Tag Archives: sacrifice

We can trust him, June 24, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

If you didn’t grow up in the church, you might not know much about the prophet Elijah. There are some pretty interesting stories about him and his exploits in the Old Testament. He did some things that would make Harry Houdini, David Blaine, and David Copperfield look like kindergarten magician wannabes. But one of his most famous exploits is found in 1 Kings 19. It tells of his confrontation with Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. He faced off against 450 of them and set the conditions for the contest. Both teams would set up a sacrifice and the god who answered by fire would be the God the Israelites served.

The Baal prophets and priests danced and prayed and cried and screamed and cut themselves, but no fire fell. Then at the time of the evening sacrifice it was Elijah’s turn. He built the altar, killed the bull, placed the wood and the sacrifice on the altar, then did what everyone thought was really stupid. He poured twelve barrels of water over the whole thing until everything was drenched and even the trench around the altar was full of water.

Elijah then prayed a simple prayer. God, show these people who you are, consume this sacrifice with fire. Fire fell from heaven and suddenly the sacrifice was burned to a crisp, the wood was gone, the stones of the altar were burned up, and the water in the trench was boiled away. There was nothing left of the sacrifice but a smoking pile of dirt where everything had been.

“So who will you serve? Who is God? Don’t let any of those false prophets escape!” Were the next words from Elijah.

So God did this miraculous thing for Elijah. He showed him time and again how powerful he was and how he would protect him. But right after this a strange thing happens. Elijah hears that Jezebel is unhappy that Elijah bested her priests and prophets and put a price on his head. And what does Elijah do? He shakes in his boots and runs away to hide.

God just showed his incredible power. God just demonstrated how he would answer Elijah’s prayer in time of need. God just got Elijah out of a spot that would surely have meant his death if his opponents had been successful. But now the queen says she’s out to get him and he is afraid she might. Elijah doesn’t trust God to take care of him. He doesn’t think God is bigger than this wicked queen. A pretty amazing story isn’t it.

We can look at Elijah and laugh at him. What an idiot! Why can’t you see that God is bigger than your problem? Why can’t you see that God is going to take care of you? Why can’t you see the connection between what he has done for you in the past and what he will likely do for you in the future? Well…

Maybe we should look in the mirror before we start throwing rocks at the poor fugitive.

I have to admit, God has done some really cool things in my life. He has taken me through some pretty rough times and gotten me out to the other end better than I could ever imagine. I would like to think I would use all that experience and tell you I never worry about anything. I’d like to tell you I always act like God has everything under control and I’m absolutely confident the outcome will be exactly right. I’d like to tell you to watch me and you’ll see a perfect example of perfect faith in the God who specializes in miracles. But I can’t.

I’m broken and flawed and sometimes forget all those things God has done in the past. I sometimes forget he is in the miracle working business. I know it in my head, but my actions show that my faith isn’t perfect. I still want to trust me more than God sometimes. Every now and then, just like Elijah, I find myself fearing the future I think is around the corner instead of keeping my eyes lifted up and focused on him. I end up running into the wilderness thirsty, hungry, exhausted, looking for an escape from something that really isn’t there, but I’m afraid it might be.

Have you ever experienced that? It’s the place too many of us find ourselves and don’t know how to get out of it. We, like Elijah, let ourselves get into the mullygrubs over stuff that God has already fixed if we would just stop and listen to him. Take a look at the rest of the story.

Elijah fell asleep under a broom tree, exhausted. An angel woke him up and told him to eat some food and drink some water from the little brook by him. Then he slept some more. The angel woke him a second time and told him to eat and drink. Then Elijah got smart and went to the mountainside to find God. There Elijah learned a powerful lesson about finding God. He wasn’t in the thunder and lightning. He wasn’t in the tornado like wind. He came as a whisper in the gentle breeze and assured Elijah he had his back. He let Elijah know he wasn’t alone in the world or even in his little piece of the world. Elijah thought he was fighting all the battles by himself against this wicked royal couple. Has wrong. Hundreds were hidden away ready to help Elijah in the cause of ousting this corrupt monarchy. God had plans for Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah would be a part of that plan, but God would be a bigger part. He would exact his vengeance so that all would remember it was God who took care of the wicked team.

So what do we learn from Elijah? We can trust God when the going gets tough. He didn’t take Elijah out of the situation. Jezebel still had a bounty out for his head. Jezebel still wanted the prophet dead. Elijah still lived in the wilderness instead of a palace, but God took care of his needs. I’m sure he would have enjoyed a more comfortable bed or a warmer place to sleep every once in a while, but God took care of his needs. And that’s the point.

The second thing we learn from Elijah’s encounter is that too often we look for the grandiose, the loud and boisterous, the spectacular, to figure out where God might be. But more often than not, he is waiting for us to quiet ourselves so we can hear his gentle voice. It’s a technique my father taught me a long time ago and I’ve used it often as a leader in the military, as a pastor, and as a father myself. If you really want someone to pay attention to what you have to say, you don’t scream at them. That only elicits a fight or flight response built into the primal survival instinct in our brain. No, if you want someone to pay attention to you, you get quiet. Make them strain their ears just a little to understand you. It forces the brain to put the sounds together and comprehend what the words mean.

