The preacher had left his office rather quickly, having several errands requiring his attention. On the road, he glanced into the mirror and noticed that a policeman was following with lights flashing. He pulled over and noticed that he had forgotten to buckle his seat belt. He quickly put it into place and awaited the officer’s arrival at the window. The formalities aside, the preacher told the officer who he was and how embarrassing this was for a minister to be stopped by an official. The officer asked, “Sir, do you always buckle your seat belt?” The minister replied that he did without fail. “I never drive without doing so.” The officer then asked, “Do you always run the strap through the steering wheel?”

I have a burden. It seems today that people all around us think nothing of speaking anything but the truth. Dishonest speech is glossed over like a shinny fresh coat of paint over an old piece of wood. Politicians make statements that are clearly false and think nothing about it. They’re more concerned with how many foolish people will buy their snake oil. Truth is a rare commodity in a society that has, many years ago, lost its moral compass. However, that is not surprising to me in light of a society that is possessed by relativism, where everyone names his or her own truth.

What burdens me more are the many believers I have encountered over the years who traffic in the land of lies, distorted reality and even “little white lies,” (whatever that means). Like this pastor in the above funny story, believers, if necessary for their own good, speak untruths and “little white lies” with impunity. The travesty of this is that they go on in their lives assuming and acting like they are just as spiritual and just as much in fellowship with God as they have ever been. The Apostle Paul said that can’t be so.

In Ephesians 4:25, as the Apostle Paul begins a new paragraph listing many sins of the flesh, he begins with “laying aside falsehood, speak truth.” What is significant about this statement is that after mentioning all these things, he says (in the literal Greek text) in verse 30 to “stop grieving the Holy Spirit.” Essentially, the Apostle Paul was saying lies and falsehood snuff out the Spirit’s power in our lives because our fellowship with God is broken.

Proverbs 6:16 lists the 7 sins that are an abomination to God; the second on the list, behind only pride is that of lying. God takes very seriously the issue of lying. One reason, I am convinced, is because when one habitually lies, one develops a clinical DNA that leads to believing other distorted rationale about oneself and one’s relationship with God. The more one lies, the more that one becomes calloused to his/her lies. The unvarnished truth is that habitual lying, beyond an abomination to God, is a major character flaw, desperately in need of the surgical work of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. As Percy Shelley said in the 1800′s, “Dishonesty is a scorpion that will sting itself to death.”

Let’s remember that in John 8:44, Satan is referred to as the “Father of Lies.” That means that lies come from Satan, expressed through the flesh. Thus, we must conclude, when lies become a part of our behavior, we can safely assume that we are much closer to pleasing Satan than we are God.

God places a high premium upon a life that is known for its integrity. This is the time of the year that we set New Year resolutions. Let me suggest one to you that is seldom mentioned at the top of the list of New Year resolutions. This year, determine to be honest in every dealing…in every relationship. Determine to view any lie as just as sinful as stealing, adultery or cheating…or any other you might place on your top list of sins. Make it your passion to so please God that you will tell the truth even if it incriminates you. If you do this, you might be surprised as to how God will bless. For we are told in I Samuel 26:23a, “The LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness.”….And don’t forget. Calling sin by a softer name will change neither its offensiveness to God nor its cost to us.

Sadly, I have seen numerous Christians hang on to a personal offense from someone else and never learn or choose to let go of that offense. The result is very evident. At minimum it quenches the Spirit’s power in their life. But all too often it leads to a subtle bitterness which presents a major roadblock to the Holy Spirit’s empowerment.

The undeniable truth is that forgiveness is a two-way street. For the child of God, to be forgiven makes it incumbent upon us to forgive. Ask almost anyone the name of someone who has done him wrong, and you will not need to wait long for an answer! All of us have been sinned against.

But honesty forces us to admit that we have sometimes inflicted the pain. We have all sinned against God and against other people. In our most transparent moment, we know that we have wronged others, usually those closest to us.

