A Singled-Minded Goal: Truth Being Preached at all Costs

Do you ever spend time thinking about the gospel? Are you spending time thinking about the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior and Lord? This is the life changing life saving truth, right? This is the truth that sets us free (John 8:32). This is the truth that completely transformed Paul on the road to Damascus, taking him from a life of suppressing Truth to a life of worshiping Truth.

I want this to be the focus this week as we tackle 1 Timothy 1:3-17. We must dive into the Word and see the importance of this amazing, God glorifying Gospel. Paul had one singled-minded mission/goal. His life's purpose was to glorify God by sharing the gospel with as many people as possible. He understood the gospel could stand on its own. He understood that man's additions or subtractions to the gospel would do nothing but harm. Paul, of course, spent time relating to people and contexualizing (1 Corinthians 9:22), but his gospel message never changed.

I pray that this quick study will be encouraging. I pray that you will see Paul's desire to see the truth preached. We must take heed of his warnings to Timothy. We must recognize the importance of truth gospel-centered doctrine. We must better understand the life-transforming power offered by Christ. In doing this we will bring more glory and Praise to our Father and Lord.

Watered Down Gospel = No Gospel at All
(1 Timothy 1:3-7 ESV)

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

Paul is warning Timothy here of those that may desire to teach a watered down or a false gospel. These "teachers" were focused on man and not God. Thees folks are not interested in a God-honoring message. They are infatuated with a self-honoring message that leaves them getting all the credit and glory. 

Teaching is an important aspect of a Christian's life and maturity. Strong teaching of the Word is a key ingredient in the lives of the lost as well as believers. Think about your life. Who has helped shape your Christian walk? Who can you point to as a mentor or shepherd in your journey? I would argue that for most of us, the people that come to mind are teachers--youth pastors, church pastors, or your life group leaders. Biblical teachers have always and will always play a huge role in the shaping of the church and its believers. This is why Paul was warning Timothy. If teachers help shape the church and its members than we must make sure that those teachers are teaching and preaching Truth.

The Law Does Not Save

(1 Timothy 1:8-11 ESV)

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

We must not neglect the truth that the Law was given to man from God. This means that the Law is intrinsically good. Who is the Law for? The Law is for us--sinners. The Law opens our eyes to the fact that we are sinners. Left to ourselves we are unable to uphold or keep the Law. This is truly an impossible task.

On the surface these truths are a bit depressing, but we must look deeper. What does this mean for us? This means we need a Savior. This means we need someone to conquer what we are incapable of conquering. This means we need someone who will take the wrath that we deserve. This is what Jesus did, willingly I might add. This is the truth found in the Word. This is the truth Paul is pleading with Timothy to preach. 

We are sinners and left alone we are destined for hell but God our Lord paved a way for us to be saved. Our Savior laid down His life to glorify the Father and save us. He saves us from the Law, He saves us from the chains of sin and death. He saves us to Himself!

The Apprehender was Apprehended 

(1 Timothy 1:12-16 ESV)

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

These verses are wonderful illustrations of Christ's transforming power. Take some time to think about Paul's transformation. This is the same guy that held the coats of those stoning Stephen (Acts 7). This is the same guy that ravaged the church. His mission was to stop the spread of the gospel at all costs. He had no desire to follow Christ, but what happened? Christ literally knocked him to the ground and saved him (Acts 9). 

This is what Paul is pointing out in verses 12-16. Paul calls himself the foremost sinner--the worst of the worst. Paul's life illustrates the mercy and grace offered and provided by God. Paul is screaming, "God saved me, the worst of the worst!" Why would God do this? Why save a man like Paul who was actively working against the church? Paul answers this question in verse 16.

God didn't save Paul because He needed him on His--God's--team. God saved Paul to "demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life." What does this mean for you and me? What does this mean for friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family? This means God can save anyone. We pray and share the gospel knowing with full confidence God continues to save "the worst of them."

God-Centered Glorification

(1 Timothy 1:17 ESV)

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

I love the way Paul closes out verse 17. Paul finishes his testimony in this letter by illustrating the patience, mercy, and grace of God. He could have taken the credit. He could have focused on himself and the things he was doing for the gospel, but instead he gave credit to the only deserving recipient--God. 

Paul understood that apart from God and His saving grace he was destined for an eternity in hell. Paul understood that he needed a Savior. It was because of this understanding that Paul was saturated with the gospel. Paul made it his mission to encourage and disciple people like Timothy to share in this calling. 

Paul was the vehicle God used to grow the church. This is why Paul spent so much time praising God. We praise God because He is the only one that deserves our words, actions, hearts, and our minds. God deserves this "forever and ever. Amen."

Christ; the Occupying Force

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

(Acts 18:5 ESV)

Do you relate to this verse? Do you see the occupying force in Paul’s life? Acts 18 brings us into Paul’s ministry in Corinth. Paul has been preaching the gospel for some time now. We notice in verse 5 that Paul didn’t even take the time to greet Silas and Timothy because he was “occupied with the word” or he was too busy talking with those around him. What was he talking about? Paul was preaching and telling the Jews that Christ was Jesus. Jesus was God. Jesus was the Savior, the Messiah. This was the occupying force in Paul’s life.

What is the occupying force in your life? What do you spend your time talking about? What do you spend your time meditating on? It is clear here in verse 5 that Paul spent his time talking about and meditating on God and His gospel. Paul was occupied with words for Christ because his life was occupied with the Word of Christ. His words were not wasted. He was consumed by the truth of the Word. His mission and journey centered on Christ alone. His mind, his acts, and his words pointed all to Christ. That is powerful. Think about that for a second.

Paul’s words were not wasted, are yours? What if someone was granted the ability to be with you every second of the day? What if that same person was then granted the ability to know all of your thoughts, desires, and plans? Once that day was over what would that person say about your occupying force? What or who did your words glorify? Where did your thoughts take you?  

I pose these questions because I want all of us to truly start thinking about our thoughts and our words. I have a strong suspicion that a large number of us are wasting both of these. We are wasteful because the world is our occupying force instead of God. The world causes that sports team to become more attractive than our Savior. The world causes that girl or guy we spend our time lusting after to become more alluring than our Savior. The world causes that job and the money it provides to become more enthralling than our Savior. These thoughts then turn our words upside down. Our words are used to share gossip instead of the gospel. Our words are used to make much of us instead much of God. Our words are used to tear others down instead of point others to Christ. This is the life of one not occupied with the Word of our Lord.

Is God the occupying force in your life? Do your thoughts go to Him when you are alone? Do your words share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those around you? Please spend some time thinking about verse 5 this week. Spend some time shaping your thoughts and your words to glorify God. Please remember this is not begrudgingly pointing your thoughts toward God or begrudgingly using your words as lip service to God. Paul didn’t share the gospel begrudgingly. Paul used his words and his thoughts to point to the One that saves! Paul shared the gospel with an enthusiastic love for Christ. I pray that we would share that enthusiasm for the Gospel. God saves and I pray that our thoughts and words reflect that. 

Spend Some Time in the Trenches

                Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Acts 17:16-17

The verses above show us that Paul’s spirit was provoked. Now we must understand this is Paul’s lowercase “s” spirit and not the Holy Spirit provoking him. This tells me a lot about Paul and his heart. He actually cared about those around him and their eternity. What should have been a holiday for Paul in Athens, instead, turned into a heart troubling experience for him as he recognized the idol worship of the people there. Paul, I guess, could have let this go and enjoyed his time off, but his heart and love for the gospel and those around him wouldn’t allow him to ignore what he was seeing.

The idol worship found here in Athens is not much different than the idol worship found in America. This should trouble all of us because we are all guilty of idol worship. Tim Keller does a great job explaining this type of worship in his book Counterfeit gods.