God does that for us. He doesn’t scream at us. He speaks to us in a gentle whisper. He wants our attention, not our fear. He wants us to tremble in awe when he speaks, not because of the noise, but because we recognize he is God and choose to speak to sinners in such a calm and gentle manner.

It’s beyond belief. It’s past just mercy. It’s grace. It’s God extending his love to us in such an extraordinary way that it’s hard to even imagine that he would stoop so low as to give us attention in the first place, let alone speak to us and care about us. But that is who he is. He wants so desperately to have an intimate relationship with us that he wrapped himself in human flesh and lived with us for more than thirty years on this filthy, sinful planet. He showed us love. Even when we killed him, he loved us and proved his loved for us through that execution and the forgiveness he offers even through his death and resurrection.

So why do we have such a hard time believing God will take care of us? Why do we have trouble thinking we know better than he does about what we need and how best to figure out the next steps to take in our lives? Why are we so sure we have the answers to life’s questions? Sometimes I think God made us too smart. Sometimes I think we might be better off if we couldn’t think and just went about life the way the dumb animals do, operating on pure survival instinct. But then we would no longer be considered God’s highest creation, would we? Instead, we need to stop and use the grey matter God put between our ears and get our head and heart to work together to understand who God is and who we are in relation to him. He is the creator. It isn’t hard to understand that everything had to come from something in the beginning. There must have been a starting point. But if you go back far enough, it starts with nothing, just as Genesis says. Some will tell you it started with a big bang. Okay, where did the Big Bang come from? If there was nothing there, how did the bang happen? The answer is God. He spoke and bang, the beginning. There was light and dark, the first day.

And from that very first word from his consciousness, his design was to create us to have an intimate relationship with him. He wanted a higher created being to worship him. His God. We are not. We get that confused because we listened to the voice of that deceiver, Satan in the Garden of Eden the first time. And ever since Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be lured by the lies, we have also fallen prey to Satan’s schemes. We believe we can be as wise as God. We believe we can rule the universe.

We can’t. We can’t rule the universe or our tiny little planet or even ourselves most of the time. We have so little control over most everything around us, but we believe the lie that we are in control. The truth is I have almost no control over anything. I can control me sometimes, but that’s it. And most of me, I can’t control. I can only hold my breath a few seconds before my brain says breath and I can’t help but suck in air. I can’t stop my heart by just wishing it. I can’t make my eyes stop blinking. So much of me, I don’t even control. And try to control someone else? Forget it. Control the world around me? Try to grab a tornado by the tail or stop a volcano from blowing its top. Right!

But God can do any or all of those things with a word. He is God. He knows us. He made us. He loves us. Because God is who he is, Elijah learned to trust him. Did he slip up at times? Sure. The story we heard today shows us he did. We can learn to trust him, too. Will we slip us at times? Sure. But we can trust him because he is God. Give yourself to him and watch what he can do.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

A Sacrifice of Stinky Feet, April 15, 2019

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

As I got to know my wife when we were first dating a hundred years ago. (It’s not really been that long, but after 42 ½ years of marriage, it’s hard to remember life without her.) I digress. When we were dating, I learned her favorite perfume was Chanel No. 5. For a college kid, it was horribly expensive. But you know what present I would get her from time to time? If you didn’t guess it right the first time, you haven’t been hopelessly in love. I saved up enough to buy her Chanel No. 5 every time the bottle was getting low.

One thing I really love about Chanel No. 5, and I think the reason she likes it so well, is that it has such a light scent. It’s fragrance doesn’t overwhelm you when someone walks into the room wearing it. You recognize its presence, but barely until you are close to the person who has used just enough of the elixir to make it known there is something different about their scent. Great stuff.

A lot of other perfumes, colognes, toilet waters I just can’t handle. Someone will walk into a building and it suddenly smells like a 5,000 gallon fuel tanker filled with the stuff just dumped their load in the room. You probably know what I’m talking about. That odor, whether pleasant or not, just overpowers everything until it just destroys your sense of smell and no matter what the smell, you detest it. My eyes begin to water, my throat begins to close, I begin to sneeze uncontrollably. All my doctors tell me I’m not allergic to anything, but what that overwhelming scent gets into a room, my body just goes beserk.

Today’s passage reminds me of those overpowering fragrances since John describes the odor as permeating the whole house. Here is what he says in John 12 verses 1 through 11:

“Six days before the Passover feast, Jesus journeyed to the village of Bethany, to the home of Lazarus who had recently been raised from the dead, where they hosted Him for dinner. Martha was busy serving as the hostess, Lazarus reclined at the table with Him, and Mary took a pound of fine ointment, pure nard (which is both rare and expensive), and anointed Jesus’ feet with it; and then she wiped them with her hair. As the pleasant fragrance of this extravagant ointment filled the entire house, Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples (who was plotting to betray Jesus), began to speak.