There are few believers who do not appreciate the depth of forgiveness in Christ that one enjoys. Yet, many believers find it extremely difficult to forgive others. Such is the pernicious cancer of the soul that torpedoes many believers’ spiritual lives. A failure to forgive or seek forgiveness can well be described as a kind of spiritual anorexia. The tragedy of anorexia is that a person somehow becomes convinced that food, the very thing that is God’s provision for health, is something dangerous, to be avoided. Even as her body wastes away, she clings to the notion that eating is bad for her. It is a delusion that ultimately leads to death.

Similarly, we can choose to not forgive or seek forgiveness because we are convinced that this is a way to punish someone else or to protect ourselves. But it, too, is a delusion that kills. It kills relationships, families, friendships, and churches. It is significant to note that researchers have discovered a direct link between forgiveness and physical and emotional health.

Equally, such unforgiveness not only kills our relationships, but it also kills our fellowship with God and leaves us in the clutches of bitterness. Bitterness is both toxic and imprisoning.

The antidote for the spiritual anorexic is that “great forgiveness (from God) inspires great love (for our Savor).”  Great love for the Savor frees us to forgive because we knows and trust that He would not ask us to do that which is unhealthy for us. Truly, forgiveness is the gateway to freedom.

May God help us to discover the freedom that comes from being great forgivers…and break the chain of remembered hurts that bind us to the past.

First and foremost, this was a hate crime – clear and simple. As with most hate crimes, this was driven by anger, bitterness and prejudice. While God is a God of grace and compassion, He is also a God of justice. Thus, justice should, and I believe, will be served concerning this matter.

In recent days, much has been said about what should be done to curb such heinous crimes. As a citizen of this great country, it would be easy to be drawn into that discussion. However, as I listen to all the pundits waxing eloquently, I can’t help but think, “they have all missed it.” The problem is not the lack of laws controlling whatever. The problem is the condition of the heart of man (and woman) in this country. First, we have to ask the question, where does anger and hatred originate? It originates in the human heart which the bible declares as “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” This is especially the condition of hearts outside of Christ. Please allow me to be a bit more specific when it comes to recent events.

One of the things those of us who do significant counseling understand is, that anger often grows out of a heart that feels (or perceives itself) unloved and rejected by the significant people in his/her live. These would be people such as parents, grandparents, siblings, peers, teachers, aunts, uncles, coaches or any who have had a strong influence in his/her life. When a person perceives oneself as unloved and unlovable, anger grows to the point that it becomes a deep root of bitterness. These people are angry with themselves and with others largely because they don’t like themselves. This root of bitterness leads one to displace one’s anger and bitterness onto someone or something else. For example, a few years ago I read that 70% of the inmates in the state penitentiary of Mississippi did not have a father growing up. Life without a father can lead to a sense of feeling abandoned and unloved. Such reproduces itself from one generation to the next. Anger begets anger. Bitterness begets bitterness. Bigotry and prejudice become convenient feeding grounds for such displaced anger. Thus, the breakdown of the family and marriages…and the anger and conflict that come with such are a root cause of much of the hate and anger that we see – whether it is in a crime such as the magnitude in South Carolina or simply the kid on the playground taking his/her anger out on someone else, or the kid or kids in high school bullying someone else. I suspect if one were allowed to dig deeply into the background of this perpetrator (in Charleston), you would find something akin to what I have said. Now, does this absolve him of his actions? Absolutely not! We are all accountable for our actions. My point is to show that anger, hatred and prejudice in our society have a root cause and it’s solution can’t be legislated.

So what is the answer? Yes, it would probably help if the leaders of our country championed the importance of the institution of the family and marriage. Perhaps it might help if they even provided legislation that would give incentives for staying married, etc., but that would not solve the problem of the human heart in this country or the world for that matter. The only answer to this dilemma is for people to find that love and acceptance for which they deeply long in Jesus Christ. In the first chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul states that “we are accepted in the Beloved (Christ).” He also wrote that his prayer was that all believers would come to understand the “riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (believers).” In simple terms, the Apostle Paul’s great desire was that all believers understand just how much they are loved, accepted and valued in God’s eyes. This is the healing balm that so many today desperately long for and need.

