Who Do You Trust and Fear?

On July 10, 2015July 31, 2015 By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

As Christianity is marginalized more and more, there will be stands we have to make. Whether we stand for the Lord or man will determine who we trust and fear.

A Contemporary Issue

The sanctity of marriage is a hot button issue in our country right now. Those not on the bandwagon of gay marriage are quickly labeled as bigots and haters; their participation in the public arena is limited; and they are pressured by their friends, family, employers, and the media to embrace and celebrate the sexual revolution.

As the pressure mounts, those desiring to please others and continue to have public influence will eventually evolve on the issue. Those who evolve on the issue show who they fear, man not God. They fear what man thinks of them, what man can take from them, and what man can do to them.

However, those who can’t or won’t acquiesce their beliefs show who they fear, that is the Lord. Those who rightly fear God will find themselves being marginalized. While the marginalization of Christians may limit the jobs we can hold, the businesses we can run, and the public influence we have, we need not fear because the Lord will care for us.

The Truth

Knowing the marginalization of Christianity is coming, and is indeed already here, we need to decide right now who we are going to fear and who we are going to trust.

If we cave to societal pressures, by fearing and placing our trust in man, we may find ourselves exalted and praised. We may experience all the benefits this world can offer. However, at some point you can bet things will not work out like we thought. Man always lets us down. They never stick to their word.

However, if we continue to fear and trust the Lord, we can be confident we will never be let down, and we will experience eternal life because the Lord always sticks to His Word. He doesn’t sway and shift with the cultural breeze. He doesn’t bend his knee to Caesar. He is unmovable, unshakeable, unbendable. He is who He is today and tomorrow. The Lord doesn’t change, which means the Lord can be trusted.

Who will you trust and fear? God or man?

Questions for Reflection

Have you felt pressure lately to go along with society instead of God? If so, how did you deal with it?
Do you believe Christians are being marginalized in our country?

Resource

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The Christian and the Same Sex Marriage Decision

On July 8, 2015July 29, 2015 By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, Practical2 Comments

While I had a feeling the courts would rule for same sex marriage, I was still shocked when I read the headlines. I guess I had hoped they would consider how polarizing Roe vs. Wade has been and do something different. Something like put the decision to a vote by the people, instead of deciding for us. But that is not what happened. Instead nine justices decided for the American people that same sex marriage should be a reality in all 50 States.

If many of you are like me, you were probably shocked as well. I am sure other emotions may have been and still are running through your veins. Emotions like: Anger, dismay, hopelessness, sadness, even fear — fear of what is to come. Fear for our children and the world in which they will grow up.

As I have talked to many of my friends, read my Facebook and Twitter feeds, and thought and prayed myself, one question has consistently come up: How should Christians Respond?

As I have thought, prayed, and searched Scripture, the Lord has given me several ways we should respond.

(1) We Must Respond In Love, Not with Anger, Hate, or Violence

Searching Scripture, the Lord led me to 1 John 3. There John says in verse 11 and 15,

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another…Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 Jn 3:11–15)

As Christians we must heed these words and respond in love. We aren’t to hate. We aren’t to turn to anger or even violence. We as Christians are to love. We are to show care, compassion, grace, and mercy to the gay community and those who support them.

That doesn’t mean we condone their activity, back down, or roll over and let others do what they want to us. We must stand our ground. We must fight for our rights. We must reject the decision handed down, but we have to do it in love.

(2) We Must Respond by Trusting in the Lord

While the Supreme Court decision didn’t go the way we wanted. While our country is slipping further and further from the original intent of our founding fathers — that we be “One Nation Under God.” Even though our Religious Freedom may be slipping away. We must still trust in the Lord.

We must trust in Him because He is sovereign. Psalms 47:8 says,

“God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.” (Ps 47:8)

God is the one reigning. He is the one ruling. That was true 1,000 years ago, 100 years ago, last month, last week, 1 day ago, today, and for all eternity, God is reigning and ruling. There is no authority greater than Him.

Consider what Paul says starting in Colossians 1:16 about Christ,

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col 1:16-17)

Did you catch that? All things were created by Jesus. Thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities were all created by Him. He is the authority above all authorities. There is no greater authority than Him.

Along with there being no greater authority, we know that every authority is ruling because the Lord appointed them.

Romans 13:1 says,

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Rom. 13:1).

