Are You a Closet Christian?

 Matthew 10:32-33

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."

This is part of Jesus' sermon when he was sending out the twelve.  This comes toward the end, after Jesus had gone through many warnings that people would reject the disciples because of him.  He was preparing them for the rejection they would face by many because of their attachment to Jesus.  This warning, however, is for the disciples- all of his disciples, of all time.

This warning is still just as relevant for us today as it was for the disciples 2000 years ago.  Jesus doesn't want us to just "be Christians" on Sundays.  He doesn't want timid disciples who are more afraid of what the world thinks of them than what their Heavenly Father thinks of them.  Who's opinion matters more:  God's or the world's?  "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

The Great Commission doesn't say anything about making disciples only when it's comfortable, or when it's convenient, or when you feel like it.  God's Word doesn't give us that out.  In fact it says the opposite, just look at the verses above.

Here's how Paul says it:

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. -Romans 1:16

Fear of the world is a great temptation.  Everyone wants to be cool, to fit in.  No one wants to made fun of and persecuted.  But the reality is that when you value the world's opinion over God's, you have made the world your god.  You have broken the 1st Commandment.  The world has become your idol.  The irony is that when you disown God to try to fit in with the world, the world will still hate you.  Without Jesus, no one is truly capable of love.  The world will still hate you, because hate is the by-product of sin.  Those who are still dead in their sins are not capable of love, despite how much they mouth platitudes of love and equality.  Their ideas of love and equality are hating and persecuting anyone who disagrees with them and their worldview.

That's the world you trying to please and fit into when you disown Jesus for their approval.  The reality is that if you are truly a Christian the world is going to hate you because you are no longer of this world.  The world hates Jesus, so it's going to hate you for following him.  This is not a justification to be a "closet Christian", but it is the knowledge that should empower you to boldly live out your faith in the light.  Shining Jesus into the world in everything you do and say.  

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." -Romans 1:17.

Jesus love you.  He saved you through his death and resurrection.  He wants all people to be saved by coming to faith in him.  Let us share that good news everyday, in everything we do and say.

God bless.

Jason Fredrick

Who Do You Turn to in Tough Times?

 Matthew 8:23-27

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.  Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.  But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We're going to drown!"

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

When the winds and waves of life pound against your boat, and it looks as though you're going to sink, who do you turn to for help?  Do you work to make your way through the storm, or do you just give up and say, "Well, whatever happens, happens.  It's out of my control."?

There is one thing you can be sure of.  In life, you are going to have to deal with some storms.  Some are worse than others, but they always come.  That's the reality of living in a sinful world.  The only thing you have to decide is:  How are you going to handle them when they come?  

This is something you had better be clear on before they hit.  You need to decide today how you're going to handle life's storms.  Are you going to attack them head-on, and learn the lessons from each one; or are you going to quit when life gets tough?

There is one thing for sure: if you attack life's storms and learn the lessons, they get easier to deal with over time.  Not because the storms get weaker or easier, but because you become stronger and are more prepared to deal with them.  

Conversely, you only have to quit on yourself one time to make quitting a habit in your life.  Don't make quitting your default mode when life gets tough.

How do you thrive through life's storms?

Do what those disciples did- Turn to Jesus!  They knew they were overmatched by the winds and the waves.  We aren't told how long they battled the storm before waking up Jesus, but once they realized it was too much for them, they turned to the only one who could help them.  They woke up Jesus.

The good news for us is that Jesus has been exalted from his lowly human state so he never sleeps.  He is always watching; waiting and ready to help us as soon as we are willing to turn to him and ask.  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open to you."  Jesus wants to help.  In fact, he is the only one who truly can.  Every storm in life is our opportunity to turn to Jesus and submit ourselves to his power and authority.

The great thing about Jesus is that he solves our problems in ways that are way better than we would even think of.  We have no way of knowing what the disciples expected Jesus to do when they woke him up.  They just knew that he was powerful and they were not.  They knew that Jesus was their best chance for survival.  We do know that they never in their wildest dreams imagined he would solve the problem by displaying his authority over nature.  He got up, rebuked the winds and waves, and "it became completely calm."  Jesus is the only one who can give us the peace we are looking for, even in the middle of life's most violent storms.

Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith.  Their lack of faith was displayed by their extreme fear- they were terrified.  Fear comes from a total lack of faith.  When we trust in Jesus we have nothing to fear.  We don't have to fear the storms of life because Jesus will help us through them.  We don't have to fear death, because Jesus has conquered it and reigns over it.  If we no longer have to fear death, why should we fear anything?  Where, O death is your victory?  Where, O death is your sting?  

Jesus has defeated Satan.  He has conquered death and hell.  He has redeemed us and forgiven us all of our sins.  What do we have to fear?  Nothing!

Take your eyes off yourself and your challenges, and look to Jesus.  With man everything is impossible, but with God nothing is impossible.  You can't do it alone.  If you do choose to go it alone in life and become a "self-made" man or woman, you will get to go it alone in eternity as well.  If you turn your back on Jesus in life, he will turn his back on you in eternity.  You will be cast into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  You will spend eternity completely separated from Jesus, in hell.  

That's not what he wants.  He died for you.  He wants you to be saved.  He is holding out his hand to help you through this storm.  Take it!

"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." -Isaiah 45:22

God bless

Jason Fredrick

What's Your Theme for 2021

 Do you make New Year's resolutions?  If you do, what are yours for 2021?  Are they similar to your 2020 resolutions?

I have stopped making New Year's resolutions.  A better approach is to set your goals for the new year and then develop a game plan for each goal and focus that way.  But I haven't done that this year either.  Instead I have come up with a theme for myself for 2021:

Deny Yourself

If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

-Luke 9:23

To make the changes I need to make this year, all my choices are going to be run up against this theme.  This is how I will make better choices for my health and fitness.  This is how I will make better choices in my relationships, especially in my marriage.  This is how I will make better choices in my education and personal growth.  This theme is going to be my guide to making better choices in 2021.

So what's your theme for 2021?  Really think about this.  Don't make it some cliché catch-phrase.  Really think about it, and come up with a theme that will guide your choices and actions this year to get you where you want to be.  Still set goals for 2021, but come up with your theme first.  Then set goals that are in line with what you ultimately want this year to look like.  Throughout the year your goals may change a little, but your theme should not.  Once you choose a theme stick with it all year.

If you're not sure what your theme for the year should be, start reading your Bible.  When you find a verse or a passage that really resonates with you meditate on it for a few days.  Let God's Word guide you for the entire year.

Your words are a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. -Psalm 119:105

God bless

Jason Fredrick