How might we help or hinder someone from knowing the King?

Jesus taught his disciples to “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). Do we allow all of God’s children to come to him with childlike faith, or do we hinder some who might approach God differently than we do?

I enjoyed teaching the children at our church’s VBS last week. I’ve been mainly teaching adults for many years, and it was good to experience the faith of children again. Sometimes when I think I already know a Bible story, I can miss the new thing God wants to teach me. God taught me a lot last week as I studied to teach those kids.

When I began the week, I had no idea how it would end. Bombs have flown. People have shouted in protest. Those demonstrations were called, “NO KINGS.”

The saved can be a “beloved disciple”

I taught John 1:1–3 to introduce Jesus the way his “beloved disciple” did in his gospel. From there I moved to the story of the little children being allowed to come to Jesus.

John 1:1–3 has always been my favorite description of Jesus in the Bible. I started out by asking the kids who they thought was Jesus’ best friend. Each class I taught said, “PETER” with great confidence. I told them I understood why they would think that, but it was actually John who was Jesus’ best friend among the disciples. I told them how John was the beloved disciple and the only disciple at the cross. I reminded them of what Jesus told John that day: He asked John to care for his mom, Mary. 

I then explained that John 1:1–3 describes Jesus through the eyes of the friend who knew him best. From there, I taught them that “the Word” refers to the holy name of Jesus, who was with God in the beginning, and that the Word was God. 

From there, I told the story about the time the disciples tried to chase away the children from interrupting Jesus one day, and he got frustrated with them. Jesus told them, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).

The kids left the room that day knowing they had been invited to come to Jesus, who was actually God in every way. I told them that if Jesus walked in the room today, he would want to put his arms around them and bless them, just like he had blessed the children that day in the story. I told them that the kingdom of heaven belonged to them if they would just ask Jesus to be their King.

I watched their faces as they considered receiving that hug and that blessing from Jesus himself. It was sweet to see them realize that they were important to Jesus, too. I hope I taught them how to make Jesus their King.

Do we fully understand who Jesus is?

The next day I taught the story of Jesus sleeping in the stern of the boat while the storm raged on the Sea of Galilee. I helped the kids understand that the fear that day was real. Peter, James, John, and Andrew were all fishermen by trade and were highly experienced with boats on that sea. Even those four strong men were terrified and thought they were about to die.

Jesus stood up that night and “rebuked the wind and the sea,” and there was a “great calm.” I love this story and even wrote a book inspired by that verse (Matthew 8:26). I titled my book A Great Calm because it is the peace that results only from the work of Christ in our lives. You would think that after writing a book on the subject, I would have learned everything I needed to from this story. But I heard myself telling the kids that there was a part of this passage I would never fully understand.

After Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, and a great calm fell upon them, “He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Honestly, those questions seem really unfair. But Jesus spoke them, so I know they must be perfect.

Jesus had asked his disciples to get in the boat because he wanted to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. That is about an eight-mile journey and the end of the day. Scripture says that when they began, other boats were with them, but it doesn’t say those boats were with them when the storm became so fierce. Apparently, when the clouds started to appear and the winds picked up, the other fishermen knew to turn back and get to land as quickly as possible. Jesus had said he wanted to go to the other side, and while he slept, his disciples obeyed his request. Peter, James, John, and Andrew would have known that a nighttime voyage wasn’t practical, but they did it anyway. Peter, James, John, and Andrew knew they were in great danger and would probably die once the waves began filling the boat faster than they could bail it out. Why would Jesus question their fear? Why would Jesus question their faith? If it were anyone other than Jesus, we would say his words were unwarranted, unfair, uncalled for! Why then did Jesus speak them?

The disciples might have felt hurt by Jesus’ words, but then again, they had just witnessed him calm that storm! After I said this to the children, one of them asked, “Why didn’t Jesus wake up and help them sooner?” Now…there’s a great question!

What did the disciples need to learn that day from the storm?

When Jesus calmed the Sea of Galilee, the men “were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” (Mark 4:41). Was this the day John began to realize that Jesus was “the Word” and that “the Word,” Jesus, was God? 

I taught the kids that Jesus was and is God, that Jesus was and is perfect, and that Jesus was and is God’s greatest gift to us. I told them that Jesus was the King of kings, and Lord of lords. I wanted the “little children to come to Jesus” because I knew that to “such as them” belongs the kingdom of God. It was easy to pray for those faces and teach them that day. 

But by the end of that week, I realized I was praying differently for the faces I saw on the news. On Friday,, my oldest son, Ryan wrote The Daily Article for Denison Forum. He reminded his mom to pray for everyone I was watching!

Do we hinder anyone from coming to know Jesus?

As the people protested in the streets, I prayed that God would bring his “great calm” to their storm. How ironic that their protests are called, “NO KING!” How interesting that Israel called their mission of war, “The Rising Lion.” So many in this world need to understand Jesus is the only King, and that Jesus came to earth as the Lamb of God. 

We have a high and holy calling regardless of our politics and opinions. We are to allow and help every person come to Jesus as their King. Right now there are wars and rumors of wars. It seems the calm is short-lived these days. It’s time to seriously consider our personal witness for Christ. Christians are called to live carefully, and to pray and witness like we have been taught in Scripture. Our words and our actions can either help or hinder.

Spiritually, there are so many “little children” in the world today. Truthfully, many people are acting and thinking like little children these days. Everyone deserves to know that Jesus is God and can calm every storm in their lives. “To such as them belongs the kingdom of God.” Let’s help and not hinder the little children from coming to Jesus. You, his beloved disciple, can help people know that Jesus was, is, and will always be, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Will you, his beloved disciple, help or hinder the people you see today to come to Jesus as their King?

