Who is behind the door that you are looking at for HOPE?

This week I watched parts of the presidential inauguration like many others across our country.  The news outlets covered all aspects of this event including President Biden and other guests walking through the Capitol building and down some steps.  At the bottom of the steps is a door that every new president since 1981 has walked through on inauguration day.  Below is a picture I took of that door two years ago at the U.S. Capitol.  Every four years people all over the world watch in anticipation for the president-elect to emerge from that door bringing forth hope for change.  Their hope is in a person who will attempt to lead the United States over the next four years.  This happens EVERY four years.  Each time people seek a temporary hope in an earthly leader.  Most understand that this hope will have to be redirected in 4 to 8 years to somebody new.  They invest their hope regardless. 

Dictionary.com defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen”.  What have you put your hope in this year?  It may be in President Biden.  It may be in the start of 2021 and putting 2020 behind you.  It may be in a Covid-19 vaccine.  It may be in securing provisions to survive in the wilderness.  For me as for many others, finding hope in something we can touch or see seems logical.  We each have our own desires and wants that we would like to see fulfilled.  We each have our own fears and challenges we would like help with overcoming.  I believe it is natural to look around and invest our hope into something earthly to help satisfy us.  But today I want to remind us all that our true hope should lie solely on a life eternal in Heaven! 

Jesus Christ paid His life on the cross so that we can live a life of hope.  Those who desire to live eternally in Heaven should actively seek relationship with Him.  We read in Revelation 3:20 that He stands at the door knocking, waiting for us to Invite Him in.  When we do, we will experience a hope that has NO end.  We do not have to renew our hope annually.  We do not need to wait for any outcome to occur to validate the investment of our hope.  We will never be let down by Him.  When we enter a relationship with Jesus and allow Him to work in our life, our heart will rejoice in a hope that only He can give!  Spend some time today to identify where you are putting your hope.  My prayer for you is that now or sometime soon you can heartfully sing out the words in the chorus of the song “All My Hope” by David Crowder.  The chorus goes like this:

All my hope is in Jesus, Thank God that yesterday's gone
All my sins are forgiven, I've been washed by the blood.

Everyday people, places and things are competing for your attention.  These earthly things want nothing more than for you to hope that they bring you joy or happiness or freedom or peace.  Today I want to remind us that all our HOPE should be focused on Jesus Christ.  Only through Him will you find true joy, happiness, freedom, and peace.  Hope in Jesus does not come with strings attached and does not need to be renewed every four years in January!  Allow Him to enter your heart and your hope of an eternal love will be fulfilled!

The world hates us...that is okay!

Last week I shared with you about the mystery of Sudden Branch Drop Syndrome in trees and how it reminds us of John 15 where Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches”.  Jesus told us if we remain in Him, we will be a strong branch and never be at risk of suddenly leaving His side.  This week I was reading the rest of John 15 and was reminded of the grim reality that the world hates us.  Don’t be alarmed; it is for a good cause!

 

On the night of His arrest, Jesus was sitting with His disciples.  He was comforting them and preparing them for what was to come.  We read in John 15:18-19, shortly after He told them “I am the vine; you are the branches”, that “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”  This could not have been easy words for the disciples to hear.  But at the same time, they also experienced this hate firsthand as they followed Jesus while He was with them.  So why would the world hate us today then you ask?  Simply put Jesus calls us to be His disciples as well.

 

We are not guaranteed a life of joy and peace as followers of Jesus Christ.  Yes, you will find hope and peace as a Christian.  But we live in fallen world that wants to protect its ways.  Everywhere you look sin is abound and Satan is on a mission to trap as many of us as he can.  And he’s good at it!  Sin has a grasp on many hearts and when those hearts fight hard to protect what they believe to be true, you as a Christian become the opponent.  You will be hated for living out the word of God that calls us to love your neighbor as yourself.  You will be hated for forgiving somebody else more than once.  You will be hated for showing mercy to even the foulest of souls.  You will be hated for encouraging your fellow believers to live responsibly.  It is only natural for those of a fallen world to hate those who bring the hope of heaven.  But have faith my friend!  You can have peace knowing that Jesus has prepared a place for you in Heaven and by inviting Him into your heart, one day you too will be there right beside Him!  Amen!

 

Christians all over the world are hated, and some are even persecuted, for following Jesus Christ.  We knew this would be possible when we “took up our nets and choose to be fishers of men”.  Hang in there my friend.  You are loved as well!  The road was not promised to be easy along the way, but your walk with Jesus will one day end in a glorious celebration in Heaven!  Have a blessed day!  Thanks for spending some time with me today.  Let’s work together as MEN ON THE ROOF to ensure NO MAN IS LEFT BEHIND!

 

 

Sudden Branch Drop Syndrome - Don't let this happen in your walk with Jesus

Happy Monday!  I hope you’ve had a chance think about what it means to be MEN ON THE ROOF.  I would love to hear from you about your thoughts on that.  It is imperative that we work together as believers possibly now more than ever so that we can avoid an infestation of “sudden branch drop syndrome”.  This normally occurs in trees, but I think we are susceptible to something very similar.

First, a little background.  Last summer I went into our backyard to find a large, healthy branch on the ground.  There were no storms or wind the previous days, so I found this to be very odd and concerning.  After a little research I stumbled upon this from aboristnow.com:

"Sudden branch drop syndrome is an issue that typically occurs during the summer and affects completely healthy trees. Essentially, it’s when trees suddenly lose their branches during the warmer months of the year. Here are some other facts to know about this problem:

• It is also referred to as either sudden limb failure or summer branch drop

• Wind and storms have nothing to do with the branches falling – it happens on calm days

• Typically the limb in question will break about 3 feet out from the trunk of the tree, due to the weight

• The drop can expand out to about 12 feet away from the trunk, making this a serious safety issue

• This typically happens to older trees over younger trees

• No exact cause for this syndrome has been determined by professionals at this point

• Some experts believe it’s caused by moisture, others believe it may be from bacteria

• Once a tree has experienced sudden branch drop syndrome, it likely will again”

My fear of our tree dying was quieted after reading this and I went on my way.  But recently I heard a pastor reference John 15: 5-8 and I was reminded that we too are branches.  Immediately the sudden limb failure took on an entirely new meaning to me.  As I revisited the definition I found online above, I was hit with the despair that we too can lose people from the church almost by surprise.  I think we have all seen it.  A longtime believer, or even pastor, up and leaves the faith.  A family who you have seen at church for years is no longer around.  It is almost as if suddenly, these branches just fall from their faith.  But there is GOOD NEWS and a slight fallacy in my comparison.

Scientists do not know how to prevent sudden branch drop syndrome.  But Jesus knows how to keep us, His branches, from suddenly falling away from Him.  We find that answer back in John 15:5-8.  It reads:

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Remain in Him!  Jesus is the vine that feeds us, the branches.  Do not wander away from His teachings.  Seek Him out daily through scripture and prayer.  Write His words on your heart.  And when the days are tough make sure you have another believer there by your side to help hold you up.  Fortunately for you and I, if we remain in Jesus, we are not at risk of sudden branch drop syndrome.  Have no fear of that!  Jesus feeds us through His words and if you drink them up, you will remain STRONG and MIGHTY clinging to Him even during the worst storms!

Over the past year it has become easier than ever to become disconnected from other believers.  Most in person gatherings are shutdown leaving some to fend off sin on their own.  Divisiveness over the pandemic and politics is taking a stronghold even in our body of believers.  Fear is pushing others away at a time when we as a body of believers should be coming closer together.  Please work hard to remain in Him!  Hold fast to Jesus Christ the one who feeds us!  Grab a group of friends and work together to stay strong and remain in Him!  And please don’t get distracted.  It is not masks, or vaccines, or political parties, or even money that keeps our faith healthy.  It is Jesus!  As He says in John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Have a blessed day!  Thanks for spending some time with me today.  Let’s work together as MEN ON THE ROOF to ensure NO MAN IS LEFT BEHIND!

 

We are "MEN ON THE ROOF"

Happy New Year!  We are fresh off the celebration of birth of Jesus and a new calendar year has started.  I want us as men to on build on the excitement of these past few weeks and carry that momentum all year long.  We are “Men on the roof”.  This movement is inspired by the five men found in the beginning of Mark 2.  Here is that passage as well as what has been laid on my heart to share with you about it.

Mark 2:2-5:  ² They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Sometimes I am paralyzed.  I am paralyzed by expectations, images, finances, laziness, greed, thoughts, comfort, desires.  Sometimes I do not recognize when I am frozen in who I am.  At those times I need friends and family to pick me and carry me into the arms of Jesus.  It is there that, through His unfailing grace and His unending love, He will say "Get up and walk.  You are freed from what holds you down.  You can walk by my side and I will carry these burdens for you.  Focus on me and I will provide you a life everlasting flowing with water that is so pure, you'll never thirst.  You'll be filled with my all-consuming love in a way that you'll never hunger.  Walk with me in faith and you'll never again be paralyzed by the ways of this world."

As a team we can walk together.  Learning and growing in our faith together.  Sometimes I will be the one that is paralyzed in my fears or my ways of life.  At those times I need to be carried back to His love.  Other times it might be you that needs to be carried.  It is our responsibility as brothers in Christ to do what it takes to bring each other back to the center, back to the ways we are called to walk.  If we must carry someone up onto the roof, dig a hole, and lower them down into the arms of Jesus, then we will.  We will do it together.  In those actions we will together carry the paralyzed, the lost, the frozen to arms of Jesus.  And, when we are in His arms, He will show us how to walk again.  The bible even tells us that those who are the carriers will also be blessed because we came in faith to the Father.  When we believe and act in the love of Jesus, we too will experience that love.  So please join with me.  Walk with me alongside Jesus.  I will stumble and fall along the way.  You will too.  But when that happens, we will carry each other back to the path, back into the arms of the Almighty Father who will teach us how to walk without stumbling.  Back into the arms of the Father who will carry us when we feel like we can't walk.  We need to be men on a roof, working together.

I want to spend some time over the next few weeks to help establish what it looks like to be MEN ON THE ROOF and what that means for you.  This week please spend some time in Mark 2 reading about Jesus healing the paralytic man.  Then, leave a comment below about what you think it means to be MEN ON THE ROOF.

Have a wonderful day!