An Easter Message

Happy Easter, my friends! I just wanted to take a moment to talk about something that has been on my mind. On this day, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. He is indeed risen, and that is a very good reason to celebrate. He died and rose again, so that we could be free from sin and receive everlasting life.

One of the things you will not find in any of the gospels is: except. The gospel says that he died so that those who believe would be saved. Nowhere does it say who could not believe. When the church came together after his resurrection there was only one church. Men, women, and children of various races and backgrounds came together to learn and preach the gospel. In simple terms, there was unity.

My prayer on this day is that there would be unity in the Body of Christ once again. As it stands, there is too much divisiveness. There is too much judgement. There is too much of us putting our own junk into the church and leaving too much of Jesus out. I believe unity is absolutely possible. I believe unity is possible between every denomination and every believer. In order to do so, we must be willing to love one another the way Jesus said. We must "love our neighbors as ourselves," and do so without any "excepts" or "buts."

There cannot be an "us" or "them" mentality. There is no us or them; there is only us. We cannot say I will love everyone, and then throw in an except. There cannot be any exceptions. We are called to love the unloved. We are called to love the outcasts. We are called to love the lost. We are called to bring hope to the hopeless. We are not called to love those in our own inner circles and no one outside of it. That kind of close-minded thinking is destroying the Body of Christ.

Look, no one said it was going to be easy. We all live life through the filter of our own eyes and experiences, but in order for unity to truly exist, we have to move beyond that. I, myself, am still working on this. I'm nowhere near where I want to be, but I'm still working toward being the person God wants me to be. I'm a Pentecostal pastor, with a background as a Methodist, who works in a Catholic school. Believe me when I say, I believe unity is possible. Is unity within reach? Well, not quite yet, but I do believe it's possible.

That is all for me, my friends. I hope you all are having an amazing Easter. Remember, God loves you all, no matter who you are or what your background is, and nothing can change that. If you are feeling down on this day, I pray that God would raise your spirits. You are a loved and blessed individual. I know what it is like to feel unloved, but know that God loves you through it all. No matter what. Blessings to you all, today and always!

A short message for Easter

I wasn't planning on posting a message today, but this has been on my mind.

Jesus' disciples are very interesting to me for a few reasons. First, they were Jesus' closest companions. Second, they were around Him all the time, so you would think they knew more about His teachings than anyone. Finally, scripture tells us they still messed up all the time. They were very human, just like you or me. They made mistakes, got scared, and felt hopeless even after everything He had already told them.

On the day we call Good Friday, the day was anything but good for the disciples. Their entire world was shattered. From their point of view--on that day--their lives were completely in shambles. Their teacher, leader, and mentor died. The King had passed, and yes, he would rise on Sunday, but that event had not happened yet. For the disciples, the authorities were coming after them, people despised them, and the one person they needed the most was not with them. For those days between Jesus' passing and resurrection, the disciples were just a bunch of scared, hopeless, and completely defeated individuals. They were trapped in the most desperate situation imaginable, with no foreseeable way out.

Then, their Lord rose again. Life was beautiful and hopeful once again. They would go out and preach the gospel to the world. Their lives, arguably, had more meaning than they could have ever believed was possible in their previous lives. This is why we celebrate Easter. Death, sin, and the devil himself have been defeated. Our lives are made new, glorious, and complete through Jesus Christ. This is also the reason the day of our Lord and Savior's death is called Good.

Now to the message: Jesus has risen, yet I think a lot of us forget that He is risen. Many of us--myself included--get so caught up in our own junk, we live our lives more like the disciples did during those dark days when their Savior was sitting in a grave. We live in fear, despair, and hopelessness, unable to see any foreseeable way out of our dire situations. Our minds go to a dark place for so long that we forget everything else. Everything we have learned, everything we have been told, everything we know to be the truth is forgotten. In those moments, hope is not gone, but hope is so far off of our radar that we can't see it an inch in front of our faces.

