our eyes can be on problems.

Our eyes can be on politics (or a politician).

Our eyes can be on a Pastor (or the Pope).

Our eyes can be on people (pleasing peers or parents).

Our eyes can be on a place (a past job or community where we felt secure ~ and we're trying to get back there).

Our eyes can be on pain (past or present).

Our eyes can be on our purpose in life.

Our eyes can be on prosperity preachers.

Our eyes can even be on pornography.

So where are your eyes?

They're supposed to be on the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

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10 Facts About the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Messiah was dead. Messiah was buried. Messiah was gone.

And let me just stop right there. Could it be there's something dead, buried and gone in your life? (One or two of you are tearing up right now?)

Listen. Nothing is ever dead, nothing is ever buried, nothing is ever gone with Christ still on the throne of the universe. And He is! (Revelation 1:18)

It all comes down to the resurrection. It's what separates Christianity from all other religions ~ the empty tomb. It's what separates Jesus from all other religious leaders ~ the empty tomb.

You have hope today. (Yes, I'm talking to you.) And the disciples would have had it, too, that day long ago after Crucifixion Friday and before Easter Sunday if they'd listened to the words of Jesus and believed in who He was. (Luke 24:25-26)

Listen again. God has a habit of bringing life out of death. (It's a great habit.) He raised Jesus from the dead. (He is risen indeed!) God can (and will!) bring life out of death whatever it might happen to be that concerns you. (Who needed to hear it?)

May your faith be encouraged by the following list and may it help you to trust the Lord and wait for His timing...

10 Facts About the Resurrection of Jesus Christ:

1. It happened! (Matthew 28:5-6)
2. It was unexpected. (John 20:1-18)
3. Many appearances proof of it. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
4. Our Lord predicted it. (John 2:19; Mark 8:31)
5. It was foretold in the Psalms. (Psalm 16:10-11; Acts 13:34-35)
6. The Trinity was involved. (Acts 2:24; John 10:17-18; Romans 8:11)
7. It was proclaimed by the apostles. (Acts 2:32; 3:15)
8. It transforms the worst of sinners. (Acts 25:19; 1 Timothy 1:15)
9. Belief in it is the starting point of faith. (Romans 10:9b)
10. Christianity is worthless without it. (1 Cor 15:17)

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• How to Receive Christ into Your Heart and Life
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The Cross is a Great Thing

This guy showed up this week in my office with a box. He was a little dirty in the face, but shaven. His hair was greased back (probably not shampooed that day). He had a tie on, too. He was doing his very best to be presentable.

He said to me, "Would you like to buy something."

Now you got to know, I usually don't buy things from traveling salesman. And at first, I thought it was the enchilada man that often comes around at lunch time to the businesses in the area. So I was poised with my typical answer, "No."

But the young man went on.

"Would you like to buy something ... to help our ministry?"

My ears perked up.

"What ya got there?"

He showed me the two "cakes" that were left in the box.

I said, "What church do you go to?"

He went on to say how he'd been homeless and a drunk and some church people came by one day and gave him some clean clothes and took him in and were helping him to get free of alcohol and he hadn't had a drink for a whole month.

(I'm crying as I write this.)

The cross is a great thing.

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• A Rhinestone in Heaven
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Don't You Dare

The phone rang. On the other end was a daughter's desperate plea. "Dad is dying. And he's backslidden."

His parents had been pastors. And they were gone. ("To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.") They had been praying for their son a long, long time. And can you just imagine their despair over his walking away from Jesus? (Selah~pause to reflect)

But now the doctors were giving him a week to live. And I was going to meet him.

"You know what you need to do," I said to him. "You need to get right with God and you need to do it now."

There was no hesitation. There was no pushing it away. The dad (the son!) who'd long since left the Lord and walked his own path ~ and whose faithful parents died while he was still in that state ~ he prayed the sinner's prayer with me and was reconciled with God.

I preached at his funeral a little over a week later.

Now somebody needs to hear what I'm about to say. And then you just may need to use my same words with somebody else. Here goes...

You don't dare die on your kids and leave them wondering if you made it to heaven or not. You don't dare die on your kids that way.

And don't you dare let your parents (and other loved ones) suffer over your unfaithfulness to Christ. Are you hearing me?

Don't you dare.

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She's With Jesus

“‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise.’” (Matthew 21:16)

She was a member of our church. She loved the Lord with all her heart. And she suddenly died. I was speaking to her as the last one leaving our church on a Sunday morning and the next Monday afternoon she was discovered on the ground in her front yard. (I saw her there.)

It was a graveside funeral. It was a beautifully sunny day. And it was the kids I remember most. Some of them were her nieces and nephews. Some of them were in her Sunday School classes over the years. (She'd even taught a few of the adults there in the crowd, too, when they were little.)