“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”

Do you see that? What absorbs your heart and the hearts of those around you? We spend so much of our time looking to manmade idols that cannot save us. Please realize that idols are in need of man. Idols absolutely do not exist without man. Idols will ultimately fail man and bring an eternity apart from God. Jeremiah 10:5 lays this out clearly.

Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.

These truths point us to the ultimate truth of God. God needs nothing. God existed before man and will exist long after man. God brings salvation and an eternity with Him. This is why we focus our praises and all our glory vertically to our Father. This is what Psalms 121 is pointing out.

I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heaven and earth.

We must take Paul’s lead and quit sitting on our hands. We must get up and tell everyone about the gospel and the God that is greater than all idols. How do we this? Look at verse 17. Paul noticed his surroundings and saw a need and he was intentional about providing that need. Scripture doesn’t tell us that Paul wished that something would change. No, Scripture tells us that Paul did something about it. Paul started preaching in the synagogues and in the marketplace every day. Did you hear that clearly? He preached the gospel to an idol worshipping lost population every single day. He did this without fear. He did this without hesitation. He did this with the Kingdom on his mind.

Is your spirit ever provoked? Do you ever hurt for those around you? We must spend time thinking about these things. We must recognize that God deserves our worship above all idols. There should never be a time where we truly take a holiday. I am not calling for us to not go to the beach or not take time off from our jobs. I am calling on us to not take time off from the gospel. We should bathe in this gospel by always having the Kingdom on our mind.

Paul understood the desperate need of the people around him. He understood that their idol worshiping would ultimately be their destruction. Paul wouldn’t allow himself to be on the outside looking in while people were dying and going to hell. Paul made it a point to be on the inside. His mission his call was to be in the trenches amongst the lost. He didn’t do this to be a hero. He didn’t do this so that we would be talking about him today. Paul willingly went to the trenches because lost people were found there and he longed to see them saved. Paul went to the trenches because he had an answer for the lost in the saving God he served.

The trench is a home for the loss and can be a scary place. The trench can be unwelcoming. The trench can be harmful. The trench used to be our home—Christian. This is why we must take a cue from Paul and intentionally and willingly go to where the lost are found—in the trenches—taking them the amazing saving news of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Humbled by His Humility

                Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Is this easy? Does this come natural? We know that we are to count others before ourselves and we know that we are to seek out the interests of others before our own, but every fiber of our being is screaming, ME. My thoughts, my bones, my heart is seeking out what is best for me. Is that girl or guy good for me? Is that job good for me? Is that purchase good for me? How will this community service project work for me? Is this church good for me? Left to ourselves and our sinful nature this is our life. We are always looking out for number one—ME.

Understanding that man, in his natural state, would only seek himself Jesus did the unthinkable. He showed the ultimate sign of humility. He did what we couldn’t. Paul lays this out for us in Philippians 2:6-8,

…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus took the form of a servant. Jesus—God—became man. He “emptied Himself” and became a Jewish baby destined to die on a cross. Jesus did this for an underserving population. Jesus willingly took the cross so that we—sinners—would not have to. He had his eye set on you—Christian—as He made His way to Calvary. He had His eye set on you—Christian—as they drove nails into His wrists. He had His eye set on you—Christian—as He screamed in agony, “IT IS FINISHED!” Jesus truly counted others more significant. Think about that. Our savior, our God thought of us even though we deserved that cross not His love.

This act of humility saved us. This act of humility paved the way for our eternity. Do you understand that? Do you appreciate that? Even as we were sinners He took the cross (Romans 5:8). We must not overlook this wonderful truth. In the middle of our failures our God our Savior set His sights on us. What a wonderful truth. What a wonderful example. What a wonderful Savior.

We live for self. “I will help my neighbor but he will owe me.” “I will serve at church but I better be mentioned in the bulletin and receive the credit.” This is man’s focus and motivation—what is in it for me? When Christ enters and grabs ahold of us all this will change.

Our motivation will no longer be our own motives or our self-interests. Instead we will be motivated by a humble heart and love for others. We will help that neighbor because we want to share the love of Christ with those around us. We will serve at church with the Kingdom on our mind instead of our credit on our mind. We will do things in secret (Matthew 6:3-4) so that we don’t receive the glory but instead Christ receives all the glory. This is the life we are called to lead.

What is your motivation? Does the world revolve around you? Read these verses again and appreciate the truth given to us. Our world must revolve around the One who will never fail—Jesus. As long as your world revolves around man it will most certainly crumble. We must not set our foundation on a fallen world or in this case a fallen man—me. We must, instead, set our foundation on the One who gave it all. We humble ourselves and serve others because He—Jesus—humbled Himself and served us.  

He is Mindful of us

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

(Galatians 4:9 ESV)

This verse is full of truth but I want to focus on seven words, “or rather to be known by God.” Does that humble you? It should. These seven words blow my mind. Paul immediately takes the focus off of man and centers it on God. How can we turn back to our sinful ways and to the world when the God of the universe knows us? This is what Paul so desperately wanted the Galatians to see. This is what we so desperately need to see.

God knows us! We could not be saved apart from God doing a work in our lives. Think about your life and your priorities. Are you living a life that shows a love for the One who knows you? Do your affections point you to God or to self? Paul is arguing for a life lovingly devoted to the One that saves. To the One that creates. To the One that loves. To the One that calls.

Do you understand that? God knew you—believer—before the universe was created. We see this clearly in Ephesians 1:4,

“…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him…”

God set His sights on believers before the first star was in the sky, before the sun was told to shine, before the mountains were formed, before the water covered the earth, before the galaxies were designed. Should this create arrogance in us? Should this bring about man-centered boasting? No, this most humbling truth should bring us to our knees. The Sovereign Creator of the universe chose us. David explained this best in Psalms 8:3-4,

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

Does this sound like an arrogant man? Does this sound like a man focused on flesh? This is a man that understood we are undeserving of salvation, forgiveness, and an eternity in heaven. This humbled David and should humble us, that even in the midst of all our sins, God is mindful of man.

I pray this truth penetrates our hearts and we turn from the elementary principles of this world and turn to the sovereign saving God.

Press Into Christ

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

Acts 14:19-20

Have you ever thought about your life and what motivates you? Why do you do the things you do? These are questions that come to my mind when reading the above scripture. We see in Acts 14 that Paul continues to preach the gospel regardless of what context he finds himself in. The book of Acts, up to this point, has illustrated an explosion—in a good way—in the church. We see thousands upon thousands saved—Jews and Gentiles alike. This explosion is encouraging. This explosion brings confidence. This explosion brings boldness. This explosion also brings murder, persecution, arrests and a host of other horrible reactions towards those who are preaching the gospel. So why do it?

Why preach the gospel if this could be the reaction from those we are preaching it to? Why risk ridicule? Why risk losing friends? Why risk losing our lives—actually dying—for this gospel? We must not run from these questions or keep these questions locked away inside of our hearts. These questions should make us press into Christ and His Word because that is the only place answers will be found.

Take another look at verse 19. Paul, after preaching the gospel is stoned and dragged out of the city to be left for dead. Do you think Paul knew this was a possibility? Do you believe he was shocked at the reaction of the crowd? Of course he wasn’t. This reaction was of no surprise. Paul, himself, participated in this type of persecution before God saved him and was well aware of the desire of some to suppress the gospel.

So why do this, why preach the gospel if Paul knew what could happen? He answers this question in Philippians 1:12-14.

