May 16. 2019

What’s Your Excuse?

Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. … But they all alike began to make excuses.” 

– Luke 16, Luke 18a

It was one of those casual encounters. We’d barely got the hellos out when she began to make excuses for not being in Sunday school class. I tried to brush it off and move on. She kept talking anyway.

And it finally pushed my button. I struggled and barely contained my words. I really don’t care whether she’s in class, in church, or anywhere else. I don’t mean that harshly. I just believe it’s between the individual and God.

What I do care about are the excuses. Her words bordered on lies and I’m being generous when I write that. I’m sure she was tired but not because of her ongoing illness, her knee or anything else. Facebook tells all and I knew from the photos that she’d just returned from Disney World.

I’m happy for her. Vacations and fun times are good things but the sad reality is she’s been in class three times this year. She always has an excuse but the truth is far simpler than any excuse. She doesn’t come because she doesn’t want to come. Period.

Jesus told this parable about those who make excuses, refusing to choose God before all else. Are you attending church regularly? What about small group? Do you pray daily (and not just for your own agenda!)? God comes first and everything else behind it. No amount of excuses will make anything else okay.

We all make choices every day. We prioritize what we value and we push aside what we don’t value. God gave us free will and these are our choices to make. Own those choices. Admit them. Don’t make excuses. Don’t try to rationalize your choices. If you feel guilty, if you are filled with the need to explain yourself, maybe the Holy Spirit is telling you that you’ve made the wrong choice.

May 18, 2018

Share Life With Fellow Believers

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. – Acts 2:42

It’s one of those things that boggles the minds of those who see it happening. We don’t know how to change it. Invitations fall on deaf ears. How do we get people to be more than Sunday morning pew sitters? How do we get them involved?

We call it so many things. Sunday school, small group, circle or bible study. We gather for dinners and lunches and speakers and outreach. We host sports activities and choir for the children, for the youth and for adults. We offer so many opportunities at so many times. Still, they never come.

They are people content to sit on the sidelines of faith, never getting too deep or too involved. How do we explain to them what they are missing? How do we encourage them to partake of the fellowship, the laughter, the prayers and support that is so freely offered?

What are they afraid they’ll find? Are they afraid of conviction for things they don’t want to give up. Maybe they aren’t as sure of their faith as they claim. Maybe they don’t want to question themselves, preferring to slide through life without examining who they are in Christ.

Or maybe it’s something else. Maybe they are afraid of a past they prefer to keep hidden. Maybe they’re beyond certain they’ll be judged in some way. Maybe it’s just easier to pretend they are the people they want to be rather than accepting God’s grace and actually being the people He created them to be.

I could throw out all those trite phrases. We are all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. We are not to judge others but rather to extend the grace that’s been extended to us. We are to help one another and support one another through joy and sorrow, happiness and disappointment.

And most of the time we do. I’m sure there are churches who don’t extend Christ’s hand with a clean heart and open arms. That’s not the case with our church. I don’t think it’s true of most churches. We are all flawed people trying to navigate a world to which we don’t belong.

Doing it together is what makes it possible. It’s the real, practical help that comes with a grocery store gift card or a ride to a doctor appointment. It is the prayers that surround us when our hearts are broken. It’s the celebratory cake and shared meals, the laughter and joy that comes from doing life together.

That’s what people miss when they only come on Sunday morning to occupy a pew or a chair. They say all the right things. They have smiles and excuses ready when invitations come. They don’t want to be part of a community of believers. At least until their world falls apart and they have nowhere else to turn.

There are no perfect churches and no perfect people. We are a community, a family, who loves and squabbles their way through it all. If you haven’t joined a small group, take a chance and step forward in faith. You’ll be amazed at what you find.

May 14, 2018

Don’t Miss the Real Lesson

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

– Colossians 3:12

We didn’t have much of a Sunday School lesson yesterday. At least not officially. It’s not that I wasn’t prepared. I was. It was because some Sundays there are more important things than the “lesson.”

