“I believe in Jesus. Ultimately, I think that’s what defines me most.”

That’s a whole lotta wisdom coming from the mouth of a 27-year-old. Scottie Scheffler’s fascination with golf began at the age of three, when his parents gave him a set of plastic clubs. I probably don’t have to tell you that their initial investment paid off.

On April 14, the eyes of the world were on Augusta, Georgia, as Mr. Scheffler won the Masters for the second time in just three years. He finished 11-under par for the championship, winning by four shots over Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg. That made Scheffler the fourth-youngest player to have two Masters victories under his belt. He joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers to have won multiple victories at both the Players Championship and the Masters. And, just a week after winning his second green jacket, Scheffler followed up his Masters victory with a win at the RBC Heritage – earning his fourth win in five starts. Other than that, he’s just an ordinary golfer.

What defines you most?

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, as he opened his letter, he also shared a mouthful of wisdom (Ephesians 1:3-10): “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Do we really believe these things? If we are in Christ – trusting in His righteousness and not our own – then all of these things are true of us!

1. We are blessed.

We are blessed not just in a natural sense, like the blessings of food, clothing, and shelter, but we are blessed in an entirely supernatural sense. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn.” Humanly speaking, that makes no sense. But, in the economy of God, He has set His affections upon us in such an extraordinary way that His grace is ours 24-7 – when we recognize His good hand upon us, and when we don’t.

2. We are citizens of heaven.

The Bible makes this truth abundantly clear. Yes, if you’re reading this, you’re still here on Planet Earth. But, because of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, our primary citizenship is in “heavenly places” with Him. That reality is meant to encourage us to persevere, and to trust Him in situations that we don’t understand. This life matters forever, but we’re just passing through, so we hold our earthly blessings loosely.

3. We are known.

Before we were a figment in the imagination of our parents, we were known by God. Before He created the world, He knew us. He set His sights on us. He chose to create us. And He chose to create us for eternal purposes. That means that you and I are of eternal value to God, and that our worth does not come from the opinion or rankings of others – but our worth is rooted in our relationship to God.

4. We are chosen.

God not only chose to create us, but He chose to redeem us – to save us from our sin. To deliver us from our shame. To rescue us from the wrath – God’s own wrath – that we rightfully deserved. To set us free from our captivity to self, and to set us free to become all that He created us to be.

5. We are holy.

Admittedly, our progress along this sanctification journey often feels like it comes in fits and starts. But that does not negate the status that we’ve already been granted in Christ. His merit has become our merit. This is a wondrous gift, and it is ours. For the rest of our earthly lives, we will see God bringing every aspect of our nature and conduct under the powerful influence of His truth and Spirit.

6. We are predestined.

It has always been the plan of God to make us His own. We weren’t created just to be His creatures, but we were created to be His children. We did nothing to earn this privilege, and we don’t retain this privilege by our own good behavior. It is entirely a free gift. God gives. We receive. That’s how it works.

7. We are loved.

Yes, even us. We are the recipients of extravagant and unimaginable grace. We are loved with a love that defies human understanding, because it is a love that never rested upon reciprocity. Instead, we are simply loved.

8. We are adopted.

We are the sons and daughters of the living God. We’re not fearful slaves serving a distant king, but we have been brought near to the heart of our Creator. With tremendous gratitude, we now worship our Father in reverence and awe, recognizing that we have immediate access to Him every moment of every day.

9. We are redeemed.

The Father planned it. The Son procured it. The Spirit applied it. At great personal cost to Himself, God has given to us, and God is giving to us, and God will give to us, a completely changed life.

10. We are forgiven.

As you read this, I hope that really sinks in. The Cross where Jesus bled and died for us is the only ground for our pardon, and the Cross is enough. Now, when we ask the Lord to forgive us for an offense, we’re asking for something that we know He has already granted, on Calvary’s Cross. Something that we know He has already provided for: “It is finished.” Something that we know He delights to lavish upon such undeserving recipients as us.

11. We are wise.

We are growing in wisdom and understanding of the things that matter most, but that wisdom comes to us from the Christ who already lives in us. Said another way, the wisdom is already ours. When it comes to spiritual truth, we may be figuring it out, and that’s a good thing, but the Bible promises us that – for all who are trusting in Jesus – the mind of Christ is already ours in Him.

12. We are united with God, and with each other, for eternity.

We are in the family, forever. Our names are inscribed in His book of life, and our names can’t ever be erased.

Other than that, we’re just ordinary, like Scottie.

Pastor Charles

When it comes to all things Israel, I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen such confusion in the professing body of Christ. I’m more convinced than ever that we who follow Jesus better be certain that we’re getting our eschatology (doctrine of last things or “end times”) from the Bible and not from any other source. Many of us who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s were strongly influenced by books and movies that, as it turns out, got as many things wrong as they got right. We need to own that, and seek the truth in the only place where spiritual truth can be found.

