Standup for Jesus

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In 1858 a revival occurred in Philadelphia. The leader was a 29-year-old Episcopal minister named Dudley Tyng. It began in a series of noonday talks for men that he led. On March 30, 1858, he addressed a group of 5,000 from Exodus 10:11,

“Go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD” (KJV)

During his talk, he came to a climactic point, raised his right arm and declared,

“I would rather have my arm removed at the stump than to fail to declare God’s Word to you.”

At the close of his talk, 1,000 men gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

The next week he visited a farm outside the city. Fascinated by a mule-drawn corn thresher, he reached out to pat the mule. As he did so, the sleeve of his jacket got caught in the thresher and his arm was badly mangled, severing the artery and doing severe nerve damage. Several days later doctors amputated his arm, but it was too late. Infection set in and he quickly declined. Before he died, he spoke to a group of family and friends gathered around his bed. Knowing he would soon be dying, he exhorted them with these words:

“Stand up for Jesus! Go back to the church and tell them to always stand up for Jesus.”

When those words were repeated at the funeral, they made an enormous impact on a man named George Duffield, who later put them to music:

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Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory, His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed

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“I knew something was wrong…blah, blah, blah”

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Randy Travis sang a song back in the 80’s called, “Forever and Ever, Amen.” There’s a tenderness in that song that’s special to married people. It echoes what the bible says that we are to not let anything take apart the relationship, which God has put together.

This isn’t a coincidence.

It turns out that Randy Travis had some genuine godly influences in his life. His dad persuaded him to start playing guitar and sing in church. At 8 years of age he began playing worship music.

Randy tells of reading his bible one night in bed and feeling God’s love. He gave his life to Christ and was later baptized.

But there was a dark side.

Randy was arrested several times in the 70s. He ran off with another man’s wife, who he eventually married. Yet in spite of lots of personal turmoil, his career continued to take off. His album, Storms of Life sold over 4 million copies. In 1988 he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

Then things started unraveling.

After 19 years of marriage, Randy and his wife were divorced. Then in February 2012, Randy was arrested for public intoxication while sitting in a stolen police car at a Baptist church. He paid a fine and was placed on a 90-day probation.

In August of 2012, police in Grayson County, Texas responded to a call that an unclothed man was lying in the road. Police reported that they arrived to find Travis unclothed and smelling of alcohol. Travis threatened the lives of the officers. Travis was subsequently arrested for driving while intoxicated and retaliation against law enforcement officials.

Randy’s troubles continued.

On August 24, 2012, he was arrested for assaulting a man early one morning in a church parking lot . Both men had to be taken to the hospital. One witness stating that Travis appeared to be “extremely intoxicated.”

I read an interview of a man who claimed to be a lifelong friend of Randy. He was quoted saying,

“None of Randy’s troubles surprise me. I knew something was wrong a long time ago.”

As I read this, I became so angry! That is singularly the most deceitful, garbage-filled waste of time statement you could ask for!!! A lifelong friend who claims he knew something was wrong a long time ago???

WHY DIDN’T HE DO SOMETHING???!!!!!!

When people fall into some kind of sin or calamity, there are always those who claim they knew something was fishy all along. They act as if they had some kind of “spiritual discernment” that showed them something was wrong. Unfortunately, the only thing that usually transpires are whispers and gossip that are all after the fact. This is totally contrary to what the bible teaches.

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who guards your life know it?” (Proverbs 24:11, 12, NIV)

We are not to sit around and watch people train wreck their lives and then say, “I knew something was wrong.” We are to reach out to them. We are to rescue them. And we are to do this and hopefully save them way before the wreck happens!

I pray God sends those kinds of friends into our lives…and Randy Travis’.

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God Burns the Nest

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Wildfire is terrifying! It is indiscriminate and totally destructive. People who have faced the power of a wildfire tell of leaving everything and running for their lives, only to return to the ash heap of what used to be their home, possessions, and keepsakes.

Everything is gone.