Do you believe our culture will improve?

How could a person of faith answer that question if someone asked?

This is an interesting time to be a witness for Christ. The last encouragement Jesus gave his disciples was that when the Holy Spirit entered their lives, they would become witnesses everywhere they went (Acts 1:8). Christians bring the holy presence of Jesus Christ into every room they enter but let’s face it, sometimes we keep the light of Christ “under a bushel.” 

Jesus told us to let our light “shine before others” so that they would see our good works and give glory to our “Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Jesus accomplished that in every place he walked on earth, and we are supposed to follow his perfect example.

It’s important to note that people stood in the actual presence of Christ and still walked away unchanged. If Jesus was rejected, we can be sure his witnesses today will experience a similar response. Jesus chose to step into the world at a time when Rome was the world power. During that same time, the number of people who followed Jehovah God had dwindled to an insignificant number in the world’s population.

Jesus changed the world then. Do you believe he can, and will, do the same thing for the world today?

A Time Magazine Article: Is America in Decline?

Joseph F. Nye Jr. is the Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has written a book titled A Life in the American Century. In a Time Magazine article, he said, “A majority of Americans tell pollsters they think the U.S. is in decline.”

Nye said, “Americans have a long history of worrying about our decline.” He spoke of the concerns our founding fathers voiced, the worries the Puritans felt about the American culture, and the various times of war and financial crises throughout American history.

He said that personally, he had asked the questions: “What sort of world am I leaving to my grandchildren and their Generation Z?” “Is the American Century over?” 

His conclusion was “no,” but he then warned that Americans would need to understand that the culture in this century would not look like the culture of the twentieth century.

Nye said, “Technology is creating an enormous range of opportunities and risks that my grandchildren will face as they cope with the Internet of Things, AI, big data, machine learning, deep fakes, and generative bots—to name but a few. And even larger challenges are approaching from the realms of biotechnology, not to mention coping with climate change.”

The hope Nye offered Americans was this: “For all our flaws, the U.S. is an innovative society that, in the past, has been able to recreate and reinvent itself.” He hoped Gen Z might be able to recreate the American culture, but he warned: “We should be wary of counting too heavily on American exceptionalism.”

Do you believe the American culture will improve?

I’m asking that question of you, my readers, because I don’t have the answer myself. 

I believe in the eternal truths of Scripture that we can rely on in the midst of the partial truths of this world:

  • I believe in God, his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. 
  • I believe in the promises of heaven. 
  • I also believe that we serve an unchanging God, in a changing world.
  • I have faith that God’s word is always true because the source is God himself.                                                 

I believe that the eternal truths of God’s word have impacted every culture and always will. I know that every nation and every culture described in the word of God had a beginning and an end – except one.

The only culture that lasts forever.

I want to believe that the American culture will improve. I will vote my beliefs, be a witness for Christ, and try to live as perfectly as possible in my imperfect culture. I will need to ask God to help me battle my numerous imperfections every day. Let’s just say politics don’t bring out the best in me or my mouth!

Politics don’t bring us the hope we are looking for. We should have learned by now that every candidate we vote for will be imperfect too. 

The only lasting hope we can hold onto is the promise that Paul quoted in the book of Romans. That promise is from the Lord who said “every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

I’m not sure when America will improve. Honestly, I can’t be sure if America will improve. We have always been a strong and resilient people but it is a new day, a new century. Some things will improve and others will not.

We can be sure America will change. Nations always do. Let’s do all we can, as witnesses for Christ, to help America become a culture that knows God and honors him. But we should also remember that people walked away from Jesus himself, and some will walk away from us as well.

We aren’t perfect, but we can be patient.

Will our culture improve? The only answer I know is for the culture of Christians, not the culture of any one country. Everyone who has made Jesus Christ their Lord can live each day with the hope Christ gave his disciples. Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1–3).

The only perfect culture we can hope for is eternal. Jesus left us with a vague description of his Father’s house and the promise we would get there. Until that day our hearts don’t need to be troubled, just patient, because we believe.

Faith for the “what if” moments

Learning to follow God is a life-long pursuit. Following doesn’t feel natural and skirting around things often does. For example:

  • I like to pass big trucks on the highway because I can’t see around them.
  • I like to study people’s carts at Costco so I can pick the right checkout line.
  • I take vitamins to avoid getting sick.
  • I travel, whenever possible, when the roads are most empty of others.

I like to consider possibilities and avoid difficulties. So, when the doctor tells me something could be wrong with my mom, I don’t want to wait a week to find out. 

But that’s what I had to do. A week later I know she is fine, but it was a long week that I wish I could have back and do differently.

The “what-if” moments of faith.

The Bible says, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Luke 12:25). I track completely with Jesus here intellectually, but spiritually, I fall short. I spent too much time last week with worry, processing my thoughts and considering possibilities. I thought of what I would do if those possibilities became realities.

And then a week later, all is well except for the fact I can’t get back the sleep I lost or the time I spent making plans for things that I now know will never come to pass. I know why Jesus commanded us not to worry. I just don’t know how to stop the worry when it comes.

The “what-if” moments of life are frustrating sometimes. I spent last week bowing my head to pray, not knowing how I should pray. Those prayers usually came out, “Lord, I know you will do whatever is best – help me trust you and the experts.” I’d say amen, and soon I would be thinking about what I should do, all over again.

