Today, I am taking a bold first step into publicly admitting something I’ve been doing privately for quite sometime now. It’s time to be brave.  It’s time to break the silence. It’s time to show my true colors. So here goes, the truth is this:  I’m a man who likes manicures! There I said it! Wow, I feel so much better now! Before you think I’ve turned in my man card, let me explain, there’s nothing manlier than a guy getting a manicure or pedicure. Think about it, you get to sit perched high on a throne  while your back gets massaged and you have some beautiful exotic  woman caressing your feet. Hey, what’s not to like about that situation? The only thing missing is someone to feed me grapes and fan me.  There was a time though, I used to not do this because of the embarrassment it could cause.  I used to think, this is wrong, real men don’t go to nail salons, only wussies who like to carry man purses. But then I started to see other men there too and suddenly it didn’t feel so bad. I actually liked the results of how I looked and felt better about myself too.  But I got to thinking, why did I make such a big deal at first? It’s not like I’m getting my nails painted, I’m just keeping myself clean and well trimmed. Nothing wrong with that but it’s funny how we stereotype in this life and how we let that impact our lives and decisions we make. I even felt sorry once for the people doing my feet. I thought to myself how much I would hate a job like that. I wouldn’t want to clean people’s feet, what a demeaning job. You’d have to be a loser to do that job. But then God had to remind me, Jesus doesn’t stereotype by gender, He doesn’t discriminate or devalue a person based on what one does for a living either. No one is a loser in God’s eyes. In fact God had to remind me that Jesus specializes in pedicures. Jesus who was all God, left the comforts of His kingdom and instead of ruling over us, He became a humbled servant, picked up a rag and washed His disciples feet. He didn’t care how He looked. His disciples did. In fact they tried to stop Him but He insisted regardless. His whole point was to demonstrate for us that what’s really important is to serve others and that means humbling yourself so others can know His love. Sometimes I can get too caught up in how people perceive me.  I allow society to dictate in my life what’s important and how I should act but God has to point out over and over again that He looks at things a little differently. Jesus, when He came to earth turned everything upside down. While His disciples were arguing who is going to be the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus was more interested in letting the little children come unto him.  He defied all stereotypes of what a King should look like and instead of a chariot, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. What success is to God is really failure in the world’s eyes. So, whenever we find ourselves subjecting to the false stereotypes and narratives of what is important in this life, and who has value, let’s remember how Jesus lived and how He viewed others. And when we still get our feet messy in this life, cause we will, what a comfort it is to know that we can always find His salon still open for business. A place where we can find God waiting for us on His knees, with towel in His hand, ready to refresh us with His love.  I get them all the time. I call it a Jesus pedicure and that my friend, is nothing to be ashamed about.

John 13:14-17

14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

YOU KNOW WHY I THINK ITS IMPORTANT TO GO TO CHURCH? THERE’S SEVERAL REASONS BUT ONE IS, WHEN WE GO, WE ARE FACED WITH THIS REALITY:  WE ARE ONE DAY GOING TO DIE. WE WILL LEAVE OUR LOVED ONES, OUR WEALTH, OUR BODIES AND WE WILL COME FACE TO FACE WITH OUR CREATOR. GOING TO CHURCH REMINDS ME OF MY MORTALITY, IT PUTS THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE FOR ME. WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT, IT HUMBLES ME TOO, IT ENCOURAGES ME AND REMINDS ME THAT I’M NOT ALONE.  HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A FUNERAL?  WHY IS IT THAT WE HAVE TO WAIT TILL SOMEONE DIES FOR US TO COME TOGETHER AND REALIZE THAT LIFE IS SHORT? WHY DO WE WORRY SO MUCH, WHY DO WE SPEND TOO MUCH TIME MAKING MONEY, NOT ENOUGH TIME LIVING, LOVING, SEIZING EACH DAY INSTEAD OF OUR FEARS SEIZING US? SO I PROPOSE TO YOU IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN IN AWHILE, TAKE SOMETIME TO GO TO CHURCH THIS WEEKEND OR TAKE SOMETIME TO PRAY, QUIET YOUR SOUL, DO SOME THINKING, MEDITATE, REPRIORITIZE SOMETHINGS, PUT FEAR BACK IN ITS PLACE, ALLOW GOD TO LEAD YOU, AND DO SO NOW. DON’T WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO DIE TO THINK ABOUT THE FRAGILITY OF LIFE.  AS WE FOCUS ON JESUS, HE WILL ENCOURAGE US TO LIVE A LIFE OF PURPOSE NO MATTER WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR LIVES. MOST PEOPLE LIVE ONE PAYCHECK AWAY FROM HOMELESSNESS.  THE SAME IS TRUE OF OUR MORTALITY. WE ARE ONE HEARTBEAT AWAY FROM ETERNITY. TRUST IN JESUS, THE ONE WHO MADE YOU AND LIVE NOT AS IF LIFE IS SHORT BUT LIVE LIFE AS IF IT’S ETERNAL.

