What’s Really Behind Your Fears—You Might Be Surprised!

“Casting all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “We are a fear-driven culture.” I believe that. In fact, as a pastor I have seen how fear gets the best of people. We fear losing our jobs, dying, getting older, tragedy, failure, other people, and some even fear themselves. One’s fear’s can lead them to experience an entire army of emotions such as: confusion, depression, desperation, anxiety, bitterness, worry, doubt, isolation and many more suffocating emotions.

When it comes to our fears it is important to ask ourselves this question: what is the root issue? Sadly, many live their entire life trying to cope with their fears by turning to disastrous vices all because they never discovered the root issue of their fears. The core reason we are plagued with so many fears is often rooted in idolatry. Behind the face of our fears we often discover the idols of our minds. Here is what I am saying, “Our root problem is not fear—it’s idolatry!” Let me explain by issuing a series of questions:

• Are you plagued by fears of losing your job? Then your career may be your idol.
• Are you plagued by fears of losing a child? Then your child may be your idol.
• Are you plagued by fears of going broke? Then your bank account may be your idol.
• Are you plagued by fears of failure? Then success may be your idol.
• Are you plagued by fears of getting sick? Then your health may be your idol
• Are you plagued by fears of not being liked by others? Then people’s approval may be your idol.

Do you see the connection? Can you see the “root system?” Our fears point us to something deeper and more internal, but we have to get beneath the veneer. We tend to see our fears externally, but our fears often shed light on our internal idols. They show us our “shadows” or our spiritual “dark sides.” In his book, Counterfeit God’s Timothy Keller writes, “One of the signs that an object is functioning as an idol is that fear becomes one of the chief characteristics of life.” Do you have any fears today? Then explore your root system and there you may discover your “Counterfeit God.”

Know this: Satan wants to plague your life with fears. Why? Because fear is the opposite of faith and faith is the key to living the Christian life and experiencing the pleasures of God. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). As I tie my not for you with these final thoughts don’t miss this point: the deeper reason we commit idolatry is not because we have a fear problem, but a love problem. The Bible says, “Perfect love casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18). The pathway to crushing our idols is experienced through a journey of craving the heart of God. Loving God arrests the idols of our hearts and minds and renders them powerless. So why not take a few minutes today to ask God, “What are the idols behind my fears?” and watch “God’s kindness leads you toward repentance” (Rom. 2:4).

God Is Not Color Blind

Political views aside who can argue that Tuesday was not a beautiful sight to behold seeing an African American take America’s highest office? It amazes me to think that we are only a short history away from a time when blacks and whites rode on separate buses, drank from different water fountains and used different restrooms. My heart breaks when I think of a day and age such as those just expressed that now mark the pages of American history. This isn’t a political views message, but a few words coming from a pastor who is rejoicing to see blacks and whites taking one step closer towards racial reconciliation. Yes, we still have a long ways to go, but Tuesday was a huge leap forward.

As Christians may it always be our vision to raise the banner of racial unity. There are just some things worth fighting for and racial reconciliation is one of those ideals. John Piper asks a large question, “Are our churches thermometers registering the racial attitudes and actions of the world; or are they thermostats raising the warmth of commitment to racial understanding and love and demonstrable harmony?” May it never be said of us that we have a spirit of indifference towards the heart breaking sin of racism. We need more voices in our culture today that champion unity.

On the cross Jesus shed His blood to put an end to racism. As John Piper further said, “The issue of racial prejudice and snubbing and suspicion and mistreatment is not a social issue; it is a blood-of-Jesus issue.” Jesus died for the sake of unity. Unity towards God and man. His messy blood spattered death on the cross was done in the name of reconciliation. He died for the glory of the Father so that we might be one with God and one with each other through the birth of His church. Racism dies a thousand deaths at the cross. The Bible says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The ground is level at the cross so we must keep it level in our churches and communities. With passion Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream speech” and with even more passion Jesus gave his life so that dream could be realized. Let me say it like this: Kings dream was the KINGS dream. Christ’s shockingly blood spilt death on the cross-nailed the sins of division and racism forever through His hands and feet so that we may all see that we are one in Christ.

