Hope for Life Blog

He asked it! It was a startling question for a preacher to make to our sophisticated and technologically advanced congregation.  I admired his courage and wondered if he would be marginalized for being “out of touch” with the 21^st century.  He asked something like this:

“We are connected to our iPhones, iPads, iTouch, iTunes, iMac, iChat, but

   have we lost the connection to the I AM?”

God says:

“I am your shield, your exceeding great reward.”

Gen. 15:1

“I am Almighty God, walk before me and be blameless.”

Gen. 17:1

“I am the God of your father Abraham…for I am with you.”

Gen. 26:24

“I am the Lord, that is My name.”

Is. 42:8

“For I am God and there is no other, I am God and there is none like Me.”

Is. 46:9

“I am who I AM, thus you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.”

Ex. 3:14

“I am with you.”

Jer. 1:14

“I am merciful.”

Jer. 3:12

Jesus says:

“I am the living bread which came down from Heaven.”

John 6:51

“I am from Him and He sent me.”

John 7:29

“I am the light of the world.”

John 8:12

“I am the door.”

John 10:9

“I am the good shepherd.”

John 10:11

“I am the resurrection and the life.”

John 11:25

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

John 14:6

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

John 15:5

“I am Jesus….”

Acts 9:5

So the question awaits your answer.  Are you more connected to your idevice or the I AM?

If so what can you and I do about that? Or should we?

There’s an amazing story about Jesus and a man named Jairus. Jairus was a religious leader, one of the rulers of the Jewish synagogue. At that time, that would have made him unlikely to go see someone like Jesus. But Jairus went.

He went because his daughter was very sick. He went because he was desperate. He went because he considered Jesus to be his only hope.

Jairus was able to convince Jesus to come to his house. But while they were on the way, someone came with terrible news: Jairus’ daughter was dead. All hope was now gone. Or so Jairus must have thought.

But Jesus thought otherwise. He said to the grieving father: “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” (Luke 8:50)

When they arrived at Jairus’ house, people were standing outside, crying. Jesus told them: “She is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at him, because everyone knew she was dead.

Except Jesus. That is, he knew she was dead. But he also knew that she wouldn’t stay that way. Jesus went to the girl, took her by the hand, and told her to get up. And the young girl did!

It’s a beautiful story. As a father, I guess I hear it differently than I once did. I can imagine if my daughter were desperately ill, how hopeless I would feel. And I don’t even want to try and imagine how I would feel if she passed away.

But I know that Jesus’ words would ring in my ears: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

More than 80 times in the Bible, people are told “Don’t be afraid.” Fear is a common element of our human condition. And there’s probably no greater fear than the fear of death. One New Testament writer wrote that Jesus came to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:15)

As we find ourselves facing the imminent death of someone we love or even our own death, that’s the time we need to hear Jesus’ words: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Because even when the worst happens, Jesus can say, “They’re not dead but asleep.” He is able to take even the dead by the hand and wake them up. If we only believe.

Don’t be afraid. Just believe.

We had been talking about Jesus when he asked me this question.  At first, I thought he wanted to know what to do to become a Jesus follower.  But that was not what he meant.  He was concerned to know what following Jesus meant in terms of his daily lifestyle.  He was convinced that Christians spent most of their time consulting a massive list of do’s and don’ts.  That was his experience and he was wondering if that was how he would have to live.

I explained that being a Christian was not about following a long list of right and wrong actions.  Instead, living a Christian life is about being in a relationship.  The relationship with Jesus is what determines how you live your life.  Christians act and think in certain ways because of our connection with a real and personal Savior.  But he insisted I tell him what it meant in terms of life choices he would have to make every day.  So here is what I told him.  Three things.

1.  Do what Jesus did.  Treat people the way Jesus treated them.  Connect to God like Jesus did.  Live like Jesus lived.  Walk in his steps. 
2. Don’t do what Jesus did not do.  Get the things out of your life that are not like Jesus.  Wrong relationships, damaging attitudes, and hurtful actions.  If Jesus would not be that way, don’t do it.
3. Tell everyone about Jesus.  Share the story of what God has done thru Jesus.  Tell how he has changed your life.  Invite them into a relationship with him.

That’s it.  That was my list.  I told him that was exactly how I thought Christians decided how to live their lives.  We make a series of choices every day based on the relationship we have with Jesus.    

I assured him that he would get lots of help in figuring all this out.  God left a book that has lots of examples about how to do this.  Christians live in community as family to help each other live this way.  And God gives His people His Holy Spirit to help them live these things out.

It is really not that complicated.

Blessings,

steve

On a recent trip to Florida, I heard someone commenting on the traffic problems in Orlando. This person cited a study which indicated that the congestion was caused by the number of people who aren’t sure where they’re going.

This is an apt description of the world in general. I would say that many problems arise because people don’t know where they are going. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere, but few seem to know where they are headed.

