Is the Church Emergent or in an Emergency?

I am sure that most of you by now have heard or read about the so called Emergent Church. I really didn't want to write about this subject, but my heart is grieved whenever false doctrine is taught in the body of Christ. The hardest part of dealing with this particular movement is that it has reached churches in various degrees and forms. There are some who seem to represent the movement, but many who don't want to acknowledge that what they are teaching is "emergent doctrine." It may be hard to pin down exactly what this movement stands for.

It is not my purpose here to write a treatise on this subject. There are many places where you can go to get more detailed information about it. But I do have some thoughts concerning their views. The basic tenet for existence of this movement is the belief that the church must change in order to be relevant to the modern age and culture and thus we must have a "new way" of looking at Christianity.

Hmm, seems to me that a man named Joseph Smith had a similar view. The church had been wrong for centuries, but he would straighten it out. I am always a little suspicious of "new ways" that man comes up with.

Their leaders try to convince us that because our pre-conceived theology, we have not been asking the difficult questions that arise about sin and salvation and especially about how a loving God could send anyone to hell.

Really, you mean because we believe what Jesus said about sin, salvation and hell, we haven't really thought about it much? I am sure that Martin Luther, Francis Schaeffer and Billy Graham would beg to differ.

They say that they don't challenge the authority of scripture but they are not sure about its inerrancy.

If I thought the Bible was full of errors, I think I might have a problem with its authority. How about you?

Some have espoused universalism, which basically says that all are saved by the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, regardless of whether or not they have surrendered their life to Him

I have a question. What then did Jesus mean when he said to those who had even done miracles in His name, "depart from me, you workers of lawlessness (Mt 7:23). Also in the parable of Matt 25:41, He says to depart you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Sounds to me like maybe not everyone is going to live in eternity with Christ.

One of the most recognizable statements you will hear is that Christianity is a "conversation." This is to keep anyone from being dogmatic about any theological construct. They say we cannot truly understand the Bible

I wonder, who is this conversation between? Man and man? So if we converse enough with each other about God, we will be able to come to the knowledge of the truth? I think that I would rather study the book that claims to be inspired by God and has the convincing proof of fulfilled prophecy to see if there is some absolute truth I can depend upon. If I thought that the Bible could not be understood, why would I bother reading it at all? Why would it have any relevance in my life?

As far as man's wisdom is concerned, let's see what the Bible says.

1 Cor 1:22-25

22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

1 Cor 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; NIV

Personally, if I were going to church to hear man's opinions instead God's word, I would go play golf instead!

As I said before, I really am not anxious to berate anyone but this movement is extremely dangerous. Some of these churches have grown in large numbers and its leaders tout that as evidence that their message is resonating with the postmodern culture. That is true, it is and that is the scary part. Look what Paul has to say about this in 2 Tim 4:3-4:

3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. NIV

This is a warning to all of us. My biggest heartache is over the many people who have never been taught the true gospel because they are in a church that looks good on the outside. The church may be involved in many in good works. It will appear wonderfully tolerant and politically
correct. After all, if God does not punish anyone for sin and no one goes to Hell, then there is no offense to anyone. Go ahead and live your life any way you choose because there are no eternal consequences

Now I am sure that someone will think this an oversimplification of this issue and it may be. I said at the beginning that it was not going to be a treatise. But, my purpose here is to make my readers aware of the danger in any teaching that does not give the highest view of the Bible as the inerrant, inspired Word of God. When you pick and choose which parts of the Bible you will believe and which ones you won't, you put yourself in the place of designing a god of your own choosing. You will end up making God in your image, instead of the other way around.

The most damaging effect of this whole movement is that it says your questions about sin, salvation and eternal life cannot be answered adequately, so let's just keep an open mind about it all. That premise is not true. The Bible speaks very clearly about these subjects. Leaving questions unanswered leads to the doubt of God's word. Remember Satan's words to Eve in the garden? "Has God really said?" What follows is the rejection of His word, "Surely you will not die."

It does take some time and study to find out what God does say about these subjects, but the answers are there. Historical Christianity has been able to agree on these basic tenets for centuries. Instead of looking for "new" ways of looking at Christianity, I suggest we look back to the faith of the first century believers, who were willing to go to their death for Christ. They were certain that the debt for their sin had been paid in full at the cross and that they would be with the Lord Jesus Christ for eternity!

Let me close with the words of Paul in Gal 1:8-9 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (ESV) This is a serious warning to all who claim to be teachers of the gospel of Christ. I pray for any that have fallen into this category, that they will repent and turn back to the true gospel of Christ and Him Crucified.

Coach    

PS: if you would like more detailed information on this subject, there are many good websites to go to. Here are a couple

1. www.understandthetimes.org
   
2. www.equip.org
   

Fear Not!

Earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific, revolts and unrest in the Middle East, talk of economic collapse here in the U.S. Even as this is being written, we wait for a nuclear plume to make its way over Southern California. It seems as though every morning when we wake up, a new crisis awaits. Fear is gripping people everywhere and why not? Does anybody seem to have a good answer for solving these problems or are we destined to succumb to these events, living our lives in anxious desperation about what will happen next?

There is no doubt that we are living in precarious times. The problems we face in the world today are significant. There are no easy solutions to the issues before us. As believers, we have to ask ourselves a question. Will we face these days with fear or with faith? All right, all right. I know that you all immediately responded, "With faith of course!" I am always glad that I write to such super spiritual people out thereJ

The thing is, I can't help but remember a guy named Peter, who basically said the same thing, right before he bailed out on Jesus. I know we have good intentions, but will we be found faithful in the eye of the storm or will we be fearful when it hits.

