Right question leads to right answer

Romans 14:7-8 “ For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.  For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.”

There is a question we face  in our lives.

“What am I here for?”

Good universal concept, but wrong focus.

It’s not WHAT but WHO am I here for is the focus.

The answer for believers…it’s Jesus.

To live for yourself is shallow…superficial…unsatisfying

To live for other people can bring temporary happiness but ultimate frustration. They will disappoint you. They will not be grateful for “all you have done for them”. They may turn on you…turn from you…turn you away.

Jesus never will.

When you live unto the LORD there are at least three things that happen.

God’s glory is magnified.   Your life points to someone higher and greater than you  He is the reason you work better and harder than anyone else. He is the reason you look at your classroom conduct and performance as a ways to honor Him with your best.

Your gain comes with it.  Jesus told his disciples that those who followed Him would be blessed and He would multiply their family and friends in this life.  Make sense right?  Who wouldn’t want to be around someone who walks humbly, tenderly and lovingly with God?  You  become like those with whom you spend the most time.

Your good can follow.  Jesus tells us to remember we are light of the world and a city on a hill. Our good works should refresh others and reflect on Him. The word says to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you.

If you are living to Him…the answer is Jesus.

God used who?

In John 4, Jesus stops for water in the land of half breeds, Samaria.  Jews viewed Samaritans as impure and mongrels.  Jesus has a talk with this questionable woman.  This woman’s soul was exposed by Jesus with some probing, insightful questions. He exposed her heart about the futile promises of prior relationships.  True satisfaction is found only in He Who is living water. She was so transformed with the living water of knowing Jesus, she left her water jar behind to go tell people she had met the promised one.


With today’s media managers, Jesus would have been told with whom to be seen, where to appear, how to phrase an “acceptable” politically correct message so to get the most favorable exposure.


He cared not for the fleeting fame of men…He cared about the eternal soul of this woman.


Think about it. In the past, when people saw this woman in the streets or the marketplace she was looked at and talked about as “that one”.  Perhaps she was the party animal of OldeTown Slidell or even the French Quarter.  She was a “Girls Gone Wild Mideast Spring Break”, “Real Housewives of Sychar”. She had been marred 5 times and was living with someone without the benefit of marriage.


What an unlikely choice for someone to share the good news about Jesus.


But, are we really surprised?


Look throughout the Gospels at who Jesus hung out with.  Look at the twelve He chose.  Cursing fishermen, IRS agents, revolutionaries, people prone to violence, traitors.  Gutless wonders after the garden arrest.


Imagine this woman going person to person and perhaps door to door to say I have found Him. Considering she lived among the half breed Samaritans, it was one outcast going to another to tell them she had found mercy and acceptance.


Isn’t that what evangelism should be today?


Why did they come to see this Jesus she talked about? He told her all she had ever done. She was changed. She probably had a glow and urgency about her.  She was on fire with a love for Jesus.


Where are those people today?  Not just those who say they are “on fire “for the Lord in the comfort of their church buildings, but actively, intentionally and urgently go into the community to tell others “I have found the one!”


People are fascinated by changed lives.


It gives them hope for the mess their lives are.

I hate resolutions

I hate resolutions. It’s like they are made to be broken. I prefer goals. Resolutions are like verbalized wishes; goals imply plans, objectives and action steps.


Where can Christians look for an example of goal setting? How about the book of Philippians 3:13-14.


“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”




We have 3 simple choices


Release the past- When you hold on to the hurts and offenses of the past, they hold you back and hold you down. The Bible says do not have a root of bitterness. Jesus says to forgive as He has forgiven you. Without reservation…requirements…reminders. When you let someone who hurt you occupy your mind, you are giving them control. Why let someone you are mad at continue to affect you?


Release your falls and failures. Focus on who Christ is in you and not what you try to make of yourself.


Paul suffered shipwrecks, misunderstanding, rumors, gossip, beatings and rejection. What was his response? This one thing... forgetting what is behind, he pressed on.


Reach for the prize- Don’t wait for it to come to you, reach, strive strain to pursue God. Jesus says,” Seek first the kingdom of God ...” Matthews 6:33. It is having laser like focus and faith to pursue God despite all distractions. You become what you focus on. Focus on others...you become like them. Focus on Jesus...you become like Him.


Respond to the person of Jesus Christ. God is issuing an upward call. He invites us to be seated with Him in the heavenlies and see life from his perspective. It is amazing to be invited to the throne room of the universe. He tells us to approach the throne of grace boldly.


Three choices..release…reach…respond. Simple to remember, but hard to do.

Trauma about Teabow

Why the trauma about Teabow?


There is growing conversation and controversy about Tim Teabow, an NFL quarterback, and his public display of his faith. What a nice change.


For too long we have witnessed the self-idolizing by many athletes and public figures. The attitude that leads to many of our problems is selfishness and forgetting who God is and who we aren't.