Judas Iscariot: How could she pour out this vast amount of fine oil? Why didn’t she sell it? It is worth nearly a year’s wages; the money could have been given to the poor.

This had nothing to do with Judas’s desire to help the poor. The truth is he served as the treasurer, and he helped himself to the money from the common pot at every opportunity.

Jesus: Leave her alone. She has observed this custom in anticipation of the day of My burial. The poor are ever present, but I will be leaving.

Word spread of Jesus’ presence, and a large crowd was gathering to see Jesus and the formerly deceased Lazarus, whom He had brought back from the dead. The chief priests were secretly plotting Lazarus’s murder since, because of him, many Jews were leaving their teachings and believing in Jesus.”

This nard got my curiosity up. I didn’t think I’d ever smelled nard, sometimes called spikenard, so I started looking up some descriptions of the fragrance. I found that it was indeed a very expensive oil in Jesus’ day, and not so inexpensive today because of where the plant grows from which it is derived.

In my search, I found the plant grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. So just getting the plant to Israel in Biblical times would be quite the journey. And those lengthy caravans were costly. We know how to build greenhouses in such a way that we can grow almost anything anywhere, now, because we can simulate the environment of almost anyplace on earth, but they couldn’t then, and even today, to simulate the environs of the Himalayas would be costly.

But what about the smell? In all my searches, I found only one person that said nard smelled a little like lavender. That one author must have a terrible sense of smell because every other author I read said the smell is best described as “nard smells like … feet. A few said “stinky cheese.” But the majority of the vote if you do this in a democratic way, nard smells musty, earthy, leathery, … like feet. Think about the smell of middle school boys’ rooms. Feet! Yuk!

So why use nard? Well, it was thought to have some medicinal uses. It calmed anxiety. I’m told some people actually like the musty, leathery parts of the smell. Feet! One of the comments I read said fish stink, too, but that doesn’t make the river any less beautiful. I guess I understand the comment. We put up with my son’s middle school stinky feet smell because he was our son. We didn’t care much for the stinky feet smell, but we weren’t going to throw him out the door because of it. We just held our nose and gagged a little when ever we tried to decontaminate his room every few hours. (Sorry to use you as an illustration, Matt, you were handy, but I could have used any boy your age.)

So why bring all this up about nard? First, just because of the curiosity. But more important, because of the reaction of two characters in the story. Mary poured out the perfume as an act of worship for Jesus. (Whether people liked the smell or not, it was present and if it had a calming effect all the better.) She acted extravagantly in the presence of the one who deserves our extravagance. She didn’t think about the cost, only the act of giving her most prized possession.

The other character in our story, Judas, saw only waste. He didn’t see the act of worship. He only saw a year’s wages dumped on the leader of their little band’s feet. The stinky feet smell filled the room and instead of calming Judas, the oil had the opposite effect. The waste enraged him and he stormed out of the house. Everyone in the house should have been celebrating. Here sitting in the room with them was a living, breathing, eating, talking brother who just a few days earlier classified as a no kidding corpse. Dead. Gone. Finished.

Then we see this third group of characters that are really hard to explain. Jesus just raised Lazarus from the dead. He stood outside the tomb from which he had the stone pushed back and called out his name. Then here comes this man wrapped in a burial shroud smelling like nard and myrrh and frankincense. Everyone there just stands with their mouths open like fish until Jesus tells them to get the burial shroud off of him and feed him. He hasn’t eaten in four days! He’ll be hungry!

So if this guy, Jesus, can raise the dead and talk about scripture like he was there when it was written, why not listen to him? If Jesus can make two fish and five little rolls feed 5,000 men and their families, why would the religious leaders want to turn people away from him? If Jesus can change the lives of the individuals he touches and give them the internal peace they seek by telling them their sins are forgiven, why would the priests be wanting to break their own commandments and kill him?

It just doesn’t make much sense, does it? But you know what? We are often guilty of doing the same thing today. We act like Jesus is not the God we say he is. We act like he doesn’t matter. We act like the Bible and his teachings are not true. We act like there will be no judgment day or not final reckoning for the lives we live. We act like we are the center of the universe and the most important thing around. We act like those Pharisees and Sadducees. We act like we are ready to kill him because he makes life uncomfortable for us and wants to change our ways.

So here we are just a few days from celebrating Easter, for many, just another day on the calendar. For many, just a day which they can lift up as a way of making more sales for candy and clothes and special gifts for those that just want to pretend they are followers of Christ. It is still the season of Lent. In the early church, a time of preparation for those who chose to signify their entrance into the church by means of baptism on Easter Sunday. A time of study, self-reflection, ensuring they really know Jesus, they know his saving grace, and they know the cost of their commitment to him.

Lent, a time of preparation. We can do the same if we choose. We can prepare for Easter. We can do that self-examination and know we true followers of Jesus. We can know his awesome grace in our lives. We can commit to him knowing the cost may be everything we are and everything we have. Our riches, our families, our very lives. We can follow him if we choose. Most will not because in this world, the cost is high. But how about you. I can tell you it is worth it when you walk the narrow path with him.