I’m not an expert by any means, but – if you’ll bear with me – I’d like to shed at least a little Biblical light on the subject of Israel. To make this as simple as I can, I don’t plan to jump all over the Scriptures. Sometimes people try to do what I call “Bible gymnastics” by using so many different passages that the Bible ends up “saying” what they wanted it to say all along. I don’t plan to do that here, and please call me on it if you ever see me attempting such.

I plan to use only one text, and only five verses (Romans 11:20-24), and I’m choosing them from what I believe to be the New Testament’s clearest teaching on the relationship between Israel and the church. God used Paul to give us such clear teaching, for which we should all be most grateful: “That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.”

Now we could say lots of things about this important text, but I’m going to limit my observations to five. It is my opinion that, if we don’t at least get these things right, we’re only pretending to follow the Bible on this critical subject.

1. We should hope and pray for a spiritual restoration of Israel as a nation. God has promised it, and we should expect it. It will be magnificent in its scope, and unprecedented on Planet Earth. By the term “spiritual restoration,” I mean nothing less than scores of Jewish people coming to saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. There is no salvation by Jewishness alone. Please hear me out. Some aberrant teaching on this subject would have us believe that there are two different ways of salvation: a Gentile way and a Jewish way. This is foolishness, and stands in direct opposition to the passage we just read. No one has ever been saved, and no one will ever be saved, via their nationality or their ethnicity. Notice that Paul makes it abundantly clear that salvation rests upon faith alone. There is no salvation apart from faith in Jesus Christ. One can’t reject Christ and be saved by another route, for there is only one Way of salvation. This has always been true, and it remains true.

3. We must share Christ with our Jewish friends and neighbors. Perhaps this goes without saying, but I feel that I must say it. We Gentiles should do so from a posture of great humility, as we are the unnatural branches who are enjoying all of the spiritual blessings which were promised to Abraham and his descendants. We should be humble to our core, and we should express our sincere gratitude for our (and their) unique spiritual heritage, which is Jewish in more ways than we can number.

4. When Paul refers to the Jews who will come to faith in Christ, he’s referring to Jews in the future – from his perspective. There is no teaching in the Bible that allows for people who die in their unbelief to come back and get “another chance” to get it right. Once again, this truth may already be plain to everybody reading this, but I’m trying to be as abundantly clear as I can. Yes, this life-or-death reality should sober each and every one of us. The time is short, and the time is now.

5. When you and I share Christ with anybody, we’re already in way over our head. We share the gospel. We lift Christ high. We humbly love those who don’t yet believe. But we’re not counting on ourselves to save anybody – we’re looking to our Sovereign God to accomplish the miraculous! The Lord uses us, but He alone accomplishes the real work of grace.

If these thoughts have been helpful, or even if you disagree on some point, I’d love to hear your perspective. You always matter to me.

Pastor Charles

Yesterday, flying alongside our boat (an extremely powerful ferry designed for the rough interisland seas in this part of the world) was a most captivating animal. In the past, I’ve referred generally to these creatures as seagulls, but that generalization was born out of sheer ignorance. (What else do you call birds at the sea?)

Well, I finally decided to do my homework. This beautiful bird was a white tern. Seemingly effortlessly, the bird entered into a race with our vessel, but it was clearly obvious that he could win the race any time he chose to do so. Sometimes he flew slower than our boat, and sometimes he raced right past us, as if to say, “I’m just toying with you naive tourists.”

We were together for miles. Very close to us for the most part, and level with my line of vision, the bird would on occasion dive to just inches above the water … and then soar much higher in the blink of an eye … casually displaying the quick aeronautical skills of a seasoned fighter pilot.

Quite ironically, on the exact same day, some of the commercial flights into Saint Barts (here in the French West Indies, where this particular bird was showing off) were canceled. The reason for the cancellations: high winds! Even with the best crews and equipment in the world of aviation, it was simply too dangerous to land on that short airstrip.

I have to chuckle. (Does that make me a laughing gull?) As the human race, despite all of our massive achievements in the friendly skies, we still can’t keep up with the birds! They were born to fly, in any kind of weather. When it comes to flying, birds accomplish by instinct what we can only dream of achieving.

For us, the lesson is in the looking. But will we take the time to notice? Will we take the time to let reality sink in? Will we humble ourselves, and learn from creation and its Creator?

For each one of us, Jesus issues a remarkable challenge (Matthew 6:26): “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

When you and I consider, and I mean really consider, the wonders of “nature,” it’s life-changing. That white tern had everything it needed, just like Jesus said. The winds and weather were no concern, nor was a suitable runway for landing. Neither was the next meal a worrisome thought. Were the Internet to be shut down by a foreign enemy or a domestic terrorist, that bird could not care less about the diminished availability of GPS. That creature’s “global positioning” is determined by One who never fails.

