Bad stuff.....it happens

Bad stuff will happen in our lives. A question I get about faith in God, if God is all knowing, all powerful, why would he allow bad stuff to happen? I wish I had answer for why bad stuff happens, it would be a lot easier to talk to people about faith. At the same time, could you imagine life if nothing bad ever happened? How would life look if nothing bad ever happened? Sports would stink, would we ever have an ending in sports? Not that I ever want bad things to happen, what would happen if only good stuff would happen?

Paul spent a chunk of 1 Thessalonians talking about the end times and what would happen in these times. The Thessalonians were new in faith. They weren’t sure and were nervous about the end times/when Jesus would comeback. Paul spent the majority of chapter 4 and half of chapter 5 talking about these end times. One of the last verses of this section of scripture was 1 Thessalonians 5:9…

“For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God is not sitting up in heaven like a kid with a magnifying glass at ants lighting them on fire. God want to bring comfort to the people. Whenever then end times happen, people do not need to be wondering what is going to happen. There is no need to worry when you have faith in Jesus.

Put it this way. Where are you with your relationship with Jesus? Do you worry about what would happen in the end times? Do you worry what would happen if you past away suddenly and where you would go? What about your family/friends/loved ones? If you are worried, know that the only answer is Jesus. If you are wondering what this entails, talk to me or someone you know that follows Jesus. We can explain what it truly means to follow Jesus.

Have a great day.

Dying sucks, but it doesn't have too

Dying sucks, but it doesn’t have too

A death sometimes isn’t a death. Death sometimes feels like it’s all around us. We have lost people close to us, some expected and some unexpected. From my 35 years of life on earth, there is a major difference going to funerals. The difference is when I go to a Christian funeral compared to a (lack of a better term) normal funeral.

Now if you have lost someone close to you, I am so sorry, but please let me explain the difference between the two.

Paul shares these two verses in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” There is a difference in death.

This was shared in the Bible Knowledge Commentary, “Paul wanted the Thessalonians to be neither ignorant nor grieving like the rest of men, that is, like unbelievers, over the death of fellow believers. Christians do grieve over the loss of loved ones; this is a normal human experience which even Jesus shared (John 11:35). But the grief of Christians differs from that of unbelievers, for the latter have no hope of bodily resurrection to glory with Christ (1 Thes. 4:16). Two reasons why Christians should not grieve like unbelievers are that Christians have a revelation from God that gives them hope and they have a glorious future with Christ. Just as certainly as Jesus died and was resurrected by the Father, so God will unite the resurrected dead in Christ with their Savior at His coming.^[1]

Hope. It’s a completely different feeling when you are certain the person passing away is a Christian, the room has a calming presents that it’s hard to explain. The grief is more a feeling of joy then anything else. If you have someone that has passed away and you feel like they were far away from Jesus. I am sorry for that, but know that you have the opportunity to come close to Jesus today. Eternal life is avavliable through everyone who gives their life over to Jesus. You can have hope that you never had before with faith in Jesus. Don’t be afraid to ask someone what it takes to have faith in Jesus or what faith in Jesus is all about. If you do have faith in Jesus, be free to share this message with others today.

Have a great day.

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^[1] Thomas L. Constable, “1 Thessalonians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 703–704.

American chocolate smells like vomit

Is American chocolate garbage? From my perspective, I would say no. I have grown up with it, it taste great. Hershey chocolate has been a staple in every bag of Halloween candy I ever remember getting. You can’t go camping without a s’more, most made with Hershey’s Chocolate (Though the best thing on a s’more is a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup. If you have never tried it, go have it, you’re welcome!) Recently I read a couple of articles explaining why American chocolate taste horrible compared to chocolate you find overseas…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-4155658/The-real-reason-American-chocolate-tastes-terrible.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-british-and-american-chocolate-taste-different-2015-1

If you don’t click on the links and read the articles, I will some it up for you. American chocolates main ingredient is sugar instead of milk and cocoa. Cocoa has to be at least 25 percent of what is made up in chocolate in England compared to only 10 percent in the USA. Therefore our chocolate is made to taste sweeter with less natural ingredients. Some of the ingredients used cause butyric acid smell. This is the smell of vomit. If you think chocolate smells like vomit, this is why.