The “what-if” moments are usually about things that could dramatically change our lives. We want to be prepared for those times, but how do we prepare well without considering all that could happen? When we consider all that could happen, how do we stop the worries?  

What do we do with the worry? It can’t add anything to our lives. In fact, it subtracts a great deal of calm and peace (along with hours of sleep!).

Psalm 55 is my “worry” psalm. When worry eats up my day, I try to consume Psalm 55. King David understood worry. He had enemies, and he had to learn to live with constant threats and problems. He talks about complaining, moaning, and dreaming of escape. He prays against his enemies and for himself. 

David ends his psalm with an instruction that applies to every “what if” moment of life that causes us to feel overwhelmed by possibilities, probabilities, and realities. David wrote:

Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22).

It is difficult to follow God when we want to fix something. Yet, it is only when we cast our burdens on the Lord that we don’t buckle under the weight of them.  

Worries will be part of our earthly lives until we go to heaven. They are like a blowing, West Texas wind that can knock over or carry off anything that isn’t nailed down. Our stability in those winds is understanding that only God can sustain our thoughts and stabilize our worries. “He will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

Get “righteous” by getting in line behind God.

How do we get right with God and stabilize our worries? Start by remembering to “cast them off.”

  • Visit the throne of God in prayer and lay the worries at the feet of God. Replace worry with the knowledge of God’s perfection. Our worries are powerful, but God wants us to remember that nothing matches his power.
  • Tell God what you want but pray for the wisdom to trust and accept what he answers or allows.  His ways are not our ways. We can trust his choices more than our wants.
  • Remember God is your Father and you are his child. He adores you and wants all that is best for you and others. His answer will have eternal significance, not just momentary consequence. Try to consider the eternal picture that exists at the end of our earthly worries.
  • Finally, remember when you asked him to be your Savior, you also asked him to be your Lord.  He is the King and we are not. He is at the front of the line, and we are called to follow behind.  We walk where God leads, at the pace God sets, and to the answer God wants to provide. To trust God is to walk behind him.

A week unwasted.

I teach Bible, write Bible studies, and blog posts like this one. None of that means I can face my “what-ifs” worry-free. I’m still learning to follow the God I teach. I’m still fighting the fears and fixing the failures in my faith journey.

I wish I could regain some of last week’s moments that were altered by worries. I wasted too much time on “what-ifs” that never happened. At the same time, I learned once again that the only moments that did work last week were the moments I got in line behind God.  

God never wastes a flaw or failure. He can bring us back from the flood to the flock. I know I will worry again. But, please God, may I be quick to cast the worries at your feet and follow that line marked “righteousness.” I can’t gain back the time I spent worrying, but I can gain wisdom from the experience. The week wasn’t completely wasted after all!

I’m learning to follow. I’m thankful for God’s patient instruction along the way. Corrie Ten Boom said, “Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.” She also said, “In order to feel the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm.”  

It’s comforting to know that Corrie Ten Boom walked her difficult journey and learned of God’s worth.  We can too. Our “what ifs” can be handled with less worry if we faithfully follow God and trust his plan. He is our anchor in every storm.  

When you need a change, God is able

Why do we continue to repeat the same sins we were sure we had “fixed” with the last prayer commitment to God? 

I’ve grown in my faith over the years and know the Lord better now than I did at my salvation. The Lord is in the business of sanctification, making holy, those of us who are saved. 

So why is it we still repeat old sins? 

Are we “changed”?

The apostle Paul taught this about our salvation: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is a joy to listen to a compelling testimony from a person who led one kind of life only to meet Jesus and become a very different person. 

What about you? 

Has God dramatically transformed your life, or did it look pretty much the same the day after your salvation? 

Paul knew what it was to meet Jesus and experience dramatic change because of his salvation. I grew up in a Christian home and, while I knew my future was forever changed, the present remained pretty much the status quo. The “old” didn’t seem to have passed away at all. But, it had. I had received the Holy Spirit and I was no longer on my own. 

One of my favorite passages in Scripture comes from Romans 7. It is comforting to this Bible teacher to hear Paul say, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18–19). 

If Paul battled his common sins, even after those moments on the road to Damascus, we will battle our common sins as well. Why do we “keep doing” the same stuff that drove us to our knees the last time? Is it possible to break those sins and allow God to change us, or should we just expect to keep blowing it on a regular basis? 

My answer to that question comes from experience. 

The only way to break our repetitive, natural sins, is to allow God to do that. We can try to do better, but our human strength is insufficient for the problem. 

When you need a change, only God is able

I memorized Proverbs 3:5–6 at a young age. For me, those are the verses to apply to the weaknesses in our human natures we know we need to change. The Holy Spirit constantly convicts our thoughts when we step toward a sin. The next step is acknowledging that, like Paul, we are unable to fix it ourselves. 

God’s verses for repetitive sin are Proverbs 3:5–6. The proverb begins by reminding us that we need God’s word and direction, constantly. The author says to bind the teaching around our neck and write the commandments on the tablet of our hearts (Proverbs 3:3). That is the way we “find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:4). 

But, the way we do those things is found in verses 5–6: “Trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

When a change in our lives is needed, God is able—if we are willing to live what the proverb teaches. 

Do we trust God?

It seems hard to trust God, especially with our whole heart. 

After all, we know amazing Christians who have experienced significant failures. Or, some who have been diagnosed with something fatal. Others have lived with a vibrant faith and then lost it. 

Do we truly trust God like we should?  

Trusting is difficult, but we do it all the time. We trust the pilot with our lives. We trust that, behind the closed door, he hasn’t fallen asleep. We trust the surgeon and the anesthesiologist when we need surgery. We trust the elevator and the alarm system and we trust the person driving the car behind us. We have to, in order to live in this world. 

