Trying to Keep Up

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

— Matthew 11:28–30

 

Some years ago, a Tacoma, Washington newspaper ran a story about Tattoo, an eight-month-old basset hound who went for an unplanned run one day. When his owner accidentally shut the dog's leash in the car door and took off for a drive, Tattoo had no choice but to try and keep up. Fortunately, a motorcycle officer saw the passing vehicle with something being dragged behind it. But before Tattoo's owner finally stopped and the dog was rescued, the vehicle had reached speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. Although Tattoo was dragged some of the way, he was not injured. Imagine poor Tattoo with his little basset hound legs, trying to keep up.

Who Wore It Best?

Who Wore It Best?

Perhaps you have seen those side-by-side photos in magazines like People or US Magazine that ask, "Who wore it best?" You see pictures of two celebrities wearing the same outfit, and the readers are encouraged to vote on "who wore it best?" It's usually a no-brainer, since one is usually quite a bit more attractive then the other.

Allow me to take that same question and apply to a different area of our lives: our acceptance of sin.

God's Sign to a Lost World

God's Sign to a Lost World

One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority."

— Matthew 12:38

Sometimes we think that if we could do a miracle for our unbelieving friends, they would come to faith in Christ. We might be thinking, If I could just pray and this person was healed, they would believe right there. I know they would. If I could just do something dazzling. . . . But you know what? That wouldn't convince them.

Even though Jesus raised people from the dead, and even after He was bodily raised from the dead and people saw Him with their own eyes, they still rejected Him.

The Esau Syndrome

The Esau Syndrome

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

— Luke 6:45

 

It has been said that in an average day, from morning to night, we speak enough words to fill a book of about 50 or 60 pages. In an average year, our words could fill 100 books consisting of 200 pages.

But I don't think it is necessarily a good thing to say so much, because the Bible says we will be held accountable for everything we say. Jesus said, "And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak" (Matthew 12:36).

God Is Not Mocked

God Is Not Mocked

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap"

— Galatians 6:7

 

The Bible tells us that one of the signs of the last days is that people will go out of their way to blaspheme God. That will be a distinguishing characteristic of the Antichrist, whom the Scripture says will blaspheme God. Even as God's judgment is falling on nonbelievers during the Tribulation, Revelation 16:9 says, "And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory."

Blasphemy represents the conscious denouncing and rejection of God. It is a defiant irreverence, the sin of intentionally and openly speaking evil against God. To commit this sin does not merely represent unbelief, but determined unbelief.

Loving the Dark And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. — John 3:19

Loving the Dark

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

— John 3:19

 

The Pharisees did not doubt Jesus because they merely disagreed with Him. They doubted Jesus because they were hardened against him.

Doubt is a matter of the mind. Even Christians have moments of doubt. We don't always understand what God is doing or why He is doing it. Unbelief, in contrast, is a matter of the will. It is a choice we make.

The Pharisees were full of unbelief. They did not reject Jesus for lack of evidence or because He was not consistent with what He said. The fact is that Jesus was the perfect example. Even Pontius Pilate, who had examined countless people, said, "I find no fault in this Man" (Luke 23:4), and "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person" (Matthew 27:24). Judas Iscariot, who spent three, concentrated years with Jesus and even betrayed Him said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4). So Jesus clearly was a model of everything that He said.

A Dangerous Place

A Dangerous Place

But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, "No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons."

— Matthew 12:24

 

The Pharisees were men who had dedicated their lives to the study of Scripture. They took a solemn vow before three witnesses to spend every moment of their lives obeying the Ten Commandments. That is not to say they succeeded, because clearly they did not. But that is at least what they tried to do. And with a few exceptions, such as Nicodemus, these Pharisees—these religious experts—had hard hearts.

What is ironic is they spent their time studying the Scriptures. These men, immersed in such a spiritual endeavor, had hearts that were so hard, they attributed to the devil that which was being done by God.

God's Eraser

God's Eraser

"For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You."

