Clay feet, rusty nails, and the Daniels of this world

For those of us in ministry, the news has been rough lately. It’s difficult to see heroes of the Christian faith fall. I won’t use this post to gossip or slander, but I do think it’s good to remember that all of us who walk this earth do so on clay feet.

The Bible contains story after story of our heroes of the faith. It’s worth noting that the Bible usually tells us about their sins as well. God inspired every word of Scripture, so obviously he wanted us to remember that even kings like David can compromise their faith for a Bathsheba.

The great heroes in God’s eyes

If I could make a list of the people I would most like to meet in heaven, it would contain names like Samuel, Barnabas, Mary Magdalene, Aquila, Joseph, and Daniel. I am a big fan of the people in Scripture whose lives God used to influence those who changed the course of history.

The prophet Daniel was just a young man when King Nebuchadnezzar sent his army into Judah. The people of Judah were unable to withstand the Babylonian army and as a result, Judah was conquered, and the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. God had been speaking through his prophets for many years, using these men of God to warn the people of Judah that his judgment was coming.

Josephus, the Jewish historian, indicated that Daniel came from a royal lineage. He would have been educated in God’s word and taught to walk in obedience to God’s ways. King Nebuchadnezzar had instructed his armies to take those types of young people captive first. It was a good war strategy except the earthly king underestimated the power of the heavenly King.

Daniel’s life is a picture of what it means to walk faithfully with God. His circumstances in life could have caused him to give up on God but instead, Daniel allowed his hardships to strengthen him to depend on his faith. God gifted Daniel to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. 

The Babylonian king had a dream that none of his magicians, sorcerers, or other wise men could interpret. A lot of people were going to lose their lives, and Daniel stepped in to request an audience with the king. Daniel asked his friends to seek God for the wisdom he would need, and when Daniel stood before Nebuchadnezzar, he was able to tell him what his dream was about. 

Daniel was careful to tell the king, “But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind” (Daniel 2:30).

A great hero in God’s eyes is the person who is careful and faithful to understand that human greatness is measured by a person’s ability to humble themselves and give God all the glory. 

Kings and kingdoms with clay feet

Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream truthfully even though his words might have enraged the king. There were several times in Scripture when Daniel risked his life in order to honor his God. Daniel told the great and powerful earthly king that his mighty kingdom would eventually fall because a sharp rock, not made by human hands, would crush the clay feet his kingdom was constructed upon. (Daniel 2:31–45).

Every earthly kingdom is built upon clay feet. The same is true for every earthly king. The book of Revelation promises that one day there will be a “new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). Nothing in this world is permanent. That is the theme of world history since the beginning. Every kingdom on earth has been constructed upon clay feet.

The Assyrians were conquered by the Babylonians. The Babylonians were conquered by the Persians. The Persians were conquered by the Romans. The Romans were conquered by the Germans, and on and on, history has progressed. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that there is only one King without clay feet.

How do we protect our souls from our clay feet?

Jesus died on the cross because of our clay feet. Paul made sure the body of Christ would know that everyone sins and falls short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). We shouldn’t be surprised when people fall, even great Christians. But usually we are surprised, disappointed, and saddened by the mistakes of our earthly heroes. Somehow we don’t expect them to have clay feet like the rest of us.

Maybe we should consider our earthly kings like Daniel taught us. He honored the man’s position rather than the person. Daniel worked to preserve his faith, not his future. Daniel humbled himself and as a result, King Nebuchadnezzar recognized the power of Daniel’s God and King. Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:47–48).

We can protect our souls from our clay feet when we carefully refuse to allow earthly kings to overshadow our faith in the only King who is perfect.

Watch out for rusty nails.

Jim and I were out walking when we passed a yard that was a huge mess! We walk by that yard every day and had never seen it look anything but beautiful and well-kept. The home was getting a new roof. Gone were the beautiful red tiles that had been there for years and years. 

A neighbor told us what happened. Those clay shingles were supposed to withstand the hail, the wind, and the other factors of our Texas weather. That was supposed to be a roof that would last for a lifetime. Why was it being replaced with regular shingles now?

The beautiful, expensive, clay tile shingles had been installed with the wrong nails. The shingles grew weak because over time, the nails had rusted and gradually, the rust had destroyed the clay. I told our neighbor that the roof was a parable for us today.

We know that every king and kingdom on earth stands upon clay feet. The sins of this world are like those rusty nails that break down even the strongest men and the strongest nations. Sin has always been around, and world history is simply an illustration of God’s consistency. 

Nations rise and fall and so do their leaders. God will always warn, and most people will refuse to listen because we are attracted to the gleaming gold and bronze, and ignore the clay foundation.

Will you be a Daniel to the kings of this world? 

Will you glorify God as your only King? Our nation and our culture need to hear what God wants to say about our clay feet. Daniel and his friends prayed for God to speak to the powerful, evil king of Babylon who had taken them captive. They relied on God and trusted him to work out the details.

We all have clay feet. The sins in our life are like the rusty nails that slowly cause us to fail and fall. Yet God has chosen to gift us and use us for his higher purpose—if we will follow Daniel’s example.

God needs some heroes like Daniel who will humbly live with the high priority of giving God all the glory. As we get ready to celebrate our country, our history, and eventually vote for an earthly king, let’s remember that everything and everyone we celebrate and honor exist on a clay foundation. The rust is real and the clay will always be susceptible to decay. Our job is to serve like Daniel and help others know the only King who will stand forever.

Turning your thoughts to praise

Last week I wrote about the scientific discovery that the brain cannot focus on worry and praise/gratitude at the same time. Therefore, the answers to our worries are the answers God has taught, now revealed in Scripture. 

I love that science continues to prove God’s perfection!

It occurred to me that I had blogged about the need to praise but had not included some of the concrete examples from Scripture about moving our thoughts in that direction. I thought I would do that in this blog.  

Here are some concrete ways to turn your thoughts from worry to praise. 

We need to examine what we trust

I actually just finished writing a Wisdom Matters entry from Jeremiah 17:7. (If you want that content, just click the link and scroll down a bit.) God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lᴏʀᴅ, whose trust is the Lᴏʀᴅ” (Jeremiah 17:7). 