The past few posts have been about putting our faith into practical situations. It is going to take a great deal of that faith to handle what is coming in our future. As we see society drift further and further away from the Lord, do you realize that we Christians will be tolerated less and less? Many people already think that we are the cause of most of their problems. Christians are being persecuted for their faith all over the world today. Here in America, we see our faith being attacked on multiple fronts. Our public education system, the media and many in our government attack Christianity relentlessly. As we face the future, how do we cope without being fearful and is that would God expects from us?

To be accurate, the people of God have faced hard times from the beginning. The children of Israel have been persecuted for a very long time. A great example of how God wants us to deal with persecution is found in Isaiah, chapter 8. Even though nations were rising up against Judah, the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said, "Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary;" (Isa 8:12-14 NIV) Look at some of the other things the Lord spoke through Isaiah:

Isa 35:4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."

Isa 41:10-13 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. "All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you."

Isa 51:7-8 "Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations."

Jeremiah adds this: Jer 30:10 "so do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel,' declares the Lord.'I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. "

There is more:

Lam 3:55-57 "I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief." You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear."

Zeph 3:16-17 on that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Hag 2:5 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'

Are you seeing a pattern here? "Wait a minute," you say. "These are Old Testament verses pertaining to the Jewish people. How do we know they apply to us as well?" Good question. Though these verses do apply specifically to the nation of Israel, I think that the New Testament shows us that God has His church in mind as well. The real idea here is that we should fear God, not man. Jesus said, "Matt 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

The Lord does not guarantee us that we won't suffer trials and tribulations, in fact He says we will. The recurring theme is that He will help us through the trials and ultimately save us so therefore, FEAR NOT! You see, if we are like Paul and consider our lives as already dead to the flesh and alive to the Spirit; we don't need to fear whatever comes our way. God is in control of our lives. Nothing happens to us that He does not allow. He knows the number of our days. The only thing we should fear is being out of relationship with Him, but if you have truly surrendered your life to Him, that cannot happen. Remember what Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:27-29 NKJV)

Paul reinforced this in Rom 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NIV)

On the night before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples, who were often afraid, how they would be able to live life unafraid. John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

So, brothers and sisters in the Lord, I say to you, FEAR NOT! Let the peace of God rule your heart and mind as you live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

May God bless you as you trust in Him and live in His marvelous peace, not fear,

Coach

The Life of Faith, Pt 4: More Practical Issues

Applying our faith to the practical issues of life is essential to our spiritual growth. In the past few posts we have looked at what the definition of faith is and how it should affect our lives. We are not to separate our faith from any aspect of our life. Last time we began tackling specific areas of our lives and how to apply some biblical principles of faith to them. I began with finances because so many people tell me how difficult it is for them to really apply their faith to that area.

Some of the teaching going on in the church today has contributed to confusion about how the Lord would have us deal with finances. The doctrine of "prosperity" would have you believe that the evidence of your faith is in direct correlation to how much wealth you accumulate. I am sorry if I offend anyone, but this is not biblically accurate. If it were then we would have to surmise that all the Christians living in the Sudan were lacking in faith. There is nowhere in scripture that teaches the idea that if you just had enough faith, you would be wealthy. In fact the Bible warns of the dangers in desiring wealth or putting your trust in your possessions.

Remember the story of the rich young ruler. You can read about it in Matthew, chapter 19. The bottom line is that this young man loved his possessions so much that he could not give them up in order to follow Jesus. Jesus then commented to His disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matt 19:23-24 NIV) Does it sound to you like Jesus measures your spirituality by your wealth? Look at these two scriptures:

1 Tim 6:10-11 for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

So in following principle #1, (Did you already forget? Its ok, so did I. Look back at the last post. J) we want to correctly apply biblical principles to our financial decisions. I know for many of us, the biggest financial issue we struggle with is what we give back to the Lord. The number one question that comes up is "Are we as Christians required to tithe and does that mean ten percent of our income? If so, then is that ten percent of our gross or net income? Some churches teach that the ten percent must go to the local church and anything you want give to other ministries must be above and beyond that amount. Is that what the Bible teaches? Well, without going into too much detail because it would take a lot more than one post to cover this topic, I don't think so. Now, I am not going to be dogmatic and I respect others who disagree, but I think much of the confusion over this issue is because we miss the whole point of why we give today.

Some of the problem here is because of theology that teaches that God is done with Israel and has replaced her with the church. If that is your belief than you should probably be tied to the Old Testament teaching of tithing. I beg to differ and want to remind you that on the night that Jesus died, he established a new covenant by His blood, poured out for us (Lk 22:20). I prefer to live under that covenant since the instructions came from Jesus. All through the New Testament we see Jesus teaching that what God is after is the heart of man, not ritualistic, legalistic and meaningless adherence to manmade regulations. He gave us principles to follow for all of life, including our giving back to Him. Let's look at these and see if we can be sure of what He would want from us.

Matt 6:3-4 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matt 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matt 6:31-33 so do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

You see Jesus is more concerned with the attitude of our heart than the amount that we give. The reason the rich young ruler went away was because his possessions were more important to him than even his eternal life. When we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, it means we give everything to Him to do with as He wills. He explained this in the story of the poor widow, who put only two small copper coins into the temple treasury. It was a miniscule amount of money for that time, but look at what Jesus says about that offering; Luke 21:1-4 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

The fact of the matter is that the word tithe is only spoken about on one occasion in the New Testament. It is recorded in both Matthew (23:23) and Luke (11:42). In this account, Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees for disregarding things that were more important than their tithe of herbs. He does say that they should pay the tithe but not neglect the weightier provisions of the law. Of course, he is speaking to the Jewish leaders, not born again believers. Hardly a proof text for New Testament tithing, yet some pastors and teachers use it that way.

