Yes, I’m adjusting a hymn title, but I’m adjusting it for good reason. The Son of God has come to us in the most unexpected way! I know it’s supposed to be the season of Lent, but I’m still in awe of the Christ of Christmas. Against the particular backdrop of some surprising women, God sent His Son in a way that ought to thrill our souls, so perhaps you’ll indulge me as I delight in the genealogy of Jesus …

Christ is descended from Eve. Who expected such grace in the Garden? Aren’t wrongdoers supposed to get what they deserve? Shouldn’t our first mother be marked forever by her direct disobedience to the simple command of her Creator? Instead, in the sovereign plan of God, the Bible’s first gospel promise falls on the ears of a wayward rebel.

Christ is descended from Sarah. Sarah! Isn’t she the lady who doubted? The lady who scoffed? The lady who chuckled at the promise of the Lord? Indeed she is. But God writes the story! History is His story. And, when our faith fails, His faithfulness isn’t minimized one iota.

Christ is descended from Leah. Leah the overlooked. Leah the unloved. Isn’t second fiddle just that, second fiddle? Not in the economy of God! This ought to encourage all of us, friends. People may overlook us, but we are the apple of God’s eye. People may reject us, but we who are in Christ have been eternally accepted (Ephesians 1:6).

Christ is descended from Tamar. Isn’t Tamar remembered for her blatant manipulation and outright deceit? When it comes to stellar reputations and the tide of popular opinion, she’s not a likely candidate to make the cut. But what we keep seeing over and over again is that nobody deserves to be in this family tree, and that’s precisely the point of my blog posting today.

Christ is descended from Rahab. Yes, that Rahab. Sullied. Sinful. Shamed. But have you ever noticed that God delights in showing mercy to the undeserving? God delights in rescuing the irredeemable! And my hope is that you will apply that good news to your own sin and shame today.

Christ is descended from Ruth. But Moabites don’t know our God! Moabites aren’t part of our family of faith! Moabites aren’t wrapped into our story of covenant faithfulness. That is true, until God opens wide the door and welcomes them in! That’s what He did for Ruth, the great grandmother of Jesus, and that’s what He does for you and for me.

Christ is descended from Bathsheba. Yet again, a very unlikely candidate. The wife of a Gentile, no less. Someone who’s presumed to be far, far from God. But here’s the deal: nobody’s so far away that God can’t come near. (And He seems to like doing that in the most unexpected ways.)

Christ is descended from Mary. Yes, that Mary. The Virgin Mary. Did someone say “miracle”? But she will have to live the rest of her life under the cloud of a presumed scandal. Who would have thought? Who would have reasoned? Who would have known? God. And when God knows, that’s all that matters! My bet’s on Him!

And I haven’t even mentioned the lineup of men in the genealogy, whose shortcomings and sins make the women’s bad behavior look like child’s play. My friends, there is a profound sense in which each one of us is a very unlikely recipient of grace. But it seems undeniable to me that our God shines brightest through disgraced people. We feel shelved, but God pays no attention to our categories, and He includes us in His great work in the world. Our Lord simply keeps writing His marvelous story of grace, and you and I become chapters in that story.

Quite frankly, I’m tired as I write this week, but I’m in awe. Totally in awe! I’m in awe of Jesus. Thank you for letting me share my awe with you.

Pastor Charles

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, one ton of natural uranium can produce more than 40 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. If I understand it correctly – and I freely admit that there are lots of folks around “Atomic City” who know a whole more about uranium than I – that is equivalent to burning 16,000 tons of coal or 80,000 barrels of oil. You may see where I’m going with my merging of words: the people of the Ukraine are shocking the world with their staying power! And that, friends, may just be the understatement of the year.

Ukraine’s major centers of population are still under attack. Russian forces are invading from at least three different directions. There are ground assaults and air assaults, as major damage is hurled upon buildings and property. Injuries and loss of life are mounting by the minute. By any standard of evaluation, things do not look good for the people of Ukraine, and yet the armed forces and the volunteer fighters seem to be coming together to mount a defense more formidable than that which anybody expected. Russia simply has not been able to conquer as quickly or as convincingly as Putin had planned.

It is the first war of conquest in Europe since 1938. While major media outlets are reporting that the next 24 hours could be the most crucial when it comes to measuring the strength of the resistance, we’ve seen the photos from Kyiv and other cities of Christians on their knees in the snow. That could be the reason why the nation hasn’t fallen already. As each day unfolds, I’m more and more persuaded that there’s no other explanation than God.

Here is the reality for the global community, if you’re interested in my opinion on the subject: these freedom fighters are our heroes! You see, Ukraine will not be enough for Vladimir Putin. He has threatened Finland and lashed out at the Baltic states. He apparently views his nuclear arsenal as appropriate weaponry, to be used anytime should he deem it necessary, against any country that supports Ukraine. He is a dangerous man. He is an autocrat on steroids. He is under the delusion that he can unilaterally rebuild the old Russian empire, and anyone standing in his way is fair game.

