growing in christ – Page 2

Liberty to Love

1 Comment / November 19, 2025 November 19, 2025

Galatians 5 has always been a favorite chapter of mine. Paul has spent the preceding four chapters explaining that we can never be justified by the law and that Jesus Christ is enough. And then in chapter five, he starts off with—

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

We are to stand fast in the liberty that we are given through Christ. Paul then spends the rest of the book showing us what that looks like.

Does it mean we can immerse ourselves in worldliness and sinful behavior, knowing we are forgiven?

He answers this clearly in verse 13–

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Clearly the answer to that question is no. We are not saved so that we have the liberty to sin and embrace the world.

We are saved and given the liberty to love. To love and serve God. To love and serve one another.

Our new life in Christ has changed our WHY.

We don’t do the right things because we “have” to. We don’t do them to merit favor with God.

We do them because we have finally been given the liberty to love.

Most of us are very familiar with verses 22-23 of chapter 5, where we are given a list of the fruits of the Spirit. Can you remember what they are?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

But the next verse is probably not as familiar to us—

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Vs 24)

Those that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts. This is a description of every believer. It should describe us. We have crucified (or are actively trying to crucify) our flesh.

Crucify— to subdue (conquer; bring into subjection; overcome; repress)

Flesh—our old man; our human nature

So, rather than fulfilling our desires for the world and to sin, we are to live with intention and be turning away from them. Crucifying them.

Crucify is such a strong word, isn’t it? We see Paul has used it earlier in this book, when he says in chapter 2:20–

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

So we aren’t crucifying our flesh for no purpose. As we crucify our flesh more and more, we make more and more room for Christ to live in us. As we live for Christ, we, through Him, love God and others.

This is reflected in our lives in all areas. It’s not just about “being nice” to people. It goes far deeper…it is reflected in how we love others when no one is watching—how we treat our spouses every day; how we respond when someone irritates us; it is reflected in how freely we forgive and the amount of grace we offer to others. It’s also reflected in how much we love God—shown clearly by what we put before our eyes on the tv, the Internet, or books (do we love Him enough to turn our eyes from the things He hates?) It is reflected in how we spend our money and time (do we consider His will as we make these decisions?) And it is reflected in how we respond when we face a trial, large or small (do we really trust Him?)

This topic is probably one of the most difficult things to navigate as a believer in our current culture. As soon as we raise the topic, cries of legalism rent the air.

But the liberty to love and then to live our lives in response to that love (for God and for others) is in direct opposition to legalism.

This verse has really been on my mind and so I thought I’d share what I’ve been thinking about. Hope it encourages you to also ponder our liberty to love and instills in you the same desire it has in me: To love God more and to love myself less. To turn from my fleshly desires and to fill the void with Christ.

May I seek God’s glory instead of my own. May I seek God’s approval rather than man’s. May I seek to submit and to obey God rather than to fulfill the desires and lusts of my flesh that insistently (and sometimes so very LOUDLY) call out to me each and every day.

We will never do this perfectly, but, by His grace, we will do it more and more with each passing day.

Who’s Really Inside?

1 Comment / October 28, 2025 October 28, 2025

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to spend the weekend with my parents at the beach. It was extra fun, as the kind couple who allowed us to use their beach house had a street-legal golf cart that they said we could use. And so off we set on our adventure of exploring our favorite beach town from a golf cart!

Traveling down streets unknown to us before, we came across beautiful new houses, as well as small cottages that had been there for a long, long time. Most houses were beautifully cared for, while just a few sat a bit forlorn, needing a new coat of paint or some landscaping.

At one point, we went around a corner and we saw a brand new—rather large—building. It was cream-colored with black shutters and looked rather like a hotel…but not quite. As we traveled the block, the building became one story and stretched out the entire block. Curious to see what the building was, we turned the corner to find out as we came to the end of the block.

Lo and behold, what we saw surprised us all. For right behind the single story “building” (which ended up being only about two feet wide) sat the town’s electrical plant. None of us had even noticed the wires and towers behind the one story building.

We drove off and then I told my husband to turn around so I could take a photo (see below). I had been reading about the Pharisees and I knew that what we were seeing was a little like the Pharisees. They looked all nice and proper on the outside but they were downright ugly inside. Jesus called them whitened sepulchres (or whitewashed tombs)—

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. (Matthew 23:27)

We often hear stories of pastors or celebrities that “fall into sin” but these things do not happen in a vacuum. Many people put on an act and pretend to be something they are not. This is not unusual.

Oftentimes, the ugliest sins are hidden behind a “Christian” facade.

So many pretenders. So many liars. So many wolves in sheep’s clothing. They come as angels of light but they seek to starve your soul and take your eyes off the true God, the real Jesus, and the Bible.

But you know, these aren’t the only pretenders. I thought it was interesting to read this morning—

Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:42-43)

Here we see chief rulers pretending not to believe on Jesus Christ because they loved the praise of men more than they loved God.

What an indictment! May this never be said of us.

Some people pretend to be something they aren’t because they lack courage and they love themselves and the praise of men more than they love God and the truth.

So how does this apply to us? Those of us who have been saved by faith in Christ alone are new creatures. And so what is inside of us should be consistent with what is outside of us.

There should be no hypocrisy in the life of a believer.