We are an angry society. Ultimately, people are angry, mean, bitter and unforgiving because they are void of the transforming power of God. The family unit, for many, is falling apart because Christ is not at the center of it. God is left out of our government. This is why the Church of Jesus Christ must rise up and be the Church in America. We must stop playing church while the world around us is dying without a Savior.

These are chilling days but they are also days in which so many long for the Truth. Let’s not be deceived that the answer is out of our hands…that it is somehow left to those in Washington. The Church of Jesus Christ is the only one that has the answer. We must, with a great sense of urgency individually and corporately, storm the gates of hell with God’s transforming message of love and forgiveness. The stakes are too great to do otherwise.

Of course, let’s not forget, that the Body of Christ (the Church) has been assaulted and wounded, as well. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ in Charleston. While I have been incredibly impressed with their testimonies of forgiveness, I know their pain is incredibly deep and we should pray for the members of this church well into the days ahead. They have lost their shepherd, as well as many of their members. Except the healing grace of God intervenes, the pain will be long lasting. To that end I will pray and ask that you please join me in that prayer.

Fear wears many faces and depending upon how we handle it, it can either be a God-given instinct for survival or an emotional tyrant, plaguing our lives with anxiety.

For example, fear of flames, hurricanes, floods, and consequences of inappropriate and destructive behavior can be healthy. However, most fears are unhealthy and usually cripple human potential. Some of these fears are the fear of failure, or the future, or of growing old, or of children leaving, or of loss of vitality, or of retirement, or of death. There are myriads of fears, but the one that bites at our peace of mind and robs us of our joy often is the fear of men. Fear of what people might do, fear of what they might think, and fear of what they might say can cast a dark cloud over our lives. Social acceptance seems to be terribly important these days. The fear of being shunned, rejected, or disliked can have an impairing effect upon our lives.

The person struggling with fear doesn’t put himself out because he is afraid of getting hurt. He doesn’t speak up because he is afraid of appearing foolish; he doesn’t offer friendship because he is afraid of being shunned. He withdraws from activity because he is afraid of appearing incompetent or of tarnishing his image before men. That kind of fear is an emotional prison.

Many great men of the Bible had lapses of fear. Abraham lied about his wife, fearing the wrath of Abimelech. Elijah fled from the face of Jezebel because of fear. Joseph of Arimathea was a “secret” disciple of Christ for fear of the Jews. And who, of course, could forget Peter’s open denial of the Lord because of his own crippling fear?

On the other hand, the Bible gives us some radical examples of those who looked fear in the face and called its bluff.

Daniel, who was ordered not to pray for 30 days or be thrown into the lion’s den, refused to be shaken. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, when commanded to worship the golden image or be thrown into the fiery furnace, responded with the boldness of a drill sergeant when they said, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace…but if He doesn’t, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your god or worship the golden image.” (Dan. 3:17-18)

David, who lived constantly in the shadow of Saul’s threat, wrote, “What time I am afraid I will trust in Thee…. In Thee have I put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” “The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” (Ps. 56:2-4; Prov. 29:25)

What enabled these men to be so strong and bold in the face of incredible odds? How are they able to resist that which has so many people in its grasp?

It seems too simple, yet so difficult. When a person gets to the point in his life where the strongest desire he has is to please the Lord, he will be liberated from the fear of men. We cease to be a prisoner of the fear of others when we are most concerned about what God thinks of us and what most pleases Him.

As we are about three weeks into the new year, let every one of us make it our occupation to resist the temptation to seek the praise of men (applause-aholics) and seek only the applause of heaven . . . It is probably the best new year resolution one could make.

However, there is also a wide range of emotions experienced by many during this season that have little to do with joy and happiness. During this season, there are those who will experience loneliness, rejection, disappointment, fear, anxiety and apprehension. Sadly for some, the conclusion of these feelings will result in suicide.