PSALM 90:12 NLT

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

2 Peter 2:7

“and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked”

I remember one time I was attending a small church service of about thirty people. It was during the sermon, the pastor was talking about Abraham’s nephew, Lot and he referred to this verse in Peter. It was then that a lady in the congregation shouted out loud, “he wasn’t that righteous to me!”. The pastor kept preaching and didn’t really deal with her comment. He just said “well, the Bible says he was” and then kept to his preconceived script. But I remember sitting there thinking, what a perfect opportunity this pastor had to elaborate more on this. You see, I have a great concern for the body of Christ. We are taught that righteousness is by faith alone in Jesus and then once you’re on board, once you’re in the family, joined the team, all of a sudden it’s now about here’s what you got to do. Here’s your bat, get up to the plate and you better perform to prove you belong to the team, don’t strike out or else. So, now we get this warped view that our righteousness is really based on what we do for God to prove we are the real sons and daughters of God.  So, of course when a Christian comes to a verse like this one, the common reaction is just like this one lady’s “ Lot? He wasn’t that righteous to me!”.  For those of us that are not familiar with who Lot is, let me introduce you. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Both travelled together but bickering began between Lots’s group and Abraham’s and they realized that they were too big between the both of them and it was best to separate. So, Abraham gave him the first choice to choose where he would like to live. Abraham gave Lot the choice of going either north or south, Lot instead looked beyond Jordan toward a well-irrigated plain and chose that land. Lot camped among the cities of the green Jordan plain and initially pitched his tent facing the sinful city Soddom and Gomorrah. Later on, he actually moved into sin city. He even became the gate keeper and had some influence in Soddom and Gomorrah  but there’s no evidence that he did anything to reform the city. In fact he even offered up his virgin daughters as a replacement to men who wanted to rape some strangers that he invited into his home. Later we read, his very own daughters got him intoxicated with wine and then proceeded to have sex with him. Woah, you’re not gonna hear this in your grandma’s Sunday school. This sounds like more of a rated R miniseries on Netflix than a squeaky clean, feel good movie on Pureflix.  This begs the question. Why was this man, who compromised his integrity many times throughout, considered righteous? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. Actually it’s the same that it’s always been, in the Old Testament and in the New. What makes a person righteous? Is it what we do? Paul tells us in Romans 1:17.  “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Also, He later talks about Abraham and how God considered him justified, which just means to be declared righteous. He says in Romans chapter 4, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”  So as we can see, if God considered Abraham righteous through faith apart from works, he saw Abraham’s nephew, Lot the same way. He was considered righteous because he simply had faith. Was it always publicly displayed? Did he always get it right? Nope, and he suffered temporal consequences too. Remember, he lost everything he owned, including his wife in the destruction of Soddom and Gomorrah. But the Angels came for Lot to save him from the city and God’s wrath because he was one of the righteous few. Again, not because he was perfect and always did good things, no because he believed and that’s what made him holy. I think this verse should be an encouragement to all of us as Christians.  Let’s not live in condemnation or beat ourselves up, when we’ve messed up or blown it again. Let’s remember that our righteousness isn’t based on our performance but God’s grace through faith. May it also be a reminder for us to stay humble when we are doing a lot in obedience to and for God. When we are following Him, whether it’s mission trips, fasting and praying, giving our whole lives in faithfulness to Him, let’s remember this passage to keep things in perspective so we don’t become full of pride and think it’s about us. These good things do not make us anymore righteous in His eyes and not doing these things does not make us any less righteous. Though when we are obedient, there are rewards and blessings and the same is true that when we are disobedient there are consequences and discipline.  Abraham was blessed beyond measure for his obedience and Lot went through much suffering and loss but both men were considered still righteous by God. Not a righteousness by doing good but one of faith by grace. So as we travel on our spiritual journey, let’s remember and thank God everyday that the same God who looked at sinful Lot as being righteous, sees us the same way. And the more we fully understand this love, it will compel us to live our lives in full obedience to Him like Abraham did. We obey Him not because we have to but for the simple joy of just getting the amazing opportunity to participate in the game. So, whether we strike out at the plate several times or hit home runs consistently, we still wear his jersey of righteousness and on the back of the shirt, is not our name but the only name that declares us holy and perfect from all sin, Jesus Christ and because of Him we are all winners.

