We have a local BBQ establishment in town that leaves me flummoxed every time I go. Several bottles of sauce sit on the table: spicy, mild, sweet, mustard-based. In my southern upbringing, if there is a bright red squirt bottle on the table, it contains ketchup, but at this establishment, the bright red squirt bottle contains spicy BBQ sauce. I like the spicy sauce on my BBQ, but I prefer not to eat it on my fries. Never mind the additional bottle on the table clearly wearing a Hunts® ketchup label, I am a creature of habit who always reaches for the red bottle and squirts a pile of spicy BBQ sauce for French fry dipping!

The moral of the story is that no matter what something may look like on the outside, when you squeeze it, whatever is on the inside comes out. That truth applies not only to squirt bottles, but also to people. Read what Jesus had to say about it:

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. – Luke 6:45

Listen to a person long enough and you will get a good x-ray into their heart. The person who snipes at others with cutting, sarcastic, bitter comments belies a heart clogged with bitterness and guilt. A heart under the influence of the Holy Spirit, speaks love, joy, peace, etc. (Galatians 5:22-23) Those who listen to us, will get a clear picture of where we are spiritually as well.

We need to heed Solomon’s advice to guard our hearts since it is the wellspring of all of life’s issues. (Proverbs 4:23) How can we keep our hearts clean? Is there a cleansing tool to help us with this most noble pursuit? Yes: God’s Word. (Psalm 119:9)

I cannot overemphasize our need to bathe ourselves in Scripture. Read it, meditate on it, memorize it, post it where we will see it often. We cannot hide the effects, positively or negatively, of the place of God’s Word in our lives. All people need to do is listen to us talk.

The only way to change what comes out is to change what is inside. Let’s clean out the ketchup and be filled with the Holy Spirit as He implants God’s Word in our lives.

My daughter challenged me to the ALS Ice Bucket challenge.  I gladly accepted in honor of Mr Alton Stone, whose daughter and son-in-law – Cindy and Steve Shaw – are dear friends of ours.  While the general public knows little about ALS, research continues to help treat, heal, and hopefully eradicate this deadly disease.  Some of that research involves controversial embryonic stem cell research, and in some places those cells are harvested from aborted embryos. I am deeply devoted to the protection of the unborn, and the ramifications opened by that kind of research troubles me greatly.

For my part, I feel the need to help make the public more aware of the difficulty of this dreaded disease and also raise awareness for organizations that are continuing to aid families and support research in the highest ethical order.  I encourage you to check out the following websites for more information.

Team Gleason

Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. – John 2:23-25

Expectations. We all have them. Disappointments. We all have them. We expect things out of other people and they let us down. Others expect things out of us and we let them down. We can all relate to the feeling we get when realize that suddenly a person or group of people no longer care about us as much as they once claimed to have cared. They had expectations of how they thought you would be and you did not live up to those expectations. So, at best they tolerate you, at worst they cast you aside. We have all felt that pain.

Prior to the verses above, Jesus had done some miraculous things. He had turned water into wine. He had run the money-hungry charlatans out of the temple. He had performed many signs and wonders and His fame was beginning to spread. In addition, His following was beginning to grow. Jesus was fast becoming the fashionable, popular cultural icon of His day. People were flocking to Him, following Him, becoming His disciples, but He wasn’t caught up in His own celebrity. He didn’t become dependent – emotionally, physically, spiritually – on His followers. He didn’t need their affirmation. In fact, we see that because He knew human nature, He was cautious with them. He knew that only a precious few of those who now followed Him would be there at the bitter end. Most would just go back to their daily life, leaving behind the zeal they once had for this “revolution.” Others would become His enemies. Offended by His teachings, they would change sides and try to silence Him. He knew what they were on the inside and knew that He could not depend on their support.

Let me draw out a couple of applications. First, we must be careful how much stake we put in the approval and affirmation of others. Let’s face it, there are only a very few people in this world – some family members and some close friends – who are going to love us unconditionally. There is really only One – Jesus – whose affirmation matters and interestingly His affirmation is the easiest to come by. Try reading Romans 8:28-39 and see how affirmed you feel. WOW, I love those verses.

Last application. If you were standing in that crowd implied in John 2:23-25, and knowing that Jesus knew what was in your heart, would you be one on whom He could depend? Are you faithful to Him? Or, are you quick to return to the everyday routine of your life, leaving behind the revolution He wants to bring about in you and around you? I am sure you are like me . . . some days are better than others. Some days you are more revolutionary, other days you are more routine. Thankfully, He knows our heart, knows what we are made of. He does not DEPEND on us, but He still DESIRES us. He still wants a relationship with us. Praise be to Him for His unconditional love and acceptance.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the human body is more than 60% water, and the average person loses 3-4 quarts of water a day just through breathing, and other bodily functions. Strenuous activity and illness can increase one’s daily amount of water loss. If that water is not sufficiently replaced, the mind and body do not function properly. As a means of self-preservation, God created us with the ability to thirst – to crave water. Unfortunately, many substitute soft drinks and other not as beneficial fluids and do not drink enough water to rectify the effects of under hydration.

