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One of the most potent passages in Scripture to me is in Matthew 25 when Jesus tells the story of the Final Judgement. It’s a hard story to read. Even that phrase, “final judgment,” sounds like a bell tolling in my mind!

Jesus talks about gathering all of the nations before Him and like a shepherd or a rancher, He separates the flock based on what He needs to do with them. In this case, He puts goats on the left and sheep on the right. For the goats, it’s bad news. For the sheep, it’s good. Yet they are all confused as to what they have done or not done to lead to that fate. In response to their questions, Jesus told the sheep about the times they saw Him thirsty or hungry or naked or sick or in prison and they met His need. He also said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

They are even more baffled and ask Him when that happened. They don’t even remember seeing Jesus! They are pretty sure they would have remembered that. He says, “I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.” (The Message)

What does this story have to do with summer? This is the season of moving, of relocating. It’s when families make the mad dash to sell and buy a home before school starts back up, people change neighborhoods or jobs. This is the season when strangers abound. Do you see them?

When you see a moving truck in your neighborhood, there goes Jesus in the disguise of a harried mom trying to occupy her traumatized children while all of their earthly belongings are put into a strange room. If you notice someone getting the new employee training in your office, you are in prime territory for an encounter with Jesus. To go to a grocery store and see the face of someone from another country who is staring at labels on food products, is to see the face of Jesus. When you are at church on Sundays and see someone walk in with a quizzical look on their face, there He is! Do you see Him? The strangers are coming every week and will come with increasing frequency as the school year approaches.

There is something in the heart of God that loves to see His people move toward the stranger, to set them at ease, to welcome them, to give them the sense that they are wanted and expected. It means that we get it! We were once strangers and aliens, but God went looking for us. We were lost and harried and confused but He brought us in and set things right and gave us a Home.

Summer is for strangers. I pray we remember what that felt like. I pray we see them and will step out of our habitual comfort zones and go welcome them. Just ask the sheep in Matthew 25, you’ll be glad you did.

Friends,

I have a miserable memory. After taking an exam in school, the generalities of the information would sound vaguely familiar, but the specifics would be mostly gone soon after the pencil dust had settled. Ironically, I’ve always been intimately connected to people with exquisite memories. Until the day she died at 82, my mom had a flawless memory. My husband has a photographic memory. When he preaches, he references a passage from Scripture and quotes it without looking at notes. I remember feeling such shame that my ability to remember God’s Word was so subpar. If I really loved Jesus, wouldn’t I have already memorized more of it? 

Early in our marriage, I asked him for his Scripture memorization technique. Surely there was a secret that I didn’t know that would make all the difference. He looked at me in a puzzled way and said, “What do you mean?” I said, “How do you memorize the passages that you quote during your sermons?” “Well, I read them as I study a couple of times.” What in the world? I realized his ability to memorize was not attributed to his devotion to the Lord any more than my inability was due to a lack of devotion. It was an impressive genetic anomaly that I was not given by a Sovereign God.

It was one of the first moments I remember the Lord clearly communicating to me that if I wanted to remember, I was going to have to repeatedly go back to His Word over and over. This area of weakness would be a pathway to dependence on Him. Anytime I recall something, there is no question that it is His Spirit that pulled it up out of the recesses of my mind onto the tip of my tongue. I see His strength in my weakness every time this happens. Remembering is not reflex for me. It is a choice.

Remembering is also something God feels strongly about. The word “remember” shows up in Scripture hundreds of times. When the children of Israel got into trouble, it could be traced back to a failure to remember….to remember God, to remember how He acted in the past, and to remember what he called them to do and not do. 

Look at just a few examples of God’s passion for remembering: 

• Exodus 13:3 – Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place.
• Exodus 20:8 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
• 1 Chronicles 16:15 – Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.
• Psalm 78:35 – They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.
• Luke 24:6 – He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee.
• Ephesians 2:12 – Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 

The uncertain times in which we find ourselves call for Remembering. This is the exact atmosphere in Scripture when God’s people would fret and forget. Forgetting led to all manner of sorrow because they would look to other things to either minimize their fear or to replace God with a god they could see and touch. If we’re not careful, we could be accused of doing the same thing. I want to say to you what God says all through Scripture. Remember!

1. Remember who God is. 

Remember His character. God’s character is so multi-faceted that it requires dozens and dozens of descriptions and names to come close to capturing His glory. His character is unchanging so when we lash ourselves to His character, we are in close proximity to a fixed reality. The book of Psalms is a great place to start. His name shows up over and over again. Slowly read this book and underline or write down every name or description of God. Say His name out loud. Remember who God is.

2. Remember how God has acted in the past.

We are being bombarded with dire, conflicting, and ever-changing editorials guised as news on a minute to minute basis. The temptation to fret is real. It’s a ripe opportunity to ponder how God has acted in the past. How did He come through for people in the Bible? How has He come through for you, for your family, for people you know? At the dinner table, in the car, on walks, talk about how God has cared for you, how he saved you, how the God who parted the Red Sea came through for you. Your children need to hear that this time in history is important but it is not everything. It will pass. One of the ways we survive it is by remembering God’s mighty, miraculous actions on behalf of His people all throughout history. It reminds us that because He is unchanging, His ways are consistent. Remember how God has acted in the past.

3. Remember what God has called you to do and not do.

It is easy to reward ourselves for what we are having to go through during this pandemic and racial tension. One of the oldest tricks in the book is to excuse a sin when it is in response to suffering or being sinned against. So it is important to remember what God has called you to do and not do. God’s general commands to His people do not change. We are still called to love our enemies. We are still called to pray, to go into all the world, to know and teach God’s Word, to not gossip, to have sex only with the person to whom we are married, to be slow to anger, quick to listen, to forgive, to be honest, to worship God alone. There is not a parenthesis around this time in history that gives us a pass on obedience. There is great peace in simply taking God at His Word and doing what He said. Remember what God has called you to do and not do.

