Cam Newton, grow up! But only if I let you...

By now you've all seen or at least heard what happened. Cam Newton, the Carolina Panther's MVP quarterback and emotional leader, sitting sullen before a bank of hungry reporters. His answers are brief, his mood dark. Having just lost the biggest game of his career barely half an hour before, he's still trying to process it all while the world is demanding that he give a polished thesis of the results. Finally, after only a few minutes and within earshot of an uber loud opponent's comments, Newton abruptly stands and walks away from the interview, leaving the media with all sorts of ways to spin what they had just witnessed.

Yes, Newton could have responded better and most talking heads and Monday morning quarterbacks have been very critical of him for that. But of course, that's easy for us to say. When the team that I cheer for loses, I usually am not gung ho about it. In fact, I can get a little bit sullen myself and I didn't even get close to sniffing the field of play.

What I've been hearing this entire NFL season as the Carolina Panthers have shot to the top is that, while they are a solid team with legitimate talent, Cam Newton lacks maturity on the field and he can't lead them all the way. Why have people said that? Is it because he actually has fun with the game, gives balls away to little kids when he scores, and celebrates on the sidelines the success of his teammates? Heaven forbid a leader do that. Or could it be that off the field he give back to his community and hasn't been found in any police blotters? Alas, it rubs many the wrong way and there have been cries all season for this young man to grow up.

But here is the problem with that. Many want Newton to grow up, but only on their terms. 

Most leaders who find themselves in a situation like Cam Newton's - having to rebound from a major disappointment or failure - learn from these moments whether we allow them to or not. Cam has been criticized for being a poor leader, but what we don't see is what is going on behind the scenes with his coaches and teammates. You see, this young leader is surrounded by other leaders who no doubt are speaking as wise voices into his life. None of them have publicly lashed out harshly at him because, well, that's not what leaders do. And frankly, if all he did was give a less than stellar interview after a heartbreaking loss - minus any screaming or throwing of objects, which didn't happen - then the Panthers really don't have a whole lot of damage control to do.

This whole docudrama reminds me of someone else who had a much worse moment in the spotlight, yet rebounded remarkably well. The apostle Peter started the whole awful interview concept to begin with. Before his big blunder-fest, Peter was with Jesus declaring that He was indeed the Messiah (Matthew 16:6). Bravo, Peter! Way to lead the pack! 

But fast forward a short amount of time and we see Peter dropping the ball big time. Confronted by others about his association with the newly arrested Jesus, Peter denied ever knowing the guy. Not once, but three times. In fact, he became so eager to clear his name that he publicly cursed as evidence that he and Jesus were strangers. On the biggest stage of his life, and before the eyes of those who are eager to hear his side of the story, Peter blows it.

The rest of the story turns more tragic before a beautiful ending that is still being written. Jesus is crucified, which doubtless would have happened even if Peter had declared his allegiance from a mountaintop. But then, history turns on its ear as the grave that held the body of Jesus bursts forth in glorious emptiness as He conquers death and leaves His death shroud behind.

When Jesus and Peter link up later on a beach, the scene is much different. Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him, and three times Peter publicly declares that he does. Do you know what just occurred in that incredible moment? Redemption. Growth. Restoration of a leader.

Not to be lost in all of this is the fact that Peter was already a leader - he had been with Jesus for over three years, serving by His side. And Jesus knew that one moment of failure was not enough to define the life that He had called Peter to live. So He reminded Peter of who he was and what he was called to do, and with a newfound energy Peter took that challenge and began his path of altering the course of history for the glory of God.

True leaders grow from adversity while others fade. Peter did just that, and if you know Jesus then you can be grateful that Peter moved on after what seemed an unforgivable moment. Because that's what leaders do. 

Give Cam some time to process what he's been through. I promise that if he is the leader that I think he is and listens to the voices of truth that surround him, he will rebound well from this. Some won't accept anything that he says or does from here on out, but that's okay. Leaders will always have their share of haters and they will thrive off of their venom. As for me, I'll be watching him again next season and cheering him on, because I don't believe this leader has come close to seeing his best days yet.