When you think of fire in these terms, it may seem strange that the movement of God’s Spirit would be likened unto fire. Yet, the removal of things from our lives is as much a part of the work of the Holy Spirit as is the giving of power to us.

God appeared to Moses through a burning bush. It happened while Moses was in a place called Midian watching his father-in-law’s sheep. He had been there for 40 years and was now 80 years old.

He had found a wife in Midian. He had started a family in Midian. He had learned how to survive in Midian. Midian had become his home. Midian had become a nest that Moses was quite content to remain in.

But God was setting everything on fire. God was burning up all the things that were keeping Moses from fulfilling his destiny.

There are people, places, and things in your life that you highly value. You can’t even begin to imagine life without them. But there’s a danger that these things which seem so important can actually keep you from experiencing the new things God want’s to work in your life, potentially missing the purposeful destiny that He has for your life.

God’s fire burns that which you really don’t need, to make room for what you could never have otherwise. His fire gets you out of the nest and soaring into what He created you for.

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Against the Odds

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Some people actually make a living at gambling.  They’re professionals.  At the casino you’ll see these expert gamblers at the poker tables and the blackjack tables.  They know how to play the game.  They know the odds. 

But you’ll never see them at the slots.  They know the odds. 

Although some people claim they have strategies for winning at the slots, the masses of folks seen pulling the one-armed bandits are doing so primarily with the hope of winning.  For the most part the odds of winning at slots are totally stacked against you.

God’s a gambler. 

Not for money, but for lives.  He knows the odds.  He knows who will guarantee the best return on His bet.  But time and time again He casts His lot with the riskiest ones.  In fact, He’s bet His life on those whose likelihood of success is totally against the odds.

The broken.  The weak.  The foolish.  The despised.  The least likely to succeed. The ones who could never pay back His investment. 

But God doesn’t sit mindlessly hoping that there’ll be a lucky payout someday.  He knows the lives that He’s betting on.  He has seen beyond the false veneers and promises of big jackpots, or the warnings of guaranteed losses.  He strategizes.  He sends the influence of His love and presence.  He allows pain and relieves it with healing.   He causes the lives of those He’s won by His grace to intersect with those still lost in sin.

His fingers aren’t crossed, but He is praying for a win.  He’s hoping there will be a great return on His investment.  And when it happens, no bells, no sirens, no flashing lights, just a heart and soul brought to life.

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Unchanging God

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Over and over…
God has proven Himself faithful to His people. 
Answering their cries.
Delivering them from the enemy.
Working in ways where there seems to be none.

The Lord of mercy.
The God of covenant.
Backing every promise with His Word.

Bringing hope to the hopeless.
Joy to the downcast.
Light into darkness.
And…He never changes.

Let us remember the God we serve. 
He is a God of miracles.  Nothing less. 
We come with brokenness, but He is faithful to heal…restore…and set free. 

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A miracle confounds natural law.  It’s a baffling reversal of inevitable consequences and outcome.  It’s statistically unlikely…scientifically impossible…totally Illogical. 

A miracle is an act of faith that puts into motion God’s Word, promises, and power.  Miracles require people who are daring, audacious, crazy enough to trust God and believe that He is more than able.  To believe nothing is impossible for Him.

The problems. The difficulties. The impossibilities.  That which quenches your soul and presses down on your heart actually sets the stage for God’s intervention.  Every problem is a potential for a miracle. God can’t fix what’s not broken. He can’t heal what’s not sick.  He can’t save what’s not lost. He can’t forgive what’s not wrong. 

No matter what you’re facing, how intimidating it is, how impossible it seems, how long you’ve been looking at it, YOU’RE LOOKING AT A MIRACLE!

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God Owns Dia de los Muertos

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Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures, that focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.

People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. They believe that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them.  Dia de los Muertos is also seen as a day that brings good luck to its participants.

Evidently Disney wants to own it.

 

Trademarks can be useful legal tools when creating a company or marketing a product.  The Walt Disney Corporation filed several applications to trademark the Mexican holiday, which is the subject of one of their upcoming films.  After a massive amount of criticism, Disney backed off.  But God isn’t backing off. 