             I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

He did this for the advancement of the gospel. Paul did not walk into the mission field to lift himself up. Paul did not seek his own glory. Paul’s only motive was bringing God glory. We know this because even while he was in prison he was concerned with the spread of the gospel. Paul was not worried about his safety or comfort. Paul is exclaiming the good news and can have peace, while locked up, knowing that the gospel is being advanced. Paul’s imprisonment brought about boldness and confidence in the gospel. Brothers and sisters didn’t tuck their tale and run, no, instead they stiffened up and fearlessly preached the gospel.

2 Corinthians 11 tells us that Paul faced a great deal of obstacles during his life; beatings, stoned, danger of robbers, danger from people, danger in the wilderness, sleepless nights, and anxiety. Paul was prepared to risk it all because he understood what mattered most—Christ and His glory. Jesus transforms us—our hearts, minds, and desires.

We see this clearly in Paul’s journey. God grabbed a murderer, a terrorist and completely changed him and his focus. Please don’t miss that. Paul could face those stone throwers because he had glory on his mind. Paul could face imprisonment because he knew that the chains that held him on this earth would be broken for eternity. Paul could face anxiety and sleepless nights because he knew and trusted that his eternity was secure and he would be soaking in the glory of the Almighty Lord forever and ever amen.

Did Paul rethink his calling after the stoning—the attempted murder? Did Paul turn in a letter of resignation because things were starting to get tough? No, he rose to his feet and joined Barnabas on the mission field. Paul could not be sidetracked.

So I ask again, what motivates you? Why do you do the things that you do? I pray that you are motivated by the truth found in the inspired Word of God. This truth shows us that apart from Christ we are truly hopeless. We need a Savior. This truth motivated Paul to completely sell out to Christ. It is this motivation that allowed Paul to get up after being stoned, nearly to death, and continue to preach the gospel.

When this is our motivation we share Paul's anxiety for the lost and intentionally preach the gospel without fear. Truth-motivation allows us to let go of the superficial longings of this world and hold fast to eternal longings for Christ. 

Fearless Because of Christ

Due to the recent health decline of my grandmother I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about death and getting older. Death is real. It is the one thing we all have in common. Christians and non-Christians will die. Republicans and Democrats will die. Jocks and geniuses will die. The list goes on and on. We are all going to die eventually. Have you ever thought about that? Does this scare you?

I remember when I was nine years old I thought about death quite a bit. I would lie in bed at night and wonder if I was going to wake up in the morning. I often feared that I would wake up but no one else in my family would and I would be left alone. These are disturbing thoughts in the mind of a nine year old. I didn’t have peace. I couldn’t get away from that constant state of fear. Where did this fear come from? How could I shake it? I met with a therapist but ultimately this fear wouldn’t subside until God saved me and I understood the unlimited amount of love poured out from Christ on the cross for me.

We can be fearless because of what He did. We can be fearless because Christ conquered death.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

I love Paul’s focus in these verses. We thank God because He produces the victory. Apart from God we will always lose. Apart from God we are swallowed up by death. I praise Him today knowing that He saved me. He saved me from sin, death, and an eternal hell.

When this truth dug its claws into my heart I was overcome with an unbelievable peace. I no longer fear death. I no longer fear the things that I cannot control. I find peace in the One who has seen it all, done it all, and conquered it all. Please take hold of this truth.

While thinking about this truth I cannot help but think about my grandma. The last few years have been rough on her physically. She has dealt with mini-strokes and falls. Her most recent bout with a fall happened about a month ago. This resulted in a broken hip, which led to a blood clot that now has her, according to the doctors, a mere hours from death. I have watched her body slowly give up. This is what happens with age. Scripture points to this as well.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed… Ecclesiastes 12:1-3

These verses are scary if you are apart from God and His saving grace. Verse 1 tells us that there will come a day when we will not even want to wake up, “I have no pleasure in them”. What happens when you get old? Strong men are no longer strong. Your mouth that once was full of teeth is now vacant. Your eyes that could see everything grow blurry. Your ears that you took for granted began to fail you. This is the truth of life. Your body and eventually your mind will want to give up.

These truths can bring sadness but I pray they bring peace and joy. How can joy be found in such depressing Scripture? The joy is found in the Father. The joy is found in the One who conquered it all. This body, this fallen state that we are currently in is going to fail us, but our God, our Savior will never fail.

I find peace knowing when my grandma closes her eyes for the last time she will immediately see the King (2 Corinthians 5:8). She will immediately be worshiping the One who paved the way for her. Her eyes that were growing dim on this earth will be able to see the indescribable glory of God. Those ears that were failing her will hear the multitude of angels singing God’s praises. That body that plagued her will no longer be a burden. No more walkers, no more confused speech, no more stumbling, no more pain and no more tears (Revelation 21:4). This is what she is looking forward to. This is the truth of her eternal future. This is exactly what Paul was discussing in 1 Corinthians.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:42-49

I love these words. This truth allows us to no longer have fear. This truth allows us to long for the day we are face to face with Jesus. This truth allows us to trust in the all saving power of God. This truth points us to the importance of the Gospel. Apart from God this will not be our truth. Apart from God our eternity is going to look very different. This is why we take hold of Him and the truth found in His Word.

I pray you take hold of this truth. I pray that your life would not be plagued with a fear of death. I pray that you would find comfort in the God inspiring words of the Bible. Will we suffer? Will we hurt? Will we face obstacles on this earth? We will absolutely deal with these things while here on earth but look what eternity holds. Dig into the Scripture and find peace knowing that we are not alone in these trials. Christ suffered, hurt, and faced obstacles as well. He did this willingly and He overcame. This is the victory we rest in—His victory.

I have peace knowing that my grandma is going to spend eternity praising our Savior our God. This pain and discomfort will no longer hold her back. The boundaries presented by her physical fallen body will no longer exist. I thank God for His saving grace and I thank God for grabbing ahold of my grandma all those many years ago. He is my treasure and He is my peace. 

Every Corner

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos… Acts 13:4-6

I love the boldness shown by Paul and Barnabas as they set out on their journey. Where does their boldness come from? Where were they able to find confidence? They found it in the only place that mattered. They found their confidence and boldness in God. He sent them. He prepared them. He called them to this mission. Do you share this confidence? Do you share this boldness?

What was Paul and Barnabas’ first stop once arriving to Cyprus? Did they take a nap? Did they seek out worldly pleasures? Did they go to the beach? No, they immediately started preaching the gospel. They were intentional in their walk. They were intentional in their mission—share the gospel with the lost.

Notice Paul and Barnabas' first stop was the synagogues. Do you think the gospel was welcomed there? Paul and Barnabas stepped out of their comfort zone and risked everything to preach truth. Their comfort zone was found in the gospel. They cared enough to go. They cared enough to see that the spread of the gospel was more important than their life, their success, their money, or their career.

I am inspired by the fact that they did not stop at the synagogues. They made their way through the entire island of Cyprus. They were focused on reaching every corner of that area. They knew that they were called to go, and go they went. Do we share this heart? Do we share this desire? Are we concerned about the gospel reaching every corner of the earth? Are we even concerned about every corner of our city being reached? We must honestly ask ourselves these questions.

These questions scare me. These questions convict me. What are we doing? Why are there still people who have not heard the gospel? We must learn from Paul and Barnabas and continue to carry the torch. Once we do this we will stop being content on the sidelines. Have you ever found yourself making excuses or arguing that God just hasn’t given you the opportunities to go? The opportunities are there, we just have to take them. You will never answer the call if you don’t completely submit your heart and mind to God and trust Him.

This has been weighing on my mind quite a bit lately, especially after seeing this recent poll, http://www.gallup.com/poll/153479/Mississippi-Religious-State.aspx. Take some time to study this data. Gallup asked folks if they considered themselves to be religious. They defined religion this way; “is it an important part of your daily life and do you attend religious services every week or almost every week.” The New England states top the charts as the least religious states in the country while many of the southern states are considered to be the most religious. Regardless of whom tops the chart none of these numbers should bring comfort. There continues to be a number of folks right here in our backyard who have not heard the gospel.