I thought a while about that verse and it occurred to me that a lot of us tend to trust in the Lord as one of our options. God repeated himself to Jeremiah with the clarification “whose trust is the Lᴏʀᴅ.”  

We have worked hard to build our lives, save our money, take care of our health, and establish our lives so that we don’t have as much to worry about each day. We find our trust for the future in a lot of different places as a result. Trusting those places causes us to put our hope in the next bank statement we receive, the next president elected to the Oval Office, or the next prescription medication to come out. We build bank accounts, investment funds, and plans for retirement, trusting that our plans will be enough. Those are good things—unless we trust them instead of God.  

God made it clear to the prophet that we need to trust in the Lord because the Lord is always the One we are able to trust. Consider the people in Ukraine. Three years ago, they trusted in a lot of the same things we trust today. 

If we want to replace our worry for the future with trust in God, we should say with the psalmist, “Praise the Lᴏʀᴅ! Oh give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 106:1). 

The reason our trust is the Lord is because the Lord is the only One we are able to trust completely. We don’t just praise God for all he has done, we praise God for all that he is. He is “good” and his love for us has no end; it “endures forever.” God loves us now with a perfect, enduring love. It is the same love he will show us in heaven. If you are worried about your future, remember that our trust is God. His love and our future in heaven are guaranteed. 

Aging is our blessing 

I have a big birthday this year. I’m not sure how I got to be almost sixty-five, but it happened! For the first time there are things like roller coasters and long, uphill hikes that I really can’t do anymore. I walk into my closet for a reason but only remember that reason some of the time. Aging doesn’t always feel like a blessing, but aging is our great blessing. 

After Adam and Eve sinned God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever—” (Genesis 3:22). By the way, here is a little fun Bible trivia. Notice the use of the word us in that verse. It is an early reference to the Holy Trinity.  

We often think of the ejection of Adam and Eve from the Garden as a punishment for their sin when, in truth, it was a provision for their eternal lives. Sin had entered the world, and God didn’t want the world to be everyone’s eternal future. Aging, and dying are our blessing. God provided a way for us to live with him again in a perfect heavenly home, the new Garden.  

We can praise God with King Solomon who wrote to encourage all believers to “remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity” (Ecclesiastes 11:10). We shouldn’t be at odds with our aging bodies. Put away the fears, pains, and anxieties that can shadow the older years because the true value of our lives is that they are eternal. I know that because Job wrote, “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days” (Job 12:12).  

Joy is knowing God better now than ever before. Knowing God enables us to trust him completely. 

The Lord’s lesson to Mary and Martha (and Mike and Marvin as well) 

One of the biggest problems I have with Luke 10:41–42 is that it is so often applied to only the lives of women. It’s hard to attend a Women’s Conference that doesn’t speak to this passage at some point. The truth of the Lord’s words to Mary and Martha is God’s truth for every Christian. 

For those of you who watched The Brady Bunch in the day, the Lord said, “Martha, Martha, [Martha], you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42). 

If we want to turn our thoughts to praise, we have to turn our thoughts away from worry, away from stress, and away from the normal, day-to-day concerns of living. Mary knew how to choose the best use of her time; Martha was still choosing her daily chores. And, for the men who read this blog post, remember that we all have Mary-and-Martha moments. We aren’t one or the other; we are both. 

I’ve often wished I could take back my Martha moments and have a do-over with them. It takes time to move our thoughts from worry to praise. It takes time to think through our wrong priorities so we can right them. It takes time at the feet of Jesus if we want to hear him speak.

Paul’s path to praise

Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians while he was sitting in Rome under house arrest. He closed his letter to that church by telling them what to think about instead of worrying about him. He wrote, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8–9). 

Paul could have told them to meet together and devise a plan for his escape or his time before the Roman court. He could have expressed worry about the future for his ministry. Instead, he told them to think about the things that are the opposite of worry. Take time to read and reread those verses again. When you have worries or anxiety, God, through Paul, has told you what to think about instead. 

Final verses that will turn your hearts and minds to praise 

God told Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). God created the world with that righteous right hand! What then should we ever worry about? 

King Solomon, known for his wisdom, was at the end of his life when he wrote, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). 

I spend a lot of time with my mom at her assisted living center. I am BLESSED by the smiles of those who are writing the final chapter of their stories. My time there could cause me to worry about my older years. Or I can watch them and know God has made everything beautiful in its time.  

Each time we worry, praise thoughts should be our next thoughts. The dark stuff of this life is just waiting for God’s touch to either expel it from our thoughts or turn it into something beautiful.  

Fear not. 

God has us in the palm of his righteous right hand.  

Faith doesn’t always fix it, but it has an effect

What was your first thought when you learned about the death of Naomi Judd? 

I really appreciated the family’s honest but private announcement. Everyone deserves that protection, even though the public will likely not honor it very much.

I was saddened because Naomi Judd was a person who was public about her faith in God. At the same time, I was worried about how that would play out in the media. Neither God’s people nor the world’s are very good about offering grace for mental illness. Brains get sick too, and we would be wise to understand that.

Our Christian message is that faith will fix the darkness and that is truth, but even truth isn’t perfected this side of heaven. Faith won’t always fix the world’s problems. Sometimes our faith simply helps us see beyond the problems to their eternal solutions.

Christians are called to be the “light of the world.” Is it time we should feel more responsible for bringing the light than revealing the darkness? I put myself under that admonition too.

Ancient wisdom for modern days

Isaiah 32 is an interesting chapter in Scripture. Is it about Israel, or is it about the days when the Messiah will come? The best answer to that question is yes. One of my favorite things about Scripture is the eternal nature of God’s truth. 

Israel thought they were doing okay. They knew they had strayed from what God most wanted in their lives. They knew times were darker, and the prophets were warning them that God wasn’t pleased with their choices. They knew their kids didn’t care about God’s word as much as their grandparents had cared. But they had crops to grow, businesses to run, clothes to wash, and meals to prepare. 

The Israelites knew their culture wasn’t okay with God, but they were too busy to care enough and felt helpless to fix the problems. Besides, God loved them and had made them promises. So, they continued to accept their flaws, hoping God would too. 

Isaiah, their prophet, told the people what God’s judgment would look like when it came. They had broken God’s covenant and things were going to change. But Isaiah also told them there was hope for their future generations. God would send a Messiah and enable people to, once again, be right with God. Isaiah made a bold statement about the power of change through the coming Messiah. 

