These Two Things

As a pastor I have the opportunity to be present in the lives of people at some of the most important times in a person's life. Births, deaths, weddings, salvation experiences, baptisms, and many other life events. I have stood in rooms when people have taken their last breath and had the opportunity to hold a new born baby taking some of their first breaths. As I consider the things said by people at some of these life changing moments, two things become abundantly clear. Two things are of greater importance to people, especially those about to pass away, than anything else in this world. It is not that they wish they had spent more time working. It is not that they wish they had made more money. It is not many of the day-to-day "important" things we seem to be so consumed with most of our life. These two things are what seem to really matter when it is time for a person to leave this world. These two things are faith and family.

For a person who has put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, their faith is what sustains them in this life when times are hard and when times are good. This same faith is what they want others to experience. The need to point this out is never so clear to a person as when they are on their death bed. The need for their family and friends to hear the importance of the gospel (the Good News of Jesus Christ) is never as clear as when they know they will not be able to share it again. The important thing for those of us left here on earth is to develop our own faith in Christ and heed the warnings of those who have gone on before us. By developing our own faith in Christ we are better able to weather the storms of this life.

The relationships we've built in this life time is what makes life worth living. In this crazy world, family takes on all sorts of faces and descriptions. Sometimes families are blended and sometimes they are not. Sometimes family is the neighbor you take care of when they have no one left to care for them. Sometimes family is that elderly great-grandparent who is full of wit, wisdom, and on some days a lot of spice. Sometimes family is a friend that could pass as a sibling and no one would know the difference. Regardless of what family is comprised of, when this life is over the one thing people long for is to show their love for family.

From the observations of a relatively young pastor, these two things are what matter most to people when life comes to an end. Last week I was able to witness my 80 year old grandmother sharing these two things with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren shortly before she passed away. She wanted the generations following after her to know how important it was to love Jesus and how much she loved them. These two things are what really matter in this life. If you have love in your heart for Jesus, growing in your relationship with Him, and have love in your heart for your family, then everything else will take care of itself.


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Bracket Buster

Last week the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament started. The tournament usually lives up to its nickname of "March Madness." The teams you thought would be a guarantee to go deep in the tournament may make an early exit. Other teams, like Cinderella teams, will go further than anyone ever expected. This is what is so maddening about the tournament and the brackets people fill out. The chances of picking all the correct wins in the tournament has been estimated to be 1 in 2.4 trillion. So the odds of you having a bracket busted by an early exit or an upstart Cinderella team are pretty high. When your bracket is "busted" by one or two games it can have significant ramifications on the rest of your bracket. If you had a team picked to go deep, say a 1 seed like Villanova or a 2 seed like Duke (both of which are now out of this year's tournament), and they lose early, then all those wins you picked for them are games you automatically "lose" because the team you picked isn't even in the tournament anymore. At some point many of us get frustrated at how badly our bracket has performed and toss it aside and wait for next March to roll around.

Many times in life this is the same way we see life working out. We make some choices we think will benefit us in the short term or in the long run only to see things not work out the way we hoped. The disappointing part of some of those life busting moments is the continued ramifications we see further down the road. Those poor choices continuing to haunt us days, weeks, and even years later. We feel like we cannot get out from under the weight of the consequences of those poor decisions. 

So what do we do? How do we live with the results of our poor choices and not let it drive us mad? There is an old preacher's illustration that tells how we are to handle these type of life busting situations better than I could ever do. Here it is. "There once was a little boy who found himself in trouble regularly. His father told him that every time he got in trouble, he must hammer a nail into the tree in the back yard. For years the father handed a nail to the boy when he got into trouble. As the boy grew older he found himself hammering fewer and fewer nails until he didn’t hammer them anymore. His father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to stay out of trouble. The days passed and the young man was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the tree. He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the tree. The tree will never be the same.'" When our poor choices are made because of our own sinful desires, then our sin is like the nail. Even though the penalty for our sins can be removed, the consequences of our sins stay with us long after the nail has been removed. We can ask for God's forgiveness, either for the first time by trusting in Christ or for the millionth time because of our relationship with Christ. When we do, God will forgive the penalty of our sin, which is separation from Him, and restore us to a right relationship with Him. This doesn't do away with the consequences of our poor choices, we still have to live with them. What forgiveness does is it helps us endure the consequences because of our faith in God and His provision to see us through even the worst of our decisions.


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Was it Satan or God?