Does this bother you? Do you ever spend time thinking about or praying about the lost around you? We are called to every corner of this world. This should not scare us. We have the greatest news ever given. This truth saves. This truth forgives. This truth loves. This truth frees. This truth will provide you with all the confidence and boldness you need. This truth does not need our additions or subtractions. This Christ-centered truth stands on its own. I praise God for these opportunities and I cherish the time I have to share this truth with others.

Please understand that Paul and Barnabas prayed to and were called by the same God we worship. He was there for them and He is there for us. We should be motivated to go. We should be anxious to go. We should want to go. Oh how precious is a life devoted to the spread of the gospel. Please don’t forget the truth found in Romans 10:15,

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

This is a calling we all have received. Some of you will stay here witnessing to those around you—neighbors, coworkers, friends, family. Some of you will be sent around the world. Some of you will be sent to another state. Regardless of where you are called we all share the same mission—spreading the good news of Christ. We must be intentional about this. The gospel has to be a fixture in our lives.

Are you ready? Are you excited? Are you anxious to see what God has planned? I pray that you are. I pray that we would pick up the torch and shine God’s light around this dark world. I pray that every corner of our lives and of this world would be saturated with this Christ-centered gospel. I pray we would meditate on Matthew 9:37-38.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Brothers and sisters the harvest is there what are we going to do about it?!

You Can't Do It

You remember that line from Waterboy?  You know the one, “You can do it.” People love using this quote. We see this in politicians, actors, athletes, and business leaders. We find this idea in self-help books and DVD’s. They are all emphasizing the same thing, “You can do it.” You can have your best life now. The world is at your fingertips.

   

This is a damning philosophy, which is why I want to focus on the opposite yet truthful statement, “You can’t do it.” I understand that this may be difficult to comprehend but trust me it is a freeing statement and unlike the damning philosophy of “You can do it”, this is a life changing life giving philosophy.

We can’t do it. We can spend our entire life trying to obtain the unobtainable—ultimate satisfaction—but it will all be for naught. In our natural “Adamic” state we constantly are searching. We are searching for happiness. We are searching for that next high. We believe this satisfaction is found in money, spouse, career, or even a hobby. The question I want to tackle is can this satisfaction possibly be found apart from Christ and His work?

When thinking about this question I am reminded of Simon, James and John in Luke 5. The crowds following Jesus were growing and Jesus needed to find a place that would allow Him to speak to the entire group. So Jesus boarded Simon’s boat and asked him to pull out from land. Once Jesus was done speaking He told Simon to cast his nets for a catch. Simon, after working all night and coming up empty, reluctantly threw the nets in the water. They hauled in enough fish to fill two boats. The boats were literally sinking because of the weight of the haul. This brings us to the reaction of the fisherman in verses 8-11.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:8-11

Notice Simon’s obedience and his immediate praise to Jesus. Simon wasn’t focused on his haul. Simon wasn’t focused on the amount of money he was going to make. Simon wasn’t focused on the fish fry he was going to have. Simon was focused on the One who made it all happen. He was focused on the one who provided him with the fish and that haul. Simon realized that he deserved no credit for the catch. As a matter fact Simon realized that he was not worthy to even be in the presence of Christ. Simon understood the weight of his sin. He also understood that he must repent. Simon was screaming out, “I can’t do it!” He knew that he needed a savior and apart from that Savior he was hopeless.

I love verse 11. They brought their boat to land and “they left everything and followed him.” They left EVERYTHING. They just landed the biggest catch of the season—maybe of all time—and they left it all. This catch could have been their big break. This catch could have landed them that coveted reality show on Discovery. Well, maybe not but you see how big of a deal this was.

Why would they leave it all? Why walk away from that business? Why step off that boat into uncertainty? Why walk away from family and friends? They did this because they understood the concept behind, “You can’t do it.” They were dropping everything to follow the King—the One who could do it.

Think about your life and the things you are wrapped up in. What is your passion? What are you searching for? Are you waiting for that big catch, that big client, that big sale? Is your happiness and joy found in the things of this world? If this is the case than I am pleading with you to fall on your knees and scream to our God, our Savior, “I can’t do it.”

Notice here the focus of these verses is not that Jesus provided them with the biggest haul ever. They are not following Him as if He is some kind of genie. They are following Him because they want their identity to be intertwined with Jesus. They want to worship the Savior of the world. To them it wasn’t about the next catch, client or sale. They realized that they had all they needed in Jesus. He was enough—more than enough. Did they know what was ahead of them? Did they completely understand the calling of their lives? Of course not, but they trusted and they knew that regardless of what the future would bring they wanted to spend that time with their eyes fixed on Jesus.

I realize that this is a radical idea. I realize that this type of devotion may be perceived by some to be crazy, but I am encouraging you to follow Him wholeheartedly. This may mean you leave your business and move overseas. This could cause you to restructure your business allowing more of your profits to assist the spread of God’s word. This mindset will also have you focused on the Kingdom Dream being spread instead of the "American Dream."

This type of devotion could cause you to lose friends and even family members. Are you prepared to follow Him? Are you prepared to leave everything? In order for these changes to happen you must embrace the idea that “You can’t do it.” We know and trust in this statement because we know and trust in the One who screams, “You can’t do it, but I—Jesus—can and have!”

Being a Man to the Glory of God

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:4-5

When you hear the word “manly” what comes to mind? We tend to use terms like; tough, outdoorsman, football player, farmer, hard worker, sweaty, athlete, jack of all trades, or muscular. This is a very superficial defining of this word. I would like to dig a little deeper. There has to be a better more biblical definition of this term, right?

This is what brings me to John 13. I would argue that in verse four and five Jesus’ actions are illustrating exactly what we, as men, should strive to be. I realize I may be losing some of you here. I realize that, on the surface, washing another man’s feet is not manly—at least as it is defined by the world. Please don’t let this superficial thought poison your biblical view of manliness.

Washing people’s feet was typically a task for non-Jewish slaves. This was lowly work. This is why these verses are so powerful. The Leader of all leaders humbled Himself to the point of a foot washer. Think about that for a second. The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Savior of sinners got down on His knees and washed the dirty, nasty, blister infested feet of the disciples. We also must not neglect the truth that Jesus washed the feet of Judas Iscariot. Jesus was well aware of Judas’ plan to turn Him over to the authorities. So we have our King, our Savior willingly washing the feet of His best friends as well as His enemy—the one who would ultimately betray Him.  

Why would He do this? They should be washing His feet right? Jesus explains His actions in verses 13-16.

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. John 13:13-16

He did this to show that being a leader/man is so much more than being a jack of all trades, a football player, tough, or any other adjective you can think of. These verses show us we are to be servant leaders. Are you a servant leader at your office? Are you willing to get your hands dirty? Are you a servant leader at your home? Are you loving and helping your wife and children glorify God? Or are you barking out orders like a dictator? Are you a servant leader in the community and in the church? Do people in your community know without a doubt you are saturated with the gospel because of your words and your actions? This is what we are called to be. This is not easy, but it is a must. We cannot continue to allow this fallen world and its influences to define us.

I encourage all of you to be the man you are called to be. Quit looking at athletes, actors, politicians and all the other fallen men of this world and start looking at Christ as the one to imitate. Earlier I defined “manly” in very superficial terms. I now want to define it biblically by looking to Jesus. Jesus willingly gave His life, He then forgave those who put Him on the cross. He faced temptation—directly from the devil—without fear but instead with trust in God. This same Jesus told the disciples to allow the children to come and hear His teaching. This same Jesus cried with friends when Lazarus died. This same Jesus cared for the sick and the hungry. This same Jesus prayed to God with tears in His eyes at Gethsemane. This same Jesus turned the other cheek. This same manly Jesus washed the feet of the man that would betray Him.