James 2:14-17

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[b] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Familiar with this passage in scripture?  If  you’ve been a Christian for sometime, I’m pretty sure you have come across it. It’s one of the most controversial verses and often misunderstood in all of scripture. Verses like this tend to divide Christians and we build walls and pick our sides.  In fact this verse was actually hated by Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation. Remember him? He was the one who broke off from the Catholic Church because of his studies of the Bible and what he found. What he discovered was that salvation is only through faith alone and not by good works.  He didn’t know what to do with this verse in James.  He hated it so much, he wanted the whole book removed from the Canon of scripture. It’s understandable how he felt because this verse is very contradicting. After all the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians “it is by faith you have been saved not by works.” So what in the darn hill is James smoking? Why does he seem to contradict Paul?  The typical response you get from some Christian commentaries is that James was talking about a genuine faith.  They will cite Paul in Ephesians 2 stating that we are God’s workmanship created to do good works that He’s prepared for us in advance.  Then they’ll tell us that a real Christian displays good works. Therefore, if you claim you are a Christian and aren’t displaying good works then clearly you aren’t a Christian. So, the problem I have with this, is that right away the gospel just went from Jesus doing all the work for our salvation and giving us the gift of salvation, to now your eternal salvation hangs in the balance based on your performance in proving the validity of your faith. Wow, what happened to it being a gift? Can you imagine when you were a kid if your parents gave you a bicycle for your birthday. “Happy birthday enjoy your gift, we love you!”.  You’re all excited to play with your gift. You play with it everyday. Then suddenly your parents give you the credit card bill for the bike. It’s still your bike but you still have to do something to prove ownership of your bike. If you really want to keep it they say. I mean what parents would do something like that? But we humans live in a world where that’s what’s expected. Nothing really is for free. You got to earn your success. But God says eternal life is a free gift but we have a tough time accepting that and we call it “easy believism”.  We flip the script and tell everyone if you’re really a child of God you better be doing some good works or else it’s not really your gift. Ever since I first encountered James, I too have wrestled with this verse. I agree that it’s a “faith alone but not a faith alone” but where I differ with some Christians is the reasoning behind why God wants a faith that’s accompanied by works. In my studies over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason we activate our faith is not so we that can prove we’re going to heaven. It’s not a bragging right for Christians. I persevered, therefore I’m a good Christian, and Jesus will definitely let me into heaven. No, its actually not that at all. Let me explain.  In the letter that James is writing, he is writing to people who are already believers in Jesus. These believers are being  dispersed all throughout.  In other words,they are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. They are suffering, yet James encourages them to persevere by considering it pure joy because of what God is doing in them.  He devotes his whole letter to focus on how believers should live and practice out this faith even during trials. He encourages believers to not fall into temptation and to also tame their tongue. Both things that people struggle with when going through trying circumstances. James also points out what some of them were actually doing because of their suffering. They were trying to provide for their needs by showing favoritism towards rich people. Instead of loving on the poor and needy, they were only focusing all their love and attention on those who were wealthy. But James reprimands them. In fact, James reminds them pure religion is loving the widows and orphans. You see, when one gives to the widows and orphans or the poor, they can’t give you anything back. The believers were suffering and some were trying to meet their needs by looking after those that could pay them back. That’s not really trusting in God is it? So, when James tells them to have a faith that is expressed in works because that will save him, he is talking about a different kind of salvation. Just because the Bible uses the word “saved” or “salvation “, we automatically want to think it means eternal salvation. But there are several times in scripture where the word “saved” is used as a temporal salvation. For example, David crying out in the Psalms for God to save him from his enemies. So, in the context of James, a letter to believers who are already eternally saved, James is urging them to publicly express this faith but the salvation is for a temporal salvation.  He gives an illustration of a poor person asking for help and getting none. What a useless, dead faith he says. How can this faith save that poor person in their time of need and how can that faith save the believer in their temporal needs as well? Do you see it? James is not talking about eternal salvation but a temporal salvation. Pay attention to this part carefully. When we activate our faith in obedience, we don’t do it to prove that we are truly saved, by no means! We do it so that GOD CAN PROVE THAT HE SAVES. God wants to so badly publicly display his salvation to His people and to others but He wants His people to step out in faith through obedience so that He can reveal His plan of salvation. Think about it. When a Christian who is faced with an opportunity to give of their resources to help someone, they are in essence trusting that God will temporarily save that person and also temporarily save themselves by meeting their financial needs as well. It takes faith to give up of your time, resources and talents for God’s kingdom to those who can’t repay you. Your only hope is in God saving you. That’s the faith and salvation James is talking about. He gives us an example of Abraham. Abraham trusted that God had a plan to save him in his situation. He didn’t know how but he believed God would save his son from being killed. He did not know why but he believed God and activated his faith by climbing up the mountain to sacrifice his only son. Abraham’s faith and works set God up to showcase His saving power. God did just that, sending His angels and sparing his son by providing him a ram instead. James also gives an illustration of Rahab the prostitute. Rahab was not a saint, in fact she was still practicing her livelihood when she first met the Israelite spies. Yet, she activated her faith in the God of Israel and displayed her faith by hiding the spies from being killed that day. Through the demonstration of her faith, she put God in a position to then display His salvation first to the spies that day and then later when He rescued her family from being killed by the Israelites when they eventually attacked her city.  Is it making sense now? James is encouraging believers who are already eternally saved to activate their faith so the God of salvation can prove He loves to daily save people in their time of need. And when we obey God we are trusting God to save us also in our time of need. That’s all James is saying. But when James throws in words like dead faith, words like saved, and useless faith like a demon, people get confused and think James is talking about your eternal salvation. James is just saying activate your faith. Don’t let it be useless like a demon faith. He’s just using an extreme analogy that’s all. He’s not saying you’re going to hell like a demon if you’re not doing works along with your faith. He never says that but that’s what people assume. I think about our faith this way. Our faith is not always active. Sometimes our faith is dead and sometimes it’s alive. When you are on Facebook and you see the ad from the Salvation Army to donate to the hurricane relief fund and you decide to continue to scroll down, ignoring it, your faith is dead at that moment. In that moment you have chosen not to activate it. It’s like a car that just sits in your driveway. Our faith is a gift from God and like a brand new car it is just waiting for us to drive it. There will be times we don’t drive it but it doesn’t mean it’s not there. So it is with our faith. God wants it not to stay in the driveway and be useless but God wants us to put the key in the ignition and turn it on. We are always eternally saved by a faith alone. But as believers, we get to practice our faith publicly so God can publicly make known His everyday salvation to others and to us. God loves to save people. Whether it’s eternal salvation or temporal such as saving someone from hunger and giving a poor person a meal.  I know this is a different outlook on this verse but when you see it this way, isn’t it liberating? Doesn’t it take the pressure off of us to save our souls? Our response to God is obedience but it’s not so we can prove we are truly saved, it’s all so God can prove that He truly saves.  So, the next time you’re struggling financially but you know of someone who just lost their job, activate your faith and give. Trust God to meet the needs of those you are giving to and expect Him, to rescue you in your time of need. Remember, God is in the business of saving, our part is to be that vehicle that He uses to do so. The more we activate our faith, the more we will get to experience God’s amazing love and plan of salvation He has for others and in our lives as well. Hey, I get it, not every believer will agree with me on this and my intentions are not to divide or win any debate. My encouragement to you is to activate your faith so God can show you how He will bless you and meet your needs as you allow Him to use you to bless and meet the needs of others. So what are you waiting for?  God has given us a gift, that gift is a shiny new car called faith. Don’t just let it sit in the garage. Show it off. You don’t have to concern yourself so much on how it works, that’s on Him.  All we get is the joy and privilege of participating with Him as we press down on the gas pedal of our faith, following His directions as we head down the narrow road of our salvation.