On Saturday, as we were expecting some snow on Sunday, I jokingly asked my youngest son a question. He has recently asked some really good spiritual or theological questions and so I thought I would throw one back at him. I asked him, "With us expecting snow tomorrow, is it Satan trying to disrupt our Revival services or is it God simply causing it to snow?" Before he could answer and while he was considering it I paraphrased a few scriptures that refer to Satan's power to influence things here on earth (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-3, 6:12) and reminded him of God's sovereignty over everything (Psalm 135:6, Job 42:2, 1 Timothy 6:15). He just looked at me and a grin started to creep across his face. His answer was a simple, "That's a good one."

I did not really expect my 10-year-old son to answer off the top of his head a question people have struggled with for thousands of years. Man has struggled with this question of "Was it Satan or God?" since time began. I have a feeling that it will be a question that people will ask until Jesus returns and raptures the church out of this world. Even though it is a difficult question, this does not mean we cannot get some biblical perspective on it. Because if we are going to struggle with a question of faith, then we should at least approach it in a biblical way.

Was it Satan?
We know many things about Satan from the scriptures. We know he was once an angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. He deceived one-third of the angels in heaven to join his rebellion and they were cast out of heaven too. He deceived Eve into disobeying God in the Garden of Eden and he is bent on destroying God's creation, including any hope of a relationship between man and God. But we also read in places like 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Ephesians 2:1-3, 6:12 about the power Satan has at his disposal. Satan, as a former angel, is more powerful than we fully comprehend. With that being said, he wields that power over this world as he seeks to destroy God's creation. So, when we see things happening that would affect the benefit of God's kingdom here on earth, like snow on a Sunday when Revival services begin, we ask ourselves if it is Satan using his power to influence this world and God's kingdom.

Was it God?
If you are a Christian, you would naturally want to jump to the conclusion that it was God because He is sovereign over everything. This theological fact is true and a safe answer. God is in control of everything that happens involving His creation. He is in control of the earth, humans, animals, and everything in between. God is in control of the weather from the question we are considering. God is also in control of what is allowed into our lives. Whether we view it as good or bad, nothing in this life touches us without first passing through the hands of our sovereign God. This includes poor health, success at work, disobedient children, and spiritual blessings. God is in control of everything that touches your life. This also includes the things Satan does to try and destroy you and your relationship with God. Although Satan is powerful, he is not more powerful than God. He is held in-check by God, but ultimately allowed to exercise his power.

So, was it Satan causing a disruption to the day Christians meet to worship God or was it God testing His children's devotion to worship Him? We will never know on this side of eternity. But what we can rest assured of is that either way, God was completely and unequivocally in control of the situation.


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ALARM!

Every morning I get up at 5:30 AM to run on the treadmill and exercise. When the alarm goes off I get up, put my contacts in, and get ready to hit the treadmill. This morning, like most mornings in our house, I heard multiple alarms going off between the time I woke up and the time I was out the door headed to the garage. (My favorite is "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top that one of my boys uses as his alarm on his phone!) Now there are three other people who live in my house and I counted at least five times when I heard alarms going off. My youngest son is like me, the alarm goes off and he is up and at it. My oldest son and my wife are cut from the same cloth. They unashamedly set multiple alarms to "wake them up" before they actually get out of the bed.

As I listened to another alarm going off this morning for someone who had no intentions of getting out of bed at that time, I thought about how this practice of setting multiple alarms or hitting the snooze button works in some people's spiritual lives. There are many people in this world who profess faith in Christ but do not take seriously the "alarms" we read about in God's Word. What has happened is they have conditioned themselves to ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit in their life. When He (the Holy Spirit) convicts them of their sin they simply hit the snooze button. When He urges them to worship God with other believers they push the snooze button. What happens is they eventually quit hearing the alarms all together. They end up growing cold towards God and the faith they at one time professed had changed their life. Don't believe me? Look around any given church on a Sunday morning and you'll notice on average that half the church (those who are members on the roll) is not there for worship. Why? Some are sick or out of town, but the vast majority of the ones who are not there have simply grown cold towards their faith and it is no longer a priority in their life.

There are others in this world who have never put their faith in Christ and ignore the alarms of God as well. They hear friends inviting them to church or inviting them to put their faith in Christ. What do they do when those alarms are sounding? They push the snooze button. Some think, "There will be time for that sort of stuff later." Others believe, "I've done good things so I will get in to heaven." There are a host of excuses people will give for hitting the snooze button on God's alarms of faith in their life. We aren't promised tomorrow. There is only one Way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). All the other excuses people give don't hold up against the truths of God's Word. In the end, each person must make their own decision for Christ and believers must be faithful to still be the alarms sounding in their lives as to the truth of the Gospel.

