Hang It On The Cross

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Lynn

Tomorrow we again remember the sacrifice of our Saviour on our behalf; dying for our sins so we might have eternal life.  Good Friday should be marked with solemnity but should also be celebrated with great rejoicing.  As I have said, the cradle and the cross are inseparably linked.  As much as we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, we must always remember that He came to die in our place on the cross. 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

I recently came across this poem posted by one of my Facebook friends.  I do not know who the author is so if you do please let me know so I may give credit where credit is due to the author of this meaningful poem.

Hang It On the Cross

If you have a secret sorry

A burden or a loss,

 An aching need for healing…

Hang it on the Cross.

If worry steals your sleep

And makes you turn and toss,

If your heart is feeling heavy…

Hang it on the Cross.

Every obstacle to faith

Or doubt you come across,

Every prayer unanswered…

Hang it on the Cross.

For Christ has borne our brokenness

And dearly paid the cost.

To turn our trials to triumph…

Hanging on the Cross.

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Jesus Must be Canadian – Guest Posting by Grady Watson

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Lynn

canada%20jesus%20fish%203d%20auto%20emblemIt’s true. Jesus must be Canadian. One of the things I have learned since I moved to Canada is that folks here never pass up an opportunity to spend time on a beach somewhere. Having spent almost 2 winters here, I totally get that. When we read about Jesus’s life and ministry, we find him hanging out on a beach a lot. I wonder what the Hebrew word for “eh?” is?

Matthew 4:18-20 says, “Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”

I can remember a few times in my life when someone I respected said something to me that had a profound impact on my life. You know the kind of thing you never forget and you look back on and see how that moment shaped your future. I can just imagine Peter and Andrew sitting around a camp fire years later, maybe on this same beach, reminiscing about the past. Of course, you know this “fishers of men” moment had to come up from time to time. But I imagine Peter saying to Andrew, “Do you remember when Jesus just came up out of the blue and told us to go with him and he would make us fishers of men?” I bet they had a good laugh about that. They probably even did a little impersonation of Jesus. But then as conversations like this go, it probably turned serious at some point and they began to reflect on this concept that Jesus brought up…Fishers of Men. I can hear them talking about how they had no idea what that meant at the time but now having the benefit of watching Jesus for several years and witnessing his death, resurrection, and then ascension into heaven, they understood what it meant to be fishers of men.

They probably began comparing fishing for fish and fishing for men. Both are lifestyles. If you are true fisherman (for fish or men) your life is consumed by it. Anyone who knows anything about fishing will tell you how multidimensional it is. I wish it were as simple as baiting a hook and pulling in a trophy trout. If it were that easy, I’d be on the river every weekend. No, fishing takes knowledge, guidance, success and failure, perseverance, discipline, planning, dedication, and the right equipment. All of this = a lifestyle. The same was true for Peter and Andrew as Jesus made them into fishers of men.

Fishing is not only a lifestyle, it is hard work. It reminds me of the show on TV called “The Deadliest Catch”. There is nothing in me that would make me want to live at sea for months throwing out huge snow crab traps in the middle of stormy, freezing cold seas just hoping pulling them in after a few days with a few crabs. Trust me, I’m thankful those guys do it cuz I love me some snow crab but that just seems like really hard work for not much reward. As Peter and Andrew are sitting around the campfire having our imaginary conversation, I know they are reflecting on how unimaginably hard it is to be fishers of men. If this  imaginary conversation is happening around 5 years after Christ’s crucifixion, they are most likely hiding for their lives because of the persecution they were facing. There is no question that in being called to be fishers of men, we are called to give ourselves away or sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the Kingdom of God. It’s hard work. It costs us. Jesus did it. The disciples did it. Many have done it before our generation. And we are called to do it too.

