Who Would Die for a Lie? 03/26/2021

Do you know where Jesus’ closest followers were when he was crucified?

Hiding. 

Their teacher, the God-man they’d seen perform miracles like giving sight to the blind and walking on water, had just been executed in the most shameful way possible. They thought He was their long-awaited Messiah, but now He was dead. Their beliefs were shattered and they, by association, were in danger. If it could happen to Jesus, it could happen to them. They were scared, scattered, and in hiding. They didn’t even give Him a proper burial. One of His closest followers (Peter) denied Him three times in one day. If the story ended there, it would inevitably have faded into history long ago.

But something changed… 

In the coming days and weeks, Jesus’ followers (called apostles), reappeared in public. They began publicly and boldly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. They claimed He had risen on the third day, just as He said He would. They claimed they had eaten with Him and touched Him. They claimed He was the Son of God indeed.

Now here is the most curious part. Do you know what these claims about interacting with Jesus got them? Money, fame, sex, power? Quite the opposite, actually. They were persecuted, tortured, and many were killed. In fact, eleven out of twelve of Jesus’ closest followers were martyred because they would not deny that they’d been with the risen Christ.

It makes no sense that these men who were scared and hiding would all have a change of heart and decide to endure persecution, torture, and death for a lie. Not a single one ever recanted their testimony, and it was common knowledge that Jesus’ tomb was found empty on the third day, with the guards there terrified. This fact pattern only makes sense if it’s true. 

It’s important we make one important distinction here, because dying for a belief doesn’t automatically make that belief true. Even the 9/11 terrorists died for something they believed in. But here is the critical difference: Jesus’ followers didn’t choose to die because they believed something that had been passed down and taught to them by other people. They died for something that they themselves were direct witnesses to. In other words, if they hadn’t actually interacted with the risen Jesus, obviously they would know they were lying about it! So we have to ask ourselves this…

Who would die for something that they knew to be a lie? 

It’s undeniable that something changed in the days following Jesus’ crucifixion. Something caused these followers to proclaim Jesus even unto their deaths. Something caused 10,000 people to be converted under the most hostile of circumstances in the weeks following the crucifixion. And all along, the enemies of Christianity could have squashed the entire movement if they did one simple thing, which is to produce the dead body of Jesus. But they couldn’t do it then and they never could, because His body wasn’t in that tomb. 

He is risen, indeed.

Good News Only Friday- 03/19/2021

Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the teachers of the religious law (Pharisees) saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to his disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17

This story is nothing short of remarkable. Jesus, the Son of God, chose to eat with tax collectors and sinners. In other words, He chose to eat with the dregs of society. Tax collectors were considered traitors and scum during Biblical times. They were Jews who betrayed their own people by collecting taxes on behalf of the Roman Empire. They each had a yearly quota to pay the Romans. Anything they collected above and beyond that quota was theirs to keep. So you can imagine that they basically extorted their own people in order to become wealthy. This made them outcasts amongst Jewish society, so they spent their time with other outcasts (sinners) such as prostitutes. It’s no surprise, then, that the religious teachers (called Pharisees) were shocked Jesus would eat with this crowd. To share a meal during those days was an act of honor and acceptance. Pharisees would only eat with other Pharisees. Why would Jesus give the time of day to these unclean sinners? His response? “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I’ve not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”BOOM! As someone who has not yet had a perfectly sinless minute let alone a perfectly sinless life, this scripture brings me so much joy. Jesus didn’t come for the so-called righteous, He came for sinners. And since every single person walking this planet is a sinner, He came for us all! If that doesn’t get you fired up, I don’t know what to tell you. If you’ll put your trust in Jesus, He’ll remove your sins from you as far as the east is from the west. God is so good. There’s one more important point to be made here. Jesus wasn’t endorsing the sin. He wasn’t giving them a license to continue living a rotten lifestyle. His message was simple: repent and believe the Gospel. To repent is to CHANGE. He’s saying, I hate your sin but I love you. Change, turn away from your path, and instead put your trust in Me. Believe the good news. The next time you’re beating yourself up over a mistake, I want you to remember this story. Jesus didn’t come for those who think they’re good enough. He came for those who realize they’re sinners and they need a savior. Repent, and believe the Good News. 