Today I encourage you to wake up to the spiritual alarms sounding in your life. This means recognizing the alarm for what it is and then responding to it. It means getting into action and doing whatever God is compelling you to do. If it is taking seriously the faith you once held dear, then do it. Start back to church, get involved in the life of the church, spend time in prayer and studying God's Word. If it is surrendering your life to God's call to salvation, then stop making excuses and follow Him. His grace is greater than anything you have ever done and it is powerful enough to see you through your darkest days. Give your life to Him so He can transform your life. Whatever the spiritual alarm is going off in your life, quit hitting the snooze button and wake up to the alarm that is sounding!


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Shampoo with a Brain

I heard an advertisement on TV that caught my attention on Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church. The advertisement was for a shampoo that would lessen the amount of gray hair the more you used it. It was touted as "shampoo with a brain." The ad suggested using the shampoo until you reached the desired ratio of color to gray. My guess is it would last for a certain amount of time and then you would need to reapply to get rid of the gray and add more color.

Now I must admit that this is a rather interesting way for men to reduce the amount of gray hair they are showing. I, however, fall into the other camp when it comes to gray hair. I am one of those who follow the old saying, "As long as it doesn't turn loose, it can turn whatever color it wants!" Not that there is anything wrong with changing the color of your hair because I know plenty of folks who do it, but when you change the color of your hair what are you doing? You are changing the appearance of what the world sees of you.

As I listened to the advertisement I couldn't help but think about how this shampoo does to hair what we try to do in the spiritual areas of our life. In essence, hair dye or gray reducing shampoo does nothing more than hide the real person behind a color that will eventually fade, revealing the real person once again. The color covers up who we really are. We are all guilty of "coloring" the spiritual side of our lives to show the world something different than who we really are. This is never as true as when some people speak with a pastor. As a pastor, you get used to people bringing up God once they find out what you do. It's usually the most obvious when it is someone who doesn't know you. The person who was swearing about someone in one breath and then (after finding out a pastor is there) starts praising God in the next. I strive really hard as a pastor to not allow myself to be differentiated from the rest of the church. Although it is impossible to completely do it, I work to show who I am apart from the calling God has placed on my life. But regardless of how hard I try at it, I still see people "coloring" their spiritual performance in front of me and, at times, other folks in the church. It would be much simpler and much less exhausting to simply show the real you, rather than hiding who you really are behind a mask.

Years ago the band Casting Crowns had a hit song that spoke to this very issue in the lives of Christians. The song was titled Stained Glass Masquerade. As you can imagine, the song was about the masks Christians wear to hide who they really are. The problem is the song was spot on to the actions of Christians for generations. What followers of Christ need to do is be authentic in who they are spiritually and not "color" the person they show to the world. Now I'm not saying you bare your soul to the world and put all your problems out there for the world to see. But you can show the world that you are a real person, with real problems, and in need of help from a very real God. This is what is missing in our world today. Christians living like people who don't have it all together and who really need God's help every day.

My encouragement to you today is to stop "coloring" who you are spiritually. Whether it is in front of your pastor, your friends at church, or someone else, show them who you really are. You'll find it is way less exhausting and far more rewarding to show the world the real you.


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Are You Well Trained?

A few months ago, I was working around our farm and opened a gate near the barn so I could drive into the pasture. I closed the gate behind me and went to work in the pasture. When I came out I opened the gate and drove out. I was in and out through that open gate a few more times and then needed to run an errand. You guessed it! I left the gate open and returned a few hours later to find the gate wide open. I first checked the barnyard for signs the cows had ventured out of the pasture (this means looking for cow pies in the barnyard). When I was convinced the cows were still in the pasture I closed the gate and finished my work. This time I dodged a close one thanks to some well-trained cows. Our cows are so used to this gate being closed that even when we have it open and they are near it, they don't even notice its open. Now if a tree falls across the fence, all bets are off. They will gradually migrate over the downed fence and explore new territories, including neighboring housing developments. Maybe those cows are not as well trained as I thought.

