I spend a large section of my day inside my own head. Honestly, sometimes it is a dark and scary place. Inside my brain failures can take up permanent residence, evil thoughts reappear regularly and lust, anger, and pride try to distort my every thought. With all this ugliness inside my own mind, I must continually remind myself of the truth of my faith.

1. God Loves Me Anyway. I am sure there are times God is disappointed in my actions or angry at my mistakes. He is our father, and like any good parent, he gets frustrated with his children. Also, like a good parent, those irritations do not diminish his love. God the Father loves us and seeks the best for us even in our failures.

2. Jesus Paid the Price. Quite often I feel this need to punish myself mentally. I feel I am not worthy of God’s goodness in my life. He must be angry with me and my continual mistakes, and if he is not disappointed, then I am with myself. I deserve any mistreatment I receive. The good news of the Bible is that Jesus took up our sins upon the cross. He paid the price for my trespasses, and I do not have to wait for his angry hand to punish me and I do not have to punish myself.

3. My Past Does Not Define My Future. The great Apostle Paul was at one time the evil Saul who gave approval to murder. Yet, God saw something different deep inside him. Once Saul started to follow Jesus his life was never the same. The change was so great that even his name changed to represent his new life in Christ. I believe God sees the same potential in all of us. I do not have to be limited by the mistakes of the past.

4. The Power of God is Stronger than the Power of Evil. When the dark thoughts overtake my mind, I frequently stop and say a little prayer. In those moments, I ask God to give me the power to overcome the evil inside me. I believe the power of God is greater than anything that evil can throw at me whether that be ugly thoughts, guilt and shame or personal fantasies that seek selfish pleasure. “God give me strength at this moment” is a prayer I know very well.

5. Focus on the Good. Paul told the believers in the city of Philippi to focus on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) Whenever dark thoughts enter my mind, I have to force myself to flip things over and see the good. Sure, I made mistakes, but those mistakes made me who I am today. Sure, I sin and fall short, but I worship a God who offers forgiveness and grace. We, as Christians, have been blessed in so many ways. Don’t ever lose sight of the blessing you have received in your life.

I often wish there were some magic words that I could recite to make all the darkness go away. There simply is no effortless way to fix my messed-up brain. Every day I have to make an effort to renew my mind and tune it to the sound of God’s word.

Through the years, I have learned that I am not the only one to struggle in with these thoughts. If you struggle too, maybe these words will help you today.

There are two sides of faith.

One side is our belief system based on our knowledge of God’s word. This is an essential piece of faith. We need to believe the right things about God. To this end, we are not left to our own experiences or imagination. God gave us 66 books that have been collected into one volume we call the Bible.

Believers are encouraged to read and study these books to learn more about God and his desire for us. Therefore, many followers of Jesus set aside not only time to read the Bible, but also to read books that explain the Bible. They also sit and listen to sermons, lectures, and lessons on a regular basis. Christians have a quest for knowledge of the things of God.

The other side to faith is our actions based off of what we believe. The knowledge of God is given to us to shape everything we do. It has been said that to know what a person really believes, just look at their actions. Jesus himself challenges his followers at the end of the Sermon on the Mount to put their faith “into practice.”

Those of us who call ourselves Christians need to be constantly reminded of these two sides of faith. I have seen numerous people who have erred by living only one side of their beliefs. They either spend all their time learning, and it has little effect on their actions. Yet another group of people want to do great things but have little knowledge of what God really wants. They do good works but can end up doing them for all the wrong reasons.

Both of these are essential to faith. Jesus taught his followers the truth and then told them to go and do it.

Here is the weird twist. Many times, before people are interested in the Bible and what it says about God, they want to see Jesus in our actions. You are the only version of Jesus that many people will see.

People are watching you to see if this thing we call following Jesus is worth their time and energy. The words you use, the actions you do and the attitude in which you do them are all under examination.

I know that can leave us feeling great pressure to be perfect. In my experience, I have found few people looking for perfection. Most people are interested in grace. They want to know it is okay to fail and still be loved. What if today you told someone, “God loves you, and so do I, no matter what you have done.” Maybe for a few minutes, you will be Jesus in Nike shoes.

