Living Loud - Part II

My previous post focused on living loud for Jesus, living out our faith with enthusiasm and abandonment.

But what does that mean exactly? And how do we do that, practically speaking?

Consider these verses:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."  (Romans 1:16 ESV)

"And when they [the apostles] had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."  (Acts 4:31 ESV)

I often think of that verse in Acts as referring to "holy boldness".  I think we all need a little more of that kind of boldness, don't you agree?

Do you think of yourself as a "bold" person? Or is "bold" a word you use to describe someone else? Are you "bold" in living out your faith? Are you "bold" in speaking out for Jesus? Or are you more an "incognito Christian", just sneaking through life?

To know how to live loud for Jesus, we need to search the Scriptures and find out what Jesus had to say. What instructions did Jesus give? Not what does the "church" say we should be doing, or what does the culture say we should or shouldn't do, but what did Jesus say?

Let's look in the Gospels and see what He had to say. Here are a few examples.

"You are the salt of the earth." (Matthew 5:13 ESV)

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14 ESV)

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 ESV)

"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33 ESV)

"Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."  (Matthew 10:32-33 ESV)

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  (Matthew 16:24 ESV)

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment, and a second is like it:  you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39 ESV)

"Go therefore, and make disciples....."  (Matthew 28:19 ESV)

These are just a few of the instructions Jesus gave, and from only one of the Gospels. To understand what it means to live loud for Jesus, we need to be immersing ourselves in the words of Jesus and then applying them to our daily lives. We need to know what Jesus said. Not what the culture says. Or what the TV preacher says. Or what the neighbor says.

We need to know what Jesus said. And then we need to obey. 

Has Jesus changed His mind about what we should be doing? I don't think so.

This is what it means to live loud for Jesus. To obey Him. To follow His instructions. To be salt and light to the world.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15 ESV)

Living Loud for Jesus

Some time ago, I came across an article about the 11 things the parents of boys should know, or some similar title. When I tried to find the article again to verify the title, I couldn't find it. No matter. What I particularly remember from that article is the author's point that boys are loud.

As I recall, the article was written by a woman, and apparently one who had never spent a lot of time around little boys. I, however, as a mother of boys, was not surprised by this point at all! Before we go any further, let me clarify. I hate generalizations. Hate them! To say that all boys are this way and all girls are that way is both unfair and inaccurate, but debating that isn't my point today.

What I can tell you from my own experience as a mother is that boys can be loud. They may not always be loud, every moment of every day, but they can make a lot of noise  At least it seemed so to me. In fairness, even though I grew up as a quiet, shy girl who spent most of her time with her nose in a book, I am sure there were days when my mother, who was herself the quiet type, thought I was very loud!

Children, both boys and girls, can be loud. They play with an enthusiastic abandonment that doesn't really notice, or care, if their enthusiasm is disturbing someone else. Children arrive in the world with loud cries, making their presence known. They cry loudly when they are hungry or sleepy or wet. And that living loud continues until some grownup along the way convinces them that they are making too much noise and need to be quiet. 

I think there is a lot we as adults, particularly as Christian adults, can learn from the enthusiasm of children. Children live loud. They live with enthusiasm and abandonment. They are not particularly concerned with what other people think. They radiate joy. They don't hold back.

Think about that, about living loud, as it applies to the Christian life. As Christians, are we living out our faith with enthusiasm and abandonment, or are we holding back because of a concern about what other people will think?

Are we, as Christians, living loud for Jesus? Are we, you and I, living a Biblical Christianity or a cultural Christianity? Are we more interested in what the culture thinks of us, or in what Jesus thinks of us?

In a culture that increasingly tries to marginalize or silence any expression of Christian faith, what does it mean to live loud for Jesus? How can we live loud for Jesus today?

Something to think about.

"Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!"             (Psalm 96:3 ESV)

Thinking about Clouds

This time last week we were awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Florence. As we waited, the weather changed to from bright sunshine to clouds and rain. And that has me thinking about clouds.


Clouds fascinate me. I've always thought that if I were to study any aspect of science, it would be meteorology. That isn't going to happen, since I have no "science" brain cells! But I continue to be fascinated by clouds.


Last summer as we were traveling around the country, I photographed a number of clouds. All shapes and sizes. Some stormy and some not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think about when you see clouds? Do you dread an impending storm? Do you look for animal shapes in the shapes of the clouds?

 

Or do you think of something else?

 

How about this?

 

 

"For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near; It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations."  (Ezekiel 30:3 NASB)

 

"I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him."  (Daniel 7:13 NASB)

 

"And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory."  (Matthew 24:30 NASB)

 

"Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord." 

(1 Thessalonians 4:17 NASB)

 

"Behold, He is coming with the clouds."  (Revelation 1:7a NASB)

 

The next time you look up at the clouds, be reminded of that. He is coming with the clouds.

 

He is coming.

 

The day of the Lord is near.

 

Are you ready?

 

An Unchanging Truth

Yesterday we marked another anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country. Where were you on that awful day? Even after all these years, most of us who were alive at that time can probably remember where we were on September 11, 2001. Those events are burned into our memories.

Life as we knew it changed forever on that day. I remember well the shock and the grief and the numbness that followed for so many days after that horrible day. For many those feelings are repeated each year as we mark another anniversary and as we see those horrible events replayed over and over and over on television.