And yet, says our Sovereign Lord, you and I are more precious to God than that gorgeous and gifted bird. Herein is an unbreakable promise, as well as an implied course correction, for us. We can trust our heavenly Father! He is worthy of our complete confidence. He is good, always good, and never less than good. He loves us. And the next meal is on Him. Always.

By the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have peace with this great God. Peace. We’re aren’t just His creatures anymore. We are His children. We are sons and daughters of the living God! That is peace.

I ain’t goin’ to study war no more.

Pastor Charles

How do we keep the joy of Easter alive?

Let’s face it, friends. We’ll soon be tested on this question. And tested more than once. Yes, Christ’s tomb is empty, and that awesome reality will never change. But how do we keep our “springtime” resurrection hope alive when new storms come our way? How do we thrive (emotionally, relationally, and spiritually) in an ever-present awareness of the fact that – because of the literal resurrection of Jesus – you and I will live forever with our gracious Lord?

Well, for starters, we have to remember the whole Easter story. It didn’t start with friends rejoicing together on an early Sunday morning, but it started with betrayal, abandonment, suffering, and death. For there to be real Easter, there has to be real death.

For some reason known only to God, I am very mindful of this today. The Lord is working on me, even as I write these words, and He is impressing upon my spirit that there are some things that need to die in me. Jesus teaches us that a kernel of wheat has to fall to the ground; otherwise, there is no fruitfulness. If the seed must surrender to the soil, in that sense, then I must be willing to abandon my sinful and selfish ways. This is never easy. And it won’t be easy during this “post-Easter” season either.

And we have to remember all of the waiting that comes with Easter. When will God make all of these hard things right? For Jesus and for those who loved Him, those six hours on the cross must have felt like an eternity. When will God let us see the rest of His promises fulfilled, and when will He redeem all things? And when will God chase away all of this hardship and agony, that we may see the full brightness of the light of His glory? Remember: it felt like a long road from Friday to Sunday.

When it comes to all of our current “delays” in seeing God’s good plan – especially when nothing good at all seems to be happening – can we worship while we wait? Yes! This is the life of genuine, persevering faith to which we have been called in Christ – and the Holy Spirit is always ours to point us in a hopeful direction. He “enlightens the eyes of our hearts” to “the riches of the glorious inheritance” that is already ours in Him (Ephesians 1:18). He works into the depths of our souls “the immeasurable greatness of His power” (Ephesians 1:19), which the Scriptures remind us is the very same “power that raised Jesus from the dead” (Ephesians 1:20)! While we wait, we can rest assured that all of these great things are happening for us and in us – regardless of whether or not we can perceive them at any given moment. (Back to my own sin … I have to deal with it, but I’m not relying on my strength alone.)

After the emotional highs of Easter have subsided, there is always a test of faith.

Helen Joy Davidman was born on April 18, 1915, into a culturally Jewish family in New York City. Joy grew up in the Bronx, and was a child prodigy, devouring H.G. Wells’ “The Outline of History” at age 8, and able to play a score of Chopin on the piano after having looked at it only once. Suffering from scoliosis and other severe medical complications, Joy at age 20 earned a master’s in English Literature at Columbia, and won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition in 1938. She became an accomplished poet and writer. Joy’s family were committed atheists, as was she, and she became a member of the American Communist Party. She married and had two sons.

The marriage was deeply troubled, marked by her husband’s alcoholism and serial infidelities. Communism left the couple disillusioned, and they left the party. Out of her own personal pain and suffering, Joy heard and believed the gospel, and radically converted to Christianity, but the crumbling marriage eventually succumbed to divorce. After publishing her best-known work, “Smoke on the Mountain,” she went to England with her sons, and eventually moved there permanently. In the providence of God, Joy became the wife of C.S. Lewis. She was the love of his life, but metastatic carcinoma took Joy’s life in 1960, resulting in Lewis’s “A Grief Observed” in 1961 (published at the time under a pseudonym).

In July 1960, the brokenhearted C.S. Lewis penned and placed this epitaph on the tombstone of his beloved Joy:

“Here the whole world (stars, water, air,
And field, and forest, as they were
Reflected in a single mind)
Like cast off clothes was left behind
In ashes, yet with hope that she,
Re-born from holy poverty,
In lenten lands, hereafter may
Resume them on her Easter Day”

Mr. Lewis referred to the “lenten lands” in our lives. In your church tradition (or lack thereof, which is perfectly O.K.), you may be unfamiliar with Lent. For centuries, Lent has been regarded as the season of introspection, owning one’s personal sin, and self-denial. It is the necessary preparation for a profound experience of joy, and it includes the 40 days before Easter Sunday. And, in the church year, Easter Sunday begins a 50-day period called “Eastertide,” and all of those days are reserved for protracted feasting and celebration – it’s the season for telling folks again and again the good news that “Christ is risen indeed!”