As the song, Jesus Loves The Little Children reminds us: “Red and yellow, black and white they are all precious in His sight. May this truth right here run deep in our souls: God is not color blind—no as I once heard said, God loves colors! May our new Presidents legacy be one that history reflects back on and says, “It was on January 20, 2009 when America finally became the UNITED STATES.”

Treasuring God’s Word in 2009

I enjoyed the movie, “National Treasure” with Nicholas Cage. In it Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicholas Cage) seeks to unearth a hidden treasure that has been concealed for centuries as he follows baffling clues that ultimately lead him to discover this lost treasure that has been hidden beneath an ancient church. As I have reflected upon this film I cannot help but think we have the greatest treasure right before our eyes. It’s called, “The Bible.” Nothing on earth is more valuable than God’s Word. I wonder what would happen to us in 2009 if we would seek to discover the truth of God’s Word with the same relentless passion that Gates sought to discover his lost treasure.

With the turn of each New Year we are given an opportunity to think about how we want to make our life count. Let me assure you there is not a greater treasure on the face of this earth than the Bible. If we are going to make our life count than count on sinking into God’s Word this year. Yes, become a Bible saturated Christian and watch what God does with your life. Here is a thought I want you to consider—the Bible wasn’t given merely for it’s own inspiration, but for your inspiration. The Bible is meant to awaken our senses to the greatness of God. If we want God to be the blazing center of our life than we need to plunge into the treasure of God’s Word.

I will never forget the statement my Bible College professor once said while I was taking his class. It was one of those off the cuff remarks that shot right through my heart. He said, “The Bible is an organism, it’s the only book that you read that reads you.” Oh how that statement sunk into my soul! Hebrews 4:12 reminds us, “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” As you read this verse can you feel it reading you? Can you sense the heat from the blade of God’s Word? It’s sharp. More than that, it cuts and it cuts deep.

R.C. Sproul the famous theologian was once approached by someone who said to him, “R.C. you make the Bible come alive.” R.C. quickly responded by saying, “No the Bible makes me come alive.” That statement belongs on shouting grounds. It’s a morsel worth digesting. No, we don’t make the Bible come alive—the Bible makes us come alive. So this year let me encourage you to take one lofty challenge you will never regret—the challenge of treasuring God’s Word by reading through the entire Bible this year. I assure you I have never met one person who said, “Man Bobby, I wish I didn’t read so much of the Bible.” No, I have never met such a person. But I have met plenty of people, including myself who have said, “I wish I read the Bible more.” Why? Because God’s Word is a treasure! If we want our lives to be marked by the treasure of God’s Word in 2009 than we need to start marking God’s Word. This is a great year to start. Thankfully, we don’t have to go treasure seeking, just treasure reading. Will you take the challenge? I promise you it’s one resolution you won’t regret.

Treasure reading with you,

Bobby

Making Sense of Christmas

As far as I can remember Christmas has always been my favorite season of the year. We all have our fond December memories don’t we? The taste of hot chocolate, peanut brittle and marshmallows roasting on an open fire. The smell of Gingerbread houses, homemade hot fudge and cinnamon dolce lattes. The sounds of Christmas carolers, holiday bells and our favorite seasonal hymns, the sight of homes decorated with Christmas lights, nativity scenes and garland wrapped staircases. And of course, there is the first touch of that long awaited for gift that sat under the tree tempting you to open it a few days early. Oh how I loved getting those Legos!

There is no doubt that Christmas touches the chord of all our senses. However, as great as that Turkish delight may be, let us never forget that nothing compares to the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is and always will be about King Jesus. That is WHO this season is about.

-Christmas is about the birth of the great I AM.
-It’s about the birth of the God Man.
-It’s about God’s passionate love for His glory and how He showed His glory off by sending His one and only Son Jesus to die on old rugged cross.

Christmas time puts the memory stick in action. Let us never forget that…

-Christmas is a time to remember that God became man so that man could be one with God.
-Christmas is a time to remember that God came to earth so that man could go to heaven.
-Christmas is a time to remember that Light came into the world of darkness so that a world of darkness could enter into an everlasting world of Light.

