“IS Jesus SLICK” – Isaiah 55: 8 - PART 2

A well-worn one dollar bill and a similarly distressed 100 dollar bill arrived at a Federal Reserve Bank to be retired. As they moved along the conveyor belt to be burned, they struck up a conversation. 
       
The 100 dollar bill reminisced about its travels all over the county. "I've had a pretty good life," the hundred proclaimed. "Why I've been to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the finest restaurants in New York, performances on Broadway, and even a cruise to the Caribbean." 
       
 "Wow!" said the one dollar bill. "You've really had an exciting life!" "So tell me," says the hundred, "where have you been throughout your lifetime?" 
       
The one dollar bill replies, "Oh, I've been to the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, the Lutheran Church ...." The 100 dollar bill interrupts, "What's a church?"

Last’s week’s sermon taught us the difference about human desires and goals and God’s Will and Plan. Humans naturally try to be slick and get over on others; God’s way is to be concerned with others and God as you are with yourself.

Listen to Isaiah 55: 8: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” God and man are at odds over a lot of things, especially in matters of drive and direction.

Man seeks power and position,

God desires submission.

Man demands his rights and freedoms,

God asks him to accept responsibility for his behavior

Man’s chief aim is self-gain,

God wants him to consider the needs of others.

Man seeks immediate fulfillment,

God is more interested in lasting achievement.

Man covets the praise of men

God wants man to desire His approval.

Man wants to be served,

God wants him to serve others.

Man strives to push ahead,

God counsels patience.

Man wants to lead other men,

God wants man to follow Him.

Man thrives on competition,

God seeks cooperation.

Man is after self-glorification,

God created man to glorify Him.

The list could go on.

But perhaps the most dramatic way in which our motives differ from God’s is in the area of money. Man’s purpose in seeking to get money is four-fold; to provide security, establish independence, create power and influence, and most of all to guarantee freedom.

God’s four purposes of money is for provision (to sustain man), direction (to nudge him along the path God has ordained for him), to promote the fellowship of believers (keeping man focused on Him), and to illustrate His power (showing man He’s dependable).

It is God who grants man the ability to acquire wealth (Deuteronomy 8: 18): “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

He does it to fulfill His purpose, but man with his free will nearly always uses the wealth he’s given to fulfill his own selfish purposes instead, and when he does he usually finds out he never has enough.

How does your beliefs, attitudes, and priorities drive your behavior? What is your worldview telling you about your faith?

It’s been said that we become like the God we worship. Actions taken solely in the pursuit of money usually create habits of greed, stinginess, and situational ethics and morality. For example, I’ve heard stories about businessmen who routinely make millions in a year decline employee requests for raises of 25 cents an hour because “times are tough.” 25 cents an hour amounts to $500 in a year, 1/2 of which the employer gets back in the form of reduced taxes.

How long do you suppose it will take for a disgruntled employee to cost his boss $500 in reduced productivity or waste or even theft? How much more motivated would an employee be if he or she knew that the likelihood of gaining even a small reward for going the extra mile was great?

Would a company full of energized, motivated employees help change tough times into good times? Could they even generate enough extra income to more than cover their raises? A greedy, stingy boss creates lazy, resentful employees and the tough times get worse.

 I’ve also heard about business owners who already have all the money they can ever use steal nickels and dimes from their customers, their vendors, their employees, and their government, all in the name of profit, just because they can.

The cumulative effect of this “nickel and diming” nets them hundreds of thousands but because each individual theft is so small they don’t count it as sin. “And besides,” they say, “Everybody does it. Its business.”

That’s contrasted with an attitude of gratitude that promotes the Joy Of Giving.

Man’s greed is the main reason God instituted the principle of tithing. In the first place, having given man the ability to earn wealth, God reserves for Himself the first fruits, 1/10th of the return. But tithing is the antidote for greed as well. Giving away the Lord’s portion of our wealth brings feelings of generosity.

“You’ll be made rich in every way so you can be generous on every occasion,” He told us.  (2 Corinthians 9: 11)

Tithing is also a test of faith. It’s the only area in Scripture where God says, “Test Me,” encouraging us to make Him prove Himself to us. And finally tithing is the solution for all our financial problems.

“Give me my due,” He says, “And see if I don’t pour out so much blessing that you will not have room for it.” (Malachi 3: 10)

Doing things like tithing are faith builders. So much of what God taught us through His people was designed to increase our faith.

“Let your land lie fallow one year in seven,” He said, “And I will make the land yield enough in the sixth year to carry you through the next three.” (Leviticus 25: 1-7, 20-22)

“In the seventh year, forgive all debts and release all indentured servants.” (Deuteronomy 15: 1-2, 12-15)

“Once every fifty years, release all the slaves you’ve acquired and return all the land you’ve gained control over to its original owner.” (Leviticus 25: 1-13)

Following these faith building principles would also promote the additional benefit of eliminating the motivation for most wars in the world, and preventing the oppressive poverty so many endure, by making futile all attempts at empire building.