The day of the dead is owned by God! 

 

God created life, and God saves lives.  He will raise the dead in the same way that He raised Jesus.  The resurrection of the dead will not be a spooky cultural event, but a day unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

 


“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:52)

 

After the crucifixion, the discouraged followers of Jesus came to visit His grave.  They were surprised to find it empty.  An angel then asked them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”  A few moments later they came face to face with Jesus.

One day we will not only see Jesus face to face, but we will also see anyone and everyone who has loved Jesus and has died.

 


“And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them…” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

 

If you want to hang out at the grave of someone who loved Jesus, that’s okay but their soul isn’t there, they’re with the Lord.  There’s no need to pray for them either, they’re with the God we pray to.  And while we may be saddened by the loss of someone close to us and miss them, we can be recharged with the hope of the fact that we will soon see them again.

Also, while your at the cemetery if by chance you hear the loudest shout you’ve ever heard, watch out because there will be bodies flying up all over the place! Now that’s something Disney should make a movie about!

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Heaven Is Relentless!

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Old abandoned houses and buildings have always attracted my attention. I like to take pictures of them. As I walk around these abandoned places, I try to imagine who lived there, or worked there. What were their lives like? What were their hopes, plans, and dreams? Why did something so valuable as their home, farm, or business have to be abandoned?

People have things that they hope will stand the test of time, and maybe still be valued by someone after they die. A watch. An old book. A piece of furniture. A car. A house. A business.

While some things can be passed on for a few generations, nothing material will last forever. Rust, rot, and decay are relentless. But heaven is even more relentless in its destruction of things.


“Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.” (1 Corinthians 3:13)

The imagery is of our lives collapsing behind us. Everything goes up in smoke except that which is valuable to God. The rewards of heaven become a constant, relentless reminder to us of what we did with our lives on earth. This is why Jesus said,


“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19–20)

There will be things we’ve done, spent much time building, and used much of our resources to accomplish that wont survive the relentless fire of God’s judgment. Only the things that are valuable in heaven will continue.

Jonathan Edwards said that he was going to use all the energy he had to gain as many rewards as possible, because more rewards means the more pleasing he was to Jesus.

You may ask, “Is Jesus going to be angry with any of us?” No, all the anger of God was taken out when Jesus Christ died on the cross. But Jesus will be disappointed in the way in which some of us have lived. This is why Paul says,

“Therefore we make it our aim to be well pleasing to Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:9)

If we could live in such a way that pleases God, that means we can also live in such a way that displeases him. You see, God’s love is independent of our performance, but not His pleasure.

When you stand before Jesus, the only thing that will matter is the expression on his face. The only thing in the entire universe you’ll care about is hearing, “Well done.” That’s the only thing that will make any difference. That’s the only thing that will last. Heaven is relentless!

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It’s Been Lifted!

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God has way of using things in our lives that seem unrelated to each other, but collectively he brings them together in a way that shapes, heals, teaches, and strengthens us.  I experienced this the other day.

It started while I was talking with someone, recalling a favorite trait an old friend of mine had.  This friend had had enormous impact on my life.  Unfortunately, he also hurt me deeper than anyone.  God had helped me not to hold any unforgiveness towards him, however for years I have chosen to not talk about him, nor recount the various things that he did, until this conversation.  As I told the person I was talking to about how I admired and learned from a particular habit my friend had, I felt the Lord lift the hurt off of me.

Two weeks later, I was attending the Hillsong church in New York City (HillsongNYC.com).  We had to wait outside with hundreds of young people before piling into the Fillmore Theatre in the Gramercy area of midtown Manhattan.  The worship was unbelievable!  People were pressing into God’s presence.  In was amazing! (see my tweet from October 3.  I got a really cool picture).