One of our classmates was in tears. Sadness oozed from her broken heart. Another person was in physical pain. Nothing seems to bring relief. Yet another deals daily with the impact of her son’s unwise choices. It was Mother’s Day and that special day is forever changed because of his choices.

A pastor once told me that our class was different. I didn’t fully understand what she meant until I tried to organize meal delivery for someone in another class. The couple were desperate for relief as she fought what turned out to be a futile battle against cancer. I was amazed and appalled at those who weren’t willing to step up and help on that sad journey.

Our class has taken food, provided physical support, helped clear yards, and done a multitude of other things. Yes, we tend to help one another rather than others. We are working on that. But we are a family in the truest sense. We share one another’s joys and accomplishments. And we bear one another’s burdens, holding each person near as needs arise.

One member joked that yesterday was fellowship day. Maybe it was. It’s how we’ve grown so close over the years. We don’t just bring the happy stuff in the door. We bring it all. Everyone is met with kindness and compassion, with a caring ear and, when the need is there, physical help.

Not everyone sees it that way. Isn’t that always the case? We have a few members who are all about the “lesson.” They resent anything that takes them away from the teaching I’ve prepared. They want to study Scripture and history and prayer. All that is well and good but sometimes I think they miss the point.

Jesus told us to love God first and then to love others as ourselves. How can we do that when we aren’t willing to hear their sorrows and carry their burdens? Life isn’t all about being happy. I wish it was but that’s not reality. Sometimes life hurts. Who shares that journey with you?

The hard truth is that when we shut down people who are hurting, when we refuse to make time to hear their sorrow, we push them away from God. There’s a difference between enabling and encouraging drama and self-pity and really listening to someone struggling to stay afloat. As children of God, we are to pray for discernment and, when in doubt, err on the side of compassion.

We’ll finish our official lesson next week. It’s not going anywhere. But those hearts, well, I’d like to think they’re a little lighter because of the encouragement and love they felt in that classroom.

April 18, 2018

Church Doesn’t Save You

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

It sounded good. Her voice was adamant, determined. Surely, she was speaking for God. Christians – true Christians – should be willing and able to give one hour each week to attend church and worship God.

Except, maybe, she was missing the point. Something one sweet friend pointed out.

Attending church each week doesn’t make us a Christian. Not even if we add Sunday school to the equation. It’s not about showing up. It’s not even about giving the correct answers. It’s about a Savior and our hearts.

Maybe she thinks that someone without a church home or regular church attendance needs a sermon. Maybe she believes faith will rub off on someone she cares about. Maybe she believes that one hour a week will make us all better people.

But here’s the thing: If all you’ve got for God is one hour each week, then maybe you don’t know Jesus at all. It’s a funny thing about faith. The more you know Jesus, the more you want to know. The more time you spend with Him, the more time you want to spend with Him.

I’m not saying that someone who doesn’t attend church, or someone who only spends time with God once a week, isn’t a Christian. Only God knows our hearts and knows whether we are truly saved or not. What I am saying is that true faith provides evidence of that in how we live our lives.

We all make mistakes. We are all sinners. We all at times do things we know we shouldn’t do. But there should be something in us that sets us apart, a light that shines truth, a heart that sees beyond ourselves.

Church isn’t about a building. It isn’t about style of worship or about showing up and ticking that box off your to-do list. It’s about learning and growing, about fellowship, about choosing to honor and glorify the One who saved us from eternal hell.

She was right about our need for fellowship with other believers. I always encourage people to get involved in a small group. Get to know people who share your faith. Let them hold you accountable and you do the same for them. Participate. Pray. Be there in heart and spirit, as well as in body.

And take your critical, pointing fingers down a notch. Be an encourager rather than a critic. Be part of the solution rather than stirring up discord and problems. Be kind. Be gracious. Let mercy fill your heart. See others through the eyes of Jesus.

Attending church is a wonderful thing. I rarely miss that. It’s the same with Sunday school and Bible study. But I do those things because they feed my heart, they bring me closer to Jesus and surround me with people who love Him too. It’s not about giving God an hour of my time. It’s about showing He is the foundation of my life.