In 1996 I had a good buddy prove his friendship to me.
He and I were supposed to meet at my job after my shift and go out. When I clocked out, I didn’t see him anywhere, so I got into my car, and to my surprise, my stereo was missing. I had been ripped off!
I drove to my buddies house to see if he was there. As I was leaving, he pulled up in his car and got out with a cigarette hanging from his lip. I thought he was squinting from the cigarette smoke but as he got closer it was clear he had the fattest black eye I think I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t squinting, his eye was swelled shut.
In his hands, he had my car stereo. He tossed it to me and explained how he had come to meet me after work, but saw a guy digging in my car. He approached him and asked what he was doing and the guy ran off with my stereo. He chased him down the road and after a few blocks the guy turned around, punched him in the face and dropped the radio.
My buddy took a punch for me!
If I ever doubted his friendship before that day, after that event, I knew his friendship was real. I really appreciated what he did for me.

Many people doubt God’s love for them. Even Christians sometimes experience times of doubt or discouragement, and wonder if God still loves them.
The Bibles teaches us that God proved His love for us, He showed His love for you and me when Jesus went to the cross.
Jesus taught that “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
Then he proved that He loved you and me in this greatest of ways.
Romans 5 says “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus took the ultimate hit for you and me. If there was any doubt of His love before that, surely, after seeing His love displayed at the cross, all doubt should be removed from your mind. We return His love with unwavering devotion.
He’s the friend that sticks closer than a brother.
Be assured, He loves you today.

Now go out and tell others about it!

There are a couple of guys that show up at the gym regularly, who do a whole lot of talking and not a lot of working out. It’s comical to watch them. You almost couldn’t make this stuff up.
These guys have the best workout clothes and wear impressive looking gloves and belts. They are badly overweight and out of shape, but try to hide it by walking around the gym with their arms up as though they are carrying barrels under their arms. They approach total strangers and offer free advice on proper lifting form and how to build muscle.
All they ever do is the bench press, but they don’t even get much of that done. Seriously, they may get 4 sets done in an entire hour.
One day, one of them came over and started handing out unsolicited training tips, to which I politely replied, “The day I want my body to look like yours is the day I’ll listen to your advice.”
Needless to say, I wasn’t bothered by those guys again.

Some people are all talk and no action. It can happen in many different arenas.
Some people in the church like to talk talk talk about how the world needs Christ and which missionary organizations are doing it right or wrong. They’ll talk about how the local community can be reached and all the logistics of getting the job done. Trouble is, all too often, there is a whole lot of talking followed by not a lot of action.
Let it not be said of us that we were such men and women.

“Training manuals on fire-fighting do not put out fires; the actual fighting of fires does. And when all is said and done, it is not the theory of apologetics which defends the faith and stops the mouth of critics. Only the practice of apologetics can do that~”
Greg Bahnsen

One time someone told me that they didn’t think that my evangelistic methods were the most effective. So I responded by saying I was open to suggestion and asked how he did it. You could have heard a pin drop. He wasn’t doing anything. So I politely told him that I liked what I was doing more than what he wasn’t doing.
Needless to say, I haven’t been bothered by him again.

The world needs what God offers in Christ. Don’t just talk or read about it, go out and do it in the power of God!

Mr Miller was my math teacher in high school. I cant think of anybody who didn’t like the guy. He would give an extra credit at the end of the semester to anyone who had perfect attendance to his class. He called it “The Boost”. As long as you showed up every day, you got The Boost, and your grade would go up. He would sit at his desk and call out each individual’s name and whether or not they got The Boost. For some people, that meant going from an A to an A+, or a C+ to a B-, for example. On several occasions, I saw guys go from an E (same as an F) to a D- and save them from flunking out.
Of course, it never benefited me, since you can’t go higher than a A+ (yeah right, I loved The Boost). Ha ha.

Some people treat Jesus just like The Boost. They think that what God offers in Christ is some sort of leg-up in life. It’s like they are doing a really good job and trying their best, but they just need Jesus to come along and make up for those few areas where they fall short.
Or maybe they realize they are a failure and they figure Jesus will tip the balances for them and give them a passing grade.
Some even go so far as to reject the sacrifice of Christ altogether and stand before God on their own. They think that God will overlook their faults based on their attempts at living a good life overall. Unfortunately, God doesn’t grade on the curve. His judgement and His justice will be perfect and according to truth. What people don’t realize, is that all their attempts at obedience and good works are not earning them any extra credit with God. They are just doing what they are supposed to be doing in the first place, so doing what is right doesn’t counterbalance doing wrong.

Truth be told, Jesus is infinitely more than just a ‘boost’. He is our lifeline. We were all failures, and he came to make us perfect. It’s like we were all flunking out and Jesus came and gave us an A+. A perfect score!
For God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2Cor 5:21
Without Christ, we don’t stand a chance of a passing grade and making it into heaven.
God gave us the ultimate Boost in the blood, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Will you receive it?

