From tragedy to triumph

My heart was deeply moved by what I read today in the One-Year Bible.

When Peter said to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (Matthew 26:35), he had no intention of allowing his self-will to trump God’s will.

His intentions changed very rapidly, though, when it became clear that choosing Jesus meant choosing the harder road.

When push came to shove, Peter ran from his Savior.

His promise changed from holy to hollow.

Fear replaced faith.

And denial replaced determination.

It is one of the most tragic sequences in scripture, this episode recounting Peter’s denials of Christ.

What Peter did was terrible.

So why are we so drawn to reading about it and reflecting on it?

It’s because we all, in one way or another, have done the very same thing.

Not with the same scope of consequences for the Kingdom of God, but with the same sort of consequences for ourselves.

We claimed boldness for Christ and that we’d stand with Him at all times and in all circumstances.

But along came the threat of rejection or retaliation from those we valued but who didn’t value Jesus.

Or it was the threat of harm from people at work who could make our jobs miserable or even cause the paycheck to disappear.

It might have been the threat from a spouse who issued an ultimatum that we choose between his or her worldly values and the sanctified values of God.

It might have even been the threat of losing that opportunity for romance or for riches that we’d dreamed about for SO long and now, if we stayed faithful to Jesus, there would be no Carpe diem (“Seize the day”) for us.

We didn’t want to be at that intersection and yet there we were.

Blindly, we chose the path away from Jesus because we valued the world’s promises more than Christ’s.

Simply put, we sinned because we exchanged the Truth of God for a lie.

Our fears replaced our faith.

And it was tragic.

Amazingly, the same Jesus who continued loving Peter throughout this sequence of sin and shame — even to the point of dying for him on the cross — is the Jesus who loves us during our sequences of sin and shame.

In those moments when we fear the consequences of standing with Jesus, He still loves us.

In those moments when we said things that contradicted our prior confession of faith, He recalled the pain on the cross suffered in advance for our sin, yet He STILL loved us and interceded with the Father to send the Spirit to convict our hearts toward change.

When we were broken by guilt and shame and doubting as to how could Jesus still love us, the Holy Spirit brought us word that Jesus would not only forgive us if we returned to Him, but that He would restore us to the ministry of serving Him.

The story of Peter’s failure and restoration is our story of failure and restoration.

Over and over again.

Dear friend, Jesus is the only hope you have for turning tragedy into triumph, for turning a hollow life into a holy life.

Please make sure that you’ve confessed Jesus as your personal Savior, both before AND after your failure.

As always, I love you
Martin

Turning snapshots into legacies

I found myself saying “Me, too!” this morning when I read Proverbs 8:13.

Solomon wrote in that verse, “I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

These soul-staining traits are very bad and should be hated by all, regardless of one’s view toward Christ.

It only took a moment, however, for me to realize that I needed to be careful before jumping on the “Aren’t we good Christians?” bandwagon.

And here’s why.

Solomon ended up playing the hypocrite.

And he was the wisest person who ever lived other than Jesus.

Solomon demonstrated each of these traits during the middle years of his kingdom once he rejected God’s command against marrying foreign wives.

For he said “I do” to more than just the pagan women. He also embraced their religions that emphasized pride and arrogance and evil behavior and speech that perverted the revelation of Jehovah.

Israel suffered terribly after Solomon’s death because of the death of integrity that preceded his physical demise.

If only his words in Proverbs 8:13 had characterized his whole life.

There is a sober warning implied to us all by the relationship between this verse and the history of Solomon’s life.

Our revulsion with sin is to be at the core of who we are, not simply the veneer of our opinions.

The sins that make our skin crawl now can easily become part of our behavior pattern if we become desensitized through improper relationships.

I Corinthians 15:33 tells us that bad company corrupts good character.

Solomon’s life proves the verse is true.

This corruption can happen with language, as in certain slang terms or figures of speech or profanities that used to shock certain believers but which now are part of their verbal toolbox because it is part of the crowd’s verbal toolbox.

It can happen with what is placed before the eyes. What used to immediately prompt a changed channel on the TV is now prompting savored gazes at forbidden fruit.

It can happen with how one responds to the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit. What used to prompt quick repentance for the sinful choice is now prompting rationalization. “I’m not as sinful as those people over there,” is the line spoken by too many believers when they should have fallen on their faces and said, “I’m wrong. Please forgive me.”

I don’t want to become desensitized to pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

I want to hate them until the day I enter a perfect place where such never happens.

