"Go Ahead and Laugh"

I have a good friend who has a great laugh. His laugh always turns heads. Sometimes his laugh, he says, makes some people uncomfortable. But if you know him, you know his laugh is as genuine as he is. About a year after he started attending Living Hope, he said to me, "I appreciate that LH is a church where I can be real even in my laugh." I had never thought about that, but he was right. Church should not be a place where we have to hide what we are experiencing and that includes laughter. Why do we try to contain our laughter? I can think of no better place to laugh than with the Body of Christ in worship. I have a tendency to forget that laughter can be a spiritual means of grace. The Bible says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" Proverbs 17:22. What would happen in our relationship with Christ and others if every day we prayed, "Father, help me to find reason to laugh today?" One thing is for sure, the Church would never again be accused of being a people that are dried up bones. Jesus resurrection has made possible an 8th day that makes possible a new day for us and our world! Suffering, loss, sin, and death need never again have the final say in our lives and in our world(see Rev. 21)! So go ahead, Church, and laugh!

"Not All Men are Worthless Jerks "

Many present TV shows paint a picture of men as being idiots who have no more control of themselves than a dog in heat. I regularly see Face book posts bemoaning, "There are no good men out there." Statistics on fatherhood certainly do not help the case of the modern male as it would seam that with the rise of broken families many Fathers are checking out of their families. And, let's be honest, if not for women one has to wonder if the church would even continue to exist.

However, I am thankful to be a part of a church family in which the male population dares to be courageous. Lest you think there are no men of courage and character left in our world, let me encourage you with just a few stories.

For the past 6 or 7 years I have watched men willingly come together not only to study the Bible, but to take on direct, honest and bold accountability. I know the level and depth of their commitment to live out the truth of James 5:16, "Confess your sins one to another amd you will be healed," because this courageous group of men let me join them in their journey.

Over a year ago, another men's group was started at LH by Pastor Gregg Hebrank, who called the group together, but then watched God raise up the men of the group to take turns leading the group. They too then ventured into one on one accountability.

Of course, the Celebrate Recovery Men's Study Groups, have watched men take on habits, hurts and hang-ups head on. These men have no desire to simply talk about their issues, they are committed to holding each other accountable in letting God lead them forward. Our church will be forever grateful for the likes of Pastor Paul Brannon and his wife Jenni for the on-going, lasting freedom people experience in CR.

Then there are men like Gordy Gibson and Michael Mills who refuse to allow intercessory prayer to be only a women's event. They have met with many men, including me, for Prayer Ministry for Inner Healing.

Eric Binning, of LH, served at our first Kids Against Hunger pack and dared to ask, "Why couldn't we have a packing site in Dayton?" He did not just ask the question, he became the answer. Last Friday, his Kids Against Hunger Dayton Hunger Initiative did a pack at Springboro Hugh School because of the leadership of another man from Living Hope, Jason Hall, who is a teacher and advisor for LIFT (student led ministry).

Of course, we cannot ever forget the men of LH's response to Human Trafficking at the Superbowl, out of which 6 victims have been rescued!

Some would say, well, that was a one time event, but what are the men doing now? The answer is that the men of Living Hope are doing even more! Just go on Face book and search for "Men of Action", led by Jeremy Schulz and Todd Circele. These men have started a group that has burst outside the walls of LH. I've lost count of how many men from LH and beyond have now joined these two men to call men, as Jeremy said, "To get off our butts and do something!"

I am also thankful that our men are involved in the children's and teen ministry here...that is something that sets LH apart, you know. Normally, only women serve in that ministry area. But here the men understand that our boys and young men need godly male examples to show them how to be courageous men of faith. I would start mentioning names, but there are so many that I fear I would leave someone out.

Every day I work with two men, John Colegrove and Jon Gibson, who I watch continually go the extra mile just because they love Christ and want to see others be real, transformed, connected and poured out!

I could share many more stories of how the men of LH are breaking the mold of the undeserved and deserved criticism of the modern man. I thank God that at LH we have men who are calling us to live according to the courage and strength of Joshua who said, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

"Can You and those who come behind you see the Lamb?"

On Sunday, I joked about it, but I was very serious that the Biblical truth I knew I needed to deliver would be received with offense and resistance. However, God has again shown me how incredibly open you are to letting God change us with His truth even when it is hard to swallow.