God is good, He can do all things, and none of His purposes can be thwarted. Maybe today is a day you needed to be reminded of that. The same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead is in those who follow Jesus. Let’s call on that power and rise up to Remember.

– Marcie McClendon, Women’s Pastor

I have always been prone to make grand resolutions (any time of year) and then fall short very quickly…mainly because the resolutions were unrealistic to begin with. If you struggle with that same tendency, then maybe you’ll find these shaping questions refreshing and motivating as you begin your 2019.

10 Intentional Questions for 2019 via Donald Whitney (see the rest of his questions HERE)…

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

Marcie McClendon

First, embrace, immerse yourself in and come to love biblical theology. A robust theological framework will support the weight of any questions you encounter as well as any doubt you may have along the way. Too much of American evangelicalism is rooted in emotional manipulation, guilt and church growth techniques. As a result, we have millions of people who have “prayed the prayer” but have no idea of what a personal relationship with God is really like and somewhere along the path strewn with broken promises, they simply gave up. They wanted to avoid hell but the concept of walking with God remains far from them and their real desires. Because of this tragic outcome many people are unsure and full of questions so it’s imperative that we be a people  who love God with our mind by having a theologically robust framework and worldview. People are drawn to such people because they know they will tell  them the truth and love them as they process through their questions. If you would like to grow in this area, Leo and I will be teaching a midweek class in the fall entitled How God Changes People:  A Theological  Perspective where we will walk through a theological framework from  conversion to glorification. Good theology takes us to places our willpower and desire never will.

Second, love lostness. If you look at Luke 15 it begins with the these words, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Read those two sentences again and then ask yourself, “Are real sinners drawn to me? Do people who are far from God want to be around me? Do they find my life interesting for reasons they can’t always explain? Do they feel loved by me in ways that engage their heart? When we love lostness this happens. When I say “love lostness” I mean learn to be comfortable around people who do not have a relationship with God while being yourself. Don’t look at them and think, “Why didn’t they plan their life better? Don’t they know retirement is a real need? Why does she drink wine?” When we love lost people we can be around them as people and not as a project. There is a line in an old Kid Rock song that says, “For the shots of Jack and the caps of meth, the half pints of love and the fifths of stress.” I know what each of those words refer to and I know people who  struggle to this day with the realities  they represent. Many of them call me their pastor and yet they have never  darkened the door of our church. If you asked them about me they couldn’t tell you much beyond, “That guy loves me and he talks to me every time he sees  me.” Love lostness. 

Thirdly, to get out of the lifeboat I would say we need to embrace our responsibility. Evangelism is not a spiritual gift and people who tell you it is are liars. Evangelism is a command and it applies to all Christians because each of us is to be involved in making disciples. Earlier I said that I love lostness and I do but I don’t celebrate it or the behavior of lost people. I don’t think it’s funny, cool or any other skinny word we use to describe things we enjoy. It’s sad because everybody that doesn’t know Jesus goes to hell and if we really believe that and we don’t find ways to show and share the Gospel with these people then their blood will be required on our hands when we stand before God. This is what Ezekiel 33:1-9 tells us about our responsibility to sound the  trumpet so I sound it as often as I see the opportunity. I am not out to be noticed, different or distinguished. I simply want to be obedient. As Paul says in I Corinthians 14:8, “And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?” Our culture thrives on uncertainty, fuzziness and non-discerning tolerance which are all the garbled indistinct sounds of an out of tune bugle. 

Fourth, I would say we should be Gospel fluent. What I mean is that we should be able to fluently speak Gospel truth to any context in which we find ourselves. This happens when we can contextualize the Gospel in different situations so that our hearers taste and see that the Lord is good. It looks different in almost every situation but last week I was having lunch at Pablo’s with a friend and I said to our waiter, “Hey, at the end of my day I pray back through my day and for the people I’ve met that day. Now that I’ve met you I am going to pray for you tonight so what can I pray that would be meaningful?” He hemmed and hawed for a minute and then he said, “I lost four hundred dollars on the Astros game last night. I’m working a double shift today so pray that I can make that money back.” What he didn’t know was that someone had given me the old Pentecostal handshake earlier in the week where they palmed off a hundred bucks on me for no reason whatsoever. Remembering I had that on me I reached in my pocket and before I could get it out my friend had thrown a Benjamin out on the table. I counted out five Jacksons, piled em up and handed them to our waiter and said, “Here, this is half of what you lost. Don’t go out and place another stupid bet!” The kid whispered, “Jesus Christ!” To which I said, “That is exactly who has so worked in our hearts that we don’t love money as much as we could so we are glad to help you out.” It took him a few seconds to get his bearings and then he fumbled some words out. This is what happen when we set the Kingdom down. No, being Gospel fluent doesn’t mean we go around giving money away. It does mean that we are always asking the Holy Spirit what would communicate the Gospel to this person before me? Often times I ask people simple questions and then follow the natural contours of the conversation wherever it goes. Don’t live in fear that you are going to screw anything up. Remember, God tells his story through people and you are His people so open your mouth and let the Story come out through your personality, gifts and abilities. When you do that then God is fully represented and the fullness of the Gospel is experienced. 

For the record, there is another waiter at Pablo’s who’s dad is in prison and if you are looking for a good meal there then get the Drew’s Smoke Plate and an unsweet iced tea. Absolute manna!

These are just a few of the ways we can combat a lifeboat mentality and move more towards ark thinking. Don’t beat yourself up if you realize that you are in the lifeboat. Just pick one of these four things and start making that a part of your life. We are all the medium through which the Message finds expression!