My Story

I am probably the only person you know who can say that they got saved because of Bob Barker.  Let me explain.

Before I started classes at Mississippi State University, I had to take Trigonometry as a prerequisite to Physics.  There was a branch of Holmes Community College in my hometown, where I had just finished College Algebra, but they did not offer Trig.  So, I had to make the one hour drive each day to the main campus in Goodman to take the class.  Toward the end of the summer semester, my church held it’s annual revival services.  This was a one-week meeting.  The evening services started at 7:30 p.m.  My church was, and still is, the only church I know that has a morning service during the revival week.  This started 11:00 a.m.  This was important to me this year because my Trig class ended at 9:50, and I realized that if I could waste just a little time, I would arrive home after my mama had left for the church, and I wouldn’t have to go to the morning service.  The plan worked perfectly the first day.

Things changed on Tuesday.  I pulled in the driveway as mama was backing out.  She asked me if I was going to church.  I told her that I had things I needed to do, so no.  The “things” I “needed” to do was watch the last few minutes of the Price is Right, then whatever I could find on after that.  I thought I was going to have a pleasant day.  God, however, didn’t think the same.  For the next two days, God worked on me, showing me that I had a problem - my sin was causing me to put the things of the world ahead of Him.  I tried to fight this, but it was no use.  God won out.  

On Thursday night, I went to the revival service and sat on the right hand side of the sanctuary.  Instead of sitting toward the back like I usually did, I planted myself on the second pew from the front.  I sat there because it put me about 2 steps away from where the pastor, Norris Corley, would stand when the invitation was given.  That night, I was antsy for the sermon to end, not because I wanted to leave, but because I couldn’t wait to get to the pastor.  When the sermon finally ended and the invitation was given, I moved quickly to the pastor.  Had I been in the back, I probably would have run!  I took him by the hand, this man of God who had known me since the day I was born, and told him that I needed to be saved.  He lead me in that prayer there, and I have been assured ever since of having my sins forgiven and having eternal life in heaven.  

I say often that I couldn’t have picked a worse time to be saved, because about two weeks later, I left for MSU.  I came home every weekend, but I didn’t get discipled much at all.  Not from my church, and not at school.  For four years I lived about four blocks from the Baptist Student Union, but I never went to a meeting.  No one taught me how to have a quiet time or how to pray.  I struggled in my faith walk and in my obedience to God for about eight years.

Fortunately for me, God moved me to a new home in Louisiana, and there brought me to my wife.  She is one of the most godly women I know.  After we began dating, I learned how to speak to God, and how to listen to Him.  I surrendered to the ministry, and God moved us to Texas.  I still struggle in my faith walk, but I know that when I die, I’ll meet Jesus face to face, and I’ll live forever in heaven, along with my family and friends who know Jesus..

If you’re struggling with your faith, don’t give up.  You can draw close to God right now.  All you have to do is cry out to Him.  

If you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior, don’t wait!  Now is the time to cry out to Him and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and give you eternal life.  He will also give you unspeakable joy while you are still on earth.  

If you have any questions about any of this, you can email me at leapoffaithblog@gmail.com.  Bob Barker helped me tell a story.  Let’s find yours to tell.

The Pretender

Do you consider yourself a hypocrite?  Well, of course not.  I would guess that not many people would admit to being a hypocrite, because to admit to being a hypocrite is to admit to being fake.  By definition, a hypocrite is simply a pretender, so if you admit to being a hypocrite, you have to admit to pretending to be something other than what you are.  So, I’ll ask again, do you consider yourself a hypocrite?

In the closing verse of Matthew 5, Jesus gave His listeners this charge: “Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  In short, Jesus is telling these people, quit pretending!  He is not telling them to be perfect as without flaws or shortcomings.  No one can do that, because we are all sinners by our nature.  We will inevitably mess up, no matter how hard we try.  Rather, He is telling them to work to complete their faith.  They should strive to have a mature faith because they have learned the ways of God.  This verse references back to Leviticus 19:2, where God said, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Holiness simply means that we are set apart and consecrated for a particular use or function.  God is set apart as Creator and Lord.  He is the King of kings who is able to set the standard for all to attain.  We are set apart from the world to be the people who honor God with our service and our witness.  Our level of holiness and maturity is reflective of the quality and depth of our relationship with God.  It is revealed in our attitude toward service to others, and in our attitude toward prayer, which is our communication with God.