If you’re paying attention, you may have noticed something important: the Feast is longer than the fast. Indeed it is. “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’ – for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God’ (Revelation 19:6-9).”

For those of us who are in Christ – found in Him and trusting in Him – there is no “post-Easter” anything. Because of the empty tomb, death has lost its final word. Alive in our Lord Jesus Christ, you and I are Easter people, always and forever.

The Feast is longer than the fast! I can live with that.

Pastor Charles

As the news reports came in, my heart sank. Maybe yours did too. I was just in the D.C. metro area, and I didn’t think twice about crossing any of the massive bridges there on the East Coast. They’re part and parcel of life in or near our nation’s capital.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has collapsed, having been struck inadvertently by a cargo ship that lost power. Rescue teams are searching for survivors, including members of a construction crew who were working to repair potholes on the bridge’s roadway at the time of the disaster. The governor of Maryland and the mayor of Baltimore have separately declared a state of emergency.

This is a major catastrophe impacting a heavily traveled thoroughfare. Last year, the Key Bridge handled more than 750,000 cars and trucks, according to the Maryland Port Authority. In fact, it ranks first in the United States in terms of traffic volume. There, before our nation’s eyes, a symbol of American strength was brought down in a matter of seconds.

Suppose you were the driver of one of those vehicles on the bridge when the 948-foot-long “Dali” struck. As everything around you, and under you, began to give way, what thoughts would race through your mind?

In the Bible, only the gospel writer Luke mentions the tower of Siloam, which had collapsed and “made the news” in that day (Luke 13:4-5). More than likely, the tower was part of Jerusalem’s wall, near the more famous pool of Siloam. Jesus described the victims of that deadly disaster in a manner that is – for each of us – both sobering and stilling: “Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

The people who died in the tower collapse were no worse than anybody else. They just died. When our Lord makes a claim that sweeping in its implications, you and I better be all ears, as this world is full of (I’ll quote John Newton) “dangers, toils, and snares.”

Yet the same Jesus, at the Last Supper – with the horror of His own Cross in full view – issues an amazing call upon our lives (John 14:1): “Let not your hearts be troubled.” The word “troubled” here describes agitation and disturbance in the face of the power of death and evil. What are we to make of this quickening challenge, when unexpected death is as close to each one of us as crossing the wrong bridge on the wrong night?

If we look to the world for safety, we will soon be sorely disappointed, for safety can’t be found in even the best “safeguards” of this world. (The bridge in Baltimore is Exhibit A today.) But Jesus goes on to say, “Believe in God; believe also in me.” To “believe” in Christ means to trust in Him, which means that we’re to rely upon Him for all things. For our salvation. For our sanctification. For our protection. For our livelihood. For our relationships. For our daily bread.

First Timothy 2:5-6 assures us: “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all …” Because Christ’s Cross wasn’t the end of the story – Hallelujah! – you and I can now look at our lives from the perspective of Christ’s victory. Consider the good news that permeates the rest of what Jesus says in John 14 (I’ll share here seven of Christ’s glorious promises to those of us who are His) …

1. We’re destined for our Father’s house, and it’s wonderful beyond our wildest dreams.

2. Jesus will make sure that we get there (our real home), exactly when we’re supposed to.

3. We don’t need a map outlining all of the future twists and turns coming our way, because the Way we’re on is straight, steady, and sure: His name is Jesus.

4. Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, for as long as we’re still on this earth, we can expect to be used of God to do great things. (Not necessarily “great” in the eyes of the world, but great in the eyes of the only One who counts.)

5. The Spirit of truth lives in us, and He helps us – even when we can’t understand God’s plan.

6. As we rely only upon Christ, God will empower us to keep His Word. Knowing that God loves us, forever, will propel us to keep on keeping on – even when we feel like quitting. And He will never quit on us.

7. For this one, I’ll just let Jesus speak for Himself: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

This Holy Week, the joy should be ours to celebrate this amazing reality: Jesus is our bridge to the only safety that has ever existed! He is our bridge to the Father, our bridge to wellbeing of every stripe, and our bridge to eternal life. The seas of this life will grow stormy, to say the least, but to be in Christ is to be as safe as safe can be.

Friends, Planet Earth is in a state of emergency. Until Christ comes again, we remain in that state. The day of repentance is not tomorrow, but today. May the good news of a bloody cross and an empty tomb reignite our passion to make Christ known far and wide. Please pray with me that the Spirit of God will compel us – driving us far beyond our comfort zones – to love a lost and dying world. The time is short, friends, and Christ is our only hope in life and in death.

You heard me right: The tomb is empty!

Pastor Charles

“You don’t have to be a star, baby, to be in my show.” Did I just date myself? Thanks, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. – you’re making me look a little ancient here!

