In the Spring #It'sATrap

We cannot rest on our laurels (we can’t sit on our butts), when things seemed to be going well. We cannot afford to become apathetic or complacent as Christians. We must take our spiritual arms and our spiritual armor daily, because we are in a full-out spiritual war complete with schemes from an enemy that is invisible to us. —- Many look at the great mistake (better yet Great Sin) of King David with Bathsheba, and they blame it on wandering eyes. However, his fall into this horrific chain of events started more subtly. We read: In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. —2Sam.11:1 Spring-time is a wonderful time of year. It is full of hope, and refreshing after a hard winter. It was also the time in Israel to get busy. The text is clear that David was not where he was supposed to be. The kingdom was doing well, so he stayed back. He sat this one out. One could argue that this was okay, except the end results prove it was wrong. David had become “fat and happy.” He lost his edge. He was settling into status quo. By doing so, he set himself up for an enemy attack, except this was far worse. This was a spiritual attack by an invisible enemy taking place in the friendly confines of his own home. —- May we learn lessons as a church from our Scripture reading instead of the School of Hard Knocks. When things seem to be going well, we need to step it up! We need to pray harder. We need to love one another by helping and supporting one another. We need to halt any semblance of gossip. We need to forgive one another liberally. We need to love the unlovely. We need to generally cut people a lot of slack. We need to share Jesus with others, remembering that the only thing God can’t use is our silence. —- So today, if you find yourself settling into your spiritual lazy-boy, and committing more time, talent and treasure to “me” stuff, wake up! Don’t get sucked in. It’s a trap! Don’t be satisfied with where you are. Instead, ask God what big or little thing you can do today for His Kingdom agenda. If your eyes are “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” then you will not have wandering eyes.

"...now I urge"---Acts 27:22

Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.—-Act 27:22Paul, the prisoner, gave a pep-talk to the sailors, soldiers and fellow-prisoners before they were to be ship-wrecked. He began telling them to be encouraged because there would be no loss of life. He identified his source of this foreknowledge as the God with whom he had a personal relationship. It had been two weeks lost at sea due to a storm. Things looked grim. The men were desperate. No one had eaten in days, and the sailors were plotting to abandon ship. Paul, full of the Spirit of the Lord, took charge by encouraging the men that all would be fine, even though the ship was going to crash. At least it would crash on land. He got the men to eat in order to gain strength for the swim to shore, and he foiled the plot by the sailors to escape. He kept the 276 men together, and they made it safely ashore, although the ship was not so lucky. —- Sometimes things happen to us, because we are hanging around some bad people. However, it would be great if we turned that around, and great things happened to people for hanging around us. You see, God meant for Paul to make it where he was going. Not even a violent storm could stop that! These other folks were spared because God was looking out for Paul. Knowing Paul, God knew this would be an opportunity to bring glory to God as Paul would share the Gospel though all this. —- Not only were the 276 men likely saved spiritually as result of this experience, but God brought the Gospel to this island that was likely forgotten. Listen, God knows how to get the Gospel to faraway places! God cares more than you know.

Why does America protect a destructive religion like Islam?

Someone posed this question, and it made me think. I have often thought about putting these words carefully into context knowing they could sound controversial, yet truthful. First of all, Christianity does not need protection by any government, because truth will stand. Truth will pass the test of time. Those attempting to take truth down, will find themselves on the wrong side of truth on judgment day. Christianity is called a religion in your school books, but it is about a relationship with Jesus, who died for our sin on the cross and was resurrected on the third day. —- If religions like Islam are to have a fighting chance they need to be propped up by governments and other entities. Nevertheless, we have witnessed the attempts by government to destroy Christianity but grant “hall-passes” for religions like Islam who have shown evidence of what they’ll do if they wield the power. On the other hand, there was a once-great nation that was, at a time, heavily influenced by Christianity.They grew strong and looked after the world. We acknowledge that Christians do not always get it right, because we are susceptible to flashbacks to the flesh at times. However, the tenets of the faith direct us to “love one another,” and this attitude has had positive impacts on the world at large (ie. check your hospitals, relief agencies, orphanages, first responders, etc.).—- Here’s my proposal to America and other governments of the world: Don’t protect Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc., but rather leave them all alone to stand. However, don’t attack either, because right now it seems like only one of these is under attack. —- On a balanced field, Christianity will stand. Otherwise, you are shooting yourselves in the foot, because Christianity is the only one of these that is prompted to look outwardly in helping others.—-Finally, we continue to pray for the families who lost much during 9/11. And we pray for our “would-be” attackers to come to faith in Christ, because that’s what we do. Jesus is our hope. He has already defeated man's worst enemy, death! Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.—-1John 5:12