I remember years ago, someone using that verse about God looking on the heart, while man looks on the outside (I Samuel 16:7) as a reason to look and live like the world.

But that isn’t what that verse means at all. We can know this by reading this verse in the context of the rest of scripture.

God expects our outside to match our inside. We cannot be a new creature inside without looking like a new creature on the outside. All throughout the New Testament we are given the description of the true believer. We are told what God wants us to look like.

We will never be able to match that description perfectly, of course. But, through examining ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5), by proving all things and holding fast to what is good (I Thess. 5:21), and by being diligent to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10-11) we will be sure to continue moving in the right direction.

Remember: It’s about direction, not perfection.

These things we are called to aren’t meant to be burdensome. We know that because Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

If we are feeling burdened; if these things we are called to do not feel easy or light, well, then, perhaps we are a little like those chief priests—loving the praise of men more than we love the Lord. Having our souls entrenched in the things of this world, we struggle to turn from things that are not building us up in the faith. Loving the world and loving our sin keep us from growing as we should.

As we become less enamored with the things of this world and as our hatred for sin grows, the heavy burden we were feeling about holiness, turning from the world, and living for Jesus grows lighter and lighter.

And just to be honest, this only began to change for me when I began to read the Word—to really study it—for myself personally.

If we genuinely want to grow but the burden feels so heavy, then we must pray that God will give us that desire and open our eyes to what is keeping us fettered and imprisoned. What is keeping us from feeling the freedom we have in Christ to live a righteous life for God?

By the way—not to get too off topic—however, I feel like it is important to mention—

We are free to live righteously. We are not free to sin and we are not free to love the world and be like the world. This is so clear all throughout scripture but Romans 6 is a great place to start if you want to know more.

Life is full of challenges and one of those challenges is to be real and authentic. To be a godly person on the inside and the outside. Wherever this is not taking place, there is hypocrisy. God hates hypocrisy.

May we be those who shine the genuine light of Christ and may those who see that light find in us an example of consistency. May we be the same person both inside and out.

The facade that hides the electrical plant

Never Satisfied with Status Quo

1 Comment / October 15, 2025 October 15, 2025

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to return to a church that has welcomed me as a speaker for several years now. This year my topic was about aging and beauty. What exactly does scripture have to say about these things?

The topic was my idea—as I had been wanting to dig into the Bible and see what it has to say about these things for a long time. We hear so many things about this topic but what does the Bible actually have to teach about them? That’s what I wanted to know. And I hoped the ladies at the church would be interested, too. Thankfully, they were! No matter who we are or what age, we women especially, find this topic particularly relevant to our daily lives in one way or another.

This morning, I’d like to share just one point of that presentation. This point has continued to personally cause me much consideration, reflection, and conviction.

There is a little verse at the end of I Corinthians 10 that says—

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Whatever we do, we are to do to the glory of God. Do ALL to the glory of God.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself doing so many things with myself much more in mind. Our flesh cries out not only for glory, but for love, comfort, convenience, indulgence, popularity, fairness, justice, revenge…to name just a few.

And we make choices with these things in mind. Many times, without even realizing it.

For example…

We may choose not to speak truth because we desire to be loved more than we desire to glorify God.

We may choose to eat too much or buy too much because our flesh wants to be indulged and that’s more important than glorifying God.

We may choose to wear something (or allow our daughter to wear something) that is utterly inappropriate because popularity is more important to us than glorifying God.

We may choose to say something sarcastically or make a snide remark because fairness and revenge take priority over glorifying God.

We may choose to watch, read, or listen to something for so many reasons—popularity, wanting to be liked or loved, indulging our flesh… we have so many reasons (and excuses and rationalizations) as to why we fill our minds with wicked entertainment.

We may… well, you get the idea. It is the nitty gritty of the Christian life. It encompasses life-altering choices and the smallest decisions of every single day.

Do I want to glorify God most? Do my choices and decisions reflect the fact that glorifying God is more important than anything that has to do with ME?

I’ll just be flat-out honest (since those who know me already know this, anyway). The answer to that question is: NO. I don’t.

I’d rather guess that you may have to answer this the same way. We believers are so far from perfect, it’s scary. And we know it, too. It’s why we are so grateful for Jesus. He is perfect so we don’t have to be.

But, that being said, we want to, right? We want to make decisions to glorify God instead of to fulfill some fleshly desire.

And we make more decisions based on this than we used to. We can see how God is growing us and changing us. So we need to be grateful and not wallow in a pit of discouragement. We are not the same people we used to be. Praise be to God, we are not the same as we used to be!

But there is always so much room for improvement, right? The further along we walk in the Christian life, the more we comprehend how far we have to go.

I don’t know if you ever noticed the tagline for Growing4Life. It is “never satisfied with status quo”.

It is so tempting to be satisfied with status quo in our current culture. To just do enough to be considered “Christian” without making any sacrifices; while still fulfilling our flesh.

But this is not what God calls us to. Over and over again in scripture we read of God’s call to deny self, turn from our fleshly desires, offer our bodies as a living sacrifice—to live as a new creature.

We are going upstream in a downstream world. We live a totally different life because God has changed us and is changing us into a totally different person.

I don’t know about you, but I find that I can lean into status quo far too easily and just live day to day without really considering these things. Ignoring verses like I Corinthians 10:31 (not purposefully) as I go about my day to day activities.