The Past Is Prologue

The other night I took my son to watch my alma mater, Wake Forest University, take on a local college team in an exhibition fundraiser soccer game. If you know anything about me at all, then you know that can be pretty passionate about Wake Forest sports, no matter what sport it is or how good or bad of a season they may be having. And yes, I even celebrate when the field hockey team gets a big win.

As I got settled in to watch the game with a few friends of mine, my son and his buddies went off to kick the soccer ball around with a whole bunch of other kids whose parents dragged them along to watch a game they could care less to see. Us "big kids" were discussing all sorts of issues, including the cost of tuition at Wake Forest University. I asked one of my friends who graduated a few years after I did how much tuition was now and, before he could answer, the two ladies sitting on the bleachers a few rows in front of us turned around and, in unison exclaimed, "Too much!" (Note: Tuition, room and board, and other fees for Wake Forest University bring the cost to a total of $62, 538 a year. Ouch!)

We all chuckled at that comment like grown ups do - which is exactly what made our eyes roll when our parents used to say things like that. It was then that I realized I recognized one of the ladies who had made the comment about the cost of tuition. Turns out we had gone to Wake and graduated together. And it also turned out that the other woman with her happened to be married to an older fraternity brother of mine, who come walking along a few minutes later. Small world, huh?

For the next hour we chatted and caught up on what each other was doing in life and if we knew where so-and-so was now. I will admit, by the end of my senior year in college I had pretty much drifted free of the fraternity scene, but I still had some fond memories to share and this frat brother of mine was certainly one of those guys who left a lasting and good impression on me. I happened to mention to him the reason why I dropped out of the fraternity my senior year - it was due to an incident that I had incited because of an enormous lapse of judgment - and he mentioned that he would like to hear the whole story sometime.

It was at the moment that I paused and shifted gears pretty quickly to another topic. Not only did I not want to share what happened (and I didn't) but the memory of it was pushed way back into the recesses of my mind. That was a painful time in my life, one marked by poor decisions and distance from God. While I learned a lot about myself and what I did and didn't want out of life as a result of those few years, more than anything it was a time that God used to mold and refine me as if in the fire. As a result, I had no desire to revisit some of those memories, choosing instead to focus on where God has brought me by His grace.

An old friend and mentor, Thomas Young, used to tell me that "the past is prologue." By that he meant that what you have done in your past - all of your sins and mistakes and disobedience - are not the things that are meant to define you. Sure, they help to shape who you are today but, if you are like me, they are a far cry of who you are now and of where God has brought you on your life's journey. God's grace covers you and makes you new. That's why Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if you are in Christ, i.e. if you have accepted His gift of grace and forgiveness, then you are a new creation - the old has passed away, the new has come.

When the game was over I said goodbye to my old friends, hoping to see them again in the near future. As my son and I walked to the car, I marveled at just how far God has brought me in my life. And more than that, I was so thankful to be able to share with my old college buddies where God was leading me right now. Indeed, the past is prologue.

99.9% ain't gonna be enough

The other week, right before Easter, a long-time friend shared an article with me about the death of Jesus. The author of the article asked the question, "Why did Jesus die?", and the reason he gave wasn't quite the one I was expecting. He said that Jesus died primarily to show us what love looks like.

Now I don't disagree that dying for someone is a supreme act of love, but in the case of Jesus it was more than just one shining moment that put Him on that cross. When Jesus went to the cross, He went as a sacrifice for our sins. In other words, if Jesus didn't die on the cross and then rise from the grave, we don't have forgiveness of sins. Did love compel Him to die? Yes! But His blood actually purchased something for you and me. The cross stands as more than just an example of affection.

As I mulled these things over in my mind, I began to wonder about what the word sacrifice really means. Sometimes we say that we are going to make sacrifices in our lives so that we can pay off a debt or allow someone else to have a chance to flourish. But when we do those things - which are really good things to do, by the way - what do they really cost us? Have we really sacrificed like Jesus did?

Here is the truth about sacrifice: It will cost you everything. Think about it. When Jesus died as a sacrifice on the cross for you, what did He hold back? Nothing! A sacrifice isn't a sacrifice if it doesn't demand all that you have to give. If I see someone who is hungry and give them half of my sandwich, that is a nice gesture of love but it's not really a sacrifice because I still have the other half to put into my belly. A true sacrifice gives all.

Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 that we are to present our bodies - our very lives - as a living sacrifice to God. His words are carefully chosen here because, in urging us to give all that we have, he also reminds us that we still are to go on living. When animals were sacrificed in the temple prior to Jesus' coming, their blood was spilled on the altar and their life was snuffed out. There was no life left in the animal so the sacrifice had to be repeated again and again with other animals.

But when Jesus died on the cross, His sacrifice was enough. It eternally satisfied the heart of God. That's because when Jesus died, He didn't stay dead. He rose from the grave and He still lives today. So when you as a Christian are called to offer your life as a living sacrifice, that means that you die to the way that you used to live - your desires, ambitions, selfish motives - and in turn live fully for the glory of God.

It means that you hold nothing back from Him. No goals in life, no relationships, no possessions are to be free from the sacrifice. If you choose to hold something back for yourself then you will never know the joy of relying fully on God for all that you need.

A sacrifice means all or nothing. It requires ultimate trust and the all the faith that you can possibly muster. You see, if you truly wish to live for Jesus as a living sacrifice, then you are going to have to give up the entire sandwich.

Christianity = Insanity

"When you heard a story 'bout the hero dying for the villain?"

(Trip Lee One Sixteen)

Let's go ahead and clear the air from the get go - there isn't much about what Jesus did on the cross for us that makes sense. Was His sacrifice beautiful, His love unconditional, His redemption of us incredible? Yes! Does it fit into our rational thought processes? No!

When we see someone guilty of a crime, especially one that is heinous and barbaric in our eyes, we want justice. For some that means the death penalty while for others they demand life in prison with no possibility of parole. Keep the criminals in their cages so that they can no longer prey on the weak and the innocent.

Question: If the Red Cross knocked on your door and asked if you would be willing to donate your organs - your very life - to a terminal death row inmate, how would you react? "Um, no thanks, but I appreciate the free snacks that you give when I donate blood." You see, that line of thinking just doesn't make sense. Why would we waste our good resources, time, and energy on someone who doesn't deserve it?

Thank God those thoughts weren't on Jesus' mind as He suffered, bled, and died on a cross that He didn't deserve for a people who don't deserve His sacrifice.

This, my friends, is the gospel. A loving God giving a perfect Savior to rescue a world that had been given a death sentence. (Romans 5:6-8)

This is more than prison rehabilitation; the gospel commutes our sentence and clears our record of guilt. (Romans 8:1)

This is more than some random act of kindness; the gospel is calculated grace. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

This is more than giving a released prisoner a job and new chance at life; the gospel brings the sinner to the very throne of God, who in turn adopts us and declares us heirs with Jesus for eternity. (Romans 8:14-17)

Now tell me, does this make sense to you? Why in the world would God do this for us? People are quick to blame God for all of the ugliness and evil that occurs on a daily basis, but are they just as quick to blame God for His incredible grace that sets them free?

I'm so thankful that Jesus bled and died for me. I will never fully understand why God loves me - and you - to the extent that He does. Following Jesus is without a doubt the craziest decision that you can possibly make. The gospel is nuts!

What we learn about ourselves from others' failures

There has been a firestorm over the recent posting of a video in which Victoria Osteen literally opens the Pandora's box that all of her and her husband's critics have been anxiously waiting for. Don't get me wrong - what she said from the stage was nauseating and thoroughly unbiblical, yet the glee expressed from the Osteen's opponents was no less horrific.

As a conservative evangelical Christian, I get it. Joel Osteen and his wife have been less than forward with the truth of the gospel and have chosen instead to proclaim the merits of living a life where all God wants for you to be is happy. Their ministry is watched and heard by millions of people who in turn simply adore Joel and his wife, hanging on every word that they say. They make people feel important and special and valued by God. And indeed people are. But when any man or woman who claims to be God's mouthpiece speaks for God words that are not found in His word, then Houston, we've got a problem.