Do you get the picture? Jesus embodied all the attributes we as men should want to be defined by. He was tough, sacrificial, loving, forgiving, and caring. He wasn’t consumed with worldly desires. He wasn’t worried about what others might think. He wasn’t worried about impressing His peers. He didn’t spend His time trying to climb the career ladder. He had one motivation, one mission and that was to glorify the creator of the universe—our God.

Men we must stand up and fight for our families, communities, churches, and world. This is not a fight that will be won by climbing the career ladder or by our bank account. This fight will be won by showing our families the gospel through our words and our actions. This fight will be won by being a part of the community around us. This is more than just going to the grocery store. We need to Interact with our neighbors, pray for our neighbors and most importantly share the gospel with our neighbors. Ultimately the fight cannot be won apart from God. He is our treasure and our motivator. We are intentional about sharing the gospel because we want to see souls saved and Him glorified. 

We are defined by the Word. Our identity is wrapped up in our Savior. We are good husbands to the glory of God. We are good dads to the glory of God. We are good children to the glory of God. We are good coworkers to the glory of God. We are good neighbors to the glory of God. He is our motivation. Our goal is not to be manly apart from God. Our goal is to be manly to the glory of God.  

Suffering Well

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

 Isaiah 43:2

I love this verse. Reading it always brings a since of peace. This one verse screams, “GOD IS WITH ME!!” How does that make you feel? Are you comforted by this fact? The peace and the emotions that come with trusting in this truth are amazing, but we must not miss the other truth found here. This verse does not read like this, “You will not pass through the waters, you will not go through the rivers, you will not walk through fire.” This verse is not giving us a free pass from suffering. This verse is emphatically saying that we will suffer, but it is during these times of suffering where we will grow closer to God. He tells us plainly, “I will be with you, the rivers will not overwhelm you, the flame will not consume you.”

We had our first child in March of 2011 but this was no simple task. We tried for over year—with many doctor visits in between—to get pregnant. We wanted a child more than anything, but it always seemed like the door would shut on our plans. We prayed, others prayed, we changed our diets, we took medication and then finally Erin brought me the good news, we were going to have a baby. Many tears and sleepless nights were spent during this time, but we look at Gavin—our now 14 month old son—and those nights are so far from our mind. We look at him and without hesitation say we would do it all over again. Did we suffer that year and a half? Absolutely. Did we feel like the rivers were going to overwhelm us? Absolutely. Did we know without a doubt that God was with us? Absolutely.

   

We assumed our journey would always be difficult when it came to having children, but this assumption changed in January of 2012.  This verse in Isaiah is something that I have looked to quite a bit in the past 4 to 5 months of my life. This past January Erin—my wife—came downstairs holding a pregnancy test that read “pregnant”. This was welcoming news. This meant we could get pregnant on our own. We did it! We were able to get pregnant without a bunch of doctor visits, without years of trying, without worrying. This was amazing news. We were so excited and we immediately starting sharing the news with everyone. We were a little nervous because of how close our children would be in age but that was completely secondary to our since of joy. We praised God and we gave Him all the credit.

Once we got over our initial excitement Erin made a doctor’s appointment to make sure everything was moving in a positive direction. We were going to get to see our new baby. We were going to get to hear a heartbeat. We were a bundle of nerves. Our excitement was truly uncontrollable as we anxiously waited for the nurse to take us back to the ultrasound room. After waiting for what seemed like hours—probably more like 30 minutes—the nurse called us back. Erin hops up on the table and the ultrasound begins. The technician started to look around and I could tell by the look in her eyes she expected to see more. She said that everything pointed to pregnancy but we were not as far along as we thought we were so there would not be much to see. This news was disheartening but we assumed everything would be fine in a couple of weeks. We would just give it time. The doctor ran some blood work and assured us we would hear something soon.

As you can imagine our excitement was a bit deflated after this visit, but we just knew the phone call from the doctor in a couple days would tell us we were pregnant just really early in the process. On January 18, 2012 the call came in. The doctor informed Erin that she was pregnant, there was a baby but a miscarriage had occurred and Erin was no longer pregnant. I look back to that day and I feel helpless. I am the man of the house. I am the leader, but what am I supposed to tell my wife? What I am supposed to tell myself? How could I explain this? I was not with Erin when she got the news—I was at work. Once I got her phone call I immediately headed toward home. I made a few phone calls in between to my parents. I had to tell my parents the good news and the bad news. See, we were waiting to tell them about the newest addition to the Wood family. So in my phone call I had to say, “Erin was pregnant but we lost the baby.” This was so difficult. I could sense the emotion through the phone of my mom and my dad. They wanted to be there for their son, for my wife, and for my son. They wanted to hold us, but they lived four hours away. They wanted to give me a solution, a remedy. But, again, what do you tell your 27 year old son upon hearing that news?

I finally arrived home and grabbed Erin. We cried and held each other but neither of us really knew what to say. We had never been through something like this. I took this time to do what comes natural to me, I preached. My wife, on the other hand, needed love and her husband not a preacher. This was a learning experience for us and I have apologized to my wife for preaching at her at a time when she needed more love than words. We continue to grow from this and we now understand that we needed to remind ourselves of God’s sovereignty and His power. I knew that questions were going to come up in my mind and my heart and I did not want to allow myself to question God and His plan. Now looking back there is no doubt in my mind He walked us through the fire. There is no doubt in my mind He prevented the rivers from overtaking us. There is no doubt in my mind He was with us as we passed through the waters.

I realize that some of you may ask, “How can you say that? How can you trust Him when your baby was taken away from you?” These questions are tough, but looking back at the past four years of my life I am fully confident in God’s plan. Four years ago we moved to Knoxville. Four years ago we started attending First Baptist Church in Powell, TN. Three years ago, after sleeping in late we visited the church’s Fountain City campus. It was at this campus that things started clicking, new friends were made and the foundation was being laid for an amazing support group for us in January of 2012. Don’t you see God’s work in this? Please don’t miss it. When I was born in 1984 God knew that I would move to Knoxville in 2008. God knew that Erin and I would have some struggles getting pregnant. God knew that we would bring Gavin into the world on March 3, 2011. God knew that Erin would walk down those stairs in January of 2012 with a pregnancy test alerting us of our new baby. God knew that same baby would die later that month.

God wasn’t distant during all of this. He is the great I AM. He is the unchangeable God of the universe. David Platt said it well when he said, “Our Sovereign Lord holds the destiny of this world in the palms of His hands.” This is what Isaiah 43:2 is telling us. God is in our lives not apart from them. We will suffer. We will walk through rough waters. We will walk through a fire in our life. When we are suffering we are not alone. We rest in Him! We build our house on the rock—Jesus (Matthew 7:24-27). We, however, understand that building on this Rock does not exempt us from the storm itself—the suffering.

Some may argue, “What does God know about suffering, He doesn’t know what I am going through.” Please don’t let this be your argument. Have you read the gospels? Have you read about Jesus? Jesus stepped down from His throne to suffer. He was born to die. He did this willingly. I can assure you that any fire you may walk through Jesus walked through a bigger one.

Do I know why we lost our second child? Can I explain why we had to go through this intense pain? I cannot answer either of these questions, but I do know that God was with my family. I do know that I grew closer to Him during this fire in my life. I do know that His plan is supreme. I do know that He is my treasure and I long for the day He returns and eternity is spent praising His name. I long for that day and I pray you do as well.   