Kind of messed up how inauthentic our chocolate can be. Sadly the same can be said about American Christians faith. On the outside it looks good but on the inside it’s as fake as can be.

Books have been written about how fake Christians can be. David Kinnaman wrote the book Unchristian, which feature six things people thought about when they talked about Christians in America. It’s not good what people thought. Christians are supposed to be filled with the love of Christ, and we can totally missed the point Jesus wants us to make.

This is one of the great things Paul shared about, his faith. Paul was authentic with his faith and speaks about his faith through the trials and struggles of his own life. 1 Thessalonians 2: 3-4…

“For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.”

Paul wasn’t trying to play games or trick people into what faith in Jesus was all about. He tried to show what real faith was about and not sugar coat it.  The word approved is pretty interesting. The word approved in the original Greek is the word

Dedokimasmetha. This word means, “shown by testing to be genuine.”^[1]  Paul showed a genuine faith. Paul stood up for a true faith, sometimes we can miss the point.

When doing a self analysis, would you say your faith is genuine? Looking at my own life, there were times I would say I was completely genuine in my faith, there were also times I missed the point completely. I never claim to be perfect. I am working towards being genuine.

Where are you in regard to your own faith? If you claim to have faith and know you are not genuine, what do you need to do to start on a path to genuine faith?

American chocolate can give a fake chocolate appearance just like our faith can appear to be fake. As society goes for a more natural ingredients approach in food to be better, we can do the same with our faith. What are you going to do today to show a more genuine faith?

Have a great day.

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^[1] Thomas L. Constable, “1 Thessalonians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 694.

Easier to tear down compared to building up

It doesn’t take much effort to tear someone down. You look at the faults of others and attack. This is a lot of how some society is. It is easier to tear someone down rather than lift them up.

We sometimes choose to hurt people rather than encourage. Yet Paul did the opposite of this. The majority of his books always had an encouraging ending to people. In Colossians 4:7-18 he chose to encourage several different people. This is verse 7-8…

“Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.”

Paul mentions several people and says nothing but encouraging things about these people. Even when he was jailed Paul tried to encourage others. What a great reminder of how we are to treat other people. We need to choose encouragement.

Who do you need to encourage today? How can you lift up someone today?

Have a great day.

The frustration of an update that doesn't work

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I am usually excited when a program I use comes out with an update. Some of these updates have been amazing. It can add so much to the program or application that I am using. I am not normal and get excited for little things like my virus protection updating and therefore protecting me from new viruses and such. To know that I am covered is a great thing. Yet there are times when the program or app has issues.

I remember when Microsoft went to Vista, I thought it was going to be cool to have Vista, I was wrong. I never had a program crash and make my computer ancient. Vista truly wasn’t bad, but the minimum requirements with my computer were nowhere near what Vista needed. The problem was I bought this computer new and all computers had Vista on them. It was a bad move, sometimes the old way worked better. Later when I got a new computer and it was a lot faster, Vista was no longer a problem.

While confusing at times, some updates can be rough to start and get better overtime. When Jesus came, it completely changed the way faith in God was. We had the Mosaic Law that people were trying to follow, the problem with the Law, we are sinners. We are imperfect and God knew this. The law would be perfect if we followed it like we were supposed too. But we didn’t we are human and we sinned. This is explained in Galatians 3:23-25…

“Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”

The update allowed us to accomplish what we weren’t before, faith without having to adhere to the old law. Jesus brought an update that simplified faith and made it accessible to everyone. Before it was only available for those who had faith in God. The update was for everyone not just for those on PC or Apple. It was for everyone.

