A master at his craft always makes it look easy. 

Their hands move to form perfect brush strokes.  Their voice hits all the right notes.  In their writing, they combine poetry, intellect, and mystery.  They make clutch shots and always run the right plays.  Every field of art, sport, and music has people who have mastered their work.

How did they get to be so good at their skills? 

They became great by spending a lot of time being bad at their craft.  They only got better through hours and hours of mediocre work and failed attempts at greatness. 

This makes sense in many areas of life, but it doesn’t seem to apply to knowing God.  Either you know him, or you don’t.  Right? 

I would suggest to you that the way you grow as a believer is to keep studying.  Admit there are things you do not understand.  Mentally wrestle with passages that seem to contradict your views.  Read books you agree with and those with whom you struggle.  Ask questions of the masters and listen closely to their teaching. 

Occasionally, I meet people who make the life of faith look easy.  They are clear on what they believe and hold tightly to the profound truths of the scripture.  Their lives demonstrate the grace of God to them and through them.  They are mature Christians in every way.   

When I meet these people, I do not live under the delusion that this life came with little effort. On the contrary, it took years to become the Godly man or woman they are today.  They failed in their words, thinking, and interactions enough times to eventually master them.  Sure, they make it look easy, but that does not mean it is. 

My wife and I are entering a new phase of life.  This past Wednesday, we dropped off our youngest son at college.  The house is now empty except for the two of us.  Two of my boys have graduated from universities and have promising careers.  Two are in college as a freshman and a junior. 

This week we returned home from dropping him off, and the house was quiet.  Sure, we know that all of them will continue to come and go for the rest of their lives.  But for the most part, we are alone now. 

I am excited about this new phase of life.  No longer do we have to plan around school functions, sports, and their desires. Instead, we are free to live in a new unrestrained way that we have never experienced before now. 

My wife and I married while in college.  Our lives were full of school, work, and ministry right up until she got pregnant with our first one.  We have been married for almost 27 years and have had children in the picture for nearly 25 of those.  There has been very little time for us together. 

We are not entirely sure what the future holds for us, but we are excited about the possibilities.  We gladly welcome your prayers.  We do know what the future will have more connecting with other believers.  It is an exciting and scary time, and it is hard to believe we are finally here. 

The nest is empty, and the baby birds have all left.  Now is our time to soar. 

I firmly believe that people need to be involved in the life of their local Church.  They need to be there to learn, grow, connect, serve, and worship.  It is vital to the faith of every believer. 

With that said, I also have to warn against overactivity in the life of the Church.  There was a time when people came to Sunday school and then worship on Sunday morning.  Often they stayed for lunch. After that, they might go home for a couple of hours, and then they had another service on Sunday night.  On top of that, there was a Wednesday evening program too.  Somewhere in there was choir practice and a board meeting.  Many families spent five nights a week at the Church. 

One problem was that no one was making an impact in their community.  No one was out sharing the gospel.  No one was serving the people who were outside of their Christian bubble. 

The other problem was more subtle.  Attending religious activities and events does not always create disciples.  Sure, it gives people a chance to grow, but being present at the Church building every night does not guarantee that you will become a mature follower of Jesus.  In fact, many people who were a part of all those activities began to be egotistical.  They thought they were better than other believers.  With that came a sense of entitlement as their faith stagnated and died.  All while attending every possible program. 

True discipleship of a Christian is more than attending religious activities. 

Churches and leaders who do not believe this fill the calendar with one program after another.  Slowly people quit, and the black creeping death of faith takes over. 

Others encourage people to find a place to worship, serve, fellowship, and grow. First, people need to worship each week.  After that, they need to have a place to dig deeper into the Bible and hopefully connect to other believers.  Finally, they should use their gifts somewhere for the glory of God.  Much of this can be accomplished on Sunday morning and one additional night a week.  The rest of your time can be used to impact your family and community. 

I love Church programs, and I hope everyone uses them to grow as disciples of Jesus.  Unfortunately, your attendance does not guarantee you will.  Seek to engage every aspect of your faith to help you grow, and that does not mean you need to fill every evening with Church. 

The New Testament continually warns that believers are to be on their guard against false teachers. 

One day I asked this vital question, “How does someone become a false teacher?”

There are only a couple of reasons why someone becomes a false teacher.

The biggest reason for many is that there is something to gain.  Some leaders are searching for money, sex, or power.  They distort the gospel of Jesus for personal advancement.  These people have evil desires and manipulate others for their gain. 

There is a second set of reasons people become false teachers.  These are more subtle because they are not truly evil.  Yet, they bring about the same problems. 

Some people have been led astray by someone.  Their mentor might have been seeking evil gain, and they did not know it, and now they are repeating the same mistakes.  Others have been misinformed or uninformed on proper theology.  Still, some misinterpret scriptures while others misapply the Bible. 

I know of a person whose beliefs have been molded by society, the history channel, college professors, and liberal authors. I talked to them about the proper interpretation of the Bible, and they had no idea what I was talking about.  They were a false teacher without even knowing it. 

In a section of Paul’s letter to Timothy about false teachers, he encourages him to “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 – NIV 2011)

There were numerous false teachers already circulating before the end of the New Testament.  They still exist today.  One quest for every believer is to make sure they are not listening to one, but the more significant hope is that we do not become one.

There are two ways to feel better about yourself. 

One is to work hard, think positively, and build a life with which you are happy. 

The second is to cut other people down with your words.  Gossip, see the bad in people, be negative and try to undercut the accomplishments of others. 

The second one is far easier.

I once read that a crab fisherman on the East coast does not need to put a lid on their catch.  Crabs will try to climb over each other continually, and all they accomplish is pulling one another down.  Freedom is never far away, but they never achieve it because they do not work together. 