Hug a vet, November 12, 2018

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

As I prepare this week’s podcast, I’m also in the throes of preparing for a special Veterans’ Day service at my church. USAF Col(Ret) Thomas “Jerry” Curtis graciously accepted our invitation to speak for us. If you haven’t heard his name before, Carole Engle Avriett wrote the account of his 7 ½ years of captivity as a POW during the Vietnam War. As I read the harrowing story of his capture, imprisonment, and unrelenting torture, I could not imagine the suffering Col Curtis and his fellow prisoners endured.

There is a similar group of individuals who demonstrate that selfless service. Men who stand in the face of danger and demonstrate incredible courage in the face of the enemy. I’ve been extremely fortunate, especially in my later assignments in the service, to meet some of these incredible people. At the Army Medical Department Center and School we often invited Medal of Honor recipients to address classes of young students as they began their new careers. I enjoyed the honor of meeting with most of them in my office for some conversation and a cup of coffee before they spoke to the class. What a privilege!

Invariably, when asked about the event that resulted in their earning of our nation’s highest award, these humble men remarked, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just did what anyone would do. My buddies were in trouble and I did what I had to do.” I always read their citations before I met them and I have to tell you, there are few men who would do what these heroes would do. This collection of 3521 men and one woman (Dr. Mary Walker) are truly outstanding examples of selfless service. Dr. Walker and five other civilians received the award after the Civil War. Not quite half of the Medals came from the Civil War era. Many of the awards were given to next of kin postumously. The service members recieving the awards dieing as a result of their actions to save others.

I was consistently mesmerized by these men’s stories. I was equally mesmerized by Col. Curtis’ story. The courage of the POWs remind me of the selfless sacrifice our veterans and their families make so we can enjoy the freedoms enumerated by our Constitution. It’s easy for us to forget those sacrifices today since less than 1% of our population has any connection to the military these days. They endure the separation from home and family, often living in abysmal conditions in far off lands, to keep war from our shores so that we can sleep peacefully at night.

They also remind me that Jesus and his disciple, Paul and those early Christians knew well the suffering veterans like Col. Curtis and his fellow prisoners endured. Paul was beaten, enslaved, moved from prison to prison. He never knew if he would live or die at the hands of his next jailers. He was cold, hungry, thirsty, lacked basic hygiene we take for granted. He had nothing to call his own. He was ridiculed for his beliefs and told he was nothing. Our POWs, some living in those conditions for almost eight years, endured those same atrocities.

Why do I bring these things up today? A couple of reasons. First, as we celebrate Veterans’ Day, it is a good time to thank a veteran for his or her service. We enjoy what we have today in large part because of their willingness to sacrifice for us. And thank their families because they too sacrifice. While veterans deploy to far off shores, families stay home and wonder what is happening. They worry about their safety. They wonder if they will even make it home again. Spouses act as single parent as often as not. Reunification when service men and women return is never easy either as that service member returns to take their place in the home…changed because of their experiences. Remember families.

Second, as we think about the atrocities that humans can inflict upon other humans, pray that peace can break out in places like the Middle East and the Pacific Rim and Africa. There are dangerous places around the world that put everyone at risk because of the interconnected nature of the world today. There is no such thing as isolationism today. There just isn’t.

Third, remember that as Christians we are soldiers of the cross. Jesus said to expect the world to hate us because of him. Knowing what our military enemies of the past have done to our service men and women and reading the accounts of men like Col. Curtis and the Apostle Paul, I think we can expect similar treatment at the hands of evil me as Jesus’ return gets closer. Pray that we, like those who have gone before us will have the courage to endure to the end. I fear that as we progress toward the final battles that John wrote in the Revelations he penned on the Isle of Patmos we will feel the pain and torture evil men can inflict on others.

Finally, you will find that blessing others is so much more rewarding that complaining about others. Whether talking about politics or work or family or neighbors or any other topic, blessings will go so much further than curses. Just bless those around you. When you read and understand Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, you find again and again his admonishment to treat others well regardless how they treat you. He tells us our behavior show mimick God’s sharing mercy when mercy is not deserved. He says to extend grace when grace is the last thing on our mind as we suffer because of him.

Remember what we mean by grace. We sometimes forget the difference between justice and mercy and grace. I think it important to remember the difference as we extend God’s grace to others. Justice is what we deserve, punishment for our wrong behavior, sin. Justice requires our eternal punishment for our disobedience to God. Mercy says we are forgiven. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we can accept his sacrifice as our own, ask forgiveness, follow him, and we experience his mercy. Forgiveness we do not deserve. But grace. Grace is overwhelming. Grace stuns us. Grace makes us fall on our face in awe of God’s indescribable love. He gives more than we deserve, expect, imagine. God gives all he is to us. He sacrificed himself. He became like us to show us who he is.

I’ve shared this story before to describe his grace. You come into the parking lot and see a young thug with keys in his hand standing next to your brand new Lambergini. There are streaks all down the side and flakes of paint still falling to the ground beside it. The young man’s keys are stained with the same paint and his eyes grow big as you approach your car. He’s caught. Trapped. No where to go. He knows your know exactly what has happened.