Infusion and the One Thing

I know several people are currently having infusions or considering having infusions done for their health. These infusions are to fight things like cancer within the body. Most are to keep the disease at bay. These cannot be done daily, but as frequent as possible to help the body fight back. —- I could not help to see the spiritual correlation as I spent time meditating over an important passage of Scripture that I was committing to memory. Like sheep, christians are easily distracted (we’re human). So it is important to try to focus, and narrow things down to one thing to rein us in. I’m going to paraphrase this passage that Paul felt was very important. He wrote a lot of important words that have been vital to the growth of the believer. In Philippians 3:10-14 (heavily paraphrased) “Listen, let’s narrow this thing down. I want to know Christ. That is what is essential. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection. I mean, that is where the power is. It is the power that defeated death. I also want to feel what he went through even becoming like him in his death. He died for sin, but I want to die to sin. I want to feel that. Because, though undeservedly so, I want to somehow attain the resurrection from the dead. Now, hang on! I am not being presumptuous in this. It’s not like I have already obtained this or already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I am going for it like it depends on me. Listen brothers, I do not think for a second that I have arrived. Do you want to know what makes me tick? Do you want to know what makes me get up in the morning and get after it? There is this one thing I do: I forget what is behind me. I forget my checkered past. I forget where I’ve blown it. I push ahead with all I’ve got . I press on toward the goal to win the prize. I keep putting one foot in front of the other. I’m not falling in line. I’m not following the crowd. I’m running to win the first place trophy for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”—- I need an infusion everyday of this “one thing” to keep the evil within me at bay. Are you hiding God’s Word in your heart? It fights heart decay. And God is after your heart! We are told to guard the heart, because “the heart is the well-spring of life.”(Prov.4:23b)

Revival or Riot

Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.---Acts 19:32Demetrius, a silver smith, was worried about his idol-making business as more and more people put their faith in Christ. His was a big-business in that part of Asia and employed a lot of people. Give him credit for one thing: he knew that those accepting Christ as their Lord God would have no need for a bunch of man-made gods. He understood that their lifestyles would change upon conversion. Consequently, he stirred up a riot, and we see what is comical and common today. People were screaming and hating on christians, and most of them didn’t even know what they were talking about. —- If the world understood the breadth of christianity, then they would understand that we are FOR people. Consider current events: the abortion business is being exposed. Just watch for the demonizing of christians when they stand up for life. Instead of dealing with those behind this evil business (which includes the silent majority of media and politicians keeping their mouths shut), the initial attack is on the people exposing the dirty business for what it is. —- Yet, there will be a lot of noise from people that have no clue of what is going on. There are two responses to truth in crowded assemblies: Revival or Riot. If we accept the wonderful truth of the Gospel, then we experience a Great Awakening. If we reject the truth of the Gospel, then we continue our rebellion against God. Don’t be like those making a lot of noise, and don’t even know what they’re yelling about. At least listen. Check out the Gospel story for yourself.

#1 Fan

At various and sundry times pastors are under attack. However, God has His ways of letting us know that He is there. It was just another Monday and I was going through some things as I received a call. God spoke to me in only a way that He can do. One of the men in our church called to tell me that he led his first person to Christ last week...it was his Dad! All the small groups, all the men's retreats, all the discipling is worth it when you hear one story like that! He was ecstatic that he stepped out of his comfort zone and was on fire. --- God used this to lift me up too... when I needed it. After hanging up with him, I thought "God, what are you telling me here?" I looked up and saw this foam "#1 Fan" thing sitting above me on a cabinet. I took it as God saying, "Hey, I am your #1 Fan, let's go." --- LORD help me today to strive more to be your #1 Fan. Do not let me put anything or anyone above my attention to you. My worship of You and my service to You should be pure. I love you Jesus.

