Do you really know the LORD?

 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' -Matthew 7:15-23 (NIV)

Before God reached out and got my attention, I thought I knew Him.  In my head, I thought that I was a believer, but in my heart, I knew that I was not in His will.  I knew that I was not saved.  See all of our lives, as Jesus says in this passage, bear fruit.   All you have to do is look at what kind of fruit does your life bear?  My life was not bearing the "good fruit" Jesus talks about, but rather the "bad fruit."  If you are living only to please yourself, then you will bear selfish fruit that will taste sweet for a season but then become very bitter over time and will never satisfy you.  If your life has nothing to do with God, or you do not believe in Him, then your life will bear bad fruit that will never give you peace and joy, and you'll never feel the love that He has for you.   But if you are in Christ, your life will bear fruit that will abundantly fulfill you.  Jesus said that He came so that we may have "life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).  Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.  Do you see evidence of these things in your life today?   When we give our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts forever and our lives begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit.   If you life does not show any signs of these, you may want to investigate if you really know the LORD.   If you know for a fact you are saved, but don't see much fruit now, you may just be like a young tree that hasn't quite reached maturity for fruit to blossom.  If that is the case,  just keep seeking after God and His will and the fruit will bear in time in your life.

Take this time to test your faith.  The Bible tells us to do so: 

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?" - II Cor 13:5 

What fruit are you bearing?  If you are bearing the "bad fruit" as Jesus described above, then you might be the one in the end that Jesus says,  'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Don't be one of those in the end.  Check yourself NOW.  If your life is not bearing the fruit of the spirit, test your faith.  Who or what is your faith placed in?  Your works?  Your deeds?  Someone else's faith like your spouse or parent?  Even if you've told others about Christ and have done great works in His name, the Bible says that you are not saved unless you have placed your complete faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for your sins.
 
Here's the beautiful promise - that when you do completely trust in Christ for your salvation, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and then those good fruits will begin to bear in your life, and you will NEVER be the same.  I haven't been the same since I gave my life to him September 10, 2007!

May God bless you abundantly today, and may you realize how much Jesus loves YOU and wants a relationship with YOU!

 

What a cost...

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

-Isaiah 53:5

You may have read my previous blog entry back in the fall about my oldest son, "Yes, Not Yet, and I've Got Something Better".  As it turns out, my son had a relapse of his previous episode of bleeding.  We just got home Monday from a 6-day stay at the hospital.  Davis had to have a lung biopsy to try to determine what is causing his bleeding.  If any of you are aware of what is involved with a lung biopsy, you know that a chest tube is involved with the recovery.  This turned out to be a VERY painful ordeal for my thirteen year old.  He entered the hospital looking fairly healthy (other than his bleeding lungs) and in fact was very irritable - as I would have been, too -  Thursday afternoon since he had been fasting since Wednesday night at midnight and his surgery got delayed 10 hours.  Unlike his previous stay when he went in feeling bad, he went in feeling okay.  He left feeling very differently

I had somewhat of an idea of what we were signing up for when the Pulmonologist said that my son would need a chest tube.  However, what actually took place was very different.  Anytime my son would cough (which was frequent), laugh (not so frequent on day 1), move (he had to get up to go to the bathroom), or breathe, it was very painful.  At one point on Friday, Davis had to go to the bathroom and this was after his surgeon stopped by and checked on him, after he had to do some breathing exercises and after he had a coughing spell.  When he tried to stand up with my wife's and my help, he began to cry.  Then my wife began to cry, then i began to cry.  It was very pitiful.  But Davis was a trooper.  He made it through the pain and suffering of the hospital to go home yesterday.  Now our prayers are that the doctors get some answers for us.

The main point of my blog entry today was not to talk about the syndrome and his condition, but to focus on that pain of the chest tube that my son endured.  I went home that night and prayed to God that if it were possible for me to switch places with my son.  I would give ANYTHING to take the pain away from my son at that time and put myself in his place.  Then my next thought is what inspired this blog entry.  I thought, "I wonder if God thought the same thing when His son was on the cross."  I don't claim to even have the mind of God or think like Him.  Scripture clearly tells me that I don't.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:9.  However, I can always wonder what God thinks in prayer. 

Here I am with one of my three sons - and one of my four wonderful kids - in pain and sick.  He didn't do anything to deserve this.  I would do anything to help my son out and take his place.  But I may or may not ask to do the same for others, though - if I'm being completely honest.  Sure, I'd sympathise with you.  I'd pray and lay hands, claim healing, bring you meals and minister to you the best I could, but I don't know if I would say "God can you have me swap places in order to save him/her?"  But with my child - I would do it in a heartbeat.  Its that thought that makes what God did for us even more amazing.