I want to end with more scripture. During this season of suffering for my family God and His providence placed Erin in a bible study. This bible study focused on the book of James. We didn’t know then but it is clear now that God was working through all of that. James 1:2-4 deals specifically with suffering.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So once again we see God’s hand in all that we do. When Erin joined that bible study we had no idea we would be receiving the news of a miscarriage. We had no idea that the verses in James would be so applicable to us and our current circumstances. These verses coincide with Isaiah 43. We find comfort in our God. As a matter of fact we “count it all joy” because these trials bring about faithfulness and closeness to our Father that can never be overlooked.

When you are suffering and you feel alone go to His word and soak in it. Soak in these truths. God is there. He has always been there and will always be there. I pray this brings you comfort and I pray that during your times of suffering you would look to the only remedy available—God. 

Saved Through the Grace of the Lord Jesus

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” Acts 15:10-11

The context of this scripture places us inside the Jerusalem Council. The council was dealing with the topic of Gentile salvation. Some argued that the Gentile must first convert to Judaism and uphold the Mosaic Law as well as be circumcised before they could convert to Christianity. Obviously not all agreed with this logic but there were enough people concerned about it that they decided to hold a council to discuss the issue further.

It is during this debate that Peter steps up to defend Paul and his missionary work. Peter is the best to defend because he also saw, firsthand, the Holy Spirit given to the Gentiles—specifically Cornelius in Acts 10. Peter was simply pointing out that the circumcision party was missing the point. Instead of celebrating the salvation of others they were focusing on the law. Peter argued this to be a mistake.

Why is this a mistake? Why would doing your best and upholding the Mosaic Law be a negative thing? Are we not called to be obedient? Are we not called to be more like Christ? Peter’s point was not that the Law in and of itself was negative or sinful. The Law was given to man from God. This means that it—the law—was intrinsically good. The Law was also given to man to show our complete dependence and need for a Savior. Apart from God and His saving grace and mercy we have no chance—NO CHANCE—of entering the Kingdom. Apart from God and His saving grace and mercy we have no hope. This is where the problems arise with the circumcision party’s argument.

Peter has to remind them of the yoke—burden—that comes with this works based philosophy. He also reminds the group that none of them or their fathers had been able to uphold the law. So why would they think that new converts could do this? Peter simply points out what should be obvious, this is an unnecessary burden. This is a burden because we can spend our entire life trying to earn our way into heaven and always miss the mark. This way of thinking is poison for the soul of a believer. This poison shows itself when one finally sees the impossibility of being “good” enough to earn salvation.

I am not arguing for disobedience or for complete disregard to the commandments laid out in the scriptures. We are called to be like Christ. We are called to obey. The problem with the burden or yoke that Peter is referring to is the begrudging obedience it brings. We are called to obey lovingly not begrudgingly. Apart from Christ we are simply trying to be “good”. We are so focused on the law and the obedience of it that it becomes our God. We shift our focus from God and His sovereignty to our idol, the law. This is a major problem. We must understand that we will never be good enough. We will never reach a point or a level where we have earned salvation.

The other side of this coin is that of a lovingly submitted believer. This is someone who understands the cross and the importance of it. This is someone who understands that the gospel is not about what I can do but instead about what Jesus did. This is someone who understands they are a sinner in need of saving. This is someone who understands and loves the authoritative word of God. This is someone who understands, as Peter says in verse 11, we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. This is not about working your way to heaven. This is about our God gifting us with grace and saving us. This has nothing to do with my personal worth or my personal works. This has everything to do with His—Jesus—worth and His work on the cross. Once we see this and understand it is about Him and not us we began to desire and long to be like Him. So our begrudging submission turns into loving submission to the Savior. This causes us to read scripture differently and appreciate the truth presented to us. The truth begins to pour out of the Word that we are hopeless apart from the saving grace of God. We are hopeless if left to our own works.

Peter was not arguing the law to be sinful. Peter was arguing that our worship of the law apart from God is sinful. Peter was warning the group to not idolize the gift—the law—but instead keep your sights on the One who presents the gift—God. This gift is truly the greatest gift ever offered. This gift then shifts our obedience away from man and the world and toward God and His Word. This shift brings about freedom from sin. The yoke was taken by Christ. He bore that burden. Knowing this and understanding this truth allows us to enjoy the freedom that is the gospel. We trust in His work and not our own.

This freedom does not take us down a path of disobedience. This freedom takes us down a path of loving obedience. We submit to His authority and the authority of His Word. This is such a great truth that I pray everyone would grasp. Please stop trying to work your way into the Kingdom. Stop trying to earn your salvation. You will never be good enough. Let me repeat that, YOU WILL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH. This is why we look to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He was and is more than enough. 

Praise God for He Saves and Man Doesn't

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Acts 11:1-3

The first three verses of Acts 11 should be focused on the glory of God and salvation coming to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, but instead Peter is met by a group of guys who are more worried about ritualistic laws than God’s glory through the salvation of His peoples. Have you ever found yourself doing this? Have you shifted your focus from God’s glory because you didn’t like the way someone was saved or because you didn’t think a certain person could be saved? We are in a constant state of judging aren’t we? “Well that guy wasn’t regenerated because he has a horrible past, or that girl wasn’t truly transformed because I knew her in high school and there is no way she has repented.” We do this in so many different ways and none of them praise God for His work in the lives of the people around us. When we make these arguments we are attempting to put handcuffs on God. We, in essence, are saying that God cannot or is not powerful enough to save someone who has a checkered past. We are also arguing that we know who should and should not be saved. Do we really want to leave that decision up to fallen men? I would much rather put my trust and hope in the God of the bible, the God who created the universe, the God who formed the mountains, the God who placed the stars in the sky, the God who knows every hair on my head. This is the God we serve.

We spend our time focused on the superficial. Some are consumed with the outer appearance of believers. Men must wear a suit and tie and women must wear long dresses. While others argue that suits are a form of legalism and you should wear skinny jeans and have a chain hooked to your wallet. All of these examples are wrong. We must stop shifting our focus to these meaningless issues. Our point, our focus must stay on the One who saves, the One who calls us. We keep our eyes on God. He sees through our past, through our mistakes, through our tattoos, our suits, our skinny jeans, and our chained wallets. He sees through all of this and focuses on the righteousness given to those whom He has called by our Savior—Jesus. This is why we focus on God’s glory.

We must not follow in the steps of those who criticized Peter. We must not lose sight of God’s glory and His might. We, instead, must stop analyzing the superficial and start setting our sights on the one true God! This frees us up to glorify God in all that we do. This frees us up to worship Him without hesitation or distraction. Salvation can and will come to all different types of people. Salvation can come to those in suits, skinny jeans, long dresses, pants, the rich, the poor, the middle class, the criminals, the valedictorians, the high school dropouts and the list goes on and on. This is why we take heed and do as we are commanded. We go and share the gospel with all types of people because the bible tells us that all types of people—not all people—will be saved. We cannot overlook this wondrous truth. Praise Him for this truth and His work in the lives of so many. I praise Him for the work He continues to do in the lives of screw-ups like myself. I praise Him because He deserves my all.  

He is Our Motivation

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Luke 18:22

This rich ruler was devoted to and focused on a works based salvation model. He walked around with his clipboard so he could award himself a gold star when a “good” deed was performed. I can just imagine the large poster board in his room with a chart full of gold stars. This particular day that chart apparently had filled up so he made his way to Jesus. In his mind he had nothing to fear. He had been great at following rules so surely Jesus would give him a pat on the back and say heaven will welcome you my son. I can picture him taking that chart off the wall and carrying it with him as he approached Jesus. You can hear the excitement and arrogance in his voice when he answers Jesus in verse 21, “All these [commandments] I have kept from my youth.” He says this as he shows his gold star filled chart.