Premeditated Accident

Things often don't happen the way we planned...especially accidents. So, I have to come clean on an embarrassing moment. My cel phone is currently resting in a bed of rice hoping for resuscitation after it went into the water. The plan was for it to not go into the water, because I was going to be in a boat. The sad part is that the phone didn't go in the water by itself. It was in my pocket. Long story short, we were launching the boat and I fell into the water at the dock. Yeah, I laughed too. Fortunately, a couple of guys were working on the pier next to us and motioned, that as far as fall-ins go, I had a perfect "10." --- It did take me some time to see how this one fit into spiritual application. There are a lot of things in life that we would not have done had we known there was going to be a slip-up in the plan. Before I left the house (twice) I thought about getting a water-proof container for my phone in case of an accident. Even at the dock I almost left it in the truck when I realized some guys had better cameras on board to capture an awesome moment on the Gulf. --- What chances in life are you taking? Is there someone you need to speak to about something before it is too late? Have you thought about something you needed to do a couple to three times, and you still haven't bothered? We don't plan for things to happen that we might regret later. The ultimate question: have you accepted Christ as your Savior or is that something you are putting off. --- My shoes are drying, my wallet has dried, and I am still hoping my phone will come back around; but those are just temporal things. No big deal. Most accidents are preventable. We often get mysterious warnings or just common sense to take precautions. If we ignore the warnings, I guess you could say our accidents are sort of premeditated.

Alien Adventure

Recently I got the chance to have a very interesting conversation with a person that believed we come from aliens. Being an alien myself I thought it good to listen to this person’s belief, and see what God would have me to say or not say. To gain some central ground, I asked what the person believed about Jesus, the cross and the resurrection. The person believed the first two, but said the resurrection was too hard to believe. So I asked for their beliefs only after I complimented their answer saying that one of Jesus own disciples didn’t believe… at first (Thomas). I told them that Thomas’ original disbelief was for us, because the resurrection does sound crazy and hard to believe. Thomas was not naive, nor were the other disciples. They believed because they saw it. —- Anyway, my not-yet-convinced compadre said it was easier to believe in aliens, because the vast universe is silent when it comes to God. To this I nearly choked in disbelief. Are you kidding me? The heavens literally preach the glory of God. —- The conversation was healthy, but I don’t believe for a second that my new friend really believed any of that. —- We live in a world where people want to believe in anything, but the truth, because the truth is inconvenient. My prayer is that he/she would sincerely seek the truth. After we have shared Jesus, that is all we can do.

Pulling Weeds

Our lives can really blossom into what God desires for us. We can be on a winning streak for quite some time. It is possible to live for a while with an uncluttered life with smooth sailing. However, you better pay attention to the weeds. A yard can be looking real good, but it takes maintenance. A beautiful yard is such because it is well-manicured. Someone is paying attention to it. They are mowing the lawn and pulling up the weeds. If we do not pay attention to the “weeds” that can show up in our lives, then they will choke out the good. Having a quiet time with God in communion through prayer and His Word is essential to live a Christ-like life. If that part of your soul life is well-manicured because you have given it top-shelf attention, then you will avoid fall-out and burn-out that can easily set in on the best of us.

Act Like A Man

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her---Eph.5:25 So how does a man love his wife like Christ loved the church today? He loves her by committing to her whole-heartedly. Aside from his personal relationship with God, the man's relationship with his wife becomes top priority as he is willing to lay down his life for her. But a whole host of men do not comprehend this, and we can be sure from basic statistical analysis. So what does it mean for a man to lay down his life for his wife? Certainly God is not counting on the fact that every man will have to physically die for his wife. --- Well first let's establish that a man becomes a man when he becomes serious about life and responsible for himself and those with him. When a man commits to a woman in holy matrimony, he and she are coming out of the public "dating pool" and commit to the journey of life together. So what does it mean for a man to lay down his life for his wife? It does not mean that a man has to necessarily stop hunting, fishing and overall "hobby-ing." It simply means that those things are no longer the high priority they may have been as a single man. The love of your life now is your wife, not Bass Pro Shop. --- Take the example of Christ a step further. Serve her! Christ who is God, came not to be served, but to serve (Mk.10:45) It also means that any carousing, flirting and women-chasing is over. You have made a commitment as Christ made a commitment to the church. He died to sin when he came to the world. The Bible says that he was tempted like every other man, yet he never sinned. He died for the sins of the world on the cross. So God isn't calling for your blood to be shed, but He is calling for you to die to self. You're not a boy any more. Boys play with toys. So, act like a man! While you are living for the One who died for you and rose again, don't mess up God's picture of Christ and the church, for that is what the marital relationship is a picture of in the first place.--- This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. ---Eph.5:32