But that’s not all, friends, unfortunately. Don’t think for a minute that Xi Jinping isn’t all over this mess. He is watching to see what we do, and he is watching to see how the rest of the Western world responds to the crisis in Ukraine. He wants Taiwan. He wants India (at least parts of it). I think he wants total control of the South China Sea. It’s like one sibling waiting to see if another sibling gets by with a certain bad behavior, in the hopes that Sibling A can then launch into full-blown bad behavior because the obvious consequences seem minimal. But, at the level of Putin and Xi unhinged, it won’t feel like child’s play to anybody on earth.

You and I ought to be praying that the Lord would deliver Ukraine from evil. We know that’s how Jesus wants us to pray (Matthew 6:13). We need to pray for the churches and pastors in Ukraine. We should pray for all leaders in government and international diplomacy. We need to pray for soldiers and others fighting for the cause of human dignity and freedom. We ought to pray for all of those who will be displaced from their homes and from the only way of life they’ve ever known. We need to pray for those brave women and men who are standing up to Putin in his own country. As you well know, they have no First Amendment to protect them, but they – like the Ukrainians – are showing the world a bravery that is real and compelling in these tumultuous times.

“Let My people go” has more contemporary manifestations than we might have imagined. I believe, friends, that there exists a built-in, soul-level cry of the human heart to be free! I noticed this tweet posted Friday by a church planter in Ukraine (a church planter with no plans to leave, I might add): “There is only one true King – and the little tyrants of the world will ultimately only play into His great victory. His promises are sure, His victory inevitable.” I don’t know about you, but I can live with that.

And we must never forget that you and I are the real radicals. We’re the weird ones who pray for our enemies. We’re the strange ones who pray for those who persecute us. We’re the eternally hopeful ones who pray for those who seem to us so far from God – so lost – that they can never be found. We’re the ones who can never give up on the power of the gospel to change a life … a family … a nation … a world. It’s dark out there, Jesus – so please light our way!

Perhaps Pastor Sergey Zolotarevskiy, of Central Baptist Church in Moscow, said it best Sunday morning as he prayed on behalf of evangelical Christ-followers in Russia: “Bless restless nations, and send peace and repentance. We are asking for Your mercy upon all.”

Indeed, Lord Jesus, we are.

Pastor Charles

Today I’ll take you way back in your Bible to Genesis 5. We find there a long genealogy, and from it we learn several things about life before the Flood. Namely, people lived a long, long time! We also learn something uber interesting about human nature. Adam was created in God’s image, as we are reminded here, but Adam’s son Seth was fathered in Adam’s image. We’re not discovering that the image of God is entirely gone by the time of Seth’s generation, but we are discovering that sin has already done a number on the human condition. The family line of Cain hasn’t gone so well (see Chapter 4), and appears to be violent and self-willed and generally proud, as that family tree branches further and further from the ways of God. Methuselah is part of a more hopeful story, and he makes it to the ripe old age of 969, but lifespans certainly start trailing off after the Flood.

Perhaps the Word of God is making an important point: as long as we’re here, there will be trouble this side of Eden. And that struggle with original sin isn’t going away this side of glory. When it comes to God’s righteous standards, we are defectors one and all. You and I aren’t going to stay on this fallen planet for 969 years – that’s a given – but it’s critically important for each one of us to embrace all of our years with the gusto of one who knows the One who is writing the grander story! If we don’t embrace even later life with a sense of glorious adventure, we’re likely to miss out on so much of the joy which God intends for us to experience here and now. So I share today’s blog posting in the hope of spurring you on to smile at the days to come. No matter what.

Here are some of my ideas …

Don’t settle for the path of least resistance – it’s a wimpy finish.

The Christian life can be exceedingly hard at times. As we’re learning in our study of Hebrews, that’s all the more reason why we have to run well. Lot’s wife … Esau … Gideon (surprisingly) … Samson … Saul … Solomon … Asa … Amaziah … Uzziah … Hezekiah … Josiah … Demas … why are all of these examples (and so many more) so painstakingly recorded for us? So that you and I don’t settle for a puny ending! So don’t let it happen.

Seek God to produce in you a sense of humor that’s fit for eternity.

Sarah laughed when she heard what God planned to do through her life (perhaps she was imagining how God was going to do it, if you know what I mean), but God got the last laugh when Isaac was born. God always gets the last laugh, friends. In seasons of life when we have no idea what God is doing, you and I can still laugh. And here’s why: whatever God chooses to take us through as He gets us there, the road from here to heaven is the most exciting adventure on earth!

Don’t try to run your race with your foot stuck in the mud – it won’t work.

As we get older, and as God continues to convict us regarding how our sinful nature is bearing rotten fruit in us – we’re still connected to Adam, by the way – we ought to get quicker and quicker on the repentance. By now we ought to know that sin is never worth it! This is not the time in our lives to get lazy and unproductive. This is the time to finally grow up! We’re long past the starting block, so let’s run like those who’ve learned to set the pace for godly and grace-filled living.