Darkness is no more. Fear is no more. Death and sin have been defeated. My prayer is that we all find our way out of the darkness and set our sights on the hope set before us. We know Jesus is risen. The disciples had to wait. We know Jesus saves, so there is always reason to have hope. In our weakness, He makes us strong. Do not lose sight of the things that are truly important in life. There will always be struggles, but you can overcome.

Believe me, I know. I spent a giant chunk of my life living in darkness, hating the world, and hating my life. Today, I am in a completely different place. Life is amazing; I believe all of our lives are. I pray you never get so lost in hopelessness that you don't get a chance to see the miracles just ahead. I pray you know your life has been made new. Today is another opportunity to start fresh. Above all, I pray you have complete peace, love, and joy in your life from this day forward. Be blessed, my friends, now and always, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

The end is unavoidable, live fearlessly

Luke 21: 8 Jesus replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

1 Thessalonians 5: 1 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Recently, someone asked me if I have done any preparation for the end of the world. The person was watching one of those shows on t.v. about people that spend all of their time preparing for the world to collapse. Naturally, when people asked me these things it is out of fear, so I try my best to give a fair response. My simple reply is usually, "No, I have not." However, this response does little to ease this type of fear. The fact is if you trust that God is in control, you have no need to worry about such things, or as Tim Tebow says, "I may not know what my future holds, but I know who holds it."

Don't live your lives in fear. One of the things I have noticed about all those folks who spend all their time preparing for the worst is that they spend ALL of their time preparing for the worst. They have no life outside of their preparations. That is no way to live. You cannot live your life to the fullest, if you live in complete fear of the future. Do not worry about the end when there is so much of life to live now. Jesus told his disciples to 'not be frightened.' Jesus promises that He will return in glory, and His people will be redeemed.

My prayer is that each and every one of you is able to walk in the fullness of God's glory. I pray you all feel and know God's joy, now and always. Jesus never fails, and He always comes through on His promises. Trust in God and the plans He has for your life. Live your life with purpose, and enjoy life completely in the here and now. There is no need to live in fear. God is in control. Have a blessed week, my friends.

From Darkness to Light: Cybil's Message

This week I am incredibly blessed to share the testimony of my friend Cybil with you. She presented this talk just over a week ago at her church. To say she has been through a lot is not nearly enough. I don't want to give away too much. She will talk about what she has overcome in this short video. I admire her strength and willingness to share what she has been through with others. The reality is there are many people who can relate to her story, so I hope this video will reach someone out there who needs to hear it. Her message is one of hope, love, and grace. She has overcome the stuff of nightmares, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to share her story with others.

Love each other...sounds simple, right?

Matthew 22: 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Luke 6: 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

John 15: 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

These commands seem so simple at first glance. It's easy to love your neighbor as yourself when you like your neighbor, but do we still keep this command when it is someone we do not particularly care for? It seems like more and more people believe it is okay to say whatever they want about other people. You see it all over social media, along with the repercussions, some with incredibly tragic consequences. When you talk about another person, both good and bad, you need to remind yourself that you are talking about another one of God's creations. None of us are perfect, but God still loves each and every one of us.

I have often said if you learn nothing else from me remember that God loves you, not in our limited, romanticized, human view of love; rather, God loves you more than you can ever know or completely understand. He loves us absolutely and unconditionally. Because God loves you, you are to love others as well: the people you like, don't like, and everyone in between. This has especially been weighing on me as I meet and hear stories about children, youth, and even adults who believe they are unloved and unlovable. Moreover, the extent of the things people (Christians included) are open to saying and doing to each other to intentionally cause harm to another person is troubling to say the least. Bullying and mistreating others is viewed as entertaining instead of a serious problem. This cannot continue. If you truly understand that God loves you, and His joy resides within us, then you must love others in the same way. When you "love your neighbor as yourself" and "Love each other as I (Christ) have loved you," then you honor Jesus and His name is glorified.

Live right. Treat others with respect. Walk in the Joy of Jesus Christ. Above all else, know to your very core that God loves you, and nothing can ever change that. Be blessed, my friends!