The Speechless Sin

Ever been lost for words? Tongue tied? Speechless? Perhaps with good news such as the birth of a child or promotion at work. Or…perhaps with not so good news such as a diagnosis or layoff. Your mouth opens and nothing comes out…followed by nothing again.

Forget the good or not so good. What about sin? Wait, wait, wait…time out. Let’s not talk about sin. Who struggles with sin? Not me. Must be you. What’s that verse again? Something about a log in my eye. Right…

Sin often cripples and leaves us speechless with blame and shame. Who wants to talk of that? But, we have a voice. We have an advocate.

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But, if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins – and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (1st John 1:1-2)

It is not either or. It is both and. We must cling to Christ if we are to experience the free life and when sin hits we have an advocate who will speak on our behalf and has already paid the price. So simple…yet so impossibly amazing!

No more wallowing in silence. Lift your head and praise the Lord. And let’s not forget the world. John Piper says it best. Don’t hog Jesus! Families, friends, and neighbors wallow day in and out. Share your advocate. Share Jesus! Until next time. Jed.

The Grace of Tuna

Let’s meet Ronnie. Ronnie fishes for tuna. Now…who doesn’t enjoy tuna? Tuna casserole, salad, and steak. Mmmm!

Tuna live about 15 years. Grow to be 6½ feet. Weigh around 550 pounds. Wow! That’s a big fish. And…some crazy guy once paid $173,600 for a tuna. What? Has he not heard of StarKist? He should have checked Kmart or Walmart first. Perhaps tuna was on a blue light special.

Now…back to Ronnie. While fishing for tuna just a few weeks ago, a squall hit and his boat capsized. He was stranded at sea. As time dragged and lagged, Ronnie was consumed by despair. Adding to the mix…crustaceans nibbled at his softened flesh and blood started to spread. Ronnie was convinced sharks would soon visit.

But…instead of sharks…dolphins came to the rescue. These dolphins nudged Ronnie mile after mile to shore. These dolphins saved Ronnie’s life.

How ironic! Thousands of dolphins die each year from the nets of tuna fisherman. And…Ronnie, the tuna fisherman, was saved by what? Dolphins. Sounds like someone I know. You and me.

We often flee from God. Wrestle with sin. Ignore the callings, promptings, and warnings. We’re comfortable. Comfortable with life and the day to day. There’s an awesome story from the Bible about a man named Jonah. Jonah fled and ignored God’s calling to go to Nineveh (Jonah 1:3). Despite a second chance and seeing Nineveh turn to God, Jonah complained about being comfortable (Jonah 4:8-9). As Jonah complained and ignored…Nineveh was redeemed.

Much like Ronnie…we’re saved by what we often hurt. We’re saved by the grace of God. It’s time to drop the nets…lower our guard and allow the grace of God to save. God has amazing plans for you and me throughout 2009. Let’s not be Jonah and miss the redemption of Nineveh before our eyes…all in the name of comfort. Until next time. Jed.

Do You Have A That?

All that remains from the tree that started it all is a few logs and some saw dust. Death has prevailed and overtaken life. However, this tree raises another question. With death…was there truly life? Sounds kind of philosophical and we’ll discuss some other time…
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Regardless, it’s our prayer for victory. Instead of logs and saw dust…we want buds and flowers. We want life and rebirth. More importantly…Christ wants life and rebirth. So much so that He died for it. He died for you to have it. For Christ said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” How cool is that! Not just life…but, an abundant life.
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Sign me up. How about you?
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So, we have started the task of writing a curriculum and calculating the unwrapping of this curriculum within group settings. A curriculum to tackle sin…and specifically a silent sin or perhaps a suffocating sin…a sin that deals with the dirty little secrets of life that the church so often ignores. That pornography addiction. That eating disorder. That fear of depression or perfectionism. That…
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We almost all have a that…we keep it close to our chest and wrestle alone. What did Christ mean by an abundant life? After all…I can’t shake my that. Have you ever been there? I have.
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So, please be praying for the development of this curriculum. I trust it will be a process of several months. Also, our application for the status of a 501(c)(3) will be submitted within a few weeks.
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On a separate note...
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These flowers caught my eye. Someone or something has devastated these flowers. A few days ago they were beautiful and elegant. Now…not so much. Man…there’s all kinds of possibilities.
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- The whole enemy comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy angle…
- Or…starting fresh and new. There’s still life. It’s time to rebuild.
- The whole acquaintances verses friends. Note the two pots with the same devastation. Be careful who you hang out with…
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Sometimes…I think I’m a little goofy. I trust my wife will agree. I look at pots and instantly go to sermon illustrations. Some are a stretch and some are pretty cool. But…God has created each of us with our own uniqueness. Our own imprint from the Creator. Praise God! Until next time. Jed.

The Tree That Started It All

Not too far from my office window is a tree. This tree has dual personalities. One half has life. There are birds chirping and leaves rustling. One half has death...barren and desolate. All the same tree…yet life and death clearly represent themselves within the same.
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Sound familiar? After all…you attend church, help your neighbor, love your family, pray every so often, and work hard. You have life! People admire you. People like you. People trust you. But, what if they knew? What if they knew the truth about you?
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You have death! Death that knows you and knows you well. Death that keeps secrets. Death that gently and quietly whispers your name. Death that continually pops up although you try and squelch it over and over again. What is it? What is your death? An addiction, lies, lust, perfectionism, pornography…the potential candidates go on.
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And so the walk continues. The live half trying to outpace the dead half. No matter how hard or how long you try…every time you turn around the dead half remains. You fear the day and believe me the day is coming. The day where the dead half overtakes the live half.
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In a few weeks…this tree will be cut down. The live half will pay the ultimate price due to the dead half…death will have overtaken life.
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And so…832 Ministries has ideas and thoughts of possible ministries…thanks to the tree that started it all.
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“And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Freedom from death. Until next time. Jed.