Show the next generation what it means to give yourself away for Jesus.

Let me say it like this: selflessness is not an inherent condition. It has to be taught. It has to be learned. Sanctification doesn’t come to us in the form of magic pills, but it comes to us in the form of discipleship. In at least some of your relationships right now, YOU are ready to be the disciple-maker. By God’s grace and for His glory, YOU can make an eternal difference in the lives of so many people within your sphere of influence, so what are YOU waiting for?

Retire from your job if you must, but never ever retire.

If you want to find the concept of retirement in the Scriptures, you’ll have to find the Book of Hesitations. It’s just not there. No checking out. No laying around. No armchair-quarterbacking while everybody else does all the heavy lifting! Be like Enoch: walk with God all the way home. It was written of that champion racehorse Man o’ War who’s buried at the Kentucky Horse Park: “Some horses led him at the first turn, some led him at the backstretch, a few led him at the far turn, but no horse ever led him in the homestretch.” If you’re in that stretch of life right now, because of the abiding presence and power of Christ, you can say confidently to your friends: “I’m not retiring, just rewiring.”

Face the scary stuff head-on, but without staying scared.

No denying it, there’s some scary stuff that comes with growing older. Bob Ray Sanders writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “I had watched my parents die 11 months apart. Watching my father suffer with cancer was a painful experience, for I saw this strong and independent man suddenly have to depend on others in ways he had never imagined. Every time I looked into his eyes as I aided him in the least – holding a straw to his lips for a sip of water, for example – his eyes spoke to me. While appreciative to have loved ones around to assist him, I knew that he hated every minute of it. Later, when I went through similar experiences with older brothers who were dying, I got that same piercing, heartbreaking look … What happens when (or if) I suffer the worst of the aging process: growing feeble, needing someone to feed me or maybe having no one who cares enough or has time enough to visit, much less ‘help.’ … What happens when the children I used to touch no longer want to feel my wrinkles, or hug my neck or laugh at my ‘used-to-be’ stories? In the past two years, I’ve been spending time with two older friends who have had serious health problems, and while I’ve been happy to share in their lives, helping any way I can, it has been tough. I’ve begun to see myself in them.” Friends, it’s perfectly O.K. to admit to yourself: “I just can’t get through this” … as long as you follow it with, “But God, I know You can.”

Celebrate those wrinkles – they’re signs of a life that is going the distance.

Go for it! Now’s the time! You don’t have to put off the full-fledged enjoyment of who God has made you to be – and who God is making you to be – any longer! Embrace it all. You’re wiser than you think you are by now, so stay in the Word and stay close to Christ, and people will be drawn to your strength and your stability. Everyone out there is struggling with uncertainty, but you’ve lived long enough to understand that – when it comes to the temporal circumstances of our lives – “certainty” is an illusion anyway.

So, if you’ve noticed a gray hair or two, hold your head up high. It just means that you have lived and that you are still living. And as you think about the chapter to come, you can grin from ear to ear, because you know that the tomb is empty.

Pastor Charles

Yesterday I witnessed something that I never thought I’d see in our mild-mannered Paducah. Two ladies, driving two separate cars in the drive-through lane, busted out in a version of road rage rarely seen in these parts. The woman in front appeared to be in no hurry whatsoever (toying with her cell phone to be precise), while the woman behind her was ready to be served, and now. What happened next involved fury, profanity, honking, screaming, serious hand gestures, and seriously dangerous driving. I saw and heard the whole thing. Driver A seemed frozen in fear. Driver B seemed like a public threat.

It hit me. We’re messed up. Not only is Paducah messed up, but the human race is messed up. The depraved nature which we inherited from Adam is hard to handle in and of itself, and a pandemic has been just enough to push lots of people to the breaking point. If an entire society can be on edge, we’re that society. Relatively minor interpersonal infractions can morph quickly into major and volatile meltdowns. (I now need more than one hand to count the examples I’ve personally witnessed.)

But back to the parking lot. In all honesty, friends, as I waited for my own food, I felt a little frozen myself. (And I’m not talking about the temperature or the frappe.) Even after all these years in pastoral ministry, I find it downright unsettling when I see people melt down, for whatever reason. It’s a reminder that I’m not home yet, and I don’t like it at all. Like C.S. Lewis, the deeper griefs of this life make me long for another world.

Then it hit me. Really, this time. From my Spotify playlist, which I play loudly (when I’m alone) for full effect … Kari Jobe … “It’s time for the dead man to rise. It’s time for the Great Light to shine. I hear the Spirit say, ‘It’s time.’ Fling wide, you heavenly gates! Let the King of glory in! Let the King of glory in!”

You may recognize the origin of those lyrics. I assume they come from Psalm 24, and from the songbook of our God: Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!

Could the Bible really be saying that the God who created the universe wants to come get in our messes with us? That’s a bit hard for us to believe.