Justice says you call the police. Justice says the young man pays to have your brand new car repainted. Justice says punishment is coming quickly for this young man caught in the act. But you extend mercy. The young man is afraid. You see it in his eyes as you walk up to him. But mercy says. Young man I forgive you for what you’ve done. You know it was wrong. I know it was wrong. I think you’ve learned your lesson, though. It’s not about being caught. You understand that, right? Now, go about your business, I won’t punish you. I won’t call the police. I won’t make you pay for the damage. You are forgiven. I only ask that you don’t do something like this again. That’s mercy.

But grace. Grace says this. You walk up to the young man who obviously has fear in his eyes. And here’s what happens. “Young man, I see you’ve scratched up my car. I forgive you. It’s only a car, but here are the keys. I want you to have it. I think you know it was wrong and you won’t do something like that again. Let me sign the title over to you. Oh, and let’s go to the body shop and get the scratches fixed. Don’t worry about the cost. I’ll pay for it. The car is yours and I want it to look perfect for you. One more thing. I want you to take this credit card and if you need gas or tires or any kind of maintenance, be sure to charge it to me, okay?” That is grace. Awesome. Unbelievable. Beyond what we can think or imagine. Stunning. That is the grace God give us.

What does Jesus want us to do? Forgive our enemies. Extend his mercy to them. Then love them the way he loves them. Extend his grace to them. Can we do that without knowing him? Not a chance. We cannot understand his grace until we experience it ourselves. And how do we experience it? Ask him into your life and obey him. You will know his grace. He gives it freely to all who let him in.

But we’ve always done it that way, October 22, 2018

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We’re still talking about change, and this one phrase can disrupt your ability to change more than any other. Here it is: But we’ve always done it that way. It can deal a death blow to any efforts you may undertake for change.

I’m sure you’ve heard someone say that phrase more than once in your life. In fact, you might be guilty of using it a time or two yourself. But what does that phrase really do for you except keep you stuck in the past?

My church just went through a mission and strategy review. Every business and church and really every individual should do that every once in a while. It’s healthy to figure out where you want to go in the next few months or years. What you want to look like by a certain time or what you want to accomplish in a certain span. We all need to examine entities at different levels to make sure our resources are used wisely.

Some in your church and mine will jump up and vigorously fight the process and tell you that God will lead whatever he wants done and we don’t need to make such long term plans. We don’t need to try anything different. We don’t need to waste time and energy thinking about what we should do next month or next year because God will just take us where he wants us to go.

I would argue that God inspired the book of Solomon which instructs us to plan and prepare throughout the book. Jesus talk about the wise builder and the wise king. They planned ahead to avoid disastrous results. God gives us a brain to use, not just to sit in that protective shell of bone and such up nutrients. He expects us to use resources wisely and to do that we need to plan and prepare for the days ahead.

So looking at our mission and vision and strategies to do those things is important. So where am I going with all of this. Well, with every vision for every church or business or person, I would hope it encompasses something larger and grander than the present state of things. That seems reasonable, doesn’t it? If our church has 200 in attendance today, we would like to be reaching another 200 unchurched in a few years, right? We’d like to know that we are making a difference in the community and helping win others to Jesus, right?

But there is a problem. What if over the last ten years we have only grown by two or three people a year? To reach another 200 would take us a hundred years. That seems a little unreasonable, doesn’t it? But that’s the result of doing what we’ve always done. That’s the pattern of the church for the last decade so it will not change unless we do something different. And almost every church across the nation has that same problem, not just my church. That’s why half of the United States citizenry doesn’t claim to adhere to any religious organization. Not just Christian, but any religious organization. We Americans bow to the god of self.

So understand some of those dynamics, there are a few questions a congregation and each member of that congregation must answer truthfully before we can embrace a renewed sense of mission. Just for the sake of argument, we will use a universal mission for all churches that I think all of us can hopefully agree on. Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost. That’s a very clearly stated, simply worded mission. I think every church could agree, as his followers, our mission, then, is to seek and help save the lost. Before you blast me with the truth that we can’t save anyone. I agree, but as we share the gospel, the Holy Spirit can. The church, you and me, are instruments of God’s saving power. We bring people to him, share the gospel, so he can do his work in them. We are instruments of salvation. We don’t do it, but we help. So for arguments sake, let’s accept that short mission statement for just a moment. We seek and help save the lost.

Here’s the first question. Do you believe God’s word? That might sound like a silly question, but it’s not. The Bible is the foundation for that mission statement. It says Jesus is the only means for our salvation, the only path to heaven. It says there is a heaven and hell. It says every person will end up in eternity in one of those two places based on their acceptance of sacrifice for sin. Those statements are clear. If you believe God’s word to be true, Islam, Buddhism, whatever other path you might take doesn’t get you there. The only path to heaven is through Jesus. So do you really believe God’s word?