You see God knows us. He knows that if we get locked into the tithe as our only standard, we will lose the joy of giving. Instead, He gave us principles to follow that will lead us into giving from our hearts. Look at these verses;

2 Cor 9:6-7 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Paul encourages generous giving, but emphasizes the attitude of the heart. It is interesting to me that in all of Paul's instructions to the church, he never mentions a specific amount or percentage of income that believers should give to the work of the ministry. I believe the instructions are clear in the above verses. He does say one more thing. "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Cor 13:3)

The practical advice here on giving of your income to the work of the ministry is that it is a personal issue between you and God. You must seek the Lord, ask for His wisdom and guidance and most of all ask Him to increase your faith through giving. Remember that where your treasure is, there your heart will be. Start with one guiding principle; Jesus is the Lord of my life, therefore everything I have belongs to Him, not me. I promise you that He will provide for you all that you need!

Eph 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

May God bless you as you seek Him in your life of faith,

Coach

The Life of Faith, Pt 3: Practical Issues

One thing that I hear a lot is "how does faith actually affect the practical issues of my life?" So, as promised, I want to delve into that subject. Many people, who call themselves Christians, don't seem to apply much of what the bible teaches about the integration of our faith into our daily life. They separate their "spiritual life" from their "real, everyday life." Maybe they attend church on Sundays but there is no carryover into the rest of their week.

As we defined in part one of this series, saving faith is a total trust in Jesus for our salvation. It seems that some people believe that there is nothing more to it. "Ok, I'm saved, now I run my life any way I want. I've got my fire insurance." But if you look a little closer at the scriptures, there is no evidence you can find, that defines faith in Christ as trusting Him only as your Savior. It is always connected to trusting Him as your Lord. Acts 16:31 says "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." The New King James translation of the Bible uses the term "the Lord Jesus" SIXTY times. If you don't see Jesus as your Lord, It is hard to see how it is possible that He could be your savior. Don't just rely on me though, search the scriptures yourself and put it to the test.

The Greek word for Lord in these passages is kurios. It can also be translated as master and it is defined as supreme in authority. Included in the description of this word is the idea of having power. If we are going to trust Jesus as our Savior, we must also trust Him as our master, a master with the authority and power to actually save us, but also to meet our deepest needs. If we have accepted Jesus as Lord, (master) that would imply that we are choosing to follow and obey Him. That is what Jesus meant we He said to His disciples, "Come, and follow me." So when we look at how faith affects our lives, in a practical day to day sense, we must acknowledge this truth as our foundation.

When we have truly accepted Jesus as our Lord, it will affect every aspect of our lives. We say with Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20 NIV) Our entire life is one lived by faith, so let's begin to look at that in practical applications. I would like to take examples from the major categories of our life and see how it might work. Before we get to each specific area and how to apply our faith, I want to give you some universal guidelines for applying our faith to all the practical areas of our lives.

1. Proper application of our faith is explained in the Word of God; therefore I must study the scriptures that teach about the specific areas to which we apply that faith and the scriptures concerning faith itself.
   
2. We do not put our faith in faith; we put our faith in Jesus Christ. He is the object of our faith. Whenever we say the word faith, it means faith in Christ (Mk 11:22)
   
3. God gives you a measure of faith (Ro 12:3) and your faith in Christ rest on God's power not men's wisdom (1Co 2:5)
   
4. We live by faith (in Christ) not by what we see. (2 Co5:7)
   
5. When we pray in faith, we know that He hears us and that His answer is always in our best interest. (Ro 8:28)
   
6. The Holy Spirit has been given to us for guidance and counsel. Seek His help. (Jn 16:13; 14:16)
   

I am going to make an educated guess that one of the areas that might you struggle with, is how faith operates when it comes to making financial decisions. Why do I say that? Well, it's a hard one for me so I figure it must be difficult for you as well. If not, you can just go ahead and skip this section. OK, I see you are still here, so let's continue and see how this works.

Let's say you are trying to decide on a major purchase, like buying a house. It can be overwhelming to think about all the ways a bad decision could affect your life, so you want to be sure it is the right thing to do. You also want to be sure that if you do decide to purchase, that you make the right choice, considering space needs, budget, location etc. So how can we apply these principles to making that decision?

Let's start with principle number five. Knowing that God wants what best for you, seek Him in prayer. Ask Him to give you wisdom in this decision. Trust (have faith) that He will, because He promises that to us in James 1:5-7, " If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;" (NIV)

Next, go to the scriptures (pr. #1) and look up the passages that speak about money, possessions, and our responsibilities for its use. You might want to get a topical bible or bible dictionary to help you find those verses. There are more passages about money in the Bible than almost any other subject, so take your time. Ask the Lord to show you what He would want you to learn and how these verses apply to your specific situation (pr. #6).

Do all your practical homework in terms of researching the market, looking at what would best fit your needs and seeking advice from professionals. Once you have done all of these things and you sense that you have a direction from the Lord, don't proceed in fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind. (2 Ti 1:7) Use the knowledge you have gained, the wisdom that the Holy Spirit is giving you and rest in the measure of faith He has provided you (pr. #3).