The early church, just like the Israelites before them and just like the church today, struggled in a world that was filled with all kinds of false doctrines. One of the most influential and dangerous of those faux truths was Gnosticism, which was a blend of Christian, Jewish, Egyptian, and Persian ideas – topped off with a meringue of Greek philosophy. Anyway, for the people who came under the influence of Gnosticism, the incarnation of Christ – in many ways the heart of the Christian message – would have been viewed as nothing short of scandalous. This is because the Gnostics viewed the natural world as purely evil, and as something to be avoided or escaped from – so God would never choose to take on human flesh and blood. He would never walk among us – let alone come near one of our many meltdowns. That would be beneath God, you see. God would never get close enough to identify with our lowliness, or to feel the sting of our sadness, or to die under the weight of our sin.

God certainly would never meet us in a drive-through lane.

Yet this psalm is so powerful precisely because it reminds us that – no matter how painful it gets here – the God who created us longs to come right on in! The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. I would go as far as saying that you and I are commanded to open up the doors and the gates of our lives – regardless of how heavy they may feel – and to stand upon God’s promise that He will invade whatever situation we’re in with the grace which we so desperately need. Pandemic schmandemic. You can quote me on that. Our doors may feel impossible to open, but that’s because we’ve forgotten how awesome and powerful is the King of glory! We have forgotten the power of His Word and the power of His blood.

And here’s the really hard truth: my heart is just as unreliable as that of the crazed woman with the fish filet. My emotions can be just as unhinged. My behavior can be just as unbecoming. Make no mistake about it, y’all, I’m razor-thin close to a respectable rage myself. And – get real for just a minute – so are you. There is only One who can soften hearts as hard as ours. But the more-than-able King has come! His name is Jesus, and He’s right here! What the world needs now has come!

“The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). He is who I need. Seriously, I need Jesus just as much as any road rager out there. Perhaps even more.

And so I thought about it. And then I thunk some more. And I found joy. Right there, under the golden arches, I found joy. Really big joy. So that’s what I pray for you today.

Let the King of glory in!

Pastor Charles

The celebrated meteorologist Jim Cantore may not show up in Paducah this time like he did before the crippling storm in 2009, but the ice is on its way. Even as I write, it’s headed in our direction. The question is not if, but how much.

As I blog today, I’m thinking about just how much God deserves our undivided attention. Not just now, but always. That being firmly established, today matters too. Because it’s in the smallness that we feel – especially against the ferocious power of an ice storm – where we ought to spend at least a few minutes in worship. The worship of the living God. Friends, our Creator God is not just the maker of heaven and earth, but He is the author of every meteorological marvel. Of our great and awesome God, Job 37:6-13 testifies …

“For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour … From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.”

“By the breath of God ice is given.” You and I ought not to take that lightly. If I understand the text correctly, we ought to respect the cold breath of God – whenever and however it comes. In years past, at times it’s been so cold in these parts that the Ohio River has become frozen solid from shore to shore. That’s not the case this year. In fact, as I type, the temperature is a balmy 65 and the skies are bright blue. But not for long! The ice is coming. The contrast between now and then is part of the mystery, and part of the wonder. Our God is nothing short of immutable, yet He reigns over every change.

Now we know why millions of birds move to Florida. And almost as many humans. It would seem to me that some people just aren’t as into the wonder of the cold breath of God. LOL. But what I’m challenging you to do in the next few days is this: interpret wisely. Yes, I know we’re creatures of comfort. Consider the bread aisles. From the lack of supplies before every winter storm, you’d think that everybody in Paducah lives on French toast.

But read the passage again. The Bible assures us that God creates wonderful weather phenomena for all kinds of reasons. The Egyptians learned the hard way that sometimes the ice is judgment. But sometimes the ice is grace. God’s purposes are many, and not always for us to understand. In fact, one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Deuteronomy 29:29. Check that one out in your spare time.

When it’s all said and done, the Lord is good, and He cares for us all. His goodness touches every creature. I might prefer the temps in Miami Beach over the next 48 hours, but I’m not ordering the universe. For that simple fact, we can all be grateful. I may interpret a layer of ice on my driveway as burdensome, but I’m not the one preparing to water Planet Earth when spring rolls around. Said most simply: there is a God, and I’m not Him. An ice storm is a not-so-subtle reminder. You and I can endure, or we can accept. But perhaps our best option is to say, “Bring it on, Lord. And help me see Your glory in it. After all, it’s all Yours.”

And don’t forget the springtime that is soon coming. The streets of our small city will come back to life, and we’ll enjoy outdoor dining again. Our students will throw footballs and laugh as the warmer winds blow. The days will be longer, and gray will be harder to find, and our moods will lift and soar. But what beauty is Easter morning without the prerequisite beauty of Good Friday? All things in God’s good timing, friends. All things in God’s good timing.

So we can know, at least for now – in the good Providence of our God – that you and I need a shot of ice. And our God is still good. And the God of the ice is to be feared, friends, simply because He is God. Thirteen years ago, warning all of Western Kentucky of the serious nature of the rapidly accumulating ice, Jim Cantore interrupted his live report for the Weather Channel to let everyone simply hear the sounds of the collapsing trees. Said Mr. Cantore, “I rest my case.” Perhaps he recognized what you and I must recognize: the whole earth is full of God’s glory!

