You Are a Visual Aid

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Not too long ago I read a story about a guy who was in the construction business. He had hired some laborers outside of his regular work force in order to finish a construction job on time. One day as he was walking through the jobsite he was a particularly bothered by the fact that 3 or 4 of these hourly employees had been standing around talking and not doing any work. He walked by once - didn't say anything. He walked by again about 10 minutes later - they were still talking. He walked by a third time a full 30 minutes after he had noticed them the first time, and they were still fanning the breeze with their conversation. Finally he decided that enough was enough. So he walked over to where they were standing and without a word, took a 100 dollar bill out of his pocket, struck a match, and watched the flame consume the money. When it was gone, he said to the startled men, “That's what your standing around has cost me during just the last 30 minutes!” and he walked back into his office. You can imagine their reaction to their boss' rather dramatic object lesson. They very hurriedly got back to work. I would venture those men never forgot that illustration on cheating an employer by lingering too long at the water cooler.

Anybody that has done any teaching at all is well aware of the fact that visual aids greatly enhance a teacher's ability to get a message across to his or her students. Sometimes a student just has to see something before it sinks into the gray matter between our ears. Visual imagery just gets the point across in clearer and sometimes more powerful ways then other communication skills. Whether it is flannel graphs in kindergarten or power point during a presentation, visual aids greatly enhances a student’s ability to comprehend a subject matter.

Now I think Jesus clearly understood this teaching principle because so many times, as he was instructing his disciples, he would point to certain objects and draw out great truths from them. He would tell his followers to look at the lilies of the field or a vine and some branches and use them as visual aids for his lesson. What was the greatest visual aid Jesus ever used? It was himself. He said “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Jesus was saying to them, “I have provided you a powerful visual aid in my life to help you understand how to accomplish the most important part of your mission. You must love one another – but you must follow the example I have provided for you in my life.” You and I are to become visual aids to help others understand what the love of Christ is like. How did Jesus demonstrate His love?

He loved us enough to tell us the truth. So often Jesus would say something like, “You have heard it said … But I tell you….” And he would go on to confront dearly held cultural norms and false religious ideas that were not in line with God’s standard. And He’d do it without blinking an eye! He loved his followers too much to allow them to be misled by false teachings and misguided personal convictions. Jesus would not compromise when it came to telling the truth. To allow a person to continue believing a lie and thus suffer the inevitable consequences attached to every lie would be extremely unloving.

He loved us by serving to the point of sacrifice. Everything Jesus said – everything Jesus did – everything Jesus taught was fulfilled completely at the cross. His sacrifice was given to us to provide the only means of salvation given to man and to provide an example for us to follow. Let me tell you how you can recognize the real followers of Christ - they serve. You don't have to twist their arms. You don't have to poke them. You don't have to prod them. You don't have to go on begging and promoting. They see something that needs doing & out of love for Christ who taught them what serving is all about they jump in and do it. Out of love for others whom that same Christ loves, they look for the little ways to serve. And when they look for the little ways to serve, the big ways take care of themselves. They sacrifice their time, resource and energy because that’s what Jesus did out of love for them.

He loved us by showing unending patience. If you research what actually happened in the Upper Room during the last supper you might find a few things that are rather surprising. In the very last hours Jesus had to spend with his disciples he would have to deal with a follower who had been stealing money from the purse on a regular basis and who would betray him that very night. He would have to try to settle a childish argument over who was the greatest – he would have to convince Peter to allow him to wash his feet. All this after three years of hands on ministry by the greatest teacher who ever walked on the planet! But he never gave up on them. He showed his amazing love by patiently going over and over the fundamentals again and again.

He loved us by clothing Himself in complete humility. When they started arguing bout “who the greatest is” some of us might have stepped in it and put them in their place “Let me tell who the greatest is - I'm the greatest!” That might not have left the greatest impression but at least it would have gotten the point across! But that's not Jesus. Amazingly the Creator of all there is, by whose power all things are held together, he whom numberless angels serve - he cloths himself with humility, wraps himself in a towel - the garment of a slave, and he does the work of a servant while the people he’s going to die for sit there and bicker among themselves. “Love” Jesus says, “Rejects pride & gets down on its knees and humbly serves other people.”

