Do we really understand the heart of a problem if we only treat one symptom and ignore what is at the root? I am thinking of something very specific this week in light of the tragic events in Rosenburg, Oregon. I think we are a society that is happy to continue picking fruit to destroy the evil tree instead of taking a chainsaw to its roots.

Fruit is an indicator…it’s a teller of the tale of the tree. If you are eating delicious apples from a tree you know you have a healthy apple tree; however, if you are eating shriveled, wormy apples from a tree you know you have a diseased apple tree. Now, you can pick all the fruit you want to in an attempt to get rid of the disease, but if you don’t get to the root of the problem then the problem will continue.

Jesus said,

“So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18)

This is how I see the approach of our governmental leadership to the martyrdom of our nine sisters and brothers. Those killed were Lucero Alcaraz Treven Taylor Anspach, Rebecka Ann Carnes, Quinn Glen Cooper, Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, Lucas Eibel, Jason Dale Johnson, Lawrence Levine, and Sarena Dawn Moore. The President has never acknowledged that these nine gave their lives because they were Christians. He didn’t even hint that the shooter asked the question, “Are you a Christian.” Imagine that, believers in Jesus Christ in the United States of America were targeted and murdered for their faith, and most of the media outlets and the President refused to give that any attention. Instead he decided to take this opportunity to talk passionately about gun control. In my opinion all he wants to do is pick some fruit instead of addressing the heart of the problem.

What is at the very core of this issue is sin. The shooter had a bad heart and that is where we have to start. He had a history of behavior that would lead us to believe he was mentally unstable. I would contend that anybody who murders nine people in one morning is certainly not mentally stable. What we should be addressing is not gun control but the treatment of people’s hearts. People (like this young man) who are hurting, outcast, marginalized, neglected, forgotten and abused need help. Jesus had a special mercy for those suffering the way this young man obviously suffered. I just don’t think he woke up Thursday and decided to be a mass murderer.

So many in our society suffer as this young man did. It is too late to help him. His story is written, but those currently living in desperation can still be helped. We must get to the heart of their problem and show them how God wants to rewrite their story with a beautiful chapter of redemption and hope. If we genuinely want to prevent, or at least curtail, public mass shootings then we will begin to bring the heart problems people have into clearer focus. We will spend more time and dollars on mental illness than stiffer gun laws.

Are we going to go on picking fruits or killing roots?

Grace & Peace,

Is it important to come to God like a child?

“…Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3; cf. Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17)

So, yes, it is not only important but also absolutely necessary to come to God like a child in order to have eternal life. This means we need to have a faith that is simple and uncomplicated. It is an uncluttered faith. It means that we don’t have it all figured out but we know we can take God at His word and trust His promise to adopt us into His family. But the lesson doesn’t end there. Jesus went on to say:

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (v. 4).

It seems that Jesus is at least implying how we should live in a complicated world. We not only get to God through a childlike faith, but we also continue throughout our lives following Him like a child. Daily life for a child is humble following. We need our Father to get us through another day. Pride strips trust. When we are following God like a child we are living in simple dependency on God’s Spirit. We are daily depending on Him. We are repeatedly asking God questions like, “What are you doing?” And we are telling Him that we want to follow Him like a child follows their parents in a busy, crowded mall on Black Friday. We are never losing sight of our heavenly Father. We are not wandering off because something shiny and noisy has caught our attention.

Let’s not lose that daily childlike trust in God. My desire is that we don’t become so “mature” in the sense that the awe and wonder of following God like a simple child wears off.

Grace & Peace,

It’s another Monday morning and therefore the beginning of another week; it seems like last Monday was just yesterday. Time moves along so quickly…too quickly. Before we know it Christmas will be here and 2015 will be a memory. Just ask Denise Ford how many days until Christmas. And that means we will struggle with remembering to write 2016 instead of 2015. This frantic passing of time is not something new to our generation. King David was a busy man…

David was a king who was busy being constantly chased by his enemies. Reading his contributions to the Book of Psalms is like watching a Jason Bourne movie. It just seems like David never had time to rest and relax because he went from one fight to another; he went from the frying pan to the fire to the incinerator to the atomic bomb. It was a fast-paced, action-packed life on the run. He wrote,

“O LORD, make me know my end

            And what is the measure of my days;

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

            And my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!” (Psalm 39:4-5)

Among many things he is saying, “Life is short!”

Why are we waiting to live our lives tomorrow when God fully intends us to live them today? God doesn’t want any of us to get to the end of our lives and feel remorse and regret. And it’s never too late to get moving and do today what God wants us to do. Paul told us to stop living in the past and press on toward what God has called us to in the future (Philippians 3:13-14). What does God want you to do today that will please Him and serve someone else?

Grace & Peace,