In all earnestness, friends, it has never been more apparent to me that I am not the star of the show. The universe does not revolve around me, and I am not the hero of the story. For goodness’ sake, I’m not even the hero of my own little story here in my own little corner of the world. No hero status for me. Nope. None. Never.

Psalm 103:14-16 issues the truthful verdict. I am just dust – yes, you read that right – and my entire life is like the grass that flourishes and flowers today, but tomorrow that grass is gone (a rather apropos word picture for the first day of spring, when folks in Middle Tennessee are already mowing). You and I have our moment on the stage of life, but it’s just that – it’s a brief moment. And, while we’re here, we need the strength of the One who gave us life and called us to be His own.

When the Lord promised Joshua, “I will not leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5), He was telling Moses’ successor all that he would ever really need to know. The way forward, as both a leader and a follower, would not be easy for this man, and courage and perseverance would be required on his part – but General Joshua would never walk alone. Never. The same goes for those of us who are trusting in Jesus Christ – those of us who are, literally, in Christ. You and I never walk alone. Never.

Our God is with us – He’s always with us (Isaiah 41:10; Zephaniah 3:17; Matthew 1:23)! Knowing that, believing that, and remembering that is the key to not thinking more of ourselves than we should. The Bible refers to that kind of humility as “sober judgment” (Romans 12:3), and it tends to be in short supply in my soul when I’m not focused on God’s truth.

But, when I am focused on God’s truth, I’m perfectly content not to be the star of the show! In fact, that truth is deeply comforting. Our God is, after all, the beginning, the end, and everything in between. The created order shouts His praise. The arc of human history bends toward His sovereign grace. All of time and eternity marches toward His matchless glory! That this great God would walk with me – dust – even for a moment, ought to blow my mind. And that He would condescend to keep walking with me – forever – ought to capture my wonder for the rest of my days.

Few people on earth have lived out a broader or more self-sacrificial vision for global evangelism than Hudson Taylor, the British missionary who labored for 54 years in China for the cause of Christ. We in the contemporary church tend to look back on such a legacy with deep admiration, as we should, but you might be interested to know that Hudson Taylor wasn’t the least bit impressed with himself. These are Taylor’s own words: “It seemed to me like God looked over the whole world to find a man who was weak enough to do His work, and when He at last found me, He said, ‘He is weak enough – he’ll do.’ All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them.”

I think Taylor was absolutely right. In the kingdom of God, weakness is a badge of honor – when it lifts our eyes off us. “They reckoned on His being with them!” God’s being with them was enough. Is it enough for us? Is it more than enough for us?

“God with us” is a diamond in our gospel treasure chest. Whatever we’re facing today, we face with a heavenly army by our side. Whatever we’ll face tomorrow, our God is already there to part the waters for our safe passage. The glory belongs to Him, and to Him alone, and not to any one of us dust bunnies. The glory is all the Lord’s. You and I don’t emanate Christ’s glory – we merely reflect it.

I am not the star. I am so not the star. Neither are you. As it should be. The Bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16) is rightly and eternally center stage. To Christ alone be glory!

Pastor Charles

Jesus calls us sheep. There’s comfort in that moniker, considering that He’s our Shepherd. But it’s also a great wake-up call. We, just like the animals, wrote the book on distraction.

Sheep never stay focused. They’ll follow each other anywhere, and that’s rarely in the right direction. Can you relate? Sheep keep wandering and straying from the path, even when their shepherd has made the right path plain. Sheep wander off, get themselves stuck or hurt or endangered, and find themselves utterly powerless to get back on track. But, time after time, here comes the faithful shepherd!

Simply imagining that we are guilty of nothing but minding our own business, you and I tend to get a bit upset when we feel the startling yank of our Shepherd’s staff – never even realizing that we were about to go completely off the cliff. This is the true nature of sheep. And sheep we are (Psalm 100:3).

Every year, as the season of Christ’s Passion rises to the forefront of my thinking, I remember the promise of the ancient prophet. Some 700 years before Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, Isaiah would describe with undeniable precision the Cross of Christ – and the real reason behind it: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (53:6). In the ear of my soul, I don’t hear those words spoken – I hear them sung. And how gorgeous is that music to my ears!

What I’m hearing is Handel’s “Messiah.” Just in case you’re unfamiliar, “Messiah” is an English-language oratorio crafted in 1741 by the German-British Baroque composer, George Frideric Handel. Called the libretto, the powerful text included in the oratorio was compiled by Charles Jennens, from the version of the Scriptures found in the Anglican “Book of Common Prayer.”

In my humble opinion, this particular tune is masterful, because the music itself – coupled with the drawn-out lyrics of “we have t-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-r-ned” – sounds like sheep frolicking. Stupid and helpless sheep, in tremendous danger nearly all the time, but constantly oblivious to their true predicament.

Yes, sheep we are. You and I make our foolish choices, and then our foolish choices make us.

Enter Jesus.