This experience came to mind this morning as I fed our cows and I opened this gate. As I was preparing for my day and remembering this open gate, I thought about how well trained you have to be in your spiritual life. Often times it is not the overly obvious temptations in life that get us into trouble. We usually do not have a problem avoiding the big open gates toward temptation. We are generally well trained enough to avoid the big glaring temptations to sin. We will avoid things we should not see or avoid places that would go against our faith. But like the cow that is grazing next to a downed fence, we find ourselves stepping over the less noticeable barriers to temptations. We find ourselves exploring areas that have been off limits to us, only to find out we should not have been there in the first place.

If my cows were really as well trained as I wish they were, then I would not have to worry about open gates or downed fences. If they were really that well-trained I would not need a fence at all! But just like livestock need a fence, we need barriers in our spiritual life to keep us in check. God's Word, the Bible, is full of plenty of fences that protect us from ourselves. When we learn to live within the boundaries of what is acceptable to God, we will not find ourselves limited and missing out on the "fun" stuff of this world. Exactly the opposite occurs, we find freedom. We find freedom from sin when we train ourselves to live inside of the barriers God gives us in His Word.

Today, ask yourself the question posed as the title of today's post, "Are you well trained?" Are you well trained spiritually or do you still wander through the open gates of temptation? If you find yourself struggling to live inside the boundaries God has given you in His Word, then make a fresh commitment today to do so. You'll find freedom like you have never experienced before and you'll find it inside the boundaries.


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Do the right thing.

This morning I was exercising in our garage when I noticed something out of place. I looked at a rack of screwdrivers hanging over my work bench and saw one of them was out of place. This screwdriver was not in its place and was leaning over on the other screwdrivers (see the picture to the right). I know for a fact that I didn't put this screwdriver back like that so it must have been one of my boys. One of them worked on his bike yesterday afternoon so I am guessing, in a hurry, he did not take the time to put the screwdriver up correctly.

The ironic thing about this is that Misty and I harp on our kids about doing things right the first time. The mantra that is repeated regularly around our house is "Do it right or do it again." We have tried to instill in our boys the necessity to do things right and to do them right the first time. Our harping this mantra at our kids is not so much about keeping them from redoing their work as it is about them doing the right thing every time. When we constantly do the right thing, we never have to question what we should do in a certain situation. There is no question about whether we break the rules this one time and not do the right thing, but instead we know we will do the right thing without even thinking about it. This is the lesson we are hoping our sons will take away from our years of "training" or harping, whichever you want to call it.

The real challenge is not always doing the right thing, but doing the right thing when it is the difficult thing to do. We will inevitably be faced with situations in this life that require us to do what is right, even though it is not easy or popular. When faced with those situations, the regular and constant practice of doing what is right will give you the confidence to stick to your guns. 

We live in a society that no longer has a fixed view of absolute truth. Because our society no longer sees truth as absolute, truth is left to be determined by the situation. It can be dictated by societal pressures. It can be determined by the prevailing cultural winds. According to the world truth, and essentially what is right, can change depending on what is popular on a given day. But God's Word tells us something else. God's Word tells us that if we are a follower of Christ, then our moral compass is dictated by Him and His Word. Not by the pressures of a situation. Not by what is popular in our culture. Not by what is easy, but by what is right according to our faith. By doing what is right we can expect to receive God's blessings. 1 Kings 11 is one of many places in the Bible that reinforces this idea. When God gave Jeroboam 10 tribes of Israel to rule, God promised blessings on Jeroboam's family line for doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. This is one of many examples where God promises to bless us for doing what is right. We can expect when we do what is right, regardless of the backlash from man, that we will receive blessings from God.

My encouragement to you today is to make it a daily, minute by minute, habit of doing what is right, regardless of the situation. When you do, you'll never have to question how to respond to a situation and you'll reap the blessings of God for doing what is right, not what is easy.


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Should you go Fifty Shades Darker?

With the second installment in The Fifty Shades Trilogy set to be released this week on February 10, it seemed like as good a time as any to republish this post. It was written in 2015 at the time the first installment, Fifty Shades of Grey, was released. The truths contained in the post doesn't change with time or with which installment is released. If nothing else, I hope this post will cause you to carefully consider whether you should see Fifty Shades Darker and what value any of these movies add to your spiritual life and marriage.

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Originally Posted: 2/9/2015

I want to preface what I am about to say with this little fact. I've not read the book 50 Shades of Grey and I have no plans to see the movie. So I have limited knowledge about the content of the book or what the movie will contain. That being said I've read enough about the book and movie to understand the gist of what the story entails. With that in mind, let's get started!