Receiving salvation through faith in God’s Messiah, Christ Jesus, enables a person to be made right with God, and being right with God is righteousness. Isaiah wrote, “the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever” (Isaiah 32:17). Spend just a minute and think about Isaiah’s words. They describe the potential life and witness of Christians today, those who live rightly with God. 

Our question this month is: What effect is our Christian life and witness having in our culture today?

Our world needs a “righteous” witness

I read an article from Johns Hopkins about the statistics for mental health in America. Those statistics are likely to get more attention in the days ahead. 

The two statements that stood out to me were:

  • “An estimated 26% of Americans ages 18 and older—about 1 in 4 adults—suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.”
  • “Approximately 9.5% of American adults ages 18 and over will suffer from a depressive illness (major depression, bipolar disorder, or dysthymia) each year.”

Faith plays an important role in a person’s mental health; however, Naomi Judd and many others illustrate the fact that faith doesn’t always cure mental illness, or any of the other illnesses either. The effect of righteousness is “peace, quietness and trust” but the permanent promise is for “forever.”

Christians are the “light of the world” but sometimes, this side of heaven, the batteries wear out and even Christians find themselves in the darkness. The good news is that we don’t all “wear out” at the same time. God created us to need one another and gifted us in ways that can help.

How will your life affect the darkness this week?

If one in four people is struggling with the darkness today, how can we help?

First, look in the mirror.

If you are in a dark place today, admit it. You are in good company, even among your Christian friends. It’s okay to be going through a rough time because everyone does. 

Righteousness means you have peace, quietness, and trust as your promise, but remember that Scripture also promises “in the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). In the same verse, the Lord also said, “I have overcome the world.” 

The best witness isn’t the person who never struggles; it is the person who learns to “overcome” their struggles by seeking help and by offering help.

Second, if you have a friend in a dark place, do more than pray for them.

Prayers surely will help the person, but often our prayers will lead us to be their help. Offer prayers for the person and offer yourself to God. Jesus is the light of the world, but he said the same thing about Christians.

Finally, never doubt that if people know you are a Christian, your witness is watched.

People want to know if Jesus is real. People want to believe there is a heaven, and they hope they can go there. Christians are the light of the world. We are righteous because of Christ, but we will never be perfectly right. Righteousness is our gift, but it is also our goal this side of heaven.

The impact of our lives on others will be profound if we simply live with the honest hope of heaven.

The “effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever” (Isaiah 32:17). 

Peace. 

Quietness. 

Trust. 

That person will be a “light” in our world. 

At least one in four people you see need some of that light today. 

Maybe the person in your mirror could use some light. 

The best way to surround yourself with light is to become light. May that be the “effect” of our righteousness this week. 

Amen?

Giving our souls a tune-up

I’m smiling as I remember my dad’s best efforts to teach me how to give my ’67 Chevy a tune-up. 

That Chevy was the first car I ever owned, and my dad wanted me to learn a few things. I can honestly say that almost nothing I learned is helpful to car maintenance now. No one I know owns a timing light or changes their own spark plugs and filters. In fact, I don’t even know where the spark plugs are in my car today! Now, I drop my car off at the dealer when the “Maintenance Needed” light comes on. 

I’m smiling because there are more important lessons I learned from my dad’s advice. Dad helped me understand maintenance was important if I wanted to keep my car in good shape. In a lot of ways, my dad helped me write this blog post today. 

We understand our cars need maintenance. We spend the time and pay the cost because we don’t want to get stranded somewhere. We can apply that same principle to our souls as well. 

If your life is sluggish and not responding to God’s will, you might need a spiritual tune-up today. 

WHEN MAINTENANCE IS NEEDED 

It would be nice if something in our lives would flash with the words “Maintenance Needed” like our cars do today. We are a lot more like a ’67 Chevy. We have to notice the sluggishness, the slowness to start, and the “wrong noises” that indicate the need for a tune-up. My dad could just listen to engine noises and know there was a problem, and he usually knew how to fix it. 

It would be nice if there could be a “Maintenance Needed” light that would flash in our spiritual lives, but there are indicators:

• Has your witness grown sluggish? 

• Are you a little more difficult to “start” when the Spirit prompts you? 

• Is your prayer life making some strange noises . . . maybe a little too full of self-absorbed rattles and clunks instead of purring along? 

It’s better to fix the problems we notice than break down somewhere. 

God created our souls to run like a perfectly tuned engine: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We are God’s possession and he wants to keep us running well. But, he also waits for us to respond to the warnings and bring our cars to the shop! 

THE DEALER HAS THE BEST SERVICE DEPARTMENT 

A lot of places can do routine maintenance. It’s fairly easy to find someone who can change wiper blades, replace an air filter, or rotate the tires. But, if something inside the engine is not working, we know the dealership has the most specialized care. 

We take our souls for weekly maintenance to church or Bible study each week. Don’t you notice how much easier it is to treat people with kindness and put others first after spending time in worship? We are cleaned up and running more smoothly after a helpful sermon and time of worship.  

Routine maintenance is essential to almost everything in life. Our souls were meant to run on “daily bread,” our time with God each day. If you are reading this blog post, you are probably someone who understands that we need to keep our souls maintained by the daily disciplines of Bible study and prayers. The daily maintenance means we can keep our lives running more smoothly, and Sundays are a great boost to our daily routines. But, there are times when things in life require more help than our routines provide.  

My car has a need for significant maintenance at certain mileage markers. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and rarely “good news.” But, I pay the price because it almost guarantees I will avoid the breakdowns. When the dealer tells me I need to do significant maintenance, I do it. 

Our Dealer knows what is needed in our lives. He manufactured us and knows what is necessary to keep us running. It is good to know we need regular maintenance and care for our souls that way. But, when was the last time you submitted your soul for the more complete work, the work that only the dealer can accomplish? 

That kind of maintenance will come at a cost. It will cost you more time and effort and will be more of a sacrifice than just a Sunday morning service or daily devotions. When is the last time you left your regular routine to spend a significant time away with the Lord?  

If things aren’t running smoothly in your life, it could be time to take more time and submit your life to the One who created it.  