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The visual aid has been provided. Now the challenge is to pass it on to others. How will the world come to know the love of Christ? By the Church providing a visual aid that clearly demonstrates it for them. May God enable us all to fulfill our calling. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15)

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Look At the Hands

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:24-30)

There was a fire in a building and the building was burning profusely. A little boy was too high up and would soon be engulfed. However, there was an external pipe that one of the firemen used to climb up in an attempt to rescue the boy. The pipe was blistering hot. Even through he had protective gloves on, his gloves were smoking. Despite the extreme heat, the fireman got to the boy and then climbed back down that same pipe. When they got to the ground, the fireman immediately removed his gloves and rinsed his hands in water to relieve the pain that he was experiencing from climbing up and down on that pipe that was so hot. His hands were burned and blistered, but he knew it was a price worth paying to save the young boy’s life.

The boy had been brought to safety but he sadly lost his parents in the fire. Some months later, he came up for adoption. There was a doctor who came into the courtroom and said, “I will dedicate my life to helping this boy become a great physician. I want to adopt him.” Then there was an engineer who said, “I want that kid. I will do everything I can to help him become a great engineer. I would like to adopt him.” Then there was a third man who came in. The boy looked at him and said, “Your honor, can he adopt me?” The judge asked, “Why him?” “Because I see his hands and I know who he is.”

It’s nice to have an engineer as a father. It’s nice to have a doctor as a dad. But when somebody loves you enough to burn their hands, when they love you enough to share your pain, when they love you enough to hurt when you hurt - when they ache when you ache, and when they’re there when life is falling apart - when they can show you their hands, and you know they paid the price, then they ought to have the privilege of the relationship. If you want to know who loves you, look at the hands. Jesus Christ has paid the price, and He alone deserves the relationship.

You can learn a lot about a person by looking at his hands. In the passage above Thomas (commonly known as Doubting Thomas) was a man who was struggling to believe in the resurrected Lord. Following the resurrection the other disciples, filled with wonder and excitement, came to tell him that Jesus had risen from the grave. You can almost imagine Thomas rolling his eyes and folding his arms and saying, “How gullible do you think I am? Jesus is dead. I saw him crucified and nothing on earth can change that!” Thomas often gets a bad rap for his hesitation in accepting the resurrection story. But let me ask you, “How do you think you would have responded to news of a resurrection following a public execution?” Would you have simply said, “Hey, that’s great! Let’s celebrate!” Or would you, like Thomas have said, “I need some proof! This is too outlandish for me to accept without something that confirms the story. I need to see the nail pierced hands. I need to see the hole where the spear pierced his side.”

Jesus had heard Thomas’ doubt and a short time later arrived to provide Thomas with the proof he was seeking. Merely a week after Thomas denied the resurrection; Jesus suddenly appeared before him. Jesus stretched out his hands and said, “Thomas, is this what you’re looking for?” Thomas looked first into his compassionate face and then he looked down and saw the hands that changed history. From that moment on, mankind has had proof positive of our Creator’s matchless power and unimaginable love. It was his hands that change “Doubting Thomas” to “Doubtless Thomas.” It was his hands that revealed that He was willing to pay the ultimate price so that we might be redeemed. It was the hands of Christ that make all the difference. How many times did crowds gather around him; crowds full of people with all sorts of infirmities and diseases? He would reach out and touch them all with his healing hands. When a blind man approached him one day, Jesus spit in the dirt and made mud with his hands with which to apply to the man’s eyes. His sight was then restored. He laid his hands on a dead girl, bringing her back to life. My guess is that the hands of Jesus were coarse, hardened, and calloused by years of working in the carpenter shop and by the hardship of living on the open road. Yet they were gentle, inviting, healing, and full of hope. They were hands that were always open and always inviting. Always willing to bless when a person is humble enough to receive him. It was his hands that he freely offered when they nailed him to the cross. It was the nail pierced hands that would him to the cross and free me from my sin. The amazing hands of Jesus.

You can learn a lot by looking at someone’s hands. Jesus still stands with outstretched hands to anyone who would receive him. His nail scarred hands show the price he was willing to pay for us to know his love.