Like Elihu, who challenged Job’s misguided friends and even the theological blind spots of Job himself (note to self: we all have blind spots), I feel compelled yet again to proclaim God’s unmatched majesty (Job 37:1): “At this also my heart trembles and leaps out of its place.”

Leap yet?

Pastor Charles

Call me a sappy sentimentalist if you want. I’m good with it, and I’ve been called much worse.

Anybody else remember Disney’s “Up” from 2009? Hopefully, without spoiling it for those of you who haven’t seen the computer-animated film, I’ll offer a quick synopsis. Determined to honor the memory of his beloved wife Ellie, the 78-year-old widower Carl sets out on a journey to Paradise Falls. I’ll frame it like this: the spectacular “airship” is Carl’s unique invention. Along the way, Carl meets his childhood hero, forms a special and unlikely bond with a boy who needs an in-the-moment dad, and realizes the preciousness of life: not just the one he shared with Ellie, but the one he’s still privileged to live.

Are you grateful for your life?

That might sound like a silly question, but I don’t think it is. In fact, Psalm 90 is captivating me this week …

You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

As Moses writes this psalm, he is an old man. He has seen his entire generation wander aimlessly in the desert, with no clear destination ever in sight. Nearly forty years of wandering. After God announced that only Joshua, Caleb, and the kids would survive to make it into the Promised Land, that meant that 90 people a day would die during the remaining years. (If you do the math, that’s more than 30k deaths per year.) But, I contend, this is not a morbid psalm. I believe that it is a psalm meant to teach us what Carl had to learn: every minute matters.

The years of our life … are soon gone, and we fly away.

All the human progress in the world can’t erase the problem of death. And denial is not a river in Egypt. Soon and very soon, you and I are out of here.

The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw got it right: “One out of one dies.” It’s coming. I don’t share that to make you depressed, but to make you awake! You have a purpose. I have a purpose. We have a purpose. And the time is now to live out that purpose! C.S. Lewis obliterated the notion that you and I can be “so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good,” when he rightly observed: “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom … that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Friends, every single moment contains a spark of eternity. And, in a very real sense, there are two days that matter most: 1) the day when I’ll be finally with the Lord; and 2) today! This day is of eternal value.

So you and I are to wise up (pun fully intended). The fact any anybody ever has to die is a constant reminder of God’s wrath toward human sin. Even the poor dead squirrel on my way to work reminded me. Each one of us will stand before this great and holy God. It will happen as surely as we have breath. On that day we will need a Savior. In fact, we need Him today. And Psalm 90 is an invaluable wake-up call to worship the only eternal God who has revealed Himself to us in the Person and work of His Son.

Christ changes everything! His empty tomb is more than enough to reshape our perspective and our priorities. In Christ, despite our present suffering, you and I are safe. Perhaps A.W. Tozer said it best: “How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years.” What we are tempted to do – but what we must not do – is live in the past, or live in the future, but miss the present.

Up is a love story. Carl has some great lines, like, “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” And, “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” And my favorite line from Ellie is this one: “Lucky is the man who is the first love of a woman; but luckier is the woman who is the last love of a man.” I don’t think Ellie meant it like this, but I want to share an incredible truth with you: IF YOU COULD LOOK INTO THE HEART OF JESUS, YOU WOULD SEE THAT YOU ARE THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE.

War in Ukraine? Empty grocery shelves? Trouble from China? Trouble in my own heart? Come what may, our Christ is able. More than able. So … Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

Now matters.

Pastor Charles

In 2009, when we lived out in Southern California, I had the opportunity to meet Kirk Cameron. Some of you may know that the actor is significantly invested in the cause of Christ and that God has given Kirk a specific passion for Biblical evangelism. In “real life,” Mr. Cameron is just as kind and engaging as you might imagine from his public persona. For those of you who don’t remember, Kirk’s acting career began at the age of 14, and he was an avowed atheist until the age of 17.

Kirk and his wife Chelsea have six grown children. In a recent interview, Kirk shared a quote from one of his daughters: “It’s the same boiling water that softens potatoes that hardens eggs. It just depends on what you’re made of.” I like that.

If you really think about the humanity of Jesus, it causes you to recognize that we – even on our best days – fall far short of being the best version of ourselves. If you analyze it theologically, Jesus is fully human, yet fully God. That means that Jesus, unlike anyone else in the universe, is the perfect human. He shows us the best of humanity. When we read an account in the Bible of an interaction that Jesus had with another person, we know that what we’re seeing in the words and actions of Jesus is nothing short of perfect love. Not only are we not like that, but we don’t know anyone else like that either. We’re far from perfect, and I certainly don’t have to convince you of that fact.

So when you and I love another person – no matter how hard we may try – we love that person imperfectly. We may exhibit some self-sacrificial love on occasion, but our best actions are always tainted by some degree of self and sin. “What’s in it for me?” is a question I’m asking even when I don’t know I’m asking it. Inherent selfishness is simply part of being a flawed human, and one who is more closely connected to Adam than I would ever want to admit.