One thing I have done when making these kinds of decisions is to pray that if I am not doing the right thing, that God would slam the door shut. When I do that, I am just saying to the Lord, "your will be done!" Even if it means I don't get what I thought I wanted, it gives me the confidence that if I do, it was the right thing. I have to admit that sometimes, even after you do all these things, it may look as though the final decision turned out to be wrong. Maybe you didn't get the house you desired or maybe you did, but now it looks as though it was a bad decision. Look again at principle number four. Sometimes a good decision can look bad, but we must walk by faith, not by sight. Remember, Jesus said in Matt 7:9-11 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (NIV)

Now it is possible, that even though we followed these guidelines, prayed with sincerity and trusted the Lord, we can allow our fleshly desires to cloud our judgment and actually make a wrong decision. But, I sincerely believe that if you do follow these principles, that such a case will be a rare occurrence. If however, that turns out to be the case, then we confess our sin and He is faithful and just to forgive us. (1 Jn 1:9) We may have to suffer some consequences but remember, God loves you and He will use every circumstance of your life to conform you into the image of His own dear Son.

This is one example in applying our faith in the practical decisions of life. Next time we will look at some other examples of financial decisions as well as other practical areas of life and how we apply these biblical principles of faith.

May God bless you as you continue to follow Him,

Coach

The Life of Faith, Pt 2: What do we do now?

I don't know about you, but I ask that question a lot. You would think that after over forty years of being a Christian, I shouldn't have to keep asking that question, but I still do. I hope that you read part one of this series and are ready to tackle this question. In that post, we learned that putting your faith in Christ means that we trust Him completely. Now we related that first to our salvation. We trust Him to be faithful to what He promises us in terms of bringing us into a relationship with Him that will go on through eternity. (Jn 3: 15-16)

We exercised faith in making that commitment, so, what do we do now? Is that the only purpose of faith, to come to a saving knowledge of Christ or is there more to it than that? Since the title of this series is "The Life of Faith, I am sure you already know the answer to that. In the book of Hebrews, chapter eleven, the writer lists several examples of people who trusted in God. The author also tells us two important details concerning faith. In verse one; he gives us a description of what faith is. Heb 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." The examples that are given to us demonstrate that these "Heroes of Faith" were commended because they were obedient to God even though they had not yet seen the answer to a promise God had made to them. Even so, they were sure that God would fulfill His promises.

You see, God has made many promises to us beyond just our salvation. If we are to follow the examples in Hebrews, we are to be sure that God will fulfill them, even before they happen. You might say, "I can't do that, it takes more faith than I have." You wouldn't be alone in that statement, but it is not optional. Look at what it says in verse six, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." I know, now you are really feeling guilty and maybe wondering whether or not you are even a true believer. Hang on, there is good news coming.

I am sure that you would agree that we all struggle with how much faith we have. Sometimes it seems easy to believe a promise from God and other times we just can't seem to trust Him. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said that if we have a measure of faith as small as a mustard seed, we could tell a mountain to move and it would happen, nothing would be impossible for us. That makes me feel like my faith is really puny. The question then becomes, how do we increase our faith? This is a question that has brought forth much discussion and even some controversy.

There are many people who would try to say that if you just had enough faith, God must do whatever you ask Him to do. They would use verses such as we just read to justify that position. There are some problems however with that premise. First, if God must do whatever we ask, doesn't that mean that our asking is actually a demand rather than a request? I don't think I want to demand anything from God, do you? Second, it makes us sovereign rather than God. In a sense, it puts us in the position of being God. Not a place I feel comfortable in. I have seen what happens to those who would put themselves in the place of God and it is not a pretty sight! Read what happens to Satan in the book of Revelation if you want to know more.

I think that where we go wrong, is in the understanding of what promises God actually makes to us. If he has promised something, He will deliver. That is guaranteed (2 Cor 1:20, "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." NKJV) Ps 145:13 says that the Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made. So there is no doubt that God will fulfill His promises to us no matter how little our faith is. We just need to know what His promises are. That is one reason that living a life of faith is impossible without studying the Bible. How can we know what God's promises are unless we read His revealed Word? You say, "But God speaks to my heart about these things." My question back to you is, "how can you be sure it is God speaking?" The way we test what we believe God may be impressing upon us, is weighing it against scripture and what it has already revealed to us about the nature and character of God. We must study the entire Word, not just bits and pieces, to be able to discern what He actually promises us.

Doctrines such as we discussed earlier, that leave the impression that if we just have enough faith, God must do whatever we ask (demand), usually stem from taking verses out of context and not comparing them to other parts of scripture. Also, we must study the words used and what they meant to the people that they were originally written to. This can help keep us from thinking God promised us something that He didn't. Let me illustrate.

In John 16:23 Jesus says to His disciples that His Father will give them whatever they ask in Jesus' name. Some people conclude then that if they ask for a million dollars, "In Jesus name," then God has promised they will receive it. If they don't, well then, they just did not have enough faith. This turns the phrase, "in Jesus name," into some type of magic formula. That would make me question the legitimacy of that teaching and make me want to study further to understand what Jesus meant by that statement. In so doing, I compare that statement to 1 John 5:14-15, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him. "Since the apostle John wrote both of these verses, they must go hand in hand. In fact, if you did a thorough study on the phrase "in His name," you would conclude that these phrases are really interchangeable. Asking, in His name, really means according to His will. After all, since God knows everything and He will do what is best for us, why would we want anything that is not in His will? That is where true faith is measured, believing that God does work out everything for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Ro 8:28)

So, what do we do now? We spend time with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We study His word and talk to Him in prayer. The better we get to know Him, the more our faith increases and the easier it becomes to believe in His promises to us. We learn as we go that even if we have not yet seen the completion of His promises, it will come to pass. One of my favorite promises is in Phil 1:6 "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Though this was written to believers in the church at Phillpi, it is applicable to all of us. I have yet to see the completed work of Christ in my life, but I have put my (faith) complete trust in Him to accomplish His promise!