His life was so extraordinary, but His appearance was ordinary, and drew no attention. Most of the powers that be regarded Him as nothing but a failure. In the ways that most people chase after the idols of comfort, power, and fame, Jesus stood alone in purity. He managed to attain none of the status symbols which normally cause our heads to turn.

And then, the organ swells. Handel drops all pretense that frolicking is endless fun. He transports us to Gethsemane, and then to Calvary. And the sounds become mysteriously ominous: “And … the Lord … hath … laid … on … Him … ON … HIM … the iniquity of us all.”

The. Iniquity. Of. Us. All.

This moment in “Messiah” is startling, to say the least. And startling is the Passion of our Christ. In fact, you and I would have been tempted to disown Him in the end, when the stakes were high for anyone willing to associate themselves with a Roman cross – widely considered to be the most shameful manner of death on Earth. He would be beaten and chastised and crushed, but the Father’s love for a lost world would be the backdrop for every awful moment of Christ’s agony. He became poor, that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Wonder of wonders! Our Messiah was forsaken so that you and I would never, ever have to be alone. Christ died that we might live!

Handel’s moment of transition is jarring. It ought to jar us to the core of our sheep-like being. And, yet, it is strangely wonderful. What gloriously good news is this! You and I needed an absolutely sinless Savior, not someone who – like you and me – deserved to die because of their own wayward rebellion. Your sin and my sin was placed upon the back of the perfectly innocent Jesus – the only one in the universe “who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we think of our Old Testament history, all of those animals that were sacrificed over all of those generations were all part of God’s plan to rescue us! All of that shed blood kept pointing to the ultimate blood-sacrifice that was coming, and none other than Jesus – “the Lamb of God” and our “Great High Priest” – was qualified to lay down His life for the sins of the world (John 1:29; Hebrews 4:14; 9:12; 1 John 2:2). Hallelujah!

Handel’s “Messiah” was first performed in Dublin, Ireland, on April 13, 1742, and in time it would become one of the most widely recognized and frequently performed choral works in the music of the Western world. If you get a chance this month, take a listen …

“All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Pastor Charles

Today’s blog posting is not about Donald Trump. It’s about something much larger. It’s about the nature of government itself. This posting is prompted by Monday’s 9-0 ruling by the United States Supreme Court in regard to the candidacy of Mr. Trump for the Presidency of the United States.

On a personal level, I am happy to see that our nation’s highest court can agree unanimously on any subject. That signals to me that the justices were seeking to make a constitutional decision, and not a political one. For me, this is welcome news. After all, that is always the primary task before SCOTUS.

In the aftermath of the unanimous decision, the public reactions have been fast and furious. So my sole intention is to clarify a few matters that – in my opinion – are widely misunderstood. These matters touch on the important relationship between church and state, and they raise issues of fundamental significance which ought to be understood by those who are called to serve Christ within our American context. I will limit my observations to 7 key points.

1. God ordained all human government for His glory, and for our good. It is a gift from God to us to provide, among other things, order and stability for society (Romans 13:1-7). With this foundation in mind at all times, we who follow Christ should seek to be model citizens. The Scriptures make allowances for civil disobedience when the laws of earth are in direct conflict with the laws of God, as we observe in the case of Daniel’s three friends in the fiery furnace (Chapter 3), but this is the exception rather than the rule. We recognize that the true Sovereign is always our Lord, and we make it our aim to display with consistency His kindness and grace in the public square. We understand that human government is a derived and limited authority, and we are grateful for the good purposes of God in it.

2. Our fundamental rights come from God, the true Sovereign. Our rights do not come from any government, or even from the Constitution itself. The Constitution enumerates some of our freedoms, but the primary intent of the Framers was that the Constitution would prohibit the government from taking away, or even eroding, our God-given rights. This passion was carried over from the Declaration of Independence (1776): “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it …”

3. Because the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, and the like are ordained by God, they are inherent in any reasonable understanding of human dignity. We may love our Constitution, and we may be grateful for the First Amendment, but we must be careful never to forget that the documents only articulate the higher truth: God has granted these rights to people who are made in His image. That includes all of us (Genesis 1:26-27). This principle can be seen clearly in the First Amendment itself: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Make. No. Law. Notice what behavior is actually restricted – that of the government itself. It was the Founders’ intent to define and protect, specifically, the authority of the people.

4. If we misunderstand the proper role of government, we will look to the government to provide all kinds of things that the government is entirely incapable of providing. In fact, we will undermine the work of the church when it comes to taking care of persons whom we’re called by Christ to serve – in His name and with His love. When the government is viewed by the people as some kind of Santa Claus with unlimited resources, all kinds of social and political chaos ensue. (Like you, I’m observing this as I follow the budget-related deliberations of our Congress right now.) I think that we can safely say that the Framers of our Constitution viewed government itself as necessary but potentially dangerous (consider not just the 18^th century, but Paul’s context – the Roman Empire – when he penned Romans 13), and so they wisely built into the engine of our nation as many checks and balances as they could envision.