A man once told me that “there are no absolutes!” We were having a discussion about his moral accountability before God. I didn’t mean to back him into a corner, but in his pride he actually thought that he could determine what was right or wrong for himself, despite what the Bible or his conscience said about it. How convenient.
So, in an effort to excuse themselves for the sins they hold so dear, and prove that morality is relative, he and others like him routinely come up with the old, “There are no absolutes” argument, which is easily refutable.
I simply asked him, “Are you absolutely sure?” and his entire argument fell on its own sword. The expression, “There are no absolutes,” is an absolute statement. Think about it.

There are certain things that are always true, whether we or society as a whole likes them or not.
For example 1+1 will always = 2. Math doesn’t lie. As much as I would like it to sometimes, like when I balance the checkbook after spending too much on vacation, the numbers won’t lie, whether they are painful to me or not. I can try to fudge them in my register if I want to, but they won’t be convinced down at the bank by my fuzzy math.
Imagine if a group of people formed a committee to say they no longer wished to be bound by the law of gravity. Hundreds of them boarded airplanes and made a 10,000 foot jump together in defiance of a restrictive law that imposed its rules upon them. We all know how foolish that would be. The impartial law of gravity would have the same merciless effect on the entire lot of them.

So it is with those who deliberately violate the laws of God. To some, obedience to God is a loathsome concept. We live in a culture that is rapidly ridding itself of any inkling of accountability to a Creator, and the moral decline that is follows is increasingly decadent. Both on an individual and on a national level, people are changing the rules when it comes to defining right or wrong, and in doing so are casting off all restraint.
But God’s authority over their lives is not nullified simply because they reject it. Sure, they may get away with refusing to submit to Him, for a while, but the day is coming when they will answer to Him. Hebrews 9:27 says it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that to face judgment. According to Revelation 20, books will be opened, and the dead will be judged out of those things written in the books, according to their works.
Jesus said every idle word that men shall speak, they will give an account of on the day of judgment.
And whether anyone here on earth can bring themselves to do it now or not, the Bible promises that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
It will be an awesome, long awaited day of unspeakable joy for many, and a day of awful indescribable horror for others.
In God’s great love for the world, he has provided an escape route through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He can either be you Savior, or your Judge.
Which do you choose?

A buddy of mine was telling me about his unsuccessful salmon fishing efforts last week. Even though we are having a record salmon run, he wasn’t able to catch one yet.
I have caught plenty of salmon, so I confidently told him that if he really wanted one, I would take him on Saturday. “I know a perfect spot,” I said, “Guaranteed you’ll get one. We’ll be in and out in ten minutes.” That got him excited. He was eager to get going.
When we arrived at his house, he was meticulously rigging his salmon rods. If you don’t set them up just right, you can fish all day without a hit, no matter how many fish are in the river. I told him not to waste his time, but he insisted, so I waited patiently as he tied his lines up. We loaded up the rods and his 6′ net and headed out.
He started getting confused when I drove in the opposite direction of the river. “Which river are we fishing in?” he asked. “The Columbia? Yakima? Snake?”
“We just gotta make one stop,” I replied.
He didn’t catch on when I pulled into Yokes Fresh Market. I wish you could have seen the look on his face when I walked him to the seafood section and told him to pick one out.
“Are you kidding me?” he asked incredulously.
“This is Billy’s honey-hole,” I said. “I don’t have to freeze outside in the cold, I don’t have to spend all day, I don’t have to clean or filet it, it costs less, and I get one every time!”
He just stood there speechless, shaking his head with a look of disbelief, but also a subtle smirk as he realized he had gotten burnt. I bought a few lbs and took him back to the house for a meal. It was the least I could do after that prank.

Have you ever had someone make a promise to you, but it didn’t work out the way you were expecting? Maybe they even intentionally bamboozled you into thinking you were going to get something different than what they alluded to.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:22

There are all sorts of people and things we can put our hope in, who will just end up disappointing us in the end. Not everyone keeps their promises. Credit card companies, cell phone carriers, politicians, and even family and friends. People will let you down at some point.
Put your hope and trust in God and His word. “All the promises of God are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’ in Jesus Christ.” Every promise He has made, He will fulfill.
In Romans 5:5 it says that our “hope does not disappoint…”
God is not a man, that He should lie. In fact, it is impossible for God to lie, according to the scriptures.
He will do what He says. The fulfillment of His promises to you and to me is coming.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2Peter3:9
God isn’t lazy concerning His promises. It’s not as though He is thinking He will fulfill them when He gets around to it. He is being long suffering, or incredibly patient, because He is waiting for more people to come to repentance. At the appointed time, He will come, and He will fulfill everything He has promised to Christian and non-Christian. It will all come to pass, just as He has said.
Are you prepared for it?
Are you looking forward to His coming?