For those who understand what those nail pierced hands mean, we still cry out like Thomas, “My Lord. My God.”

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

ROOTS

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col. 2:6-7)

“Now listen to a story ‘bout a man named Jed, a poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was shootin’ at some food, and out from the ground came a bubblin’ crude... (Oil, that is, Texas tea!) “Well the first thing you know old Jed’s a millionaire. Kin folk said, “Jed, move away from there! Said, “California is the place you oughta be!” So they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly… (Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars)

Most of us – at least any that have a few grey hairs on their head, will remember the Ballad of Jed Clampett. During a time when there actually were shows on television that didn’t make you blush, the Beverly Hillbillies entertained us with their ongoing struggle to adapt in a new and peculiar cultural setting. Supposedly Jed struck it rich one day while out hunting rabbit for the evening stew. And wouldn’t you know it, he missed. But his poor aim was one of the best things that ever happened to him because his shot apparently hit a gusher of oil which was right beneath the surface of the dirt. (How come that never happens to me?) Jed became an instant millionaire and moved his family from the old wooden farm shack to a gigantic mansion in Beverly Hills, California. So the stage was set for an ongoing television series as a country boy struggled to live out his new life in a very foreign setting.

The old cliché, “You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy,” was the foundational concept in every episode. Jed had grown up in the hills of Tennessee. He was firmly rooted in the country values of his upbringing. The way he treated strangers, his attitude toward money and possessions, his world view had all been shaped by his roots in Tennessee. Of course those who lived in Beverly Hills had very different values and a very different view of money and possessions. Jed was often seen as corny and naive by those who wanted to get their sticky fingers on his money. But Jed was actually an honest and trusting soul who stood out like a sore thumb in corrupt and dishonest society. The crooks tried their best but they never did get the best of him. Sometimes it was granny who came to the rescue. Sometimes it was Jed and his “horse sense” that saved the day. But at the end of every episode you found yourself being glad that Jed stuck to his country roots and didn’t cave in to the pressures of his society.

What brought Jed stability in a strange culture were his roots. In the same way, we create stability in our lives by placing our roots firmly in Christ. Paul reminds us in the verse above, “just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him,”

Learn to Live in Christ. If you want to establish stability in your Christian life, you must learn to live “in” Christ, not just “for” Christ. Being rooted in Christ means that we allow him to influence our values and priorities. Every time we acknowledge that Christ is our only hope of salvation, the roots grow deeper. Every time we open the Bible and allow God to speak to us through his Word, the roots grow deeper. Every time we ask for forgiveness, the roots grow deeper. Every time we yield ourselves completely to him, the roots grow deeper. Every time we allow the Bible to shape the way that we think, the roots grow deeper.

Stay Rooted in Christ. Once there was a church whose advertising slogan was “Rooted in the Word; Reaching for the World.” One week, by mistake, the typesetter at the newspaper got it backwards and the ad read, “Rooted in the World; Reaching for the Word.” The mistake didn’t really apply to that particular church, but it does apply to the way many Christians try to live. They try to do good deeds, and they try to quit bad habits and start good habits, and they try to be disciplined in their efforts, but they are doomed to fail because they have never placed their roots in Christ. Their roots—their values and priorities—are still in the world, or in themselves, or in their quest for success, or in any number of other things, but not in Christ. Being rooted in Christ involves abandoning worldly values and priorities and establishing Christ’s values and priorities in our lives.

Be Built Up In Christ. In the original language, this phrase is written in the present tense. It means that being “built up in Christ” is an on-going process - one that takes time. Maybe you expect it to happen immediately. Maybe your spouse expects it to happen immediately. Maybe everyone around you expects you to be perfect RIGHT NOW. But the fact is, right now you are not perfect. And if you expect perfection of yourself, you are doomed to fail. Here’s some good news for you: God isn’t surprised by your imperfection. He realizes that becoming like Christ is a process that takes time. This does not give us an excuse to sin; it gives us a reason to keep trying. You are God’s project now, and he is at work in your life to make you more like Christ.

Be Strengthened in Your Faith. How do you do this? You do it the same as when you became a Christian. You become a Christian by saying, “Jesus, I cannot save myself, only you can save me.” And to experience God’s strength in your life today you must say, “Lord, I cannot do this myself, only you can give me the strength to live the Christian life.”

