The Hope of Spring

Yesterday was the first day of spring and the weather in North Texas was beautiful. We did not have a brutal winter but we did have a deep freeze and ice storm that took it’s toll on our plants. As I walked Miss Maggie in the late afternoon I stopped to look at one of our trees. There were tiny buds beginning to appear on the branches. These green buds sprouted in defiance of winters brutal assault. I stopped and meditated on the miracle of life emerging out of barrenness. I thought of the words of philosopher Bernard Williams. “The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.” I love that. Is there anything more hopeful than watching the beauty of budding leaves and blooming flowers turning the melancholy of a bleak winter into a wondrous palette of invigorating colors? Every spring is a reminder that God will bring beauty from darkness and life from death. 
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What Do Real Christians Do?

Recently I passed a highway billboard with this message. Real Christians Obey Jesus. I get the intent of the message. Too many folks leave their Sunday Lesson in the parking lot as they drive to lunch. But exactly what does it mean to be a “real Christian”? We subtly (or in my own experience, not so subtly) program Christians to believe that growth is about doing more right things. That righteousness somehow involves my extraordinary efforts for Jesus. We imply that change can only happen when you are trying hard and being disciplined for God. The truth is that a dramatic change has already happened when you make that faith commitment to follow Jesus. I think one of the biggest problems in the church is that we don’t teach clearly and repetitively what happens at the very moment we put our faith in the finished work of Christ. Let’s just hit the highlights. Scripture tells you that at that moment
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21 Connect: Day 3 Busyness is Not Next to Godliness

My personal belief is that one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that the church makes with new believers is not teaching clearly and continually what happens when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It seems that we too often get young Christians immediately into studies and activities, suggesting that change can happen only when you are trying hard and concentrating on the spiritual disciplines. That was my struggle for forty years before I realized a simple truth. Dramatic change took place the moment I made that faith commitment to follow Jesus. Scripture tellsme that when I decided to become a follower of Christ, the following things happened immediately: I was given a new identity.I became a new creation.I received the gift of the righteousness of Christ. I struggle with that concept because I am not always righteous in my behavior. That may well be the biggest understatement in this volume. Here is the
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Done

One of my favorite songs from Tenth Avenue North popped up in the rotation recently. The song “You Are More” talks about a young woman lost in fear and shame. She says, “How did I get here? I’m not who I once was. And I’m crippled by the fear That I’ve fallen too far to love” That is a lie from the very pit of hell. The lyrics beautifully convey that no one has gone too far to experience God’s amazing Grace. But don’t you know who you are, What’s been done for you? Yeah don’t you know who you are? You are more than the choices that you’ve made, You are more than the sum of your past mistakes, You are more than the problems you create, You’ve been remade. Most of us have heard the passage from 2nd Corinthians preached over and over. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time
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