Misty and I were talking a few nights ago after seeing the trailer for 50 Shades of Grey on TV. She said she was going to see the movie and wanted to know what I thought. I told her I didn't think it was a movie she would want to see, but she needed to read reviews and then decide for herself if it was a movie she ought to see. I told her I could no more tell her not to see the movie than I could tell her to wash my clothes or cook my supper. But see my wife has a twisted sense of humor in the fact that she likes to make comments from time to time to see what kind of rise she can get out of me. You'd think after nearly 13 years of marriage I'd be able to spot these set ups but I can't. She's good at them. She made a comment that endeared her to me all the more after she didn't get quite the rise she expected from me. She basically said she didn't need to see that movie because she respected me as her husband and because of what I mean to her. To me that comment showed me that she wants to avoid one big gray area by skipping 50 Shades of Grey.

Now this post isn't about guilt tripping a person into not seeing 50 Shades of Grey. It's not about saying you don't respect your spouse if you do see it. What I want is for a person to read this post and consider whether they should see 50 Shades of Grey or similar movies. I will be honest with you I have watched movies and witnessed scenes that I had no business watching. Those images are scenes that cannot be unseen. Misty and I watched a movie a few weeks ago that surprised us with scenes that caught us off guard. Unfortunately Hollywood believes that what sells a movie is sex and foul language. It's almost unavoidable when you watch a movie nowadays. But what about movies that blatantly push a distorted view of sex, much less God's intentions for sex. When it comes to a movie like this you have to ask, "What is the reason for going to see 50 Shades of Grey?" Some will say because they read the book or because their friends are going to see it. Some will say they are taking their spouse to see it so its okay. In the end it's not about the justification we give for seeing the movie. It's about what viewing the movie does to us. 

Most will say they can compartmentalize the movie from their normal way of thinking but you really can't. What we take in affects our view of the world around us. In the end we are led towards a place of compromise when we watch a movie that blatantly distorts and perverts something that God created as good. We find ourselves in a gray area between upholding the purity of mind that God expects from us and the obvious acceptance of sin as being okay. The catch is that Satan doesn't have to get you to the dark side. He just needs to get you into the gray area. When he does this...you've already lost. 

So the real question to ask is what is the benefit of watching 50 Shades of Grey? How does it benefit you as a person (or even as a Christian)? How does it benefit your marriage? The truthful answer is it won't benefit anything. You as a believer will only have watched something that will tear at the holiness God intends for you to pursue. As for your marriage, it won't help anything there either. Just ask yourself honestly whether you should see the movie and I think the answer will be pretty clear. 

I'll close with this. I'm sure some read this wanting to hear me tell them why they can't go see this movie. I can no more tell you not to see this movie than I can tell you that you have to read this blog. In the end the decision is yours, not mine. I just want you to consider whether you should see it or not. If you expected to read a post full of Bible verses condemning 50 Shades of Grey and other movies with pornographic images in it then you've read the wrong post. Although I don't think anyone would necessarily need it but if you want some verses that will help you decide whether you should watch it or not, here are a few to consider.

Job 31:1 - It's up to us what we choose to look at.
1 Corinthians 10:23 - Just because it's available to watch doesn't mean it benefits us.
1 Peter 1:15-16 - We are to pursue holiness in all we do.
Psalm 51:10 - Do you desire the purity of heart that God desires for you?

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Your Choices Determine Your Destination

This past weekend my wife and I celebrated a milestone in our relationship. 20 years ago, we started dating while in high school. The two of us have been inseparable for more than half of our lives. We went back to the place we went on our first date and reminisced about all we had done together over the last 20 years. High school days when we were struggling to make our relationship work. College when we were learning to be adults. The struggles of the early years of marriage. The days when we were told we could not have kids. The joys of God's blessings as parents. And everything in between. 

The one thing we looked back on, and still cannot believe we strongly considered, was getting married the week after we graduated high school. We were at the beach with friends following graduation and the idea was floated around by the two of us. We thought we would just elope and start our lives together since we were out of high school. Our rationale was we could find a way to pay for our own college tuition and still enjoy the benefits of being married. We talked about it during the week, and thankfully for the two of us, we decided to not get hitched and instead wait until after we finished college. We were married after college and the rest is history.

Looking back on it now, nearly 18 years removed and with much more life experience, we are both confident we made the right decision for us. Had we married then our marriage may not have withstood the challenges of the first five years of marriage, which are challenging under the best of circumstances. We probably would not have gone to college and we probably could not have afforded to visit the fertility specialists that resulted in our two sons. Our lives would have been drastically different than they are today. All because of one choice. All because we would have said "Yes" instead of "No."