That speaking engagement really made me stop short and start paying attention to why I do what I do. And while it has been a rather discouraging exercise, I am thankful. Thankful that the Lord has, yet again, opened my eyes to see myself as I really am.

These things tend to keep us humble and full of grace for others who are on the spiritual battlefield beside us, as we realize we aren’t “all that” and have so much further to go in pleasing our Lord and Savior.

I know this isn’t the feel-good, touchy-feely kind of post that people tend to be drawn to these days. But sometimes we just need to face the cold, hard truth about ourselves, don’t we? Or we will never change. We will never look more like Christ.

Instead, we will be caught up in the endless quagmire of “status quo”, always and only trying to do just enough to be called a “Christian” while still fulfilling our own fleshly desires.

Oh, may this never be said of us. May we never be satisfied with status quo. May we get in the habit of asking the question: What will bring glory to God?

May we keep moving upward and onward, one choice at a time.

The Truth Will Mess with Your Peace (and that’s a good thing!)

2 Comments / July 29, 2025 July 29, 2025

Once upon a time, a man (we will call him John) went to the doctor due to a severe headache that wouldn’t go away. As the doctor examined him, he told him it could be due to a number of different reasons—some even fatal.

“What would you like to be the cause of your headache?” Asked the doctor.

Not expecting that response, John said wryly, “well, it doesn’t really matter what I want it to be, now, does it?”

“Well,” responded the doctor, “we are trying a new method—one where we let the patient decide what is wrong. This way we don’t mess with their peace or make them upset. We just assume that what they say is true and treat from their diagnosis.”

Silly story. And, yes, it’s just a story. (I wrote a longer post about this called Lindy’s Headaches, you can read that here.) But have you noticed that, while this would never happen in the medical world, it happens all the time in the spiritual world? As if we can all just decide what is sin and what isn’t. As if we can all just decide for ourselves what is truth and how we get to heaven.

And if we don’t like what someone says or they don’t agree with us, we can just unfriend them, delete them from our lives, and move on.

A friend told me he saw a meme on Facebook awhile back. It said this:

“If it messes with your peace, it’s not worth it.”

Have you noticed that this is the philosophy of so many today?

But here’s the thing: The truth will mess with your peace. It just does.

I can look back over my life and recall many times where someone told me the truth about something and it made me very uncomfortable and, sometimes, even angry. But, looking back now, I am so very grateful for those people who were willing to speak the truth to me.

After all, how do we grow if we only surround ourselves with people who are just like us and will never say anything that offends us? How will we grow if we are determined to do things our way, without wise counsel of godly, older people? How will we grow if we refuse to listen to anyone we don’t agree with? How will we grow if we ignore everything in God’s Word that we don’t like??

Well, we won’t. Approaching life this way will lead to looking inward towards self for strength and wisdom. Rather than looking towards God, His Word, and godly men and women that have walked the narrow path ahead of us, so many are looking to self (and to those who agree with self).

And, listen, that is the world’s way. Frank Sinatra released the song “I Did it My Way,” in 1969. The world has been on a the runaway train of self-esteem, self-improvement, self-promotion, self-strength, self-wisdom, and self-glory ever since.

It’s taken the Christian world awhile to follow after the world, but here we are. Most everyone today believes this:

If it doesn’t encourage me or make me feel good, it’s not worth it.

This is probably the main reason families and the visible church are in such a shambles. If someone makes me uncomfortable, it’s not worth it. If the relationship takes work, it’s not worth it. Truth and biblical doctrine can make us uncomfortable. Serving others sacrificially does not always make us feel good.

How much easier is it to run away from the hard? How much more fun and entertaining is it to go to a concert-like worship experience and then listen to a few shallow minutes of encouragement?

Of course, we can’t change this. We can’t change where the secular or the Christian culture finds itself these days.

But we can evaluate our own lives and we can, by God’s grace, intentionally determine not to be SELF-obsessed.

I am currently reading a biography of a missionary. As she has been describing her life, I have grown more and more disturbed. Would I have been willing to do what she did? I don’t think so. If I am honest, I have to say I don’t think so.

And it makes me realize that I, too, have fallen for the cult of self. I, too, put self on a higher pedestal than God all too often.

I think we all struggle with this at some level. As my daughter-in-law said recently: Do we ever do anything with a pure motive?

It is disconcerting to think about, isn’t it? But God knows this and I am so thankful for His grace and His mercy. Jesus came to die for us to pay the price for every sin, every insincere act of service, every time we didn’t do what was right and didn’t even realize it.

Praise the name of Jesus!

But it is my prayer that this short post, in the midst of a tsunami of internet information that will tell you the opposite, will encourage us to love God more than self. That it will bring awareness that this love for self is something we must fight and never embrace. That love for self is the antithesis of true, biblical Christianity. That this love for self is really part of our sin nature and it is called our “flesh” in scripture.

Look, we aren’t going to always agree with others. Even if we both love the Lord with all of our hearts, we will not agree on everything. I don’t expect you to always agree with me and I won’t always agree with you. But what a joy it is to have relationships where we can have open, honest conversations without malice and rancor and bitterness. What joy it is to talk about God’s Word and to grow together with those who also hold the Bible as their anchor and final authority.