Make no mistake about it — the Adversary, Satan, works overtime during this season leading people to the hope and expectation of excitement, joy, happiness, love and acceptance. As he leads some to the crest of this euphoria, he then pushes them over the edge, watching as they fall into a canyon of depression and emotional despair.

As believers, we have a God who is a refuge and stronghold. It is He alone who promises hope and joy. Therefore, in light of the Adversary’s great deception, I want to suggest to you five traps to avoid during this season.

1. Personal danger . . . trying to impress instead of loving for Christ’s glory. Our over the top gifts or shower of goodness can be more about us than about loving for Christ’s glory. Beware!

2. Economical danger . . . spending more than you have. Before every purchase, think: Is this within my budget? Is it appropriate? What is my true motive? Be careful!

3. Emotional danger . . . believing your purchase will make things “all right.” Money won’t buy happiness. Be realistic!

4. Expectation danger. . .believing that everyone should meet your expectation in order for you to feel happy. It is during this season that people often find themselves deeply hurt and wounded by others. This occurs because someone has not met another’s expectations and often leads to anger and bitterness in families. Be gracious!

5. Psychological danger. . . believing that if my gift is good enough, I will be loved and accepted by the recipient and thus, I am okay…I am loved. Be wise!

Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. (Psalms 46:10a-11)

Neil Clark Warren, in his Learning to Live With The Love of Your Life said, “It is my conviction that a marriage is about as healthy as the level of communication that transpires within it. It’s impossible to imagine a triumphant marriage without two people who have worked hard at mastering the art of give and take. And with every new bit of mastery comes a dramatically increased potential for blending and merging.”

Communication is the vehicle that is used to accomplish many relational aspects of marriage. Couples can neither address issues nor resolve conflict without effective communicational skills.

We are in the middle of a message series entitled, ‘Marriage-Built to Last.” For the next few weeks we’ll be talking about things that make for good communication. We will cover a lot of territory. As I think about communication I often have to think of the pre-requisite each person should have in order to reach the deepest level of sharing or communicating.

It has to do with a spiritual quality to which God’s word calls us as believers. Beyond the importance of such in our Christian walk, it takes a great deal of humility to communicate in our marriages for the right reasons with the right attitude. Without it, we are prone to react to our spouse out of pride or our insecurities.

In Ephesians 4:1-3, we read I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We can make a few observations from this passage. Humility will cause us to be meek, patient and longsuffering with others. That would include your spouse. Humility will set us free from the inclination to be right, or to defend ourselves at all cost. Pride often causes our hearts to be encased in a cement shell of indifference constantly looking for self-justification. Humility sets us free from that indifference enabling us to hear the words and heart of our spouse.

Someone has captured the importance of humility in the marriage relationship in the following statement:

”The quality virtue of humility is a necessary attribute to have in and for healthy marriage relationships. Humility is a yielding door to understanding, insights, and wisdom. Humility is a virtue that is like medicine for relationships and marriages, when applied it shifts the attitudes of our personal constraints. Humility is a humble view of one’s own importance, it is the quality of being humble that comes from a lack of pride.”

Additionally, I would say that it is pride that erects walls of indifference in the communication process. It is humility that brings those walls down like an avalanche.

How would you evaluate your communication in marriage? May the communication in your marriage be one of seeking to hear the heart of your spouse rather than that of defending oneself.

This answer is found in the fact that many believers do not know the difference between their “Position in Christ” and their “Condition in Christ.” When we come to Christ, we relate to God in two spheres. One is our position or standing before Christ. Some would call this our relationship with Christ in contrast to our fellowship with Him. The Bible is clear. We have been given a position or standing before God that is complete. In Ephesians 1 we are told that God has Ablessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.@ Heavenly places could easily be translated “from God’s vantage point or view.” Because Christ went to the cross, we are now blessed with all of the riches of divine grace. In terms of our spiritual bank account, we are made spiritually rich or wealthy. The Greek tense that is used in Ephesians 1 gives the idea that this blessing is a “once and for all” blessing. There is nothing that we can do that can add to what God has already provided for us in Christ who went to the cross to purchase our redemption.