The next question is this, do you care about the lost? All hands go up in the air and some wave vigorously. Sure I do. What kind of question is that? Look hard at your church and yourself. Do you really care about the lost? When is the last time you shared what God is doing in your life with an unbeliever? When is the last time you invited an unbeliever to your church? When is the last time you invited an unbeliever to your house? Now chase the money. What percentage of your church budget goes toward reaching unbelievers instead of taking care of the congregation? 50%, 25%, 10%? Did you know the average church spends less than 5% on activities to reach the unchurched? Do we really care about the lost? Should we wonder why the unchurched think we are hypocrites? Ouch.

The next question. Am I willing to sacrifice to win the lost? Jesus said take up our cross and follow him. But what crosses am I talking about? What sacrifices do we have to make to win the lost? Here are some things with which my church leadership and my congregation must struggle over the next months if we are to meet the goals our vision put before us. Remember that phrase we used at the beginning? But we’ve always done it this way.

Well, many of the unchurched in today’s society, even in the Bible belt, have never been inside a church. Hard to believe for those of us who grew up in a church and go there several times a week, but it’s true. We often forget that’s true, but it is. And my church, like many others, maybe yours, doesn’t think about guests. Sure we greet them with a smile and hand them a bulletin, which they call a program, by the way. See, they go to the theater or ball games or other events and get programs, so a bulletin doesn’t mean anything to them. Then they have to ask the embarrassing question of where things are because even though I know the men’s room is just around the corner, there is no sign when you come in that tells you where to take your little boy who has an urgent need after the drive to get here.

Then as the service is about to begin, “Ms. That’s My Seat and You Can Have It” makes visiting family climb over her and her purse and her bag with her giant print Bible, Sunday School literature and gift for her friend to get to the empty seats beside her. The people on either side of family have shades of a smile as they sing “Victory in Jesus”, but give the new family an icy glare when they don’t immediately jump to their feet when the music starts. The last Amen is said and the family exits as soon as they can get past “Ms. That’s My Seat”. No one talks to them. Everyone is already in their own little clumps deciding where they are going for lunch. So will those first time unchurched visitors be back? Would you come back? Do we care about the unchurched or the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice for them?

Maybe we could give up our favorite seat. Maybe we could act like they are visitors to our home and welcome them. Maybe we could show them around and make sure they know where everything is so they don’t have to hunt for things. Maybe we could give them some hints about what is about to happen so they’re not embarrassed as the last people to get it when something changes in the service. Maybe we could at least act like we’re really glad they are with us. Maybe we could make the atmosphere of the church more pleasing and comfortable for guests instead of for us. Maybe we should think like Paul, as he said in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”

Am I willing to sacrifice the music I most enjoy to reach the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice the décor I’ve always thought was most sacred to win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice chatting with my friends for those few minutes after the service to win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice my church language and change bulletins to programs, platforms to stages, foyers to lobbies, and all those words that separate us from unbelievers to help win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice my routine, my comfort, my time and energy to win the lost?

If the mission is to seek and save the lost, then I have to be willing to do those things. That’s what we are called to do. Jesus said, “Go make disciples.” To do that, I must first be changed by the power of his blood. Then I must change. I cannot do things the way they have always been done and expect the outcome to be different. If I am to meet the call of the Master, I must be willing to sacrifice for him and his kingdom.

Are you ready to throw away the phrase, but we’ve always done it that way. The past is not bad. We can learn from the past and we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water as they say. But also, if we are really want to reach the unchurched, the lost, they will not come to us, we must go to them. And when they walk in our doors, we must be inviting enough for them to stay. Take a look at the place where you worship. I gave you a glimpse of the atmosphere of 95% of all the churches in America. If that glimpse were not true, all of our churches would be overflowing every service. Except for that very small percentage, they are not. Chairs are empty. Parking lots have plenty of space. We do not weep over the millions in our land headed toward an eternity separated from the one who can save them from that destiny.

Are you ready to change? Now is the time.

Jehovah-Jirah, The Lord will provide (Genesis 22:13-14), June 3, 2017

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
What a beautiful name for God. Jehovah-Jirah, the Lord will provide. Do you believe that today?
Scripture
1. Genesis 22:13-14
2. 13 Abraham glanced up and saw a ram behind him with its horns caught in the thicket. He went over, dislodged the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 From that day forward, Abraham called that place, “The Eternal One will provide.” Because of this, people still today say, “On the Mount of the Eternal, all will be provided.”
Devotional
1. It’s a beautiful story.
  1. Abraham is old
  2. Isaac, the promised descendant through whom a nation will be built is a teenage
  3. God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah
  4. Load up the caravan with everything necessary for the journey and sacrifice, didn’t tell anyone yet
  5. Leaves servants at the base of the mountain
  6. Isaac carries the wood
  7. Isaac lets his 115 year old father tie him up after he builds the altar, arranges the wood, and crawls onto the altar
  8. Abraham prepares to sacrifice his son
  9. Lifts the knife and starts to plunge it into his son’s chest
  10. An angel grabs his wrist
2. God points Abraham to a ram caught in the brush
  1. Spare your son and sacrifice the ram
  2. The Lord will provide
  3. He provided a substitute for his son
  4. He provides a substitute for our punishment
  5. He provides a substitute for our penalty of death
  6. God provides what we need when we need it
3. Today worship Jehovah-Jirah, the Lord will provide
  1. Think of those times in your past God came through at just the right time and provided for you
  2. Think of His faithfulness to your needs
  3. Know He stands beside you as Jehovah-Jirah today, the Lord will provide
  4. Not all our wants, but all our needs, in just the right way and at just the right time
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Perfectionists never get to perfect, but Jesus did (John 19:30), April 26, 2017