God loved us SO MUCH that He gave us His one and only Son.  Did you just read that?  His ONE and ONLY son.  Who died the most gruesome, painful death of that time.  Who was completely innocent of any wrong doing.  He was beaten, flogged, pierced, persecuted, mocked, judged, crucified, for OUR sins, OUR wrongdoings and OUR transgressions.  And as the scripture in Isaiah says, "By his wounds we are healed".   Jesus also wento the cross for ALL people.  I'm not so sure I could send any of my sons (remember I have three sons) to endure torture, agony, pain and death on a cross for ALL.  In this spiritual journey, I have a new appreciation for the cost paid for my sins and for your sins. It can be summed up in six words:  Amazing Love - How can it be?

Once more, I'll say, if I had the thought of my son, laying in a hospital bed, on his way to healing (Praise be to God and His son Jesus for by His stripes Davis is being healed) and wanted to swap spots with him, I wonder if God had any similar thought about His innocent Son, our savior, nailed to a cross.  I do believe that God shed tears that day for the pain Jesus endured, just as my wife and I did for our son.  No father likes to see their child in pain.  But being an eternal and ever present God, He knew that price was necessary so that you and I could one day see Him in Heaven.

As far as my son goes, we continue to pray that he has complete healing - claiming Isaiah 40:31 and 53:5 for him.  I'm sorry, Davis that you had to be pierced, prodded, endure extreme pain - only to have no conclusions yet and a long road ahead.  But your experience has drawn me closer to my Heavenly Father and His son, my savior, Jesus Christ.  And for that I am grateful.

May God bless you and keep you all today.

Gathered in His Presence

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." -Matthew 18:19-20

I have been very blessed to be a part of several men's groups over the last three years.  Whether it was simply an accountability group or a full-fledged Bible Study, or a work-related men's group, all of them have been great blessings and enabled me to grow spiritually.  Recently, I started a group of men at work that are studying a book together on specific men's topics.  Seven of us are part of this group and we are all followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  In just our third meeting together, I have truly felt the presence of God (and therefore the presence of Jesus) in the room with us.  We even had one of our group members say that he needed to leave early for another meeting, but since the discussion got so good, when the time came to leave he stayed.  I asked, "Don't you have a meeting to get to?"  He responded, "Yeah, but this is too good to leave."

I think anytime we are in the presence of God, it is ALWAYS "too good to leave".  When we are there with Him, walking with Him, praying to Him, seeking a relationship with Him, or placing our sorrows and pains at His feet, He is right there to hold us, guide us, protect us and lead us.  I am so grateful for this group of men.  I cannot wait to see what God will do in our lives as a result of this discussion and book study.  It really got me meditating on the verse in Matthew where Jesus said that, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20.
If we (the church) really are the Body of Christ, then clearly when we gather together in His name, He should be there.  It saddens me to think that so many times in my life, I've gathered with others, and not invoked the name of Jesus - either because I was lost, or was afraid of rejection or too busy or too lazy.  How much more could my life and the lives of others be enriched and closer to God if I had invited Christ to gather with us?

So next time you have a group together, invoke  the name of Jesus to guide your discussion and watch the great and remarkable things that He does through all of you!

Have a blessed weekend!

What are you cheering for?

Yesterday, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Davis and Ms. Kilpatrick, I was able to attend my very favorite sporting event, the Masters.  This great golf tournament is known for the "roars" among the towering pines.  Because the course routes back and forth on itself, and because it is an older course (original design and construction in 1934), one can move from hole to hole with relative ease.  There are no neighborhood developments or houses to worry about on Augusta National's property.  This means when one person birdies a hole or hits a shot worth cheering for, the sound echoes and reverberates throughout the golf course - thus, the "roars".   The closer and closer the tournament comes to its finale on Sunday afternoon, the louder and more enthusiastic the crowd and its cheers become. 



Phil Mickelson in the 2004 Masters.  It was his first Masters victory.


It is a very special place and even more special atmosphere.  If you are ever given the opportunity to go to this event, do so.  You will not regret it.  


Yesterday, I got a chance to watch some of the tournament from my favorite hole, the 16th.  From my vantage point, I saw Tiger Woods birdie the 15th hole, to which the crowd erupted with cheers.  Then, second round co-leader, Ian Poulter hit his tee shot to about 8 feet on the 16th and made his subsequent birdie putt.  We cheered loudly for that, too.  Many in the crowd threw their hands up, some applauded loudly, others whistled and others simply yelled loudly.  The patrons (as they are referred to at the Masters) are normally reserved at the Masters, but they certainly cheer for great accomplishments (see the photo of Phil Mickelson's winning birdie on the 18th hole in the final round 2004).  My point here, we cheer when we see a great event that evokes excitement and emotion.


We see similar, even more boisterous cheers in college football. 


 
Georgia Tech's Anthony Allen scores a touchdown against Clemson, Sep 17, 2009.  Far left: Derrick Moore (Georgia Tech Chaplain) cheers on Allen's touchdown run.  Photo courtesy of ajc.com


When we see our favorite athlete (I love watching golfers like Tiger, Phil, Anthony Kim, Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, etc) or our favorite team (mine is my alma mater Georgia Tech) do something great, we cheer very loudly, enthusiastically, sometimes to the point of being and looking ridiculous.  The other day (and here's where this all ties to my spiritual journey) I had a thought, "Why don't we cheer the same or similarly for those that repent and turn toward God?"  Jesus told us in the Parable of the Lost Sheep that the angels in heaven do so:

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. 