So … here we are … trying to love like Jesus … but not getting it exactly right. Maybe you’re like me in that, just when you think you’re making some progress in the saga of sanctified selflessness, you notice some other area of your life where you’re holding on tightly to the idols of pride and control. I think of those spiritual frustrations – the internal conflict between who I want to be and who I know I am – as growing pains. It can feel like a vicious cycle at times, but you and I have to stand by faith on God’s promise that He’s going to finish the good work that He began in us when we first trusted Christ (Philippians 1:6). Even when we are not, God is faithful.

And if we have growing pains, well, we must be growing. We can praise the Lord for that! What I want you to think about today is shoring up your identity as a Christ-follower so that – when the temporal frustration tries to invade your soul in the form of debilitating discouragement – you can refuse to be derailed by what feels very much like an insurmountable spiritual failure. I’m firmly convinced that the enemy wants all of us to declare ourselves “total flops” so that we’ll give up on the race which we’ve been called to run for God’s glory.

Expanding just a tad on Kirk’s daughter’s quote, I’ll share with you here three simple thoughts for your time of personal reflection, just as soon as you get the chance to think deeply on this subject.

1. The challenges are coming; it’s not a question of if I will face tough challenges to my identity, but when I will face those challenges. Pressure is everywhere around me, and most of it is negative and contradictory to my core identity in Jesus. I need the Word, regularly. I need fellowship in prayer, regularly. I need fellowship with other believers, regularly. I need gracious but firm accountability, regularly. There are some means of grace available to me, right now, which can keep my heart from hardening under even intense pressure. The Holy Spirit Himself desires to fill me with such strong Christ-identity that I will stay humble before the Lord, humble before my adversaries, and humbly open to truly hearing – when I need it most – the reassuring voice of God.

2. Spiritual setbacks can be discouraging, but I can choose to translate them into learning opportunities. From time to time, we all get so busy and distracted that we fail to see the pitfalls which are before us. We yield to temptation, or we carelessly set ourselves (or others) up for trouble – because we have let down our spiritual guard. It happens to all of us, and it will happen more than once this side of heaven. I must ask the Lord to show me where things went wrong, and what my role was in that (it’s always there to one degree or another). Then I can confess, repent, learn, grow, and move on in a healthy way.

3. I have one on my side who is far more invested in my crossing the finish line than I, and I can trust Him completely. He is my Friend who sticks closer than a brother. When I come under the discipline of God, that discipline is only a manifestation of His unyielding love toward me, and an expression of His relentless care for me. He will never leave me or forsake me. Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross on my behalf, my heavenly Father’s favorable opinion of me is unchanging – He is always with me, always delighting in me, and always for me!

Those truths just might help you make it through a growing pain or two, friends, and hopefully, they’ll help you keep all of your growing pains in their proper (and not larger-than-life) perspective.

I’ll quote my friend Kirk before I sign off for today: “If you don’t know what you’re made of, don’t look to your environment or your industry or other people to give you an identity. There was somebody who made you – ask Him. And you can be sure that the ending of the story is gonna be fantastic.”

I like happy endings. I love happy endings. Hollywood can’t promise them, but our glorious Savior – risen from the dead – can! So, despite these pesky growing pains – here’s to our guaranteed happy endings!

Pastor Charles

As I watch people try to interpret the events of our day, a common descriptor comes to mind: confusion. It seems that lots of people – from the elites of business and academia, to church leaders, to seasoned politicians, to the voices of popular culture – are struggling to adequately answer the “why” questions behind what’s happening in the world, and what’s happening here at home. To me, this phenomenon seems widespread. I see people explaining, for example, why there are no groceries on the shelves. I may be wrong about this – and I’m open to your input on it – but the body language and facial expressions of those offering the explanations seem to indicate anything other than: “I’m totally sure about this.”

And I’m not questioning any one person’s desire to tell the truth, but I’m simply saying that the truth seems harder and harder to find. We see this perhaps most prominently with the confusion surrounding COVID, but that seems to be just the tip of the cultural iceberg. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by mass confusion in these times, as God’s Word so clearly describes “the god of this age” (or “the god of this world”) as a blinder and deceiver (2 Corinthians 4:4). Perhaps part of Satan’s strategy is to foster confusion in multiple segments of society so that spiritual truth will be harder to discern as well. If you can make people skeptical of everything, they’ll be skeptical of Christ’s claims too.

But what about those of us who are the redeemed of the Lord – what about the Church? This might be a really great time for us to reassess our sources of authority. We’re impacted more steadily than we want to admit by the mantras of the world, and it’s critical that we protect and strengthen our resolve to be guided by the Truth. Again, I notice a growing skepticism, unfortunately. Could it be that we’ve become more swayed by the world than the Word? Only you can answer that question for yourself, but I hope you’ll take the time to think about it.