Honoring Mom’s – 03/05/2021

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. Proverbs 31: 25-31

Thanksgiving Day 2020: I was on Amazon.com shopping for stationary bikes within minutes of finding out that my foot was broken. I wasn’t going to let this tennis injury mess with my fitness. I took one more day off and then started working out from a seated or lying-down position. 

The injury turned out to be a Jones Fracture, which is something that heals very slowly. The days turned into weeks and weeks into months. I continued regular exercise, but this seated and lying-down stuff just isn’t the same as the sweat you get from a good run. 

As I looked into the mirror this morning, determined that I would get back into proper shape in a hurry, God shifted my perspective. He opened up within me a whole new level of admiration for all of you Mom’s out there. 

This foot injury changed my body. It’s been a battle for going on 4 months, and God reminded me that this struggle is NOTHING compared to what a Mom goes through. Nine months of profound changes within your body, followed by giving birth, followed by nursing, and the list goes on. 

My wife has been through three pregnancies and three C-sections. And I’m feeling bad about a foot injury?

To all the moms: just as our verse says, you deserve to be honored. I can’t imagine what strength it takes to go through those massive bodily changes, get back in shape, only to go through the process again (and for some of you, again, and again, etc.) 

As anyone involved in our athletics ministry (Victory Athletes) knows, we’re not doing this stuff to try and get a beach body. Of course, we want to look and feel good. But taking care of our bodies is truly about worshipping God. God created these bodies, and so, therefore, we honor Him with them. God paid the price to save us, and so, therefore, we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him. Exercise is worship when we do it for God’s pleasure. If we treat our bodies like garbage, we are trashing what God created. 

Mom’s: I honor you and would like to pray over you right now. 

Lord God: You know the struggles that every one of these moms has been through. I’m thanking you right now in advance that every single one of the moms reading this is in the palm of Your hand. Thank you that You created their bodies and that You are their health. We offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to You, Lord God. We know it’s our reasonable service to do so. I pray that you would lift up every Mom reading this and that the Holy Spirit would even be with them as they worship You through exercise. I thank you that You’re strengthening every single Mom reading this. I thank You that You’re showing them just how valued they are, that even the hairs on their head are numbered by You. Yes, these are our bodies, but we didn’t create them. Lord God, You created us. We thank You and give You all of the honor, the glory, and the praise. In Jesus’ mighty name. AMEN!

Good News Only Friday- 02/26/2021

The view outside my window drew my mind right to Isaiah 1:18. Though my sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.Wow.No wonder it’s called the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ. No wonder it’s called the peace which transcends all understanding.Do you guys realize how gnarly that is? Every mistake you’ve ever made… gone. Every stupid decision… gone. As far as the east is from the west, that’s how far He removes our transgressions from us. That’s what happens when we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.If you’re looking back on your past with guilt or shame, you’re not living for all that Jesus died for you to have! He took our sin, He took our guilt, He took our shame. He took it all on that cross and he said IT IS FINISHED. You don’t need to take my word for it. Instead, get into God’s word. If you’ve got hang-ups or hurts in your past, I want to encourage you today to read 1 Peter 2:24. If you don’t have a physical Bible handy, download the YouVersion app and you can read it there. No excuses! I’d love to hear what you think of that verse. 

Good News Only Friday- 2/19/2021

Verse of the Week

Our verse this week reminds me how God can even use broken promises for His glory. Settle in and stick with me on this one. 