Through all his instructions to us He says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3: 5-6).

Remember His advice in the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. “Use the wealth and position you’ve been given to gain favorable attention in Heaven. If you can’t be trusted with worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:  9-11)

You may say “Pastor, are you’re calling me rich?” Many of us are wealthy by world standards. If you’re an average person living in the USA you’re wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of the average non-American living in the third world depravity of no-technology, no electricity, no clean water, or medical care.

Don’t think the Lord’s only talking to Bill Gates, Donald Trump, George Soros, or the Sultan of Brunei about these things. He’s talking to you and me as well. Use whatever wealth and position He’s given you to earn honorable mention at the seat of His Throne. It will bring you eternal riches.

But you don’t even have to wait that long. Man says, “I’m giving all I can afford.” God says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6: 38)

He will never be in your debt, so you can’t out give Him. Repeat after me, “With the measure I use, it will be measured to me.”

I know Jesus told us that the poor would always be with us – so how can we make a difference? With all the poverty in the world, how can you ever say you’ve done enough? Well, the Lord has an answer for this, too.

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us.

For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” (1 John 3: 17-22)

If we obey His commands and do what pleases Him with the money He’s given us, one of our rewards, in addition to more money, is a sense of peace about our giving. Because most of the world has rejected God’s ways there will always be more need than we can meet, and unless we’re clearly called to do so even giving away everything we have will not begin to alleviate it.

But if we’re paying our tithing and sharing our windfall blessings with Him, we’re doing all that’s expected, and the peace we feel in our hearts will tell us so.

God is a great believer in the abundance mentality, that there’s more than enough to go around. (Don’t forget, He controls the riches of the Universe.) In contrast, many humans subscribe to the scarcity mentality, that in order for one person to get a bigger share, another has to accept a smaller one.

(Note I am not preaching socialism and neither is Jesus – He still says we need to work hard and live lives that deserve to be rewarded, not breadlines and welfare checks.)

Obviously, our mentality affects our giving. Man says, “I only have so much, and if I give too much of it away, I won’t have enough left for myself.” God says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap,” and, “You will be made rich in every way so you can be generous on every occasion.”

Now let’s not confuse this with the “give to get” heresy, where we’re told to give in order to receive. “If you need a thousand dollars,” the TV evangelist says, “Send me a hundred, and the Lord will bless your gift tenfold.” That’s the opposite of God’s way because it makes greed the motive for giving.

No, the Lord loves a cheerful giver, someone who gives because he already has received, and who knows there’s plenty more where that came from. The cheerful giver’s motive is one of gratitude, not greed. He remembers the promise from Philippians 4:  19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

Paul was reminding the men of Philippi that God would bless them because of their past generosity toward him. Their “attitude of gratitude” was opening the purse-strings of Heaven as the One Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills repaid their generosity with some of His own.

Why would He do less for us? Give as much as you are able and let some of it be your time and talents. Amen. 

“Slick Jesus” - Luke 16: 1-15 - PART 1

The word “slick” (according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary) means to make (something) smooth and slippery. It also means “clever in usually a dishonest or deceptive way.” This is not something that comes to mind when we think of Jesus.

It usually applies to lawyers, con artists, carnival workers, politicians, and criminals. These are occupations that probably challenge a practicing Christian worldview.

A lawyer's dog, running around town unleashed, heads for a butcher shop and steals a roast. The butcher goes to the lawyer's office and asks, "If a dog running unleashed steals a piece of meat from my store, do I have a right to demand payment for the meat from the dog's owner?" The lawyer answers, "Absolutely."

"Then you owe me $8.50. Your dog was loose and stole a roast from me today."

The lawyer, without a word, writes the butcher a check for $8.50. The butcher, having a feeling of satisfaction, leaves.

Three days later, the butcher finds a bill in the mail from the lawyer: $100 due for a consultation.

Now that’s slick – you get the idea, and if you appreciate the lawyer’s action you might be surprised to find out that Jesus probably would as well. I have scripture to prove it if you doubt me. Listen to Luke 16: 1-15:

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg– I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors.

He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ” ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’” ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.

For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

We need a little background to understand this parable. The great Bible teacher Jack Kelley is my inspiration for this 2 part study of this passage.

A manager is being fired by his master. Told to bring the books into balance before turning them over for a final accounting, he faces a serious situation.

He’s too old for manual labor and too proud for welfare, so he asks his master’s debtors to come in and review their accounts with him.

In private meetings he has the debtors write down their accounts to a more favorable amount. In so doing he earns points with both the debtors and his master. How could this be?

It was against Mosaic Law for Israelites to charge one another interest on credit extended (Deuteronomy 23:19), but many merchants got around this restriction by overcharging for goods and services, taking excess profits in lieu of interest.

