Hope for Life Blog

Believe this:  Jesus came to this world to save you.  No matter how bad you have been.  It’s true.  Believe it… and accept it.

Do you want to be part of something bigger than just you?  God’s people don’t just sing of God’s love here and now.  We will sing it forever.  And what we declare about God makes a difference for generations to come.

We live in a world of worry.  Finances, health, family, relationships, bad choices, natural disasters.  Throw your worries onto God.  He cares.  And He has the power to do something about them.

We really can’t have it both ways.  Pick one or the other.  You cannot choose idols and still expect to recieve God’s grace.

Maybe I should worry about myself first.  Before I condemn someone else, I better first look in the mirror.  It is very possible that instead of judging them, I am judging myself instead.  And I want mercy, not judgment.  Maybe they do also.

I am not God.  When I try to make God fit into my understanding, or speak for God based on my reasoning, I have put God on my level.  Better to simply listen to what He says.  And then try to follow it.

We can fool ourselves.  We can fool others.  We cannot fool God.  He knows what we really feel about the things we do.

Those were the first words my father-in-law said when we walked in the door.   It had stopped working, and he wanted to know why.  That was all the proof he needed that cell phones were not everything they claimed to be.  He never really wanted one anyway, but we insisted.  We thought he needed it in the truck, up at the farm, out in the yard.  It was portable and a great thing to have if something happened and he needed help.  He didn’t think he needed it.  It was inconceivable to him that he would need it.

Besides, he did not understand how it worked.  He had a really hard time realizing that if he wanted to talk to me on my cell, he did not have to call from his cell.  He could use a land line.  Unlimited minutes through our shared plan must be too good to be true.  So he used his phone as little as possible and was as brief as possible.  He still cannot retrieve any messages he gets, nor does he want to. 

But now all of his suspicions and fears were proved correct.  The phone quit working.  And he made it clear that he had plugged it in so that was not the problem.  It was just dead.  It had quit working.  So my wife went over, got his phone, and … turned it on.  Somehow he had turned it off. 

I was giving my wife a hard time about all of this until she reminded me that up until a few months ago I had very similar feelings about texting.  I did not understand it, did not want to use it, and saw absolutely no benefit in it.  I didn’t even want to try it.  To be honest, I think my father-in-law and I both were scared of something we did not understand and did not think we needed – until we tried it.  Now I think texting is a wonderful way to communicate and he uses his cell phone all the time.  And that is why he was in crisis when it did not work. 

It made me think about how some people think about Christianity.  They do not think they need it, they do not understand how it works, and it seems too good to be true.   But when they try it out, they find out they had no idea what they were missing.  Their life makes sense.  They find peace, joy, purpose, and hope.  Until something goes wrong.  They see a spiritual leader struggle with sin, or they get their first taste of persecution, or the trials of life are still there.  And they suddenly think all of their previous fears and concerns are now validated.  What is needed at that time is a Christian to come alongside and show how to get connected again to Jesus.  Someone who understands and can help.

So if you are one of those that tried the Jesus way but gave up because you thought it would not work for you, I would love to help you connect to someone who would be honored to help you take another look.  Some of us have been where you are.  We remember and we can help.

Blessings,

steve

Here we are, just a few days into the New Year, and many of us are already lamenting the fact that we have failed to keep our resolutions.  New Year’s resolutions consist of two truths:  most of us make them, and then we break them.  In fact, the people that fail to make resolutions have generally learned from experience that they are hard to keep, so why bother.

But shouldn’t resolutions be hard to keep?  If they involved behavior that was easy, we would not have to make a resolution in the first place.  Most resolutions require real work.  Yet every year we make them.  We do it at New Year’s.  We do it at birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries.  We make them because we want to be better.  We want to be healthier.  We long to be people who make a difference.  We desire to be better mates, parents, and friends.

So this year I have determined to keep my list of resolutions short.  I am making just one:  I am resolved to know Jesus Christ and him crucified.  That’s it.  That is the one and only thing I am resolved to do this year.  If you are a Christian, you may recognize this as something the apostle Paul said.  If you are not a Christian, let me share with you why it is the perfect resolution.

1.  Knowing Jesus will make me a better man, a better husband, a better father, and a better friend.  He left me an example of how to live in this world and how to treat people.  Jesus teaches me how to love people.
2. Knowing Jesus makes everything new.  Christians are a new creation. They have a new life.  The old life is gone, forgiven, and washed away.  Jesus allows you to have the perfect do-over.
3. Jesus restores the broken resolution.  As long as we stay focused on following Jesus, we do not have to be perfect.  In fact, we will not be.  We know it, and God knows it.  But the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us.  Just stay focused on Jesus, the light of the world.  Perpetual newness.

I believe the three things listed above.  They have proven true in my life.  I believe they can be proven true in yours.  As for me, I actually make this one resolution each and every day.  Just to know Jesus, and to remember that he died for my sins.

Blessings,

steve

It is a strange question, but one that perplexes many people this time of year:  what do you do with Jesus at Christmas?  Is this a religious or a secular holiday?  Since this year Christmas falls on a Sunday, do you go to church or open presents around the tree?  Or both?  How do you treat friends who insist that Jesus is the reason for the season?  What about friends who do not believe in Jesus?  How do you combine Santa Claus, baby Jesus, reindeer, and wise men into one season?  What do people do with Jesus this time of year.

1.  Ignore him.  Xmas instead of Christmas.  Trees and stockings, but not nativity scenes.  “Deck the Halls”, but not “Away in a Manger”.  Read The Night Before Christmas, but not Matthew 1 and 2.
2. Be a little religious.  Be nicer to people.  Focus on giving, not getting.  Show up at church on Christmas day, or at least Christmas Eve.  Make a charitable donation or two.  Give some presents to the underprivileged.  Include going to church and being a better person with your New Year’s Resolutions.
3. Keep Jesus a baby.  Focus on the nativity.  Attend the wise men, shepherds, animals, Mary and Joseph pageants.  Be sure to go to the ones put on by the little kids.  They are cuter than and not as startling as the real event was.  This approach does not seem to recognize that the baby grew up and died on a cross.  So save that for Easter weekend.
4. Celebrate Jesus just like you do every day.  Realize that Jesus did not come to earth so we could celebrate a birthday.  He came to save us from our sins.  That is the good news.  He was born to die.  He was raised to live.  Jesus is not the reason for the season.  He is the reason for every season.

As for me, I am happy to celebrate Jesus at Christmas… and in January, and in spring, and summer… and well, every day.

Blessings,

steve