I got down on my knee with them (the children) right before the service started. They were sitting on the grass in front. “I’m sorry, you guys,” I said, “but we know where she is. She’s with Jesus.” They shook their heads “yes.” (Oh, how kids have such great faith.) “She’s with Jesus,” I went on, “And we’ll see her again some day, you know.”

They knew. (Selah ~ pause to reflect)

And then they went on just being kids right there in front of the casket.

Thank you, Jesus, for the hope only You can give. We trust You with our life (and death).

“‘He who believes in Me will live even if he dies.’” (John 11:25b)

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• Deathbed
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Thorns

"Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn." (2 Corinthians 12:7a)

What's your thorn? I never really thought about it before. I think we all have one (or two or three?). The Apostle Paul had an especially "prickly" thorn.

Can you believe it? Such a man of God as him? You'd think he could pray it away. He actually tried, but God said, "Nope. It's yours to keep, Paul." Now that wasn't very nice of God. (Or was it?)

And there are things in our lives that we are dealing with and continue to deal with day after day, week after week, year after year after year ~ and, quite frankly, it's humbling (humiliating). And we're wanting God to take it away. (Right?) And we're demanding it (some of us). After all, whatever we ask in prayer shall be done! (Amen?) And we're expecting God to take our thorn(s) away.

But He won't.

The reason is: He doesn't want to lose us. (Selah ~ pause to reflect)

And God knows He will (lose us) except for the thorn(s).

So pull it in closer. (Ouch.) And hold to it fast. (It just pricked me. Am I bleeding again?) Embrace your thorn(s) as hard as it is. (Mine hurts bad.)

And consider the following...

7 "prickly's" about thorns:

1. They are (fiendishly) painful. (2 Corinthians 12:7b)
2. We would (wrongly) have them removed. (2 Corinthians 12:8a)
3. They are a protection against pride. (2 Corinthians 12:7b)
4. They could be a physical defect, disability, even a person. (2 Corinthians 12:10b)
5. They have a relationship to the depth of revelation we receive. (2 Corinthians 12:7a)
6. They are allowed by God's discretion / direction. (2 Corinthians 12:7-8ab)
7. We should be thankful for them. (2 Corinthians 12:10ac)

(Picture above under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license: HERE.)

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The Sin That Can Not Be Forgiven - Part 2

(To view Part 1, click here.)

The Sin That Can Not Be Forgiven - Part 1

(To view Part 2, click here.)

Sometimes you just need to worship because... (10 reasons)

This post (and the list below) is really born out of a heavy heart. I won't explain the heaviness other than to say that heaviness can sometimes last for a long time. In steps "worship." We can't see the forest for the trees sometimes. Especially during hardship. (Has it ever happened to you?) Worship lifts us out of the trees. (That's why worship is there. That's what worship is for.) We gaze upon the "trees" and the forest Maker (Christ) and we are helped. Is your heart heavy (like mine)? You know what to do. \o/

Sometimes you just need to worship because...
(Feel free to tweet these on twitter if you like)

1. It's the beginning of a new day. \o/

2. It's the start of a new life (the birth of a baby). \o/

3. You know the grace of forgiveness. \o/

4. You're joyful due to a relationship with God. \o/

5. You're happy over a loved one rescued (from sin). \o/

6. You're experiencing relief from a hardship. \o/

7. Your body has been healed. \o/

8. It's the close of a good day's work. \o/

9. It's the end of a life lived well. \o/

10. Your heart is heavy. \o/

"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence." (Psalm 42:5)

(Please add your "Sometimes you just need to worship because..." reason/reasons in the comment section below.)

When Death Calls

I'd just talked to her at church the day before. She was the last one to leave and she told me of a song on her heart. So when the phone rang and the caller said, "She's dead," I hung up in disbelief. "Huh? It can't be true."

I ran out the door and drove to her house mostly in a fog, but mixed with faith, too. My mind was spinning. This was one of my congregants. She was a believer in Jesus Christ. I knew where she was. No question. I knew. It would make all the difference as I pulled up to her house where her body still lay in the yard on the ground.

"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8)

Help For When Your Ship's (Life's) Falling Apart

"[T]hey used supporting cables in undergirding the ship." (Acts 27:17a)

It happens to all of us. We experience situations in life that try our souls/squeeze us to the very depth of our beings. It could be a job loss or cancer or the sudden death of a loved one or friend - you name it - and one day we're just sailing through life with calm seas below and blue skies above while the next day the winds are blowing, the waves are crashing and we're taking on water/sinking. So what do you do? The same thing the crew did in the Bible verse above.