The truth I am referring to is that every generation is to take direct and intentional responsibility for the generations that come behind them. I used this example, "When parents say, 'I cannot force my child to engage in the things of Christ,' they are buying into a lie of our culture which is a lie of hell that says that we parents should give up our role of influence on our child's lives and further that as a church family we should not assume direct responsibility for the spiritual influence of the children of Living Hope. Not only is this a lie, but it is hypocritical to say we cannot force our children to engage in the things of Christ. We "force" our children to take a bath, go to the doctor, go to school, do their homework, follow through with their commitments to sports and band and yet for some reason when it comes to that which is most important we think we should leave their spiritual formation completely up to them. I encourage every adult in our church to be free of these hypocritical lies and take responsibility for the faith of the next generation. Just imagine what God could do through a generation that was raised to believe that God has a purpose for their lives that is so meaningful and powerful that it will transform them and transform the world through them!

On Monday night, as I waited for the "hate emails and calls" to begin to come in form the above mentioned statements on Sunday, instead, I received the following:

The first was a call from a Grandmother. She brings her grandchild to worship every Sunday with the blessing of the parents, but without their presence. She said, "Yesterday, after worship, we went to lunch my two good friends, a couple from LH.

The man said to my granddaughter, 'I Love you.'

My Granddaughter lit up an said, "I know you do because you have a cross in your heart."

"A cross in his heart? What does that mean?," I asked.

Her granddaughter pulled out a picture she had colored in the 4yr.-K class. It was a heart with a picture drawn in the middle.

"What does it mean?," they asked her.

She said, "Jesus died on the cross so we can have God in our heart and that helps us love other people."

The grandmother said she is so thankful that we have age-appropriate classes led by multiple adults who help her granddaughter see that the things of God matter and mean something to every day life.

Next, I received an email from a Life group in our church family that has several folks 55 and older. The 55+ of that group shared that they are now intentionally praying about and will be seeking out a way to encourage the parents with young children in our church family. How powerful will that be?! Those who have walked the way will now be helping those who are presently walking the path of parenting be encouraged and supported along the way.

I praise God for you!

You are church that is allowing us to learn more and more what it means to live out Deuteronomy 6:4-7, "Hear, O, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." In other words, make sure that while our children our under our influence we make them notice God in what we say and do and every where we go. As you do that you and they will see the LAMB in both the "spotless" and in the "suffering" as we talked about Sunday.

To that end I hope every parent and grandparent will consider bringing the children in their lives with them to the Good Friday service at 7 PM. It has been designed to to help you and your children to see the LAMB together.

"The Cross is Like an Enemy Loved"

Junior High. Need I say more? If those were the best years of your life, I say good for you. For the rest of us, may I wallow in the misery of those years with you?

Whenever I think of Junior High the face and name of one boy comes to mind. He had failed a few times so he was older and further along in the puberty cycle than the rest of us. His voice was deeper and I am pretty sure he was already shaving. For some reason, he picked me out as his instinctive enemy. It was weird really. I had never met him or even said a word to him. But he did not need to talk to me to know he did not like me.

God in all of his wisdom decided to make sure I had gym class with the brute. O, he, who I soon came to call my arch-enemy, loved having gym class with me. Talk about fuel for fire...He tormented me with threats and belittling words every day. Of course, I was a bit mouthy myself and so I did not really help matters any. One thing was for sure, he hated me and I hated him.

Then one day after school, I saw that boy outside his house. His dad was screaming at him; Calling him every name in the book. Then I watched his Dad back-hand him across the face. My enemy did not cry. He barely flinched. It was obvious it was not the first time. This was normal to him. He would not cry. He would simply become angry. He would do to someone else what was done to him.

So, the rest of Junior High he continued his name calling and belittling of me. I wish I could tell you that after seeing what he lived with, we became best friends, but we didn't.

However, I distinctly remember that while the mistreatment was still embarrassing, I no longer took it personally. I now saw why he was my enemy. And it is hard to hate someone you understand.

The Bible says we have a high priest in Jesus who sympathizes with our weaknesses and intercedes to the Father on our behalf. How could Jesus love and forgive us to the point of death? Because he understands us. He does not just see the sin behavior, he sees the lies, the pain and everything that is behind it. He sees you. And because he experienced the trials and temptations of life, he sympathizes and says, "Hey Dad, I know what its like to be where they are. That's what sin and suffering in that world does to a person. Let me love them to you."

"The Cross is Like a Battle Won"

Many, many years ago, in the time when horses, wagons and walking were the major forms of transportation, an old man was carrying a very heavy load on his back. The poor, old man was bent over under the weight. His face was beat red from over-exertion. His eyes looked strained and tired. Every step he took was nothing less than a battle.

As the old man walked on under his burden, a father and his young boy came down the dirt road riding their horse and wagon. The father and his boy laughed and talked together as they let the horse pull the weight of their load. Suddenly, they saw the outline of the man and his load in the distance. As they drew closer they noticed the man's age and how each step was a struggle under the burden he bore.