5. For America’s Founding Fathers, the absolute bottom line was freedom. It was “self-evident” to them that self-government – in the form of a constitutional republic – could only be perpetuated by a people who understood themselves to be self-governed. Such a system would hold accountable all of those in public leadership, and would require the people themselves to stay informed and engaged in the political process. From the very first seedlings of the new government, freedom would outpace all other concerns, and the Founders would be required to risk their lives and livelihoods to secure and preserve it. I’ll quote the first and sixth governor of post-colonial Virginia, Patrick Henry: “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” This courageous and persevering spirit has made our American Experiment a beacon of light, even in corners of the earth marked by rampant political oppression, and has made our enshrined freedoms the envy of the world.

6. Freedom does not grow in a vacuum, but freedom flourishes where righteousness prevails. For every follower of Christ, this should be a sincere concern. President John Adams expressed it like this: “Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private virtue, and public virtue is the only foundation of republics.” His predecessor in office, George Washington, used these words: “Human rights can only be assured among a virtuous people.” But Proverbs 14:34 best establishes this truth: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” When the church is healthy and strong, and when the true gospel can be heard from the pulpits of our land, the nation is positioned for greatness in the eyes of our Creator. When it comes to the matter of morality, we should be concerned not only about the actions of our leaders, but about our own behavior and speech. In every season, one of our first assignments under God is to pray fervently for those who lead in our government (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

7. What we have come to know as religious liberty is a precious trust. It has been an essential component of American life and law since our very beginning. There is no other nation which has cherished this fundamental freedom to the degree that our nation has sought to protect it. And we have sought to protect it not just for Christians, but for all people. Because the ideals of religious liberty seek to protect the human conscience, religious liberty blesses even the nonreligious. A free church and a free state complement each other for the flourishing of society as a whole. We have afforded these freedoms imperfectly, as one might expect, but our efforts to allow all people to live, speak, and act according to their faith (their “sincerely held religious beliefs or practices,” to use the language of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) has been a bulwark of America’s many contributions to the world. In this generation, as in every other, the church of our Lord Jesus Christ must be wholeheartedly committed to keeping this flame of hope alive!

That’s my take on it, and I welcome your input on any of these points. May God grant each of us His marvelous wisdom for such a time as this (James 1:5).

Pastor Charles

“The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth.”

Don’t get mad at me – Jesus said it! It’s from Luke 16:8-9, which we sometimes call the Parable of the Dishonest Manager (see 16:1-13).

I’ll now include the ninth verse in its entirety: “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” As you can see, it’s certainly not the case that adding the last phrase of that verse makes the parable easy to interpret.

In the parable, the shrewd manager learns that he’s about to be fired for mishandling his boss’s resources, so he takes some drastic actions to save his own hide. He strategically reduces the debts of his boss’s debtors. You and I might expect Jesus to impugn the selfish motives of the desperate manager, but Christ does the opposite. Via the boss’s reaction in the parable, and via His own words to His disciples, Christ commends the manager’s quick thinking and savvy leadership.

Perhaps it seems a bit odd to us to think about our perfect Lord making a positive example out of someone’s shrewd business practices, but that’s exactly what we find here. He calls us, strange as it may sound, to be faithful even in our “unrighteous wealth.” So what are we to make of all of this?

First of all, I would suggest that we’re to receive this parable as a critical reality check. By that I mean that Jesus wants us to be wise in every area of our lives. We learn from this story that a wise person understands that their season of productivity is finite in nature. It won’t last forever. The daily commute to and from the office will one day cease. The last sales pitch will one day be delivered. The placard with our name on the cubicle will one day be taken down. There will be no more corporate ladders to climb. Our final paycheck will be issued and cashed. Just like everything else about this life, our time in the workplace won’t last forever.

If we live long enough, every one of us will one day get the message from our mind or from our body (or from both): “You’re no longer able to do what you’ve been doing.” And there are, of course, multiple lesser versions of that message which may come sooner to alert us that – at a bare minimum – we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing with the same intensity or pace. Or, even closer to the parable itself, someone may inform us that “the powers that be” have determined that it’s time for us to call it quits.

Such is life, and such moments are rarely easy. In the parable, we’re not told that the manager has reached “retirement age” or that any lucrative buyout has been offered. There’s no apparent gravy train on the horizon. We’re simply told that the man gets it: he knows that his time has come. His job is coming to an abrupt end. So I’m purposefully widening the application of the parable to include all of the situations in which you and I must be practically ingenious in the moment. In fact, you and I must rely upon the wisdom of God every day that we breathe. Thankfully, the mind of Christ is already ours in Him (1 Corinthians 2:16).