Jesus then drops a bomb on him with verse 22. Think of the immediate shock that must have come over this ruler. “What do you mean I lack something? Have you not seen my chart? It is full of stars, and they are gold!” The ruler’s complete focus was that of works. He believed that his works could save him. Jesus was simply pointing out that apart from the saving grace and mercy of God you have no hope in eternal life. Jesus was screaming, “You think you have it all figured out but You are missing me!!” You can stack up “good” deeds all you want. You can earn as much money as you want. You can go to church as much as you want, but filling up your chart and checking off your boxes mean nothing apart from Him. Do you get that?

Please don’t miss the significance of this verse and others like it. It is easy for us to check off a box and manage our lives. It is easy for us to fill up our charts with gold stars and want to put that in God’s face and say, “see what I have been doing.” Who are you praising and glorifying when you do this? This is nothing more than self-gratification. When we do things like this we are arguing that God needs us. He needs us and our gold stars. We tend to think that, He is sure lucky to have us on His team. This is laughable.

I would encourage you to examine your life and decide where your treasure is found. Are you struggling with a works based philosophy when it comes to your salvation? Please don’t hedge your bets. Stop living with one foot conformed to the world and one foot in the gospel. This is dangerous. We love and keep the commandments because of who He is and what He did, not because of who we are and what we can do. This is why we do good deeds. This is why we go to church. This is why we go to work. We do all this because of Him and His glory. He is our motivation. He is our end. He is our treasure!

Be Aware of the Wolves

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15

Events this week reminded me of this great verse from Matthew. Wednesday my wife and I were greeted at our door, after work, by our dogs. This is a daily occurrence—usually a fun one as well. This fun encounter took a very bad turn when I noticed an empty pill bottle lying on the kitchen floor. Apparently our cat—purposefully or not—had knocked the full pill container off the counter. You can imagine what happened once the container was on the floor. Our dogs apparently thought Christmas had come early to the Wood house and they chowed down. These pills look and taste like treats but they are prescribed for dogs with severe pain from arthritis—more than one a day could cause serious problems and even death. However, this fact did not play into our dogs’ decision to eat 27 of them. Our dogs are now being treated, and we have no way knowing the long term or short term affects this may have on them. So, what does this have to do with Matthew 7?

This has everything to do with the verse above! Once things calmed down Wednesday I couldn’t help but equate our lives to that of our dogs. Our dogs are constantly searching for things to eat, especially treats. They don’t use proper judgment. They are not concerned about the outcome or the long terms effects of their decisions. They are worried about right now and right now they see 27 tablets in front of them that look and smell like treats. Is this not what we do as well? We are constantly searching for pleasure. We are constantly seeking fulfillment in our lives. We want to be happy. We want to feel good. So what do we do? Many times we make poor decisions and dive into situations that will have long lasting effects on our lives. The thing that worries me the most about this lifestyle is the eternal ramifications that it brings.

“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” Blaise Pascal

Pascal had it figured out. Just like my dogs, we are in a constant search mode. We recognize that something is missing but we struggle to pinpoint exactly what that is. This struggle brings more searching but never in a Godly direction. We choose to fill this “hole” in our heart with debauchery—sex, alcohol, friendships, children, sports, work, technology, mortgages, cars. We spend our time turning, as Mark Driscoll would say, our good things in to “god” things. This is unhealthy on so many levels but especially in our Christian walk.

The most unfortunate thing about this mindset and lifestyle is it is creeping, no; it is being welcomed into our churches. There are folks out there preying on individuals with what they claim to be the gospel. This is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 7. We must be on guard and understand that the wolves are coming and in some cases are already here. They are out to get us. We must also understand that some of these wolves do a great job of looking the part. Some of these wolves are in your churches teaching and mentoring young minds. This is why we have to be prepared. This is why we must stay submerged in the Word.

Look back at my dogs and their experience. The problem they faced wasn’t necessarily their search but instead it was their eagerness to ingest what they found without investigating further. I am not going to fault you for your search—as long as it is God centered. We must investigate and dig deeper to assure ourselves that Truth is being taught and preached. Just because someone looks the part and says, what appears to be, the right words does not mean that Truth is being preached. We must dig deeper.

Well, you may ask, how am I supposed to know the Truth is being preached? The simplest way to assure that the gospel is being preached is to make sure that no one is putting an adjective in front of the gospel. It is what is. It is not the “health” gospel. It is not the “wealth” gospel. It is not the “black or white” gospel. It is not the “get you out of debt” gospel. It is and will always be simply the GOSPEL centered on one person—Jesus!

Well what does that mean? How are we to define the gospel? We start with Jesus. Jesus stepped down from His throne in heaven to become man (John 17). Now, recognize that Jesus did not cease being God.  Jesus lived on the Earth fully God while fully man. He hurt. He cried. He worked. He bled. He healed. He performed miracles. He raised the dead. He calmed the storms. This is Jesus. Jesus was sent here to die. He went to the cross with glory on His mind. Everything Jesus did was about bringing God glory. We see this clearly in John.

                I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. John 17:4-5

So Jesus lived and then was put on a cross and died. Why would He do that? What is found at the cross? At the cross Jesus became our substitute our ransom. Notice He didn’t simply pay the ransom, He became the ransom. Why do we need a substitute? We need a substitute because we are sinners. Apart from the Almighty One we are destined for hell. Our treasure, our focus as sinners is to constantly trample on God’s glory, we fall short (Romans 3:23).  God could not and will not simply look over sin. This is why Jesus was sent. This is why Jesus died on the cross. The cross made it possible for sinners to be saved. This is the only way for one to be saved. We did nothing to earn this. The only thing we earned or deserved was eternal damnation.

These are tough words but don’t miss the beautiful picture painted at the cross. Our Savior, the Ruler over the entire universe willingly took the cross so that salvation could come. This brought about propitiation. This is a big word but a gorgeous one. This means that God’s wrath was satisfied. Jesus’ blood didn’t just simply wipe away our sin. His blood turned God’s wrath to favor. Don’t miss that! This demonstrates God’s righteousness. He can have no part of sin. The penalty for sin is severe (Romans 6:23). Jesus, on the cross, took that wrath. He took what we deserved. Jesus’ blood brought forgiveness.

This is great news for us and is a beautiful portrait of the Love of our Father but it doesn’t stop there. Three days later the tomb was rolled away and our Savior lives! The pangs of death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). Christ lived, died and rose again so sinners could be saved. We have nothing to fear. Death can be very scary but Christ brought eternity with the Father and conquered death so that we could have no fear.

What is at the center of the few paragraphs above discussing the gospel? Jesus is! He is our focus. He is our treasure. If the gospel ever lacks being Christ-centered than it ceases to be the gospel. We must hold onto that truth. This was Paul’s focus. He constantly referred to the gospel as the “gospel of Christ”. Jesus must stay at the center of all that we do and certainly at the center of the gospel.

I want to finish by warning you to be aware. Be aware of your teachers. Be aware of the books you read. Be aware of the podcasts you listen to. If any of these even begin to move away from a gospel centered on Christ you must stop ingesting. Don’t be like my dogs and ingest whatever is in front of you simply because it looks good or sounds good. Please don’t spend your life searching for things apart from Christ. We must stop simply ingesting all that we come in contact with and start investigating further so that we learn from others while also deepening our own passions and studies in the Word and in Christ. 

