Is There Evidence?

I love watching television dramas, especially those involving court cases or detective work. There are some cases where the detectives have to dig deep and look everywhere to find the evidence needed to bring charges against someone. For others, it is an open and shut case, no real stretch to find the evidence of what had taken place.

As I was reading to our church Sunday night, a verse of Scripture hit me in a way that I have never noticed before. Here is the passage and here is what opened my eyes. John wrote, "My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples." (John 15:8 HCSB) We know that we are called to produce fruit. Scripture says it more than once. We are to desire to glorify God in our lives. These are things that most everyone knows, especially those who have spent more than a month in church. What caught me was the end of the verse.

Notice what Jesus said. God is glorified not only by the fruit that is produced in our lives, but also by the proof that we are disciples of Christ. Think about it. Anyone can say that they are a believer. Anyone can attend a service. Anyone can sing a hymn or a praise and worship song and furthermore, anyone can say a prayer. What is to be seen is whether or not there is evidence, or proof, that we are disciples of Jesus Christ.

There was a saying I heard years ago that said "If someone accused you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict?" Such was the heart of Jesus' words in this passage. Not that we simply say we are Christians, as acknowledgment of our faith is important, but do we live what we say we believe? Are we living what we are proclaiming? Is it a lifestyle or just another box to check off on some form we are filling out?

As we live in a day and time of increasing "convenient Christianity", a type of faith that is used only when it is necessary or needed, the Lord is looking for evidence. He is looking to see if the cross is etched into our hearts and if the Spirit is flowing through our veins. The Lord is looking to see if our lives show marks of being crucified with Christ or if they are a reflection of the world without any real transformation. Convenient Christianity turns out to be costly when we stand before God. Being a true disciple of Christ brings reward when we are face-to-face with the Lord.

Tonight, I pose this question to myself and to anyone who is reading these words. Is there evidence of your faith beyond what you say? If you were on trial by a jury of your peers, would they convict you of being a Christian or would the verdict be that there was not enough evidence to convict? Jesus did not say that God would be glorified if we said that we are Christians, then walk on with our lives. Jesus said that God would be glorified if we proved to be disciples of His, that the evidence was there to substantiate the claim that we are followers of Christ, that we have, in Paul's words "been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20 HCSB) That is the evidence that the Lord is looking for today.

To Pull Away

As you who are part of my world know, life has been hectic and somewhat tough here recently. The great part is that I love my hectic life. The tough part has been that my hectic life allows little room for me to take a breath when needed, to grieve when something or someone is loss, to find clarity when chaos abounds. If we're all completely honest, we have found ourselves in those situations far too often. When we do, we often tell ourselves to just push through, to occupy our minds even more, and then, after an even greater depletion of what is inside leads to exhaustion, we will be okay.

Sound familiar to you? We live in such a fast-paced world. I remember when I was younger, there seemed to be more time for a cookout, to sit out on the porch and stare off in the distance, to enjoy a movie, or to simply relax. With the ever-increasing demands of life, we are run so much that we allow decades to pass without realizing that we never stopped to live. What a dangerous time we live in, don't you think?

I have long thought my job was to outwork everyone else, to keep going even when everything inside said to stop. This week, it all changed. A day that was scheduled from the morning through the late evening was changed to a day where I could go play golf with my uncle and cousin. What seemed to have to be done on Friday is no longer on the schedule, as Friday will be a day when I pull away. No cell phone. No internet other than a few postings on social media. No email. I have to get myself taken care of before I can possibly take care of someone else.

I was reading recently about a time when Jesus pulled away in Luke 6. The preceding verses revealed a couple of altercations with the Pharisees, once over what the disciples were doing on the Sabbath and then, a disagreement with Pharisees because Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Then, in verse 12, Luke noted, "During those days He went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God." (Luke 6:12 HCSB) He took time to remove Himself from what was going on to connect with the Father. Jesus needed that time and as I once heard a friend say, "If Jesus needed time to connect with the Father, how much more time do we need to connect with the Father?" What my friend was saying was that if Jesus needed a whole night of connection with the Father, we needed even more time invested in connecting with the Father.

What I found even more encouraging was located in Luke 5. This was not a one-time pulling away from everything by Jesus. In fact, it was more common than we might have imagined. Luke 5 tells us how the crowds heard of Jesus and sought to find healing through His words and actions. Then, Luke pointed out, "Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed." (Luke 5:16 HCSB) Notice that word often in that verse. Were there legitimate needs in those crowds? Of course there were. But the need to connect with the Father was also present.