Recently, I had the privilege of watching two of my best friends play this out right in front of my eyes. I watched one speak the truth in love and I watched the other one hear the truth with love. It was a beautiful thing. It is how it is supposed to be for us believers. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17) and it is a wonderful encouragement when we can have this kind of relationship with someone.

Hearing the truth is a good thing! Being called away from self and towards God through our reading of God’s Word and the counsel of godly family and friends is a great thing!

May we, as believers, be willing to turn from self, experience discomfort, have our “peace messed with”, and hear the truth with love—so that we will grow in our faith and become more Christ-like as the years pass by.

A Sweet Gift That Taught me a Lesson

1 Comment / July 7, 2025 July 7, 2025

A few days ago, my daughter stopped by with one of her sons to pick up something. I was down at the pool and so he searched me out and, in his hand, he held something.

It was a hydrangea bloom that had fallen off its bush tucked into a drinking glass full of soil. It was such a sweet gift, although I knew that hydrangea would not last because it needed water, not soil. And its life was quite limited, at any rate, now that it was no longer connected to its source for life.

But he didn’t know that. And he had enthusiastically planted that little hydrangea branch for Grandma. How sweet is that?

I put the glass on my kitchen windowsill and watched it slowly deteriorate (as you can see from the photo above). The hydrangea cannot live in the conditions that my grandson gave it, although he truly thought he was doing what was best for that little branch.

I have been really thinking recently about James 1:5-8–

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

I fear that I have been doubting as I bring my big requests before God. I don’t think I trust that He can work.

Yesterday, as I was sharing this with a friend, she said something quite profound.

It’s often not that we doubt God can work. It’s that we doubt that He will do things our way.

Ouch.

That is the bottom line, I fear.

And I had to think of my grandson and that hydrangea branch.

How often are we just like him? We think we know the best path but it’s not the best path. God stops us in our tracks and we get frustrated because we can’t understand why. But God knows what we don’t know.

That conversation yesterday really has had me thinking. We know we aren’t in control. We do know that. But yet we so often act like we are. And we grip things so tightly, as if that will keep things from changing. And we boldly march ahead as if we know the answers and the right way to go, when, so often, we just…don’t.

And then, when we end up with a wilting bloom, we are surprised.

It is a never-ending process to learn to lean into God’s will, especially when it is not my will. And to seek Him above all else.

Often, just like my grandson, we do things with the best of intentions and they aren’t necessarily wrong things. But we are finite and we just don’t know.

But God not only knows all—He loves us, too! (Romans 8:35-39; Galatians 2:20; I John 3:20)

Understanding this about God should change how we pray. It should give us the courage and the desire to pray with faith and without doubt.

Perhaps our struggle lies in the fact that we haven’t fully realized Who God is.

I recently read a book by Richard Sibbes called Discouragement’s Recovery. It was a very helpful book and I recommend it—particularly if you struggle with being discouraged.

I want to end with a quote from this book that helps us understand a bit more what we have in God if we are HIS. It was helpful to me and I hope it will be helpful to you, too—

I beseech you, give me a little leave to press this; for certainly there is more comfort in this word ‘My God,’ than in all the words of the world; for what is God to me if he be not my God, and so make me his? For this same propriety of comfort is more than all the comforts in the world.

We account a little patch of ground, or corner of an house of our own, more than all the city and town where we live. This comforts a man, when he can say, This is mine. As a man that hath a wife, it may be, she is not of the best, or the richest, or the fairest, yet she comforts him more, and he takes more content in her, than in all the women in the world, because she is his wife; so if a man can say, ‘O my God,’ he needs not say any more, for it is more than if he could say, All the world is mine. if we have God we have all, and if we had a thousand worlds, all were nothing to this, if we cannot say ‘God is my God.’

Therefore, though the child of God may seem to be a poor man, yet he is the only rich man. Other men have the riches of this world, as a kind of usurpers, for they have not the highest right unto them. Worldly men are like unto bankrupts, who are taken to be rich men because they have a great deal of goods in their possession, but the true right belongs to others, and so they prove in the end to be worth nothing. I beseech you, consider what God’s servants have said heretofore: ‘God is my portion,’ Lam. 3:24. If God be our God, then he will supply all our wants, as it shall make for the best unto us. This is a great comfort to all Christians in what estate soever. God in dividing things, it may be, he hath given others honours, beauty, and riches, and parts of nature. Well! God falleth to thy lot.

Let the worldlings, the lascivious and ambitions persons, make themselves merry with their portions in this life, yet let the Christian, in what estate soever, glory in his portion, for God is his, and all things else. Though there be many changes in thyself, why shouldst thou be discouraged or disquieted in any state whatsoever? God is thine to do thee good.

~Richard Sibbes, Discouragement’s Recovery

I know the language of this is a bit archaic, but there is such profound truth here. We forget that, if we are God’s dear redeemed child, then the God of ALL is OUR God. He loves and cares for us personally. How awesome is that?

Understanding this truth helps us to pray with faith and to abandon the doubt. This truth helps us keep an eternal perspective rather than a temporal one. This truth reminds us that we are not just a random dot on the timeline of history but that God loves us and He is watching over us. This truth will keep us from relying on ourselves and our own wisdom and leaning into God’s will and His wisdom.