Life changed that day. We've grown accustomed to taking our shoes off at the airport and to having our purses and backpacks inspected. Sadly, we're no longer surprised by acts of violence. 

But not everything has changed. It is still true that "my refuge is in God." I still grieve with and for those families who lost so much on that day just because their family member went to work that morning. I still grieve for the families of first responders and military personnel who, on that day and in the years that have followed, paid the ultimate sacrifice. I am still grateful for men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.

Even more, as I reflect on the ways that life has changed, I cling to this unchanging truth:
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear." (Psalm 46:1-2)

The Red Card

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead."  (1 Peter 1:3 NASB)

This morning I was thinking about that living hope when Facebook stirred up a memory from our life on the road in 2015, a memory of the red card.

In the weeks we were on the road, we stayed in more than thirty different hotels. Most of those hotels were Marriott properties.

Because my husband traveled a lot for work and spends a lot of time in Marriott hotels, he has achieved Platinum Elite status with that particular hotel chain. As a result, our room key cards at Marriot hotels are platinum and are marked platinum elite, and those key cards give access to things like the Concierge Lounge (when one is available) and free coffee and other perks.

But at the hotel Facebook reminded me of, the one in Maryland, we didn't get a platinum key card. We got a red card. It gave the same access. Free breakfast. Free dessert. Free coffee. The only difference was that it was red.

As Christians we have a red card of a different kind. Our red card access comes through the blood of Jesus, shed for our sins.

Because of that shed blood, we are in an eternal relationship with the Savior who offered His own blood on our behalf. And because of that shed blood, we now have access to an eternity in Heaven in the presence of the One who shed His blood for us.

That is infinitely better than free breakfast!


"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.......In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us."  (Ephesians 1:3, 7-8b NASB)

I Want To Pray Like That

Have you spent any time lately in the Old Testament book of Daniel? It's powerful stuff! Daniel has a lot to say to us. About things that have already taken place. And about things that are yet to take place.

And Daniel has much to say to us about prayer. If you read the first part of Daniel 9, you'll find Daniel praying.

In his book The Handwriting on the Wall, Dr. David Jeremiah says, "this prayer is an example of what praying ought to be." 

And I think to myself, I want to pray like that.

Daniel began his prayer by saying, "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments."  (Daniel 9:4 ESV)

Daniel began with praise. With adoration. With worship. Daniel knew His God. He acknowledged God as God. In notes from a previous study of Daniel, I found these words I had written in the margin:  Daniel prayed as if God is God.

I want to pray like that.

After Daniel acknowledges who God is, he goes on to the next section of his prayer, found in Daniel 9:5-15. Once he has acknowledged God, then he confesses sin, the sin of his people. He is very specific in his confession. This is a lot more than a quick "forgive us our sins" before rushing on to make a request. It's much more than a tag line at the end of a prayer: "forgive us our sins.  Amen."

"We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.  We have not listened.....To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame.....because we have sinned against you."

As I read Daniel's prayer, I realize this is how we......how I.......should be praying. As we pray for our cities and our states and our families. As we pray for our nation and our world. 

I want to pray like that.

What's wrong with our nation is not about me pointing fingers at what they have done......the politicians and the pagans and the perverts. It's not about who is or isn't President. It's about what we have done. About how we as a nation have sinned and turned aside from God's way. I'm part of the nation. You are part of the nation. We as a nation have sinned against God.

Daniel worships. Daniel confesses. Only after that does Daniel make a request.

I want to pray like that.

Daniel begs forgiveness for his people. "O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem.......O Lord, hear.  O Lord, forgive.  O Lord, pay attention and act."  (Daniel 9:16, 19 ESV)

I want to pray like that.

Daniel's prayer was not about Daniel. It was not Daniel-centered. Daniel was not a selfish pray-er.  The focus of Daniel's prayer was the Person and the character of God.

"For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy."  (Daniel 9:18 ESV)

I want to pray like that.

Daniel's prayer is a good example. It's a good model to follow. Especially when we're tempted to point fingers at others for all the problems we see around us. Or when we're focused on ourselves instead of on others. When we fall into the "life is all about me" trap. 

We're living in tough times. But so was Daniel. He and his people were in exile in a foreign land.  Even so, his focus was not on circumstances, but on God. In spite of tough times, he continued to pray God-centered, rather than self-centered, prayers.

I want to pray like that.


"Lord, teach us to pray."  (Luke 11:1 ESV)

Welcome to September!

September. Already. It's hard to believe that summer is over and we're moving into the fall season.

I love this season of the year. Even though it isn't officially "fall" yet (at least according to the calendar), it already seems like it. School back in session.  Football (Go Gamecocks!). Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Pumpkin Pancakes. Pumpkin everything.

I look forward to September every year. September has a crispness in the air that I miss during the summer season. Of course, here in South Carolina, we're still waiting for the crispness. But it will come soon. Leaves will soon be turning. We'll be eating more apples and less watermelon. It's a beautiful time of year. 

We begin September with Labor Day, a holiday where ironically we celebrate work by not working.  Whether you're working at your job today, or finding some labor to do around the house, or just taking it easy.......Happy Labor Day!  And welcome to September!

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."  (Colossians 3:17 NASB)