Their ship was in the middle of a hurricane. (Acts 27:14) And so they took cables and wrapped them around the ship to hold it together. The New Living Translation puts it: "[T]he sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it." The Amplified Version has: "[T]hey used supports with ropes to undergird and brace." The King James is actually best: "[T]hey used helps, undergirding the ship." That word "helps" is an interesting word. In the Greek it's boetheia defined as "aid; specifically a rope or a chain frapping a vessel" which we find it's literal use in Acts 27:17. But there's a spiritual use/application as well. For that same word "helps" (boetheia) is used in another place. (Which it just excites me when I think about it.) In Hebrews 4:16 it reads: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help (boetheia) in time of need." (KJV) And so there it is again. And this time in the context of prayer. Did you miss it? (Read the verse again.) It's our answer!

And when our own ship's (life's!) in the middle of a hurricane and about to fall apart, we can call out to God and He'll wrap "help/helps" (Himself!) around us and we'll hold together. We will! And ultimately we'll be brought to a safe shore. (Acts 27:44) It always works that way with Jesus. Always.

A "Somebody" Becoming a "Nobody"

Do you remember the story of Moses? He was found in a river by Pharoah's daughter after his mother hid him there. He was then raised and schooled and received his degree from the educational system of Egypt. Later as an adult he killed an Egyptian who was abusing one of his own, a Hebrew. Then he ran for his life when Pharoah found out about it. And finally, after many years in the wilderness as a sheepherder, Moses came across a burning bush where God then commissioned him to rescue Israel. It's Moses' story. It's a story about a "somebody" becoming a "nobody" and back again. Do you see that? And if we would be used by the Lord in His service it needs to become our story, too. We must be broken. We must become bowed down in our hearts in surrender to Christ. Egypt needs to be stripped away of us. So many would do great things for God yet they are still in bondage to sin. What is it that you're holding on to in your life? Is it a "Look at me and who I am and what I have to offer" thinking pattern? After all, you've received your degree from Egyptian schools. You've been raised in Pharoah's house. You're (quote) "somebody." The problem is you can't be used in that condition by God. If you are, you'll destroy yourself and everyone around you. (Moses killed the Egyptian.) It's time to give up and become a "nobody." (Has Christ been speaking to you about it?) Then God can make you into a "somebody" in His plan.

God's Ways Not Our Ways

Think back over your own life living for Jesus and the certain situations you may have found yourself in and how probably many of them didn't necessarily go as you thought they should go. Right? And even when you prayed and sought the Lord - and even when you were faithful to the best of your ability - even then still God moved a little bit differently and did things a little bit differently than if you would have been in charge. Right again? And if we were in charge we would have had this and that take place. And we would have had it that the car didn't break down. And that our husband or wife didn't lose his or her job. And things would have been a whole lot easier and worked out a whole lot faster with no headache or heartache. (What's got your heart hurting today?) Isn't it true if we were in charge, we'd have done things a little bit differently than many times God does things? We'd have had it so we wouldn't suffer or be put at risk or face anything that would challenge or test us. And yet that's how God many times works - in just that way! It's the best way, my brothers and sisters. Did you need to be reminded? God's way is the best way. Even when it hurts. Even when we don't understand. Jesus is perfect. He never makes a mistake. He never gets it wrong. "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.'" (Isaiah 55:8-9) "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23:10)

What About The Faithful Who've Died?

There are three things that are true about believing loved ones that have gone on. The first thing that's true is: They’re with the Lord. They go to heaven. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, the Apostle Paul writes (and I paraphrase) in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, the second part of v. 8. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And so when a believer in Jesus Christ dies, they are no longer there in their body. But they're some where. At the exact moment after their last breath, these go directly to Jesus. It’s the first thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: They’re with the Lord. They go to heaven. It's that quick, my friends. And now the second thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: They’re made whole. They get new bodies. ******* And when Jesus first reappeared after rising from the dead – have you ever read it? – the disciples were “startled and frightened,” the Bible says, “and thought that they were seeing a spirit” (Lk. 24:37). But then Jesus said to His startled and frightened disciples – He spoke and said, “‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have’” (Lk. 24:38). The fact is Jesus had a restored body after having died and come back to life. Jesus had a restored body. And then He even went on to ask for something to eat to give further proof. I just love that story. Have you ever read it? ******* “For this perishabl[e, my brothers and sisters] (that is, these frail and very temporary bodies of ours) - For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting’” (1 Cor. 15:53-55). It’s the second thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: They’re made whole. They go to heaven. They get new and restored bodies, too! And now on to the third and final thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: We’ll see them again. They will be at the reunion. Will you? ******* What reunion? ******* “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18). The church at Thessalonica worried about believing loved ones who’d gone on and what would happen to them? And so the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 16-18 that I just read so that they would feel at ease. Those who’d gone on were to be a part of the reunion – that grand and glorious reunion when Jesus comes back for His people. Those who’d died wouldn’t be left out of it. Actually, they were the first ones who’d participate. It’s the third and final thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: We’ll see them again. They go to heaven. They get new and restored bodies, too! They will be at the reunion. Will you? “[I]f you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Rom. 10:9). “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed” (Rom. 10: 11bc).