So what happened this last week was no mystery to God. It didn’t slip through the cracks. The Lord allowed those nine justices to sit on the Supreme Court, knowing that this last Friday, five of them would publish the majority opinion in favor of Same-Sex marriage.

Since the Lord is Sovereign, knows all things, He is who He is — all powerful, just, merciful, gracious, loving, kind, etc. — we must continue to place our trust in Him.

We may not always understand the way the Lord works. Why He allows certain things to happen, but one thing we do know is that the Lord is sovereign, His plan is perfect, so we must continue to place our trust in Him.

(3) We Must Respond By Preaching the Gospel

As the Supreme Court decision was handed down, those for Same-Sex marriage were exuberant. You could hear their cheers in videos, their excitement was evident in the media, and on social media. They were excited because they believe this win will satisfy them and give them something they long for — peace. But that is not true. Nothing in the world can give us peace. This world is ruled by the domain darkness, and it provides no lasting hope, satisfaction, or peace. Only Jesus provides peace.

In Colossians 1:19 and 20, Paul writes,

“For in him [speaking of Jesus] the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth on in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:19-20)

Only through Jesus can we find true peace. That’s because the peace our heart longs for is not the peace of social or civic justice, but the peace between man and God. Deep down inside we know we are sinners, who will answer to God one day. Try as we might to rid ourselves of that reality, it is still there. That is why we fight for peace on this earth. It is the natural longing of every human. In our effort, we may experience temporary peace, but we will never experience peace with God unless we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Unless we see ourselves as sinners who have sinned against a perfect and holy God, rejecting Him as our Creator and Ruler for our own rule. Unless we realize that, and turn to Jesus as our Savior, believing He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, we will never experience the peace for which we long.

So as Christians, one way we can respond in love is by preaching the gospel, sharing it with the lost world, because it is only through the gospel that they will experience peace.

(4) We Must Respond By Preparing for Persecution

In his gospel, John, quoting Jesus, says in chapter 15, starting in verse 20,

“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” (John 15:20-21)

According to Jesus, His disciples must prepare for persecution. We must prepare as well because as we shine the light of the gospel into the world, the world will respond in one of two ways: They will either accept it, or they will reject it.

Those who reject the gospel may not just reject its message, but they may seek to silence us through persecution. This is going to be especially true as Christians take a stand on God’s Word.

Same-sex marriage is a polarizing topic in our country because you are either for it or against it. As we take a stand on the truth of God’s Word, we will be called things like bigot or hater. We will probably be excluded from certain activities and benefits. Our businesses or jobs may even be in jeopardy. The culture will try to silence us. (We have already seen those things happen in certain parts of this country.) Our freedom to exercise our religion will continue to be strangled. So as a church, we must prepare for persecution.

We must prepare by:

Banding together as a community of believers who are committed to praying for, encouraging and strengthening one another. If there is ever a time we need to reconcile with one another and live in true biblical community, now is the time.
Reading God’s Word to strengthen our knowledge of and trust in God.
Continuing political action to fight for our right to exercise our religion.
Supporting those who are fighting for our rights already. People like Russell Moore who is the President of the ERLC of the Southern Baptist Convention.

So as a church, we must prepare for persecution.

(5) We Must Respond By Praying for Our Leaders

Scathing rebukes in the media, violence, and hatred will not change the hearts of those leading this country. The only thing that will change their heart is God and His gospel. As Christians we must pray for them.

Paul in 1 Timothy 2, starting in verse 1 says,

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Tim. 2:1-6)

So we must pray. We must pray because the Lord commands us to pray. We must pray because prayer is the only thing that will change things. We must pray because the Lord desires all people to be saved and the only way they will be saved is through Jesus.

I have been dialoguing with a guy recently who is all about Christians being political. He is all about it because he believes it is how things will change.

I am not against political action, certainly Christians need a voice in politics. However, I also know that nothing is going to happen politically if people’s hearts stay the way they are — dark and without the gospel.

So we must pray because the only way anything will change in our country, is if people’s hearts are changed.

Question for Reflection

How else should the Christian respond to the same-sex marriage decision?

Resources

Post developed from my sermon: The Christian and the Same Sex Marriage Decision. Listen to the full audio here.

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How Should Christians React to the Same-Sex Marriage Decision?