Jesus warned us not to be a pretender like some of the religious leaders that came to the temple each day.  These people would give offerings of money and service, but their motivation was strictly to be seen and to be complemented by others.They didn’t really care about the work they were doing or the offerings they were giving.  They just wanted praise.  In the same way, they were not really sincere in their prayers.  They just wanted people to see them giving long prayers with colorful language so that people would think that they were very pious and godly.  Some people even thought that by constantly repeating the needs or the names of the gods they prayed to, that they would have more successful prayers.  Jesus simply said that this was not the way to do it.

Many people call the passage in Matthew 6:9-13 the Lord’s prayer.  It’s not really, because these words are not what Jesus prayed.  Instead, it is a pattern to follow when we pray.  He gave this pattern in response to the disciples asking Him to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-4).  Here is the simple pattern:

1.  Worship God.

2.  Pray for the provisions of your needs.

3.  Confess your sins.

4.  Pray for strength to live a God-honoring life.

Having a prayer life that consistently follows this pattern will draw you into a deeper relationship with God.  Being consistent in your prayer life will help you mature in your faith.  You will live a life that reflects the fact that you have been set apart from the world and consecrated to the service of God.  When you can do this, no one will wonder if you are pretending.  Your faith and trust in God will be obvious for all to see, and God will honor you in return.

Pass the Salt, Please!

Yesterday I mentioned that Matthew 5 presents a big challenge to us in how to live our lives.  Part of that challenge is in being a witness to the world if you are a follower of Christ.  Jesus said that we are to be salt, and to not lose our flavor.  But what does it mean to be flavorful as a Christ follower?  Jesus said he is “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6).  He said if you know Him, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32).  Finally, He said that He came “that (we) may have life, and have it abundantly.”  (John 10:10).  Jesus came to give us eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.  Our job is not to save people.  It is simply to witness to others what we know -  that Jesus is the Christ, who died for us!  

One of the ways that we can witness to people about our life in Christ is to live God-honoring lives.  I have heard people say that being a Christian must be boring, and that they don’t want to be a Christian because you have to give up all the fun stuff.  I could not disagree more with that thought.   have a beautiful wife and three wonderful daughters.  We have a lot of fun.  We go to the beach and to water parks, to ball games and concerts and movies.  We hang out with friends and talk and laugh and eat too much.  And yes, we go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and sometimes we help with mission projects or special events with our church.  We don’t do these things because we can’t have fun.  We do them because Jesus has set us free.  We are not in bondage to the things Satan says are fun.  Instead, we delight in the things of God that build us up spiritually.

The rest of the chapter talks about living an honorable life away from things that keep you in bondage to sin.  When you have hatred toward other people, when you lust after someone, when you swear that you will do something, or plot revenge on someone that has wronged you, you are in bondage to sin.  You are in bondage because you are either plotting to sin, you are sinning, or you are covering up the sin.  This consumes all your time and energy so that you cannot simply enjoy life.  The thing that Jesus really tried to drive home for us here is this fact - sin is not sin because we do it.  Sin is sin because it has manifested itself in our hearts.  He said, “everyone who is angry with his brother,” (v. 22) or “everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (v. 28).  You don’t actually have to attack your brother, or have sex with someone.  You have already sinned when you think about it.

So, what does this have to do with being salt, and being flavorful?  It is simply this - you cannot show the world how great life is for a Christ follower if you are living like the world.  You have to put sin aside and treat people with love, respect, and care.  You take the attitude that others are more important than you, and that your ultimate purpose is to love them.  It also means that life is fun, and full of love and laughs because you treat people in this matter.  This is an area of my life I have struggled with, and I am learning how to do this better.

I believe that Jesus had fun while He was here on earth.  I believe that He laughed, alot, and that He danced at weddings.  I believe He enjoyed spending time with His friends, and that He enjoyed joking with them.  I believe that He might have been a practical joker.  I know, because scripture shows us, that Jesus had what could be described as a cutting, sarcastic wit.  He used this to make His points and teach lessons, not to embarrass or humiliate people.  I believe that the best fun is fun that I can lift up to God and say, “Hey, Jesus, you want to join us?”  And I believe He would say “YES!”, because He’s just salty like that.

And, I believe that the best people in the world have more than a little salt in them.