Lessons From My Pappy

In honor of Father's Day, I wanted to share a few lessons I have learned from my father. It does not escape me how blessed I am to call him my dad. I often hear young ministers call him a spiritual father and look to him for guidance. Although I tease him about this, they couldn't make a better selection. So here we go: 1. Obedience to God takes priority. My father is a very well-educated man.After pulling himself up by his bootstraps, he earned two doctorate degrees. With his degrees and his incredible people and leadership skills, many opportunities have come his way for lucrative careers, but he held steadfast to the calling God placed on him. Even though these opportunities could have created incredible financial security for his family, he knew that leaving a legacy of faithfulness for his children is much more valuable than any bank account. When it came time to take appointments in places we may not have chosen for ourselves, he made it clear to the family that you go where God sends you, and stay until He releases you. 2. The importance of roots and wings. My father never misses an opportunity for a history lesson. He loves to tell us about American, family, and church history. He does so to give us an appreciation for what our forefathers did to get us here. When I was inclined to mock those who came before me, I was reminded not to "kick my cradle". He wanted my brother and I to be thankful for trailblazers, but to begin to make our own paths as well. We were to build on what had been accomplished before, thankful for their work, but not satisfied in what they accomplished. 3. Give to those who can give you nothing in return. I was taught the importance of helping people who can't help themselves. When you seek out those people, you don't expect anything in return. Ours must be a selfless Gospel. It must never be self-serving, lest we destroy our reputation as a follower of Christ. My father has always upheld a high standard in order to make sure there is no appearance of wrong-doing. He never spent time seeking out people with the most money, or influence, or best name, instead he loves everyone the Lord brings him in contact with regardless of what the payout may be. I am so proud to have been raised by a man of such high integrity. He works hard, never makes excuses, and has a heart for lost people like I have never seen. I love him so dearly. Thank you, pappy for all you have taught me.

Apples and Oranges

Have you ever seen an apple tree with a few oranges on it? Yeah, neither have I. An apple tree automatically produces apples. It does not have to try to produce apples, it just happens. You will never see a naturally growing apple tree growing oranges, or lemons, or pears. Nor can an orange tree chose to produce an apple if it likes. So now you are wondering if I have gone crazy and you are witnessing my decent into madness, but hear me out. Our churches are filled with self-proclaimed apple trees that grow oranges!

A few months ago I blogged about how when we are filled with the Holy Spirit there is fruit to follow, but now I'd like to take it a step further and say that there is specific fruit that a tree of righteousness will not produce. Just as an apple tree does not have to make a conscious effort to produce apples, we should not have to make a conscious effort to produce good fruit. Galatians 5:19-21 tells us:

"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin."(NLT)

Conversely, Galatians 5:22 says:

"But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control." (NLT)

So many times I find myself praying with people who say they are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, yet they find themselves constantly struggling with certain sins. We pray, and they find deliverance for a little while, but then they run back again. Anyone in ministry knows what a frustrating scenario this is, but perhaps the problem is that we are praying for symptoms instead of the cure for the disease. If a person who is filled with the Spirit will only produce good fruit, then should we not stop praying about the bad fruit and instead pray for the individual to be consumed by the Spirit? For if we are really filled by His Spirit, we can't help but produce love, peace, self-control, and the rest.

Lord, I pray that we would be enveloped by Your Holy Spirit, so that He has complete control of our lives. I pray that we would become trees of righteousness that produce good fruit naturally.

Do You Love Enough to be Honest?

Lately, I have heard much debate about what it means to show the love of Jesus to people living in sin. I have been absolutely shocked at the ideas I have heard and read. I am not that surprised at the people who show no compassion to those who are still lost in their sins, because although it never ceases to disappoint me to see people who have forgotten where God brought them from, I am all too familiar with this response. I am much more surprised in the people (in particular those who claim they are called into ministry) who lie on the other side of the spectrum, claiming that we shouldn't take a stand against sin because that "isn't showing the love of Jesus". These are the people who say that in order to be like Jesus, we should accept the way people are and hope they figure out the truth on their own. So let's discuss the love of Jesus, shall we.

In John 4 we read of the encounter at the well between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

While sitting beside Jacob's well, Jesus asked a Samaritan woman to give him water. This act took the woman back, because the Jews had nothing to do with her people. Jesus told her that He could give her living water that would never leave her thirsty again. When she asked for the water, Jesus told her to go and get her husband. When the woman responded, "I don't have a husband", Jesus said, "You're right you don't have a husband, you have five husbands, and you aren't married to the man you're living with now." (v.1-18) She ran back to her village to tell everyone about Jesus, and they "came streaming from the village to see Him." (v.30) The bible goes on to say, "Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, 'He told me everything I ever did!' When they came out to see Him, they begged him to stay at their village. So He stayed 2 days, long enough for many of them to hear His message and believe." (v.39-41)

Jesus didn't ignore her sin, instead He confronted her with it, even though she didn't bring it up. When I hear those in ministry say that they don't tell people that they are in sin because they just want to show the love of Jesus, I wonder if they have even read the Gospels at all. The problem perhaps is that we are busy focusing on showing love, instead of focusing on being love. The question of "how can we show the love of Jesus if we are telling people they are living in sin?" is actually quite simple. We must become love and that permeates everything we do, without effort. Jesus loved the Samaritan woman. He loved her enough to go to her even though it was forbidden by His culture. He loved her enough to tell her the truth. And because He told her the truth, many in her village were saved.

Being like Jesus means being consumed by love, going to those we are to have shunned, and caring enough to tell the truth.