The only way that I can continue to hate them is to have the mind of God and to live according to the pattern of Christ.

I need to see things the way that God sees things.

God sees me as far from perfect and as one desperately in need of grace in order to have a place in His family. This is a humbling fact that should counteract any feelings of pride. I pray that it continues to do so.

God has shown me the repulsive nature of arrogance as I have seen vain displays of superiority thinking by others. I pray that I never fall into the ego-massaging trap of thinking I’m superior to others and I quietly thank Him for the very difficult times I am experiencing now that remind me of my relative position before Him and man.

As for evil behavior and perverse speech, these aren’t stumbling blocks for me, but I know they could be if I neglected my relationship with God.

In the domain of faith, the old axiom applies, “Use it or lose it.”

Never forget that Proverbs 8:13 was a snapshot of Solomon’s faith, not a biographical summary.

And so it is with us.

Only through an ever-growing growing relationship with God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and godly people can our snapshots of faith become legacies of faith.

Because Satan will tempt us in increasing measure until we die, we are to trust God’s Word and grow in faith until we die.

Please, dear friend, remember that your values are the overflow of who you are at the core. Fill your heart with God’s Word and your life with God’s people. Your conscience will then provide the warnings you need that Satan is attempting to steer your away from God’s world into his own.

As always, I love you
Martin

Only one label counts in heaven

Please continue praying for how you can help the amputee victims in Haiti. Click the following links to learn more of how you can help — Help Haiti Stand and Why should I help? — and why your intercession is needed now.

An interesting thing happened this morning as I was leaving a local restaurant.

I had joined several guys for breakfast and conversation about life and faith. I was in line at the check-out counter when an older gentleman saw the One-Year Bible in my hand and waved me over to his table.

“Are you OK with Jesus?” he asked.

I’ve never encountered just this situation before but I inwardly thanked God for the opportunity to exalt His Son, and so I briefly told the man of my faith in Christ and of how quickly I am reminded of my need for Jesus whenever I take my eyes off the narrow road even for a moment.

George was the man’s name and, for the next couple of minutes, we had a delightful conversation that also included my friend Curt Oxford, one of the guys with whom I had enjoyed my coffee.

Curt, by the way, is the gifted artist who designed the Morning Devotion banner at the top of this page.

As Curt and I were excusing ourselves from the conversation in order to get on with the rest of our day, George commented about the joy of knowing that heaven would include believers from denominations other than that of his home church.

I immediately was inspired to share these words:

“It’s a good thing, George, that the only label that Jesus cares about is ‘Christian.’ People won’t get into Heaven because they’re Catholics or Baptists or whatever. They will get into heaven because they’re Christians. That’s it.”

A pause followed because George, his wife, his daughter, Curt and myself knew that something simple yet potent had been shared.

I will hold onto this moment because of the inspiration I felt.

Coming to Christ and going to heaven is not a matter of submissive alignment with denominational doctrines.

Instead, it is a matter of surrendered, Spirit-led commitment to trusting, embracing and living out the Gospel.

Proper theology is essential and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more avid promoter than me of that fact.

But proper theology isn’t the property of a denomination.

It wasn’t an Episcopal or Lutheran or a Presbyterian or an Evangelical Free or a Quaker or a Calvary Chapel member who died on the cross.

It was Christ.

And so it is that people who trust Him to save their souls are Christians.

Remember that there will be no hyphenated Christians in heaven.

How do you introduce yourself to others with respect to your faith?

Do you say that you’re a Catholic? A Baptist? A Methodist? A Presbyterian? A whatever?

Or do you simply say you’re a Christian who happens to attend a ____________ church in your town?

There is no question that denominational labels serve as shortcuts for us in terms of finding faith groups with common values and theology.

There is also no question that these labels are losing some of their distinctiveness as worship patterns become more homogeneous across denominational boundaries and as ministry equipping resources are produced without a denomination-specific message.

I told Curt after the encounter with George that I was glad for the reminder that loyalty to Christ is what saves our souls, not the linkage to a particular faith group.

I’m glad that George loves people and was prompted by the Lord to strike up a conversation with me. It reminded me of how God loves to speak through people who love Him.

The glow and joy evident in George’s face was authentic. His wife and daughter seated with him are clearly blessed to have him in their lives.

I hope to see George again someday at the restaurant or somewhere else in the community. Perhaps I won’t see him again until I get to heaven.

If I do bump into him in heaven, it will be because we both wear the name that counts in eternity — ‘Christian’ — since there is no other name under heaven by which men are saved.