With Jesus, everyone can now enjoy this update and the ability to have access to eternal life. What a great update God made when he gave us faith in Jesus. The old way while good at the time needed to be updated. Now we can all experience the love and grace that faith in Jesus brings. Enjoy this update/upgrade and cherish it today.

Have a great day.

No rules is just right for some

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If there were no rules, anything you do is ok. Through the Bible you can see this happen time and time again. If you look at the book of Judges, it’s crazy how bad people were when there were no rules. The movies about The Purge gives an example of this. When there is no rules, people do whatever they want. Some things need to change in order to make the overall result better.

Dick “Night Train” Lane was a person new rules were created for. Lane was one of the great Lions football players of all time (Check out the video below)…

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-top-ten/09000d5d81118473/Top-10-Most-Feared-Tacklers-Dick-Night-Train-Lane

He was scary and hit hard. There wasn’t a rule for facemask or clothesline tackles, so this is how he hit people. It was hard, fast and ruthless. When hall of fame players are saying you don’t go across the middle on this man, you have to understand how dangerous of a person he was. Two NFL rules were created because of this man and the way players were hurt because of him.

No rules isn’t always just right. Try to walk into Outback Steakhouse eat your meal and instead of paying your bill say “No rules, just right,” and walk out. I am going to guess you would be in a little trouble if you did this. No rules isn’t always the best. People were complaining about The Law and how it was different then what Jesus brought. People were confused and using The Law to trump what Jesus brought and was teaching. Paul responded to this in Galatians 3:18 and some of 19…

“What is the point, then, of the law, the attached addendum? It was a thoughtful addition to the original covenant promises made to Abraham. The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the descendant) came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us.”

People thought by living by faith through The Law and paying attention to the law they would find salvation. Paul was telling them that the promise of Jesus was given before that and it trumps The Law that was given. As a result this allowed us to be saved by grace through faith.

Faith in Jesus is what gets us to heaven. You can’t do more good deeds then bad deeds and expect to get there. It’s not who you know that will get you to heaven. It’s faith in Jesus. People in the vicinity of where this letter to the Galatians had trouble understanding this.

Rules are created for a reason, but all the rules in God are trumped by one, eternal life is only given to us by faith in Jesus. Lane was an amazing football but they had to make rules in order so many people wouldn’t be hurt. God had laws created because people weren’t living quality lives and doing messed up things. Yet all the rules created didn’t trump the biggest one, Jesus. God promised Abraham that his line would continue and it ended up in Jesus. Through Jesus we can have faith and eternal life. All the rules can go along the wayside except the one that says the way to eternal life and salvation is through Jesus. When you truly believe that, it can and will change your life for the greater.

Have a great day.

Grown men acting like babies

Can a middle age man act like a middle school girl? Years ago I worked at this job with a husband and wife. Just like at any job, you can have disagreements. At this job, the husband and I didn’t see eye to eye on a subject. As a result of the disagreement, this man went around the entire business bad mouthing me and trying to get people on his side.

Later on I found out he did this and I was talking to his wife at the time. I asked the wife why he would go behind my back instead of coming to me? She responded, “You have to realize sometimes dealing with my husband is like dealing with a 13 year old school girl, full of drama.” OUCH. I felt bad for this guys manhood. His wife just ripped him apart to someone he had conflict with. Are we people that represent what we believe? Just because we disagree with someone mean we throw our character out the window? How are we when things don’t go our way?

1 Corinthians 16:13…

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.”

Conviction time, do I do everything in love? My answer is no. I still need to mature and grow up in different ways. Looking at the verse above, another summed this section up, act like adults! Babies cry and act awful when things don’t go their way.

Are you like a baby or like an adult when it comes to the trials you face in life? We need to be able to have discipline and maturity. Paul goes on in this letter to the Corinthians that even people that came to him with bad news were able to encourage him.