But their conversation doesn’t stop there. Fishing may be hard work, but it’s rewarding. As a kid, I lived in Panama for a few years. My family owned a 15 foot boat with a 150 horse power Evenrude outboard engine on the back of it. We went out most Saturdays and fished for Peacock bass in the Panama Canal. The only other place you could find Peacock bass was the Amazon River. How those unique fish made it to the Panama Canal is another story for another blog but we caught at least 50 lbs of fish every time we went out. This is not a “fishing” story! No exaggeration! In those days there was no limit. This ruined me for fishing the rest of my life. I don’t like to fish, I like to catch. There is nothing like having a big 3 pound Peacock bass on the end of your line! Those suckers are fighters! I don’t have specific memories of staying up late getting the boat ready or getting up early in the morning and traveling to our spot on the Panama Canal and unloading the boat into the water, or of cleaning all those fish. In other words, I don’t remember the hard work. What I do remember is getting back to shore and getting those coolers of fish off the boat and lining them up on the dock for a picture. I remember the exhilaration on the way home as my dad and I talked about the day and our catch. As a fisher of men, there is nothing that gives me more joy than to see a life changed. Imagine Peter and John’s excitement as they talked about how God’s church had expanded exponentially since Jesus’s crucifixion. Jesus had made them fishers of men…and they were successful fishermen.

There is one more Jesus (the Canadian) on the beach story that I want to reflect on. In John 21: 4-6 we find Jesus appearing to his disciples who were having a tough go at fishing. You see, in the aftermath of Jesus’s death and ressurection, they drifted back to what they knew and what was comfortable, which for most of them was fishing, the original kind of fishing. In this story, they were not having a very successful outing when Jesus saw them from the beach. So Jesus yelled out to them and told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Of course they did and it paid off big time! To me, this story has 3 big lessons for us as we seek to be fishers of men:

1. When life gets hard or we don’t seem to have direction, we naturally drift to what is comfortable. For me, it’s called Moose Tracks ice cream. Safeway makes it and it’s amazing! Thing is, when life and ministry gets tough, it’s okay to retreat sometimes to what’s comfortable. We need rest. We need healing. We need to recalibrate sometimes. Jesus did this and we can too. The key is, don’t stay there. Get back to fishing for men.

2.  When we do things in our flesh, we get fleshly results. Most of the time, that is because we are focused on the results. Our focus should be on abiding in Christ. When that happens, the overflow of our heart will be the ministry that God desires for our lives. As is the case in this story, sometimes a simple Jesus directed change in what we are doing will make all the difference in the world. Be open to change or adjustment in your life and ministry.

3.  Jesus calls us to be fishers of men. He takes care of the catching part.

As summer rolls in here in Alberta, I am hoping to get the opportunity learn to fly fish. From what I have heard about that sport, I’ll enjoy every minute of fishing and if I actually get to catch something…well, that will be cool!

Grady Watson was primarily responsible for teaching and the discipleship ministry at Bow Valley Baptist Church, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada. He became the Associate Pastor in August of 2010. Before that he served at Grandview Fellowship Church in southwest Houston, Tx. He is married to Kristie and has two adult children, Reid and Gracie.  Grady is currently serving at First Grapevine Baptist, Grapevine, Texas (2017).

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Causing Others to Stumble

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Lynn

Here’s what I think…take it or leave it.  If you cause another to “stumble” in any way shape or form…it is sin, period.  Drinking, indulging in food…even getting someone addicted to Facebook…

None of the above is “bad” in itself unless the indulgence of that one thing takes a person’s mind off of Christ.

We read in scripture that God is a jealous God.  That means that anything that distracts us from Him or His purpose for us can be considered an idol to us.  The second and third and fourth commandments in Exodus 20:3-5 clearly make that point.  Consider how important that is to God if 3 out of the 10 commandments deal with the idea of putting God first in every aspect of your life.

ANYTHING that distracts us from God (TV, computer, gaming, sports, shopping, recreation, work, school…etc. etc.) can become to us an “idol” if we indulge in that activity to the point of neglecting our time with God.  I would even say doing “church things” can be distracting, if the motivation is “doing” and not actively seeking God’s will and direction.

I am reminded of Paul’s words in Romans 12: 1-2 …present your bodies as living sacrifices, acceptable to God; and not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the “renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Do not indulge in those things that are morally wrong, that may pollute our minds and our bodies; that offend God, that demean the Word, or negate the teachings of Christ.  Our lives should be living offerings to the Lord.  If anything is amiss in our lives that we know would cause the Holy Spirit to grieve within us, we need to let it go and repent.  If anything is taking us away from building relationships with God and with others, let it go.