Pull Over

As our mission team showed up to build a home for Jose and family, the locals would stop by in curiosity, as they saw these strangers show up at the property. It was obvious that we weren’t from around there by our skin color and language. Those who passed by, whether walking, riding a bike, or even a motor-bike would at least take a double-take. However most would stop to see what was going on. Some would even stop to lend a hand. with the work that was going on. There were those that would watch from across the street and gradually inch closer to the job site. It was amazing to see our work force of fifteen nearly double at times as the community (made up of friends, family and just people in the neighborhood) would jump in and help build the house. People from different nations, speaking different languages were working together for one cause. It was truly a cool thing that everyone should experience at least once. We (Americans) all recognized the fact that most of us would have just kept on going if we saw something like this in our neighborhood. We would be too “busy” to stop, because we are always too busy. Sadly our being too busy or unwillingness to stop and care causes us to miss out on amazing stories around us. Those who stopped by heard Jose’s story of faith. Jose had torn down his tin-roofed house of 29 years just a day or two before the Americanos on mission with local Christians (Casas por Christo and local church) came to build the foundation of a new home; and resurrect this new place in just over three days. —- As I paused or pulled over to reflect on all this, I wondered how this trip effected me. In that quiet time God pointed out to me three recent missed opportunities to pull over: two were in my own community before I left the country. As I was hastily getting things ready to depart, that was my excuse for not stopping by to see a person that I felt God nudging me to go see. I didn’t have time for that. Also in my hurriedness, God had bumped me to just send a note of care to another person; and I was distracted just enough to not do that. The third opportunity was in the airport. I observed from a distance what looked like an elderly woman missing her flight emotionally distraught as she sat down to cry it out. —- I don’t know her. She doesn’t probably even speak English were my thoughts. I’m sixty feet away from her in an airport full of people. Why is this bothering me? It’s not my problem. I’m off duty. I’m headed on mission. All three of these opportunities would have offered a unique blessing from God for those involved. Who knows what good it would have done had I “pulled over?”—- When we go on a mission of any sorts, we usually think about what we are doing for someone else. However, God is using that tender moment as we are submitted in humility to mold and shape us. But we have to stop and pull over and see what’s going on! Have you pulled over lately to see what is going on in the lives of people around you? If I learned nothing else, it was maybe just a simple reminder: people matter. Jesus stopped and pulled over all the time… for people, and amazing things followed.

"Now the Tax Collector..."---Lk.15:1

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.”—-Lk.15:1 It is easy to ascertain the folks back then considered the word tax-collector and sinner as synonymous. It was such as these that were drawing near to hear the sweet words of Jesus. Meanwhile, the Pharisees and scribes couldn’t believe that Jesus would speak to them, much less get that close to “sinners.” Knowing their hearts, Jesus shares a couple of parables teaching them that just as, they look for lost things—-so does God. People lost in sin have lost their way, and Jesus has come to bring them back. “Just so, I tell you, there is a joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (v.10) When one person comes to faith in Christ, there is a party in heaven!—-Jesus said. —- As we grow in our personal faith, we too can become accidental Pharisees (thinking too highly of ourselves, forgetting that we too came out of sin). Maybe there are people around you that are in deeper to sin than you ever were. Remember that Jesus came for them also.

“Now you shall see….”—Ex.6:1

So the people went from hopeless to “hopeless-er.” They were excited that God had heard their cry and sent a Deliverer (Ex.4:31). But they were upset when Pharaoh got mad and made life even more miserable on the Hebrew slaves. —-It was at this lowest point that God tells Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”-Ex.6:1 God follows that up with seven “I will” statements. This should have been most encouraging to these people as they had reached the lowest low, because when God wills something, it is going to happen. (But maybe they didn’t quite know God like that, yet!) Also God told Moses that he appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; but they didn’t know Him like all of the people were about to know Him. God had made a promise to their ancestors (an “I will”), and He was working towards getting them to the land of promise. However, their descendants were about to know God in a way that the world had never known Him. God is constantly revealing more and more of Himself to mankind. On earth this ultimately happened with the incarnation of Christ Jesus. The grand finale will be when we see Him face to face. But in the here and now, we can know that when we are at our lowest point, and we cry out to God; He will intervene. Sometimes it seems like He lets it get to the lowest point so that we are absolutely positive that it was Him. —-May we trust the promises of God today as we live joyously for Him even through tough times.

