I Am So Embarrassed - I was Wrong

I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life where I was involved in things that I thought were the right things to do and I gave it my all thinking it would be the solution to the world’s or the church’s problems (ok, maybe not so dramatic but you get the point). I poured myself into the activity, work, event or group. Yet, as time went along, I soon realized I was wrong about the people in the group or I was wrong about the motives of others or even about the results that would be accomplished through my efforts. In times like these, I have been tempted to take my ball and go home, to give up, to hide out or to avoid my brethren. It is hard to admit defeat. It is hard to fail. It is hard when people you trusted in let you down. It is especially hard when the people you are working with don’t want to go the same direction you want to go. As difficult as it may be, the last thing we need to do is run away. However, that is exactly what we do sometimes when we are embarrassed.

In this instance, let us learn from the apostle Paul. The first we learn of Saul of Tarsus, he was consenting to the death of Stephen. He was involved in what is described as a “great persecution” against the church. He “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:1-3). It wasn’t long before he would have to face the reality that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He came to the reality that Jesus Christ is the Savior of those who believe and obey through the events on the road to Damascus and in the teaching of Ananias (Acts 9,22,26). Ananias challenged him with the greatest question of all, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Paul was able to put his past mistakes behind him and move forward as a servant of the Lord.

When we make mistakes that turn out to be contrary to the will of God or when we try to do something thinking we are doing right but it turns out to be oh so wrong, we must not give up. We can change our lives and get right back to doing great things for Christ and His church. Oh, we may never forget those mistakes, but we can be forgiven of them and we can learn from them. Notice what Paul said about his former life: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief...This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:12-15). What is amazing to me is that Paul tried so hard to do what he thought was right...and yet he was as wrong as could be. He sincerely gave it his best. He said in this passage he did it in ignorance and in a lack of faith in Christ. In Acts 23:1, he said that he had lived his life in “all good conscience before God until this day.” He did his absolute best with the best intentions, but he was wrong. When faced with the truth of his actions, Paul admitted his mistakes and learned from them. He then went to work for the Lord.

Notice the continuation of his thoughts for 1 Timothy 1:16: “However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” Paul is a pattern for us in many ways. For the purpose of this discussion, he is an example of what we do when we gave it our best, trying to do what is right, thinking we were on the right side of the equation, only to find out that we were wrong. When we are wrong, it is not the end of the world...as long as we repent and get right back to work for the Lord doing things His way. God is patient and longsuffering and He wants us to repent (2 Peter 3:9). We can overcome our mistakes through Christ.

Of course we realize that none of us are perfect and righteous before God in all things (Rom. 3:10). We realize that we have all fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Yes, we understand that sin hurts God, others and even ourselves. Learn from David in his sins with Bathsheba: “I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Ps. 51:3). He didn’t run and hide. He wanted to be restored to God and then he said he would “teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You” (vs.12,13). There is no need to be embarrassed. We all make mistakes and need God’s grace. While difficult to bear at times, sins are not fatal if we repent of them, learn from them, and then get to work for Lord.

I Am So Embarrassed - I Tried So Hard

I have tried very hard many times to do things that ended up blowing up in my face. I have a pencil lead in my right hand that is from trying to help a girl in school who was always picked on by others. I bent down to give the pencil to her that she dropped on the floor and when I gave it to her she yelled at me while slamming the pencil into the palm of my hand. She wasn’t trying to do me harm. She was striking back because she thought I was going to pick on her or do her harm like so many others had done. It hurt my feelings to be lumped into the group of those who were making fun of a disabled young girl when I was trying to do something good.

Do you realize that many times we face the same kind of hurt feelings and are floored by the reactions of people when we have tried to do something that was good and beneficial to those involved? There are times in life when we want to try something new or are interested in learning about something that our families and friends just don’t appreciate. What is worse is when we want to try something or get involved in a work or project with the church and face the same kind of ridicule or frustration. Maybe we wanted to teach a class on a certain subject or age group, or maybe we suggested a different method of greeting our visitors, or maybe we even were bold enough to suggest we change the order of worship or even the time that we meet and then were taken aside and shown “the way of God more accurately” by our brethren. In such cases, it would be so easy to run away and hide. It would be tempting to quit worshiping with that group and go somewhere else. It would be frustrating to feel like our opinion doesn’t matter.