Because here’s the deal: you and I have been called by the God of the universe to look to Christ for our authority and our marching orders! We are not our own, but we are His. Ours is a higher calling, and our affections are to be set on higher things. We have received not only the knowledge of God in some generic sense – “hey, take a look at that sunset” – but we have received the fullness of the message of the gospel: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our rags have been exchanged for His riches! What glorious good news!

And, friends, that good news changes everything. So … hear me out … since we’ve got the greatest thing (technically, He has us), we’ve got to lessen our hopes in lesser things. Let that sink in. Here’s what I mean. You and I can’t expect the media pundits or “the news” or the cultural commentators to get everything right. It’s not going to happen. We can’t expect the government to get everything right. It’s not going to happen. We can’t expect Hollywood to get everything right. It’s not going to happen. We can’t expect the medical community to get everything right. It’s not going to happen. We can’t expect academics or lawyers or even the Supreme Court to get everything right. It’s not going to happen.

Why would we who believe the Bible ever come to count on all those things? Well, quite simply, life is easier when all those things are working as we think they should. And sometimes, by God’s common grace, they do work. Oftentimes they do work, in fact, and oftentimes they work well. But I think that you and I are in a season of reordering our expectations, and a season of coming to terms with the inherent limitations of everything in our lives but God.

Perhaps we didn’t realize it, but we’ve let some idols get a little too close to our hearts. Chuck Colson nailed our problem with this simple description: “What people once expected from the Almighty, they now expect from the almighty bureaucracy. That’s a bad trade for anyone, but for the Christian, it’s rank idolatry.” So let’s repent, here and now, of our inordinate love for – and reliance upon – lesser things.

Here’s what I’m thinking. Once we lessen our hope in lesser things, we can set our hearts on higher things.

Pressing on with you,

Pastor Charles

The other Charles in your life used to say it like this: “God loves the church with a love too deep for human imagination; He loves her with all His infinite heart.” That was Charles Spurgeon, in case you’re unfamiliar with the quote.

I don’t know about you, but that thought thrills me! Here we are – rebels and hypocrites to the core – and yet the Lord of the universe has chosen to lavish upon us a grace of inestimable value and limitless power. Simply stated, Christ loves you and me for two reasons, and for two reasons only: 1) It is His very nature to love because He is love, and 2) He has chosen to love us. Christ’s love for us has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with our behavior or performance. Nothing.

At first, I’m humbled by that reality. It puts me in my proper place, and fast. There is no room for my foolish pride. But beyond that initial reaction on my part, the truth of God’s grace sets me free! It enables me to pursue God for who He is because I recognize that He has already pursued me. I don’t have to wonder about whether or not He wants to hang out with me: He does!

But you and I tend to be so darn nearsighted. We’re such a foolish people. Let’s get real for a minute … knowing what we know about the foibles of the church – any church – is it not tempting to wonder why in the world God didn’t commission angels to do our job? Angels seem much more reliable, and much less prone to wander. They seem much less likely to fight over the color of the carpet, and much less likely to embarrass the Lord by their rude and ungracious behavior. Yet, Christ didn’t choose the angels to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. He chose us. We are His people. His body. His bride. His church.

And the most amazing part of all: we’re loved! Deeply, deeply loved. In spite of a billion flaws, and worse, God simply loves the church. That’s what the great preacher from London was trying to communicate.

It was the “Lord Protector” of the British Isles, Oliver Cromwell, who commissioned the painter to portray Cromwell with all of his facial blemishes and imperfections. That’s where we get the English expression “warts and all,” and you and I ought to be so glad to discover that we don’t have to impress God. He already loves us. Our desire should be to please Him, but not to earn His favor. That acceptance and approval, for which we all secretly or not-so-secretly long, have already been accomplished in and by the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 1:3-6).

So, in Christ, you and I are free. Free to live our lives, and to run our race. Free to love. Free to serve. Free to give ourselves away for a higher glory. I don’t have to impress you. You don’t have to impress me. We don’t have to impress God.

Because of Jesus, you see, our Heavenly Father is already impressed. Just let that sink in for a second.

Friends, the love of God makes all the difference in the world! I’ll hop the pond one more time and share a soul-stirring quote from John Owen: “A man may love another as his own soul, yet his love may not be able to help him. He may pity him in prison, but not relieve him, bemoan him in misery, but not help him, suffer with him in trouble, but not ease him. We cannot love grace into a child, nor mercy into a friend; we cannot love them into heaven, though it may be the greatest desire of our soul … But the love of Christ, being the love of God, is effective and fruitful in producing all the good things which He wills for His beloved. He loves life, grace and holiness into us; He loves us into covenant, loves us into heaven.”

Just a few minutes ago, I was thinking about getting upset over some very upsetting things. What a waste of time that would be! So I will let that go, and instead, I will rest in the undeserved Love that is writing the story of my life. Do that with me, will you? Let it go! For, in its place, infinite love awaits. Infinite – infinite – love from the God of the infinite heart.

In 2022 and for eternity, may such grace lead us home.