God does not simply desire our happiness. Nowhere in the Bible will you find God saying, "My supreme delight is that you be happy!" Instead, Scripture teaches that God desires for us to be holy (Leviticus 11:44-45 & 1 Peter 1:16). If it were not for God's grace poured out on us through Jesus Christ then we would have no hope of ever standing before Him. Yet because of the cross, we are declared righteous before God and He takes delight in us as His children (Romans 5:1-11).

You see, what Victoria Osteen said on stage was both biblically and doctrinally wrong. It simply was not true. We do not exist to "do good for our own self, not God." That is humanism to the core. Did she mean what she said? I honestly don't know because, truth be told, I do not follow the Osteen's ministry like many others do. Sure, I've heard about how "awful" they are, of the many heresies they utter, and how they are peddlers of the prosperity gospel. And if these are indeed true, I find it shameful and disgusting to the kingdom of God. Truth is truth, and you cannot spin it any way you want with feel good preaching.

That being said, my other thought about the whole Osteen incident is this - has anyone reached out to  correct them in a constructive way? Perhaps someone has. My hope is that any church leader in their position has plenty of others who are allowed to speak truth into their lives. Is there anything more dangerous than a leader who has no accountability?

So yes, my hope is that there is room for redemption for the Osteen's regarding their erroneous doctrine. I would love to see them confess the errors in their teaching and to commit to be ambassadors for God's truth. After all, they enjoy an enormous platform which carries with it the holy obligation to proclaim the truth of God. And I also hope that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who wait in the wings to attack at the first sniff of error will strive to lean more on the grace and redemption side than the judgment and hell fire side.

I'm not so sure which is more disgusting, a preacher who perverts the word of God publicly or fellow Christians perched in ivory towers who ignore grace and mercy altogether. It's all pretty gross to me.

When grace isn't quite so graceful

Man, I messed up big time the other day. My words and my actions totally threw my life out of balance and I spent a lot time trying to make amends for my sinfulness. I'm sure you can relate to my dilemma because you've probably recently found yourself in the same spiritual quagmire. You royally blew it and now you feel slightly less worthy than a piece of maggot-infested garbage. Why do we continue to struggle with the same old sins for which Jesus suffered and died?

Maybe your issue isn't what you've just recently done but rather what haunts you from your past. There was that time in your life when you were far from God, living a life that now makes you want to retch. Or perhaps you are the product of abuse, whether it was sexual, physical, or emotional. Your view of yourself is so low that you struggle to move on because of the guilt and feelings of inadequacy that you can't seem to shake.

But then God stepped in and the miraculous happened. Jesus found you and in the arms of His redemption and grace you have found purpose. You have been set free, the weight of sin and shame no longer pinning you down and convincing you that you are unworthy. You have been declared righteous - justified - in the eyes of God and He sees you as His precious child, beautiful in His sight. Do you deserve all of this? No! None of us deserve God's grace and mercy and love and forgiveness yet He gives it to us - He lavishes it on us! (Ephesians 1:7-8) - freely and without hesitation.

Yet in spite of God's love and incredible forgiveness, you can't move past your past. Something inside of you just can't accept His grace and unconditional love. So you hide deeper within yourself and you die a little bit spiritually every day, malnourished from your refusal to dine at the Lord's table.

It is an absolute tragedy when God's grace is not accepted. And this refusal of His grace usually hits us in two ways. First, when you struggle to accept God's grace for your life then your focus becomes YOU and not Him. Jesus bled and died for you - there is nothing that can separate you from God's love in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:31-39) - yet somehow you have managed to wedge yourself away from the reality of His grace. Oh don't get me wrong, you can do nothing to diminish God's grace and salvation, but it is possible to render yourself ineffective by refusing to live in the reality of it.

When we do this, we live selfishly as if grace is not enough. This isn't humility - it's self-flagellation - and it's offensive to God because what Jesus bought us on the cross is ENOUGH. No amount of self-abuse that we might bring upon ourselves will add one micron to the salvation and grace that has been freely given to us in Christ. If this is you, stop acting like you are helping God by punishing yourself. He doesn't need your help and it's laughable that you live as if He does. Instead, swim in the sea of His grace, not because you deserve it but rather because He gives it in spite of our unworthiness.