On June 26, 2015July 28, 2015 By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral3 Comments

Life is About God

On June 25, 2015July 29, 2015 By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, QuotesLeave a comment

At its very roots, life is about God. Whether you shake your fist at him, consider him so distant that his existence is irrelevant, or tremble before him because you feel that you are under his judgment, the reality is this:

the basic questions of life and the fundamental issues of the human heart are about God.

Life is about knowing him or avoiding him. It is about spiritual allegiances. Whom will you trust in the midst of pain? Whom will you worship?

Questions for Reflection

Do you realize all of life is about God?
How are you responding to God?

Resources

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Edward T. Welch, Depression: A Stubborn Darkness, 46.

6 Practical Ways Fathers Can Man Up

On June 22, 2015July 29, 2015 By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, Leadership, Practical3 Comments

An epidemic of epic proportions is occurring right before our eyes. An epidemic we have the power to do something about.

What’s happening?

Fathers are not only abandoning their families – 17.4 million children grow up in fatherless homes – they are also abandoning their God-given responsibility as the spiritual leader in their homes. As a result, millions of boys are growing up unprepared to lead their families.

What we need, then, is for fathers to man up and lead their families. But how? How can we lead our families.

6 Practical Ways Fathers Can Man Up

(1) When at home, be at home

After a long days work, it is easy to retire to the work bench, study, den, or lose yourself in social media or the TV, but we have to resist that temptation. We have to engage our children in some meaningful way when we are home. We have to actually be at home, when we are home.

(2) Eat dinner together

When I say eat dinner together, I don’t mean for us to sit in the living room watching TV together with dinner plates in hand. When we do that, we might be eating dinner at the same time and in the same room, but we aren’t eating together.

No, what I am talking about is actually turning off the TV, setting our phones aside, and sitting around the dinner table together talking with one another.

For those of you with teenagers, this might be the only time you have their undivided attention. It might be the only time you have to build into them. Don’t waste that opportunity because your favorite TV show is on.

Watching TV together does not have the same impact as talking together.

(3) Read the Bible together

I know what you are thinking, we don’t have the time for that. How am I ever going to get everyone in my family together at the same time? If that is you, you might need to cut some activities out of your schedule, so you will have the time. What’s more important: That your child participate in yet another extra-curricular activity, or you read God’s Word together?

In all reality, you may not even need to cut your schedule because I am not talking about an extensive hour long devotional every night. I am instead talking about devoting 5-10 minutes to reading the Word and praying together.

5-10 minutes is not a lot of time, and it is something we can all do. Just take the time you spend scrolling through your Facebook feed and watching cat videos, and devote it to your family.

While 5-10 minutes is not a lot of time, it does take discipline. It does take a little planning and motivation. It does take putting down the remote, turning off the game, and setting your phone or tablet aside for a few minutes.

If you want to know the secret to accomplishing a family devotional each day, make it apart of your routine. It has worked for our family. Reading God’s Word as a family happens every night after we brush our son’s teeth and before we put him to bed. Since it is apart of our routine, we do it. If we don’t do it, it feels like something is missing.

Surely, there is some place you can add a 5 minute devotional to your daily routine.

(4) Play together

Carving out fun time is important because it’s one way to build a relationship with your kids. Relationships are key if we are going to lead our children.

Don’t think play time is all fun and games. Even during play time, questions and opportunities to talk about God come up. It may only be for a minute or two while resting, but those couple of minutes over the years add up. Who knows, maybe that conversation will be replayed over and over in your child’s mind for the next couple of days.

(5) Memorize Scripture together

Not too long ago my Sunday School teacher challenged the class to memorize Scripture together as a family. What a novel idea!

Memorizing Scripture together not only motivates the parents to hide God’s Word in their heart, but it also motivates the child to do the same. As well as it’s another way to stimulate conversation around God’s Word.

(6) Don’t quit ministering

That’s true even after your kids have left home. Things are going to look different, but keep at it. Share with them what you are learning in God’s Word. Send them a blog post or sermon you liked. Give them a book. Tell them you are praying for them. Encourage them to train their kids. Whatever it may be, keep at it. Don’t stop ministering!

Challenge

I can’t stress how important it is for our society and churches that fathers lead their families in a biblical way. If we want to turn our country around, fathers have to train their children. If we want to raise up another generation of leaders in the church, fathers have to train their children. If we want to kill the current epidemic happening in our country, fathers have to train their children.