— Psalm 86:5

 

From Genesis to Revelation, it is clear that we have a forgiving God. He described himself to Moses in this way: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin . . . " (Exodus 34:6–7).

David wrote, "For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You" (Psalm 86:5).

Micah, reflecting on this great truth, said, "He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths

Stand Your Ground

Stand Your Ground

When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?"

— Luke 7:24

 

A traveler who was visiting a logging area in the northwestern United States watched with great interest as a lumberjack walking alongside a mountain stream periodically jagged his sharp hook into a log and separated it from the others. The traveler asked the logger what he was doing.

"Well, these logs may all look alike to you," the logger said, "but I recognize that some of them are quite different. The ones that I let pass are from trees that grow in a valley, where they are always protected from the storms. The grain on those logs is rather course. But the logs I pull aside come from high up in the mountains, where they are beaten by strong winds from the time they are quite small. This toughens the trees and gives them a fine grain. We save these for choice work. They are too good to be used for ordinary lumber."

Remember

Remember

Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

— Luke 24:27

 

When you are going through hardship, you don't need pious platitudes or silly sayings. You need the Word of God. That alone resonates. That alone gives hope. That alone resounds in your soul. And, quite frankly, not only do those other things fail to help, but they sometimes hurt. When we try to think of something clever or insightful to say that isn't based on what Scripture says, it can be very unhelpful, to say the least.

Even if you have been a Christian for awhile and have studied the Word of God—or even preached the Word of God—it doesn't mean that you cannot forget it on occasion. That is why Peter, in one of his epistles, wrote that he wanted to stir up the people's memory by reminding them of certain things (see 2 Peter 3:1).

Remember

Remember

Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

— Luke 24:27

 

When you are going through hardship, you don't need pious platitudes or silly sayings. You need the Word of God. That alone resonates. That alone gives hope. That alone resounds in your soul. And, quite frankly, not only do those other things fail to help, but they sometimes hurt. When we try to think of something clever or insightful to say that isn't based on what Scripture says, it can be very unhelpful, to say the least.

Even if you have been a Christian for awhile and have studied the Word of God—or even preached the Word of God—it doesn't mean that you cannot forget it on occasion. That is why Peter, in one of his epistles, wrote that he wanted to stir up the people's memory by reminding them of certain things (see 2 Peter 3:1).

Struggling with Doubt

Struggling with Doubt

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"

— Matthew 11:2

 

It may surprise you to know that some of the greatest men and women of God whom we read about in the pages of Scripture have had their moments of doubt. Even the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, struggled with doubt.

In John's case, we might say that his doubt was due to confusion. He had a certain concept of what the Christ was supposed to do that Jesus simply was not doing. It is not that Jesus was failing to do what He was supposed to do; it was that John misunderstood what God was going to do.

An Element of Faith

An Element of Faith

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

— 2 Corinthians 1:8

 

A French proverb says, "He that knows nothing doubts nothing." Sometimes doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith. It means we are thinking something through. We are grappling with it. We are trying to process and understand it. And sometimes we have to go through the foyer of doubt to enter into the sanctuary of certainty.

Doubting is not necessarily sinful. Doubt is a matter of the mind, while unbelief is a matter of the will. Doubt says, "I don't get it. Help me understand this. Work with me through this." But unbelief says, "I get it. I don't like it. And I refuse to accept it."

The Joy of Evangelism

The Joy of Evangelism

It is my firm belief that God can use you to bring others into His kingdom. Why would God tell us to engage in this thing we call evangelism if it were not so?

Know this: the calling of God is the enabling of God.

I believe that God wants to use all of us to bring people to Himself. The book of Proverbs says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). Scripture also tells us, "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like stars forever" (Daniel 12:3 NLT).

Meager Offerings

And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

— John 6:11

 

It was a meager offering when the young boy brought his lunch of five loaves and two fish to Jesus. Even Andrew said, "But what are they among so many?" (John 6:9). But Jesus took it, blessed it, and multiplied it—and thousands were impacted.