Now here's where it's about to get real, even more serious if that's possible. There is a second way that the grace of God is refused. In our world and churches there are "Christians" who have set themselves up as the judge and jury for God's grace and have taken it upon themselves to dispense and withhold grace to others at their own bidding. Somehow if your sin is too great in their eyes then they decide that you are anathema and therefore not worthy of their time or God's grace. It doesn't matter that you have been redeemed, you aren't fit to serve. You may be forgiven by God, but that's doesn't mean I have to accept you. You don't deserve God's grace.

I know that may sound harsh. After all, we must be careful whom we allow to hold influence in our churches and ministries. There is no way in the world that a convicted sex offender or habitual drug user is going to serve in my student ministry. Some sins, while forgiven by God, disqualify us from serving in certain leadership areas. But there is no sin no matter how big or small that God's grace cannot cover, so stop treating people as if they have no hope! How dare we view God's grace as more sufficient for some over others!

The Lord told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His grace was sufficient for him in his greatest weakness.

In Ephesians 2:8-9 we are told that we are saved by grace through faith, not by any work we may strive to perform or leave undone.

God's grace is enough. It is all we need. His grace covers our sin and our past, refusing to dredge up our past failures and instead setting us up as more than conquerors through Christ who loved us (Romans 8:37). May we see grace as God sees it and not as some measuring rod that we use to sinfully hold those back for whom Jesus bled and died. Let me finish by saying it this way: Get over yourself and stop being a grace-baiter.  

The Gospel + Something Else = Wrong Answer

In the spring of 1989 I plunged head first into the Greek system at Wake Forest University by joining a fraternity. True to what you may have been led to believe on TV or in books, many fraternities indeed ARE as crazy as you think, and my fraternity was on that list. Not all the fun that we had was destructive and evil - I have some really great memories and still keep up with some pretty awesome guys - but for the most part debauchery was the primary goal.

Now as a kid raised in a conservative Southern Baptist church, hedonism and Sunday school don't mix together too well. I knew all too well the lessons from the Bible and the truth that lay behind them, yet they were not enough to keep me from wanting to run to the dark side for a time and enjoy all of it's guilty pleasures. Was I properly taught the Scriptures? If I were truly saved, would I have gone down this wayward path? What went wrong?

You see, the Bible teaching that I received growing up was first rate and I would not trade it for the world. The problem that I encountered from many well-meaning Christians - and what many in Christian culture face as well - were all the "extras" that get pinned on the message of the gospel. Unlike the bonus features on a DVD or the hidden scene at the end of a the movie credits, these extras do not allow us to understand the greater extent of the gospel. In fact, they usually push us farther away.

The apostle Paul lived and ministered during a time when Christianity was beginning to explode in the Jewish and Gentile world in Asia Minor (the region including modern day Turkey). As he traveled throughout those countries, Paul would plant and oversee dozens of churches which were filled with new Christians, many of whom came from Jewish backgrounds. It was difficult for those new believers at times to forget all of the rituals and rules that they had to obey when they were followers of Judaism, and it was especially challenging for these new followers of Christ to believe that they no longer had to rely on the Jewish law for their salvation.

In his letters to the believers in Galatia and Colossae, Paul saw the need to address the issue that many were holding to: In order to be a Christian, you had to have the gospel + something else. For those churches that Paul was investing in, they had fallen into the trap that this "something else" they had to abide by was the ritual of circumcision. If they were to be considered true Christians then they MUST be circumcised. We often do the same thing today, although I'm glad it's not circumcision!

You fill in the blank with whatever "something else" you've been told that you have to do in order to be a "proper" Christian: Wear a coat and tie on Sunday, read a certain version of the Bible, avoid alcohol at all costs, sing to a certain type of music in worship, etc. Do you see how reckless and foolish this is? What if you fail at one of these? Does that mean you are aren't truly saved? Let me tell you why this perspective is truly dangerous: When we try to add anything to the gospel, then we are essentially telling Jesus that His cross was not enough. There has to be something that WE add to it in order to make our salvation secure. How ridiculous! How arrogant!