Don’t be a crab in a bucket.

There is a passage in the New Testament that gives a perspective on all that has occurred in the pages of scripture.

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4 – NIV 2011)

Everything that was written is there for three purposes.

The first is to teach us.  They are there to show us what God wants from us and how to live to please him.  Those old scriptures teach us the need for a savior and how God planned for one before he provided him. 

Second, the Bible encourages us to endure in our faith.  We can read of people’s lives like Job, Moses, Abraham, and Elijah and see how they held onto their faith through many difficult circumstances.  Hebrews chapter eleven focuses on these extraordinary lives of faith who endured because they believed God was guiding them.

Third, we can look at their lives and all they endured to find hope.  The pages of the Old Testament are filled with stories written to provide us with hope ultimately.  They are not dark stories of defeat and wrath, but rather the experiences of people who held onto their faith in the dark lights of the world. 

I find this last one incredibly important to us today.  Every day it seems like evil is winning, and the darkness is overcoming the light.  Many days it feels like I am living in the time of Elijah, and I cry out to God that I feel like the only one who follows him.

On those days when it feels like you are alone and don’t know if you can complete this journey with God, we have stories to encourage us.  Turn to the pages of the Old Testament and read about someone who lived a life for God and made it to the end.  There is hope, even when things seem hopeless.

It is popular in Christian circles to talk about taking a Sabbath.  I hear my preacher friends say it all the time. I see it in articles directed a Christians and notice the phrase spreading out across all the followers of Jesus. 

Every time I hear someone say this or read it in print, the hair on the back of my neck stands up.  There is this uneasy, almost angry feeling that grabs my soul when people express this thought.  What they are trying to say is, “You need to take a day off work, or you need a vacation or some time to rest.”  Instead of saying it that way, we try to give it a little religious dressing to avoid feeling guilt over their lack of busyness. 

In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was not taking a day off so you could mow the grass, go to the lake or watch sports.  The Sabbath started at sundown on Friday.  The family would go to the synagogue and spend some time listening to the words of scripture, having them explained, praying, and possibly singing.  Then you went home and rested.  Until sunset on Saturday evening, you and your family did absolutely nothing.  I mean nothing.  Zilch.  Nothing.  Nada. 

The Pharisees of Jesus day had created oral traditions surrounding what it meant to do nothing.  That is one of the debates they are continually having with Jesus.  He walked too far, and he healed. His followers picked and ate heads of grain.  He and his followers did too much.  For them, having a Sabbath meant you rested from all your work and felt no guilt about it.  It was perfectly acceptable to lie around all day.  Everyone was to relax, nap, talk and watch the world go by for an entire day. 

Wrapped up in this practice was this vital lesson.  Do you really believe God can run the world without you?  Do you think he can provide you with enough food to take a day off?  Do you believe that he is great enough to make your life work without your activity on this one day? 

Today we think of Sabbath in terms of rest, and I know that is part of the purpose dating back to the creation story.  But it is also a time of building trust, according to the Exodus story.  Most people I know are happy to take a day away from paid work, but God does not factor into it.  A true Sabbath is about resting safely in the arms of God. 

As I look back on my life, there is so much that I would do differently.  I have information I did not have when I made the earlier decisions in my life.  My experience has shown me the flaws in my choices.  I am a different person in so many ways than I was years ago. 

The weird truth is that one day I will look back on the decisions I am making today and think, “I should have done that differently.”  Because, once again, in the future, I will have more information and experiential knowledge that I do not have today. 

All of us are afraid to make mistakes in critical areas of life.  We hesitate, pray, ask advice, worry, plan and prepare to the best of our ability.  Yet you will never make entirely correct decisions, and that is okay. Instead, make the most informed choices you are able to and move forward in faith that God will be there to get you through. 

Sure, if I could relive yesterday, there would be many changes I would make.  One day I will wish I could relive today too.  Instead of replaying the past, focus on making the best choice you can today while continuing to trust God.  Faith is asking God to take your good and bad decisions and use them for his glory and your good, no matter how you will feel about them one day. 

In a court case, there are three types of witnesses. One is an eyewitness. They saw what happened, and they recall it to the court. The second type is an expert witness. They come to provide the courtroom with data from their years of education and experience. The last type is a character witness. These people can testify on behalf of another person’s positive or negative character traits and reputation in the community.

Let’s imagine you were going to court, and the first two had given their testimony. Who would you call as a character witness for you? What would they say about you? What would serve as their proof?

One day we will all stand before God and give an account for our lives. Many of us will claim the name of Jesus as our Savior. I wonder, are there any character witnesses who could back up that claim in your life? God knows everything, so maybe you don’t need a witness, but you will need to have something to back up your claim.

When Covid first hit, people, expressed to me how good it felt to slow down.  With everything canceled, they had more time for the things that matter most in life. 

Now we are over a year beyond the shutdown we had in my area.  I have noticed that everyone is busier than ever.  Schedules are packed with all the events that they did not get to do last summer, along with new adventures for this one.  They are busy every morning, noon, night, and weekend. 

I heard a preacher say that one way he knew he was too busy was when he was pacing, back and forth, waiting on the microwave.  Our parents used to wait an hour for a baked potato.  The setting on my microwave allows one to be done in four minutes.  And still, that last thirty seconds take forever.  In fact, usually, there are seventeen seconds left on the timer as I finally decided it was done enough and take it out a little early.

School activities are picking back up.  The calendar is quickly becoming packed with all the events that keep us busy.  One challenge for this fall is to regain some of your covid lifestyles, like taking the time to focus on the important things in life.  When your microwave is not fast enough for you, then you definitely need to slow down.  It will be good for your family and your soul.