Do we apply that same standard to the Lord? 

We know we can’t trust everyone all the time. People make mistakes—but God doesn’t. I have come to believe this is true in life. We trust whom we want to trust. 

Do you want to trust God? 

Don’t lean on what you know

We trust what we google, sometimes. We trust what a smart person says, or at least we trust people we think are smarter than we are. We trust education. We trust experience. We trust faithfulness. We tend to trust what we can confirm. 

You can’t trust God unless you choose not to lean on your own understanding. 

To lean on what we know or what we are able to figure out is sometimes to lean against a mirage. It only looks real. In order to trust God with all your heart, you have to know him as the ever-present brick wall. There is never a time you will lean on him and fall. 

We know we can’t trust our own knowledge. We make mistakes—but God doesn’t. 

How can we trust what we cannot see?

In every way, at all times, trust what you know God has said. In all your ways, know God’s word and will. 

I know God because I know his word. I know God because I’ve seen his work. I know God because his Holy Spirit lives in me. I know God because he speaks. I know God is real the same way I know love is real. I experience God’s presence in this world and in my life. 

We know love, anger, hatred, compassion, trust, fear, courage, and conviction are real. If we believe in those powerful realities, we can believe in God. We can know the One who created all realities. 

Do you need a change?

Is there a sin you want to stop repeating? Think Proverbs 3:5–6. 

When we know and trust God as his word teaches, he is able to “direct, or make straight” our paths.  

Remember when your mom or dad said, “Straighten up”? They got that expression from God. The next time you are about to repeat a sin, think Proverbs 3:5–6. Chances are, you will hear the voice of God saying, “You know what to do. Now, straighten up.” 

We make mistakes. Thankfully, we have a God who doesn’t. 

Trust him with all your heart. 

Submit to him all your thoughts. 

Then you will live his plans, most of the time. 

That’s our only realistic goal until we walk with him all the time. 

If you need a change, God is able.

It’s time to trust God more than before

I know some people have an easier time trusting than others. I tend to be a skeptic, and it takes me a while to trust a person completely. I like almost everyone, but trust is something I tend to give carefully. 

As I watch the evening news and read articles on trends, choices, and all things “popular,” I have needed to double down on my choice to trust God for the future. 

I really don’t trust those who are in control right now so I have to remind myself of what I know is true. 

Ultimately, God controls all the final outcomes.

A WORD FOR THE FRONTLINE FAITHFUL 

The well-known “armor of God” passage is from the sixth chapter of Ephesians. Paul taught God’s people that living a faithful life would require them to be tough, wearing God’s armor for the battle. Paul’s churches were established during a period of history that was openly hostile toward the gospel. The Jewish people thought of Christianity as blasphemy. The Roman government thought of the church as another danger to their culture. 

Sound familiar? 

I’m in my early sixties, and I don’t remember a time in my life when God’s armor was more important. It is increasingly difficult to openly believe the Bible in our current culture and express Christian beliefs about values, marriage, the sanctity of life, and many other important standards. 

Those of us in ministry are stepping into deeper waters right now. It didn’t use to be difficult to live as a Christian and be popular, or at least feel respected. It helps to remember that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). 

I consider most of my readers to be “frontline Christians.” You are interested in God’s word, applied to our culture today—or you would read something else. I’m not called to teach “Christian-lite” or soften God’s truth. 

I am called to stay behind God’s Spirit and never forget that it isn’t people I need to fight; it is the same “spiritual forces of evil” that Paul had to fight too. So, to all those on the frontlines of faith, I encourage you to work hard at discerning our real enemy. If we recognize the battle is spiritual, we will fight with the spiritual weapons Paul called our armor (Ephesians 6:10–20). 

WHY IS IT EASIER TO TRUST THE CHARIOTS AND HORSES? 

King David had a lot in common with the Apostle Paul. David lived during a volatile time for God’s people as well. He wrote Psalm 20 as a message from God, to be sung before a battle. The King wanted God’s people to remember that their victory depended on God’s blessings, not on their strength. 

I wish God’s people would sing Psalm 20 for our battles today. I wish we would trust our battles to God as we move forward to fight. It doesn’t matter if we think we are winning. It matters that God is able to win through our efforts. Psalm 20 is a good reminder of that. 

My favorite verse in the Psalm says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7). I’ve thought a lot about that verse in recent days. 

A good friend made the point that America was going to have four years of Republican, then four years of Democrat. The wisdom at the end of those eight years should be that Christians have no business trusting either political party to make things right spiritually. 

We have had a chariot and a horse. (I’ll allow your politics to decide who is which.) As God’s children, we aren’t allowed to trust in either. But it sure is easier to focus on the powers we can see rather than what is unseen. 

We can never forget who is named in Scripture as the ruler of this world. Satan is celebrating some cultural victories these days. That should have always been expected. Our goal is to make certain he has no victories in our personal lives. In my opinion, Satan is having a heyday in the lives of God’s people right now. 

My words and attitudes haven’t always honored God. I’ve allowed fear and anger to control my choices and opinions at times instead of God’s word. I’ve momentarily trusted in a few chariots and horses for my future happiness. Meanwhile . . . I knew what God wanted. 

MAY THE HEARERS BECOME DOERS 

I wonder what King David would write to us as preparation for the days ahead? 

I wonder what advice the Apostle Paul would teach the church today? 

I wonder what wisdom Jesus would give today’s disciples for future needs? 