In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul addresses this issue head-on:

Christ has liberated us into freedom. Therefore stand firm and don't submit again to a yoke of slavery...For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love...For you were called to freedom, brothers; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. (Galatians 5:1, 6, 13)

The gospel + something else is always the wrong answer. It's slavery because it adds to the gospel the impossibility that you have something that you can bring to bolster what Jesus did on the cross. In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul gives us this stern warning:

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

Those people who try to be part of our spiritual upbringing by adding extra rules and regulations mean well but all they do is blur the lines between holiness and legalism. During my fraternity days I found that I could not live up to all of the extra spiritual expectations put on me by many well-meaning men and women, so I quit trying. It wasn't until a college pastor from my home church offered to walk alongside of me and extend to me a fresh perspective of God's grace that I began to walk out of darkness of that spiritual jungle.

The gospel is all that we need. If there was anything else that we had to bring to the table, then Jesus would not have bothered to go to the cross. And while almost every single Christian that I know believes this, most still live as if all those "extras" are essential if they are to be accepted by God. Indeed we are called to live holy and pure lives, not so that we can strengthen the salvation we have in Christ but rather as an expression of love and obedience to the One who has saved us.

Where did all the good people go?

I'm a people watcher. When I observe the actions of others and hear their words, I try to discern their true intent, if that's possible. My wife has what is known as a "woman's intuition" but, as a man, I wasn't exactly blessed with that gift. So I observe and take mental notes.

Now before you accuse me of being some creepy guy that stalks people at the local mall, let me explain. When I say that I observe others, I do what most of you do as well. As I live my daily life I encounter people who do and say all sorts of things, sometimes to me but usually directed at others. And it is to these things that I pay attention.

As a father of four kids, I am around kids a lot. I go to the schools in an effort to stay engaged in their educational life and I am around their friends when they are at my home. As a pastor, each week I interact with hundreds of people who cover the spectrum of emotional and mental stability. When I grocery shop, there is a whole other level of consumer mindset that I encounter. Everywhere that I go I encounter people, many of whom I have at least a casual conversation with.

Do you know what I've discovered by just watching? Many people are downright awful to one another. I've had mental images pop up in my head about whipping out my belt and giving a butt-whooping to kids who I have observed being incredibly cruel to a class mate (and yes, I did restrain myself, instead letting the teacher know what I observed). If there is one thing that I hate, it's bullying, and that's probably because I tried to be one myself in middle school (FYI, my career at being cruel was short-lived because I was a lousy bully). When I see and hear students treating each other like discarded waste, I grieve for those affected.

When was the last time you were at a restaurant and saw another patron absolutely lambasting the server when a part of their meal was not right? The last time I checked, the server's job is to serve the food, not prepare it. Yet some of the most venomous language I have ever heard has been in restaurants and retail stores. "Isn't it a great idea to take out all of our anger and hostility on those who aren't even responsible for the product?" said no one ever in their right mind.

So what is my point in highlighting all of this negativity? Am I saying that people in general are awful? Yes, I am. Before you get offended and leave me a hateful comment that will further prove my point, allow me to share some truth with you. Jeremiah 17:9 in the Old Testament of the Bible says that the heart is deceitful above all things. Matthew 12:34 goes on to say that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. What this says is that our mouths cannot help but express what is in our hearts. We can fake it and speak sugary words when we need to, but the true self will eventually come out for others to see.

Not trying to be too much of a downer here, but we also have to consider what Romans 3:10 says about us: There is no one righteous, no not even one. Ouch! "But wait!" you say. "What about all the really kind and generous people in this world? Are you saying that they are awful, too?" No, I'm not saying it. God is.

Our culture celebrates human depravity. Don't believe me? Then turn on the TV at night or go to a movie. From the heart flows our true intent. Good deeds might get a quick blurb at the end of a newscast, but the majority of media and entertainment is obsessed with covering the bad.

Here's the deal. We weren't created to be good. We were created to know God. And until your life has been made right with God through Jesus, then you are incomplete. Sure, people who do not know God can do many great and beautiful things - they do and I am glad for it! - but the root issue is not how good we are but rather how great God is.