As Christians we are called to do everything in love, it’s a tough lesson. Each day is a trial to see if we can do this. Are you doing everything in love? If you failed at that so far, start fresh, show love to everyone and see what happens if you continue to do this. Take this challenge and see what happens. God calls us to live in love, are you ready to take the challenge?

Have a great day.

Murderer to minister

Transformations are beautiful. I love shows like the Biggest Loser, because it shows changed life. Every person who tries and listens to what they do on the show changes their life for the better. I think it’s the reason health pills focuses so much on people who lose great amounts of weight. Why they showed Jared wearing the huge pants he used to fit into is a huge change video. Christianity is about transformation.

Paul was once a murderer of Christians and now he is one. Paul used to be called Saul and Saul was one of the people known for trying to stop the church from going, he was one of the people that persecuted the church. For people following Christ he had them thrown into jail. He did not approve of Christians and what they stood for. He was one who witnessed Steven being stoned to death. He was not a good person towards Christians and was looked as one if not the main enemies of Christianity.

1 Corinthians 15:9…

“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

Paul realizes the wrong things he did, but he changed. Verse 10…”But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not with effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

Now Paul is not gloating here. This dude traveled more, suffered a ton more opposition, wrote a ton of the New Testament and created more churches. He knew it wasn’t him but God that caused all this to happen.

A murderer to a missionary. What an amazing story. All the time it’s amazing to see the transformation of Christ. At Central Michigan University, there was a guy that was a standout guy. He was an awesome person someone who everyone in the class just enjoyed. On the outside it seemed like this guy would be the party of the campus. Then we talked about faith and I told him I was a Christian. He said that was awesome and he was too! He said he owes the rest of his life to God. He went on to tell me his life story.

He went through high school and the start of college as a big partier. It got to the point he started hitting harder drugs on a consistent basis and it was starting to destroy his life. It was while he was getting high as he realized he was starting to get addicted to this. He said he never prayed and was at a point while getting high that he prayed. He said God I need you to take this from me otherwise I am going down a road I can’t travel back from. At that point he felt the presence of God with him and it changed him forever. He no longer had the desire to get high anymore. He started attending church and the reason he is still here today and doing well is nothing short then the grace of God.

God can transform. Jesus gives us grace to overcome what once held us down. I have seen God transform some of the most vilest/worst people and give them a second chance. God turned Paul from a murderer of Christians to an amazing apostle of Jesus. God can transform us when we give our lives over to him.

Faith is powerful and can change us for the better. If you need a fresh start, another chance at life or the opportunity to make a difference in your life or others, Jesus gives us that chance.

Jesus transformed me and can do the same for you. Have a great day.

Good or bad

We have a chance to be good or bad. My son Ty can be one of the most lovingly and sharing kids. It's normal of him to go somewhere and not eat all of his food so he could share some with brother and sister. He will go to the doctors office and always get a little sticker for his siblings. Yet while he can be good, he can also be bad.

Ty had some issues with listening to his Sunday School teachers. He bent one of his teachers fingers around and also was repeatedly hitting his teacher. Not the behavior we expect. For the good he can do, the bad he can also do. We can be the same way. While we might not hurt our teachers like Ty did, we have plenty of choices to do good or bad.

What we do can effect us in positive and negative ways. Listen to what Paul says in Romans 6:21-23...
What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There are bad things we do that result in bad. This is what happens with sin, we can do things and face the punishment in the end. When you do bad things, bad results often happen. When you do good, good things can follow. Doing bad things against God's will is sin, nothing good happens from sin. Yet with faith in Christ, we are offered something even better, eternal life. You don't have to be ashamed anymore when you have Christ. You can be good.

You can do bad or you can do good. What do you regret in life? What if you didn't have to be haunted by those regrets? This is what Christ offers, no matter how much bad you have done, you can be modified. You don't have to be the person of your past and you can be a better person in the future. I love Ty, hopefully we will see him do more good and less bad. What about you?

Have a great day.