Psalm 143:1-2 English Standard Version (ESV)

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

143 

Hear my prayer, O Lord;

    give ear to my pleas for mercy!

    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!

Do you hear that? It’s the desperate plea from a man who is on the verge of death. His enemies have all but crushed his soul, feeling hopeless, he calls out to God for mercy. I’m not a theologian, but perhaps these enemies are from the consequences of his adultery and his sins. Maybe that’s why he calls out to God for mercy. I like how he cries out for God to answer Him and come to His aid in God’s faithfulness and in God’s righteousness. Not in his. How many of us our taught that if we just clean up our act and do the right things, we can call out to God and He’ll save us? But I love how David doesn’t ask God to deliver him because of David’s righteousness but he calls out to God and asks Him for deliverance simply because of God’s faithfulness and righteousness. David knew he was undeserving but yet He still believed that God would deliver Him because that is who God is, He is faithful and He is righteous. You may not be surrounded by physical enemies but sometimes circumstances can seem so overwhelming it’s like an army is pursuing you. Sometimes we find ourselves being spiritually attacked and it can seem like the devil finally has the upper hand. Perhaps we have fallen into sinful habits again and our souls feel crushed and defeated. Could God really deliver me? Would He really want to, me a sinner? But I urge you to look at the life of David. This is the man who struggled with sexual addiction and bondage by sleeping with concubines on almost a daily basis which eventually led to him murdering a man just to sleep with his wife, Bathsheba. The consequences of his sins brought about a divided kingdom and a divided family. Even his worst enemies were his own sons, out to dethrone and kill him. Yet despite the consequences of his actions, he still cries out to God for salvation because He knows God is merciful. Remember,  if God can deliver David, a murderer and an adulterer, don’t you think He can deliver us too? God did not see David anymore as a sinner but He saw Him as a man after His own heart.  David repented and God was faithful to forgive Him. When we ask God to forgive us, He remembers our sins no more.  God delivered David from his enemies not because David was righteous or faithful, no, God delivered Him because that is who God is.  If David realized this aspect of God’s mercy, then we too are never too far removed from God to ask Him to rescue us no matter what we might have done in our past. We too can boldly call out to Him to deliver us from our trials because it’s in God’s nature to do so. David may have felt defeated that day but in the midst of his trial, and his consequences, in the midst of his desert, he begins to remember and meditate on how God has been faithful. For he says, in verse five,”I remember the days of old;

    I meditate on all that you have done;

    I ponder the work of your hands.” Maybe for us that’s what we need to do too. When we find ourselves in the midst of despair, meditate on how God has been faithful many times before. We can see His faithfulness displayed all throughout scripture. Meditate and dwell on His promises. They are true and dependable and we can find hope for our troubled souls.  David also recognized the importance of the Holy Spirit. He called out for the Spirit’s presence, for guidance and for direction. In verse 10

“Teach me to do your will,

    for you are my God!

Let your good Spirit lead me

    on level ground!”

The same Spirit found in David is the same Spirit who dwells in you. When we give up our way for His will, it is not us getting our act together, it is us just simply acknowledging we need a higher power to lead us to level ground. Begin again to ask the Holy Spirit to take control once again. The great counselor will teach you. It’s never too late, He will show you a way out.

I don’t know where you’re at right now? Maybe you too feel like you’re in the midst of battle surrounded by death all around and maybe it was caused by your sins, maybe from the sins of others. Wherever you find yourself, remember it’s not over. Cry out to Him, cry out to Him, He won’t abandon you, He will rescue you not because of anything you have done or didn’t do but simply because God is faithful and God is righteous. Let His Spirit show you the way, your deliverance is here. For towards the end of the Psalm, I love how David goes from desperation to confidence again. He says, “you will cut off my enemies” and again he says, “you will destroy the adversaries of my soul”.  It wasn’t maybe God will, it was God will do it. When we realize that our deliverance has nothing to do with our righteousness, when we meditate on God’s faithfulness to us and we surrender our will to the Spirit’s leading, we will find a renewed faith that nothing is impossible with God. So, when life knocks you down, don’t get up, but stay down, on your knees that is and cry out to the One who will hear you because He is faithful and righteous and remember these words of David.