When we are faced with rejection from our brethren when we are trying very hard to do what is right, we need to make sure we respond to the decision in the best possible way. We must realize that in matters of opinion, things don’t have to go my way. Additionally, we need to realize that there may be good reasons why the brethren don’t want to change. There may have been a similar mission tried in the past. There may have been an effort made that was rejected from others. There may be something in the story we do not know about and sharing those things with us might not be an option. Yes, it may be that the people aren’t ready to get to work and need some direction on the mission and purpose of the church. Yes, there may need to be an attitude adjustment made to certain individuals, but that is not our place. If we have made an offer or suggestion to the brethren and the eldership but it was rejected, we should not have a knee jerk reaction to take our ball and go home. We must humbly submit and keep striving toward helping others to give God first place in their hearts while helping the church to grow.

Can you imagine the embarrassment James and John felt in that Samaritan village where they wanted to command fire to come down and destroy the city? Jesus rebuked them for wanting to destroy men’s lives rather than saving them (Luke 9:51-56). When Jesus prophesied of His coming death, Peter said that he wasn’t going to let this happen. Jesus replied, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Matt. 16:21-23). These three men would have felt embarrassment and frustration, but they did not leave Christ. In fact, they are later described as being a part of the group that turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). Don’t quit and don’t give up!

We can learn from the example of Aquila and Priscilla in how they worked with Apollos. Apollos was a man who loved God, was fervent in spirit, spoke and taught accurately, but didn’t know about the baptism of Christ. Fortunately, there was a loving couple who took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately and even sent a letter to other brethren so that Apollos would be well received and be put to work in the kingdom. When he arrived he was a great help to the church and he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly showing from Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 18:24-28). Do you think that these three brethren hid from each other after this? I suggest to you that they loved each other and formed a closer bond because they were able to grow and further the kingdom. A problem was handled but it was handled in the right manner. 

If you have tried and been rejected, don’t feel like a failure. Keep on fighting for the Lord. If you are trying to help someone work more effectively for the Lord, don’t belittle them. Take them aside and teach and support them. Then let us all get to work together. If we do, there will not be embarrassment.

I Am So Embarrassed: I Have Sinned

Life is filled with many wonderful blessings. Being able to have friends and family with whom we can share our joys and successes is one of the truly special blessings of life. We are also blessed with having a Christian family with whom we can celebrate the great things of life. Being a part of the church family provides us with people to share in our lives in the good times but also in the difficult times. We need each other. We need to encouragement and support during tough times. We need the prayers and tears during rough times. We need a shoulder to cry on when we are hurting. As brethren who walk in the light as He is in the light, we share in fellowship with one another and with God (1 John 1:5-9). 

It goes without saying that we all make mistakes (Rom. 3:10,23). We stumble and fall and end up with the bruises, cuts and scrapes to prove our humanity. When we have behaved in such a way that is a sin against God and our fellow men, it brings with it heartache and pain. It often brings with it feelings of embarrassment and shame. We feel like we have let down those who we care about. As a result, we may have the desire to run and hide from our mistakes or our responsibilities. We may feel like avoiding the people closest to us. We may want to abandon our friends, family and our church family. Running will not solve any problems. We must stand strong.

Of course when we are confronted with sin in our lives, we must respond as David did in the face of Nathan’s charge, “You are the man,” saying “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:7-13). Our first obligation is to make things right with God. We must repent of our sins knowing that God is merciful and just and will cleanse us from our sins (1 John 1:7-9). We can seek the prayers of the church. We can seek the help and support of those who love us and what the best from us. Our first step in overcoming the feeling of embarrassment is repentance.

There are examples in Scripture of those who have run from their problems and responsibilities, such as Jonah. One example of embarrassment that we can point to in the New Testament is the denial of Christ by the apostle Peter. After denying the Lord three times on the night of the arrest and trial of Jesus, Peter heard the rooster crow, just as Jesus had prophesied. Peter remembered those words and it dawned on him what he had done. “So he went out and wept bitterly” (Matt. 26:75).

While Peter felt the pain of his denial and the embarrassment at his own weakness, he did not allow his mistake to keep him from being with the only people who could really understand what he was going through. When we stumble and fall, the temptation may be to run, but what we really need is our brethren who can understand us and help us. Too many times when someone has made a mistake, they leave a congregation, family or friends in their embarrassment, when it is those closest to you who know how hard the Christian life is, who have made mistakes themselves, who can help us overcome the mistakes and who will welcome us with open arms.

Peter hadn’t gone far. He was with John when Mary Magdalene told them the tomb was empty. The two apostles ran to the tomb to see the evidence for himself (John 20:1ff). Not long after, Peter was with several disciples and they went fishing. The Lord appeared on the bank and when Peter realized who He was, he jumped out of the boat and swam to Jesus (John 21:7). After eating breakfast, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Jesus made it clear that Peter had a job to do. He was to preach and teach the gospel to save the souls of man (John 21:15-19). Even though Peter had denied the Lord in the courtyard, Jesus now said to him, “Follow Me.”