Jesus was preaching, healing, and creating a great stir in the synagogues. The Pharisees had begun to take notice of him and Luke wrote that “they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus” (Luke 6:11). Jesus, our example, knew he needed God’s divine wisdom and help. Luke writes, “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God” (v. 12).  

Even as I type those words I feel a sense of conviction. When last did I retreat from the world and my daily routines to spend an extended amount of time with God? 

Is it time for the “extended maintenance?” 

The dealer/manufacturer will need us for more time in order to do more work, and it will require a greater cost. But, have you ever noticed how much better your car runs after those times of maintenance? Our souls will experience greater benefits as well. 

ONE CAR WILL LAST A LIFETIME 

I’m not sure how many cars I will drive in my lifetime. I was in my forties when I bought my first new car. I kept it a decade, did all the suggested maintenance, and it never did break down. I’m now driving my second version of that car! My ’67 Chevy will always be dear to my heart because it was my first car and I worked hard to be able to buy it. But, I’m glad I can drive a better car these days, and I am careful to take good care of it.  

We only have one soul because that is all we will ever need. The first choice we ever made was to allow Jesus to buy our souls back for God, from the world. But, for the rest of our lives, we will choose to maintain what Jesus bought and has promised to continue to make new. 

We have been given one life, but it is all we need if it is eternal. I’m so glad I exchanged my old ’67 Chevy for something better. I’m glad I exchanged my old life for something better as well. My soul is eternal, and I want it to run as well as possible on earth and in heaven. I’m glad for the warning lights that remind me when maintenance is needed. It’s good to know life will run more smoothly with his care. 

The Apostle Paul wrote, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). One day these cars of ours will roll through the pearly gates and we will realize they are “maintenance free.” 

Until then, we need help from our mechanic. He is waiting to care for our souls. Do you need to do some routine maintenance or schedule an extended visit? He is always at work and always able to get you back on the road.  

But, we also have a lot to look forward to. One day when our journey is complete, it will feel great to pull into the garage, see my dad and my Dad, and know I am safely and forever, home!

It’s time to get out of the boat

Don’t you feel like you are almost to the end of a very long tunnel? 

It’s been a tough journey, but we expect it will be lighter, warmer, and easier very soon. 

Texas had a week of Snowmageddon and the next week it was spring. Now, there are early flowers blooming and patches of green. 

It feels like the year of the virus is mostly in the rearview mirror. There are still reasons to be careful, but it just seems like it is time to move forward with joy. 

There are a lot of people discussing their need to shape up for this new season. There are articles about diet, exercise, meditation, and makeovers. QVC had their spring fashion day and, I have to confess, I have a few packages scheduled to arrive. The comfy clothes from this past year need to be packed up and donated. In fact, a few things just need to be tossed! 

That’s true of our closets and our lives. 

UPPING OUR GAME 

I think it has been interesting to hear people talk about what the year of COVID has done to their relationship with God. It is almost always one of two conversations. 

Some talk about the fact they haven’t been in church and have drifted from God. Many just haven’t been as dedicated to read and study their Bibles as they were before. 

Another group talks about this past year providing extra time to read, pray, and think about God. The year of difficulty has stretched them spiritually and they have grown stronger as a result. 

No matter where we are in our spiritual journey today, we haven’t yet arrived. 

If the year of COVID made your faith stronger, is it because you chose to do something new in your spiritual life? 

What did you learn that you want to continue to learn? 

LITTLE FAITH CAN GROW 

Everyone knows the story from Matthew as Peter walked on the water toward Jesus. 

Peter has been the illustration for many sermons because he took his eyes off of Jesus and sank. But we can look at it another way too: Peter was the only one in the boat who walked on the water. 

He could have kept walking if his focus had remained steadfast on Jesus, but, let’s give the apostle some credit. He is the only one who asked for the opportunity to get out of the boat! 

Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter when he started to sink, saying, “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). I wonder if Jesus felt proud of Peter for taking those first steps. 

We usually look at those moments in Scripture as Peter not having enough faith. But, maybe we should think about the fact that he had faith, albeit small. And look what Peter’s faith grew to become later in his life. Peter exercised his faith by doing something new: walking on water! 

What new thing might Jesus allow you to do if you simply ask? 

Is there a new commitment your church needs you to make as things reopen and people return to worship? 

Is there a new Bible study you are supposed to attend or maybe teach? 

Has your faith grown to a place that you can step out of the boat and walk where you never imagined walking before? 

Jesus and Peter would cheer you on! 

The boat is safe, but it can also be a missed opportunity. 

LITTLE FAITH OR BIG FAITH, THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM TO GROW 

One of the most difficult things about growing older is I can only do most things I used to do. I can still get out of the boat; it just might take a little longer to do it. But, I never want to stop trying or learning to do something new. 

The older I get and the more I study, the less I know. I recently spent a morning working in my husband’s office. I looked around at his library of eight thousand books. (No, I’m not kidding!) All of those books have something to do with our faith. And those are just a small fraction of the books that exist on the subject. 

I thought about King Solomon’s wisdom when he said, “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). I will never learn enough, know enough, or teach enough Bible. 

There is no end to growing in the knowledge of God until we know him face-to-face. 

ONE YEAR LATER 

All of us changed a bit this past year. Let’s make sure we keep changing next year too. It’s time to exit the tunnel and get back to normal. But we should choose to live a little less normally than before. 

Paul prayed for the church in Colossae, asking God that the people would be “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9–10). I think Paul would pray that prayer for all of us, especially now. 

There are a lot of things to remember about the past year, and there are some things to just forget. But, in many ways, the past year was like getting out of the boat to walk on water. It was new. It was scary. But, Jesus was there every day. 

There were times of little faith, for sure. 

But this past year we also discovered some new spiritual muscles. 

Let’s keep them strong. 

EASTER REBIRTH 

Peter displayed his little faith again on the night the rooster crowed three times. But, the greatest crisis of his life would later become his great joy. The stone was rolled away, and the same Jesus who reached out to Peter from the boat stood in front of him again. It’s comforting to know that Peter’s little faith eventually grew to an enormous faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. 

Like Peter, we all have moments of little faith. Thankfully, we have a God who is always more focused on where our journey is going than where we have been. 

Is it time to up your game and get out of the boat? 

God has a plan to use our moments of little faith to make us stronger. In fact, he plans for our faith to be completely perfected one day. 