The father pulled up next to the man, stopped the wagon and invited the old man to ride with them. The man gratefully accepted, but chose to ride in the back of the wagon. The father then urged his horse forward and the three of them continued on their journey.

It was the boy who made the observation: "Daddy," the boy said, "Why is he keeping the load on his back? Why doesn't he sit the load down in the wagon?"

The father looked over his shoulder and saw that his boy was right. The old man had accepted the ride, but not the opportunity to be relieved of his burden.

The cross is like a battle won. Christ's death and resurrection, as we read in Colossians 2 on Sunday, has already won the war. It seems that many of us are able to trust Christ to give us a ride to heaven, but few of us are willing to trust Christ to carry the daily burdens and battles that are put on our backs before we get to heaven. The FATHER sees the burdens we keep carrying and the battles we keep fighting as his SON asks, "Why?"

"The Cross is like the Devalued being Redeemed"

76 incarcerations, 9 felonies, addict...how does that lead you to picture the man I am describing? I can tell you that the picture those three images paint for me are anything but pretty or pleasant. But, the cross is like the devalued being redeemed. Our faith is not just a good story. It is more than fairy-tale fantasy. It is real. The love and power of Christ culminating on the cross continues to change the world by redeeming what has been trashed.

76 incarcerations, 9 felonies, addict describe a man in our church family's past, but not his present. In fact, if you met this man today you would never believe he was ever in prison once. He attributes his redemption to two things: Jesus Christ and other people being Christ to him. To top it all off, he is now voluntarily suffering for the redemption of other ex-offenders through a program called circles. (I encourage you to check it out at www.circlescampaign.org).

Former Ohio State Representative, John White, is now the Director of this initiative. It brings together circles of people from all walks of life to become a social support network to allow ex-offenders to have a hand-up so they will not ever be incarcerated again. It is not just a lofty mission; it is working! The success rate is amazing!

Today, they met with me to honor you. They said, we have heard that Living Hope is a church that is doing something to make a difference. The state and the county would like the opportunity to share about Circles with LH to see if any folks in your church family might be interested in knowing more about how they might give of their time to give others a hand-up. I told him we would be honored to learn more. So, in the next month or so they will be sharing literature in our bulletins and I hope that the man I mentioned will even share his story of how the cross really is like the devalued being redeemed.

Living Hope, thank you for being a church that does not just talk about it but truly is learning to be real, transformed, connected and poured out. Even the state and county are seeing it and we know what they are really seeing is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Praise God!

"Will You Let Jesus Unlock Your Prison Cell?"

A friend of mine shared this story:

Our daughter got a splinter in her finger. She ran to us in pain. We examined her wound and explained that we would need to pull the splinter out.

"Nooooo," she cried, "Don't pull it out, just put a band aid on it."

I can relate to the little girl.

If I am really honest, I too would rather have band aids. I too prefer to simply cover up and ignore the splinters that will or are bringing infection to me. Anybody else relate?

It is always easier to put on the band aid of anger than it is to do what Jesus says and that is go to the person with whom you have a problem and to work through it to reconciliation. And if that does not work, then Jesus says, take someone with you and if that does not work ask the leadership of the church to help the two of you reach reconciliation. How many of us are willing to go that far to pull out the splinter of conflict and division? Most of us, prefer a band aid, don't we?

It is always easier to put a band aid of denial on our habits, hurts and hang-ups than it is to admit them. The Bible says, "Godly sorrow, leads to repentance, which leads to life." But it is easier to blame God, others and the world for what is wrong with us than it is to take ownership. Confessing our sin before God and others will lead to healing as James 5:16 says, but it is a whole lot more comfortable to simply cover up our sin with a band aid.

It is always easier to put the band aid of worry over our future, than it is to trust God. Certainly the latter choice produces much more positive results, but then again so does pulling out a splinter. Just because the long term result is better, does not mean we will not insist on the short-term fix of a band aid.

The examples could go on and on, couldn't they? The reality is that left to ourselves we will choose a band aid over every other option, including eternal life.

That is why Jesus died on the cross. The cross is like a prisoner going free. To all who will admit that our sin-selfish choices have earned for us a death sentence now and forever; for all who will agree that there is nothing we can do to release ourselves from this death sentence, Jesus offers us something much greater than a band aid or a pulled out splinter. He offers to take our place in the prison cell so we can walk in increasing freedom through him now and eternal freedom forever and to now help others receive the same.

Will you let Jesus unlock your prison cell? Or will you cry, "No! Just out a band aid on it?"