Pastor Charles

Americans are lonely. Really lonely. The coronavirus pandemic has only intensified an epidemic of devastating isolation in our nation. In fact, research from the Harvard Graduate School of Education indicates that 36% of Americans are reporting feelings of “serious loneliness.” And, as if that stat weren’t alarming enough, the number rises to 61% among young adults. Another poll from May, conducted by the Survey Center on American Life, indicated that the percentage of men who say that they have “no close friends” has quadrupled since 1990. Cigna conducted a survey in which 54% of Americans affirmed this tragic statement: “Nobody knows me well.”

Nobody.

Sadly, there’s a verse in the Bible that makes nearly everybody chuckle (2 Corinthians 13:12): “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” I’m convinced that we chuckle out of sheer nervousness. We live in such a sexualized culture that it’s nearly impossible for us to imagine relational intimacy apart from sex. That’s too bad for us, actually, because we were made for relational intimacy. I am convinced that you and I were made for intimacy simply because we were made human. Intimacy with others improves our physical health, our emotional health, and our psychological health. Intimacy strengthens us for the rough patches of life and provides support for us when otherwise we would have little resilience – so intimacy improves our spiritual health as well. In countless ways, intimacy helps us grow and thrive.

Friends, intimacy helps us feel alive, and gives us the sense that we can be more than we ever imagined! I don’t have to tell you that the powerful drive for intimacy can lead to love and war, and everything in between. You may remember Johnny Lee’s country hit from 1980, “Lookin’ for Love in All the Wrong Places.” Apparently, we’re still doing it.

In his book The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis observed that “those who cannot conceive of friendship as a substantive love but only as a disguise or elaboration of Eros betray the fact that they have never had a friend.” I think he was absolutely right. And, by God’s grace and for His glory, we’ve got to do what we can to fix this – especially in the church. The time is now, and the stakes are high – in my humble opinion.

On October 24, The Atlantic published a startling article by Peter Wehner entitled “The Evangelical Church is Breaking Apart.” (I landed on the article through the Ethics and Public Policy Center.) It nearly stopped me in my tracks, and I’ll share with you four compelling quotes from that piece: “The aggressive, disruptive, and unforgiving mindset that characterizes so much of our politics has found a home in American churches” … “But there’s more to the fractures than just COVID-19. After all, many of the forces that are splitting churches were in motion well before the pandemic hit. The pandemic exposed and exacerbated weakness and vulnerabilities, habits of mind and heart, that already existed. The root of the discord lies in the fact that many Christians have embraced the worst aspects of our culture” … “Churches become repositories not of grace but of grievances, places where tribal identities are reinforced, where fears are nurtured, and where aggression and nastiness are sacralized. The result is not only wounding the nation; it’s having a devastating impact on the Christian faith” … “Many Christians, though, are disinclined to heed calls for civility. They feel that everything they value is under assault, and that they need to fight to protect it.”

Here’s why I’m including those portions of that article: they simply remind us that everything around us – including many of the current characteristics of a typical local church – are actively working against any and every notion of genuine friendship. Simply stated: friendship is under assault. Sounds just like the devil to me: divide and conquer.

So what are we to do? I’ll outline seven simple suggestions for 2022.

1. Admit to God that you need friends. Real friends. Pour out your heart to Him on this subject. Ask for His forgiveness for the isolationism which you have created by your own pride and phony self-worthiness. (We’ve all done it, and we all need to repent of it.)

2. In every human relationship, keep Christ front and center. When He is the main thing, I’m far less likely to make it about me. Humility, though never easy, goes a long way toward fostering the kind of climate in which healthy relational intimacy can thrive, and in which tribal hostilities (sometimes in the church thinly-veiled preferences) can be properly left at the door.

3. View every friendship as a sacred trust. In a very real sense, because of the immense value of friendship which I have attempted to outline in this blog posting, your relational intimacy with others is of eternal value. Pray for it. Work at it. Cherish it.

4. Pray hard for your friends. Our most durable friendships go the distance only when our souls are knit together through intercession. That’s nothing short of a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit! In our darkest hour, when we’re truly struggling to love and to feel loved, God often uses the sacrificial prayers of our sisters and brothers to rebuild in us the Christ-esteem which seems to have escaped us. As a friend to a fellow struggler, our job is to remain “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

5. Stand up for your friends when they’re under assault. It will be far easier for you to walk the path of least resistance in this regard, but don’t settle for that. We need each other when the going gets tough. In fact, that’s sometimes when you discover who your friends really are.

6. When you drop the ball on a friendship – which we all do – pick it up again. Don’t let even a long season of less-than-perfect performance forge your future. We’re supposed to be the grace-people, after all, so do your best to get back in the game. So go ahead and send that “so sorry I’ve let you down” text today. Likewise, when your friend drops the ball, be Christlike by forgiving your friend whether they ask you to or not.

7. Thank the Lord for your friends! For the friendships you can already identify, and for the new friendships that Jesus is already forming behind the scenes, give Him thanks and praise. “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12).”

Who needs a friend? We all do.

Pastor Charles