The resurrection still changes everything, and it always will—especially for those who get out of the boat and walk with Jesus.

Are you comfortable with holiness?

Quick note: The Bible study videos will post on Mondays, beginning next week.  The videos are free to everyone but in order to view them you will need to register your email address at: https://janetdenisonbiblestudy.com/ 

We have the study guide, Foundations of Faith available at our cost and we can ship them immediately.  I look forward to sharing this study with you….Janet

Do you remember when Christians were occasionally accused of having a “holier-than-thou” attitude?

Holiness became something we thought we were supposed to avoid in order to make others feel better about themselves. 

Sadly, holiness is our calling and our great gift. 

To start with, what is holiness? 

Most of our discomfort with the word can be cured with a right understanding of the definition. 

We need to define the word like Scripture defines it and not as our culture does. 

The biblical meaning of “holy” 

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for holy, qodes, meant “things belonging to God.” 

There were altars, places, the temple, and items involved in worship that were to be “made holy” by consecrating them only for God. 

In addition, God told Moses, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). The people of Israel were set apart and asked to live holy lives because they belonged to God and therefore were consecrated for his holy work. 

In the New Testament, the word for holiness is similar but not exactly the same. Hagiazo meant “things that are made holy.” A person is made holy through the blood of Christ, and we are set apart from others in our world as a result. 

According to the New Testament, those who have received the Holy Spirit of Christ have been made holy. 

Christians are holy. 

We don’t need to work to be holy. We work to live as holy. 

Are you comfortable with your holiness? 

It’s not easy for Christians to see ourselves as holy, but we are. 

Jesus paid for our eternity. We have a new name. We are the adopted children of God. We have a first-class, paid-in-advance room on the ark. 

In other words, we survive the world’s upcoming flood eternally. For now, holiness means we live on the ark, separated from the world but still in it. 

The only remaining questions are: When will the rain begin, and when will God shut the door? 

Holiness is living our redeemed life 

I really enjoyed watching A Rush of Hope over the Labor Day weekend. 

According to reports, thousands of people gave their lives to Christ for the first time because they watched. Greg Laurie’s message was clear, biblical evangelism. A lot of people “booked their room” on the ark. 

I also watched I Can Only Imagine one more time. Laurie used clips from the movie in A Rush of Hope. I Can Only Imagine is a great reminder of the power of God to change a person’s life. 

In the movie, Bart Millard said something like, “My dad was a monster. But he became a good man through his faith in Christ. If Jesus can change my dad from a monster to a good man, Jesus can redeem anyone’s life.” 

If you grew up in the church like I did, our redeemed lives probably don’t look drastically different than our lives before salvation. But they are. 

Do you ever think about what your life would look like if you hadn’t met Jesus? 

Maybe we should rewrite the first line of Millard’s song with that thought: I can only imagine what it would be like If I could never walk by his side. 

We are called to be holy

I wrote a book more than a decade ago and titled it Content to be Good, Called to Be Godly. 

I was a preacher’s wife who felt like God’s church was headed in some wrong directions. Evangelism had often been exchanged for tolerance, and tolerance had offered inclusion. The problem was, some felt included by the church who might not have been included on the ark. I wanted to write a book to help people understand what God wants for our lives. 

God’s standards are high and holy. Jesus came to be both Savior and Lord. We aren’t allowed to lower God’s standards of faith in order to make people more comfortable. 

Why do Christians want to believe we are supposed to try to fit in with non-Christians? 

Why do we think we are supposed to act more like the world so that the world won’t think of us as “holier than thou?” 

Arrogance isn’t godly, but neither is pretending to be less than holy. 

Our faith in Christ sets us apart from the rest of the world. We have been “made holy.” Jesus paid the ultimate price for our safe passage on the ark. 

We shouldn’t want to go swimming in the floodwaters. 

Get comfortable with holiness

The point of this blog post is this: if we are uncomfortable with holiness, we probably won’t wear it. 

First Peter 5:5 tells Christians to “clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” In other words, holiness looks a lot like humility. We are supposed to wear it so Jesus will be noticed, not us. 

We didn’t earn our passage on the ark; it was a gift from Jesus. Let’s wear our gratitude for his gift each day. 

It isn’t comfortable at first, but, like most well-made garments, it gets more comfortable over time. In fact, if we wear our holiness every day, it might begin to feel like our favorite old T-shirts. 

People are observing our lives, and we will have the opportunity to help some gain safe passage on the ark. Everyone has been offered a ticket, but each person needs to get on board—before the rain starts and God closes the door. 

Get comfortable with your holiness. 

God paid a great price so you could own it. 

When the gate closes and the ramp is withdrawn, everyone will be wearing holiness. 

Then we will feel like we belong in the crowd. 

Until that day, get comfortable with feeling set apart, consecrated to God. 

A before-and-after story

How did your salvation change your life?

This blog post is especially for people who were raised in the church or have gone to church for much of their lives. 

Chances are, your testimony isn’t usually described as powerful—but it should be.  

Paul and Peter 

Paul’s salvation testimony is exciting to teach. 

His story begins with Paul as a young man witnessing the stoning of Stephen while surrounded by the cloaks of those throwing the rocks. 

The story continues with his subsequent persecution of Christians, his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, and a visit from Ananias. 

The scales of blindness fall from Paul’s eyes as he dedicates the rest of his life to preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. 

There isn’t a more dramatic salvation testimony in the Bible! 

Or is there? 

Peter grew up faithfully attending the synagogue and was strong in his faith. 

He was likely a disciple of John the Baptist before he was a disciple of Christ. Peter, with James and John, was chosen to be in the inner circle of Christ. 

Peter was the first leader of the Christian movement after Pentecost. He was “the rock” God used to build his church. 

We know about Peter’s life before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and Peter’s life after Pentecost. 

Here’s my question: Is your personal testimony more like Paul’s or Peter’s? 

How did Jesus change your life? 

I’ve often said that the lifelong believer has a challenge that a late-in-life believer often doesn’t. Except for your promise of heaven, how did your salvation change your life? 

When you are raised in the church, that question is crucial. It can be the difference between living as a Pharisee and living as a Spirit-led disciple of Christ. 

