Living Life

A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar. The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit; these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul. – A. W. Tozer

If you have a headache, what do you do?

Stop what you are doing, sit or lie down, maybe put on some soothing music from the Classical Stream. Right?

No? You take an aspirin or some kind of pain reliever and hope it works in the next 10-15 minutes so you can get on with your life.

Tozer is on to something with his above quote. We want instantaneous communication, results, and processes. The faster the better.

Or is it?

Is it really better? Don’t get me wrong, I love speed. I love my fast computer, fast internet connection, fast rollercoasters, and fast flying.

But I’ve come to realize that we really are missing something if all we focus on is the goal and forget – or worse, don’t want to – enjoy the journey getting there.

And what we miss is life.

Yes, we have goals. There’s nothing wrong with that. We are not just aimlessly moving around in life. We are moving toward something, and as Christian we are moving toward God and heaven.

That’s the goal and through faith in Christ it is an assured goal – we will make it.

But there’s life to be lived between here and there. That’s the reason Jesus came.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

The question, or more accurately the quest, is how to live the life that Jesus came to give us.

Through His death and resurrection, Jesus makes the life possible. But it is up to us to actually live it.

Here are some ideas on that living.

1. We don’t live it alone. We were created to live life with others. Adam had Eve. David had Jonathon. Jesus had Peter, James, and John (and the other disciples). Who are you living life with?

2. We live in the ups and downs. Life isn’t meant to be go-go-go all the time. There are “down” times, like when we sleep. But also when we need to take a break, sitting in front of a fire on a cold November evening.

3. Life is an “active” word. We don’t usually live life just sitting around. That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately in relation to the Church. Church and life, for many people, are opposites. Church is where you go to sit. Life is where you are when you are not sitting in church. But even Church can be alive! In fact, it should be!

Living life, truly living, is not easy, but it is possible. You can do this.

Here’s how:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20

©2008 True Men Ministries.

Things Are Not What They Seem

Here in Southern California, the calendar says that it is Autumn. The leaves in my neighborhood (on trees all planted in the last 20 years because I live in a converted high desert) are changing color.

But on my morning jog this morning, it sure didn't feel like Fall!

That's just more evidence that things are sometimes not what they seem - kind of like this life. We are in this world, we can see the world around us. But there's that feeling in our hearts - for some its an ache - that there must be more to this life than what we see! And so there is.

There is more to this life than what we experience. There are beings hidden from our physical eyes, that are battling for us against the powers of evil. The powers of evil - Satan and his minions - want to destroy us. Why? What did we do to him? Nothing, other than be the object of God's love. Satan hates that because he once felt that love but rejected it and was banished from heaven. Now it is his mission to destory all that God loves.

So many are going through this life oblivious to the war being waged all around us. Its time to open our eyes, focus on Christ who is our Warrior-Shepherd, and step up to the battle against darkness. Christ is a true leader - He leads from the front. He went first into the very pit of Hell to vanquish Satan. Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He gives us new life, abundant life, eternal life. Let us follow Him as we bring this Good News to a dark world

Afraid of the Truth?

What are we afraid of? Why are we scared to death of speaking the Truth?

I know why I am. I want people to like me. That’s not such a strange, out-of-the-question desire, is it? I want people to like me. I want people to be happy with me. I want to live and work and play in such a way that people aren’t mad at me or disappointed with me.

But God has slapped me upside the head. Not literally. I wouldn’t be able to survive that. But God has gotten my attention, through books, through ministry, through being a pastor of three different congregations. Don’t intentionally make people mad, He says to me. But also don’t shy away from speaking the Truth, He’s also telling me.

And you, too.

God’s Word – the Truth – is very clear in many places. Like John 14:6 “"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There is no salvation, no heaven, no paradise, unless we believe in Jesus Christ. That’s the Truth.

And we’re afraid to tell it because this truth will offend people. There’s no way around that. Look at what happened to Jesus when He said it! They nailed Him to a cross. So we can expect pretty much the same.

But tell it we must. Why? Because even though many people will not want to hear the Truth, they desperately need to! We all need to hear the Truth. We all need to hear that Jesus Christ came to this earth from heaven. That God sent Him because He loves us so much He didn’t want us to suffer an eternity separated from Him. The Truth is that Jesus Christ took all that separates us from God – our sin – on Himself and paid the price for that sin. And Jesus’ death and resurrection are the only means of salvation for all of us. All we need is faith in Christ. There is no other way.