God can take your meager offering and do a lot with a little. A. W. Tozer said, "The world is waiting to hear an authentic voice, a voice from God—not an echo of what others are doing and saying, but an authentic voice." What the world needs to see today is an authentic Christian, not a perfect voice, not a flawless person (because there is no such individual), but authenticity. That is what people need to see.

Sons of Thunder

These are the twelve he chose: Simon (whom he named Peter), James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder"). . . .

— Mark 3:16–17

 

You don't get a nickname like Sons of Thunder for no reason. But that is how Jesus' disciples, James and John, were known. They were rough-hewn guys—amazing, colorful characters. They would not back away from a confrontation. In fact, they might even have looked forward to one. They could be very aggressive. And they also could be very insensitive.

Practical Philip

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."

— John 1:43

 

The interesting thing about Philip, one of the Twelve, is that he was personally reached by Jesus himself. While Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, and Andrew brought Peter to Jesus, no one brought Philip to Jesus. Instead, Jesus came right to him. John's Gospel tells us, "The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow Me' " (John 1:43). Normally God reaches people through people, but this was an exception to the rule.

Skeptical Thomas

And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

— John 20:28

 

When we think of Jesus' disciple, Thomas, one word comes to mind: doubt. But it would be more accurate to call Thomas a skeptic, not a doubter. And skepticism is not always a bad thing.

It has been said that skepticism is the first step toward truth. Skepticism is not always a sign that a person is wrong; it may be a sign that he or she is thinking. And frankly, I think some Christians could use a little more skepticism, because sometimes we are too quick to believe anyone or anything that comes along.

The Traitor's Traitor

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.

— Matthew 26:14–15

The most mysterious, and perhaps the most misunderstood, of the twelve disciples is Judas Iscariot. His very name is synonymous with evil and treachery. Judas is the traitor's traitor, ending his life in suicide after he sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. But there is more to Judas than that.

I think if we could travel back in time to the first century and actually see Jesus and His disciples, we wouldn't be able point out Judas. I don't think he would be the sinister man we would suspect—at least outwardly. In fact, Judas might even appear to be relatively compassionate.

For example, when Jesus and the disciples were at the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in Bethany, Mary brought out some expensive perfume and began to wipe Jesus' feet with it. Jesus was deeply touched by this sacrificial act, but it was Judas who pointed out that this costly perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Those listening may have thought, That is a good point. You know, Judas is a good steward. He is frugal. He is thoughtful. Let's give Judas a round of applause.

Faithful Andrew

He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).

— John 1:41

Andrew could be the patron saint, if you will, of relatively unknown but faithful followers of Jesus. Andrew was the first of the disciples to be called. In fact, he was called even before his brother Peter. It was Andrew who brought Peter to Jesus. Andrew obviously knew Peter. He knew that Peter was a force of nature, the kind of a guy who, when he walked into a room, would light it up. He would dominate the conversation. He was a natural leader, the guy that others looked to.

A Fresh Start

"You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance."
—Psalm 65:11

As we come to the beginning of a new year and the ending of an old one, we often wish we could turn over a new leaf or have a fresh start. No doubt about it, there have been certain things we have said or done in this past year that we have come to regret.

Within Limits

Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

— 2 Corinthians 12:8–9

 

When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, a sign is effectively hung around your neck that says, "Under new management." You now belong to Jesus Christ, and He does not operate on a timeshare program. Isn't that nice to know? He doesn't say, "Okay, now I have Greg for six months, and the devil can have him for the next six months." That is not what happens. When we put our faith in Christ, He comes in and is the sole resident in our hearts and lives.

Bad for Business?

The whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

— Matthew 8:34

 

You would think that after the miracle of casting out demons from two men who had violently oppressed them, the people in the area would have said, "Jesus, You are the man! We love what you did! Now we can go back to the cemetery and pay our respects to our loved ones and put flowers on their graves. We wouldn't even go near there before. These guys were scary. Thank you, Lord, for coming to our community." But that is not what happened. Instead, they wanted Him to go away. Why? It was because Jesus was bad for business.