Just a few days later in Jerusalem, on the first Pentecost after the resurrection, the apostles would preach the gospel. We have recorded for us in the pages of the New Testament Peter’s sermon, as the church was established and about 3,000 souls were saved (Acts 2). Peter was a transformed man. Yes, he had stumbled. Yes, he was probably hurt and embarrassed. But rather than run and hide, rather than avoiding those who really love him, rather than giving up, Peter became a great preacher of the gospel and an example for all.

When we stumble and fall it is painful to those whom we have hurt and it is painful to us as we feel the embarrassment and the agony of letting others down (Cf. Ps. 51). Let us not compound the problem by running away or giving up. Repent of sin and turn to those who can help you: your Christian family.

 

Everything Happens For A Reason part 2

Life can be very difficult. We can be doing everything “right” and yet find out that everything worked out so wrong. We can treat others well and be treated very poorly. We can love opening our hearts and lives and share our deepest feelings with others only to have the reject us. We can obey all the laws of the land and still be hurt when someone else disobeys the law bringing harm on others. There are just so many things that are out of our control as difficult as that might be for us to accept.

So then what are we to do? Are we to follow the worldly idea that “everything happens for a reason” even though as we showed in last week’s article, the statement doesn't hold water? We must realize that sometimes we suffer because of our own decisions or the decisions of others. We also suffer because of the actions and decisions of those who have lived before us. The sin of Adam and Eve as well as the sins of the world that lead to the flood in the days of Noah has changed the climate of the world forever bringing with it the consequences of those sins such as physical ailments like heat stroke, hypothermia, and disease. The actions and decisions of those before us have made the nations we live in what it is today. We have many blessings because of those decisions and there are many sad conditions because of those decisions. For example, I am at this moment typing on a laptop while listening to bluegrass music on my Roku box while checking the email on my computer and having Facebook open for social interaction. This morning I have talked to people via email, Facebook, my cell phone and a cordless phone. Additionally, I drove my daughter to school in my pickup truck where we were protected from the elements. We started out in our warm home where we had cold milk on our processed cereal after taking a hot shower and putting on clean clothes. I could go on but I hope you see my point: we are truly blessed by the decisions of those who have gone before us. I have not created any of those blessings that I enjoyed this morning (although I have milked my fair share of cows and I can play bluegrass mandolin and do so from time to time but not at the level of Sam Bush or Mike Compton whom I am able to listen to this morning). I am thankful for those who have gone before me for these blessings.

However, the actions and decisions of others from the past have also brought hardship in our lives. I do not want to repeat the statistics shared weeks ago but let me mention quickly that the decisions of those in the past to legalize abortion killing babies by the millions is a tragedy upon this nation. The negative consequences of the removal of prayer from schools can be seen in statistics on all kinds of evil behavior amongst our young people. If you were to buy certain products at a department store today, such as spray paint, medicines, certain chemicals or ammunition, you would be asked your age because of abuses that had to be regulated in part by determining quantities and age limits for the item to be purchased. Again, we could go on. The point is that God is not micromanaging every aspect of our lives. He created us as creatures of choice and sometimes we do not choose wisely.

What then are we to do when we face obstacles and heartache? For one, if we are the cause of the problem, we need to repent of our sins and make things right as best we can (Luke 13:3). Second, if someone else has caused a problem with us, we should have the courage and love for their souls to go talk to them about the issue (Matt. 18:15-18). Third, if it is something out of our control, then cast your cares upon God for He cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7). Get the burden off of your chest and go to the source of help and strength (Heb. 4:13-16). Fourth, put your faith in God and live according to His ways (Heb. 11; esp. v.6). Fifth, realize that there are some things you cannot change but that as much as is possible with you, you will live a peaceful life that brings God glory and others to Christ (Rom. 12:18). Sixth, let your light shine so that you can be a source of strength and health in the lives of others (Matt. 5:16). When others are suffering they need someone who will be there for them as a shoulder to cry on (Rom. 12:15) but more than that, they need someone who would point them to Jesus so they can find the real help for the hurts in their life (John 1:29,39,46; Matt. 11:28-30).

If we will seek God’s help when we stumble, if we will help others to understand how they hurt us, if we will work together to handle the issues of life and if we will walk in faith and trust with Christ, we can overcome the world (1 John 4:4; 5:4,5).

 

Everything Happens for a Reason?