Game Plan:

As you study the word, look for the promises God has given. Study them and see if they were specific to just a certain time and person (many are) and how God fulfilled them.

Look also for promises to all believers and ask the Lord to give you the ability to believe and rest in those promises.

May the Lord increase your faith as you continue to spend time with Him, Coach    

PS: Next up will be Pt 3 in this series "Practical Issues in Living The Life of Faith"

The Life of Faith, Pt 1

Well, here we are in the New Year 2011. Wow, sometimes it is hard to believe. It seems like just yesterday that it was January 1^st 2000 and we were all breathing a sigh of relief. The dreaded "millennium bug" was declared dead on arrival. You may recall that there were many people who were convinced it would be a disaster of untold proportions, affecting every aspect of our lives. Some even went so far as to buy years worth of food supplies and even generators for their energy source. It was really a pretty crazy time.

So, you are wondering, why I would be bringing this up? Oh, you weren't? Sorry, maybe it was just me wondering why I was bringing this up. I guess I was just remembering that time, when we not only transitioned into a new year but a new millennium and I thought to myself, why did so many people get so wrapped up in believing that the so called "Y2K" bug was going to bring calamity upon us? Was there evidence that we could look at to be sure what might happen or did we just listen to people that we thought knew a whole lot more than we did? Some so called experts seemed very convincing.

Well, that same question comes to mind for many when they are thinking about God. They want to know if there is any real evidence concerning the existence of God and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, or are most believers just listening to other people who sound convincing. I could turn that around and put the shoe on the other foot. The other night, I was listening to a leader of an atheist organization, who was being interviewed on the most watched cable news show in the country. He said, "Everyone knows that all religions are just a scam." When challenged by the interviewer to support that statement, he could bring no evidence whatsoever. He just indicated that it's a well known fact. Pretty lame, don't you think?

It occurred to me that often, when Christians talk about their faith, many non-believers think we are doing the same thing. They hear people say, "you just have to take it on faith" as if we had no evidence whatsoever to support that faith. Some of our so called spokespeople don't help much. I have heard many Christians being interviewed on national television or radio say things like "I can't really explain this to you, I just believe it." My heart is grieved when the Christian faith is represented so poorly. In order to live a life of faith, we need to have a clearer picture of what faith really is.

Let's begin by defining what the word faith actually means. The Oxford Dictionary defines faith as "complete trust in someone or something." This is important because it points out that faith must have an object. We can put our faith in many things. When you sit down on a chair, you put your faith in two things. One, you believe that the person who built the chair knew what they were doing. Two, you trust that the chair will not break when you sit down. Let me ask you a question. The last time you sat in a chair, had you seen or known the person that built it? I am going to take a wild guess and say the answer is no. Why then did you trust that the chair would hold you and not break? Most likely it is because every time you sat on it before, it was just fine. You based your decision to trust the chair because you had good evidence that it would hold you. Your evidence, however, was not complete. You did not know everything there is to know about the chair. You didn't know who made it and how trustworthy they might be. You didn't know if someone else had done something to the chair that might have damaged it and caused it to break. Again, your evidence was good but not perfect, yet you chose to trust the chair.

This is similar to the person who puts their complete trust in Jesus Christ. We have very good, if not overwhelming evidence of the existence of God and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, but we don't have all the answers or understand everything there is to know about God. So we have to come to a conclusion based on what we do know. By the way, with honest historical scholarship, we have an unbelievable amount of accurate information. The Bible has been proven over and over again to be historically and scientifically accurate. There are numerous books and websites you can go to and check it out.*

The dictionary also makes this statement about the word faith, "strong conviction in the doctrines of a religion based on spiritual conviction rather than proof." I would have to take some exception to that in the case of Christianity. This again might lead someone to believe that there is no proof that leads to faith in Christ. But there is a sense in which the statement is true. Ultimately, we do make a confession of faith based upon spiritual conviction. In fact, we do not come to salvation by just believing the evidence. There has to be a conviction based upon the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

In Matthew 16, Jesus was asking the question, "Who do men say that I am?" After receiving a couple of different answers, He finally asked, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answers in Matt 16:16,"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (ESV) I want you to pay close attention to what Jesus says next. "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matt 16:17) Now Peter had been around Jesus for about three years. He had seen Jesus perform numerous miracles, not the least of which was walking on the water himself. He had heard Jesus teach and present evidence from the scriptures of who He was. Ultimately though, he had to have the truth revealed to him by God Himself.

Our minds can be filled with knowledge and facts, but true salvation happens when our hearts are changed by the Spirit of God. Just knowing the truth isn't enough. Salvation comes by the grace of God, through faith. (Eph 2:8) Remember, faith is complete
trust in someone or something. We put our complete trust in Jesus Christ for salvation with great evidence, but more importantly by the work of the Holy Spirit revealing Him to us. (Jn 15:26) When this happens, our lives are changed forever and we begin a journey. We can now testify along with the apostle Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20 NIV)

Game Plan: If you have not already done so, ask the Lord to help you put your complete trust in Him. Study the verses in this post and begin looking up other verses that have to do with faith (there are at least 250 of them!)