Creeking And Deuteronomy

So to break up my regular time of devotion during the week, I am meeting with a group of guys and we're just reading through the Bible together. It's kind of like "creeking," which is something I tried this past weekend for the first time. Creeking involves outfitting oneself with waders and just walking up a creek and taking on the stumps, fallen trees, debris, etc. occasionally getting out of the water when the path is almost completely blocked. It is a worshipful experience just enjoying God's Creation with challenges of the wild in front of you. ---So we're reading through the book of Deuteronomy (their choice, not mine. lol), and I am doing it without notes or commentaries, just reading as we read it together tackling whatever comes into our path. Occasionally, we do go around something knowing that we'll figure it out eventually. ---Today was interesting as we barely made it through chapter 12 in one hour. As I retreated to my study haven I dialed back into one verse: You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.---Deut.12:4 God was adamant that Israel remove all the idols and even the remembrances of the idols that the pagans, who had previously inhabited the land, worshiped. ---God did not want them to worship Him the way the rest of the world worshiped their false gods. Even today, we want to have it our way in worship. It does not matter how technology advances or how our culture changes, God never changes. God wants worship the way He wants worship. It was not a suggestion, it was a command. God was trying to keep His people focused so that when He sent the Truth (Jesus Christ) that the people would be in tune to the Truth. Jesus came in the exact image of God. Jesus is the God-way to worship. He came and fulfilled the Law. All the little lessons God was teaching in the Old Testament were pointing to Jesus. The world will water down the Gospel and will dilute Jesus from being less than deity, and consequently cause people to not worship the LORD your God another way, their way. ---Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except by me." One-way Jesus! Do not fall for the counterfeits. It literally is God's way or the highway. Get right or get left.

Caulk Makes It What It Ain't

One size does not fit all. People fall through the cracks. Whether it is life in general, or life in community of a church these are quaint sayings that deal with the frustration in relationships. First of all, we are not all alike. It would be good for all of us to accept that and appreciate the differences; but it doesn’t usually work that way. Positive relationships is what strengthens people. People that rise out of poverty or escape the bondage of addictions have good support systems. Yet not all people have such networks of friends to support them. The church tries very hard to do this through small groups. Most churches will have a motto for their small groups to encourage doing life together, because we know it can be difficult. The problem is that not all people are alike, and inevitably someone gets left out. This is not to discount people that do not fit neatly into the 18-22 or the 30-35 married or 30-35 single groups for example. What about the 54 and handicapped? What about the 19 not married and pregnant? What about the 49 and just got out of jail? On and on it goes. —- So how do we help those that do not fit the pre-made models or just have a little tougher time coping with group dynamics? It takes caring individuals to notice, that to no fault of the group or the individual necessarily, that someone is straggling behind. When someone is spotted falling through the cracks, it calls for a solution not a complaint. There is no quick-fix. It will take time, and it will call for going outside the box. —- The very best builder has to use caulk. When it is time to finish all the wood working, the base-board, cabinets, etc. in a house there will be these little gaps between walls and boards, no matter how skilled the workers are. The skilled cabinet maker and the carpenter have done their best, but everything didn’t fit perfectly. It rarely does. The same goes for our connecting together in relationships. Every single person does not fit neatly into their age group for whatever reason. —-When it comes time to finish the building of the house, a construction worker walks every room with the caulk gun to fill in the gaps, because “Caulk makes it what it ain’t.” Whether in church or life in general, we have family and friends fall through the cracks, because there are gaps. Since everyone does not fit neatly into a group, blaming the group is a waste of time. It is usually the natural reaction, but instead it is time to step up and fill in the gap, and make it what it ain’t. —- The next time you see someone being left out, go get them. Bring them in. Don’t judge the group that they didn’t fit in. God pointed them out to you to fill in the gap. The truth is that somewhere or sometime we have been in that awkward spot of not fitting in. Praise the Lord for that person that reached out to us. Isn’t it about time that you reach out? If you don’t have a group to bring them into, have you considering mentoring someone? Oftentimes, it takes just a little coaching or encouragement to help a brother or sister connect. Make a difference in someone else’s life, because doing life alone stinks. We were built for community.