If you were raised in the church, your daily life might not have been dramatically changed the day you became a Christian. You knew about the Lord before you were saved and you knew about him after. The Holy Spirit entered your life and affirmed your values more than he changed them. 

So then, how did the indwelling Spirit, who is Jesus, change your life? 

Scripture’s answer to that question is likely found in Peter’s testimony. 

How did the indwelling of the Holy Spirit change Peter? 

I’m writing Bible studies out of 1 and 2 Peter right now. I spent some time comparing the stories of Peter in the gospels to the wisdom of Peter from his letters.  

I’ve spent most of my life thinking of Peter as the man who walked with Jesus, but those gospel stories represent less than three years of his life. Most of Peter’s testimony takes place after Pentecost.  

If you grew up in church, that is a point to ponder. 

Peter was the foundational leader of the early church. He was the one called and gifted by the Holy Spirit to teach and maintain the accurate theology of the Christian movement. Peter knew Jesus and loved him. He was the disciple Jesus spoke to, saying, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15–17). 

Jesus called Peter to that ministry and then gave him his Spirit for that ministry. 

Is Peter’s “before-and-after” story similar to your testimony? 

Peter: Before and after 

Peter was the disciple who climbed out of a boat in the middle of a storm to walk to Jesus. When Peter sank, he understood it was Jesus who had provided the miraculous power. He was a man who understood the power of God.

When the Holy Spirit entered Peter’s life at Pentecost, he was a familiar presence of power. Peter recognized that holy Presence, and Peter left the upper room and walked with Jesus—again. 

Peter didn’t just know about Jesus; he walked with him and served him with his life. That is exactly what happened in each of our lives when we became Christians. Your daily choices might not have changed dramatically when you were saved. But your lifelong choices probably did. 

When did you step out of the boat? When did you sink? 

When did you know you were walking with Jesus? Are you aware that he is guiding your thoughts right now?  

Our before-and-after testimony is this: Before we became Christians, we knew about Jesus. After we were saved, we were able to live with his constant, holy Presence in our lives.  

The power of a lifelong believer 

Paul also grew up with faith, but it was Peter whom the Lord called and used first. It wasn’t knowledge about Jesus that mattered most; it was knowing Jesus.  

That is the difference between a Pharisee and a Spirit-led believer. That is our daily, moment-to-moment choice. We can live with what we know about Jesus or we can live with Jesus. 

Never underestimate the great power that comes from the lifelong knowledge of God and his word. 

If you grew up in the church learning God’s word, you were equipped with the ability to be a foundational leader of the faith. Paul taught Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).  

Paul chose Timothy, a lifelong believer, to continue his earthly ministry. Timothy knew Scripture and was competent and equipped for good works. But Paul wouldn’t have chosen Timothy if Timothy weren’t also a man who walked in the power of God’s Holy Spirit.  

Our before-and-after testimony 

If all that is happening in our world is causing you to “sink” just a bit these days, consider Peter’s story. Never underestimate the power of a person who walks with Jesus. Peter left the upper room and started sharing the gospel with everyone who would listen. 

But Peter didn’t preach until he had been gifted with the empowering presence of Jesus. In fact, Jesus told him not to speak until he was.  

If you are sinking these days, is it because you know what you know? 

It’s easy to be a Pharisee these days! But, the only way for miracles of change to happen is to know it is Jesus that has the power, the knowledge, and the plan for the needed change. 

Jesus can help scientists create a vaccine. Jesus can help heal racial divides. Jesus can calm fears just like he calmed storms. Jesus can use all that you know to help you become the person you need to be.  

It is common for God to choose those who have a strong foundation to be leaders. Your testimony might not be dramatic, but it is likely the story that will guide most people to place their faith in Christ. 

A lifelong testimony is difficult to question, and a life that exhibits the presence of Christ is difficult to ignore.  

Live your testimony 

Jesus told Peter, and Scripture teaches us, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13). 

What is the Holy Spirit of Christ guiding you to know, speak, and do today? 

Spend some time listening for that answer right now. 

That will be your testimony for today.

Turn Your Eyes to Jesus

I grew up singing hymns in church, and I often use those familiar words to focus my thoughts on the Lord. 

I wasn’t sure what to write about this week, so I prayed and asked the Lord what he wanted to say. I’ve learned to remain in prayer and quiet my thoughts so I can hear his. 

During those quiet moments, I remembered these words to a favorite hymn: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”

I ended my prayer time with a smile on my face and reached for my computer. 

Turn your eyes away 

It’s important to stay up with all that is going on in our world, but it’s easy to be consumed by the news and our need to know. Sometimes we need to turn our eyes away from news and focus on the One who transcends all news. 

We have often heard it said that information is power. There is no doubt that knowing the facts about COVID-19 will keep us safer. We all have smart choices to make and wrong choices to avoid. 

That said, one thing we have all noticed lately is that the facts we hear on the news may or may not be facts tomorrow or next week. There is still a lot to learn about this virus. 

We should allow the television news to guide our choices. We should also trust God’s Spirit to guide our thoughts and calm our fears. Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13). 

We should turn our eyes away from what might be facts so that we can seek God’s voice. It comforts me to remember that if I read his words in Scripture, they are certain. God’s word has been truth for every generation and remains truth today. 

If we turn our eyes away from the news to God’s word, we learn: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33). 

Turn your eyes toward the past

What does God’s word give us that the news cannot? 

We are all trying to understand what is not understandable. I find comfort in the fact that we have a lot in common with every generation that has lived before us.  

It has been a long time since preachers focused their sermons on things like hell, plagues, judgment, and fears. The popular sermons today focus on topics that make people feel better about themselves. The subject of most sermons are often about forgiveness, understanding, and comfort. The truth of God is in the totality of his word.  

I’ve wondered if our younger generations have been strengthened by their faith during these days—or if they have felt confused and “let down” by what God has allowed to happen. Did we prepare them with the whole truth of Scripture or just part of God’s story? 

God promised Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Isaiah’s peers were taken captive by Babylon for seventy years. 

Jesus told his disciples, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus didn’t promise that believers wouldn’t have times of crisis; he promised we would. 

Every generation experiences a crisis in the world. In light of the past, the COVID crisis of our generation is just one of many. Previous generations were running for shelters, afraid of the bombs. Our great-grandparents and grandparents sent their children to other countries, to carry guns and fight wars. This virus has been described as a “war,” but I’m glad that my war isn’t like the one my great-grandparents feared. 