Over the last few days and weeks, I have heard the expression repeated often which says “Everything happens for a reason.” I know it is a popular statement. I know people use it thinking that they are providing comfort to those hurting. I know that it is cliché for “it will be ok.” Even so, when the person speaking is implying that God is micro managing each person’s life and that the negative action or event is something done by God on purpose for a specific reason in the future, it is false doctrine and should be avoided by Christians.

Let’s think about this in to worldly terms. Do you really think God is micro managing the rapist and that the victim is being violated because of some master plan? Do you really think those 20 babies who were murdered in Newtown were shot to death because of some good thing God is working in their lives or the lives of their families? I could go on and show the foolishness of this argument but these two examples should suffice. As a result of this false belief some within the church have made for themselves a built in excuse: it’s not my fault...God did it. Adam tried that excuse in Genesis 3 and it doesn’t hold water.

It is no wonder that so many people reject believing in God, or believing the Bible, or becoming a Christian, when it is quite obvious that God is not behind the sinful ways of man. This very morning, I listened to a man say that he left the denomination he was a part of because he felt lied to all his life by the phrase “everything happens for a reason.” He said that the young people growing up in that group were not faithful to God because this philosophy that is drilled in to them removes any responsibility they have for their own actions. So he began to seek the truth on the subject. Those who push this foolishness do not understand passages like James 1:13-15: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God;” for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” God is not causing people to commit rape or murder or any sin!

The issue that brings people to make this statement or those like it is that it is difficult to understand why there is pain, suffering, injury, death, agony, heartache, and sickness in the world. Like Gideon in Judges 6:13, we want to know why these things are happening. Rather than deal with the real issues of sin and the consequences of our behavior, we have come up with a way to rationalize the difficult things in our lives.

The truth is that there are reasons why bad things happen and it is not God’s fault. When things were done according to God’s way, this world was very good (Gen. 1:31). When man tried to do things his own way, it lead to death because we don’t always know or do what is right (Prov. 14:12; Jer. 10:23). Even so, God created us with the ability to choose the course of action we take in life (Duet. 30:19; Josh. 24:15). Because we have the right to choose, we also bring with those choices the consequences for those actions. When a drunk driver takes the life of an innocent family, it wasn’t God but the sin of a man that caused the problem. When 20 precious babies were murdered, it wasn’t God’s plan but man’s evil actions and the devastating results. When someone is diagnosed with cancer it wasn’t God but sin that brought disease into the world. When a good business manager fails even though he did everything “right” it isn’t God’s fault. Let us remember that time and chance happen to us all (Eccl. 9:11). Sometimes bad things happen because we made bad choices. Sometimes it was the bad choices of others, even people who lived long before us. But please, let us not blame God.

An often quoted passage misused frequently to promote this philosophy is Romans 8:28. The passage doesn’t mean everything is going to work out in this life. The context is that everything will work out with salvation of the soul as no matter what happens in life, we can be faithful and nothing can keep us from the love of Christ if we will hold fast. The author of the passage spent years in prison and was executed for preaching the gospel of Christ. Did it work out for him? Yes! Oh, not in worldly terms (Phil. 1:21,22), but in spiritual terms (2 Tim. 4:6-8). Let us live like Paul so that regardless what may happen in our lives we can be content and productive in Christ (Phil. 4:9-13).

Living for Christ

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He gave His life so that I might live. As a Christian, who has put on Christ (Gal. 3:27) and who has been added to the church by the Lord (Acts 2:47), I am a member of the family of God and an heir of His precious promises (Gal. 3:26-4:7). As such, my life must be lived for Christ.

To live for Christ, we must change our past behaviors and spend each day following the doctrine of Christ laid out for us in the pages of the New Testament. I love the way Peter describes this change, found in 1 Peter 4:1-4: “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our pasts lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles — when we walked in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.”

As he begins this discussion, Peter says to live for Christ, we must arm ourselves with the mind of Christ. To have the mind of Christ means we will submit to God’s will first in our lives. It means we will work to seek and save the lost. It means we will have the heart of a servant to help those who are in need. It means daily living in a way that is pleasing in the sight of God.

Peter then tells us that with the mind of Christ, we will change our behavior. We will no longer follow the lusts of this world (Cf. 1 John 2:15-17). Instead, we will cease sinning and live the rest of our time for the will of God. We sometimes sing the song, “This World Is Not My Home.” However, too many times we live like this world is what really matters in life. As people with the mind of Christ, Christians must do the will of God rather than love the world which is passing away. With the mind of Christ, our thoughts and actions change. As he continues in verses 5 and 6, Peter tells us the importance of this change. We will give an accounting for our lives before God so we must live according to God’s will.