11 

“For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

12 

And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,

    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

    for I am your servant.”

So I was reading the story in the Bible where Jesus is teaching in the synagogue and some religious leaders bring to him a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. The men question Jesus about what should be done. They remind Jesus that the law of Moses says her punishment is stoning till death. So wanting to trap Jesus, they kept demanding Him for an answer. Finally, Jesus wrote something in the dirt and then He said to them, “to let him who is without sin throw the first stone”. Of course, all the accusers are silenced at this point and all walk away. Jesus writes something again in the dirt and then tells the woman that He does not condemn her and that she should go and sin no more. So I got to meditating on this passage a lot. I  discovered that Jesus was trying to convey a simple truth for all of us to see. A truth if we can get to the bottom of this, will transform everything for us and free us from those sins that keep us hostage. A lot of us live in cycles. We want to live Holy lives but then we end up falling into these habitual sin patterns and then we live in shame and guilt, then try harder and then fail again. I believe that the answer to truly breaking this cycle is found in this passage. Jesus was telling this adulteress woman that she was free now not just from the condemnation of sin but also from the power of sin. Jesus knew that what was holding her hostage to her sin, was that she still viewed herself as being condemned. I believe the reason Christians struggle with sin, is because there is a correlation between condemnation and sin, and how we perceive ourselves. Jesus knew this and like a good doctor, He wrote on the ground her prescription to finally break free. Although no one knows for sure, this is speculation but I think perhaps Jesus wrote in the dirt her new name. He gave her a new identity. This was her true identity now, no longer was she to Him an adulteress nor a slave or a sinner. I believe Jesus wrote on the ground who she was now in His eyes. That’s why He told her to sin no more because He knew that now that she knows her true identity, all things are possible. Could it be that the reason we struggle with sin is that we don’t really know or believe in our new identity in Christ? When we struggle with sin, most of the time we tend to live in this cycle of shame and guilt. We know we disobeyed God’s commands, so what do we do? We beat ourselves up. We allow the Enemy to accuse us, we allow others opinions to define us and we even allow our own thoughts to hold us captive. We are basically believing in a false identity and not whom Christ says we are. Jesus wrote the woman’s new identity in the dirt. Today, God has written for us our new identity in His promises found in the Bible. His word to us is that we are not under the law but under grace. The Bible says, Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. The scriptures also say, 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” and John 8:36, “He whom the Son has set free, is free indeed.”  Too many of us Christians hold the law over our heads reminding ourselves that we are a sinner and a slave to it and so we strive to do better. But when we live like this we fall under the law which is a form of captivity. Not that the law and God’s commands are bad but if we think we can live out our freedom from an identity that says we are still sinners, then we will always fall short. Then the false accusers come out and tell us what they think we are and we choose to listen and the cycle of shame and guilt continues. Jesus instead tells us that He has set us free from all of this. There will never be any condemnation ever. Just think about it for a moment. What if the woman did sin again? Chances are she did. No one I know has ever been perfect. So say she sinned again, does Jesus take back what He said to her? Does He now condemn her? No, Jesus gave her His word and His word is true and forever. She was never to face condemnation again and you and I who have placed our faith in Jesus will never be condemned either. Wow, this is liberating! When we start thinking about this truth, we should start to break this cycle of living under the control of those sins that easily entangle. Sin thrives and finds nourishment from guilt and shame. Then it continues to grow out of a  false identity. When we dwell on the promises of whom we are in Christ and just believe them as being done, then we will live in real freedom. When we start to see ourselves as being loved, and being forgiven, no matter what we do or how many times we fail, the accusers will soon be silenced and the only true voice we will listen to will be His. We may not be perfect but we can live more and more in His perfection as we continue to remember that it is only through Him we are truly free! So when the stones of your accusers start to come your way, just remind yourself of who you really are in Christ. Jesus will remove those stones one by one. Remember, He removed the one stone that held Him captive in the tomb for three days. What makes you think He can’t overcome the ones that are holding you back from living out your God given destiny? So, stop listening to the lies, stop living under the law, it’s only going to falsely accuse you and hold you down. In the midst of the dirt and messiness of our lives, isn’t it great to know that Jesus gets His finger dirty as well and writes His new identity for us on our hearts? All we have to do is take Him at His word. Receive it, Embrace it and trust the one who says you are a new creation. For scripture says, in 2 Corinthians 5:17,  “The old is gone and the new has come.” Rise up, child of God. Leave the grave clothes of your past behind you and put on the new clothes of your real identity only found in Christ. Remember, You are free! You are free indeed. How do I know this? It is written.