Be Overflowing With Thankfulness. Paul says that we should be overflowing with thankfulness towards Christ for what he has promised to do in our life. You can begin thanking him now, because he will certainly do what he has promised to do. You may not be perfect yet - and if you’re like me you’re a long way from being perfect - but you can be absolutely sure that by his grace you will become like Christ, and you can be thankful today for what he will do in the future. Expressing thankfulness in advance is an act of faith - it means that you are trusting in him and not yourself.

If you want to find stability in a strange and corrupt culture, Jesus must be the root of your existence. Learn to live in Him and he will build you up – in Faith, that is. “You all come back now. You hear?”

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Avoiding Traffic Jams

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure, and all together righteous.” (Psalm 19:7-9)

OK, So this morning I was relaxing with a hot cup of coffee in front of the tube watching the morning news. For some unknown reason one section of the news report caught my attention. It was the traffic report. To be honest I normally don’t pay any attention to the traffic report because it doesn’t impact me very much. I currently live on the edge of a large forest and the church office is only 1 1/2 miles down the road. Outside of waiting for an occasional deer or turtle crossing the road, I don’t normally run into very much traffic. But there have been times, when we’ve lived in urban areas, when the traffic report was very important to me. Every morning before I’d leave for work I’d be sure to check the traffic report. By listening to it I was able to check which roads were congested and clogged up. If there was an accident, I might choose to reroute my daily drive to avoid it. By listening to the report I was able to estimate how much time was needed to get to my destination and which route was best to take.

Now everyone knows that any traffic report worth its salt is given from a helicopter. Somebody up in the sky looks down at the whole area and can give directions to drivers so they know how they ought to proceed. Now a person can choose to take their chances and ignore the “eye-in-the-sky” report. But the problem for those who don’t listen is they can’t see what’s going on when they get stuck. All they know is there is a long line of traffic and they’re caught in the middle of it. They don’t know the cause of the delay nor do they know which way is best to escape the problem. They have to sit there trapped hoping that something will happen so they can begin to move forward again.

So let me ask you, which is better? Does it make more sense to try and make a traffic decision on one’s own and possibly get stuck or does it make better sense to follow the instructions from the helicopter? Of course, following the helicopter makes more sense because the person flying above in the chopper sees the big picture.

So it is with the Word of God. In His great love for us God has provided us the means to avoid numerous jams in our lives. His perspective is better than any “eye-in-the-sky” camera because he sees not only from one end of creation to the other, but also from the beginning to the end. The scope of his vision is unparalleled. We can avoid a multitude of jams in our lives if we simply check His Word daily before we walk out of the door. Our loving Savior wants us to know the areas to avoid as we journey along. He wants us to occasionally reroute our direction so we don’t end up getting stuck in a place we don’t want to be. The Bible is totally sufficient to do this and more.

In the above portion of Psalm 19 we are reminded of the total sufficiency of the Word of God. In fact I think King David has trouble describing how sufficient it actually is. Consistent with the infinite intelligence of the mind of God, we have an absolutely surpassing and comprehensive statement on the Scripture reduced to a very few words. He says the Bible is perfect. It is trustworthy. It is right. It is radiant. It is pure. It is sure. It is all together righteous. It provides every resource you’ll ever need to avoid the pitfalls of this life. And don’t miss the benefits when you pay attention to it! It revives the soul. It makes wise the simple. It gives joy to the heart. It gives light to the eyes. It endures forever – in other words, you’ll never get to a place where it cannot be your guide.

So let me ask you again, which is better? Does it make more sense to rely on your own wisdom and bump along on your own and possibly wind up stuck in a place where you don’t want to be? Or does it make better sense to follow the instructions of a loving Creator who has provided you with a trustworthy guide as you make your daily journey? Of course following the Word of God makes more sense because the One who wrote it not only sees the big picture but always has your best interest in mind.

So tomorrow morning, don’t take a chance on getting stuck in the traffic jams of life. Tune in to the Word of God before you get into your car. Let His Word guide and equip you as you prepare to face the challenges of your day. Drive Safe.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT