I have often said that my life would be a mess without Jesus. That is true in many ways, as I need his grace, guidance, and work in my life.

There are other ways in which my life might have been better without Jesus. At least it would seem better at first glance to many people. I mean, without Jesus, I would never have to think about Church. Every weekend would be completely free to do what I want. That would also mean I would never have to worry about serving others over the weekend – so more time for me and the things I want.

Beyond that, I would not have to concern myself with generosity. I could keep every dollar I make for my pursuits. As a family who seeks to tithe, this would be a substantial financial bonus. Remove my financial gifts to the Church plus add in all the gifts my wife and I give to Church members each year along with those in need, and we would have more resources than I can imagine.

Finally, consider how demanding follow the will of Jesus can be for someone. For my family following Jesus has meant moving to a new city and starting a new Church from scratch. It has meant moving all over the country to serve in different Churches. With each move, I have separated my children from my immediate family and friends. The Lord has stretched my family and me to pursue his will in different locations and ways. Without him, I could have lived in the same town my whole life, near my family and friends.

If I did not have Jesus in my life, I could have more time, money, and security. The only thing I would not have is eternal life. When the crowds heard Jesus tell them the cost of following him, many people turned back. He asked his twelve disciples if they would leave too, and Peter responded for the group. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

Peter realized that if we are only living for this life, following Jesus is not a good choice. Paul said to the Church in Corinth that if our faith in Jesus is only for this life, then we above all men should be pitied. Following Jesus does make this life better in some ways, but far worse in others. The only reason to keep yourself committed in faith to Jesus is because of eternity. Sure, it may make this life worse, but it will only make what happens after death that much sweeter.

You can decide to have the pleasures and comfort of this life, but only Jesus has the words of eternal life. I chose to follow him even when it does not make sense today because I am not living for today alone.

Yesterday I was inspired by THIS ARTICLE on one of the blogs that I follow. After reading it, I decided to make my own list of confessions about how I feel after over seven months of dealing with COVID and all the issues it has brought into the Church.

1. I am struggling to find direction. The Church leaders and I planned a 2020 vision (like many Churches did this year). It was a list of things we hoped to accomplish in the next five years. When the pandemic started, we were able to stay focused on several projects. As time drags on, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see the next steps we should take as a group.
2. 2020 was going to be the best year of this ministry so far. We started the year with the highest attendance and engagement of my time at this Church. Then in March, we shut down. Once we reopened, I was hoping to start small and regain some momentum. Last Sunday, we had the lowest attendance in my six years of leadership here, which is worse than when a blizzard started on Sunday morning.
3. My emotions have been all over the map. When we first shut down, I was happy as I thought it might be a nice break. Then I got sad because we could not get together. My sadness moved to anger and then frustration and next to bitterness. Now I feel sad and confused. I thought things would change and get better at some point, and it has merely not done it.
4. The social revolution going on in America has made things worse. I no longer trust any media outlet. Both sides are sharing part of the story, and I think many people are being deceived. The polarizing events of this past year are dividing well-intentioned people.
5. I am tired of people stretching the truth. I have had countless people tell me they won’t come to Church for worship because they are worried about how COVID will impact them or someone they love. Then I see them at Walmart, the school, ballgames, parades, and every other public event held in the community. What is worse is that they are usually not wearing masks or doing anything to protect themselves. I wish people would tell me the truth and say, “We don’t want to come to your Church anymore” or “we got a taste of doing our own thing on weekends, so we are going to keep doing that.” Please tell me the truth; I can work with that.
6. There seems to be no end in sight, and that is making me crazy. I am used to a summer slump where people are gone for a season. I always know that after Labor Day, things will change, and people will return. One of the last articles I read said this could go on for all of 2021. I talked to a nurse about it and said that it would be more like two years.
7. I am trying to trust God, but it is challenging. I wish I could say, “I know God will handle all of this, and we will be better on the other side.” This may be true in the long term, but it is not easy to see it right now. I am praying and asking for God to guide me and increase my faith. Nothing in my life has prepared me for this, so I keep asking God to give me enough wisdom to get through this day and the coming week.

I know all this isn’t very optimistic, but this is genuinely how I feel right now. It may not make you happy or be a blessing to your life, but you need to know that pastors like me are having a rough time this year, and I thought it might be time for you to hear the truth.

The preacher said, “Can I get someone to testify about the goodness of God?” The context was a worship gathering, and I know he wanted people to talk about something good going on in their life at the moment. 

People responded by walking to the front, taking the microphone, and telling stories about successful surgeries, families reunited, newfound faith, and the blessings God had given them that week.   It was inspiring, and people clapped, shouted “Amen,” and praised the Lord for his apparent greatness. 

I sat in silence.  It is not because I don’t have an anecdote about God’s blessing being poured out in my life.  Instead, I feel like my journey with God is an extended story that will take some explaining.  There were moments of deep spiritual connection where Jesus felt like a brother and a friend.  Also, there have been seasons where Jesus remained distant, and I was forced to sit quietly, waiting for him to show up.  Sometimes I have received a gift that proved to be a curse over time. Other times I have failed him, and the pain later gave way to the grace I needed.  The steps on this journey have been unpredictable, with numerous twists and turns.  People have stood beside me as his strength in dark hours, while those I thought would never leave abandoned me in the darkness. God’s work in my life is an intricate tale of failures and forgiveness, joy and pain, ups and downs, time alone, and surrounded by love, all while working out his plan for my life.  I cannot share with you one story that captures all the goodness of God in my life; it is a lifelong journey that keeps surprising me with every new day. 

This week God will add another page to my story.  It may come with some immediate feelings of happiness as I see his blessings.  It may be another week of the slow grind into eternity.  There may be no stories to tell, but it will be precisely what I need to get to the next phase.  God is good to me, and I know he is to you also, but to capture it, well, that is a long story.

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus sends out his twelve disciples on their first ministry trip in his name. Mark 6:7 says that Jesus did not send them out as individuals, which would have made sense. He could have twelve men working in different places, and their impact would have been multiplied. Instead, he cuts their efforts in half and sends them out in groups of two.

In Luke chapter 10, Jesus will send out the 72 people who have been following him throughout his ministry. Once again, he begins by telling them to find a buddy and stay together. He sends them out two by two to every town and place he is about to go (Luke 10:1).

In the book of Acts, Paul never travels alone. He does ministry with Barnabas by his side. He is also joined by John-Mark, Luke, Silas, and Timothy. Paul’s mission trips are always made in at least groups of two, even though Paul was highly capable of doing it by himself.

We live in an individualistic culture that likes to do everything alone, including our spiritual life. Scripture never paints a picture of the followers of Jesus, attempting anything alone. Faith is neither private nor personal. The experience of faith is lived out in community from our gatherings on Sunday morning to the sharing of Jesus on Tuesday night. Ministry is done together.

The call of the Church is not just to love Jesus, but to do it with one another. This action will open our eyes to a different perspective, help us see issues to which we might be blind, give us accountably, and challenge us in ways we never expected. Ministry with other people will not be easy, and it will stretch us and help us mature as believers. I also think that is the point.

Who are the people in your life?  What kind of people like you?

The truth is that your personality attracts certain people and repels others. 

People who gossip tend to attract people who love to tell stories about others.  Those who complain will often be friends with people who are pessimistic and are never happy.  Similar character issues easily connect to like people. 

On the flip side, positive people develop relationships with people who have an optimistic outlook, even in the face of difficulty.  Those who have strong faith in God are closest to other people who live by their belief in God. 

If you want to know yourself better, then look at the people in your life.  Honestly assess the people who hold a place in your life and determine their character.  They are a reflection of your heart – like it or not. 

It is easy to think that everyone loved Jesus.  He taught love, kindness, and grace.  Encounters with him resulted in healings to the lame, deaf, blind, and demon-possessed. 

The reality is that in the gospel of John, he says something that I did not expect. Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure that will happen after his resurrection.  They do not have any understanding of what he is talking about, but the Holy Spirit will come and remind them of what Jesus said later.  In his words of preparation, he says this to them, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18 – NIV 2011)

The world hated Jesus.  The people he helped, taught, and fed did not love him; instead, they hated him.  Why?  He goes on to explain in verse twenty-five that they did not have a reason. 

Recently I heard someone explain this phenomenon in a way that I had never heard.  He said something like this.  Imagine you are lying in bed on a cold, snowy Saturday morning.  It is dark, and you are sleeping soundly.  In comes your spouse or your parent, and they flip on the overhead light into the total darkness.  The room suddenly goes from night to glaring light, and our eyes immediately rebel against it.  We turn away and usually are full of anger, no matter who flipped the switch.   

The comparison is that when Jesus walked on the earth, he throws the light of God everywhere he went.  People who were living in darkness suddenly withdrew as the light hurt their eyes.  They responded in anger and hatred even though they had no idea what they were mad about at the time. 

Here is the strange twist.  Jesus says the way they treated me is an illustration of how they are going to treat you.  If you go forward in the name of Jesus, there will be people who hate you.  If you shine light into a dark world, there will always be people immediately upset with you.  Their anger will seethe, and they really will not have a great reason to feel that way. 

Yes, some people loved Jesus.  The majority hated him.  They hated him so much that they decided to kill him on a cross to get rid of him. 

This realization has me asking questions about myself.  Do I want people to love me?  If so, I will have to compromise to achieve this.  Do people hate me?  If not, I am probably not shining the light of God.  What if the effectiveness of a believer in Jesus is not how many followers they have but how many people hate them for the light they bring?

A researcher says that one way to get people to like you is to say, “I was just thinking of you” when you greet someone.  Listen to how friendly this sounds, “Hey Matt.  It is so good to see you. I was just thinking about you.” 

It works even better if you can add something specific behind it.  If you can put one detail to a name, then your likeability immediately goes up.  It sounds so sweet, “Hey Matt.  It is so good to see you. I was just thinking about you the other day.  I remembered how much you like chocolate, and I saw this chocolate shop while I was out shopping.”

This technique touches on something all of us desire.  None of us want to be forgettable.  We long to be unforgettable.  This can be because of our unique style of clothing, our sharp wit, possibly our looks, maybe our intellect, or one of a hundred other things.  No one wants to blend into the faceless masses of people who walk by without ever being noticed. 

The lady who taught me this little lesson has a series of instructional videos on becoming better at dealing with people.  Since this is a weakness of mine, I listened intently and have saved her material to review again. 

While I was thinking about this, I received a card from a lady in our Church saying thank you for all the Church leadership, and I have done this year.  She appreciates the hard work it has taken to keep everything going in this odd year.  The card was an excellent way of saying, “I was thinking of you today.” My heart jumped for joy to know that she thought of her preacher on more than Sunday morning.  It was an encouragement to me and the work that I do in the Church. 

One challenge is to think good thoughts about other people.  When we do, the second step is for you to share those thoughts with other people.  Tell them you were thinking of them.  Write them a card, drop them an email, or send them a text.  Whenever you reach out to people and tell them you were on their mind, it encourages that person and brings both of you closer together.

A simple thought about someone is not much to offer.  A thought expressed to that person is a joyful gift that brightens everyone’s life.  

My mother is a high risk with the Covid-19 situation in our country.  She has asthma, has survived a spot of cancer on her lung, lost her spleen due to a car accident, and is 85 years old.  As a result of the potential risks, I was not able to see her for 13 months.  Finally, some of my family and I were able to see her in July.  Then life took another twist when the school announced they were moving my son’s senior night for football from the last home game of the season to the first one.  She has been here for all the other boys’ senior nights and wanted to be with us for this final one.  Plans were adjusted, and I went to pick her up on the last day of August, and she stayed with us for three weeks until I took her home.  Once we arrived at her house, I stayed there a couple of days to finish some projects before returning home.  All total, we spent four weeks together in the fall of 2020. 

During her stay with us over these weeks, she attended three high school football games, three worship programs at the Church where I preach, helped with youth group food, and joined me on a couple of fishing trips.  My boys made it home each weekend, and we were all able to visit.  We ate well and enjoyed pizza, fresh fish, steak, turkey and noodles, along with a couple of meals out on the town.  Evenings were spent watching TV, including some of the NFL season as it kicked off, and lots of Netflix.  Finally, we were able to share stories of life and fond memories of the past.  The time was enjoyable as new stories were created, and we were able to reconnect after our time apart.

I could fill up several pages telling you all about our time together, but there was a simple lesson that kept coming back to my mind.  Covid-19 has changed our lives, but don’t let it make you miss the important things.  There were risks in my mom spending a month with my family and me, so we wore masks, used hand sanitizer, and tried to be wise.  We felt the rewards far outweighed the risks.  Mom would have been safer at home, but is that the goal of life – to stay safe all the time?  She would have been safe but missed seeing my son play football, conversations, meals with family, worshipping Jesus, serving others, catching the biggest crappie (a type of fish) of her life, along with numerous small blessings and joys.

Don’t take this post as a challenge to throw caution to the wind.  We must be wise with those who are at risk during this time.  Still, we need to be careful that in an effort to preserve our lives, we do not forfeit them for safety’s sake.  God never promises us tomorrow.  Our lives are a mist that appears and then vanishes.  Be wise about your safety, but also be wise with the time you have been given.   Don’t let Covid-19 rob your of your precious days and the possibilities that each one holds.       

For eight years of my life, I was a part of a civic group called Sertoma. It is a shortened name that represents “Service to Mankind.” It was an enriching time as I got to know people in the town, and we worked together to help those who had hearing issues. It was like most civic organizations that exist to help others and do good things for the people in the community.

I fear that many Churches are becoming glorified civic groups. The primary reason that it meets is for people to help others and do good things for the community. That in and of itself is not a bad thing. The second greatest command, according to Jesus, is for us to love our neighbor. The process of loving others includes doing several good things for them.

The trouble comes when Jesus is moved to the background. In an effort to get more people serving, we set aside the Jesus element and allow anyone to come and be a part. As Jesus drifts into the distance, the group loses sight of why it exists. The Church is a community of people who are committed to following Jesus. The very name means “called out ones.” Christians are not like the world in their views, worship, approach to life, and teaching because of their commitment to Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

It is gracious to offer people food, clothing, shelter, and company. But it must not come at the neglect of the most significant need of everyone. People need a Savior! Someone can clothe, comfort, and cover people right into hell. We are sinners in desperate need of forgiveness. We are not right with God. Only in Jesus do we find the peg that will fill the hole in our hearts.

When the Church becomes a civic group, the community does not gain an ally; instead, it loses the savior it needs. Sure, the name Church may remain on the sign, but it is no longer a congregation of Jesus.

Each week I stand up to teach the truth that I pray will transform lives. I encourage people to love their neighbors in every way. I also teach them about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is what the world needs more of today, and not less.

Everyone I know is terrible at evaluating themselves.  They think they are not very smart when they are brilliant in so many ways.  Some of them believe they are fat or ugly when they are gorgeous.  For others, the opposite is true. They think that they have skills that they do not possess.  Their abilities do not make them the expert they claim to be.  Others would call themselves kind and generous because they did that one thing ten years ago.

Most people do not see themselves clearly because they know what goes on inside of their heads.  In their minds, they live with the echo of a boyfriend who called them ugly or a teacher who called them stupid.  Still, others live with the intentions of the great things they want to do and see themselves as better than they act.  The noise in our brains skews our concept of reality, and we do not evaluate ourselves well. 

This is another reason I believe the Church is an enormous part of God’s plan.  The community can help us to see our lives with greater clarity.  When we connect to other people in a deep and meaningful way, they can help us grow.  They can tell us what they see that is working and the areas we need to improve. 

Each of us needs people to tell all the wonderful things about ourselves that we are missing.  The goal is not an inflated head, but insight into the blessing of God in our lives.  We also need someone to show us the areas to grow.  They can point out our weaknesses, not with an angry or vengeful spirit, but rather in love to help us improve.   

If you are not a part of a community of faith where you are deeply invested in the lives of other people, my guess is that you are living a lie.  Your self-evaluation is flawed, and either no one is there to tell you, or no one cares enough to tell you the truth. 

The Church can be a wonderful group of people who help each other to grow spiritually and emotionally.  This is only true if you are willing to open yourself up to others and listen to what they have to say.