When we look at history, we find people of great faith in every generation. All of those people endured “tribulation” of some kind. Every generation of God’s people have been “dismayed” and in need of God’s “help” because every generation has experienced “tribulation.” 

When we look to the past, we realize we are only part of a much larger story. The provision of God for this crisis has already been promised. If we look toward the past, we can understand our present and find hope for our future. 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus 

Our ministry has been fielding a lot of questions about COVID-19 these days: 

  • Is this God’s judgment on our world? 
  • Could this be a sign of the end times? 
  • Should we shelter in fear, or live in faith? 
  • What is God saying to us in these days?  

People want answers today for questions that history will answer one day. 

In this “age of information,” we need to remember that the truth God gave Isaiah thousands of years ago is still truth today. God said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9). 

We want answers for our world that only God can give. Until God provides those answers, we have a more important goal. I often think of the fact that I am “sheltered” during the Lenten season. Why now? Could it be that God has provided me an abundance of quiet for an important reason? 

For the next two weeks, I would ask all of us to make a daily journey through the streets of Jerusalem to the hillside of Calvary. 

I want to walk with Jesus this week and see him as he struggles to carry his cross. 

I want to witness all that Jesus endured for my sake. 

I want to see Jesus “high and lifted up” for my salvation. 

I want to remember what happened so I can understand what matters. 

I want to “turn my eyes upon Jesus and look full in his wonderful face.”  

Turn your eyes upward 

There is a lot that I do not know about the days ahead. But I know God knows, and that is enough.  

Let’s join our praise with King David’s this week, saying, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3).  

Let’s turn our eyes toward Calvary and focus on Jesus. 

Then let’s turn our eyes to heaven and realize that Jesus granted every believer the opportunity to enter the presence of God one day.  Thank you, Lord, for a season that calls us to let “the things of this earth grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”    

Nerves of Steel

One of the positives of limiting our schedules and staying inside is the chance to read the books we have stacked in a corner. 

I just finished Nerves of Steel by Tammie Jo Shults, the captain of Southwest Flight 1380. The lessons she provides are a word of hope to all of us during this pandemic crisis.

Our families, friends, and those around us are watching to see how our faith impacts our actions. 

We could all use nerves of steel for the next few weeks. 

Who is Tammie Jo Shults? 

There weren’t very many female pilots in the US Navy back in the 1980s, but Tammie Jo Shults was one of them. Her book provides an interesting look at her opportunities and her obstacles. Any woman who attempts to break social barriers has to be willing to suffer some hits, and Tammie Jo wanted to be a Navy pilot. Her story is composed of accomplishments and challenges. 

She became one of the first women to fly fighter jets for the Navy. She chose to endure prejudice, persecution, and hardships for the sake of her goals. Her faith kept her moving forward even when it would have been easier to quit. 

She credits her parents, her mentors, her friends, her husband, and, most importantly, her Lord for giving her the encouragement and strength she needed to pursue her goals. 

After retiring from the Navy, she was hired by Southwest Airlines and earned the opportunity to captain their aircrafts. That is what she was doing on April 17, 2018, when she piloted her Boeing 737 from LaGuardia and headed for Dallas. 

About twenty minutes into Flight 1380, one of the plane’s engines failed, the cockpit filled with smoke, and Tammie Jo Shults had to make a series of critical decisions. 

Instincts for any crisis 

Smoke filled the cockpit, and it was difficult to see the instruments. Tammie Jo said it felt like the plane had been T-boned by a Mack truck. At first, she thought another plane might have hit them. Quickly, she found the gauge that told her the left engine was dead. 

Just as quickly, the air pressure plummeted. A sharp pain pierced her ears. The roar was deafening. The plane began to vibrate violently. 

In all her years of training and flying, she had never experienced anything like that. 

But she had come close to disaster before. 

Her book describes the next moments 

The prologue records the brief moments that made all the difference. Tammie Jo wrote, 

Amid the confusion, I have a forced moment of solitude. I cannot see, I cannot hear, and I cannot breathe. I am isolated in one of life’s brief pauses, and adrenaline compresses my thoughts into an instant. This isn’t the first time I’ve flown without all the information I need. It isn’t the first time I’ve come close to disaster. My thoughts are distilled to their simplest form: bad news/good news. The bad news? With this fierce, abusive shuddering, I’m not sure everything we need to stay in flight will remain attached to the aircraft. This might be the day I meet my Maker face-to-face. The good news? We’re still flying. So it’s time to get to work. 

Tammie Jo knew salvation in Christ and had worked to have a strong walk with him as her strength. She instinctively turned to that strength in her moment of crisis. 

Later, when they listened to the cockpit tapes, she was surprised to hear her voice saying, “Heavenly Father.” 

She had instinctively prayed to the One she knew could help. 

Three lessons for a crisis 

The reason the book is titled Nerves of Steel is that a passenger on the flight used those words to describe the character of Tammie Jo’s words over the intercom, before she was able to land the disabled plane. She was calm. She gave them the information they needed and her voice quieted the chaos. 

She was asked to write the book so she could tell her story and help others understand how she was able to handle her terrifying circumstances. 

Tammie Jo gives three reasons she was able to function during that flight. 

Habits 

She writes, “Habits—good and bad—become instincts under pressure. In other words, the choices we make every day become our reflex on bad days.” 

She goes on to say that one of her lifelong habits was to turn to God for help when things were difficult. The peace that followed her prayer provided her a stillness that steadied her thoughts. 

Hope 

She writes, “I’ve come to realize since the events of Flight 1380 that hope may not change our circumstances, but it always changes us.” 

When Tammie Jo knew she was heading the plane toward an airport in Philadelphia, she told the entire plane, “We are landing in Philly.” She didn’t know they could land safely, but that hope caused everyone to find a place of peace and calm. 

Hope didn’t change their circumstances, but it changed them. 

Heroism 

Tammie Jo writes, “A true hero is someone who takes the time to see and makes the effort to act on behalf of someone else. In a word, they care.” 

She wanted everyone to realize that there were a lot of heroes on the plane that day. Her copilot, the flight crew, and several passengers had been extraordinarily brave and helpful both during and after the terrifying moments. 