There was a story on the news last night about a man who had won millions of dollars but waited too long to claim it. Wow, I thought. Imagine that.
That kind of money could literally change a life. Most of us would be in such a hurry to claim it, flames would be coming off of our shoes.
But for whatever reason, this guy procrastinated until one day when he finally went to cash in, it was too late.
What a major bummer. Imagine how much he must be kicking himself for that one.

Much of the world does the same thing with the salvation from judgment for sin and gift of eternal life that God offers in Jesus Christ.
Many people know that they are sinners. They know they are accountable to God. They believe that the Bible is true and that Jesus really lived and died for the world. But for whatever reason, they have never yielded their lives to Him, never received Him, and never repented.
Salvation doesn’t come by merely acknowledging that these things are true. Jesus taught that unless we have been born again, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John3:3)
I don’t know why anyone would procrastinate when it comes to their eternal welfare. People should be running to the foot of the cross. What God offers in Christ is worth infinitely more than millions upon millions of dollars. Yet people resist it. Wow. It’s unimaginable that any person would choose death an destruction over life in paradise.

The offer is available as long as they have life, until the moment they walk through the door of death. Then, it’s too late. It’s appointed unto man once to die, and after that to face judgement. (Hebrews9:27) Did you know that approximately 150,000 people die every day? That means that right now there are about 150,000 people out there just like you and me with plans, hopes, etc., who will be snatched out of this world by death. People think they will repent or come to Christ later on in life or on their deathbed. But there is no guarantee they’ll have such an opportunity. Imagine the horror and regret for those who have procrastinated for years and suddenly death has seized upon them. They have the opportunity now, today. Compel them, convince them, plead with them to take it!
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” Is 55:6,7

There is a whole world of people out there who desperately need to know about the forgiveness that you and I enjoy every day. Go tell them about it!

We had some people over to watch a football game, but the game started pretty early, so I recorded it and we watched it later on. Before people began to arrive, I put on some live coverage to check out the final score.
As we watched the game with our friends, my house full of Seahawks fans was on the edge of their seats, sometimes excited with uncertain anticipation and sometimes filled with anxiety over what was happening on the field. Not me. I was calm and relaxed. Why? Because I had taken a look ahead and already knew the final outcome.

Look around the world today. People are filled with doubt, discouragement, fear, depression, anxiety, etc. There is so much turmoil and instability in the world and a dark cloud of uncertainty hangs over our future. Jesus said that men’s hearts would fail them for fear of that which is coming upon the earth.
Not so for the Christian. The Christian can enjoy a peace that surpasses understanding even in the midst of difficulty or uncertainty.  God doesn’t want us living in fear or worry. He doesn’t want us fretting over an uncertain future for our lives.
If you find yourself looking around at this present world and allowing yourself to be anxious about our current state of affairs, take comfort in this: that God has not only seen the final score, but He’s shown it to us, so that we don’t have to be afraid.
Jesus said, “don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You believe in God. Believe also in me.” John 14:1
He also said in vs 27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
You want to see the end of the game before it happens? Read Revelation 21 and 22.
Knowing these things will give you incredible peace and security when the world is thrown into turmoil around you.
Read those chapters, and rest in God’s control over the world and your life.
Be blessed today

I chewed tobacco from the time I was 14 up until about 27. I knew it wasn’t good for me but I loved the stuff. I understood the risks and warnings, but ignored them because I enjoyed it so much.
Then I sat in the dentists chair and heard some really bad news. He looked me straight in the eyes and told me there were pre-cancerous signs in my gums. I had been scolded by dentists before but this time I could tell he was serious.
His warning was designed to make me want to quit. He wasn’t trying to rub salt in my wounds and beat me up over all the chewing I had done. He was trying to help me realize how dangerous it was and how close I was to reaping serious negative consequences for it. He was motivated by genuine concern.
The same is true for the doctor who warns his patient that his eating habits and lack of exercise make him a prime candidate for a heart attack.
Call them fear tactics if you will but those are legitimate fear tactics.

Did you ever wonder why the Bible mentions hell so often? Jesus warned of hell more than he spoke of heaven. Why?
It’s because he doesn’t want anybody to go there, that’s why!
He’s not trying to beat anybody up. He’s not gleefully looking forward to anybody’s doom. He’s warning people to flee from the wrath that is to come. Flee for refuge and forgiveness so that you can escape the consequences of your sin.
Look what God says in Ezekiel 18:23, “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?”
God doesn’t take pleasure in the death of the unrighteous. He pleads with them to come to him. His purpose is that they would turn and live. His warnings are motivated by genuine love. He has provided the escape route through the blood of Jesus Christ.

It’s ok to warn people if they can get a feel for your concern. Will you tell them about His love today?