Now, if only we could remember this when we are faced with that next trial or decision or challenge…

Older and Wiser

3 Comments / June 24, 2025 June 24, 2025

Life is designed in such a way that the older we get, the wiser we become. Our experiences teach us more than any teacher ever could. And so, hopefully, as believers, we are learning not to be so hasty; when to speak and when to keep quiet; we are growing less angry and more forgiving. And the list could go on and on.

This not only should inform our daily living in a good way by changing our choices and decisions and even our thought processes but it also gives us insight for those that come behind us.

As I was reading in II Chronicles 10 last week, I came across this interesting passage. It’s regarding Rehoboam, who asked two groups of men—old men and young men— how he should respond to a question the people have asked him—

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. (II Chronicles 10:6-8)

Instead of heeding the wiser, older men, he decided to go with what the young men had said (which was to be harsh with the people).

In this case, the older men had a much wiser answer for Rehoboam and had he followed it, his kingdom would have had a very different ending. Following the wrong advice can change everything, just as it did for Rehoboam.

Of course, older men do not always give the best advice—especially in a culture where so many older men and women spend the last twenty years of their lives playing and selfishly pursuing their own desires.

But there is still a principle to be found in this story from the Bible. We spend almost the entirety of our lives younger than some and older than some, so what are principles we need to consider from this story as a younger person and as an older person?

We live in a culture that is a bit upside down. In the past, the wisdom of old age was valued and elderly men and women were respected. In the world we find ourselves in, it is youth that people listen to and it is the young people that are respected.

It wasn’t until the mid-1900s that youth culture took on a life all its own and became a force to be reckoned with. There were no “youth groups” in the 1800s. No Botox or plastic surgery so we could look “younger”.

While growing older always has had its challenges, there was no shame in it back in the day. It was just a part of life. No one was trying to be younger. They just were taking life as it came.

But we live in this culture where youth is admired and old age is despised. How do we live in this culture but not be “of it”? Since we are all both “younger” and “older” for most of our lives we need to ask—according to scripture—what are things we need to consider as a younger person and what do we need to think about as an older person?

First, it’s important that we consider what those older than us have to say. Particularly, those who are walking with God.

There are lots of foolish old men and women in this materialistic, self-centered culture. But there are also many wise men and women who love the Lord and have so much to offer those of us who are younger than they are. May we be humble enough to listen to what they have to say and take time to reflect on it.

Some of my dearest friends have been women considerably older than me. One was thirty years older and one was twenty-two years older than me. Both were incredible blessings in that they had so much wisdom to offer me, because they loved the Lord and had lived longer than me. If we still have our parents and they love the Lord, we will find that they are also a wonderful resource for godly counsel.

Older people just think about things we never even considered. They understand dynamics we can have no clue about. They have been through what we are going through and can look back and see what they did right and what they did wrong. Hind sight is 20/20 and they have the blessing of having the hind sight we can’t possibly have.

And so may we be humble and teachable and willing to learn from those who are a bit ahead of us on this path called life.

Second, may we be worthy counselors.

We are all older than someone. May we be studying the Word and growing more like Christ through our life experiences, so that we may be a counselor of value as we get older.

As I mentioned above, many older men and women live selfishly. But as believers, we not only must turn away from that, we must realize the absolute privilege it is to build into the lives that are around us. Many of us have children (and their spouses), grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren whom we can support and encourage. We have nieces and nephews, Sunday School children, young parents, co-workers, and our church families. There is always someone younger than us that can use some support and encouragement to honor and obey the Lord.

But before we offer any counsel…

It is critical that we are an excellent listener. Spewing unwanted and condescending advice will be never be a blessing to anyone.

Compassionate listening with a well-spoken word of advice as God gives opportunity is what we are after.

We can’t change the world, but we can change our own hearts and attitudes, can’t we? May we be willing to listen and consider the counsel of those who are ahead of us and may we be willing encourage and build up in the Word those who are behind us.

And, in doing these things, we will be obeying scripture and be living out the pattern that God established for His people.

Judgements, the Bible, and Incomplete Information

1 Comment / June 10, 2025 June 10, 2025

We all make judgments. We make judgments about what is beautiful and what isn’t. And about what is “normal” and what “isn’t normal”. We make judgments about whether someone is doing something right or something wrong; And about whether someone is doing something wise or something foolish. We all do it. And we all do this quite naturally, whether we speak our judgments aloud or not.

But there are two things that we believers really should consider before we pass judgment. Before I go on I’d like to mention that this is something God has been teaching me, oh so gradually, over the course of my lifetime and I am definitely not the same person I used to be. But I am still growing in this area. It’s so easy to write about something the Bible teaches, but learning to live it out takes a lifetime.

The FIRST thing for our consideration is this: Is my judgment based on God’s Holy Word or is it based on my opinion?

If it’s based on my opinion then does it really matter? What makes one opinion better than another?

Here’s a silly example (albeit a practical one). Let’s consider a woman’s shirt. Let’s say I notice a co-worker’s new shirt and I just don’t like it. It’s bright and loud in a color I do not care for and I find it very unappealing. Why is my opinion about that shirt better than the wearer’s opinion? And does it really matter?

Now, let’s take that same shirt and let’s say that it is cut very low and is very immodest. The Bible tells us to dress modestly (I Timothy 2:9-10). So now I am making a judgment between right and wrong which, in fact, we are supposed to do (Matthew 7, I Thess. 5:21-22, and others).