(Our Auto businesses serve as an example. That 0% financing you got is really a loan whose interest is paid by the manufacturer out of excess profits added to the price of vehicles specifically for the purpose of funding such incentives.)

The manager had apparently dealt unfairly with the master’s debtors, tacking on excess profits in lieu of interest. From the story, there’s no indication the master either instigated or condoned any overcharging. Its discovery may even be one of the reasons for the manager’s sudden loss of position. Perhaps he was using these add-ons to compensate for the losses of which he was being accused.

The manager was pretty slick, wasn’t he? Since the master commended the manager’s shrewdness in writing down the accounts, it’s hard to imagine he was being cheated in these dealings even though the Lord calls the manager dishonest.

More likely, in settling with the debtors the manager was deducting the excess profits he himself had tacked onto their accounts, earning the gratitude of the debtors and the admiration of the master.

If so, his efforts resemble those of today’s Orthodox Jews during the 10 Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, frantically going around to right all the wrongs they’ve committed against others in the preceding 12 months.

They’re working to retain their place in the Book of Life before it’s closed for another year, simultaneously reconciling themselves to their friends and neighbors while getting back into God’s Good Graces.

Christians don’t need to work to get back into God’s Good Graces. Our names cannot be blotted out of the Lamb’s Book of Life. But our willingness to ask forgiveness of someone we’ve wronged is more than an attempt at reconciliation. It’s an indication of the contrition in our hearts, a measure of our repentance for the sins we’ve committed.

We have to remember the context of the parable. This parable was given right on the heels of the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Prodigal (Lost) Son.

In each one the point is the rejoicing that occurs when a sinner repents and asks forgiveness. It pleases the Lord and earns us the Master’s commendation.

And the Lord’s commentary following this parable sheds even more light. Non-believers are more shrewd in dealing with each other than believers are, He said.

They know how to use their position and authority to gain influence so they’ll have something to fall back on if they get into a jam. If they do this to help themselves in a worldly context, how much more should we work to gain influence in an eternal one?

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about trying to influence the Lord concerning our salvation. That’s a gift, free for the asking, and we’ve already received it.

But just as the shrewd manager worked to gain favor with his master’s debtors so they would be more likely to help him out later, there are things we can do to gain influence with other believers, who may then intercede for us in difficult times. Asking their forgiveness is one.

Of course the Lord Jesus is our ultimate intercessor, (Romans 8: 34) but it’s comforting to know that friends on Earth would plead our case in Heaven if it ever came to that.

People often see this parable as about money, so let’s look at that for a moment.

Speaking of pleading our case in Heaven, Jesus also recommends that we use whatever worldly wealth we’re given to gain favorable attention there by how we use it here. As one friend of mine has said, “You can’t take it with you, but you can send it up ahead.”

He was talking about using our wealth in a way that impresses the Lord. Wealth is a gift from God, we’re told (Deuteronomy 8: 18).

Lots of people are smart, well educated and work hard, but the Lord blesses relatively few with wealth. If you’re one of them, are you properly thankful?

Are you using your wealth to earn honorable mention in the one place where it really counts, Heaven? Remember, He says, if you can’t be trusted with a little (earthly riches) how will you ever be trusted with a lot (eternal riches)?

You can’t serve two masters, after all. The money will take you in one direction, but God may have another direction in mind. Which will you follow?

The fact that He was looking right at the Pharisees when He said that shows they hadn’t gotten it right where money’s concerned.

Next time we’ll look at the differences between man’s typical use of wealth and the Lord’s desire for its use, so you can see if you have anything to learn from “Slick Jesus.” Amen. 

WHAT RELIGION IS JESUS?

Luke 15: 1-10 (NKJV):

There was a preacher who fell in the ocean and he couldn't swim. When a boat came by, the captain yelled, "Do you need help, sir?" The preacher calmly said "No, God will save me." A little later, another boat came by and a fisherman asked, "Hey, do you need help?" The preacher replied again, "No God will save me."

Eventually the preacher drowned & went to heaven. The preacher asked God, "Why didn't you save me?" God replied, "Fool, I sent you two boats!"

Man of us choose what to believe by choosing a particular religious ideology that works for us that ends us damning us to fail.

There are many religions in the world; among them:

Politics and religion: who is better at politics tries to use religion to their advantage. Believe me God isn’t a Democrat, Republican, or the Green Party. Who is right? The NYT asked this week: “What Religion was Jesus?”

My initial answer comes from a part of Jeff Bethke’s “Why I hate Religion and Love Jesus” poem: 

“Now back to the topic, one thing I think is vital to mention,

How Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums,

One is the work of God one is a man made invention,

One is the cure and one is the infection.

Because Religion says do, Jesus says done.