The photo above is Tiff and my first house. I can’t help but smile when I see it because of all of the memories we have there. Memories from seasons in our lives when life was much different than today. Times as newlyweds and brand new parents. Times when I naively thought we had really busy lives BEFORE kids… 
We bought the house in 2009 and, with baby #2 on the way, moved to our current home in 2014. It wasn’t a great market to be selling a house in at that time, and we had a deadline named Mia Rose Finke to work around. When it became clear we were going to lose money if we sold, we decided to rent the property. We became landlords by default. 
Of the many walk-throughs we offered to potential tenants, one shocked me. A classmate of ours from Salve Regina University was moving to Connecticut. We hadn’t seen her in 7 years until she came walking up our walkway to check out the house. 

She and her boyfriend promptly put a deposit down and we breathed a big sigh of relief that we’d found a tenant. Unfortunately, the relief was premature. The boyfriend involved starting acting erratic during our discussions. Apparently, he’d had a bad experience with a prior landlord, and was taking it out on us. 

The deal fell through, and they wanted their deposit back. 

I have to admit that I let my emotions take me for a ride through the process. I was bothered and super anxious throughout. I felt betrayed. I, I, I, I, feelings, feelings, feelings, emotions, emotions, emotions, me, me, me, me. 
I was so focused on ME that I forgot it’s not ME who is in control. 

After parting ways with our former classmate, the tenant we ended up with turned out to be the best possible situation for us. She was a recently divorced mother of two getting back on her feet. We’ve had a wonderful and stable business relationship, and she’s lived in the house for the past 7 years!

Now she is getting remarried and moving into a larger home with her new combined family. We are selling the house, and guess what happened? Our first buyer, after putting a deposit down and having us turn away other suitors, has backed out of the deal. 

You know what’s not in control? My emotions! Nope. I haven’t lost a wink of sleep because I know that God is in control. Tiff and I know that the first deal didn’t happen for a reason. 

So I’m challenging you today. When something happens that seems to be bad in your life, change the question. Don’t ask, “why me?” and have a pity party. Instead, talk to God and ask, “what do you want me to learn from this?” God will take you out of your comfort zone in order to develop you into the person He created you to be. Remember: suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.  

Good News Only Friday- 2/5/21

Verse of the Week
“For the word of God is active and alive, sharper than any double-edged sword.” -Hebrews 4:12

How incredible is this? Some may read this scripture and think it means that verses from the Bible are still applicable to our lives today. That’s true, but that is not all this is saying. This verse is telling us that the Bible, God’s word, is ALIVE. Indeed, it’s active and alive, sharper than any double edged sword. One way I’ve heard it described is that it’s not like a pool or a pond that you can get to the bottom of, it’s like a continual river with no end. 

A question I often get is: which Bible do you read? People may open their Bible, see lots of “thee’s” and “thou’s,” and run for the hills. There is a beauty to these translations, but I know when I first started reading the Bible, I simply didn’t understand what was being said. If that’s you, I’ve got you covered. 

The button below will allow you to download the Bible app, aka YouVersion. It has every translation you could want, so you can choose a style/language that you’re comfortable with. If you’re not sure, try NIV (New International Version) or NKJV (New King James Version). You could even do ERV (Easy to Read Version) or the ICB (International Children’s Bible). We read the ICB with the kids. 

Not sure where to start? The app has free plans you can sign up for where you choose a topic (love, anxiety, money, etc.) and they select what you read each day. It’s awesome.

You will hear more from me in future posts about why we need to make Bible reading a part of our every-day routine, but for our purposes today, I encourage you to download YouVersion if you don’t already have it. You won’t regret it.
DOWNLOAD BIBLE APP

Good News Only Friday- 1/29/21

If you’re still walking around feeling guilt or shame about your past, it’s time to let it go. No, really. The word of God tells us that “as far as the East is from the West, that’s how far God has removed our sins from us. Isn’t that amazing? It’s gone!

You hear the term “repent” thrown around the church often. What does it mean to repent? It simply means to turn away from your sin. Looking back with shame or guilt about something in your past does nothing. Only God can take it away. So give it to God. Confess your sins to Him and tell Him you’re turning away from them, you’re done with them. And be free! When you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you’re no longer a slave to fear. 