I wonder, but I don’t. 

We already have everything we need to know in the perfection of God’s holy Bible. The problem isn’t knowing God’s wisdom; it’s doing it. 

I love the book of James and have taught it many times. James, like Jude, was a half-brother of Jesus. James told his church and all of us today, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:19–22). 

If the only spiritual lesson you consume, trust, and live by is the truth James wrote above, you would live a strong, valuable, effective witness for God in this world. We should read and memorize those words before we open our mouths, make decisions, and step out of our doors. 

Living by those words would change everything. 

THE DISCIPLES THOUGHT THEY HAD LOST 

When Jesus was arrested, tried, and hung on the cross, the disciples were terrified of the days ahead. I’m sure many, if not most, thought they had aligned their lives with Someone who had let them down. They just didn’t know what God was about to do. 

Neither do we. 

We aren’t to trust what we can see. We are to trust the One we know, just not yet face-to-face. We don’t know what chariots and horses will look like in the days ahead. But we do know this: The final Easter is coming. We don’t know how many Easters will pass before that one, but what if April 4, 2021, is the last one? 

I don’t think we have lost. I know we have won. I just know there are still battles ahead. And, I know there are joys, victories, hardships, and everything else that life this side of heaven brings. 

But, my last Easter here will mean the next resurrection day is the only one left. Jesus rose again, and so will everyone who has trusted in his name. So, let’s trust God with more of our lives than ever before. 

Most of the world trusts the chariots and horses. Let’s face it: we would like to trust some of them too. But, King David would remind us that God’s people are to trust in the name of the Lord our God. 

Paul wrote in Romans 10, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (v. 13). 

Does anything else seem more important to you today? 

If so, pray . . . until it isn’t.

Common-sense Christianity

Patricia Heaton is a Hollywood actress known for her comedy and her Christianity. A friend sent me one of Heaton’s recent tweets, and I thought it summed up the way a lot of us are feeling these days. 

Heaton wrote, “If you are a common sense person, you probably feel like you don’t have a home in this world right now. If you are a Christian, you know you were never meant to.”

Heaton has been living in Hollywood’s culture for some time. Feeling out of sync has come to feel normal to her. A lot of us are new to that path. We grew up during a time when our Christian values were not only accepted but respected. 

Common sense doesn’t seem as common anymore. 

IS COMMON SENSE COMMON? 

Merriam-Webster defines common sense as “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.” 

I looked up the definition because I thought common sense might mean the perception that most people held in common. That’s actually the definition of democratic thinking.  

Patricia Heaton was right when she wrote that “common sense people don’t have a home in this world right now.” Why is that? 

Common sense is “sound and prudent judgment.” Common sense is based on “a simple perception of the situation or facts.” 

When I read the definition, my first thought was this: There is a LOT of Scripture that is not common sense because God’s ways are not common. 

Consider these examples: 

  • “Noah, I need you to build an ark. A really big ark. You build it and I’ll take care of the rest.”
  • “Jonah, tell them to toss you in the sea.”
  • “Moses, I need you to confront Pharaoh and tell him you need to walk off with most of his workforce. Oh, and by the way, you don’t need to worry about the Red Sea.”
  • “Joshua, I want you to gather all the people and cross the Jordan River today. Yes, Joshua, I know the river is at flood stage, but it isn’t a problem.”
  • “Hey everyone, you just need to march around Jericho a few times each day. The fortress walls will simply fall down and then you can take the city. Oh, and remember to save the prostitute and her family.”
  • “Gideon, send most of your soldiers back home. That’s the best way to fight your enemies.”
  • “Mary, you are going to have a baby. And, by the way, Elizabeth is pregnant too.”
  • “Peter, leave your fishing business and family behind because I have a better deal for you.” 
  • “With just a little faith, you can move mountains.”
  • “You can be forgiven of everything.”
  • “You can do all things . . . when I strengthen you.”
  • “You can live eternally in heaven.”

AREN’T YOU GLAD GOD IS UNCOMMON? 

American’s have been raised to value democratic thinking. It was easier when more of the nation shared or valued our biblical point of view. No generation has ever lived perfectly, but some have lived with higher standards. 

Biblically, a family is supposed to include a dad, unless there was a tragedy. A married couple is defined as a husband and wife. The sexual relationship is a blessing for a man and a woman after they commit their lives to each other and to God in a wedding. Children are created to be raised by both parents who want them to thrive physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  

Scripture teaches us to forgive, even when wronged. Scripture teaches to give and not just keep. Scripture teaches to love, even when someone is not loveable. And Scripture teaches us that the God of the universe “so loved the world, that he gave us his son” (John 3:16).  

Living for God has rarely been the democratic choice, but it should be common sense. God’s plan is “prudent judgment based on facts.” 

THE SIMPLE PERCEPTION OF THE FACTS 

Pew Research published “20 Striking Findings from 2020.” It was a fascinating and sobering article. I found the following two points thought-provoking and in some ways prophetic.

  1. “Around half of Americans (49%) say the Bible should have a great deal or some influence on the laws of the U.S., including 28% who say it should take precedence when it conflicts with the will of the people.”
  2. “A large majority of US adults (86%) say there is some kind of lesson or set of lessons for mankind to learn from the coronavirus outbreak, and about a third (35%) say these lessons were sent by God.”

What should be our commonsense perception about the statistics above? 

The facts tell us that people who believe God is in control of our world and should be in control of our choices make up about one-fourth of our population. 

Is common sense less common than you thought? 