Yet “other ways” are exactly what people look for. Why, I don’t know. It’s so simple. Faith in Christ means salvation. Yet two thirds of the people of this world struggle to find other ways to save themselves.

And so many Christians – the other third of the planet – let them struggle by telling them it’s ok to believe in some other way of salvation. So many of us are afraid of offending them, thinking that it wouldn’t be very loving if we ticked them off by telling them that there is only one way to heaven.

Yet, that is the Truth. It is simple and yet very hard. What needs to happen is that we Christians need the courage and strength of Joshua. To stand up for what God has done for us and not “go along with the crowd.” It won’t be popular but Christianity isn’t a popularity contest.

It is a life-and-death struggle against evil. It can be won, but only by believing and telling the Truth.

©2008 True Men Ministries.

Why We Fight

I’ve been reading the memoirs of some of the men who served in World War II as part of Easy Co. of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. I’ve been fascinated by these men’s stories and they are told so well. But this goes beyond just a good story. My grandfather fought in World War II as a member of the U.S. Army’s 1st Division (the “Big Red One”). I never really got to talk much to my grandfather and never about the war. He’s been dead for over 20 years now. But these memoirs of Easy Co. soldiers helps me understand what my grandfather lived through.

These men went to war because their country needed them. Easy Co. men were all volunteers. Many men were drafted in World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam. But that doesn’t make them any less honorable. Whether draftees or volunteers, these men went to war because they loved their country. They believed in the ideals of the United States of America, in her promise, in her future.

But when they were “boots down” in the theaters of war, love of country only takes you so far.

They fought heroically not for love of country but for love of their brothers in arms. Winning a war wasn’t the day-to-day priority, survival was the number one goal. Getting themselves and their buddies, their brothers, through the day alive.

I will never understand this as they do. I had my chance to serve in the Unite States Military and passed it up to go into full-time church work. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not embarrassed by that. We all serve where we are best suited. I truly believe that. God puts us exactly where we need to be and where we are needed to be. I’m sure I could be of better use writing and speaking and teaching then I could ever be firing a rifle (I’m a lousy shot – I couldn’t hit a bullet with the broad side of a barn).

But while I’m not embarrassed for never having served in the military, I deeply and greatly admire those men and women who have. They will never admit it and will fight me for saying it, but they are heroes to me.

Heroes don’t do heroic things, as such, they simply do the job that needs to be done with more regard for others than for themselves.

And that’s exactly what Jesus Christ did, isn’t it? He’s the Son of God, through whom God the Father created the entire universe. Still, Jesus gave it all up to become a human being. He lived His whole life for others. Never a thought for His needs, His comforts. His desire was for others, not for Himself.

Jesus is the ultimate brother in a band of brothers. He gives up, sacrifices, everything for His brothers and sisters. And in doing that, He wins the war. He defeats, completely, the enemy. His victory brings us peace and eternal life.

What will we do with what Jesus won for us?

That’s a question I’ve been asking myself about the sacrifice of our nation’s heroes. They served, fought, bled and many died to give me freedom. Freedom to vote – and so I will. Freedom to worship – and so I will. Freedom to speak – and so I will.

By their sacrifice, I’ve been given so much. And so I will give back the best ways I know how and in the best ways I’ve been gifted.

Jesus gave me freedom from sin, death, and the power of the devil. I will use that freedom to share this good news with others – and if necessary, I’ll use words!

What will you do?


©2008 True Men Ministries

The Lord Is a Warrior!

One of the things that the Christian Church – that’s you and me, folks – has forgotten or just missed is that we are at war! We are at war, not with flesh and blood, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

The American Christian Church is especially susceptible to a complacency of thinking that we are at peace. Except for being made fun of, American Christians do not know persecution first hand. So it’s easy to see why we might think we are in peace-time.

It is time for the American Church to open her eyes! We are at war and have been for nearly two thousand years.

War can mean fear for a lot of people, and understandably so. What we need to remember is that the one who fights with us is more powerful than the one who fights against us.