Religion says slave, Jesus says son,

Religion puts you in shackles but Jesus sets you free.

Religion makes you blind, but Jesus lets you see.

This is what makes religion and Jesus two different clans,

Religion is man searching for God, but Christianity is God searching for man.”

Listen to Luke 15: 1-10:

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."

So He spoke this parable to them, saying: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

In telling you what religion Jesus is I am going to use “R” words to explain like we use to do to explain what schools used to teach (‘Readin,‘Ritten, and ‘Rithmatic).

First, Jesus was about Recognition. He was sent as an emissary from the Creator God to remind humans of their creator and what sin had done to destroy the relationship. He was sent to make things right again as God intended.

His message comes from God and its truthfulness can be tested: "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."

—John 7: 16

His message is eternal and will not be changed: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." —Matthew 24: 35

He came into the world from outside the world: "I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." —John 18: 38

He came from heaven, i.e. from God: "No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man." —John 3: 13

His priorities were revealed when Jesus was once asked about the most important commandment, he answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."      —Matthew 22:  37-40

Jesus came to bring recognition to God and to himself as the Son of God.

Our second point has everything to do with God’s love. It is Reconciliation.

One of Jesus’ greatest parables went like this: "Jesus continued: ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my half of the estate’. So he divided his property between them.

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

When he came to his senses, he said: ‘How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men’.

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

The son said to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son’. But the father said to his servant: ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’. So they began to celebrate.’"  —Luke 15: 11-24

Jesus says to us that we need "to come to our senses" as the wayward son did. He did not attempt to compensate for his wrongdoing by offering a repayment, which he could not produce anyway. His father did not expect it either. He simply wanted to come home - and he went. The "best robe" is symbolic for the covering of his filth, the ring for his acceptance again as son into the family and the sandals to show he was now a free man again, for slaves were to walk barefoot.

This is what God is offering to us and what Jesus is all about: Forgiveness. This

forgiveness is a gift of God to those who sincerely seek it and ask for it. Stories illustrating the compassion of God are repeated again and again:

"Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulder and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep’. I tell you that in the same way there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."  —Luke 15: 3-7

Third, after we have been reconciled Jesus offers Restoration. This comes via a test He teaches us, which enables us to assess ourselves:

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." —John 14: 21

 Jesus encourages us to trust him and in what he is doing for us: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." —John 14: 1-3

One of His strongest promises was that He will come again. This time not to save, but to judge all those who did not accept his offer of pardon and forgiveness. It is therefore so important to be prepared for his coming at any time: "You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

—Luke 12: 40

He even told us how this is going to happen he told us as well: "You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14: 62) and "As the lightning comes from the East and flashes to the West, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24: 27)

The world rejects the idea that Jesus is coming again to judge the world—all nations and all people. He even said what would happen if we die before He returns: In that case he meets us at the point of our death. He is the Son of Man and the Son of God; all things to all people! His authority is without question and His right to claim this creation is beyond any doubts the world may claim.

The time to receive pardon is not yet over. Jesus is still waiting. He left us with an invitation: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in ...." —Revelation 3: 20

The purpose of God reaching out to humanity is our fourth point, Restitution. God yearns to restore a relationship in which He dwells among His creation. Jesus tells us that it is when we trust in what he says then we will lovingly serve him with all our hearts and that this will honor him:

"The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God" (John 16: 27) and "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."

(John 12: 26)

Faith in God is in fact linked to faith in Jesus. There is really no difference: "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that on-one who believes in me should stay in darkness" (John 12: 44-46)

God sent Jesus into the world to bring recognition of the creation, reconcile the creator to the world, restore the creation to its creator,  and finally restitution to that creation itself.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3: 16-17), and "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I raise him up at the last day." John 6:40

God doesn’t want us to become politicians to vote ideas and party platforms or even endorse churches and religions, God wants us to live a lifestyle in action that uplifts the teachings of Jesus and the commandments of God given in relationship to humanity, based on love and service.

You see my friend JESUS is what I would call a God-a-fear-ian!

He’s not socially, politically, or morally correct, nor a respecter of individual rights and privileges, or tried to just be a good moral teacher, He is an example of humility, respect, obedience, and Love.

He wants us to live our faith not display it like a yard sign.

Jeff Bethke ends his “spoken Word Style” poem this way:

“Which is why salvation is freely mine, forgiveness is my own,

Not based on my efforts, but Christ’s obedience alone.

Because he took the crown of thorns, and blood that dripped down his face

He took what we all deserved, that’s why we call it grace.

While being murdered he yelled “father forgive them, they know not what they do,”

Because when he was dangling on that cross, he was thinking of you

He paid for all your sin, and then buried it in the tomb,

Which is why I’m kneeling at the cross now saying come on there’s room

So know I hate religion, in fact I literally resent it,

Because when Jesus cried It is finished, I believe He meant it.”

Amen.