I tell that lengthy example to point out that the choices we make determine our destination in life. Poor decisions will inevitably lead us into troubled waters. Wise decisions will help us avoid those same troubled waters. From one minute to the next we are faced with choices that affect us, our spouse, our children, our family, our friends, our co-workers, and unknown strangers. We can list millions of hypothetical scenarios, but I am sure you get the point. Your choices determine your destination. Poor decisions will bring you to a destination you probably would not want to be at. Wise decisions will bring you to a destination you can be happy with.

The Bible speaks very strongly to the point of making wise choices. The book of Proverbs tells us the importance of wisdom and understanding over foolishness. Many other places in the Bible we read about the benefits of making wise choices. So how do we make these ever important and life-preserving wise choices? Simply put, we use godly wisdom. In the book of James, we are told that if we do not have wisdom and we need it, then we "should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." Through this promise, God offers to help equip us to make wise choices that will impact our lives in positive, God-honoring ways.

The longer I pastor and the longer I live, the more I find myself praying this specific prayer. Seeking God's wisdom to lead our church, to lead my family, and to make wise decisions in every part of my life that reflects God's glory and His will for my life. I have found Him to be more than faithful to this promise in James 1:5. Do I always follow the wisdom given to me? No. Do I pay the consequences for making unwise choices? Yes. But do I follow much more of the godly wisdom given to me now than I did 20 years ago? Definitely. In another 20 years, I hope to follow more of God's wisdom than I do today.

I encourage you today to start making it a habit of making wise choices and asking God to give you the wisdom you need to make those choices. Down the road, you'll be glad you did and you'll be able to see the benefits of choices made that kept you from going down the wrong path.


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A Godless Generation

I recently turned my radio back on in my truck after having it off for several months. This sounds a little odd considering I like music and have always listened to the radio. For several months now I have spent my time on the road in a different way. I usually spent much of the time I was on the road in thought and prayer. Concerns about our church, church members, family, our farm, and many other things had preoccupied me. The music was a distraction to my thoughts, so I turned off the radio. During this sabbatical from the radio one thought seemed to recur more often than others. This recurring thought was more of a nightmare than anything, but nevertheless this thought was about the Godless generations being raised in our country.

Don't get me wrong, I realize there have always been those who were raised to believe something contrary to what the Bible teaches. I realize there are plenty who were raised outside of the church because their parents and family never understood what God did for them by sending Jesus to die for their sins. Even though this group continues to grow, those aren't the people that came to mind while I drove.

The ones that came to mind were those who were being raised by parents who have faith in God through Christ, but are not raising their children to do the same. In the Baptist denomination, we believe you cannot lose your salvation in Christ based on a particular sin you may commit. (I realize there is a deep theological discussion that can go on about this topic but this is not the point of today's post.) With that being said, there are an alarming number of people who were raised in church, professed their faith in Christ, and have now grown to adulthood. Many of these adults are now parents who seem to not take their faith very seriously and their children are paying the price. The parents have a relationship with God through Christ, even if it is a cold relationship at best, but nonetheless they have the security of salvation. Their kids are left in the cold spiritually and don't know about the love, peace, and grace that God offers them through Christ. The sad reality of this is that there will be parents watching in heaven as their children are judged by the Righteous Judge and are thrown into hell (Revelation 20:15).

Please don't think that I am one of those preachers who try to scare people out of hell. I've never approached ministry that way and I never will. But the truth of the matter is, there are generations of children being raised in our neighborhoods who have no understanding of salvation, while mom and dad rest easy in their salvation security. There will be a judgment one day and there will be people, without faith in Christ, who will be thrown into hell. Some of those watching the judgment will see the very children they raised be cast into eternal punishment. Godless generations are being raised by those who profess to be Christians. Isn't that the greatest and saddest of ironies?

In nearly 13 years of ministry, I have watched as many parents with good intentions succumb to the pressures of this life and give up raising their children in church where they are exposed to the Gospel. But as the old saying goes, "The path to hell is paved with good intentions." If you are one of those parents I plead with you to get your act together and start doing what you know to be right. Raise your children in church and live a life worthy of the faith you've placed in Christ. If you need to repent and return to God, then get serious about your faith and do it. The greatest benefit will be knowing you've raised a child that has faith in God, rather than one who will be separated from Him for all of eternity.


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