Over 50 years ago, my dad was influenced by the preaching of a man named Albert Amos. Dad told that me that he was impressed at how Albert preached with authority and conviction and did it all without notes. Albert told dad how he was speaking one time outdoors, I do not remember the exact story, but his notes blew away. Albert vowed to never end up in the same predicament again. So he preached without notes while my dad sat in the crowd listening.

One day as an adult male in his thirties dad stood up and responded to the invitation to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Dad would tell me that his knees were knocking, and he was scared to death, but he went anyway. There in a beautiful moment, he made his confession of faith and was baptized.

I never met Albert except through the stories my dad told. Once I did get a chance to see his signature in a book a local man gave my father as a gift. That is as close as I came to him. I don’t know any details of his life from his upbringing, his ministry experiences or his final years of life. I have just collected a few random stories my dad told about the preacher who impacted his life.

I also have no idea if Albert kept any contact with my father. I assume he moved on to another ministry, and eventually, the distance stood as an obstacle that was too big to overcome. Dad drifted into his memory and finally into a faint recollection in the back of his mind.

As a preacher myself I have stood in Albert’s position a few times. I have been overwhelmed at some adult who came to accept Jesus. I have connected with a few people and helped them in their walk with Christ. I moved on in ministry, and they slowly drifted into my past. I do not know what happened to them once we parted ways.

I often find myself staring off into space and wondering where their journey took them. Did they stay faithful to God? Did they give up on their faith? Did they teach their children? Was their life molded and shaped by God and the world changed by their service? I will never know the paths their lives took them on this side of heaven. I know that I hope and pray they carry the message of Jesus for the rest of their lives.

I think Albert Amos would be happy with the rest of this story. Dad lived a life of faith. He taught me, and I eventually went into ministry. My children have accepted Jesus, and I pray they will one day serve a local Church and make their own impact for Jesus.

My dream as a minister is bigger than having a few people like my sermons. My prayer is that people will respond to God and allow their relationship to transform their future. I want you to tell me about how your children and grandchildren are now walking with Jesus. That is what would make me happy.

Here is your thought for Sunday. I hope you have a blessed Day

Here are the best articles I have read this week. Not a lot to share, but I hope you enjoy.

Pastors don’t trust your people…

THE 15 SECOND KISS EXPERIMENT

How Spending Too Much Time On Your Phone Hurts You (and your family)

What the Christian Critics Missed in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

I thought I would add a video for you to enjoy this weekend too. This is one of my new favorite songs from Elevation Worship called “I Can’t Believe”

I was going through some old posts I had saved on my computer. These were written almost 10 years ago on a different site when I was serving another Church in a distant city. I kept some of them on my computer and read through them occasionally to get inspiration or a laugh. This one caught my attention, and I thought I would repost it as it was written. I hope you enjoy

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I had an interesting experience last week while donating plasma. A lady at the plasma center who was also donating sat down next to me reading a book called “Growing an Engaged Church.” I have never read it. My initial guess is that it might be about how the church as a group can engage people at a deeper level. I went to Amazon, and it says that we need to stop “doing Church and become the Church.” I judged the younger looking lady to be a college student. From the look of the underlines in her book, she was reading it for a class – probably a class on practical ministry.

If that is the case, I find it very interested how the rest of the morning played out. She sat and read her book without ever looking up to see the people around her. There was Kyle who came into work at 8:00 am for a full day. He estimates he helps over 50 people a day with their donations. Or there was the nice lady that helped me when the donation was complete. Her name was Barb. She had been in that day since 5:30 am and was feeling exhausted. She is working two jobs to make ends meet and worked 16 hours the day before. She wore a huge button that was a picture of her and her husband on their wedding day. She knew people who lived in my little community of Epworth and wondered if I knew them too. We had a nice chat while she unhooked my machine.

Meanwhile, the lady with the book never looked up. She did eventually talk on her cell phone to someone. Then as she was about to leave she began talking to a young man directly across from her. They apparently know each other from college. After a short conversation with him, she slipped out quietly. Probably no one but myself noticed she was there … or gone.