In the next few post, we are going to look at different aspects of living the Life of Faith. Until then, may God bless you in your journey of living by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, Coach

*For great resources on the accuracy of the Bible, creation vs evolution, life death and resurrection of Jesus, check out these sites:

equip.org

thewordfortoday.org

icr.org

Born Again

Is there any concept in scripture that has been more misused, incorrectly interpreted or held up to ridicule as much as these two simple words? Let me know if you think so, but you would be hard pressed to convince me. Over the years, I have heard numerous interpretations of what that phrase means, from all kinds of sources. Even people who don't believe in the bible will use the term, with their own meaning attached to it. In the 1970's, the popular singer John Denver used it in one of his songs to imply that it meant leaving life behind and moving to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado or at least something to that effect.

This subject has been written about by dozens of Christian authors, who I am sure know much more than I do, but I thought that I would attempt to shed some light on what Jesus really meant, when He told Nicodemus that in order to see the kingdom of God, a person must be born again. Two little words, recorded in only three places, yet possibly the most significant and profound concept in the New Testament.

Why is it so important? Well, have you ever heard this statement before? "I'm a Christian but I am not one of those "born again" people. News flash, if you are not born again, you are not a Christian! Uh oh, some people are turning red right now. Give me a chance and I will explain. You see, I am not the one saying this. Jesus Christ said it. To be a Christian, you must be a believer (meaning one who puts their trust and faith in Christ). Therefore you must agree with what He says, so let's look at exactly what He says about this subject.

Nicodemus was one of the leaders of the Sanhedrin (the official ruling council of the Jews). He came to Jesus at night, most likely because he was afraid to talk to Jesus during the day, where someone might see him. Nicodemus was admitting to Jesus, that he believed He was sent from God. Jesus knew that Nicodemus did not fully understand who He was and replied, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3 NIV) Well, this really puzzled Nicodemus. He responded by asking, how a man could enter his mother's womb a second time to be born? Now surely Nicodemus did not think before he asked that question. After all, if that is what Jesus meant, what would become of anyone whose mother had died? Would they automatically be excluded from the kingdom? (Bet, you never thought of that one!) It seems a silly question.

Jesus, being very patient explains in John 3:5-8 "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." Nicodemus, like many people today, is confounded by the words of Jesus and can only respond by asking, "How can this be?"

How sad that a teacher of Israel could not understand the meaning of Jesus' words. Nicodemus was strictly thinking in worldly, temporal terms. In fact, he was so wrapped up in the "physical impossibility," that he didn't seem to care about, or understand the "consequence" of, not being born again.

Jesus says that there are two results of not being born again. One, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Two, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Let's start by defining what the kingdom of God is. Most people would think that this means heaven, which can be true, but it is more than that. The word here in Greek, refers to the realm of a king. You could think of it as being wherever your king rules. It is true that God rules in heaven, but it is also true that Christ will reign on the earth during the millennium. If you closely study the many references to the term "kingdom of God," I think you would find that it essentially refers to participation in that millennial kingdom. However, it would be safe to say that it means anywhere that Jesus is after His return in glory.

Now, let's take the second result, first. Jesus said that without being born again, you cannot enter this kingdom. That means that you will not be participating in the millennial kingdom, nor can you be where Christ is, whether in heaven or on earth. Jesus is very straightforward on this point. He gives no leeway on this matter.

Even more than that, He says that you cannot even see the kingdom. What does He mean by that? The point He is making here is the same point that the apostle Paul makes in 1 Co 2:14, where he states that the natural man (a person who has not received the Spirit of God) does not receive the things of the Spirit, nor
can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Until you are born of the Spirit, you will not understand the spiritual nature of God. You cannot even see who God really is. You cannot know Him without the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. You must be born "of The Spirit."

The reason Nicodemus had so much trouble accepting this was because he related to God strictly in a worldly and temporal mind set. He was convinced that his ticket to the kingdom was already punched by the fact that He was a Jew; one of God's chosen people. His knowledge of the scripture was limited by his lack of personal relationship with the God that he thought he was serving. This same handicap is carried by people today. They think that they are Christians because they were born in America and after all they do believe in God. Usually though, it is a god of their own making. They want a god that they can live with comfortably, and not have to change their behavior or lifestyle, a god that won't judge them for their sin. That is not the God of the Bible. That will not suffice; Jesus said you must be born again.

As I said earlier, there is no such thing as a Christian, who is not born again. When you trust in Christ as your Savior and Lord, He gives you a new nature, a spiritual nature that was previously dead because of sin. (Eph 2:1-3). This is what Jesus meant when he said that you must be born of the Spirit. The technical term is regeneration. When we are born of the Spirit, the eyes of our understanding become opened and we can see the "things of the Spirit." Paul says in Rom 8:16, (NKJV) "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." We now have a connection to God that was not there before we trusted in Christ. It is an essential part of our salvation by grace through faith.

This is what it means to be born again. It is not some silly phrase to be used flippantly. It has no real meaning apart from the Word of God. If you have trusted your life to Jesus Christ, you are a "born again" believer. We should be proud to bear the title, but not boast in ourselves because we didn't earn it. It was a gift from God. Let us be like Paul who said in 1 Cor 1:31 "Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." Amen!

Game Plan: Study the scriptures given this week about the idea of being born again. Ask at least one person what they think it means to be born again. See if God opens the door for you to share your testimony of receiving Christ and becoming born again.

May God bless you as you continue your walk with Him,

Coach

One Year and Counting!

It's hard to believe, but today marks the one year anniversary of Coach's Corner. I want to thank all of you who are faithful readers. For many people, anniversaries are one of those times that you look back and reflect on what has taken place since the last anniversary. This can be a good thing. The only drawback I see is that when you get to be my age, you realize that you have more years to look back on than you have to look forward to.J Well at least in the temporal sense.