We can see the same symptoms appear in our lives in the spiritual realm as well. Dissatisfaction is a clear sign of spiritual dehydration. We grow weak, desperate, clamoring for something, but seemingly never satisfied. Yes, this can (and all to often does) happen to those of us in a relationship with Jesus. The problem is that we are looking to the wrong sources to satisfy us, when we are designed to find satisfaction in Christ alone. Consider the words of Jesus:

“…but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – John 4:14

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” – John 7:37

What are some substitutes that others look to for satisfaction? Relationships? Money? Circumstances? Possessions? Church? People?   When we sip from any cup of life for satisfaction other than our relationship with Jesus, we will remain chronically dehydrated spiritually.

Spend time with Jesus daily. Drink often and deeply from the fountain of His Word. Set your mind on Him, thinking of Him often throughout the day, bringing your thoughts captive to Him. When the temptation to dissatisfaction comes your way, remind yourself of who you are in Him and what is in store for you in this life and the life to come all because of Him. Come to understand with the Apostle Paul that to live is Christ (Philippians 1:20-21). Remember that all things in life pale in importance when compared to the value and presence of Jesus in your life.

The news that Robin Williams took his own life has once again brought heaviness to my heart. Over the last year I have heard of five colleagues, fellow pastors, who have taken their own lives and three children of pastors who have also ended their own lives. The last year has also seen a number of celebrities give in to despair and end it all as well.

Depression is the darkest of all human emotions because its cloud totally obscures all hope. How much weight must a person carry to feel the only solution is to die? The causes of depression are myriad and often not attributed to a single cause. In come cases, the cause is spiritual, the effects of harboring sin. In other cases the cause is emotional, the inability to handle the volume of stress at a given time. In still other cases the cause is physiological, an imbalance of chemicals that usually serve to regulate our nervous system. Many other causes can bring on either a temporary bout with depression or leave on seemingly in its endless grip.

The glaring truth is that you and I never know what kind of load another person is carrying at any given moment. I am not sure we consciously think of that often enough in our interpersonal dealing. We may not be able to pull someone out of depression, but we can be instrumental in either plunging him deeper or helping to lift him out. Let me share some random thoughts that have occupied my mind today as I have once again processed such sad news. Hopefully these suggestions can help us lift the load of someone who is suffering silently with depression. Sonce we don’t know what may be going on in the lives of those around us, we can apply these suggestions to everyone we encounter each day.

1. Recognize your role in promoting peace. (Romans 12:18)

2. Choose words that build up instead of tear down. (Ephesians 4:29)

3. Rather than just complain, seek to be part of a solution. (Galatians 6:2)

4. Passionately pursue peacemaking. (Hebrews 12:14)

5. Seek to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit while dealing with others. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Leave a reply below and share your ideas of ways we can be lifters.

Like most pastors, I have several hundreds of dollars invested in exegetical tools that help me translate, interpret, understand, and (hopefully) communicate biblical truth. Most of the tools I use now are part of two or three programs available on my computer. I have ample storage on my bookshelves lining the walls of my office, but RAM storage on my Mac can be a challenge at times.

One of the unique facets of this software is the presence of many tools that are on the disk but not available to me until I pay an “unlock” fee. The tools are present, but I cannot access them until I pay for them. Some followers of Jesus discover and similar experience with their walk with the Lord.

Let me begin with one very important contrast, however: we pay NOTHING for salvation; it is a free gift of grace. I do not have to pay for any “unlocks” in my walk with the Lord, He makes them all available as I yield to Him. Yet, I hear believers from time to time speak of wanting “more of God,” and even praying that God would give them more of Himself. The good news is when you surrender your life to Jesus you have access to all of God. All of God is found in Jesus. (Colossians 1:19; 2:9)

What we need is not for us to get more of God – we have all of Him that is available. We need to GIVE GOD more of US. As we surrender more of our thoughts, desires, and will to God, He inturn reveals more of Himself to us. He allows us to experience more fully the fellowship He intends to have with us through our relationship with Jesus (Luke 9:23, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 1:21 as a few examples).

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart (Matthew 22:37). Notice the word “all.” To give Jesus part is to shortchange Him. The greatest expression of our love for Him is our unbridled surrender to Him. Notice also the words heart, soul, mind. Those three facets represent the totality of our being. We demonstrate our love to God by surrendering to Him all of every part of our lives – placing Jesus in the center of all that we do.

In surrender, we experience the full fellowship of God and the joy that fellowship affords. Jesus came that we might have an abundant life (John 10:10). All of God’s fullness is experienced in Jesus. We experience more of God when we surrender all to Christ.

Take some time today to inventory your surrender. Are their parts of your life you still try to control? Have you surrendered to Him your words, thoughts, emotions, and actions? Has your will been absorbed into His will? It’s not about you getting more of Him, it’s about Him getting more of you.