In writing all of this let me make this clear: I do not hate people. In fact, I really love people. Some of my best friends are those who believe the opposite of what I have typed here. Yet I cannot and do not hide from them the truth found in Jesus Christ. Only Jesus is good enough. Because of the sacrifice on the cross that Jesus made, all of our sinfulness and filth can be covered when we place our faith and trust and hope in Him. When our hearts are transformed and renewed by the gospel of Jesus then our lives will truly realize what they were created for.

Faith always follows. Always.

"I believe in God," the man said to me. "I just do things my way. I mean, after all, I'm going to heaven when I die because I got baptized and prayed a prayer. I don't need to do all that religious stuff to prove anything to anybody. Besides, only God can judge me. I'm not that bad of a person."

I've had similar conversations like this with many people over the years and I'm sure you've either heard or even said these kinds of things too. Is that all we need to do, simply believe and then live as we want to? This begs the question: What should happen after you repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ?

For many, the feeling that comes when they surrender their lives to Christ is an emotional rush. The weight of the world is lifted off of their shoulders and they are giddy like a little schoolgirl. Freedom, forgiveness, and redemption are incredibly fantastic! But once the "honeymoon" is over, what now? Let me answer that by sharing with you a brief story from Mark 10:46-52.

Jesus was leaving a town called Jericho when He heard a voice crying out to Him. There, sitting off to the side, was blind man by the name of Bartimaeus. He kept calling out, "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!" and by doing so was annoying the stew out of those who were traveling with Jesus. The more they told the man to be quiet, the more he hollered out.

But Jesus wasn't bothered by the man's screams. Instead, He asked those with Him to tell Bartimaeus that He wanted to speak with him. As soon as Bartimaeus heard this, he jumped up, threw off his coat, and found his way to Jesus. Jesus asked the blind man, "What do you want Me to do for you?", which in itself is kind of an odd question because it was probably obvious to everyone there what the man wanted.

Bartimaeus pleaded in response, "I want to see!" It was his faith that brought him to the feet of Jesus and now it was his faith that was crying out for healing. Therefore Jesus responded to him, "Your faith has healed you," and at that moment Bartimaeus could see. The darkness had been lifted from his eyes and vision was now his.

But what happens next is what instructs us the most. After his sight was restored and Jesus bid him to go on his way, Bartimaeus "began to follow Him on the road." Once faith turned the heart of Bartimaeus, the next step that he took was to follow after Jesus, not to stay in one place. Faith always follows.

What happens with many believers today is that, once they respond to Jesus by faith, they choose to stay where they are. The neglect to follow. Yet this is completely contrary to Jesus' instructions to us in Scripture. Consider the Great Commission of Jesus that we are so fond of quoting. It begins with "Go!" and we so often see that as our command to get up and start moving in a certain direction. But if you were to translate the Greek in that passage more literally you would find that it actually reads, "As you are going." The idea is that we are not merely believers in Christ; the expectation is that we are to be followers.

When Jesus transforms our hearts, such a radical life event takes place that we simply cannot remain the same. We are changed, redeemed, renewed. Thus, it makes no sense for any of us to stay where we are and expect that our sedentary position is good enough. Faith always follows. Always.

Things in our world are as bad as they've ever been, right?

Like most of you, I was shocked, saddened, and ticked off when I heard the news of the bombing that occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The first thoughts that came to my mind were, "What in the world is going on here? What are people thinking?"

I have the same kind of reactions when I read and hear about high school girls who get raped at parties after they have passed out from drinking too much alcohol. It makes me even more sick to learn that guys are taking their pictures and passing them around social networks as if these girls are the punchline in a funny joke. Then when I hear that some of these girls have taken their own lives after learning that what has been reserved as intimate has been splashed all over teenagers phones, I immediately want to hold my three daughters a little closer.

When I saw the news story about the abortion doctor who performed numerous illegal abortions and even went to the extreme of killing some of these babies outside of the mother's womb, I wanted to see justice served. Yes, I know that abortion is legal in our country, but this was cold-blooded murder, not a government-sanctioned medical procedure. This man must pay.

On and on the list goes of atrocities that we see committed all around us. It's not uncommon that, when tragedies seem to be stacked one upon another, I hear the comment, "It's the signs of the times." This refers to the belief that surely Jesus is going to return soon because things just can't get much worse. Right? I mean, our world is as bad as it's ever been.