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Today, I got the awesome opportunity to have an all you can eat breakfast with my Savior and friend Jesus Christ. Yes, what an amazing experience.  Did you know Jesus likes to eat blueberry pancakes and likes his hash browns with cheese?  He also enjoys a good conversation, and has a heart for young people in their teenage years to give them help in forming them into responsible and successful adults in these crucial formative years. These are kids who don’t have the healthy two parent structure at home, teens that need an adult to believe in them. Did you know that Jesus also has a crazy sense of humor and wears an umbrella hat on hot summer days when he goes for walks? He also likes to Zumba in his neon green socks and wears bright colored gym shorts. Who knew? Yes, that’s right today I got to hang with Jesus at the breakfast buffet at the Golden Corral.  Now I know by now you’re waiting for the punch line. You’re waiting for the just kidding or you’re thinking it’s time for me to check myself into the funny farm. I get it. It does sound like I’ve been smoking a little too much of the reefer. But actually I’m not joking. I’m about as serious as I can be. You see today I got a chance to meet up with my good friend and brother in Christ. We were talking about a number of things just sharing life when the conversation got Biblical. At one point he said something so profound. He said “Tom do you know you are the Word? Do you know that to some people you will be the only Bible they are ever going to ever see?” And I got to thinking of that verse that says Jesus was called the Word and that the Word became flesh. How cool is that? Jesus was the living breathing Word of God and today if we put our faith in Christ, Jesus becomes flesh again but this time in us. So spending time with God is not just in the Bible and having a thirty minute devotional, it’s spending time also with my brothers and sisters who are the walking and talking Word in the flesh. You see when we spend time with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in essence spending time with Jesus. When we live to serve others did you know you are spending time with Jesus too? We are not obedient to God so that we can do good things for God. That is not why we obey and that can lead to legalism and a false religion. No, the number one reason we are obedient is because that’s where Jesus is. We obey Him to fellowship with Him. Jesus says we are His friends if we obey His commands. Close friendship with God comes when we participate with Him as we follow Him. Read 1 John it is all about how to have fellowship with Jesus and believers. When we spend time with our kids, when we go on that mission trip, when we do the dishes for our spouse, when we go to work to provide for our families, when we take the time to visit the elderly, when we do anything for someone in love you are actually spending time with Jesus. In fact there’s a scripture that actually says when we feed the hungry or give water to the thirsty, we are actually feeding and serving Jesus. So, today maybe you thought reading your Bible was the only way to be with Jesus. Maybe you forgot to have that devotional time or maybe you think that just because you spent thirty minutes with God it stops there. I’m here to tell you it doesn’t. Spending time with Jesus is more than just being in the book. Yes prayer and scripture and having that alone time is part of it but it’s also having relationships with other Christians, it’s serving the body of Christ, and it’s living on mission to love and serve those outside of the faith. So to any of my Christian readers, the next time you’re hungry and you’re looking to break some bread with Jesus and you just happen to be in my neighborhood, look me up and let’s get together. I’m very interested in learning more about my Jesus through the eyes of His people, filtered by the word of God of course. Remember, the Bible just doesn’t stay on your coffee table. If you’re following His way, it goes where you go because the living Word dwells in you. The Living and breathing Bible, Jesus Christ the Word made flesh!

Have you ever seen a pen write by itself? If you ever do, please show me. I’d love to see that. But what makes a pen write? Is it the pen? No, of course not. The only way a pen can write is if someone picks it up and attempts to write with it. Can you imagine trying to write with a pen that has a mind of its own? What if every time you tried to write, the pen would refuse to be still and would fight you, trying to write what it wants to write? That would be insane! Of course you wouldn’t be able to get anything accomplished. In the same way, as believers in Christ, we kind of do the same thing. Instead of just being still and letting God do the work, we think it’s up to us to live for Him and we end up getting in the way from letting God do His best work in our lives.  We think we’re helping God but instead we’re just interfering with what God wants to do in us. The only way we are ever going to produce good works in our lives is not in us doing it ourselves.  You see, just like the pen can’t write on it’s own, neither can we. The pen needs to rely on someone using it. We too need to rely on Jesus to use us and produce the fruit of good works in our lives. Yet too many times we try to muster up our own strength to live for God and we ask God to help us. We then start off strong and for awhile we start doing things for God, living our lives correctly but then eventually the circumstances, trials and temptations of life catch up to us and we end up falling back into habitual sin or we simply burn out in our holy endeavors. I personally have experienced this in my life. What I’ve come to learn the hard way is that God’s not so much interested in our doing things for Him.  In fact, God wants us to stop trying to write on our own because like the pen, we can’t. It’s foolishness. Just be still and trust Him to do the work. Remember, when you first believed to receive eternal life? Did you do anything? No, you just believed and you received.  The Bible tells us in Colossians 2:6, “Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.”  How did you receive Jesus? Did you clench your fists and try really hard asking God to help you? No, you just believed. So walk in Him just like that. Just believe you are already complete in Him. Believe that His holy character is and already is being manifested in your life and receive it as being done.  In John 15, Jesus makes a wonderful illustration about this. He describes Him as being the vine and we, his disciples as being the branches. Think about it, branches don’t do any work, all they do is receive what the vine is doing. It’s the vine that produces the sap that produces the fruit and so it should be with us. Quit trying to live for God. Instead live in Him and allow Him to live through you. Get out of the way and instead of DOING, practice the discipline of just BEING in Him, by abiding in a relationship with Him. By faith receive His power in your life by simply accepting His promises to fulfill His work in your life. Then watch and be amazed at the fruit that is manifested in you.  In the same chapter in John 15:16, Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”  You see, Jesus is basically telling us, it is not our doing ever. He chose us, it is not the other way around and it is Him that bears this fruit, not us. In Ephesians 2:10, Paul says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  Even here we see that these works are not our doing but His and He’s preparing them for us to do through Him in advance.  So the next time you blow it or you feel tired and frustrated by your constant efforts to please God and you’re just not seeing any results, then perhaps it’s time to go back to the vine.  It’s time to just connect with Him in relationship again. Just do nothing but be a branch and receive. Thank Him in advance for the work He is going to accomplish.  Stop trying to be a pen that wants to write on your own, because you can’t. Just be a pen that will be still and just let Him pick you up in His loving hands instead. Trust Him and soon you’ll see the empty pages of your life being filled with life changing and powerful words that only God could write. Words that will change your life and those around you. Words that soon will unfold into a beautiful story. A story He is still creating in and through you and just like a pen in the hands of it’s author, we too will get the honors of simply participating with Him in this marvelous creative process. A process that will one day manifest into another one of God’s masterpieces, YOU. 