Over 100 and finding out your wife is pregnant

It’s easy to have faith when everything goes your way. When you score the game winning touchdown, do well on a test or get that raise at work, it’s easy to say, “Thank you God!” What about when the opposite happens?

When things are bad can you still worship God? When a relative dies, you can’t play a sport due to bad grades or you find out you are sicker then you thought? Can you still praise and have faith in God?

I have friends that have struggled through fertility issues. It’s always rough to see people who would be great parents not get that chance. When you have been blessed not to have issues and people close to you have issues, it’s tough. I have friends that have stayed strong in faith and I have seen friends turn their back on their faith. For those you know with fertility issues look at the story of Abraham and Sarah.

These were two people that were outcast because they couldn’t have kids. Kids are looked at as a blessing of God and it was ten times true back in the Old Testament times. You had God’s favor when you were able to have kids. If you didn’t have kids, God must be mad at you. So people looked down on Abraham and Sarah. It drove them crazy to see everyone around them pregnant and they were not. God did promise a kid, but it was on his timing not theirs. They could turn their backs on their faith or grow stronger in it.

During the bad times, you can get down or stay faithful. Abraham chose to stay faithful during this tough time, Romans 4:20-22…

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Abraham knew God was going to come through for him and even while he was around 100, he still trusted God. God did eventually bless what today would be great grandparents with their first child. Sarah was pregnant.

Faith in God allowed Abraham to receive his blessing. If everything happened the way you wanted it to and in your timing, would you learn anything or need to have faith? It’s easy to praise God when life is going your way, its tough when things aren’t going smooth. Have faith during the tough times. There is a God who loves you and wants the best for you. Grow through the tough times. No athlete gets anything handed to them, they have to work hard at it. There are times faith will be easy and hard. You go through the hard times and that will make you appreciate the good times even more.

Stay strong, have faith in Jesus to come through. Grow and learn through the tough times and just like Abraham you can have a great blessing in the end. Trust in Jesus.

Have a great day.

Giving up because of you

It’s all on you. Imagine if the good and the bad of people was blamed on you? People weren’t afraid to say you are the reason someone else isn’t held in high regard. What you did and how you act effects other people. This is true with faith. What if instead of a person it was God?

If you say one thing and do another it makes people question you. I was in high school and still trying to figure out what faith was all about.  I attended several different churches and talked about faith with several different friends. One friend invited me to church and infrequently I would go with him.

Seeing this guy at church and outside of church was a different world. This was a guy who drank, smoked, did drugs and would have sex with any girl he could. Once we got into church it was a different world. We were in a class and he was the one people looked up too. He had scripture memorized and would quote scripture as he talked. People would come up to him and tell him how amazing it is that he takes his faith so seriously. These same people would give me the dirtiest looks at church. A major reason I thought all Christians were hypocrites was because of friendships like this, people that lived one way and did another.

Paul calls out the people faithful to God at the time. In this case, if you were a follower of God during this time (Esp. before Jesus came) you were a Jew. Jesus was a Jew too. Romans 2 has some harsh words about these people that claimed faith but lived a different way. He said this in Romans 2:24, “As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

God is not lifted up among those without faith because of you. More and more studies show that most people have attended church for a while when they were younger and give it up after high school. One of the main reasons, Christians are hypocrites. They live one way Sunday morning and completely different during the week. When people know you are a Christian you represent God wherever you go.

Some people don’t mind representing God and are good examples of Jesus others are not. A while ago I talked to a student whose parent always talked down to them. This parent would say why aren’t you like Jimmy, Susie and Johnny (Made up people)? The student wanted to tell them because they drink, smoke and have sex all the time. This parent thought the people they mentioned were great Christians, but they had no idea. Little did they know their son was one that did none of the three.

We all make mistakes and misrepresent ourselves at times. As a Christian, I have done things that have turned people away from faith, I am not proud of that. I screw up and honestly don’t represent Jesus well at times. Yet Jesus forgives me and can forgive you too. Church was never meant for the perfect but the imperfect. The home of Jesus is meant for everyone no matter how righteous or unrighteous you are.