CHRISTIAN COMMON SENSE 

Patricia Heaton was right: God’s people have never felt at home in the world. We weren’t supposed to feel like the earth is our home. 

Jesus said, “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). 

He also said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2). 

Common sense and the Bible both indicate Christians won’t have much in common with the world.  

When the Holy Spirit entered our lives, we became uncommon people with common sense. Through the Holy Spirit, we have all things in common.  

There is a great need in our culture today for joy, encouragement, and trust. Our job is to help people gain a commonsense perspective on the events in our news. 

But, that perspective belongs to the people who have “sound and prudent judgment” or, biblically, “the mind of Christ.” 

THE SENSE WE HAVE IN COMMON 

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). God knew we would never think like him, so, through his Holy Spirit, he gave us the common sense we have in common.  

As Patricia Heaton said, “If you are a common sense person, you probably feel like you don’t have a home in this world right now. If you are a Christian, you know you were never meant to.”  

One day, we will be sitting on the wraparound porches of our heavenly mansions, viewing the vast expanse of heaven’s beauty. Common sense tells us to define home as God defines it. 

Aren’t you glad we have eternity in common?  

Commonsense Christianity is being filled with the “sound and prudent judgment” of God’s Holy Spirit. 

Let’s spend the week having a LOT in common with him. 

A good chariot race

If I had lived in the first century, I would have bought tickets to the chariot races. 

I love the football playoffs, basketball games, and, if I could ever learn to follow the puck, I would probably like ice hockey. I enjoy a fast-moving contest.

A lot of Christians felt like we had chosen the right horse and chariot last year. 

What do we do when our pick has tipped over and the race is lost? 

Everyone in our country has lessons to be learned. 

What are ours?

WINNING AND LOSING 

We have been invited to a lot of Dallas Cowboys games over the years and always enjoy the opportunity to be in the crowd. Jerry World is a good time, especially if the Cowboys win. (Let’s just say it wasn’t a great time last year for more reasons than COVID.) 

Winning is what Cowboys fans were historically used to. We cheered the character of the team as well as the talent. Lately, we’ve grown accustomed to losing. We don’t like it, but it is probably a good thing. The Cowboys will remain a mediocre team until things change at an organizational level. 

That is a decent parable for our culture as well. 

This past year, we were shut in our homes with too much television and not enough Christian community. 

The worst moment I experienced last week occurred as I watched a man charge the United States Capitol carrying a flag with the name of Jesus. In my opinion, he was literally taking the name of the Lord in vain. He was slandering the name and cause of Christ. 

The Christian cause isn’t about winning or losing politically. It is about winning or losing people eternally. 

If people can’t appreciate our abilities and character, Christians have become a mediocre team.

WHICH RACE DESERVES OUR EFFORTS? 

I love watching the Kentucky Derby. Most of the people who attend the race don’t live in Kentucky and therefore spend a lot of time, money, and effort to attend the race. The time slot for the telecast is hours long. We observe ladies’ hats as well as the beautiful horses. We learn about the jockeys and the owners, and finally the crowd sings the famous Kentucky song. 

But, if a viewer mistimes a trip to the bathroom, he or she can miss the whole thing. The actual race only takes about two minutes. 

It is staggering to consider the enormous quantities of time, money, and effort spent on last year’s politics. I don’t believe Christians, regardless of which side you voted for, should think they got their money’s worth. 

Could it be we spent more effort than we should have for a two-minute race?  

People are already discussing the next election season. Many are going to great efforts for a race that may never be run. The Kentucky Derby requires years of work just to have a horse that might enter and win. Which races in life deserve our greatest efforts?

WHOM DID GOD WANT TO WIN? 

Whom did God want to win? 

That’s an easy answer. Himself.  

It’s safe to say that God wants his plans to succeed, not ours. It is a biblical promise that God’s plans will always succeed. After all, he is a sovereign God and we are the pasture of horses. (And horses is a compliment. I could have said sheep.)  

God wants us to view things from his perspective, not the culture’s.  

Throughout biblical history, we see God using some leaders and judging others. 

A lot of Christians are wondering which leaders we can trust.

WHOM AND HOW SHOULD WE TRUST? 

Our country has never elected a perfect president, and we never will. They are just human beings with fallen natures. Some seem more capable, more powerful, or more astute, but, in the end, no one has ever had a perfect presidency.  

It is time for the people of God to join together to pray for all of our leaders, especially when they are horsey. 

One of the most powerful people in the early church began his career as a violent terrorist. (I’m speaking of the apostle Paul.) 

It would be a privilege to vote for a person who enters politics after having a genuine Damascus Road experience. It would be easy to trust the person who understands biblical leadership. A strong leader doesn’t try to reign; he yields to the reins.   

Psalm 20 is a psalm of King David, written as encouragement and instruction. The people used this psalm to worship and pray for the king before a battle. The words teach us how to pray for the people who lead our country. 

King David was known for his great ability in war. His strategy with Goliath was just one of his successful battles. You might say King David was a horse everyone would choose to bet on. 

But the psalm is a good reminder of what God wants us to understand about any earthly king. The One holding the reins wins the race, not the horse. Bet on the jockey, not the horse. 

Psalm 20 reminds the people: 

  • God is our protection and help (vv. 1–2).
  • Our highest effort should be obedience to God (v. 3).
  • May our greatest desire be the fulfillment of God’s plan (vv. 4–5).
  • The Lord blesses and saves his anointed (v. 6).

The psalm continues with a reminder to the people: they have the responsibility and the priority of trusting and yielding to God. 

Psalm 20:7–9 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call.” 