What are your instincts for this crisis? 

All of us who watch the news know our nation, our world, is in a time of crisis. What are your instincts right now? 

How are the habits you have developed through your entire life carrying you now? 

I want to choose faith over fear. 

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” 

I’m glad the government, the scientists, the doctors, and those who do research are hard at work right now. But, I trust it will be the Lord who guides them to the cure. He already has the answers. 

Will you pray with me that all those who want to help will cry out to God for that help? 

Will you share hope with those around you? 

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 

We all have an amazing opportunity to be a voice of calm amid the chaos. Does that describe your voice today? 

Will you be considered a hero when these days have passed? 

Tammie Jo Shults commented that she found it interesting that in most of her television interviews people didn’t want to talk about her skills as a pilot during those terrifying moments. They wanted to talk about the moments after she landed the plane. 

She had walked the aisles of the plane, helping people get what they needed, speaking to them kindly, showing interest in each passenger. That’s what people remembered. That is what made Tammie Jo Shults a hero. 

What will people remember about you after these days of crises? 

You can determine that answer now by your choices. 

Will you be someone’s hero in the days ahead? 

You know people who will be losing a lot of their hourly pay. 

You know people who will get sick. 

You know people who will be upset, scared, angry, and self-centered. 

Will you notice them—and help? 

You know Jesus wants to be their hero—through you. 

This crisis is an opportunity. 

Will you ask Jesus for the “nerves of steel” that you will need for these next weeks? 

He wants to answer that prayer. 

Christian-ish

A friend called me this week with a few questions about a Bible study app that she and her child were doing together. It is popular and very well done. But, there were a few flags in terms of what was taught, or rather, what was not taught. She just had a bit of a catch about some points of theology that were omitted rather than addressed.

There are some popular television shows called Black-ish and Mixed-ish. Truthfully, I’ve not seen either one, but I understand the premise has to do with children who are not fully one race or another and the cultural issues they have with their identity. 

I think Christians have some issues in our culture as well. It is less common to take firm positions on theology today because we feel the need to blend well with our culture. 

Christian-ish seems to describe a lot of God’s people today. 

Confident or Christian-ish?  

It’s difficult for people to navigate their faith in a world where the “correct” position is often an “ishy” position. In other words, it’s not fully the truth, but it’s not untruthful either.  

Is it a good idea to position ourselves as people who are confidently Christian, or is Christian-ish a better way? Do we catch more flies with honey than vinegar? 

Yes, if you want to catch insects. 

But what if the game is baseball? 

An outfielder is supposed to catch flies as well, but honey and vinegar have nothing to do with his job. So, the right answer involves understanding which game we are playing. We need to figure out if we ought to be catching bugs or baseballs. 

The flies-and-honey saying is about popularity. We will catch more insects if we put together a mixture that sweetens the truth just a bit. So, we edit the Bible stories with a happier ending and leave out some of the tougher parts. We teach that God loves everyone, which is true, but we might choose to omit the Bible verses that point out the fact that God will judge everyone as well. 

The problem is, bugs are pretty easy to squish. Faith based on partial truth might not hold up well under pressure. 

The “flies” in baseball are really a better analogy for evangelism. 

An outfielder knows that, if he drops the ball, it might cost a bunch of people the win. There isn’t a very large margin for error. An outfielder needs to know the entire field to do his job. There are other players, walls, wind, and the glare of the sun that have to be factored in. The whole truth of Scripture isn’t as easy to present or accept—but understanding the game and learning to play it well makes all the difference. 

Catching baseballs requires a lot more effort than catching bugs, but baseballs are almost impossible to squish.  

Christian-ish is a blended faith 

The word Christian-ish describes a person who wants to blend the rules of their faith with other things. 

It is easy to want to be Christian-ish because that kind of faith doesn’t usually offend, and we are less likely to be called narrow-minded. 

But, Christian-ish isn’t a pure faith. 

Most importantly, Christian-ish is not an option the Bible can support. 

Truth-ish isn’t an option. 

Psalm 119:160 says, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” 

Rewriting the rules of Scripture to try to make them “sweeter sounding” is not effective evangelism. God’s rules are “righteous,” and it is the sum total of Scripture that is the whole truth. 

Paul told the early Christians in Ephesus “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). 

Christian-ish might suggest we blend biblical truth with what the culture believes is true. Paul taught the early church not to alter the truth because our faith needs to “grow up in every way.” We can’t soften the truth so Paul said we needed to soften our delivery of the truth. 

We need to speak God’s word motivated by his love.  

The Mixed-ish Samaritans 

Jesus traveled through Samaria one day and stopped to get water at Jacob’s well. 

The Samaritans were considered “mixed-ish” in Jesus’ day. Many were both Jew and Gentile, genetically and spiritually. 

The woman was surprised when Jesus spoke to her. John 4:9 says, “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” But, Jesus wasn’t interested in the woman’s “genetics.” He was interested in her soul. 

So he led her to understand the truth about her identity with God, which had nothing to do with cultural perceptions. He told her that he wanted to give her and her family the water that would “become in [them] a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). 

Jesus then told the Samaritan woman, “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23). 

I think Jesus would tell our Christian-ish culture the exact same thing. 

Pure truth in worship 

God is looking for true worshippers who will worship in spirit and truth. 

Are we worshipping the God of the universe or a version of God that seems more acceptable to people? 

Do we worship as we are directed by others or as we are led by the Holy Spirit within? 

Are we learning truth or a “sweetened” version of the truth? 

Going forward, we will all need to listen to what is said, and especially to what is not said, to determine if we are receiving a message that is Christian or Christian-ish. We might need to take every message back to God’s word to decide if it was true or “kinda” true.  

And, when we want to share God’s word with others, we will need to share the pure truth, with pure love. We want to bring people to heaven who have matured into strong, “unsquishable” believers.  

Playing the right game matters 

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). 

The game is not about catching insects with sweeter words; it’s about catching baseballs with truth and talent. 

And playing the right game matters eternally. 

Christian-ish seems like a sweeter, more popular way to evangelize, but it’s a game played on the wrong field. And “no one comes to the Father” through partial truth. His word is “the truth” that leads to “the life.”  

Let’s all make sure we are trying to catch the right “flies” today using the right methods. 

The game is clear—and the final score matters forever.