Here’s the deal: God desires that Christians walk with Him with confidence based upon an understanding of their “position in Christ.” Such confidence does not engender fear but rather a heart of love and appreciation for all that Christ has done for us on the cross. Positionally (or in terms of our relationship in Christ), we are accepted and loved unconditionally. Nothing can change that. Even when we sin, in terms of our position (and relationship) we are still accepted by God – in Christ – even though God does not accept our sin. This helps us to understand what the Psalmist meant when he said, “He leads me beside quiet waters.” These are waters of rest where we can rest in the assurance that our position in Christ is secure.

This brings us to the other sphere in which we connect with God: our condition in Christ. This condition has to do with whether we are “in fellowship with Him” or “out of fellowship with Him.” As parents we have a relationship with each of our children that is established at the point of their birth. They are “our children.” Nothing can change that even if we disowned them. They would still be our (biological) children. But our fellowship with them may or may not be strong. There are some adult children and parents who have not spoken for years; they have no fellowship. There are others that have occasional fellowship. The same can be true of the believer. (I John 1:6)

Fellowship comes by walking in the Spirit or being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). In that fellowship we experience the fullness of our relationship with Him, that is, the fruit of the Spirit. This means we are habitually confessing our sins (I John 1:9) and walking by faith trusting God to empower us.

There is much more we could explicate, here but the point is that so many believers live confused lives – often joyless lives – because they do not understand the mechanics of the Christian life that I have just unpacked. When one fully understands the difference between our position and our condition in Christ, one is motivated more out of God’s grace and love – not His wrath or displeasure.

Anyone who has been a parent will remember those first days of teaching their young child to walk. Often one parent will hold the child up and the other will stand a few feet away with outstretched arms beckoning the child to walk to them. What happens? Usually the child will take just a few steps and then fall. What does the parent do at that point? Does the parent scold the child for falling? Absolutely not! No, they pick the child up and start cheering again for the child to take more steps. Such is our Heavenly Father’s heart toward His children even when we fall in our daily walk with Him.

What motivates you? Do you have a clear understanding of God’s grace and your “position in Christ?” Is your Christian life one that is based more on fear than on God’s grace and forgiveness? An accurate understanding of one’s position in Christ can be tremendously liberating from guilt and fear. Thus, you are free to live in a way that brings great glory to Christ – and great peace to our hearts.

“But Jesus was never interested in having fans. When he defines what kind of relationship he wants, ‘Enthusiastic Admirer’ isn’t an option. My concern is that many of our churches in America have gone from being sanctuaries to becoming stadiums. And every week all the fans come to the stadium where they cheer for Jesus but have no interest in truly following him. The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.”

We can be fans in many ways and yet not be completely “sold out” to him. We can be fans of His worship music, of the nuances of His Word, of the fascination of studying His Word and of uncovering those spiritual nuggets, of the satisfaction of serving in some capacity in which others are blessed while we are affirmed and of the fellowship with His people. . . and yet, in all of it, we can still not be completely “sold out.” As Idleman states, we can “want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them (us).”

This year let’s knock down any inclination in any of us to be a “fan” and embrace all that it means in being a true follower (disciple) of Christ. Let’s begin this year renewing that passion of that “first love” for the King . . . and let’s pursue His glory with a passion!

As in all the gold rushes of history, only a fortunate few ever strike it rich. Usually they are the early-comers or those who ignore the surface riches and seek diligently for the “mother lode” until they unearth it.

The whole subject of spiritual gifts is the forgotten treasure of the church. The church has been impoverished by the prevailing ignorance and undiscovered truth about these spiritual riches.

Twenty-five to thirty years ago there was an awakening concerning spiritual gifts. But since then, spiritual gifts for many churches have become the forgotten treasure. Where there is a focus on such, seemingly, much of it is out of balance or unenlightened. Consequently, few believers today know or understand the treasure God has planted in their being.

