Surrender

There is a belief among the present day Evangelicals that for "one to be born again" they must "accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior." Really? Just where in the Bible are the words "accept and personal" found?  Today I would like you to invision another word, "surrender."  I would suggest that for "one to be born again" they must surrender themselves to Jesus Christ and confess that He is in fact their Lord and Savior.

Surrender for many implies an inherent weakness, giving up or giving in.  Many of us find the word offensive, but I challenge you today to look at in another context.  Surrender to me means that I'm willing to be open to another thought and/or idea.  I'm willing to look at my life in a different way than before; surrender means strength not weakness, for when I surrender to Christ I'm empowered with the Holy Spirit and by the power of the Holy Spirit I am able to confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Just as Christ died on the cross and surrendered His life for ours.  Make the decision that today you will surrender yourself, your agenda and your life to Christ; and He will inturn fill you with the power of the Holy Spirit, changing your life forever.  Surrender to the risen Christ - Amen.

Judgement

If you've read any of these blogs you know that I seldom comment on social and/or political issues; today, however, I couldn't refrain from writing something on an event which has recently occured.

You may have heard that a women named Barbara Johnson was attending her mother's funeral in the Catholic Church to which her mother had been a long time member.  She was denied the sacrement of communion because the priest, Reverand Marcel Guarnizo, said that she was living with another women and as such her sins precluded her from being served.  As though this was not enough of an affront, the priest didn't even attend the commitment ceremonies for her mother at the cemetary.

I would remind the "good priest" of what Scripture has to say in the Gospel of Matthew, "Do not judge so that you will not be judged."  Wasn't it Jesus who offered communion to Judas on the night the  same man would betray Him to His death upon the cross?  Aren't we all sinners condemned to Hell but for the actions of our Lord and Savior's death upon the cross?

As ministers, pastors, priests, elders, deacons, etc. all have been given the same Holy command that Jesus gave to Peter; "Tend My lambs," "Shepherd My sheep," "Tend my sheep."  We're to guide, protect and teach the flock that Jesus has entrusted to us.  I can only surmise that Reverand Guarnizo was acting upon the tenants of His faith and I will pray that in some way he make amends for his actions.  This incident is just another in a litany of acts that cause many non-believers to shake their heads and ask "why would I want to become a Christian?"

HOPE

Scripture tells us that distress and suffering brings about perserverance and when we perservere we build character and from character comes hope; do you believe that?  If one perserveres for a long time do we hold on to our hope or does hope evade us?  At what point do we just throw in the towel and say "enough is enough?"
Romans 5:5 tells us that "hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."  Let us then not give up on life or give in to sin but rather surrender to a Higher Power and give our trials and tribulations over to God who loves each and everyone of us.  A God that loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for us and by His death upon the cross Jesus has given us hope for a better life yet to come. 

Remember in the immortal words of Alexander Pope "Hope springs eternal."

Its a journey

The father of aerobic exercise Dr. Kenneth Cooper has a saying that "getting fit and staying fit are not a destination but a journey;" as I am finding out again.  Losing weight, trying to maintain one's sobriety being a Christian are all one in the same, journies.

I can't think and become thin, it takes hard work and exercise.  I can't race through the "12 steps" and believe that I'm forever free of my addiction.  I can't go to church one Sunday and walk with Christ on Monday.  It takes time to achieve these things.

I found myself unable to give God an hour a day, and I'm retired with not much to do.  God doesn't want us to be "part-timers" but He wants all of us all of the time.  He knows we're a work in progress and He's more then willing to wait as long as we're committed to the journey.  As Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote "To travel hopefully is better that to arrive."  No matter what you're struggling with keep hope alive and faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who walks beside as we travel towards our final destination.

I invite you then  to join with me on this journey, for the rewards are eternal.

Friends

What do you do when a friend calls and asks you for help?  If you're like me you'll politely listen all the while thinking of reasons I don't really want to do this right now.  Come on, I'm sure many of you have had those thoughts and its not just me.  What were some of those reasons we came up with?

Now's not a good time, I was just going out, I'm coming down with something, I'm really tired, I promised_________I'd help_______today (fill in the blank), let me think about it and I'll call you back. 

Or, how many of us never gave it that second thought but said sure I'd love to help you.  That's exactly what God says to each and everyone of us; "I love you and I'm always here to help you, all you have to do is ask."  Philippians 4:6 tells us "Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God."  Trust in the Lord and He will provide.

The Mulligan pt 2

In my last entry I asked that you think about an excerpt from a book I was reading entitled  The Mulligan;  " in my opinion not believing in God makes about as much sense as saying the unabridged dictionary is a result of an explosion in a print shop."

Is God the creator and master of the universe or did, as some would have us believe, the Earth and all it's wonders somehow "evolve" in a "Big Bang?"  2 Timothy 3:16 says "All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.  The Bible tells us that God created the earth and all that it contains including the men and women who walk upon it's surface.

As the quote from the book suggests, do you really think all that surrounds us is the result of some random act of nature?   Walk through a forest, sit at the edge of the ocean or atop a majestic mountain in the Rockies and try to tell me that you can't see the hand of God at work. 

God's greatest work however was His Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who was given to us, suffered for us, and died for us so that our sins, yours and mine, would be forgiven.  Scripture tells us that by one man's disobedience sin and death entered God's creation, so also through another man's obedience the gift of grace is freely given to all who believe in Jesus Christ.  With God's grace comes the promise of eternal life and forgiveness of all our sins. 

We are not some random fortune of nature but children of a God who created us, nutures us and loves in spite of our sinful nature.  Take a moment then to thank God for His presence in your life and for the world in which we live.  If you're having trouble finding God just walk outside into His creation and know that God will find you.

The Mulligan

I'm re-reading a book entitled The Mulligan and I'd like to share a line or two from the book with you. Of course its a book about golf and the "old pro" is speaking with a new student; he asks him if he believes in God?  "I haven't given it much thought" replies  the young man.  Well says the old pro " in my opinion not believing in God makes about as much sense as saying the unabridged dictionary is a result of an explosion in a print shop."

Take just a moment won't you and think about that statement it's a lot to think about.