In a story about Jesus, recorded by one of his apostles named John, we read this: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:3-5)

In Jesus’ day, people traveled largely by foot on dusty roads and dirty city streets. They wore open-toed footwear. When they ate, they often reclined around low tables, with one person’s feet near another person’s head. Foot washing wasn’t a luxury; it was part of basic hygiene.

It was also a task that was performed by the lowest of the low, the slaves who did the dirtiest deeds. How could Jesus bring himself to perform such a filthy, humiliating task?

He knew where he was going. He knew who he was, where he had come from and where he was going. He wasn’t defined by that task nor any of the tasks that he performed while on this earth. He was going somewhere.

We can be like Jesus in that regard. We can know who we are. We can know where we are going. And that knowledge can free us to do whatever needs doing in this world.

Let me tell you more. Write to me at tarcher@heraldoftruth.org. Or check out the four numbered steps on the www.hopeforlife.org website. Life is so much better when we know where we are going.

It was a headline made to grab my attention, and it worked.  This was what I was looking for:  a way to be fit and fat.  Or fat, but still fit.  It seemed to promise an easy way to health without much effort on my part.  Then I saw the pictures.  The two people in the ad did not have an ounce of fat between them.  They looked nothing like me.  In fact, I am fairly confident no one in real life has ever looked that way.  So now I was confused. 

I wonder if that is the way we Christians have advertised the Christian life.  Have we invited people to a life that promises a spiritual walk with Jesus while letting them still live life on their own terms?  Do we try and offer the “best of both worlds”?  Christianity that requires little effort and will not inconvenience anyone.    The image we show is of a life with no problems, no worries, and no pain.  So do people see the image and become skeptical?  Do they realize that something in that view of the Christian life does not add up?

I think a more honest health ad would be a picture of a real person sweating on a treadmill with a caption that talked about months of hard work to lose a few pounds.  Maybe it would even declare that there are no shortcuts and that the way to real health involves a commitment to a lifestyle of exercise, proper rest, and a reasonable diet.  Deep in my heart I know that is the only way to look and feel better.  There are no shortcuts.  The image ad is not really fooling anyone.  They know it, and I know it.

Christianity works that way too.  It is a call to a lifestyle that is radically different.  Honestly, it is an invitation to a life that will still have trouble in this world.  But it is an invitation to be in a relationship with the One who has overcome this world.  So to follow Jesus is not easy.  It is not without pain and it is not without struggle.  It does, however, work.  It gives purpose and meaning in a world of confusion.  It is real.

 Blessings

steve

She approached cautiously and her eyes never left it. When her hands touched it, it was a caress, not a grab. Then she bowed, not to me but to the book. I was just the holder; she knew the importance of the gift itself. And I watched as she gently took the Bible in her native language of Swahili and cuddled it against her chest. Then as she sat, she began to read because she wanted to know what was written there. A young woman in Mbeya, Tanzania, not having a Bible before, hungered to know for herself what God says.

We have access to numerous Bibles, different versions, different styles. At times it seems that we more often read books about the Book, consult blogs offering opinions as to what the Bible is implying, listen to people with initials after their names as if only they understand the depth contained within the covers.

The contrast is striking, a young woman who had only heard what scripture says wants to read and understand it for herself. We who have those same words readily available seemingly would rather rely on someone other than God to tell us His thoughts. Do we really want the message of God homogenized and filtered by someone else?

The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that:

…From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

II Tim. 3:15-17

To know what God says we must, like the young woman in Tanzania, read the Bible. We must become people of the Book, again.

So let me pose the questions and most don’t want to answer:

Do you really believe that the Bible is God’s word and thus the guide for our lives?

What is the basis of your thinking? How do you know?

How do you reconcile how you behave with what you believe?

It was a sunny August morning. For me, it was THE sunny morning. I couldn’t remember when everything had seemed so bright. The whole world around me felt clean. I felt clean.

The day before, I hadn’t felt that way. I was wrestling with a decision, a decision that would change my life forever.

I was a teenage boy at a church camp. I had heard a man from a church, a judge, describe things he had seen in his line of work, particularly cases of troubled young people. I came from a good home, but those stories made me take a hard look at myself. And I knew that I wanted a change.

I wanted to be clean. I knew that there were things in my life that weren’t right. I knew that I had done things I shouldn’t have. Above all, I knew that I was living a life focused on me. That way of living had left me stained and dirty.

If someone were to look at me from the outside, they would have seen a good kid. But I knew there was more to the story. I wanted to be right with God, and I knew that I wasn’t good enough to be right with God. I needed His help to be clean again, to get rid of the stains my past had left.

So on a dark August night, I stepped forward and said that I wanted to be born again. I wanted to be baptized into Christ. I was lead into the Central Texas waters of Lake LBJ, cold water that made me shiver. I remember being lowered into the water, seeing it close above my head. Then I came out of the water, a changed person, a new creation as the Bible says. I had been born again into the family of God.