Right?

Let me say that things today are bad. Let me say emphatically that that things are bad because sin is bad. And as long as there is sin, there will be horrific acts committed by sinful people. How long has sin been around? Since the first man and woman decided that their way was better than God's way, that's how long. And since that first sin was committed, there has been a snowball affect that has covered every corner of the globe.

So have things gotten worse? Consider some of these examples from ages past:

• Child sacrifice was not uncommon in ancient cultures. Whether the children were offered to a false deity or to appease the "anger" of a volcano, child sacrifice was not only an accepted practice in some cultures but was also perfectly legal. (see Leviticus 18:21)
• In societies such as ancient Egypt, unwanted newborn babies were left on the front porch to die. That's right, if you didn't want your child you simply set it out with the trash. Ironically, Christians are credited as the first group of people to rescue children is such situations, plucking them from doorsteps and raising them as their own, thus setting the precedent for adoption.
• In the New Testament, King Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, divorced his first wife in order to marry his brother's ex-wife Herodias. Herodias had a daughter who was able to seduce Herod into giving her whatever she asked. And what was her request? She wanted Herod to decapitate John the Baptist (a man whom Herodias hated) and bring it to her on a silver platter so that she in turn could hand over the bloody head to her mother.(Mark 6:14-29)
• Then there was the whole idea in Rome about feeding people to lions and other wild animals and watching gladiators fight to the death in front of cheering crowds.

I could go on but you get the idea. These events were going on hundreds and hundreds of years ago and they involved activities that even the most corrupt governments of today would declare illegal. Because we didn't have all of the cable news networks and internet capabilities, these events were recorded in writing and not splashed across the world at microsecond intervals. Yet it still goes to show that things have always been pretty bad and that's because people have always been sinful.

In the midst of all of tragedies, catastrophic events, and human failings, there is one other thing that has never changed: God. Many wonder when God will stop all the evil in the world, and we simply have no answer as to what His timetable will be. But we do know how God has planned to stop evil and it's a plan that has already begun since the beginning of time - Jesus. God has chosen to redeem this fallen and broken world through Jesus and His desire to redeem sinful man has not changed.

Jesus has always been the solution to mans' sin problems No, things probably aren't going to change much for the better in our world, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He didn't come to merely fix us - He came to redeem us. As bad as the world can be, there is no comparison to just how good our God is through Jesus Christ.

You can redeem a soda bottle but you can't redeem yourself

The other day I joined in an online conversation centered around the origin of Easter. If you didn't already know, Easter was not originally a Christian observance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ but rather it was a pagan celebration of fertility. Over the years and through the influence of Christian leaders, the occasion of Easter was transformed into the time that Christians celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As the discussion continued it was mentioned that even though the original purpose for observing Easter had nothing to do with Jesus, it was cool how even the most pagan of occasions can be redeemed by God. There is nothing that God cannot make new. God is in the redemption business. The culmination of His redemptive plan came at the cross, with the death of Jesus redeeming mankind from sin and death. It was at this point that a rather curious statement was made.

Another guy that I did not know interjected with his belief that the ultimate redeemer is yourself and the we need to take credit for our own achievements. If any redemption is possible, then it is self-redemption by man. No one else can do it for us.

I was amused and perplexed by this at the same time. However, I chose at that point to leave the conversation because I just didn't see what good would come from arguing his point when the truth of Scripture had already been laid out earlier. Can man really save himself?

No, he can't.

The New Testament book of Romans pretty well sums up Christian doctrine in the area of sin and salvation.  

• "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)  If we do not even come close to matching God's glory, how can we reach His glory on our own? We can't.
• "For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6) God knew we were helpless to save ourselves so, at just the right time, He sent Jesus to die for us and redeem us as His own.
• Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) How awesome is this! You are freely and forever forgiven in Christ and your redemption is permanent!

I am so glad that I don't have to try to be good enough to earn my redemption because then I would never know how good is good enough. The purchase for our lives has already been made. If you are still trying to get it done on your own then stop! You'll never reach the mark because the bar has been set higher than you could possibly attain. Instead, rest in the fact that

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.