I do believe that for Christians, it is an important thing to evaluate what each year brings into your life. I tried to think back to the day that the idea of this blog came about. Why did I feel led to do such a thing? It is interesting to contemplate what my thoughts were and I can't really say that I had a definite idea of what my real motivation was. It took a while to discover what I really hoped to accomplish by this adventure. Not too long after I had begun posting, I realized what the goal was that the Lord had instilled in me. My heart's desire was and is, to be used by the Lord to encourage other believers to grow steadily in their relationship to Him. That is what this blog is really all about.

While doing an in depth study in the book of Phillipians, I came to the conclusion that the apostle Paul had this same hope for the believers in the church at Phillipi. It is summed up in these three verses: And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God. Phi 1:9-11.

Paul brings out three important points in this prayer, contained in verse 9. Point one, is that their love might abound. You might ask, love for whom or what? The Greek word used for love here is once again, agape. It denotes love in a social or moral sense. I believe, if you keep it in context with the rest of the book, he is speaking of a love for the brethren. The type that puts others needs above your own. That kind of love is only possible when it is bestowed upon you by God, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Note that Paul says to abound in this love. This word is perisseuo in Greek and it means to "keep on flowing, like a flood."It means, continually and forcefully!

The second point is that this love has to have knowledge attached to it. The word for knowledge comes from the root word, epiginosko. It literally means, "become fully acquainted with" or to "recognize." He wants these believers to become fully acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul concludes by giving them a reason to be knowledgeable. This knowledge will give them the ability to discern what is best. The NKJV says it more literally, "to approve the things that are excellent." How important it is in our Christian life to know the things that are excellent, the things that are best.

Paul then goes on to say that this will lead to a pure (meaning tested as genuine) and blameless (because of our relationship with Christ) life. It brings a life filled with the fruit of righteousness (right actions), which comes by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within the believer. This is what our life should be like, as we wait for the day that the Lord returns. The end result is an awesome life for us and as Paul says in verse 11, it brings glory and praise to God! What could be better than that?

So, there you have it. Now you know why I do this. I pray that Coach's Corner has and will continue to encourage you to … "live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Eph 4:1, Col 1:10,1Th 2:12) In order to do that you must surrender your life, fully and completely to your redeemer, the lover of your soul, Jesus Christ. I pray that you have already done that, but if not, don't wait. Do it now. Learn what it is like to have the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God who created you, to be in control of your life. Just ask Him to come into your life and take full control. He promises in His word that He will do it. (Jn 6:37)

May God bless you and keep you,

Coach

Do You Have a Power Shortage?

Growing up as an athlete, you learn that nothing comes easy. Hard work, dedication to training, self reliance all play a part in your success. As a coach, I tried to convey these same principles to my players. In order to improve, you must be willing to work very hard. How much you improve and how well you perform is tied directly to how hard you work. Often times a player who may not have the most talent, will succeed where a more talented player fails, just because of his or her work ethic.
As a young Christian, I always thought it would work the same way in my Christian life. If I just worked hard enough at it I would be a better Christian. I would be kinder, more self sacrificing, loving, and less sinful. I would be more like Jesus. The problem was, the harder I tried, the more I seemed to fail. The more I failed, the more guilt I felt. That guilt would drive me farther from the Lord rather than closer to Him. I didn't want to face Him because I thought He would be angry with me. I would just want to give up and forget trying to be a "better" Christian. Have you ever felt that way? 

I couldn't figure out why this wasn't working. After all, it worked fine in every other area of my life. I would set a goal, work as hard as I possibly could and reach my goal. Let me illustrate. When I made up my mind that I was called to be a teacher and coach, I set my goal to be a Head Football Coach at the High School level, by the time I reached my thirtieth birthday. I started coaching freshman football for no pay, scouted for the varsity, went to coaching clinics in the off season and learned everything I possibly could about coaching and the game of football. As I gained confidence in my abilities and knowledge of the game, I became a varsity defensive coordinator (the person in charge of the defense) and started applying for every Head Football job that came open. I was willing to go just about anywhere to get that job. At the age of twenty nine, (after finishing second at least eight or nine times) I landed my first Head Coaching position at a school in central California. I had reached my goal.

This made sense to me. If you are willing to work hard enough, eventually you succeed. Why would it be any different in my walk with Christ? Why then, did it seem that no matter how hard I tried, I just continued to fail? Maybe some of you are in that place right now. It is frustrating and demoralizing. You might even be thinking of giving the whole thing up. How many times have I heard people say, "This just isn't working for me?"

If that is you, I have some good news for you. Don't give up, there is a solution and it is not to try harder. In fact, it is just the opposite. You see, we need to understand that we have a power shortage. The truth of the matter is that we don't have the power in and of ourselves to be more Christ like. First of all, Jesus never told us to try to be more like Him. In fact, He said "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."(Matt 11:28-30 NIV) Now I guarantee you that no coach that I ever had, said that to me, nor did I ever say that to any of my players. Instead it would be, "C'mon, suck it up and work harder!"

But in the Christian life, that just won't work. That which works in the realm of the flesh and the world, does not work in our spiritual lives. Why not? Because as Jesus said in John 3:6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."


Paul says in Rom 7:18 "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." For us to become more like Christ is a completely spiritual work. It cannot be done in the flesh no matter how hard we try, so we need to find a different "power source" than ourselves. That power source is God Himself, working through the person and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Let me share some words from the book of Phillipians, which I think will help you to understand this mystery. Paul says in Phil 1:6 "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Ok, look at the verse and answer these questions.

1. Who began the work, was it you?
2. Who will carry on the work, is it you?
3. When will the work be completed? Is that any time in the near future, at least that we know of?