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Perfectionists have a hard time determining when they are done with a project. Something always needs a little more work before it’s ready to go public. Not so with the perfect man.
Scripture
1. John 19:30
2. Jesus: It is finished!
Devotional
1. I’m not a terrible artist, but I don’t haven’t painted in a while and when I pick up the hobby, I don’t do it very long at a time.
  1. I have a problem
  2. I start working on a painting and don’t know when to stop
  3. Always one more thing I can do better
  4. Make one more correction
  5. Finally end up with a hodge-podge of corrections that make the whole thing a mess
2. Same with some other hobbies and projects
  1. Want everything to be perfect but can never get there
  2. Never know when to stop and say this is right, this is done
  3. Need it to be just a little better
  4. Need one more thing to make it right
  5. Want things to be a exactly right but in our flawed state we don’t really know what perfect looks like because we’re not perfect
3. Jesus had a job to do
  1. Share the message of God’s love
  2. Tell of the reconciliation He wanted with His highest creation
  3. Came to pay the penalty for the sins we committed
  4. God told us the penalty for sin was blood spilled; death
4. Moses gave the Israelites the laws concerning blood sacrifices to atone for sins
  1. Every year sacrifices made
  2. Scapegoat took on the sins of the community as representation of their repentance
  3. Blood spilled and sacrifice made
5. Jesus came
  1. He became the scapegoat for us
  2. Penalty for sins committed still death; sacrifice; spilling of blood
  3. But the scapegoat was imperfect; had to return every year and do it again
  4. Jesus didn’t sin; His was the blood of man, but a perfect, sinless man
  5. He intervened as man to God and God to man and sacrificed Himself for our sin
  6. The perfect sacrifice spilled His blood to atone for our sins
6. Jesus knew what He came to do
  1. He knew what the outcome was to be
  2. He took all the punishment and abuse we could dish out
  3. With His last breath He lifted His brush from the canvas of humanity’s future
  4. It is finish – a perfect plan of salvation
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Our real hero (John 10:11-18), March 6, 2017

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Topic Introduction with headline.
Scripture
1. John 10:11-18
2. Jesus: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep in His care. The hired hand is not like the shepherd caring for His own sheep. When a wolf attacks, snatching and scattering the sheep, he runs for his life, leaving them defenseless. The hired hand runs because he works only for wages and does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me. As the Father knows Me, I know the Father; I will give My life for the sheep. There are many more sheep than you can see here, and I will bring them as well. They will hear My voice, and the flock will be united. One flock. One shepherd. The Father loves Me because I am willing to lay down My life—but I will take it up again. My life cannot be taken away by anybody else; I am giving it of My own free will. My authority allows Me to give My life and to take it again. All this has been commanded by My Father.
Devotional
1. These words remind me of the many Congressional Medal of Honor recipients I’ve been privileged to meet.
  1. Director for officer training in the Army Medical Department
  2. Chief of Staff of Army’s schoolhouse for medics
  3. Medal of Honor speakers
  4. Stories were usually the same
  5. Anyone would have done the same, fought for their fellow soldiers and didn’t think about the danger they were facing
  6. Just doing their job
2. Most awards of the Congressional Medal of Honor are presented to family members posthumously.
  1. Service member died saving the lives of his or her teammates.
  2. Every one I’ve seen suffered severe injury in the course of duty in earning the right to wear the medal
  3. All ready to give their life for their team in the face of the enemy
  4. Only 3,440 people awarded the medal (19 double awards) of the roughly 57 million who have served throughout America’s 240 year history
3. That’s 0.006% of the people who have served. Not many.
  1. Speaks of Paul’s thought that not many are willing to give their life for a friend
  2. Jesus gave His life for us while we were still God’s enemies, sinners, living apart from Him in disobedience
  3. Many Medal of Honor recipients tell me they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and just did what their training taught them to do
  4. Jesus gave Himself willingly to save us from certain destruction at the hand of Satan
4. So to whom should we pledge our allegiance? Don’t you think He deserves our thanks, our praise, and our devotion?
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The advantage of living now (John 6:53-58), February 7, 2017