Do you ever feel like you’re  a failure? You see all these people on television living their dreams, telling you the meaning of success and you look at your life and just feel stuck, not going anywhere, a loser?  I struggle with that.  I heard one television celebrity say that success is like jumping out of an airplane and soaring. But as he was talking and quoting Bible verses, I could hear the underlying message. Success to him was money. Unfortunately, for a lot of us, we feel so inadequate and like failures because we don’t have the big paycheck coming in at the end of the week. What if we jump out of our planes and take the risk to pursue that dream and it doesn’t work out? They will tell you, to never quit because if you do give up, then you’ll never know what will happen. But even if you follow this advice and don’t give up, there is still no guarantee and you still won’t be satisfied. No, I think that is just simply bad advice, because success is not to be sought after. If success is something we do or something tangible or anything in this world, then we will constantly be jumping out of airplanes and crashing into rocks not ever truly soaring.  I think we have to change what the definition of success and soaring is. Is it making six figures working a job you love? That’s still not a guarantee that this would happen. Is it having meaningful relationships and lots of kids? That’s wonderful but what if you can’t have kids or your spouse suddenly dies or you just can’t find anyone to marry, are you now labeled a failure?  No, my Bible says that all the disciples that walked with Jesus died for Jesus as martyrs. Some were stoned, imprisoned, and even crucified upside down. So, did they not live successful lives? YES! Of course they did. They did soar, simply because they knew who they were. They were able to face death with joy and certainty knowing they were going to be with Jesus because they knew they were loved by God. They were children of God!  Perhaps we need to rethink what success means. We always link it to what we do. In my career I’ve done a lot. I’ve been an actor on stage performing for thousands, I’ve been in commercials with celebrities,  I’ve acted in movies, I’ve been a magician both on stage, and on the street, I’ve also written, produced and starred in my own independent film which was nominated at a local film festival in Florida. I’ve written screenplays for the big screen and I’m currently writing a book and have written close to eighty blogs giving spiritual hope and encouragement to people like myself who need it.  But with all that said, I also work a security job that is boring and monotonous. I have been with TSA for almost eighteen years conducting thousands of pat downs, going through thousands of bags, getting thousands of people complaining about what I am doing to them, a thankless and underpaid job.  So, I ask myself am I a failure? I’m sure when you read the first part you were impressed with my resume, weren’t you? Maybe you thought “how impressive he did commercials with celebrities” but then when you get to the last part of me doing a security job, perhaps you felt sorry for me. Isn’t that funny? We still think of success by what one does. And unfortunately, I still do it too.  Sometimes I ask myself did I do something wrong along the way that God is punishing me?  But again I have to remember that success always comes back to not what I do but who I already am. Who am I? I’m a child of God.  If we put success outside of that, then when circumstances don’t pan out the way we want them to, we will never be truly satisfied. We will always keep jumping out of airplanes hoping the chute will catch us but it never will. Remember, from the moment you put your faith in Christ as your Savior, you immediately became a success. Why? Simply, because of not what you did but by faith you became a child of God and this brings God glory!  The scripture tells us that everything we do, we should do it all for the glory of God.   This is made possible not by our own doing but because of us believing who God says we are. By just being a child of God by faith, you glorify God thus achieving success. Then whatever you do from here on out and accomplish in life, big or small,  is just a cherry on top of an amazing sundae.   In other words, whether I write the greatest novel of this century, live in financial freedoms and travel the world or whether I work a mundane job counting beans in a corner living paycheck to paycheck, it doesn’t matter, because I am a child of God. Whenever we live by faith and operate out of faith, we are living our lives to shine forth His glory not ours and this my friends is the meaning of success!  So, are things in my career where I want them to be? No, but I’m working my mundane job in excellence and I’m still pursuing a writing career. I still believe in something better and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, no matter what happens, whether I achieve my dreams or not whether I’m rich or poor, I’m still a success!  I’m not hoping to be, I always was and always will be and it’s all because I am His child and this brings Him glory!  And that my friends, is truly soaring!!!!!!