“…Now will I praise…”—-Gen.29:35

“And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, ‘Now will I praise the LORD:’ therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.”—- We need to place this in context to understand. Leah was the wife of Jacob whose name would be changed to Israel for he would be the father of the twelve tribes. Jacob had been deceived by his father-in-law, and tricked into marrying the “ugly” sister Leah before he could marry the one he loved and betrothed to, Rachel. — God saw that Jacob was showing love to Rachel and not Leah. When God saw this He opened the womb of Leah, and He closed the womb of Rachel (temporarily). So, yeah, add that to the list of things God can do. She has three boys, one right after another, and each name had significant meaning. All dealt with her pain of feeling unloved by her husband. In her heart she thought the ability to bare children would draw Jacob to love her, as Rebekah continued to be shut out. —- In the end, she realized that it was God who loved her, as she had the fourth son and named him “praise” (Judah). We can look for the love and praise of men, but God is the source of love. Look to Him first, He is always the right place to find love.— Footnote: of the eventual twelve sons that Jacob’s wives would have, Leah only had four, but two were the most prominent (Levi and Judah). The Messiah came from the lineage of the ugly sister. —- God knows your heart. Take your gripes to Him today.

“Now after the Sabbath…”—-Mt.28:1

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.—-Mt.28:1 Reading this for the upteenth time, I remembered it was one of those things that I have read way too fast. The ladies go to the tomb, obviously expecting to see a dead body. Instead they find the evidence of heaven intersecting with earth, as an angel caused an earthquake as he rolled back the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. And then he just sat on it. It describes the angel as having an appearance like lightning with clothing white as snow. Those seasoned-veteran guards, no doubt , were getting a little overtime pay by making sure a dead-man escape the tomb. What a cush job! However, they were stunned, frozen at the appearance of the angel. —- Do you know who was not scared? These two women. The angel quickly explains the situation putting them at ease. Probably just hearing the name Jesus did it for them. He was the one they knew who calmed the seas, shut down the winds, and satisfied appetites. The angel doesn’t chastise them for coming expectantly to see a dead man. No. The angel reminds them, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come see the place where he lay.”(v.6) Earthquake, angel, frozen soldiers are part of the story, but two obedient women steal the show as they go and tell of the reason Savior. —- This story did not die with them, and it will not die with us. Go and tell. Jesus came back just as he said he would. *For this reason, 2000 years later, believers still celebrate the first day of the week! The resurrection of Jesus is the epic story. —- There was an earthquake. They saw an angel. Jesus was resurrected. Do not let the world water down the epic story of hope.— How can this story put a skip back in your step today? Never forget.

Getting Through One Hour

Failing marriages, people giving up on life, yielding to unhealthy habits, flailing in hopelessness—-these are just some of the circumstances that folks in the church are troubled with. How can this be? People go to church for years, and then all of a sudden they do something that is totally against what they had been taught, and totally against what they would say they stand for. Could it be that for a lot of folks it is “just going to church?” People are not going to church for life transformation. Instead they are going because they always did or don’t want to feel guilty or some other reason. —- Once the Word of God is presented to you, the onus is on you to apply the Word to your life. If the change that you commit to God in that moment does not leave the parking lot, then you can go to church fifteen years unchanged! That is a travesty, and I believe we see the evidence all around us. You see, we can get through one hour, and leave unchanged if we’re not involved. This is a problem. Many folks take up space in churches, and do so without getting involved. Committed would be a better word. The truth is that people do not get committed, because they like to be unaccountable. It is this unaccountability that allows our friends to fall into the crapper. —- This leaves a heap of scraps that we end up measuring by statistics. Please do not just go to church. Get committed. We do not want to see you among the fallen, lifeless, unhealthy, or hopeless. —- Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When you are truly worshiping, going to church isn’t like going to the dentist…you know, something you’re just trying to get through. True worshipers cannot wait for church to start. In fact, they start worshiping ahead of time.