The truth is this: Jesus took your sin, your shame, and your guilt on that cross. He took it all. If you’re still living with regret, then you’re not living for all that Jesus died for. And he did it for you. Honor Him and get off the guilt train. It’s time. 

Verse of the Week

Good News Only Friday- 1/22/21

Verse of the Week

1 Timothy 4:12: Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

I’ve heard it said that when it comes to our kids, “more is caught than is taught.” In other words, we teach them by what we command, but they’re learning exponentially more by observing how we live. For better or worse, they’re like little mirrors. Sometimes it can be a negative. Like when they’re driving me nuts because they’re yelling and my response is to….. also yell. But it can also be a beautiful thing. I don’t think I could have been more proud than when Anthony told me he was also writing a book. He’s been working hard on his Baseball History Book. We even ran it through my Kindle Create program so he could see what it would look like as an e-book! Granted, the book breaks about 18 copyright/plagiarism laws, but I digress. I’m really proud of him, and it was a reminder that he’s paying attention to a lot more than just what I say. 

In our verse this week we’re reminded that, as Christians, we are walking ambassador’s for Christ. Just as our kids learn by observing how we live, we are much more likely to attract someone to Jesus by how we live than we are to convince them they need Him by what we say. As crazy as our world is, I’m encouraging you to set the example. Let others around you be wondering… “Something’s different about her. She’s got something. She’s living different.” Go about your life as if you’re wearing a uniform that says “I represent Jesus,” because more is caught than is taught! 

Good News Only Friday- 1/15/21

Verse of the Week

My New Years Day run is a tradition I love. It sets the tone for the year and gets the ball rolling in the right direction. I track my miles each year, so making the first entry into a fresh run log satisfies the spreadsheet nerd within me. Benefits on top of benefits!

I’ve run it on mild days and frigid days. I’ve run it feeling 100% and run it with flu-like symptoms. But I can’t say I’ve ever run it with a broken foot before! In true 2020 fashion, I suffered a Jones fracture in my right foot while playing tennis on the night before Thanksgiving. I had resigned myself to pedaling on my stationary bike on NewYears, but that wasn’t going to cut it.

We’re moving forward in 2021. It’s a fresh year, and today is the day the Lord has made! I crutched/hobbled/hopped my way to mark that first mile in my run log. As I struggled along, Hebrews 12:1 was on my mind. No one ever said that the Christian life would be easy. It’s not like our problems just go away when we give our lives to Christ. Some might even get worse. But we’re instructed to run the race set before us with endurance! We’ve got the joy of the Lord within us whether things are going our way or not. 

As we head into the new year, I want to encourage you to run your race with endurance. Talk to Jesus about your problems and allow the Holy Spirit to come into your life and help you out!

Good News Only Friday- 1/8/21

I had a nice little New Year’s Day message written for this inaugural newsletter, but it no longer feels appropriate. As we all know, yesterday, the US Capitol was stormed by an angry mob protesting the presidential election results.

It was hard to believe the near- anarchy I was seeing. This is the kind of thing that happens in other countries, not here in the US. I held my breath as I watched a news

reporter being followed around, intimidated, and mocked by a group of protesters.

If anyone was feeling anxious about our country’s political climate, yesterday surely cranked up the intensity. We pummel ourselves with hypotheticals:

What if this candidate gets elected? What if that policy gets changed? What if, what if, what if?

This stuff runs through my mind, too, but I try to remind myself, and I want to remind you here:

God is still on the throne.

The president may be changing, but the King of kings reigns forever. Our country may be divided, but “as surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bend and every tongue will confess the name of Jesus.” (Romans 14:11)

The bottom line is that God is still in control. As my friend Joe Labieniec says, nothing gets by God’s desk without Him noticing. So, if He allows it, there’s a purpose.page1image684568128

Human nature causes us to be ruled by our emotions and get bent out of shape because we want to control everything. I encourage you to take comfort in the fact that if God allows it, there’s a purpose. Like our verse of the week says, the purpose of the Lord WILL stand.

Take courage, friends! We’re not alone.