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

Faith or Failure

The bottom line. An “A” means passing, while “F” is failing. First place is winning, last place is losing. The number of people means more effective. In our culture today, we have unlimited numbers of ways to measure success and failure. The longevity of something prides itself as success, while the brevity of something immediately points to failure. What is concerning is when these same thought processes, these same ways of measuring success and failure, are applied to our faith. But so often, they are.

I am not the pastor of a megachurch. I am the pastor of a medium-sized congregation in rural North Carolina. I serve a group of people who have the heart of God, the faith of mountain-movers, the love that is rarely seen in a world self-absorbed, and the work ethic of world-changers. It is indeed a blessing. I serve as their enigmatic leader, who is constantly one misstep away from a nervous breakdown. Yet, they love me anyways.

Today, I kept thinking about different things in ministry over the years and measuring them according to the standards that I mentioned to open this blog. This program gets an “A” because it has lasted for five years. The attempt at that ministry was a failure because it didn’t do what I thought it would do and was shut down. Even more dangerous than that assessment came when I started to do the same with the ministry I have had over nearly two decades and started assessing myself in the same manner.

On my way home tonight, the idea of failure overly fresh in the mind, the Lord reminded me of the cross. On crucifixion day, the cross seemed to be the sign of failure. Jesus, the leader of the group of disciples now fearing an equal fate, was dead. Jesus, the opposition as the Pharisees saw Him, had been overcome. Jesus, the very One Satan wanted to see gone, was gone. To have looked at the cross at that moment would have been to see something the world regarded as a failure. Here, the Rebel who had come had taken His rebellion too far and paid the ultimate price. The cross – the place that appeared to be a great “failure” but was anything but. You see, you can’t have an empty tomb without a cross before it.

You are wondering where this is going. When it comes to faith, we cannot measure things by results, for in the workings of faith, there are results that are unseen. We cannot simply assess things by numbers, by giving it a grade on appearance, by judging it through the worldly lens of winning and losing. There is no failure in faith when faithfulness has been taken to its extreme. When we are working out things in faith, rather than asking if we failed, we are presented with this question from the Lord – “Were you faithful?” Faithfulness to God is never a failure, even if the results appear to be a failure in our eyes. Our goal is to be faithful to God and allow Him to work about the results.

Philippians 2:8 tells us “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death – even to death on a cross.” He was faithful. What could have been seen as failure to the world, was seen as faithfulness in the eyes of God.

This is a reminder to you, and myself, to avoid seeing yourself, or your efforts for the Lord, as a failure. God can see what we cannot see and God can do what we cannot do. Satan is the one who likes to label us as failures and longs for us to give up because we have appeared to fail. God tells us just to remain faithful to Him and watch Him work through that faith. Whether it is a ministry you are involved in, or a work you are writing, or an idea God has planted in your mind, remain faithful and it will never be a failure. What may seem like a cross today might just lead to an empty tomb a few days from now.

You are Enough

This week, I learned a valuable lesson, taught to me by a five-year-old little girl who possesses a heart of pure gold. Yes, I am biased. She's one of my little princesses. But this week, that little angel made her daddy stop and realize what is really important in life.

I am a pastor. I am an author. I am pursuing my Master's Degree to make me a better pastor and working hard to become a better writer. I am a husband and father, a son and a brother. In the course of a week, I switch gears constantly, trying to achieve the next thing set before me and set an example for the ones who look to me. As Sunday night wound down, fighting the mental exhaustion of another week, I sat at the computer trying to write a paper for class. That's when it happened.

My daughter asked me, "Daddy, what happens if you don't finish your paper tonight?". I said that I would get a failing grade, but she didn't understand what that meant. So, I thought for a minute about how to explain it to where she would understand the importance of me finishing my assignment. I told her, "You know how you get a sticker when you do good on your schoolwork? Well, if Daddy doesn't get this turned in on time, he won't get his sticker."

She was behind me, so I could not see her face when I said those words. I focused on the papers in front of me, ensuring I would fulfill the requirements of the professor and in turn, keep a GPA that was without blemish. For some reason, in each stage of life, I find myself trying to prove to the world and to other people that I am indeed enough. A minute or two later, a little hand appeared and a heart-shaped sticker had been applied to my shirt from a 5-year-old, her way of telling me that I am enough for her.

I nearly cried. The rigors of life are tough for all of us. We strive to be something in this world and do all that we can to make a difference in the life of someone else. We long to hear the words, "You are enough" but are often faced with little acknowledgement of what has been done and an immediate response of the next thing we must accomplish. Before long, we are overwhelmed as the requests just keep coming, the demands just keep mounting. Then, in a moment of utter exhaustion and weakness, someone says, "You are enough for me".

As Christians, the Bible is such a sticker sent to us by the Lord, the very One who created us. It is the reminder that we were important enough to God that He would send His Son to die for us. You want a verse that tells you such a fact? Here goes - "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 HCSB) As mentioned in the verse - we were broken, separated and decimated by sin, yet God said we were enough to send His Son to the cross to die for us. His love is proven by the cross. As we look at the cross, it screams out to us that God loves us so much. The world may tell you that you are not enough, but the cross says that you are.