Yes, Christmas is a time to remember that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one gets to the Father except through Him.” Nothing should move us so deeply as seeing what Jesus did on our behalf. Nothing should humble so sweetly as tasting the joy of His unconditional forgiveness. Nothing should smell so savoring as a whiff of our newfound freedom. Nothing should sound so good to our ears as Jesus great statement “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” And nothing should excite us more greatly than knowing that someday you and I will reach out and touch His nail scared hands.

It is true that NOTHING should disturb the true way meaning of Christmas. Year after year the world will shout out “NON-SENSE” but our God absorbed hearts can lovingly reply back and say, “ALL SENSE.” As foolish as it may sound, I guess what I am trying to say is only Jesus can make sense of Christmas.

Till next time,

Bobby

Unlocking The Crazy Cycle

Important Tips for Interpreting The Old Testament Prophets...

Have you ever started off the New Year with a vision to read through the entire Bible in a year and then watched your goal quickly dissolve as you became vexed by the tedious repetition of the Old Testament Prophet books? If so, I guarantee you’re not alone. Reading the Old Testament major and minor prophet books (note: major and minor due to the size of the book not the size of the prophet) demands patience to say the least, but it must be stressed these books are loaded with life changing truths even for today.

I assure you, the prophets are not the problem—the problem is we need a tool to help us unlock the crazy cycle that is found in the prophets. What is the crazy cycle? As I was having my quiet time yesterday in the book of Hosea I began to see a similar pattern emerging that I have seen in other prophet books as well. What I noticed was a similar repetitive theme that I have witnessed throughout the Old Testament prophets. By recognizing the pattern that I call “The Crazy Cycle” you can begin to appreciate what God is doing instead of skipping forward to the New Testament. I know it’s tempting, but you can do it—hang in there! The next time you approach the Old Testament prophets be on the look out for the crazy cycle. It goes something like this…

1. SIN—God’s people reject God’s ways and plunge themselves into deep sin.

2. WARNING—God mercifully raises a prophet up to confront their sin and warn them of coming judgment if they fail to repent.

3. REJECTION—God’s people reject the prophet’s message due to their own sin and deception.

4. RETRIBUTION—God brings forth judgment as He forewarned.

5. REPENTANCE—God’s people repent of their sin.

6. RESTORATION—God graciously spares a remnant and their hope is restored in God once again.

7. REPETITION—The crazy cycle repeats itself all over again!

Look familiar? It’s there! After reading through about four or five of these cycles you can find yourself going a bit—well—“crazy.” More often than not you will find this cycle. Sure there are exceptions. Jonah went to Nineveh and preached repentance and they heard the warning and repented immediately (see Jonah 3:6-10). Thankfully, they were spared from judgment. However, it would only take another century before Nineveh soon got back on the crazy cycle and this time they would be judged for their idolatry, violence and arrogance (see Nahum 3:1-4). It is painstakingly true that more often than not God’s people are stiff necked and stubborn and usually have to experience retribution before repentance and restoration.

When it comes to the crazy cycle in the prophets God was very intentional in keeping these books in the Bible so the question is: what can we learn in today’s world from the crazy cycle? Two primary truths come bursting forth from this tough Scriptural terrain and it’s this—God is faithful and often we are not! Thankfully, God continues to pursue us even when we fail to pursue Him. God chases our heart even when we ditch His. So the next time you are reading through the Old Testament prophets and find yourself going crazy don’t miss this poignant point. Rather, be humbled. Be shocked. Be amazed. Yes, even be transformed.

God wants us to see that He is the ultimate heart-hunter. In spite of our sin He chases us and returns our hearts to His. The Old Testament prophets show us that God’s heart bleeds with grace and He will do whatever it takes to get our attention back where it belongs—on Him. So let me conclude with one final question? Where are you on the crazy cycle? If your heart is wandering skip on down to step five and take a spiritual bath and then watch God return your joy through His amazing gift called, “Restoration.”