If someone has caused you to turn your back on God because of them, I’m sorry. Give God, Jesus and the Church another chance. What other place can you seek forgiveness like the Church? Don’t give up on Jesus because of the actions of a Christian. We can all make mistakes and God is a graceful and forgiving God. Jesus loves you.

Have a great day.

Telling a girl she has fat ankles

We all make mistakes, some small and some huge. Once while Hailee and I we were dating, I thought nobody ever jokes something is fat that isn’t. I thought about a bone or area of the body nobody says fat about.  I thought I was funny when I told Hailee she had fat ankles.  I didn’t think anything bad would happen because ankles are a bone, there is no way it’s fat. After Hailee went away and cried, I realized that it wasn’t funny.  It ends up it’s never ok to say anything is fat on a females body. I had to seek forgiveness on that one, thankfully she forgave me.

 

We are people that like to think we have all the right answers. Often at times we are so thickheaded we don’t realize the mistakes we are making. Paul tries to explain in Rome how people have messed up in history. He said this in Romans 1:21-23…

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”

 

People messed up. During this time they saw the glory of God and amazing things he did. They still turned their backs on God. They relied on themselves instead of God. The people paid the price for that. A key line for this they thought they were wise and became fools. We like to think we have all the answers and yet can have none of the answers.

 

I still have a lot to learn about God. At times I have been foolish. I thought I couldn’t believe in a God that… and you can fill in the blank. I doubted faith a lot because there was a lot I didn’t know. I needed all the answers before I would follow Christ. Through talking with friends, I found out I would never have all the answers.

 

Even when you have all the answers, it doesn’t mean you do the right things. I could tell you how to eat healthy and lose weight. If I went to McDonalds, got four Mcdoubles, a large fry and a large drink, it would be over my daily calorie intake in one meal. You can be smart and still be an idiot.

 

Being smart is good, but if you don’t do anything with it or apply it to your life you’re a fool. Truly wise people can continue to learn and realize they don’t have all the answers. Maybe there is something that is keeping you from being the person you want to be. Or you would have faith in God accept you can’t accept why bad things happen in the world. It’s okay to seek help and get a deeper understanding. What do you need to do today to prove you are wise and not a fool? You can improve and continue to learn.

 

Have a great day.

Strong but not because of steroids

What makes you strong? You could say lifting weights, exercise or another form of working out can make you strong. That covers the physical aspect but what makes you mentally strong? There are a ton of talented people out there who are gifted in so many ways that aren’t mentally strong.

Sports have an interesting role in this. There are sports that are individually based that require so much mental strength, running, swimming and golf come to mind. When you have to perform your best and it’s all on you.  Earlier last summer I was playing in a disc golf tournament, I had a chance to win my division with several holes left. I tried to dial into another level and tried really hard, the result was the opposite. I fell apart and finished third or fourth.  Being mentally tough matters and sometimes we just don’t have it. What does it take to make you mentally tough?

Paul has an interesting take on strength that I think can play into being tough mentally. Romans 1:11-12…

“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong – that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”

Encouragement by each other’s faith can make you strong. You can be lifted up by other people and what they are doing with their lives. There are people I look up to and really have a lot of respect for.  Some of these people I long to be like. ne of the people I have always looked up to is a professor at Great Lakes Christian College Alvin Kuest. He is one of the most graceful people I have met and shares a genuine love for everyone.  I hope you have people you look up at and if you don’t to find someone.

Not only are you encouraged by them, they can be lifted up by you. Just because you look up to someone doesn’t mean you are garbage compared to them.  This scripture talks about by each other’s faith.  You don’t just look at their faith, but they can look at yours too and there can be a mutual form or respect.  Do you have mutual respect for someone else? If not what can you do to make this happen.