Why does Teabow’ s public acknowledgement of God cause such discomfort? For non-Christians, I think it is because when darkness is exposed by light, it causes discomfort. Like roaches running when the light turns on. There is no doubt many non-believers are hoping that Tim will mess up in a public way. They are begging for him to have some public scandal like several TV evangelists 20 years ago.


The more telling discomfort is on the part of many Christians. They feel awkward about a believer taking such a public stance.


Let’s read God’s Word. In Romans 1:16 Paul writes “I am not ashamed of the Gospel…” Paul did not care about his arrest record or being thrown out of many “religious” places in his day. When Paul came to town it was always going to be either a revival or a riot. Sometimes both!


More confrontational are the words of Jesus Himself. Matthew 10:32-33. “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Try to find the wiggle room in that phrase.


The holiday season is a great time to be more vocal in sharing your faith. In addition to “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” why not add “God bless you” or “Jesus is the reason for the season.” You’ll be blessed for blessings others…God will see to it.

Slow Down

God spoke to Elijah in I Kings 19, “And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. “

God was heard not in the spectacular, the loud praise and worship music or professional drama that permeates many of our services.   Nothing wrong with some of those expressions of celebration of one’s faith, but they can provide clutter or confusion as often as they provide clarity.

One of the rarest things today is silence and solitude.  We are so bombarded with media, music and messages our mind, much less heart has no time to settle down to listen.

Let me propose something radical.  Try a media fast.  Perhaps just shut off cell phones, avoid the internet and TV for an hour per week.   Then, as the withdrawals settle down, try for a half a day or even 24 hours. (If you try to use your waffle to send a ext message it is time for a break!)

Get  alone to see if you can quiet your mind and heart to hear from God.

“Be still and know I am God”, Psalms 46:10.

Know what you might hear from Him?  He knows you and loves you not in spite of your failings but because of them. He knows you need Him and His mercy and grace to get through each moment.  He may rejoice over you with singing.  Look up Zephaniah 3:17.

In silence you can find solitude…simplicity…the Savior.

Wherever (Fill in a credit card) is accepted

Hear this much this time of year?  “Look for where VISA is accepted”.

Romans 15:7 “Accept one another then, as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

If you use Blueletterbible.org to look up words, you can do  word studies with the click of a mouse. The word for accept in Greek is “Proslambono.”  Aren’t you impressed?

It has 3 levels of meaning.

First level means to receive one another as a blessing or gift.  Do you see others as burdens or blessings? Trials or treasures?

The second level  is to receive someone into your circle of family or friends.  One of the most accepting and intimate acts you can do is to have someone share a family meal with. To invite them into your home is like inviting them into your heart.

That bring us to the deepest level of meaning , “to grant access to one’s own heart”. This is the trauma of transparency. We build walls to protect our hearts at a young age.  By the time we reach adulthood we have walls, gun turrets, a moat with a drawbridge to keep others out.  We go to church and peer at one another from the safety of our castle windows.  We don’t dare get real or open up.  It could be painful or embarrassing to admit we are needy.

Yet, don’t we teach children from the earliest years Jesus wants to live in their hearts? So, if we are open to others, they should find Jesus there.  He is wants to use us to love them…care for them…accept them.

So next time you see a sign or hear a commercial about charge cards being “accepted”, ask God to open you to be accepting of others.

It is a gift where you get more back than you give.

Parades and Promotions

I have thanksgiving traditions. Turkey in excess…cornbread stuffing…football. I usually avoid TV parades. This year, I sat down and actually watched a little of the parade and God spoke to me. How does God speak during a parade?


I was drawn to consider the balloons.


I thought that in the last part of his life, Paul the Apostle was like a parade balloon.


Look at Philippians 1:22-24 ,”If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”


Paul wrote this letter while chained between two Roman soldiers. He was awaiting his certain execution, or he might call it his promotion day. Yet the joy and anticipation in this passage shines like the noonday sun.


Paul was filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for Spirit is translated “wind or breath”. That reminded me of the hot air to inflate a parade balloon.


Paul was so full of the life of God he was having a hard time staying here. But, just as the parade balloons are held to the earth by the ropes for dozens of people, Paul was tethered by the needs of believers he was teaching and training.


In hospice care there is something special that takes place. Often the patient lingers in unconscious state until they are released by loved ones. It’s like they stay tethered until their loved ones give permission to leave.


When the call came to me 11 years ago that my Mother was at the end, we hurried to Houston to be by her side. We got there at 2 in the morning and spent hours by her side as she struggled. She finally slept peacefully when she heard my brother’s voice by cell phone.


The next morning, we got back to her room at 9, held her hand, prayed and told her it was OK to go. She did. In 25 years of ministry, the first person I had ever been with at the end was my own Mom.


Like Paul, she got her promotion.