Do you get Paul's point here? God was doing a spiritual work in the lives of these believers, just as He is in your life if you are a believer. He is going to continue that work until we pass away or He returns. Later in the chapter Paul tells us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. 

He goes on to say in Chapter Two, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Notice the term is work out, not work at. He does not mean that we do the work because in the very next verse he says, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."(Phil 2:13 NIV) The word used for works here is energeoon in Greek. It comes from the root word energeo, which is where we get our word energize from. God, the Holy Spirit is our energy source. He provides all the power we ever need to live the life worthy of our calling. What we must do is tap into that energy source by just spending time with God in worship, prayer and study of His word. God is so good that He even provides us the energeo to do that! 

Now I don't mean this in some mystical sense. The Holy Spirit is a person, the third Person of the triune God. But the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, providing us the power to live a Christ like life. (Ro 8:9-11)

We do have one part to play in this. We must be willing to surrender ourselves to the working of the Spirit in our lives. We must allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit and then let Him do the work. When Paul was discussing his inability to do that which was good, he concluded this way, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom 7:24-25 NIV) What a wonderful Savior we have, who not only saves us and calls us to a holy life, but then furnishes the power to live it. Praise His mighty name!
Game Plan:

1. Begin a reading plan in the book of Acts. See how many times you can find examples of the Holy Spirit empowering the believers.
2. Ask the Lord to empower you through His Holy Spirit each morning for one week and see what the Lord does.
3. Thank Him for your salvation and power in your life.

May God bless you as you allow Him to strengthen and empower you to fulfill His calling in your life,
Coach

Show Me, Don’t Tell Me!

If you would ask any of my former players to give you examples of my coaching philosophy, I am sure they would mention this phrase. I used it every day, probably more than once a day. Maybe, they heard it so much, they got sick of hearing it, but I'll guarantee you one thing, they remembered it. It actually would get to a point each season, where I wouldn't have to say it anymore, because the players would repeat the saying before it even got out of my mouth. Let me illustrate. If we had run a play several times and a certain player continued to miss his assignment, I might say (very gently and kindly, of course), "Son, do you have any idea of what you are supposed to do on this play?" The reply might go something like this. "Yes coach, I am supposed to… I know, I know, show you, don't tell you, right?" "You've got it, son!"

I think that most of us would agree that actions speak louder than words, wouldn't we? How often have the actions of a person, betrayed what they have said? Sometimes this plays out in a simple thing, like promising a friend to help them with a chore and then not showing up to do it. Have you ever done that? (Rhetorical question, you don't have to answer). This may not seem like a very important issue but what does it say about our character? It can be very easy to develop a habit of promising and never delivering.

The reason that I emphasized this to my players so much was because I believed it was such an important part of character development. Anybody can tell you what they will do, but it really means nothing unless they actually do it. The criminal justice system is filled with people who have said that they will not commit another crime and will seek help, but never do. My classes are filled with students who guarantee me that they will do everything they should and will pass the class, but are non-suit the next day. I can't tell you how many parent conferences I have been to and heard a parent say, "I will make sure my student is in class every day from now on," but within a week, they are truant again. It seems that there is an epidemic of integrity deficit when it comes to following through on commitment.

So often, when I am counseling with people, the reason a relationship is strained or broken, is because one or both people have not put actions to their words. For example, a person who tells their spouse that they love them, but then refuses to get help for their alcohol addiction. A parent, who assures their child how much they care about them, yet is always too busy to be involved in their life. How about a pastor, who preaches the gospel, but gets caught living a secret life of sexual sin? Let me ask you, do their words have any value or meaning? The old saying that actions speak louder than words is very true, don't you think?

Did you know that the Bible actually has a lot to say on this subject? Let's start with a parable from Jesus. "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went."Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. (Matt 21:28-31 NIV) Do you agree with their answer? Of course! You see, it wasn't what was said by the second son that got the job done, it was the actions of the first son.

Jesus was using this parable to rebuke the leaders of Israel, who talked a good game about loving God and being righteous, but would not repent of their sin. He also would rebuke them for putting burdens upon people which they could not carry and then not lift one finger to help them! All talk, no action. In fact Jesus exhorted us to not make boastful pledges to do things, but just let your 'yes be yes' and your 'no be no' (Mt 5:37). James reiterated this in Jas 5:12. We need to take this to heart.

The Bible makes it clear that we will be known by our fruit (works led by the Holy Spirit), not our words. You can read Mt 7:16-20 and be sure of that. James pulls no punches about this topic. James 1:22-24 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man, who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."

The Apostle John is adamant that your actions much match your words when you speak of your relationship with Christ. Look at these verses:

1 John 1:6 If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

1 John 2:4-6 The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in Him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

1 John 3:6-7 No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

I could go on and on with scriptures, but you get the picture. What we do speaks louder than what we say. Now, I am not telling you that we should never say to a loved one, "I love you." We need to do that. But we need to back it up with action. I also do not want you to be discouraged because you have not always done what you have said you would do. We have all fallen short in that area. Let's not live in guilt but remember that John also said that if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sin. What I do hope, though, is that we would recognize the importance of our actions and strive in our lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to let them speak for themselves.

GAME PLAN: Ask the Lord to show you in prayer, where you might have fallen short in letting your actions match what you say. Ask forgiveness for this. Receive God's forgiveness and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to help you in this area. Look for opportunities to serve the Lord and do it without telling anyone what you are going to do. Just do it! (Apologies to Nike, but they were not the first one to use this phrase)

God bless you as you follow Christ,

Coach