Judgments that are based on our opinions don’t always need to be said. But sometimes they do need to be shared. For example, in committee meetings or family gatherings, when a plan is being developed or a vacation planned. At that point, we speak up with the understanding that there is really no “right” or “wrong” in the situation but that our opinion is simply based on preference.

But what we do with our biblical judgments? Are we to speak each one? This is probably worth a post all its own but, for the sake of time and space here today, let’s just nutshell it in this way: True love discerns, through prayer, when speaking truth is appropriate and is willing to confront when necessary. A lot of harm has been done by parents, pastors, teachers, and others who were simply unwilling to speak biblical truth into the lives of others because they were worried about offending.

This leads to the SECOND thing which we must consider: Are we are aware that we may have incomplete information as to why someone made a choice?

This is not regarding the actual making of judgments but, rather, about our attitudes that accompany our judgments.

When we make biblical judgments, we make them based on our own life experiences. This leads many of us to give no grace, no mercy, no lee-way for other life experiences.

So, for example, someone growing up in a Christian home will naturally know the Bible better than a baby Christian who just got saved as an adult and is learning. Do we have grace for the baby Christian who is just learning?

Or another example is that perhaps someone made a decision for a very good reason but you, looking from the outside, are not privy to the reason for that decision and are judging them for doing something unwise based on your incomplete information. We don’t always know the facts and perhaps they didn’t do anything unwise at all.

Do we give people the benefit of the doubt? Or do we fall prey to having a “holier than thou” attitude?

We only have our life experience from which to form judgements. But it’s so important to recognize that our life experiences are not the gold standard. Only the Bible can and should inform all of our judgments.

And this should lead us to grace and mercy as we remember our life is not their life. And they may have challenges about which we have no idea at all. This doesn’t mean we don’t talk with them when we see sin or worldliness. It just means we have a humble, loving attitude that acknowledges we may not know everything.

So… what if a judgment is based on scripture and you find yourself concerned about someone you love? What to do?

Our natural response is to gossip or to make sarcastic, passive-aggressive remarks letting others know how we feel. The godly response is to keep quiet and go to that person personally and find out the whole story; find out why they made the choice they did and lovingly and kindly point to the scripture that shows that it is wrong.

Can you see why correct interpretation and honest hermeneutics of God’s Word are so critical to life? There are so many manmade “rules” and “laws”—rules and laws that man has created that are simply not in scripture. And there are also so many principles and commands that go completely ignored and neglected by professing Christians who love the world.

And can you see why it’s so important to be able to recognize an opinion-based judgment from a scripture-based judgement?

I have been judged for many things throughout my life. One that sticks out in my memory is being judged for drinking orange juice with my pop-tart instead of milk. Someone made me feel like a fool because of this decision.

As I reflect on that experience, which is over twenty years ago now, I find it such an unnecessary judgement. It’s a silly example but there are so many just like it that happen every day.

Judgments like this build walls instead of building unity. They create division instead of creating a loving, safe place to grow together.

Oh, that we may recognize the difference between our subjective, opinion-based judgments and objective, scripture-based judgments. May we handle any judgment in a loving, biblical manner that will support and encourage God’s family, rather than tear it down.

He Shall Direct Thy Paths

2 Comments / May 27, 2025 May 27, 2025

Proverbs 3:5-6 are probably two of the most-loved verses in all of scripture. They remind us to trust the Lord, to lean not on our own understanding, and promise us God’s direction. But as I was reading this chapter this morning, I realized that these two little verses must be taken in context. They are surrounded by some other pretty important nuggets of wisdom that can’t be overlooked if we long to trust the Lord and have Him direct our paths.

Such as…

(Vs. 1-2) we dare not forget God’s law and we must work diligently to keep His commandments. We are even told that, as a rule, doing this will give us a long life and peace. Of course, there are legitimate exceptions to this due to God’s sovereign will, but we can see how living a moral, upright life will keep us from a lot of harm.

(Vs. 3) Do not forsake mercy and truth. Can we overestimate the value of mercy and truth in the life of a believer?

Truth keeps us on the straight and narrow path and keeps us from deception. Our only hope of protection and a victorious Christian life is to love the truth of God’s Word more than we love anything else. This is easy to write but hard to live. We all have areas in which we are tempted to ignore, bypass, or outright reject the truth of scripture because the cost is so much higher than we are willing to pay. It is so important that we ask the Lord to give us courage and steadfastness and the willingness to submit to and obey His Word, no matter the cost.

Mercy is what will keep us humble as we seek to follow the truth. My grandfather used to say that “pride is a handle that fits any tool” and there is no tool that it fits better than trying to do what’s morally right and obeying God’s commands. But mercy will keep us from turning up our noses at others and will fill us with humility as we recognize that all genuine believers have victories and we all struggle—just in different ways. Mercy and grace abound in humility of heart and live in perfect harmony with Truth.

(Vs. 7) And then this most important verse after verse 6. This verse explains how we are practically able to execute verses 5 and 6.

First, we are not to be wise in our own eyes. Here we go back to pride again. Pride will keep us from submission to the Lord, it will keep us leaning on our own understanding instead of the Lord’s, it will cause us to stray from the narrow path, AND it will destroy our relationships.