As always, I love you
Martin

Every believer can preach

In case you missed yesterday’s Morning Devotion about a radio program boost for the “Help Haiti Stand” effort, click on this link — Help Haiti Stand – and you’ll have an opportunity to learn more about the effort and about how you can help.

Anybody can preach for God.

Not necessarily with his or her lips, but instead with his or her life.

It’s true that how we live as Christians says much more to people about our faith than do the words we speak.

We’ve all encountered people who talked “church-y” but who lived worldly.

Not good.

Fortunately, we’ve also encountered people who didn’t pound Bibles and jump pews but who lived as if their names belonged in the Hebrews 11 roster of godly role models.

They were preaching, all right.

Just not in the way that most people think of preachin’.

In no way am I diminishing the role of the preacher. Such ministry of exalting God and exhorting believers via the spoken ministry is essential to the Kingdom of God. After all, “How will they hear without a preacher?” Paul asked.

I know that I am called to preach and await God’s provision of a ministry door through which I might pass in order to verbally pass on the great truths of God’s love and leading toward better lives.

I also know, however, that the Kingdom of God will expand its reach substantially more than it has as more believers preach through their lives rather than just with their lips.

The average unsaved person finds it easy to tune out a preacher whom they sometimes presume is just going to lecture them about being sinners who skip church because of a bad attitude toward God.

That same average person will rarely tune out the words from a humble, kind, encouraging co-worker or neighbor who cites God’s gracious love as the reason for goodness shown to others.

I share this today because of what I read in the One-Year Bible yesterday.

“Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

It’s quite a statement to say that living out the entire body of scripture is based on sincerely loving God and loving people.

Not just with talk but with action.

Yet that’s clearly what it says.

Dear friend, preach to everyone you meet today.

With your life, not just with your lips.

Let people see your love for God in how you honor His ordained pattern for holy living.

Let people see your love for others in how you show enduring humility and kindness so uncommon in today’s world.

As a veteran preacher, I assure you that the above choices will have far more influence in the lives of those in your circle than will the Sunday words of a preacher they might never hear.

As always, I love you
Martin

Help Haitians stand

Our efforts to help amputee victims of the Haitian earthquake received a big boost this morning.

Lori and I were blessed with the opportunity to promote the “Help Haiti Stand” effort on a Vero Beach, FL radio show hosted by Rhett Palmer.

I’ve started attending a Bible study with a group of men that includes Rhett. After telling him Tuesday morning about our effort to get crutches, walkers and canes into the hands of newly disabled Haitians still healing from their emergency surgeries, Rhett invited me to share the vision on his 1370 AM radio show.

Rhett provided multiple opportunities during the show for me to explain the need and how local people could help with donations.

It was great.

Thanks, Rhett.

Amputation victims need your help

We’ve all been heartbroken by the losses suffered by the island nation. Untold numbers died. Yet, thousands upon thousands among the survivors have experienced the death of normal mobility as feet or legs were amputated. Read story here

As I left the studio, I told Rhett that if even one person receives crutches in Haiti because of the radio program, then the effort was worth it. For those crutches or that walker will free someone from having to crawl or be carried in the search for food, for housing, for trips to the homes of friends and loved ones, for trips to church or trips to anywhere.

Some of you reading this Morning Devotion might be first-time visitors to this weekday devotional site and are looking for information on how you can help the many thousands of amputees in Haiti. Thank you for having the desire to help and the means to do so.

If you’re in the Vero Beach area, you can drop off your donations — and those you solicit from others — at the Ace Hardware store at 3555 Oslo Road or, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Vero Christian Church at 3250 Oslo Road.

For those of you outside of the Vero Beach area, your donations are vitally needed as well. Many organizations around the country are collecting medical-related donations for shipment to the devastated areas around Port-Au-Prince. As you collect crutches, walkers and canes, it’s likely that room can be made for shipping these items as well.

Please ask around for donations. Please keep your eyes open while at yard sales, thrift shops and flea markets. If you’d prefer to send the items directly to us so that we can get them shipped, send me an e-mail note and I’ll get the address information to you.

If you have any questions about this effort to help Haitians to stand on their own, send me a note.

Most importantly, remember to pray for this effort and for the people who will have better lives as a result.

Jesus said that however we treat people in need is a forerunner for how He will treat us.

Help those who need help to stand with dignity and direction.

It’s the right thing to do.

And it’s needed right now.

As always, I love you
Martin