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
We sometimes forget the advantage we have living on this side of the cross when we read the words of Jesus. We think it would be so easy to believe if we could have seen Him in person and listened to Him speak while He walked the earth. But was it so easy then?
Scripture
1. John 6:53-58
2. Jesus: I tell you the truth; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not know life. If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, then you will have eternal life and I will raise you up at the end of time. My flesh and blood provide true nourishment. If you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you will abide in Me and I will abide in you. The Father of life who sent Me has given life to Me; and as you eat My flesh, I will give life to you. This is bread that came down from heaven; I am not like the manna that your fathers ate and then died! If you eat this bread, your life will never end.
Devotional
1. The words Jesus shares with the crowd that day were hard words for them to accept.
  1. The last Passover supper was a long time away.
  2. Covenant with His disciples had not yet been announced
  3. Death on the cross that explained His sacrifice and symbolism of His flesh and blood was still in the future and unseen by all those around Him
  4. How could they understand
2. Why would Jesus give these words that would drive people away from His message of love and forgiveness?
  1. Christianity is not an easy life
  2. Must count the cost to serve Him
  3. More will hate your message than like your message
  4. No watered down, easy road, do as you please religion
  5. Prepare us for what is to come
3. Message He gives the crowd that day
  1. If you consume what the world offers, you die
  2. If you consume what He offers, you live
  3. Hard to understand sometimes, but that is the mystery of God
  4. Beyond our knowing because He is God and we are not
4. In a battle for our lives
  1. Satan lies and is the father of lies
  2. Listen to God’s truth
  3. Trust His word and follow His direction
  4. Obey and live
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Just how much does God love us? (John 3:16-21), January 23, 2017

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Just how much does God love us? Sometimes we let familiar verses get too familiar. Listen to one today in a different translation to hear again the depth of God’s love for us.
Scripture
1. John 3:16-21
2. For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. Here’s the point. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge it; instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction.

No one who believes in Him has to fear condemnation, yet condemnation is already the reality for everyone who refuses to believe because they reject the name of the only Son of God. Why does God allow for judgment and condemnation? Because the Light, sent from God, pierced through the world’s darkness to expose ill motives, hatred, gossip, greed, violence, and the like. Still some people preferred the darkness over the light because their actions were dark. Some of humankind hated the light. They scampered hurriedly back into the darkness where vices thrive and wickedness flourishes. Those who abandon deceit and embrace what is true, they will enter into the light where it will be clear that all their deeds come from God.

Devotional
1. So many see God only as someone who wants to put a damper on life.
  1. A list of don’ts
  2. Take the fun out of any party
  3. Looking over our shoulder looking for our sins to zap us
1. Important verse tells us the nature of God
  1. Loves us so much He became one of us
  2. He came not to judge, but to rescue the world from our own self destruction
  3. He came to offer life
2. Then and now acted as light to expose the hidden things that cause that destruction
  1. Crime show detectives looking for evidence use flashlights even in the daylight
  2. Pinpoint the light
  3. Focus attention
  4. Expose ill motives, hatred, gossip greed, violence, and the like
  5. Many hate Him because they see their real self when He exposes their soul
3. Can you imagine a surgeon trying to operate in the dark?
  1. Only by exposing the diseased parts in bright light can they be removed
  2. Exposing sin makes it possible to get rid of it
  3. The Light came so we can be cleaned up
  4. Jesus came to rescue us from certain destruction
4. God loved us so much, He gave His Son, so that anyone who believes in Him for the forgiveness of their sins and obey Him, will not face that certain destruction, but will instead have everlasting life. What a Savior we have.
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

An important memento (Luke 22:16-22), January 5, 2016

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
We use a lot of things to help us remember important events in our lives. Jesus’ words today gives us an important memento to help us do just that.
Scripture
1. Luke 22:16-22
2. Jesus: It has been My deep desire to eat this Passover meal with you before My suffering begins. Know this: I will not eat another Passover meal until its meaning is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

He took a cup of wine and gave thanks for it.

Jesus: Take this; share it among yourselves. Know this: I will not drink another sip of wine until the kingdom of God has arrived in fullness.

Then He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and shared it with them.

Jesus: This is My body, My body given for you. Do this to remember Me.

And similarly, after the meal had been eaten, He took the cup.

Jesus: This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant, made in My blood. But even now, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on this table. As it has been determined, the Son of Man, that firstfruit of a new generation of humanity, must be betrayed, but how pitiful it will be for the person who betrays Him.

Devotional
1. Time to think back about last year
  1. successes
  2. failures
  3. goals left undone
  4. happy memories
  5. sad memories
2. Establish tokens or mementos to remember those events
  1. Ticket stubs
  2. Photos
  3. Souvenir
3. Last Supper is the memento Jesus gave us to always remember the event that established the means for our salvation – His sacrifice on the cross
  1. Penalty for sin
    1. Eternal death
    2. Separation from God
    3. Blackness of isolation
  2. We all sin
  3. Jesus paid that penalty for us
  4. Institution of memento to remind us of the price He paid for us; gift He gives
4. In 2017, your church will no doubt participate in the Lord’s Supper, Communion, the Eucharist, whatever name you call this sacrament several times in 2017.
  1. Remember why Jesus gave us this memento
  2. Remember the suffering He endured for your sins
  3. Remember the blood He shed in payment as the penalty you should pay
  4. Remember the death He experienced so you can have life eternal with Him
  5. It’s not just a ritual we go through, let it truly touch your life each time you share
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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