This Sunday I begin a new series entitled, “Gifted For His Glory.” I am excited about doing this series. About two months ago I felt God impressing upon me that this was the series that is most needed at this time in our church. As Debbie and I got away to The Cove in North Carolina I spent some time asking God to affirm that impression. When we arrived home, I sensed God had indeed affirmed that.

I believe it is vitally important to know how God has gifted you and how that giftedness makes you a candidate for noble purposes. Equally, I believe that if we take this to heart and pray, God will infuse our church with renewed power. I am looking forward to see what God is going to do through this series.

Debbie and I recently celebrated our fortieth anniversary. We decided that we would take the week off and combine a week’s vacation with our fortieth anniversary celebration. In determining what we would do that week, we looked at different places, like Asheville, Charleston, etc. But what felt most right to us both was to go back to where it all began forty-three years ago, at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Ms. So we took off for Mississippi. We started at the top of the state, spending a day in Oxford at Ole Miss (Many of you know I am an avid Ole Miss fan.). Then we took off for Hattiesburg. We resisted the temptation to see family and friends because we felt this week was just for the two of us together. We spent three days in Hattiesburg, visiting the campus, talking to old and new professors, walking on the campus, going through old dorms, and visiting places where we use to hang out together. We had a tremendous time but the highlight of many highlights on this trip was the evening that we started by visiting our favorite seafood restaurant that has all the catfish you can eat and the world’s best hush-puppies. Then we went back to the campus and sat out on a bench in the same area of the campus that we spent much time together before we were married. For three and a half hours (from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.) we walked down memory lane recalling so many things that we remember about our first years together there at William Carey. Most of our reflection was filled with joy and laughter about those great “first days and years” together. There was something surreal about sitting in that same spot forty-years later and recalling where God had taken us in life. There were some tears about some of the trials that God had seen us through. But to be there and to recall the experiences, the emotions, the things that excited us about each other those first days,and especially recalling the unmistakable providential hand of God in the leading the two of us together, was almost like an epiphany. Words cannot describe what a wonderful night God gave us. In fact, as I told Debbie, it was as if God was one step in front of us making this trip something special.

Now, understand, I don’t believe that Debbie and I have had a need to have this major renewal in our marriage by our returning to where it began. We have always prided ourselves on making our communication healthy. But what a joy it was to take this trip back. Personally, I think it is one of the several things that every couple over fifty should do in order to keep the flames burning in their marriage. But ever since that week, my mind has gone back to the verses above that rebuke us for leaving that first love that we had for Jesus. Much like many marriages, that which was once a deep love for Jesus and the experiences that nurtured that love, have now become a distant memory. Sadly, with many Christians an insatiable love for the Savior and a desire to know Him more deeply have been replaced with a Pharisaic piety and prideful mediocrity that decry our claim to faith.

It is a question that every Christian, especially those who claim to have been Christians for several years, should ask. Have I lost the love and the passion that I once had? If so, we should do as our Lord tells us in the verses above. That is, we should “repent and do the deeds we first did.” We should go back to those “first days and first years.”

So how does one answer that question? I mean, what measuring stick should one use? Let me suggest some that I have applied to my life to answer this question. How is your devotional time with Christ? Do you remember the times when you couldn’t wait to just talk to Him and share your heart? Do you remember the times when you couldn’t wait to read the bible so that you could know more about God?

How is your church attendance? Do you remember the times when you couldn’t wait for Sunday to roll around so that you could attend that bible class and then hear the Word of God proclaimed? You couldn’t wait to hear God speak to you through His Word! Has that passion been replaced with a ho-hum attitude that essentially says, “What else is new? I ‘ve heard it all.”

What about memorizing scripture? What about that “promise notebook”? Do you remember when you loved learning new promises and scriptures to memorize? I probably could raise more questions, but you get the point.

Maybe your marriage needs to revisit those emotions, those experiences, those things that first excited you about the other. Maybe you need to revisit how God brought you together and how His fingerprint was clearly on the deepening of your relationship leading to your marriage. But perhaps even more importantly, you need to revisit that first love and the deeds that once accompanied the love you first had for Jesus. Have YOU lost that loving feeling?