The Power of the Gospel

Are you ashamed of the gospel? Do you cower when faced with questions about the gospel? Are you afraid of what others may think of you if they find out how you feel and what you believe? I pray that you answer these questions with a loud, “NO”, but I am afraid there are too many of us—Christians— answering yes.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

We should be inspired by Paul’s boldness and love for the gospel. He would argue, “What are you ashamed of?” Paul is screaming, “The gospel is the power of God for salvation”. It is not about you and your abilities. It is about God and His power. He saves, you don’t. This should bring us joy. Quit hiding out and cowering when God presents opportunities for you to praise Him by spreading the gospel and witnessing to others. We cannot hide behind our excuses or our fear. Jesus tells us in Luke that we should have no fear and we should and must acknowledge Him before men.

And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God…

And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12:8; 11-12

Rest in that truth and throw your anxieties out the window. Notice what occurs when we acknowledge Jesus—He acknowledges us. Does that bring you peace? We can stop depending on ourselves for everything. We can simply depend on Jesus. Jesus spells it out clearly here; there is nothing to be ashamed of. He has it covered.  

I realize that some of you may agree this is good news but you would dismiss the idea that you can or need to share the gospel. I have heard a number of folks argue their faith to be a private individual matter. Where do you see this in scripture? Is this what Jesus taught? Did the Great Commission say, “Go therefore hoarding the gospel and keeping your faith and your beliefs to yourself.”? This idea of faith being a private individual matter is ludicrous. Jesus commanded us to go.

                Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

How are we supposed to make disciples of all nations if we keep this gospel to ourselves? How can we expect the gospel to spread if we ignore the commandment from Jesus, to go? Paul would dismiss our weak excuses. Remember Paul’s exclamation in 1 Corinthians 9, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”? Does this sound like someone who believed in a private individual faith? Does this sound like someone who hoards the gospel? Paul understood that Jesus saved him on the road to Damascus. Paul understood that Jesus went to the cross as a substitute for him. Paul understood that Jesus was resurrected to show that our Savior lives and the chains of death could not hold Him. Paul understood and appreciated all that Jesus did and he couldn’t help but share that news with others.

Are you taking a stand for the gospel? Are you taking a stand for Christ? I would venture to say that your acquaintances could tell me your favorite baseball and or basketball team, your favorite car, your favorite food, your pet peeves, your favorite television show but they could not tell me about your relationship with Christ. This saddens and convicts me. Where is our treasure? What or Who are we worshiping? We are so quick to worship the things of this world, but fail to worship the One who saved us. We fail to worship the One who loves us. I pray that we—the church—would stand together carrying Paul’s banner; “I am not ashamed of the gospel and as a matter of fact woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” This is the good news. This is the saving news that is too good to hold in and keep to ourselves. 

God's Plan Trumps All

And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Acts 8:1

I was asked the other day by a professing atheist, if God is good than how do you explain the bad things that happen? I didn’t take this opportunity to trash or attack or become overly defensive with this person. Instead, I calmly explained God’s motives and involvement in all of our actions. My calmness was not shared by my atheist friend but we did have some good dialogue nonetheless. My goal in this conversation was not to show how knowledgeable I was, but it was to point this person to Christ and His glory.

I am not naïve. I realize that there are people out there with these questions. I also realize that these people are not all atheists. There are folks sitting in churches all over the world who have these questions and concerns. My goal for this blog is to help us walk through some of these questions and see that God is sovereign overall. The Creator is in control. The creator does not react to our actions but instead He is the “I AM”. I also want to show that God’s goal is to glorify Himself. Everything was created to glorify and worship Him—see my last post. I do not claim to have it all figured out but I hope and pray that after you read this you will be closer to understanding the wonderful truths of the Word and our God. 

I now want to walk through these questions and show how they tie into the verse above. I cannot expect you to understand the context of Acts 8:1 without first looking back at Acts 7. In Acts 7 we see the rapid growth of the church was now diversifying. This was great but it also created some minor problems. The Hellenists—Greek speaking Jews—felt slighted by the Hebrews who spoke Aramaic. The language barrier between these groups created a non-intentional neglect by the Hebrews. Understanding this could create bigger problems, the Apostles decided to call everyone together and choose seven from the group to assist with the Hellenists and their needs. Stephen, being one of the seven, eagerly takes on this responsibility and God begins using him in a mighty way. Stephen used this opportunity not to just help the believers but to share the Gospel. God also empowered him to perform wonders and signs—he was the first person after the apostles to do this.

So we know Stephen was a man of God. We know Stephen was focused on one thing and one thing only—God and His Glory. Stephen boldly proclaimed the truth of Christ literally until his final breath. Stephen knew that death was imminent. Stephen was not thinking about what he deserved or what he earned while on this earth. What did Stephen say as he was dying?

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60

Are these the words of a man focused on self? Are these the words of a man who thinks he deserves better? No, these are words of a person that understands God deserves our praise. These are words of a person that understands we are all in need of a Savior. These are words of a person that understands his home is not in this world but with the Father.

I realize that some of you still may question the motives of God though. Sure, that is fine for Stephen but what about me? What about the things I am struggling with? I would answer this with the verse at the top of this post. Look at what happened as a result of Stephen’s death. We see that persecution heated up for those who followed Christ. We also see that this persecution and the death of Stephen lead to a dispersion of the believers. This dispersion allowed for the Gospel to be taken to other parts of the earth. Remember what Jesus said in Acts 1?

                But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The spreading of the Gospel was and is crucial. The death of Stephen allowed this to happen. I love how God works. Those who murdered Stephen had one focus—suppress the Gospel movement. They wished to stop anyone who would say that Jesus was Lord. This was their goal/mission. I can just imagine their disappointment once they realized that instead of suppressing the Gospel, God used their actions to energize the Gospel by sending out believers. They meant Stephen’s murder and the arrests of other believers for evil but God meant it for good.

                As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. Genesis 50:20

God had His providential hand working in all of this. He works all things for good. The Gospel was not suppressed. The Gospel was spread further than ever before. Stephen’s personal ministry on this earth might have been short lived but the impact of his life and subsequent death became the vehicle used—by God—to spread the good news of Christ to the ends of the earth.

I realize that knowing and trusting in God and His sovereignty is not always easy. Understanding this truth also doesn’t take away the pain of our hurting. We are human and we are going to mourn and hurt during tough times. We see this in Acts 8:2. The believers who buried Stephen lamented over his death. They mourned for the loss of their friend. They cried real tears. Does this mean they didn’t trust God? Does this mean they believed Stephen died in vain? No, they mourned for his loss knowing that a greater plan was in place. They understood that the Gospel must be shared and they knew that Stephen believed that the Gospel was worth everything, even his own life.

Please know that I understand pain is real. I understand struggles will come. I also understand that tears will be poured, but this does not change the truth that God is in control. This should be a comfort not a deterrent. No one can bring you rest and peace like our Father (Matthew 11:28-30). No one can say the right things or heal your heart like our Father (Mark 2:5-12). No one has done more for you than our Father—look to the cross (1 Peter 2:24). Trust in that and trust in His Sovereign plan.

I have included more verses below that point to God working things out for good—please know this is not an exhaustive list. I would also recommend the Book by John Piper, “Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ” http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_bss/bss.pdf

Genesis 37 – Joseph’s brothers sold him, which eventually allowed Joseph to get to Egypt—God’s ultimate plan (see Genesis 50)

Exodus 1 – the mistreatment of Israel by the new Pharaoh—ultimately lead to the freeing of the people which showed God’s love and power over over all—including kings!

Luke 23 – the false accusations against Jesus and the freeing of Barabbas, which lead to the death of the Savior and lead to salvation for those who follow Christ

Acts 5 – the arrest of the apostles, which lead to their freeing and more souls saved

Acts 9 – Saul saved, showing that God could save the “Chief of Sinners”

Throughout the book of Acts – The countless beatings and near death experiences of Paul, this allowed God to show His power and our need for Him and Him alone. God used Paul to show that He can save anyone and use them for ultimate good and as instruments in the salvation of others.