Fathers, it’s time we man up! It’s time we take God’s Word seriously. It’s time we be involved in our kids lives, training them, instructing them, and teaching them to be future spiritual leaders.

Question for Reflection

Fathers, are you manning up?

Resources

Post developed from the sermon: Fathers, Man Up!

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Man Up, Fathers!

On June 17, 2015July 29, 2015 By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, PracticalLeave a comment

Father’s Day is not only a day to honor our fathers’ but it’s also a day, as President Calvin Coolidge said,

“To impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations [and to encourage fathers] to establish a closer relationship [with] their children”[1].

President Coolidge’s point — Fathers have an obligation to their families — was not only timely in his day, but also in ours because many fathers simple aren’t manning up.

A Father’s Impact by the Statistics

According to the 2014 census Bureau 1 in 4 children under the age of 18 are living without a father. That’s roughly 17.4 million children.

While that statistic alone is astounding, it holds even greater weight when you consider the impact fathers have in the home. Nearly half — 45% — of fatherless homes live in poverty. The median income for families led by a single mother is 26k, while the median income for married families is 84k. Around 45.8% of single mothers receive food stamps[2].

Fathers, however, don’t just play a financial role in families, they also play a developmental role. In those households where fathers are present children tend to fair better cognitively, be better behaved, have a greater psychological well-being, are less likely to be delinquents and find themselves incarcerated, are less likely to abuse substances, and are less likely to be poor when they get older.

Also children who grow up with fathers in the home typically delay sexual activity, attend college, get a higher paying job, and have a stable family life when they get married[3].

There is more, but I think you get the idea: Father’s have a huge impact on their homes.

A Father’s Job Requires More than Just Being Home

A father’s job, however, is not done, just by being home. Fathers also have to be involved. One major way fathers are to be involved is by training their children in God’s Word.

In Ephesians 6:4, Paul says,

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4)

We learn in this verse that Father’s are to lead their families by bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Word of God.

In order for fathers to do that, they have to see themselves as the primary spiritual leader. They can’t pawn it off on mom or the church. They have to be the spiritual leader themselves. Now that doesn’t mean mom or the church can’t instruct our children — that is not what I am saying. Instead what I am getting at is that fathers have to realize and take responsibility for being the primary spiritual leader in their household.

As the leader, as our child’s instructor, we are not only to instruct them in everyday things, but we are also to instruct them in the Word of God.

This goes for those who have children at home, and for those whose children have left the home. We are always our kids father, so we should always be teaching them. That will certainly look different when they are in the home, than when they are out, but we should always be playing a teaching role in their lives.

I can’t stress how important that is. I can’t stress how important it is for fathers to lead their families in a biblical way. I can’t stress how important it is for our society and our church for fathers to be involved in the spiritual development of their children.

A Father’s Job Requires the Power of the Gospel

But here’s the thing. We often fail at our job. I know I do. As I thought about why I fail, I realized its because I am selfish. I am selfish with my time, with my wants, and my desires. You see, instead of using my time in preparation or training, I shirk my responsibility to do what I want. You know what, I’ll continue to do that until Jesus changes my heart from one of selfishness to one of selflessness. Thankfully, Jesus will change our hearts and will continue to change our hearts.

Jesus is able to change our hearts because, unlike us, he didn’t shirk His responsibility. Instead He did exactly what the Father asked. He went to the cross as our Savior.

Those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior are made into a new creation whose hearts are changed, and are consistently being changed through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Then, and only then, are we able to fulfill God’s command — to instruct our children in His Word. That tells us:

Fathers can only lead their families by the power of the gospel.

That is an important idea to grasp because it means we can’t accomplish the task God has asked of fathers apart from Him. We can’t do it by trying harder. We can’t do it by pulling up our bootstraps. We can only do it through the power of the gospel.

Instructing our children in God’s Word requires more than self-determination, it requires a changed heart and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

As fathers, we have to recognize our own inadequacy. We have to recognize we can’t be the father God has called us to be in our own power. We have to recognize that because its only then that will we turn to God. It is only then that we will rely on Him and seek His power.

So we see there is not only a need for fathers to be at home and to be involved, but there is also a need to be renewed and empowered by the gospel. It is only then that fathers will lead their families as God desires.

So fathers, let’s lean into the gospel. Let’s take God’s Word seriously. Let’s be involved in our kids lives. Let’s train them, let’s instruct them in the Word of God. Let’s man up this Father’s Day.