1 Corinthians 10:31

³¹ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

John 1:12

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Ah yes, it was beach weekend. The start of my vacation and I was looking forward to spending it with my kids and doing a little family bonding. Some other family members and friends of mine were also with me for the day. It was going to be a great beach day!  After an exhausting two hour drive just getting there, my body was ready to just unwind and finally have some fun.  I got into the water to just toss the frisbee around. I remember soaking it all in. It felt like a glimpse of paradise, nothing but blue skies, not a cloud in sight, I couldn’t ask for a better day.  I was definitely enjoying the moment but my moment of paradise did not last for long. In fact, if this was a movie, you’d start to hear the ominous music begin to play in the background. There would be a shot of me tossing the frisbee ever so gleefully, then there would be the close up of the water and the camera would suddenly take on the point of view of something lurking in the ocean. The camera would pan back to me again, smiling and laughing like an innocent school boy during recess playing with my friends.  Then the ominous music would resume again and finally the camera would pan underneath the surface of the water to my foot. Closer and closer the camera would appear to approach the harmless and innocent foot just jumping for joy and then another quick shot of me but this time a look of panic on my face. Suddenly everything slows down, we would see the frisbee coming towards me in slow motion, smacking me right in the head and then a real dramatic moment of me screaming like a madman full of excruciating pain. Nothing but sheer fright, and pandemonium on the faces of everyone around me as they all scurry about the water trying to make a mad dash towards the beach. Meanwhile, you’d see me crawling on my belly, just grasping the sand in desperation as I try to slither my way up the sandy slope to the beach tent.  Then the camera reveals my battle wounds as we the audience gets a glimpse of the blood oozing out of my left foot as it barely dangles from my leg.  Oh the horror the horror! Wouldn’t that make for a great movie scene? I know, I know, it’s Jaws 1,2,3 and 4.  Well, it may not have been as dramatic as that but it did really happen to me, well, kind of sorta. It definitely felt like I was in a scene from a Jaws movie that’s for sure. The shark bite or whatever it was got me right on my left ankle.  It felt like teeth clamping down on my left foot and then it quickly released itself. I thought it would probably come back for a second helping but  thankfully whatever it was, Moby Dick didn’t find me too appetizing.  The next thing you know, I’m hobbling my way to the beach tent and all I could see was blood all over my foot. Quickly, my family got chairs for me, propped my foot up and rinsed off the wound giving me a paper towel to stop the bleeding.  What started out like a promising day of beach relaxing fun, ended up becoming one of the most painful beach days I ever experienced in my life. I pretty much sat around for the rest of the day, feeling like Jimmy Stewart in “Rear Window”, confined to a wheel chair living vicariously through the lives of others,  with my foot elevated, eating pretzels, watching everyone else having fun without me.  Well, the pain did finally subside but unfortunately it  wasn’t until it was time to go home that it started to feel better. I know, it could have been worse though.  I like to joke and say it was a shark bite but later I learned there were crab traps nearby and so it was determined the wound was probably caused by a crab. I still like to think it was a shark bite though.  It’s much more heroic to say you’ve lived to tell the tale after being attacked by a great white, than it is getting bit by a teeny weeny Red Lobster appetizer.  However, I  realize that if it was a shark bite,  I probably wouldn’t have had a foot at all. I’d be walking around with a wooden leg looking more like Long John Silver, “aargh”!  I laugh about it now but at the time it happened, it really messed me up. In my mind I just kept thinking to myself, why is this happening to me God? Am I jinxed? I just want to enjoy my family, why is this happening to me? But as I reflect now on it, I realize now the lesson to be learned. Sometimes life just isn’t fair and sometimes life can be cruel and we are going to go through times that are going to be painful. But instead of questioning God and asking Him why, we should be asking God what can I learn from this? And what I learned from this, was even in the painful times, we should still be thanking God regardless. The Scripture tells us to be thankful continually, to give thanks in all circumstances.  It also says to rejoice always. I’m sorry but that’s not always easy to do. No one wants to rejoice or be thankful in the bad times but all circumstances means all circumstances. So, why in the world should we be thanking God in trying circumstances? After giving this much thought, I believe that when we complain and are bitter about our problems, we start to tell ourselves that we lack and are not good enough. We begin to attract negativity into our lives like stress which is never healthy for the body at all. But when we start thanking God, we are in essence saying to ourselves that we truly are blessed and we have everything we need. We begin to alleviate stress and in return this causes us to live healthier lives. God is our Creator, He knows how we best operate. If He says to be thankful continually than we should listen. This does take faith but the opposite of faith is fear.  I’d rather live in faith being hopeful for a better tomorrow than wallowing in my sorrows dwelling on the pain of yesterday and fearing for tomorrow.  Fear stunts our growth but faith pushes us to move forward causing us to grow from our painful circumstances. Now that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy getting bit in the foot by some sea monster but when I find the things to be thankful for, like a foot that is still intact then that will help me to keep things in perspective and I will find that I will be able to move forward and grow from this experience in my life.  There is no gain if we don’t experience the pain. It’s true in working out in the gym and it’s true in life. We don’t need to pray to God for painful experiences or suffering but if we go through it, we know we have a God that can relate with us, help us to endure it and we will ultimately grow from it, becoming better people in the process.  So the next time you find the trials of this life biting you in the foot, just remember don’t complain about it but choose to be thankful instead. You may not see it at the time but there is purpose in the pain and God will always carry you through it all.  Soon, you’ll discover that your paradise on the beach is not really hard to find, it’s closer than you think. It’s right there with you wherever you go, always in your perspective. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.