Boundaries that don’t do their job

Col 2:20-23 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22 These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. NIV As a parent, you sometimes know when something bad is about to happen. Something is about to happen when the kids in the car become quiet for no apparent reason. When you hear your kids start daring each other with words like “You won’t, you won’t,” something bad is about to happen. It is good to have boundaries, but rules don’t always keep us from sin. Rules can, at times, draw us toward sin. A sign that says “Don’t look” can be an invitation to look. A sign that says "Don’t touch” can act as an invitation to touch. How many times have you been guilty of ignoring signs? When it comes to our Christian walk and pursuit of The Holy, we need to spend more time working on the things to be and less time coming up with the rules other people should be following. Christ is seldom seen in our rules, but He is easy to see in the life that has been transformed from the inside out. In Him J. Tom Washburn

Stay in Your Lane.

There is a sign on Texas Highways that says, “Left Lane for Passing Only.” This sign helps with traffic flow and, if followed, can alleviate a lot of frustration. The most frustrating driver is the driver that drives in both lanes. Everyone is annoyed and endangered when one car or truck decides to control both lanes. When it comes to working together and working with others, sometimes the best advice is to just stay in your own lane. How often have you been irritated by somebody sticking their nose into your lane? How often have you discouraged somebody by sticking your nose in their lane? It is always appropriate to encourage or even to give constructive help (that means you are willing to do more than just criticize). We all want to reach our goal without having a huge pileup. We all want the very best. It is worth slowing down on the highway and arriving five minutes later if that means everyone can reach the destination. It is worth slowing down in The Body if it means everyone can make the journey with you. 1 Cor 12:24-27 But God has combined the members of the body … so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. … Now, you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. NIV --- When changes come, don’t drive in the middle of the road. Do what you can to ensure that everyone can make the journey that glorifies God. In Him J. Tom Washburn

Passwords

I don’t know about you, but I have several passwords in my life. I have a password to get into my phone, my computer, my Netflix account, my Amazon account, my bank account, and so on. Those passwords give me access to all the available services in each environment. Inside our families, we also have passwords that must be used often. Passwords like: I love you; I forgive you; I believe in you; I have missed you; I trust you; thank you; and can we pray together. These passwords, and many more, open the door of the heart. We tend to guard our heart with great care because it has been hurt so many times. Why don’t you try opening the hearts of your family and try opening your heart to your family and see if there aren’t great blessings that come from being “real” with those who have your best interest at heart? In Him J. Tom Washburn

The Five Steps Part #5

Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, Baptized Mark 16:15-16 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” NIV John 15:9-10 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” NIV In the Christian world, baptism has become a lightning rod. Baptism is simply the obedience part of the salvation equation. When we hear, believe, repent and confess, baptism is the “now what?” Baptism is the first of many steps of obedience. Baptism is the seal of a covenant that begins to permeate the believer’s life. I was taught many years ago that baptism is like a believer’s wedding ceremony. When I married Julie (my wife), I loved her with all my heart. I loved her the day before the wedding, I loved her when I walked down to the front of the church, but I was not in a covenant relationship with her until we exchanged vows and rings. I was not married to her until the minister pronounced us husband and wife. Today there are many followers who love Jesus. They love Him with all their heart and soul but have not sealed that relationship with the covenant of obedience. They have not been baptized; therefore, they do not have the blessings that come with the covenant. Because Julie and I have entered the covenant relationship of marriage, she carries my name and has all the blessings that come from being my wife. To carry The Name, you must enter that covenant relationship. If you want all the blessings of the covenant, you must obey (including baptism). Baptism alone is not enough. Baptism is just a part of offering yourself to God for His glory. Study the scriptures for yourself. Your salvation is too important to be let up to the teaching of any group. Listen to God, Trust God, and you will be blessed for all eternity.