WE ARE RUNNING AN IMPORTANT RACE 

Have we expected laws to do what God has entrusted his people to accomplish? 

Have we asked politicians and legislation to do our job? 

Have we trusted chariots and horses instead of the one at the reins? 

God didn’t just teach us to vote our values. He gave everyone who received his Holy Spirit the job of living those values as our witness.  

Our culture won’t change simply because we can elect godly people or enact laws consistent with God’s word. The entire Bible serves as our illustration. God’s perfect rules and laws only worked when people chose to obey them. Human beings are horses and often buck the system. 

Will we live like we trust in the name of the Lord our God? 

This life is a two-minute race. 

We will vote for horses, but we trust the One who holds their reins. 

How do we win? 

Trust the jockey, not the horse.

God’s team gets the win

People used to make jokes about the Dallas Cowboys being “God’s team,” but it’s really “Jerry’s hobby.” 

I’d like to say that everyone would say last Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys game was incredible. But, we used to pastor in Atlanta, and I’m sure there are a lot of our friends there who would disagree. So, let’s just say most people would say the Cowboys/Falcons game was amazing. 

Believe it or not, that game inspired this blog post. 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Cowboys play with less energy than they played in the first quarter. They looked like they had not slept the night before, or that all of them had the virus. It was beyond frustrating to watch! 

Then they woke up. 

They played like a different team and had one of the biggest comebacks in history. I don’t understand why they seemed asleep in the first quarter, but I hope they figure it out a little earlier for next week’s game. 

The team looked depressed, and I wondered if there had been disagreements among the players. There is a lot of pressure on some to kneel and a lot of pressure to stand. There are people who are first string and others who want to be. What kinds of discussions or disagreements take place before a game? 

At some point, everyone in a Cowboys jersey decided to agree they were there for one reason: to win a game. 

And they did. 

It’s time to win 

God’s family is diverse. We don’t vote the same, look the same, or agree on the kind of music we want to hear. Some dress up, some dress casually, and some don’t have the luxury of making a choice. When we get to heaven, there will be unity all the time. 

Until heaven, we are all different. 

Most of the rhetoric these days is about the divisions among people. We spend a lot of time discussing our differences. But what about our commonalities? There are a lot of things all of us know are true. I think it is time to focus our thoughts in that direction. 

The Cowboys aren’t “God’s team”; Christians are. What if we are in the fourth quarter of human history? 

One thing is certain: we need to win the game. 

It’s time to take some chances 

According to an NBC Sports column, there was about a 6 percent chance that the Dallas Cowboys were going to recover that fourth-quarter onside kick. But, they took the chance because it was their only chance of winning the game. 

Is it time for God’s team to take some chances, even if the percentages aren’t on our side? 

According to one survey, 97 percent of people come to faith in Christ before the age of thirty. After thirty, the number of people who accept Christ as their Savior drops to just two percent. 

Don’t read further until you allow those numbers to sink in into your soul deeply and profoundly. 

God’s team is playing like the Cowboys in the first quarter of Sunday’s game. 

We are flat, lifeless, depressed, and completely out of the game. But here is a thought that should matter. The Cowboys only had a 6 percent chance at recovering the onside kick—but they did. They won Sunday’s game because they took a chance at the impossible. 

Are Christians today even attempting to buck the odds and take a chance? 

Biblical history is about attempting the impossible 

  • God created everything and everyone out of nothingness. All that is needed is God. 
  • God brought the floods and spared only a few. The only thing crucial is faith.
  • God provided a holy land to people who could never have conquered the enemy. God’s Presence was the only power they needed.
  • God disciplined those he loved, and they lost the land. Life eternal is always more important than the comfort, wealth, and safety of our earthly lives.
  • God sent his Son. Human beings were never going to choose his laws, so he allowed them to choose his forgiveness.

This could be the fourth quarter of the game. Is it time to attempt the impossible? 

Mary was just a teenage girl when the angel came to her and told her she was going to have a baby. She knew it wasn’t “possible.” And then the angel told her, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). I think that if the angel Gabriel brought a message to Christians today, it would be to remind us that we serve the God who has always made the impossible happen. 

We know the truth; we just need to trust the truth. 

Mary knew there was a 0 percent chance she could be pregnant. She also knew that if it were God’s will, it was 100 percent possible. 

We need to trust God instead of percentages. 

Trust what is certain 

Trust God’s sovereignty. 

Our news reports will be filled with percentage points and polls. Trust that God will remain in charge, regardless of any election. 

God told the prophet, “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9–10). 

Pray, vote, and trust God to accomplish his purpose. He will. 

Trust that everyone you see is destined for heaven or hell. 

The Bible makes it clear, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). 

It isn’t our job to hope a person will go to heaven. It’s our job to make certain they understand their choice. Christians need to return to their first priority. We are disciples of Christ, called to make disciples of others. Nothing is more important than that priority. 

Trust that Christians will win. 

Have you felt like God’s team is losing the game? 

I wouldn’t have given the Cowboys any chance of victory last Sunday. Actually, I don’t give them much of a chance next Sunday. They are human beings, and every game is an uncertainty. 

Christians don’t need to ever doubt the outcome of their lives. For every person who has put their faith in Christ “will be saved” (Romans 10:13). 

We have a 100 percent chance of victory because Christ assured the outcome. 

Celebrate your victory 

I’m grinning right now as I type, thinking about the way Dak Prescott, the Cowboy’s quarterback, left the field jumping with joy, wearing a huge grin on his face. He had achieved an impossible victory. Nothing else mattered. 

What do our faces look like today? 