The nice lady and I finished our conversation 5 minutes after I put my coat on to leave. She asked nicely if I will be back in a couple of days. I responded in the affirmative, and she said “Well, I will see you in a few days” with a smile.

The reality is simple. We don’t need more books about becoming “engaged” with people in the community. We need more individuals who care about other people.

When are you going to serve the Lord?

Two conversations.

The first one was with a younger woman. I spoke with her about getting involved at the Church and serving the Lord in some capacity each week. She replied with a statement of eager anticipation, “Oh, I would love to help.” Unfortunately, it was followed by a list of reasons that would not allow her time to help us. She said that her job demanded much from her and her kids were always busy. She talked about spending time with her husband and their need for recreation. She was busy all the time right now. She did add one disclaimer. One day her kids would be grown, and her job would be more secure. There would come a day when she and her husband’s life would calm down, and they would feel less stress. One day, when she is older, she would gladly be a part of the work of the Lord at our Church.

The second conversation was with a much older woman. In Church circles, we call them “Senior Saints.” Those wonderful older people who are now in their retirement years and enjoying the last leg of their journey on earth. She spoke of being lonely now that her husband was gone. She longed for a connection with the people of the Church in deep and meaningful ways. My wife explained to her that she could be a real blessing to the ministry of our Church. She could serve with other older ladies to make an impact on the next generation. She could connect with other people as they stood side by side fighting the good fight. Her response was a quiet, “I have done my time. It is time for the younger ladies to step up and do something.”

Do you see the problem?

There seem to be several people who claim to follow Jesus that believe serving Jesus is someone else’s job.

Sure, we want our church to have nurseries and children’s programs. We want our Church to have small groups and Sunday School classes. We want fellowship dinners and special events. The only catch is that we do not want to help make them happen.

The Church moves forward in a community when people stop saying “one day” I will serve. It will make a greater impact on the lives our neighbors when we stop saying it is no longer my time. We will change the world for Christ when we step up and say “Today, I will serve the Lord.”

When are you going to serve the Lord? How about today?

Numerous times I have heard Christians talk about other people “making a decision to follow Jesus.” They are usually talking about a big public decision that came with a confession of faith and in our Church, it also included baptism. Christians celebrate these as huge markers in our journey of faith. I do it too. Each year I am excited about the baptisms that happen in our Church. I am encouraged by each and every person who takes a big step for the world to see.

Through my years as a Church leader, I am getting less excited about that one time someone made that one big decision. Lately, I am more excited about the ongoing decisions people make to following Jesus.

-I am excited for the child who decided to come to Church as a teenager even when their parents say it is “up to them.”
-I am encouraged when a teenager makes the decision to pursue a life of faith above all else including sports, school, work and a social life.
-I am impressed by any college student who attends Church and tries to remain faithful to God when all their friends are walking away.
-I am overjoyed when a recent college graduate connects with a body of believers and commits to growing in their faith.
-I am thrilled when newlyweds decide to build their marriage on Christian principles and patterns.
-I am moved by new parents who bring their children to Church and start their family on a journey of faith together.
-I am touched as parents of a young family make Church and faith a priority over all the “big shiny things” that plead for their children’s attention.
-I am wowed by parents of teens who believe that faith is the single most important thing for their kids over the thousand activities that compete for their time.
-I am amazed at newly empty nest couples who commit to ministry over recreation and self-centeredness.
-I am honored to watch senior citizens continue to serve, grow and love when they could sit back and rest on the accomplishments of the past.

I picture faith like a journey with God. Frequently there are exit ramps on this road with bright lights and exciting attractions, but faith just keeps moving forward with God. With every new phase of life comes a new decision to follow Jesus. One time public decisions are wonderful steps on this adventure, but they are meaningless if you quit somewhere down the road.

The journey of faith is filled with numerous decisions to follow Jesus. I hope and pray that you continue to choose to follow him day after day and season after season.

As adults, most of us have learned that there are difficult people everywhere. We see them at our jobs, in our families and even when we are on vacation. They are self-centered, lack social graces, say uncaring things, and frequently they hurt us in some emotional way.