Joel Abell, one of the pastors from Hillsong Sydney, was speaking about growing pains.  He explained how the church and we as believers go through growing pains.  He had me right in the palm of his hand until he started talking about the need for people with apostolic gifting, and prophetic gifting, along with evangelists, pastors, and teachers. I quit saying, “Amen!” because what he was saying went against my doctrine. 

Then God nudged me to look up to my left.  In the balcony, where there was standing room only, I saw a young man and girl shaking their heads as they held their Bibles. Then the Lord spoke so simply to me,


“Joel, quit arguing.”

A few days later I was involved in a situation that normally would have “got my goat” (and had on other occasions), but I found myself calm, un-reactive, in fact even being kind.  It was huge. It even surprised me.  As I stood there thinking about what was happening, this verse came to my mind:


“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Co 3:18)

“…from glory to glory” it is referring to a process where God takes different experiences and seasons of our lives and merges them together to transform us. He’s working on us, lifting anything from our lives that could weigh us down and keep us from becoming more like Him.  He loves us too much to let us stay the same!  

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Heaven Sounds Boring

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Last week the ministry team was getting ready for our weekend services. I took a few moments to describe a new sermon series about heaven that I was starting. After giving them some details, one of them said,


“I hope we get to wear cool clothes in heaven!”

We all looked at this person like they had just committed heresy. I asked them to explain. The person responded,


“I’m just hoping we don’t have to wear white robes, purple sashes, and Birkenstocks.”

The room erupted in laughter.

While most people want to go to heaven when they die, the way heaven is usually described doesn’t sound too attractive. I heard a preacher the other day on TV say in a browbeating tone,


“Heaven is a place for people who want to worship and serve God! You’re gonna be disappointed up there if that ain’t what you wanna do down here.”

Standing…singing…serving…forever? Heaven in those terms sounds like it’s going to be an eternal church service. And having been in church services all my life, that doesn’t sound too inspiring or fun. In fact, it sounds boring.

But heaven is going to be anything but boring!

Notwithstanding the fact that we will be worshipping God with abandon, heaven should never be put in the context of things we do now. Everything in heaven will be completely different. Everything in heaven will be new. Everything in heaven will be beyond our wildest dreams!

Unfortunately, we have made heaven sound dull. We have made it uninspiring, especially for younger people. But heaven is not the retirement/pension plan for geriatric Christians.

David said,


“He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

If that promise were only for this life, then heaven would be anticlimactic. But that’s not the case. Heaven is the fulfillment of everything God intended for us when He created us. Our dreams, hopes, and destiny will be lived-out in heaven forever.


“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

In heaven, we will make discoveries about God that will never end. We will find out how much He loves us and how perfect His plans were for us. We will also discovery infinite levels of people we are connected to in heaven. We’ll meet people who prayed for us, and those who were in our spiritual DNA throughout all generations.

And if those things weren’t enough, Jesus takes up another notch,


“To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, to them I will give authority over all the nations. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.” (Revelation 2:26–27, NLT)

Doesn’t sound like a job for someone wearing Birkenstocks.

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Places To Go When You Die

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Death, and what happens after we die, is something that most people fear.  To ease fears, people often define the afterlife in their own terms. 

Some believe this life is all there is, and that we shouldn’t waste time even thinking about what comes after it.  They believe when we die it’s over, therefore a person should, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

Others believe in the idea of heaven.  They see heaven as the place where people will go who have lived their lives with good intentions.  Heaven, therefore, is filled with those who have tried their best to be good people.

Cynics view heaven as a place for boring people to go, and hell as a place where people will go who like to party and have fun.  Hell is a non-stop party with the best music and drugs in the universe.

The afterlife seems so shrouded in mystery that people, included many Christians, aren’t sure what to think.  And as a result, people resort to nice clichés, hoping for the best.  However, the Bible speaks with candid clarity and detail about what happens when a person dies.

The Bible tells us where heaven and hell are, what they’re like, and who will go to them.  It lets us see what are people doing in heaven, and the hope of seeing people we know again who are there.  The Bible makes clear what the final destinations waiting for us are, and gives us the possibility to not have any fears about death.


“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:1–8)