December 12, 2018

Faith Comes First

“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

– Luke 3:8-9

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

– James 2:18

They are good. They’re quick to point that out if anyone tries to tell them about Jesus. They don’t want to listen. They aren’t willing to hear.

In their minds, they are good people. “I’ll just take my chances,” is a popular response. It’s not about chances. If you believe in Jesus, believe He came and died for our sins and rose three days later, you are saved. If you don’t, you are headed to hell.

Sometimes we try to cover the truth with platitudes. Maybe if we surround it with nice things, we won’t have to deal with the black and white nature of sin. We don’t want to tell people we like, people who are basically good people, that Jesus is the only way to live.

Some people truly believe their deeds will save them. They just do. It’s not true but it gives them an excuse to continue on without ever really making a decision. They don’t want to turn their lives over to Jesus. They don’t want to hand Him control.

Others know all the answers. They’re saved. They love Jesus. They attend church. They tithe sometimes. But they aren’t quite willing to give up their sins. They’re forgiven so what does it matter? They want the security of Jesus, they want the reassurance that Heaven is in their future, but they also want to live however they choose in the hear and now.

Does any of this sound familiar? Maybe you know someone, or several someones, who fit into one of the other of those categories. Maybe one of those categories describes you.

John the Baptist was preaching about the Messiah. He was baptizing people with water. He was laying the way for what was to come. Some Jews thought they were good. Abraham was their father. They had no need for a Savior.

Yet, they did. God sent His Son and they missed it. They rejected Him and crucified Him. They were so busy with their rules, with knowing everything, that they missed what was truly important.

The same is true for those who claim a faith they don’t live. How is it possible to have true faith without wanting to change your life and please the One who gives us life? It isn’t. Because true faith brings change inside of us.

That’s what James was saying. Some people think being good, doing good, is all they need to be saved. They’ve got it all wrong. It is faith that saves us and, because of that faith, we want to do good to honor Jesus.

Life is hard. Do good. Be kind. But don’t ever forget that none of it matters if Jesus Christ isn’t in your heart.

February 3, 2018

Check Your Motives

A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart. – Proverbs 21:2

I was shocked. Surprised. And so very disappointed. How could someone use a ministry to drum up business for their friends? It was just so wrong.

This woman, someone I considered a dear friend, had used information I gave her to benefit others. She took flowers to someone with a sick daughter and then proceeded to hand her a business card and try to convince her to use a specific hospice organization.

I had already told her I wasn’t going to do it. I explained that the choice was for the family to make. I even went further to say that there are many wonderful hospice groups and that the woman needed to make the decision in conjunction with the medical personnel and her family.

So my friend took matters into her own hands.

I’m sure she would call herself justified. She always thinks she’s right about these things. She doesn’t yet know how deeply she has damaged our friendship.

It isn’t the first time I have thought she should spend more time with God and less time volunteering. I criticized myself for the thought. Who am I to judge? Who am I to even think about pointing out the speck in someone else’s eye? And yet our pastor last Sunday admonished us to speak up, to stir things up, not to be a doormat when it comes to challenging things that we know are wrong.

“When giving is from a heart whose real motivation is what we’re hoping to get in return, it’s not really love at all.” – Lisa Terkeurst

I’m sure my friend will tell me she was just doing a good deed. Each Monday she takes the alter flowers and turns them into small bouquets that she takes to the sick, the frail, the shut-ins. It really is a wonderful ministry and people love the thoughtfulness of their church thinking of them.

Any extra flowers she takes to those in hospice. That, too, is a wonderful thing. It means a great deal to those who are suffering to receive that small bit of sunshine.

The line gets crossed when that ministry gets used as an opportunity to promote business. It sours the good deed and turns it into something else entirely. Shame on anyone who thinks that’s okay.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Why Do You Do Good?

You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached -- how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. -- Acts 10:37-38

Why do you do good things for other people? Do you expect something in return? Maybe that they’ll do something good for you? Or that you’ll be recognized and praised?

Jesus simply went around doing good things for people. So, therefore, should we. Not because we get anything in return, but because He showed us how to live.

I overheard a fuss the other day that really had me shaking my head. One woman had given numerous vegetables to another. She had an abundance and she shared. That was a wonderful thing.

Well, the situation had reversed itself. Now the woman who received had an abundance and the woman who had given did not. Except this woman didn’t want to share. She was downright stingy, finally telling the woman she could have two or three tomatoes but that was all. Needless to say, her friend told her keep them.

There were hurt feelings all around. The first woman gave generously -- but not freely. There was an unspoken requirement with her gift: You will share with me as I have shared with you. Obviously, the second woman should have shared just as freely as the first woman, not because it was “required” but because it was the right thing to do.

Aren’t our gifts usually the same? We attach unspoken expectations to our gifts rather than give freely because we can. We buy a friend a birthday present because we expect one in return on our birthday. We lend someone a tool and we expect to be able to borrow a tool when we need it. We give financially to a worthy cause and we expect a nice tax deduction and public recognition.

We are so accustomed to the give and take of our lives that we don’t realize we’ve missed the point. Giving to others, doing good, isn’t about what we might get in return. That road can only lead to anger and disappointment and hurt feelings. We should give because Jesus gave. It really is that simple.

Jesus gave to others because He loved them. He loves us. And because He loves us and we love Him, we should care for those who belong to Him and to the lost and the hurting. We should show His love, not because we expect something in return but because we represent Jesus and His love on this earth.

So why do you do good to others? Think about it. Examine your motivations. And ask Jesus to open your eyes and your heart to do good things for others just because of Him.

Monday, February 13, 2012

God Expects Fruit From His People

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. -- John 15:16-17

What does fruit look like? Obviously, I’m not talking about apples and oranges here. I’m not even talking about the fruit of the Spirit, as wonderful as that is. The fruit I’m referring to is what you produce to signify that you are grafted into God’s family through the blood of Jesus Christ.

While good deeds -- or fruit -- don’t save us, they come from our faith. Just as we would expect an apple tree to produce apples and a fig tree to produce figs, God expects His children to produce fruit that can be called good deeds.

So many of us wait for the “grand gesture” or the “big moment.” We tell ourselves we’ll give a million dollars to feed the hungry -- when we win the lottery. Or we’ll volunteer with the youth -- when we have the time. Or we’ll visit the elderly -- when we retire. Most of us always intend to do good at some later date -- a date that rarely ever materializes.

What about today? Maybe you don’t have a million dollars lying around, but could you buy someone a tank of gas? Could you collect food for the local food bank? Could you offer a kind word to someone having a bad day?

A local radio station encourages people to do what the station terms the “drive-thru difference.” It encourages people to print a note off the station’s website and keep it in their vehicle. Then, when they’re going through the drive-thru, they’re to pay for the person behind them and leave the note for the cashier to give to that person explaining why.

It’s like paying it forward. You do something good for someone. It touches them and motivates them to do something good for someone else. And on and on it goes. We are sometimes a hard and calloused people. When a stranger does something nice, just because they can, it makes people feel blessed and cared for.

Kindness. Compassion. Sensitivity to the people around us. God doesn’t expect us to do more than we are able. But He does expect us to do what we can, where we can.

So be kind to someone who is having a bad day. Recognize someone other people tend to ignore. If God places someone in your path, reach out and touch them with your heart. There are so many hurting people in this world, so many who feel alone and forgotten. How will they ever know how much God loves them if we don’t reach out and