Most of us have encountered difficult people everywhere we go. We have come to accept it. We often expect it when we are placed in certain situations. The one thing many of us did not expect was to find those people in Church. We went to Church with the idea that everyone would be friendly, kind and overflow with love.

Then it happened. Someone crossed the line. They said something of which I did not approve. Their attitude seemed to be angry and mean. They demonstrated unchristian behavior.

Unfortunately, it happens. The people who come to Church are not perfect. In fact, many of them are a total mess, and that is why they came to Church. Mistakes will be made, confrontations will happen, and people will generally rub each other the wrong way at times.

I hate it that this happens. And if it happened to you, I am sorry. It has happened to me, and it hurt, in fact, it still hurts. Through the years, I have noticed that God frequently allows these people in my life to mold me. Quite often, I am shaped more by the difficult people than by anyone else.

Difficult people …

1. Teach me to be kind. There are times I have vowed to never treat another person the way I am being treated. I want my life to exude kindness rather than anger.

2. Teach me to forgive. It is easy to forgive nice people when they fall short. It is much harder to forgive the angry people who shout “Crucify.”

3. Teach me to love people different from myself. Many times, the difficulty I have with other people is not about theology but rather methodology. I need to accept that people will handle things different than I do, and that does not make them a bad person.

4. Teach me about the Love of God. Luke 6:35 says that God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. God loves everyone no matter what they have done. We are called to that kind of love.

5. Teach me to love my enemy. Biblical love is not emotional. Biblically love is an action. Jesus teaches us to act in a loving way toward people who we consider an enemy. It takes real faith to do something kind for someone who has hurt me, and yet that is what Jesus is calling us to do.

6. Teach me to be careful of assumptions. Many times, I have thought someone was a jerk until I heard their story. I have encountered people who were abused as children, cheated on as adults, suffering from pain, and a hundred other issues. The person you feel is full of anger might just be full of hurt themselves. They are crying out for attention and have no idea how to get it.

7. Teach me to exercise grace to others. I want people to be kind to me when I fail. I want them to offer me grace in my weakest moments. Just as Jesus offers me that grace, I am called to turn and offer that to other people. The real test of my heart may be how I deal with difficult people more than anyone else.

When we are hurt and feel the pain of connecting with other people we have two options. We can allow God to use these encounters to make us better people. The other option is for them to make us bitter people. There is this strange dynamic where Christian people get hurt emotionally and then turn around to be just as hard and calloused as the people who hurt them. The other option is to let go of the pain and learn to work through our issues. I believe when we try to deal with difficult people, the end result is that all of us will grow and become better people.

There are some Bible passages that are favorites among believers. Some of those include John 3:16, Matthew 16:16, Psalm 23, Isaiah 53 and Matthew 28:18-20. For many believers, there are passages of scripture that we hold dear to our hearts and have since our early days in their faith.

While most of us could agree on some timeless verses, there are some that you might not immediately know that have become favorites of mine. (all passages are from the New International Version)

1. Jonah 3:1 “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” Jonah had failed God, and yet God gave him a second chance. This is the story of my life of faith. God comes to me over and over again after I have failed him and gives me one chance after another.

2. Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Our God never leaves us in our hurts, rather he draws close to offer us comfort and peace.

3. Proverbs 24:16 “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.” I love the picture of a righteous man not being perfect but instead being persistent. Falling down is not the problem, staying down is.

4. Jonah 4:2 “He prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.’” There are several variations of this verse throughout the Bible. God is frequently described as gracious, compassionate and slow to anger. He expects us to live a life worthy of his name, but gives us grace when we fall short.

5. 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Other translations say, “Cast your cares on him …” The main idea is that whatever is bothering you or whatever is keeping you up at night and causing you to “stress out.” Those things can be given over to God, and he will handle them because he cares for you personally.

I don’t know if you have heard any of these passages before. They are usually not the ones that get repeated in Christian circles, but they continue to remind me of the grace and mercy of God.

What passages would you add to my list?