Sometimes, pulling away for a few hours or a day or even a week is as important as answering phone calls, emails, texts, or having meetings. The world will always have needs. In fact, in our world today, you will see that most people cannot see beyond their own needs to recognize that you have needs as well. Taking a breath away from the crowd and from the circumstances allows us to be refreshed by Christ and reconnect with the Lord so that we are, in fact, better equipped to help those around us. We can be run into the ground by trying to do everything and be everything, only to find that when we are completely depleted, we are no longer able to do what truly needs to be done.

I'm going to the mountains to breathe and to grieve. We should all find time to pull away as, when we look at Scripture, that is what Jesus did. May you find time this week to connect with God, away from everything else, so He can refresh you like no one else can do.

Can I Just Stay in Bed?

Today was a day. Honestly, the past four have been. Today, I struggled as I gave the message at my grandfather's funeral. He was my hero. He was larger than life but was a simple man of deep faith who loved me and loved Jesus. Being his pastor, as well as his grandson, made today one of those moments when you try to get through the pain and grieve later.

For the past four days since he passed away, I haven't wanted to get out of bed. I wanted to stay inside, lay in my bed, and be away from it all. Life wouldn't allow it. There were places to be, things to be done, and my grandmother needed us in this time in her life. So, I trudged out of bed each day, tried to force a smile and tried to do the best I could to do what I could for others though I could barely take another step myself.

Today, as I prepared for the funeral, I received three rejection letters for book proposals. As I thought about the struggle of never seeing my grandfather again on this earthly plain and I thought about the rejections, if I had my way, I would have laid back in bed, covered my head with the sheets and blankets, and allowed myself a chance to call it a day. But, I couldn't. I had to keep going. I had a funeral to speak at and I had other responsibilities.

As the time came for the funeral, I tried to focus on the family, tried to encourage them and support them and grieve the loss myself simultaneously. You see, I wanted to go to sleep. I wanted life to stop, for the day to give mercy, for the next lethal blow to my life and my future to be avoided. I looked at my bed as I got ready for the funeral. "If only I could lay down, I would be able to sleep and forget it all for awhile." Such thoughts nearly drove me to the bed. I was ready to give up on life.

Then, it happened. I am the type that if I make a commitment, I will do all that I can to fulfill it unless it simply cannot be fulfilled. So I went to the funeral. Paw Paw was gone. I had experienced the rejections. The question in my mind was, "What is going on, God?"

I stood in front of over three hundred people and talked to them about Jesus. I told of the faith of the man who had affected so many lives and I told of the love that God has for each person there. I shared from the gospel of John, the 23rd Psalm, 1 Corinthians, and Romans. For thirty minutes, I had a chance to share Jesus. Had I just said "no more" or just stayed in bed, what an opportunity would have been lost!

There are so many times in life where we feel like waving the surrender flag and saying, "I'm going to lay down and never get up again." There are those moments when a wave crashes over you and before you catch your breath, another is pummeling you and leaving you beaten, battered, bruised, and bloodied. Do you give up? Do you just stay down so the next one cannot crash over you? Do you just scream, "I can't do this anymore"? Such would be the easy way out. Such would be the way that leads to regrets later.

In 2nd Corinthians, Paul writes in the fourth chapter, "Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up." (2 Corinthians 4:1 HCSB) As I read those words, I thought about where I had been in my past. To even be here today is an act of mercy by God. To be given the ministry that I have been given is an even greater act of mercy by God. I read on. Scripture has a way of drawing us to a place where our emptiness finds fulfillment, where our depleted selves find renewed passion. Paul wrote, "We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) Oh, the strength that comes from the Word of God. Then, again, Paul wrote, "Therefore we do not give up." (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Life will give you a series of events that will lead you to a place where you say, "I don't think I am going to get up again." But faith leads you to get up again, lean upon the strength of the Lord, and to know that there will be moments that present themselves that are inexplicably inspired by God, where you can proclaim the reason you have hope. I wanted to stay in bed, but the Lord wanted me to talk to over 300 people about the love of Jesus, the cross of Christ, and the life that is found in Jesus' victory over the grave. I am so glad I didn't just stay in bed!

In Memory of Clifton Clapp - July 23rd, 2018