“He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.” Romans 14:6

“For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” v.8

Anything we do during our day should be for the Glory of God.  If we work…do it for His Glory, not ours.  If we play, do it for His Glory, not ours.  We give thanks for every good thing and we give thanks for every negative thing that comes our way, because we believe in that we are honouring God and acknowledging that He is indeed Lord of our lives.  He is Sovereign and I believe that in everything God can be glorified if we acknowledge that He is totally in control.  So if I face hardships (like cancer), I believe that God will never “leave or forsake me”, if I receive an accolade for a job “well done”…I acknowledge that I can “do all things through Him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).

I believe God calls His people to be “lights” in all areas of life.  Some are called to minister in their places of employment.  That means we should act differently than others around us may act in the work place.  We don’t complain about our bosses to others, we go above and beyond the call of duty…because God has called us to do that.  We submit to authority.  We don’t lie or cheat or gossip (we are not of THIS world) so we need to act like it!  We avoid temptation.  We pray for those we work with, we share the love of Christ with them.  We become the hands and feet of Jesus….and in everything…good or bad….we give thanks to God!

“…walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”  (Colossians 1:10-12)

All that said, we need to ask ourselves several questions with regards to what side of the fence we want to live or die on when it comes to some of the “world’s” more controversial issues.  Some of them are virtually no brainers – according to scripture to take a life is wrong, “Thou shalt not kill”….thus abortion is wrong, euthanasia is wrong.  Period.  Scripture is also very clear on homosexuality, greed, lust, and adultery.  They’re wrong.  Period.  If we believe that, then that answers some of the questions with regards to sex before marriage, common law relationships etc….it’s wrong.  Period. Oh, and then there are lots of other “no brainers” we’re not as keen on hearing or accepting: submitting to authority, (“rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”…ie: paying taxes); letting go of pride, honouring our parents, submitting to our husbands, loving our wives as Christ loved the church, living debt-free.  I could go on.

And then of course, the one that causes a few Christians to sit on the fence and ponder upon…to drink or not to drink alcohol.  In a nutshell, scripture is not clear to tell us one way or other if it is right or wrong to drink…what scripture IS clear about is that anything that leads to sin (or causing another to stumble) is wrong.  Do I believe that alcohol is wrong in itself?…NO.  Do I believe that indulging in alcohol can cause someone to sin?…YES.  That’s the kicker.

If I drink a glass of wine before bed so I can relax get a good night’s rest am I sinning?  No.  If I have a glass of wine with a fancy meal or to toast in the New Year am I sinning?  No.  However, if my children see me drinking a glass of wine and it causes them to want to drink it…then I am responsible.  They do not know their limits yet, they are prone to use my example as an excuse to over indulge because they are not old enough to know better.  They respect me, they watch me,…if I am to guide them I must be careful that my actions are not misinterpreted by them.  (That goes with everything I might add…kids will do as they see their parents doing…)  If I toast in the New Year with others knowing that some in the room have a weakness for alcohol and do not know their own limitations…once again I sin, by participating in an activity that may cause others to stumble.  Easy answer.  If in doubt…don’t drink.

I think the one thing we have neglected in all of this is listening to the Holy Spirit.  He will guide and lead you in everything.  If you are in a quandary about something, don’t lean “unto your own understanding” but in ALL things acknowledge that you have a Counsellor Who is more than able to tell you what you should or should not do.  If you feel that nagging, squirmy feeling of guilt whenever you drink…that’s the Holy Spirit telling you to NOT drink.  Doesn’t matter the circumstances…whether you’re home alone, or in a crowd.  If the Holy Spirit tells you to stay away from something…STAY AWAY.  To ignore the Holy Spirit is disobedience to God.  Scripture is pretty clear on THAT particular subject too!

Jesus drank wine…and good stuff too (according to scripture), yet Jesus never sinned.  Why?  He never over-indulged, He never forgot Who He was, Who the Father was, and what His purpose was.  Jesus hung out with prostitutes and “sinners”…yet He never sinned.  Why?  He never forgot Who He was, Who the Father was, and what His purpose was.  You too, can drink wine and not sin.  How?  You must never over indulge, you must always remember Whose you are, Who the Father is, and what His purpose for your life is.

That’s my opinion.  Take it or leave it.

 

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