Second, we are to fear the Lord. What does this mean? That we are “scared” of Him? No, of course not. The fear of the Lord means having the proper, reverential, submissive attitude towards the Lord. It means we live our lives with God at the center, instead of ourselves, holding Him in awe and recognizing His greatness, omnipotence, and glory. Earlier in this book, we read that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7). That’s how important it is that we fear the Lord.

Third, we are to depart from evil. We cannot expect the Lord to direct our paths if we are purposely walking outside His will in sin or worldliness. Evil comes in all shapes and sizes and, through our study of God’s Word, we soon begin to understand that we have far too narrow view of this word. It goes far beyond the “awful stuff” we tend to put in its category and encompasses but is not limited to: Wicked entertainment that goes against God both morally and philosophically; immodest dress and other ways we draw attention to ourselves; an unforgiving and unloving spirit; selfishness; rebellion against God’s laws; and passion for the world’s wealth and status (just to name a few!) If we are honest with ourselves, we all have something that tempts us to do evil. This is why it is so important that we be examining our hearts and our lives on a regular basis.

(Vs. 8) Doing these three things will not only help us to trust the Lord, lean not our understanding, and help us discern God’s direction for our path; but they will also make us healthy spiritually. They will enable us to live a victorious Christian life.

Sometimes we can oversimplify the words of God. And, while loving just two verses we pull out of scripture isn’t necessarily bad, it is so important that we study our favorite passages in the context which they are given. We will get so much more from God’s Word when we take the time to meditate upon our favorite verses in their proper context.

𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘸;
𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴:
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦,
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦.
𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦:
𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬;
𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵:
𝘚𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯.
𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵;
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮,
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴.
𝘉𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴:
𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭.
𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭,
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴.
* Proverbs 3:1-8 *

Hopelessly Flawed

2 Comments / May 12, 2025 May 12, 2025

Every now and again, I bear a bit of my soul here on the blog. I am going to do that today.

Getting old is not all that fun. Now, don’t get me wrong—there are some amazing blessings in the process. For me, personally, some of these have been my adult children becoming my friends, my precious grandchildren, and wisdom learned from really hard lessons. But there is a lot of grief (for a variety of reasons) involved in the process of getting older, as well. One of the most shallow reasons for grief is the loss of outward beauty.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I looked in a mirror and liked what I saw. I don’t say this to garner any comments (please do not comment) but I share this for a very specific reason.

Now, if I’m honest, I never did think I was that much to look at. It’s not like I was some great beauty even in my youth. But as I’ve gotten older, unsightly brown spots have made their appearance all over my arms and legs. Worse yet, a few large ones decided to settle on my face. My weight has crept up and the pounds seem to want to take up permanent residence unless I make drastic lifestyle changes—changes that I just can’t find the energy to make with everything going on in my life. My hair has darkened into an unattractive, lackluster shade, complete with some unsymmetrical streaks of gray around my temples. All in all, it has been a discouraging turn of events.

But here’s the thing: This is life.

There are things we can do to rid ourselves of these things. We can have the dermatologist remove brown spots (but they can return). We can work hard to lose weight but, if we are someone who loves food, the battle is real. (I remember talking with an elderly friend years ago who battled her flesh in this area her whole life. I can so relate.) We can color our hair. We can have surgery for unsightly varicose veins. We can get nose jobs and Botox and plump our lips artificially.

But in the end, we will get old. We can’t stop it from happening. And, in fact, unless we are making unhealthy or undisciplined choices, what is happening is natural.

Did older women used to stress about these things? Back before there was a push to stay young forever; back before “youth” was the be-all end-all… did they care about the extra pounds around their middle? Did they get so upset about nature taking its course on their body? How much of this is cultural?

But that’s another conversation for another day. I am writing today because I want to share the lesson I have been learning as I have been working through all of this. You see, what is happening in my heart and mind is so much more important than what is happening to me physically.

When I look in the mirror and am filled with discontentment, I am focused on the wrong thing. I am being ungrateful, I am being self-absorbed, I am being worldly.

Any focus on self—whether it be negative or positive is simply self-absorption at the core. Self-esteem is not a biblical concept—no matter what “Christian” promotes it. We are to live for God and not for self.

Looking in the mirror with discontent is wrong. Looking in the mirror with a boastful heart is wrong. Both are wrong.

Let me share a story. This is fictional.

Once upon a time, there were three sisters. They were very close to one another but one day, a dreadful argument began between the three of them that lasted for days. Their feelings towards each other and their frustration spilled out on to the people around them, sowing discord and contention.

Finally, they sat down to talk it out. Instead of blame, they began to think of things for which they were grateful for regarding the other person. The humility of this act brought about the necessary spirit for forgiveness and healing. At the end, one sister said this statement:

We are all so hopelessly flawed.

Wow. How true is this? We are all so hopelessly flawed. I am just so hopelessly flawed.

I can recognize this when I am dissatisfied with how I look. I should be grateful! God has given me so very much to be thankful for! There are so many things my body is able to do each day. So many ways in which God allows me to enjoy life through the use of my arms and legs. There is always something to be thankful for and it changes our attitudes.

And, yet, I can find myself mourning what used to be. This is a hopelessly flawed response.

Paul tells us in Philippians to press on and not look behind (3:13-14)—

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Growing older isn’t something to be ashamed of. And it’s not something to be proud of. It just is. It’s just one stage in a series of stages we all live through—none is more important than another. They just are.