Luke 15:7 (NIV)

Some of you may think, "church is a solemn and holy place" or you may say "worshiping and giving praise to God is different than cheering in sports".  Those are good points.  However, my point here in this blog is that our hearts are more apt to celebrate the worldly things, sports and athletics, more than spiritual achievements.  I have been guilty of this most of my life.  Don't take this the wrong way, there is nothing wrong with celebrating sports and athletic accomplishments.  College football is a good thing, the Masters is a good thing, so long as we are putting God first in our lives.   Where I see the issue is when we see someone repent (especially those we love), get baptized, put their faith and trust in Jesus, why don't we cheer?  Why don't we boisterously clap?  Afterall, they are changed for eternity!  Forty years from now we won't remember who won the National Championship in 2008, or the 2010 Masters, but for eternity we will spend with our Savior and Lord if we place our trust in him!  We know that Jesus will win in the end, so why not celebrate those that we will spend eternity with?



My believer's baptism, September 20, 2009


Maybe I'm off base here, since I'm still relatively new (3 years) in my Christian journey, and maybe the angels celebrating is enough.  But this question was placed upon my heart about a week or so ago, and attending the Masters was a reminder of this.  Maybe cheering out loud is not appropriate in church, maybe it is.  But I believe it certainly deserves the at least the same emotional energy, if not more, than what we spend cheering our favorite athletes and teams.  


My question to you today is, "What are you cheering for?"

Raised to walk in newness of life...

"Buried with Christ in Baptism. 

 Raised to walk in newness of life."

This is what our pastors at our church say while they baptize a fellow brother or sister in Christ  through Believer's Baptism.  I was blessed to experience Believer's baptism on September 20, 2009 when my wife's cousin baptized myself, my wife and two oldest sons.  I was convicted during a bible study over the summer of the book of Acts.  Chapter 19 describes the acts Paul and his disciples performed while visiting Ephesus (one of my favorite letters of Paul is his epistle to the Ephesians).

  Acts 19:1-7 (New International Version)

¹While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples ²and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
      They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." ³So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"
      "John's baptism," they replied.
 ⁴Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." ⁵On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷There were about twelve men in all.

 This passage and the subsequent discussion following it convicted me.  I had experienced infant Baptism growing up Catholic.  However, I had not yet professed my faith in Christ publicly through Believer's Baptism.  What has made me relive this experience in my life today, was that I just witnessed the daughter of one our friends profess her faith publicly through Believer's Baptism at our church.  I sit right now typing this blog to you from a hotel room in Washington DC preparing for a business meeting.  I got to witness this online - I love technology!  Seven words the pastor said made me reflect on my own faith journey.


"Raised to walk in newness of life"


Sometimes we don't see our own progress or the work God has done in our lives when we look at things with a short term perspective.  When I step back and reflect, I can remember where I was, living in sin, living for myself only, for my gain only - I had built an altar to "Karl" (i.e. myself).  Then I think about that day 2/3 of my family was Baptized in Christ.  When I was raised up from that water, soaking wet - it represented not only my internal decision to invite Jesus as the Lord of my life, but it also was true that I had a new life.  When I turned my life over to Christ, everything changed immediately, but it wasn't always evident.  I was no longer going to  run my own life by choice, but some of my behavior had not yet changed.  By the time I was obedient to God and professed my faith in Believer's Baptism, it was very clear how much God has changed me.  


See, when we trust in Christ, God sends the Holy Spirit down - just like the Bible says.  While we may not literally speak in tongues like they did in the days of Paul, we may sound like we're speaking in tongues to those who knew the "old us".  We appear to be doing miraculous works by repenting of our old ways and sins and trusting in God to lead us through his son, our Savior Jesus Christ.  I don't ever want to go back to the old self, to relive those old days, but I am so grateful I experienced all those things.  I wouldn't be where I am today without it.


Before Christ, I was consumed by guilt, fear, lust, greed and alcohol.  I was self-centered and my life was unmanageable.  


Since May 23, 2007, I've been sober.  I have peace, happiness, joy and a relationship with Him. I truly want what I have in life.


If God can do that in me...imagine what He can do for you?   You just have to do one thing...trust in His son, Jesus and ask him to be your Lord and Savior.

...So my journey begins

It took me a while to come up with a title to this blog. So when the words to the hymn "Blessed Assurance" wouldn't escape my head, I took the hint. I learned today that the hymn is based upon the scripture Hebrews 10:22, which says:

"let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."

The first phrase of that passage is exactly what this blog is to be about - to help me and others "draw near to God" and to do so "with a sincere heart". Three years ago, where this story began, I did not have the assurance of anything, but today I do have "full assurance in faith" in CHRIST. Today I have peace, joy and happiness. I pray that you have the same, and if you do not, that this blog may help you "draw near to God" and know Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.