The change that we make in our lives upon becoming a Christian is something that is noticeable to the world. It is interesting that Peter would tell us that we have spent enough time living like the world. We have made plenty of mistakes. We have sinned against God in worldly living. So stop acting like the world. He then tells us that the world will think we are strange because we don’t continue in worldly living. The ESV & NAS say that the world is surprised that you don’t continue to act like they do. People may be shocked that we would change our lives and they may think we are peculiar because we don’t participate in the sinful ways of this world, but that is what is required when we stop living for ourselves and begin to live for Christ. They can speak evil about us, they talk about us behind our backs, they can make fun of us, and they can mock and ridicule us all they want. That is to be expected. The world persecuted Christ and they will persecute His followers (John 15:20). We must have the strength of character to stand up for the Lord regardless of what others may say. We wear His name. Act like it!

The Lord has done so much for us, we should want to live for Him. Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Christ gave Himself for us and now, we who have obeyed the gospel, have a new purpose: to give ourselves for Him.

We cannot let the world and its lusts or the worldly and their attitudes keep us from faithful living. Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). Most of us have done things we are ashamed of and it is hard to bear. I don’t even want to think about Christ being ashamed of me. We must learn to repent of our sins, change our behavior and live for Christ.

Simple question: are you living for Christ each day of your life? If not, why not? Repent and live for Him each day. Let us have the courage to stand for Christ daily.

 

Giving Thanks Always for You We Do Not Cease to Pray

God has truly blessed us in that He gave us a means by which we can communicate with Him pouring out our hearts before Him: the avenue of prayer. We are able to come boldly to the throne of grace to receive the help we really need (Heb. 4:16). We are able to get our cares and concerns off of our chest and put them into the hands of the One who can do something about the issues (1 Pet. 5:7). We can pour out our gratitude for all that God has done for us, trusting that He knows best, which will result in the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds through Christ (Phil. 4:6,7). What a blessing it is to know that God’s ears are open to our prayers (1 Pet. 3:12). 

The apostle Paul is an example in many ways but one area that is often admired about Paul is his time spent in prayer. In his letters, he often mentions specific reasons why he is praying for the recipients.

One such example of prayer is found in the book of Colossians. Paul expresses his reasons for being thankful for the Christians in Colossae. This prayer was not a random “thank you for our many blessings.” No, this prayer was filled with specific reasons for gratitude. Paul was thankful for their faith, hope, love and fruit (Col. 1:3-8). Their actions demonstrated their faith in God, their love for God, their love for one another, and their hope for eternal life. Paul was thankful that these brethren were working, active and producing fruit for Christ. To know that someone appreciated their efforts and even thanked God for what they were doing must have been an encouragement to their confidence and attitude.

Paul wasn’t done. He did not cease to pray for them. In this encouraging letter, Paul listed several things specifically that he was praying for on their behalf.

He had asked God, that they might be filled with knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom (v.9). He wanted them to be well versed in the scripture. He wanted them to be saturated in the knowledge and wisdom of God. They needed to know exactly what the will of God was and then put His will into daily practice. We all should know God and His will fully and then have the insight and wisdom to live accordingly.

Paul asked that they might walk worthy of the Lord: fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in knowledge of God (v.10). Our daily lives should demonstrate our knowledge and wisdom. Every aspect of our lives should be pleasing to God. Our lives should bear much fruit (Jn. 15:1-8) as we continue to grow in knowledge (2 Pet. 3:18).

Paul asked that they would be strengthened with might (v.11). How do you gain spiritual strength and power? You do so by growing in knowledge, wisdom and the growth process that allows you to walk worthy of Christ. Because we are of God, we can overcome the world (1 Jn. 4:4). We stand in the power of His might and put on the whole armor and fight (Eph. 6:10ff). We can do all things according to His will through Christ who gives us strength (Phil. 4:13).

Paul then begins to express his thankfulness for all that God has done (v.12ff). God sent Jesus to save us from sin. Now we, who have been translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love, are partakers of the Father’s inheritance. We have many reasons to live the Christian life, but foremost is the love of God for saving our souls and giving us a home in heaven someday.

Paul has provided us with many great lessons about prayer in this short passage. He listed specific reasons why he was thankful for the brethren, he listed specific requests he had made to God on their behalf, and he listed specific reasons we should be thankful to God for the redemption found in Christ Jesus. We also learn that the brethren in Colossae had many wonderful character traits that are to be emulated. Let us all strive to be people who demonstrate our faith, love, hope and fruitfulness. Let us all strive to be people who are thankful to God for our brethren as they bear fruit. Let us all be a people who go to God on behalf of our brethren. Let us not cease to pray.