If people see us, will they know we are victorious?

Trust the outcome of the game, not what appears to be true according to the clock. Satan’s goal is to convince us to believe his statistics, not God’s. He is really good at convincing unbelievers, especially those who have reached their thirtieth birthday. We need to tell people the truth. 

We need to live like we just won the game! 

Evangelism is living with the truth of God and sharing it with others. What if our generation is living in the fourth quarter of the game? 

We need to play the game with that intensity. It’s time to win. In fact, we already have—so let’s make sure others join our side of the field. 

God’s team is going to win, and it will be a great celebration very soon. 

P.S. Have you signed up for my bible study, Foundations of Faith, yet? It’s not too late, we just released lesson 2!

Visit https://www.janetdenisonbiblestudy.com/ to sign up for this study, if you’ve already signed up you can login and access the newest video too.

When Fear is Real and Reasonable

Sometimes evil has a face and a name.

What kind of person grabs a little girl off the street, from her mother’s hand, and takes her somewhere to abuse her?

But that happened in Fort Worth, Texas. Thankfully, some heroic citizens worked with police and the little girl was found and rescued.

She is safe today, but will she and her family ever feel safe again?

I didn’t want to write about this story because everything about it is sad and dark. But her rescue has been described as a miracle. I wrestled with this blog post, not wanting to think about this story, but knowing that a miracle should be discussed.

The rescue was a miracle, but healing will require a choice.

Most of the time when Christians write about fear, the spiritual lesson is “fear not.” Jesus often told his disciples not to be afraid, even when they had every right to feel fear. He taught them not to worry because God loves them.

But how could that mom feel anything but fear as that car drove off with her little girl inside? How will she ever not worry? She was just walking down the street, holding her daughter’s hand—and evil succeeded.

For that matter, how do we not worry when our fears are both real and reasonable?

Does God ask the impossible of us?

The simple answer is yes.

The spiritual answer is found in:

  • Luke 1:37: Mary said, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
  • Matthew 19:26: Jesus told his disciples, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
  • Philippians 4:13: Paul said, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

It seems like God has asked Christians to walk through this world with enough faith to believe the impossible is possible.

Is “fearlessness” too much for God to ask?

The impossible is impossible for us, not God.

There is a mom in Fort Worth whose life has been permanently changed. She has known fear at a level most of us will never experience. That said, all of us will experience real and reasonable fears. Everyone will face the impossible choice that Jesus called us to make when he commanded us to “fear not.”

The only choice we will have in our moments of very real, very reasonable fear, is to know that the impossible is only possible with God. The only answer to some fear is knowing God “can” because we also know we “can’t.” It isn’t possible for human beings to live without fear. It is possible for human beings to trust God is bigger than whatever we are afraid of.

A lot of our fears are real and reasonable. Evil exists. Bad things happen. We know that God can protect, but we also know that sometimes his choice is to walk us through the pain or fear, rather than remove it.

Is it possible to trust that God will be enough for our real and reasonable fears?

Jesus, help our unbelief.

Jesus sent his disciples out to do ministry in his name. They encountered a man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit. The disciples tried to cast out the demon but weren’t able. When Jesus walked into the situation, he told the son’s father to bring the boy to him.

The father had been disappointed by the disciples but handed his son to Jesus, saying, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:22). Jesus reacted to the man’s words, saying, “‘If you can!’ All things are possible for one who believes” (v. 23).

Everything in me relates to the father in this story and not to Jesus.

As I write this blog, a wonderful friend and mom is admitting her cancer will win and she will soon go to heaven. Both she and her kids seem too young for this to be happening.

A man we know needs a new heart to live, but he will need to wait to see if a heart will become available.

And a Fort Worth mom in the news will bring her little girl home from the hospital with physical healing, but recovery from her emotional pain will be more difficult.

I know that many people who will read these words have similar stories of their own.

I hope all of us will remember the words the possessed boy’s father prayed. He looked at Jesus and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 19:24). The Lord understands our struggle but wants us to trust him anyway.

My favorite prayer for real and reasonable fears

David understood fear. King Saul, and many others, wanted him dead. David wrote these words in Psalm 56 that I have found comfort in praying when I face real and reasonable fear. David wrote:

Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
(Psalm 56:1–4)

It is when, not if, even for the faithful.

It is impossible to walk through this life without fear because fear is a reasonable response for any human being.

That said, when we are afraid, there is something to do. We need to continually and faithfully decide what we are going to do with our fear. Some fear is real and reasonable, but we can ask God to do the impossible and give us the strength and peace to survive even our greatest fears.

When evil is real, we will have to trust that God is real too. When fears are defined by a doctor or a set of circumstances, our choice is defined by God. When we are afraid, we need to be like David and understand that God is larger and stronger than anything that can attack our earthly lives. We can trust God to handle what we can’t.

Some fears are impossibly difficult for us, and it is difficult to believe our faith is sufficient. God understands. And Jesus promised us that we don’t have to fear. Jesus stepped out of his grave and proved Christians will too. So, we can pray the words of that father, saying, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” We can echo King David’s words: “I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”

We can believe that, with God, even the impossible is possible for our greatest fears.

A little girl was hurt, but she was also saved. The two people I know who desperately want to continue their earthly lives also know they will live eternally in heaven. Fear and pain are real and reasonable, but so is our faith.

When you are afraid, trust in God. He is as real as your fear, and many years of ministry have taught me that God is enough for all the real things that happen in this world. And God’s promise can be trusted for all the real joys that will reward our faith.

Lord, we believe; help our unbelief.