I keep that sticker in my wallet now to remind me that, though I may not be what everyone else in the world wants me to be, to my little girl I am enough. I keep my Bible with me as a constant reminder that the Lord says I am enough. I keep a tiny wooden cross in my pocket to remind me that the love of God is more than enough for me.

Overlooking the Valley

Every time I go there, I get a lump in my throat. The place reminds me of how I failed. The town's welcome sign is a reminder that it was here that everything fell apart. Today, I had to go back, but this time was different.

Often, we are told that pastors need to be careful of being too transparent. Perhaps that is true. Maybe we should keep up a cloak of perfection to keep the respect of the people we are guiding. Not me, though. I'm not built that way. If anything, I feel that the more transparent I am, the more real I am. I long for people to listen to me, not because I am the "perfect" Christian, but because I follow a perfect Savior.

Today, I went back. Normally, I'd pull my hat low and hope to avoid anyone who may remember me, but let's be honest, after nearly fifteen years, few would even know it was me anymore. Is it to avoid a chance run-in or is it more about the shame? Definitely the shame. I have carried it for a decade and a half. Today, I never pulled the hat down low. I refused to hurry away to avoid some awkward interaction that may/may not happen. Instead, I went to the mountain, overlooking the valley where I fled when my world collapsed.

I thought about Peter. As he denied Christ three times, he had failed. He was forgiven and restored by Jesus, but I always wonder how often he thought about the courtyard where he denied knowing Jesus. When he walked by the courtyard, did he feel the pain that came the night he refused to acknowledge his allegiance to Jesus? Did the shame hit again that the One who was being beaten and would be nailed to a cross was dying for him? Could he hear his own words from that night repeatedly in his ears, ever the reminder of the day he failed?

I drove to the top of the mountain today, but today was different. As I drove, I kept thinking about how far my life has come since that time. Not because I am any good, understand that. My life has progressed because of the mercies of God and the power of the Lord. Period. He could have left me in the valley but today, He led me to the mountaintop. From the time of my life's collapse to today, one verse continued to minister to me and push me forward - "Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin." Proverbs 24:16. I had fallen. God had picked me up. He dusted me off, redeemed me, and restored me just as He restored Peter after the courtyard.

Did I know that I had been forgiven? Yes. Scripture is clear on the forgiveness of sin. However, I continued all these years to carry the shame. Not today. The cross held more than just the sin on the day that Jesus died for us. The shame was nailed there as well, the shame that I do not have to carry anymore. In Christ, I am a new creation. Today, His mercies are new. And I am no longer in that valley - I am on the mountaintop.

Before I left today, it began to snow lightly. Ever the excited snow-lover, I stood and watched as the flakes descended from heaven to the earth below. And then He taught me more about His grace. Psalm 51:7 says, "Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." Isaiah 1:18 says, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow." The Lord knows I can be a slow learner, but those snowflakes assured that I would get the message today, a message He sent on a mountaintop that overlooked a once overwhelming valley.

Why does this matter to you? Because the same God who restored my life to something greater than it ever would have been, the same Lord who is the defining force of my life, is the same one who will do the same for you. You may be in the valley, but if the Lord is allowed to take over, He can take you to the mountaintop as well and when you arrive at the pinnacle, you will know that it was the work of His hands that lifted you to such a height. And at that place, you will truthfully sing, "It is well with my soul."

Shrugging or Sobbing?

Paul's desire to reach the lost has never been in question. He planted churches, completed missionary journeys that baffle our minds today, leaving a footprint of faith that exists until today. He wrote to the Philippians a letter that gives great verses that empower believers. Yet, when he reaches what we know as the end of the third chapter, he writes a phrase that has spoken to my heart so deeply that I have written a book based on the verse. He wrote, "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ." (Philippians 3:18 NKJV)

Tears flowed as the words were written. Tears came as the realization set in even more, without the cross those souls were doomed. For Paul, it was personal. For Paul, it wasn't simply that they were of a different mindset. To him, the gut-wrenching truth said that those people were a breath away from a Christ-less eternity and it brought tears to his eyes.

Jesus had a similar experience. As the time came for Christ to go to the cross, to die for the sins of humanity, He came to Jerusalem and wept for a city and a people that were misguided and lost. Luke records it this way: "Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." (Luke 19:41-42 NKJV)

David Jeremiah said that Jesus wept for three reasons: "1) the great privileges that were being abused; 2) the great possibilities that had been rejected; and 3)the great punishment He knew was coming on the city and its people." The state of their soul distressed the Savior in such a way that it brought tears to His eyes. What they had needed stood in front of them yet they could not see. 

So, looking at these Scriptures, we ask ourselves, "What is our reaction to the lost nature of the souls around us?" Are we truly moved by the reality of that which awaits those who reject Christ or is it not that big of a deal to us? Those who shrug their shoulders in response to someone's dive towards hell never understood how Jesus viewed those souls. One who can shrug their shoulders fail to understand that the Great Commission is more than a good suggestion. Are we moved to tears as we watch Satan shackle the lives of others and if so, what will we do about it? The ones whose souls are moved in such a way by the lost nature of another are the ones who will not stop in their quest to take the gospel to those who need it the most. Those who are untouched by the lost nature of others are content in religious activities without committal to the cross. Now that leads to the ultimate question - "Am I moved to tears or can I shrug it off as not my problem?" The answer to that tells the depth of our understanding of Jesus.