Till next time, Bobby

One Short Phrase That Can Change Your Life

Thank God it doesn’t take a dissertation for something to have a life changing impact us. Sometimes less is more. It’s true. I know in my own life I have been changed by certain short phrases. Phrases like:

“Lord Jesus save me.”
“I now pronounce you husband and wife”
“It’s a girl”
“It’s a boy”

Each of those short phrases meant incredible life change for me. Did you know there is a short little phrase nestled away in Scripture that can change your life forever? In fact, it’s one of the shortest verses in Scripture. Curious? The verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says,“Pray without ceasing.” Now don’t just skip over that phrase. Look at again. Let it soak into your heart as you ponder the meaning. Turn it in all directions. Let it invade your heart. It’s a petite little phrase, but don’t underestimate it. It’s pregnant with meaning. Let me go even one step further, this phrase can change your life today! If we read our Bible literally this means that we are to NEVER STOP PRAYING. So what are the ramifications of this brief verse?

• Do we quit our jobs in order to pray more?
• Do we forsake sleep to fulfill this verse?
• Do we break off all meaningful relationships so we don’t neglect our time with God?

Absolutely. Just kidding. No, no, no! I’ll slow down a bit for you so you can swallow this verse with one sweet bite. What Paul was teaching the Thessalonians in this simple little verse was a very loaded concept. He wanted them to live every waking moment of their life in an attitude of prayer! He knew that no single person can just pray at all times. In fact, even Paul did other things besides pray. He wrote letters, he ate food, he preached the gospel, he slept, and he constructed tents and much more. However, in everything he did he was God centered.

So the question is, “how can this one little verse change your life?” Paul invites us through these three simple words to cultivate a lifestyle of prayer. It’s his desire for us to live with a sense of God-consciousness. To be stuffed with a sense of God. This verse exhorts us to pray about our job decisions, to pray over our marriage struggles, to pray about which school our children should attend, to pray about how we should spend our money. This verse invites us to bath every area of our life in God soaked prayer. In summary, this verse invites you and me to be changed forever by one short phrase. So go ahead and give it a shot, “Pray without ceasing.” Here come the prayers Lord!

Half the Truth is a Full Lie

I wish I could remember all the great “sayings” I’ve learned through the years, but unfortunately that’s not the case. However, one pithy little quote has stuck with me ever since I heard it and it goes like this, “Half the truth is a full lie.”

This quote is sadly what is taking place in much of the church world today. People hear half the truth and the net gain is a full lie. We lie to people when we only teach about God’s grace, love, mercy and forgiveness. This is what I call, “A Lopsided Gospel.” There is no doubt that the world needs to know about God’s omni-benevolence, but the world also needs to know about God’s wrath, justice and other not so “seeker friendly” topics such as: hell, sin and repentance.

Like two sides of a coin, on the one side you have truth and on the other side grace. All grace churches and no truth slip into heresy, whereas all truth churches with no grace slip into dead orthodoxy. We want the paradox of grace and truth married together. I fear in today’s culture we are losing truth in the name of abusing grace. When grace gets stripped of truth grace no longer becomes grace, but fluff. What makes grace beautiful is placing it against the backdrop of God’s truth. When these two pillars are taught expect to see two reactions: deep brokenness and or radical resistance. Know this—both reactions are better than the non-reaction of complacency that we see taking place today.

In fact, I recently thought about teaching a series in the future called, “An Unpopular Series” with the message titles as follows:

Week 1 Judgment Day is Coming
Week 2 Homosexuality is a Sin
Week 3 Hell is Real
Week 4 Abortion is Murder
Week 5 The Doctrine of Election is Mysterious, yet Biblical
Week 6 Money Can Destroy
Week 7 Suffering is Good For Us
Week 8 No Fruit, No Jesus

Yeah, I know what you are thinking, “Great series to run a bunch of people off.” I assure you that would not be my heart, but I do believe God’s Word must be presented without apology. If you ever want to discover who God’s true disciples are it comes when grace PLUS truth is taught. What we need today more than ever is not a Lop-Sided Gospel, but a Fully Orbed Gospel. One that doesn’t leave out half the truth, rather one that declares the “whole counsel of God.” One of the great benefits of teaching through books of the Bible is it forces pastor’s to face issues they may be tempted to skip over. By never teaching through a book of the Bible it can make you wonder, “pastor do you really believe ALL of God’s Word?” So next time you’re given an opportunity to share the truth, remember the Gospel is not lopsided, rather it’s fully orbed and drenched with both truth and grace.