That dark August night led to the bright August morning. Where I had felt stained, I now felt clean. Where I had felt weighed down, I now felt nothing but freedom.

The night was gone. The sun was shining. And I was right with God.

If you haven’t experienced the wonder of new birth, merely reading about it isn’t enough. You need to live it for yourself. Go to the front page of this site, read the four steps there, then let us help you get right with God.

I was helping clean up my sister-in-law’s yard after a recent wind storm when it happened.  The neighbor’s dog got me.  I knew he was not happy with the chain saw, the activity, and the work going on.  After all, he kept barking at us.  I was carrying a load of wood to the back gate, walking about one foot inside the fence.  All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of this dog trying to jump over the fence.  As I jumped sideways, he managed to extend his head over the fence and catch my arm.

There was not any lasting damage.  My arm was swollen and stayed bruised for a couple of weeks.  The dog was as surprised as I was.  My father-in-law worried about whether the dog should have gotten shots.  Ha, ha.  The neighbors were apologetic.  The yard got cleaned up, and we all stayed several feet away from the fence.

And I thought about how much like life this was.

We all know there are dangerous things in this world.  There is war, crime, and evil.  People steal, lie, gossip, and murder in our world.  We just do not expect it to happen to us.  Until it does.  Tornados, fires, hurricanes, and tsunamis occur around the globe.  We assume those things happen to other people, not us.  Until it does.  We even know intellectually that people get sick, sometimes even sick enough that they die.  We just do not think it will happen to us.  Until it does.

Hard things, bad things, tough things happen.  They happen unexpectedly.  Sometime it is our fault.  Sometimes it is someone else’s fault.  Sometimes it is no one’s fault.  Life happens.  Life goes on.  So how do we cope?  How do we survive?  How do we find hope, peace, joy, and purpose in a world like this?

I have found the answer in God, and so have millions of others throughout the ages.  He will get me through anything this life throws at me.  He has, and He will.  He gives my life hope, peace, joy, and purpose.  And He gives me life forever.  He has done this through His Son Jesus. 

Blessings,

steve

Billy the Kid is still waiting for his pardon. The notorious teenage outlaw was promised amnesty by New Mexico Territorial Governor Lew Wallace back in 1879 in exchange for testimony against three men in a murder trial. Apparently, Wallace never kept his word.

In recent years, Governor Bill Richardson announced his intention to pardon Billy (whose real name was Henry McCarty; “Billy” came from his alias, William Bonney). However, Richardson decided against doing so on his last day in office, and Billy continues to wait for his pardon.

None of this matters to Billy, of course. He’s long past caring about whether the State of New Mexico considers him a fugitive or not. Politicians can say what they want, but young Billy’s fate was decided long ago. As the writer of the biblical book of Hebrews says “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)

What about my pardon? I never killed anyone, as Billy the Kid is said to have done. I’ve done no time in prison nor ever been in trouble with the law. But I need a pardon, just as badly as Billy does.

The Bible says that everyone has sinned and needs God’s mercy. (Romans 3:23) Without God’s pardon, I’m no better off than Billy the Kid or any other villain who has lived on this earth. Fortunately, God doesn’t make me wait. The same passage that says that we’ve all sinned also says that Jesus paid the price for that sin, so that I don’t have to. (Romans 3:24)

If you don’t know how to receive the pardon God offers, read through the four steps you’ll find on the home page of this site, and you’ll learn that you don’t need a governor to declare you not guilty. God can do that for you today. No waiting involved.

I have the greatest remote control anywhere. It is amazing what it can do with my television. If I miss something, I can replay it until I catch it, and then jump back into real time. If I cannot watch a program when it is scheduled, I just record it and watch it at my leisure. If it is boring, I just fast forward right until I reach the parts I like. I can watch anything I want, any time I want, and any way I want. I am in complete control. So where is my remote control for life?

The trouble with life is that it is so unpredictable. It just happens. If I am not ready, it goes on anyway. Birthdays come, children grow up and leave home, cars break down, and teeth get cavities, whether I am ready or not. Even the exciting things of life can come and go without giving you time to get ready: a baby’s first step, a first kiss, a “take it or leave it” job offer. Sometimes the unexpected is not exciting, just painful: natural disaster, life threatening illness, or a child’s crisis. If I am going to handle the surprises of life, I need a way to be as prepared as I can be for the road ahead.

I need to understand what is important in life, I need to know what my purpose is for living, and I need to know how to make sense of what happens when life interrupts my living. Something needs to make sense out of all this. So here is what works for me. I believe God is in control of my life, I believe he has a purpose for me during my life, and I believe I will live forever because of his love for me.

So the unexpected curves and events of life make sense to me; not that I understand everything that happens, but because I trust in the one who does understand everything that happens. And frankly, if I didn’t believe someone bigger than me was in charge, I am not sure I could take it. However, I know I am part of a bigger plan and I have a purpose within that plan.

You too can know that your life makes sense because it has purpose. Let me help you find it.