The Five Steps - Part #4

Hear, Believe, Repent, CONFESS. When we teach God’s plan of salvation, we often minimize confession. As shown in the previous post, your response to Jesus Christ is deeply profound. Being confronted with the truth of Jesus Christ calls for a decision. Believing that Word drives us to repent. Jesus Christ transforms us from the very center of who we are. We have no choice but to proclaim to the world with our lives and tongue that we owe everything to the one who paid our price of sin. Confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is so important that Paul says in Rom 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and with your mouth, you confess and are saved.” NIV Have you ever noticed that our tongue seems to set the direction of our life? If you want to reach a goal, you tell people your plan, and you tell them repeatedly so that they know what you are after. When we confess Jesus Christ, it is not a one-time thing; we need to confess over and over so that others know the direction of our life. The confession helps refocus how we live, and it holds us accountable. The confession of faith declares the Lordship of Jesus Christ and lets everyone who hears know that I will do everything I can to obey. If you confess and don’t obey, you are just another talker. If you have indeed heard and you believed and repented, obedience is the next step. We will continue this discussion in my next blog. In Him J. Tom Washburn

The Five Steps - Part #3

Hear, believe and repent, as we continue looking at the five steps, we are going to spend some time looking at repentance. Too many people look at repentance as a simple apology. Repentance is not an apology, even though an apology may be needed, repentance is a change of heart and a change of life. Repentance is a change of the very paradigm by which you live your life. When you hear and understand the basic truth of a creator God. When you are confronted with His holiness and your unrighteousness, you understand the need for a redeemer. Jesus Christ is that sinless, righteous redeemer. He is the holy one of God and He died to pay the debt you could not pay. When you come to believe in Him as the Son of God, it demands that you make a choice. To choose Christ will demand a course correction (repentance) in your life. It demands that you strive to live worthy of the price He paid for you. You can never be worthy of His offering, and you can never earn His gift, but You can try to live in such a way that God is glorified, and Christ is proud of you. As I have stated in an earlier blog, repentance is a remaking of our life. It is a remaking of our priorities. Repentance is taking the person we were and offering it up to Christ as an offering of gratitude. Repentance demands that I now live my life for Christ and allow Christ to live through me. Repentance means that there is no turning back now, but when you truly hear and believe, there is no desire to turn back to the old life. The new life has more to offer than you can ever imagine. In Him J. Tom Washburn

The Five Steps - Part #2

When you look at the so-called “five steps of salvation," the first step is to hear. When you understand that to hear means to be confronted with the truth of the Bible, to be confronted with the truth of God, to hear calls for a response. You will either believe, or you wont. We either believe that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, or you don't. You either believe that God has set a standard , or you don't. To hear the message of Jesus Christ, to listen to the truth of God, is to be confronted with the fact that we are sinners and have a broken relationship with God. The only way to get that relationship back is through Christ. Either you believe that truth, or you don't. So those first two steps, to hear is to be confronted with the reality of the word, and to believe is that moment of decision when you choose how you will live. You see, what we believe affects the way that we live. What we believe determines the thing we do. If we believe there is a God, we will act in a way that glorifies The Creator. If we do not believe that there is a God, we will only act according to our best interests. There is a third position however. That decision is not making a decision. Too many people hear and like the idea of a God, but they are not convinced there is a God. Maybe they're not confident that there is a God because to admit there is a God is to admit there is a standard, and to admit there is a standard is to admit they are sinners. You see, to hear and to believe means that you place yourself under the authority of God. To believe is to say I put my life under the authority of God, and I agree that He is the one who has the right to set the standard. Those first two steps in that so-called “five steps of salvation” to hear and to believe are essential. To be confronted with the truth of God, we've got to face our mortality. Do I believe, or do I choose not to believe, do I believe that there is a God, or do I believe that all of this just happened? Do I believe that He has set a standard, or do I believe that I set my standard because I am my own God? You see, that moment of decision is a critical moment. It is that time that sets the direction of our life, the course of our life, and when we believe that there is a God, when we believe that there is order to this universe, when we believe that he sent His son because He desires for us to live with Him for all eternity it changes the way we live. So, hearing and believing are two essential steps. Next time we're going to look at that step of repentance and what repentance looks like, but today I want you to contemplate what you believe. Do you believe in God, or do you believe in yourself? Have you placed yourself on the thorne of God, or have you realized that it is only in God that there's any hope? It is only in Jesus Christ, in God the Father, in Yahweh, and His Spirit that you have any hope. I hope today you'll choose to believe in the God of all creation. In Him J. Tom Washburn