No matter what age we are, we can find things for which we can be grateful.

Never regret growing older,

It’s a privilege denied to many.

But, since we are talking about flaws, I may as well confess that I am hopelessly flawed in so many areas of my life, not just this one. The older I get the more I realize this. It can be so very discouraging.

When the three sisters from the story admitted that they were all so hopelessly flawed, they realized how much they needed each other. And that’s so true, isn’t it? We all have strengths and weaknesses and we need each other.

We don’t always appreciate the ways in which others are not like us but if we were all alike, it would be a sad world indeed.

I thank God for His Sovereignty in bringing just the right people into my life—whether for a lifetime or for just a small window of time. Nothing is an accident.

Just think how some of the most frustrating and hurtful people in your life taught you some of life’s most important lessons—patience, forgiveness, not holding grudges, and how to love unconditionally.

God truly does use the people we encounter to grow us to look more like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29), whether it be to support and encourage us or to teach us really hard lessons.

But the sisters missed the most important thing. It was a secular story so I expected this. But being hopelessly flawed doesn’t only remind us why we need each other but, so much more importantly, this reminds us why we need Jesus. Only Jesus can cover our hopelessly flawed self with His righteousness. This is why He died and rose again—to enable our hopelessly flawed selves to be right with God and to live forever with Him. Only Jesus!

And so, while recognizing our flaws can be very discouraging, they also serve as a reminder of how much we need Jesus. I am nothing without Him. None of us are.

May we turn our focus from self to God. From our feelings to God’s Word. From discontentment to gratitude. From frustration to patience. From irritation to kindness. For this is how we can be sure to keep growing in the Lord and be a blessing to those around us.

Easier said than done, yes. But God…

The Representative

1 Comment / April 8, 2025 April 8, 2025

In the past week, I ended up at the same restaurant two different times. Interestingly enough, I had two very different experiences.

During the first visit, my group was served by a waitress that was fantastic. She was there before you knew you had a need. With a smile and a pleasant word, she checked in with us often. She boxed our leftovers and gave us extra bread to take home with us. She just made the whole experience very pleasant.

The second visit was not as pleasant. The waitress wasn’t terrible but she wasn’t great either. I found myself searching the room for her several times, wondering if she had forgotten about us. She completely forgot one request and we didn’t ask again. She was pleasant enough but she seemed a bit scatterbrained and generally uninterested in the people at her assigned tables. I wondered if she is perhaps just not really cut out for waitressing.

Waitresses are the representatives of their restaurants. Like it or not, restaurant owners are putting their reputation in the hands of these people. We do the same with our landscape company. Employees represent their companies.

Sometimes, as in our first waitress, that is a wonderful thing. They represent well with stellar service and a smile. Sometimes, as in our second waitress, they are just okay. They don’t necessarily damage the business owner’s reputation, but they also don’t do anything to help it. And, sometimes, employees do irreparable damage to the reputation of a business. Lacking wisdom and only caring about self, they bring a carelessness of deed and tongue to their job that gives the company a bad name.

In all three cases it’s the same business. The same owners desire to have employees that treat their customers well. Unfortunately, they cannot always control how their employees treat customers and sometimes do not even know until it’s too late that there was a problem.

It’s just the way it is. It’s the way it has always been. It just is.

Do you see a similarity here to Christianity? Believers are representatives (lights) and we should represent our King well. What people think about God is often based on what they think about us.

Some represent Him very well—they speak the truth in love; they love and obey His Word; they love others well; and they strive to live holy, pure lives unspotted from the world.

And then there are others who don’t necessarily hurt Christ’s reputation but they certainly don’t help it, either. They struggle with worldliness and sin; lacking courage, they know they should speak the truth of God’s Word but they are are afraid ; they aren’t necessarily selfish but they aren’t really unselfish either, as they tend to things in their own little world.

And then there are those who profess Christ (only God knows the truth if they are saved or not) who claim to love Him and yet continue in sin and worldliness with not even one niggling conviction; they are self-focused instead of God-focused; they aren’t even thinking about speaking truth because they are too worried about what others will think. This last group does irreparable damage to the name of Christ.

(Parenthetically, I’d rather guess that many genuine believers vacillate between the first two types of representatives. Sometimes we do so well and we have courage and love well and then other times we get so distracted and fearful or caught up in some besetting sin that we need to battle. Probably none of us are 100% in one of the first two categories all the time. I know I am not. Praise God for His marvelous grace…!)

But, in the end, Jesus is Jesus. His weak (or even false) representatives do not change who He is.

I’ve heard of so many people who walk away from the faith because of the “hypocrites in the church”. Or use it as an excuse not to go to church or “get involved with religion.”

And I just want to say: Of course, there are going to be hypocrites in the church! Just as there will always be lousy employees.

People are people are people. Some things never change.

We should not judge a business based on one bad experience. And we certainly should never judge God based on His human representatives, genuine or otherwise.

We have to keep our eyes on Jesus. We can’t get mired in the broken, sinful world around us, wondering if what we read in the Bible is true and basing that belief on those who claim to represent Him here on earth.

The Bible IS true and if someone isn’t representing Jesus and what is written in the Bible with integrity and righteousness, we must turn from them, rather than turning from the One they claim to be representing.

𝘠𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. (Matthew 5:14a)