Being mentally tough is a challenge.  Yet when you have others helping you out, challenging you and you challenging back its iron sharpening iron.  Making each other better can be a great benefit. Are you living a life others want to be like? Do you have someone you look up to or have a mutual respect for? If you answer no, start changing what you are doing in your life and what can you do to make it better.

Have a great day.

Faith is not Burger King

You can’t pick and choose who gets Jesus.  In elementary and middle school, everyone would line up and you would pick the best players.  Then there were leftovers you barely accept and throw in a corner on the field.  Not exactly the best feeling, to be picked over.  When teams get more competitive, they just cut people.

 

I have been on both sides of this. I have been the one to pick over people and I have been the one picked over.  There was a time in high school I was trying to get a spot on the worst hockey team (They once lost a game 30-1). I dislocated my knee cap about two weeks before tryouts (No really a great excuse) and decided to tryout for defense instead of goalie.  I thought I played ok, but I got cut. I was crushed.  It sucks to get picked over, but you can either be depressed about it or get better and move on. Faith does not pick and choose.

 

Paul was opening up his letter to Romans explaining who he was and what his general message was.  This was part of that letter in Romans 1:5-6…

“Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”

 

Faith is not Burger King, it does not pick and choose who it’s for. The word gentile is meant for those who were not raised up believing in God. A lot of people fell into this in the area.  They were outcast by those with faith at the time.  It’s not how it works today.  Faith is for everyone.

 

You can’t get cut from faith. No matter if you like someone or not faith in Jesus is for you and them.  God is for everyone and as Christians we are called to share this whether we like people or not. 

If you feel like God isn’t for you or can’t use you, you’re wrong.  God loves you, gave his only son Jesus for you and wants you to share this love with others.  You can’t pick or you chose who gets faith like you pick and choose what you want at Burger King.  Jesus loves you and is for you.  No matter what you have done, Jesus loves you and cares for you.  Paul was a murderer of Christians and this is the same guy who wrote this letter for Romans. God can use you.  What can you do today to feel accepted or help someone feel accepted by Jesus?

 

Have a great day.

What's my crime

I remember the line from a great movie in the Count of Monte Cristo.

There were so many in what my wife would call one of her favorite movies.

An innocent man was sent to the worst of the worse jails.

Edmond claimed innocence, but received an awful prison sentence.

They would drop food off at his cell and he would try to talk to anyone and ask this line, “What’s my crime?
He was alone without an idea of what he was doing there.

Ever feel like you were being punished and didn’t know why?

Maybe you were accused of doing something even without any proof, they figured you were in the wrong?

Edmond didn’t do anything wrong and was jailed, so was Paul.

Enough people conjured up lies and as a result Paul was in jail.

Yet the judges who were seeing this man that the people asked for death and couldn’t prove anything wrong.

Finally year after year, trial after trial, Paul appealed to Caesar.

Yet before going there, Festus wanted King Agrippa to hear this man so he could send Rome a report.

Acts 25:27…

“For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”

They had a good sense about knowing who they were sending in this report.

Such is life that we don’t always know the reason.

While Paul was on trial for a very long time, they at least wanted to send him a report of what they found.

Often that is not the case.

We are often accused and have to deal with that.

Edmond had faith in God but it was a struggle after a while.

He was hung up and told you might be thinking ‘Why me, oh God’ and kept on with God has nothing to do with this.

Edmond responded it was all about God and he was everywhere.

The guy responded I am going to whip you and will stop the moment he shows.

Edmond was beat for a long time.

He ended up losing his faith after a while.

Yet a cell mate told him, God said vengeance is mine.

He responded I don’t believe in God.

He told him, “It doesn’t matter, He believes in you.”

No matter what you are going through or how you have been accused or feel you are under the gun God believes in you.

Even in the worst of times, Paul believed in God and didn’t hesitate.

No matter what you are going through, trust in God.

He can understand what you are going through and is there for you to call out too.

Jesus loves you.

God believes in you even if you don’t believe in him yet.

Have a great day.