In the parable, when the manager renegotiates the contracts without permission, he is displaying a savviness that makes every debtor happy (who wouldn’t appreciate a reduced debt?) – but it also makes his boss look good. It’s even more clever than it appears at first glance, as the boss will have no choice except to accept the new terms. After all, who wants to renege on an arrangement that makes you look like the hero?

In the end, it’s the boss who gets the last laugh, as there’s no mention of the shrewd manager – no matter his quick smarts or his noteworthy wit – having salvaged his own job. By telling this story, Jesus is not condoning dishonest behavior on any level, but He is reminding us that we ought to put even more of our energy into the affairs of His Kingdom. It’s one thing to be streetwise, but are we Kingdom-wise? If worldly people draw upon street smarts to advance material prosperity, which is destined to fail at some point, all the more should God’s people draw upon God’s wisdom to promote spiritual prosperity – which is destined to succeed beyond our wildest dreams!

So there’s one more question that each one of us needs to ask ourselves today: Am I being wise about eternity? It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the false gods of materialism and power and pleasure. It is this very place in Scripture where our Lord reminds us: “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Friends, there is one Way that leads to eternal life, and His name is Jesus!

The Bible says that now is the day of salvation, so we must make certain – today – that our trust is in Christ, and in Christ alone. “And He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). Amen.

Pastor Charles

You may never know how much people need you.

When the proverbial chips are down, your friends need to know that you will be there for them. That you will have their back. That you, even when they cannot defend themselves, will take up their cause with all of the fervor and energy that you can muster. This is the nature of true friendship, and anything less falls short of friendship.

In the words of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

If you remember Paul Simon’s “I am a rock; I am an island” from 1965, then you remember what I believe was his main point: friendship is a risky thing. Indeed it is. We’ve all been hurt and betrayed by people whom we believed were our friends. But that does not negate our need for friendship. God hardwired us to need each other. And genuine friendship is worth the risk, just as genuine love is worth the risk. Ruth and Naomi needed it. David and Jonathan needed it. Paul and Timothy needed it. You and I need it. “It is not good for the man to be alone.”

St. Augustine once quoted Cicero: “Friendship is agreement with kindliness and affection about things human and divine.” We could add to that a number of critical admonitions from the Bible about how we ought to befriend one other. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). You and I are to display, within the real-life context of our earthly friendships, the very love with which God has loved us … undeserved love … steady love … steadfast love … unflinching love … unfailing love … forgiving love … persevering love …

You may know that I’m a big fan of Winston Churchill. (If you ever get to London, make sure to visit the Churchill War Rooms on King Charles Street. That’s all I’ll say about that for now, but don’t forget that bit of advice. You’ll be glad you visited.) One intriguing chapter of history from that era includes the story of Harry Hopkins, who served as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and who became FDR’s most trusted adviser. Hopkins not only administered certain critical offshoots of the New Deal, but he became an expert on foreign affairs, serving as a kind of liaison between Roosevelt and the Allied leaders as World War II was taking shape.

In the course of time, Prime Minister Churchill came to highly regard Hopkins as “a flaming soul” and “a natural leader of men.” At one critical moment, when the U.S. was in the throes of deciding whether or not to get directly involved in the fight against Hitler – and our isolationist foreign policy as a whole did not lean in that direction – FDR sent Hopkins to Europe for meetings with Churchill. Churchill wisely understood that these conversations would largely determine our nation’s course of action in regard to entering the War – or not. In a very real sense, Western Civilization hung in the balance. When it was all said and done, what word of advice would President Roosevelt receive from Harry Hopkins?

If my understanding of history is accurate, Winston Churchill was on the edge of his seat as much as Churchill could ever be found on the edge of his seat! After a special dinner in Glasgow hosted by Tom Johnston, here is the summation that was offered to Churchill by Hopkins: “I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return. Well, I’m going to quote you one verse from that Book of Books in the truth of which Mr. Johnston’s mother and my own Scottish mother were brought up. ‘Whither thou goest, I will go, and where though lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’”

Historians tell us that, after the quote from Ruth 1:16, Hopkins added: “Even to the end.” Churchill was in tears, which I can assure you wasn’t an everyday occurrence, because he knew exactly what Hopkins meant. His friend was still on his side. America would be on the side of Great Britain. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Someone needs your friendship today. If you will think about your life for just a moment, you may realize that you – right now – are uniquely positioned to help someone in a way in which no one else can help. I’m urging you to be that kind of friend. The free world might not be on the line, but sometimes our “smaller” decisions reap dividends of eternal value.

Churchill nicknamed Hopkins “Lord Root of the Matter,” and the friendship between the two men never waned. May God grant each one of us the support and encouragement that we need for these tumultuous times in which we live. May He give us – and may He make us – true friends! And I am so grateful to be able to remind you, even as I pen this blog posting, that – in our Lord Jesus Christ – you and I have “a Friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

Pastor Charles