Here are words that have encouraged Christians for millennia:

The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. (Ex. 15:3 NIV)

The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. (Isa. 42:13 NIV)

But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. (Jer. 20:11 NIV) [The NASB translates mighty warrior “dread champion.” Goliath was a dread champion; the mighty men of David were dread champions. King James has it as “a mighty terrible one.”]

Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. (Ps. 24:7–8 NIV)

Our God is a warrior, mighty and terrible in battle, and he leads us. He fights for us. He fights by our side.

©2008 True Men Ministries.

As the Head of the Family Should Teach

In the front of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, the first thing it says is, “The Ten Commandments: As the head of the family should teach them in a simply way to his household.” I’ve been teaching confirmation classes since the Fall of 1995 and I am sad to report that most families don’t know that the head of the family is the one that’s supposed to teach everyone in the household about the Christian faith. I’ve seen so many moms and dads drop their kids off at church for worship, for Sunday school and for confirmation classes, without coming in themselves. It is frustrating when I’ve been trained to supplement the initial teaching of the faith by moms and dads, but in reality I’m just about the only one teaching the faith.

And that’s not good. I don’t have the required relationship with a child, other than with my own, to be able to effectively teach them. Thankfully, God is a good and loving God and makes up for my failures.

But since we love our kids more than just about anything else, I would think that this part of the parent-child relationship would be more important. What could be more vital to a child than their faith in Jesus Christ?

This year’s confirmation class has proved to be a little different than in years past. I see evidence that I’m not the only one teaching the faith, and it is great to see! There are more dads now taking an active role in sharing their faith in Jesus with their kids.

This weekend, take a look around in church. Will you see more dads in our church than seems to be the norm in the American church today? When a dad is worshipping with his family, that family is tremendously blessed. The kids, especially, are given a foundation that will see them through all the pitfalls and storms of life that certainly await them.

There are some great examples of dads in my church, and I’m proud to be associated with them. If you want to be a better dad raising strong sons and daughters, start by getting out the family Bible and just reading to your kids before bedtime (or another time that works for you). Attend worship each week with your family. And pray for your kids. I know dads that actually pray over their sleeping children each evening – what a powerful way to be the head of the family that Martin Luther wrote the Small Catechism for.

©2008 True Men Ministries.

Fear of Sharing

A parent announced to his child’s teacher that he disagreed with his philosophy.

“We let him say anything to us, call us any name he wants. We don’t want to give him the impression that free speech – no matter what that speech is – is wrong.” The result was that this child could call his mom and dad things that would make a drunken sailor blush.

I’m tempted to write, “needless to say the teacher was speechless.” But the word “needless” wouldn’t be inaccurate. It is evident to me that there are some – if not many – in today’s society that do not understand or even know that God has a specific way for us to live. To the teacher’s credit, he responded, when he could respond in an articulate and as loving way as possible, that God doesn’t it like it when His children talk this way. The parent responded, “Really? I didn’t know that.”

This happens not because our society and culture have reached a stage of sophisticated communication, or enlightened form of language. It is because, in my opinion, that people today simply don’t know how God wants us to live.

God loves us. He has a way for us to live. It is the best way because God is perfectly good! But more and more people don’t know this. They have grown up in a world that is increasingly distant from any message from God or teaching about God.

I have been afraid of tell people this. I make my living as a preacher of the Gospel and yet I’m afraid of telling people about God. Not on Sunday morning, but that’s too easy. After all, I’m telling people about God who pretty much already know about God. In other words, I’m not telling them anything they don’t already pretty much know.

It is the people who don’t know about God or about His way of life that I need to tell. And yet I’m afraid. I’ve always been afraid of that. I think it is because I’m afraid of not being liked. Let’s face it; if you are going to share with people both God’s Law and God’s Gospel, you are going to upset people. No one really likes to hear that they are a sinner deserving God’s wrath, even when you can follow up such a message with the sweet Gospel of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus.

Yet, while I am still afraid of doing this, I think I’m doing a decent job of teaching my kids how to do it. And if we teach best by doing, I may not do it well because of my fear, but I am trying to do it. And if my kids see me doing something even though I’m afraid of doing it, that may just be a powerful lesson that they’ll take with them into adulthood.

©2008 True Men Ministries.