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What a question. Supposedly as Christians, we are supposed to be seeking after Jesus; that is what it means to be a Christian, right? A follower of Jesus. But is it possible that we can say we are seeking after Jesus but our actions and the people we follow betray who we really are? If we take the time to analyze how we behave, it could be that we are servants of people that seek their own glory rather than Jesus. Because Jesus will always call us to humility, humility that seeks to exalt God rather than ourselves. A humility that would rather see our fellow neighbor grow then hold them back. Could it be that we follow political pundits on prime time news shows that demand that we stand up for our rights, and we reject the humility and self-sacrifice that was characteristic of the words and practices of Christ where ever he went? We say that we are Christians first, but it seems that we know more about our flavor of politics than we know the principles of the kingdom of Jesus. We demand to be able to keep what is rightfully ours. When we should be willing to give up what is ours to relieve the burden of our neighbor.

We demand our rights, as citizens, instead of doing the work of Jesus and helping the Widow, the orphan, and yes, the stranger also. Could it be that we follow the rhetoric because it appeals to our desire for self-exaltation? Analyze who you follow on a daily bases. Are they people that want to glorify themselves? These people will always appeal to our desire for self-exaltation. Do you find that your conversations focus more on what you deserve than what others need? Is your social media full of political ideologies instead of the gospel? If so, then it could be an indicator that you have stopped following the suffering servant and are now following that thing that seeks glory and self-exaltation. Remember, that is what got this world in the mess it is in now. 

When we come in contact with Jesus, he begins to change our lives because when Jesus inhabits a place, he never leaves things the same. Jesus' desire is to bring us higher, and when we find ourselves in the presence of Jesus, we realize how much we need a change in our desires, passions, and motives. That feeling of wanting Jesus to change who you are, at your essence, is what the Bible calls conviction. Conviction is that feeling that dives deeper than behavioral changes to the core of who we are. Its a sense that there is something wrong with who I am, and I need Jesus to transform me as a being. The problem lies in that we, as human beings, don't like conviction because it hits us in our pride, passions, and desires. So instead of conviction taking us to repentance, we try to get out of the hot seat and silence conviction by turning to points of religious controversy. In other words, we choose to engage in religious arguments to quiet the call of Jesus to change our hearts.

The fascinating thing is that this is a phenomenon that happens to both religious and non-religious people. In the gospel of John, the woman at the well was, by any estimation, a "non-believer". But when she came in contact with Jesus, because of who He is, she came under conviction because of who she is. The Samaritan woman, noticing that she is under conviction, tries to get the microscope off of who she is, and started to deviate the conversation to the religious controversy over whether God's people should worship in Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim in the north. This happens because conviction will produce repentance, or we create controversy. The same happens with so-called believers in God. The religious leaders of Jesus' day were convicted of their hypocrisy, dead formalism, and burdening traditions. But when they came in contact with Jesus and the conviction that He brings, they decided to create controversy on religious matters such as how Jesus and his disciples kept the Sabbath and how they didn't keep the empty traditions of the day. All of that was to silence conviction that brings repentance. Unfortunately, this happens today. People that have never heard the gospel or are loosely aware of the Bible and religion tend to silence conviction by pointing out the negative aspects of faith. They don't want to be in a relationship with Jesus because of Charlatans, bigoted televangelists, expensive jets, and the prosperity gospel. But this hits home to the church, those who claim to be followers of Jesus, those of us that when Jesus convicts us, we start fights on the way people dress, what they eat, how they worship and all the while what we are really doing is silencing the conviction that comes with following Jesus. Fights over who to ordain, who we admit into fellowship, and how we express our faith may be evidence of a more profound conviction that we are trying to ignore, and to do that, we pick fights on trivial religious problems to get the focus off of ourselves. If Jesus is convicting you today, don't make excuses and look at people's failures to get out of the hot seat. If your encounter with Jesus produces conviction, don't pick fights over trivial religious controversies to silence the changes that you need to make. When Jesus comes knocking, will you let him change you, or are you going to be part of the controversy?

What makes something or someone holy? Just a quick google search of the word holy produces the definition to be dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred. According to this definition, if I commit a building to God, then that building is holy. If I dedicate the way I dress to a religious purpose, then that means the way I dress is holy. If I talk in a way that is different from the way others speak and sprinkle in words like Jesus, church, amen, or praise the Lord, then I am a holy person. If I act a certain way or stay away from the places that a Christian should not go, then maybe that will make me holy. The problem with this is that holiness, or the state of being holy, is totally dependant on me and my behavior. Is it possible that I can dress holy and not be holy? Is it possible to not to wear jewelry, not listen to "worldly music," dress modestly, say the right things, and go to church every week and still be missing the mark? What if holiness is not so much a set of behaviors as much as it is a manifestation of God's presence. Let's explore, for example, the moment that Moses encounters that burning bush on Mount Horeb. Moses drew close to this bush that was apparently burning but was not being consumed. Then he hears the voice of God saying, "Moses stay back and remove your shoes because the place where you are standing is holy ground." What made that place holy, the presence of God, or the location where Moses was standing? When God gives the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, he orders the nation of Israel to not come close to the mountain on pain of death. Why? Because that mountain in of itself was unique, or sacred, or was it because the presence of God had descended on it, and that made the mountain holy. These examples, and many others, in scripture, seem to indicate that holiness or something being holy is not dependant on what we say or do. However, it IS solely dependent on whether we are in the presence of God or not. The fact is that you can look and act holy and really not be holy. If you are looking to be holy, DON'T change your behavior. DON'T stop sinning. DON'T dress differently. DON'T talk differently. DON'T change a thing! All you need to do is get in the presence of Jesus, and as you are in the presence of Jesus, He will tell you to come closer or stay away. He will ask you to take your sandals off or keep them on. He will tell you what to say, where to go, and how to live because Jesus never leaves you the same as how he found you. Today if you are feeling that you need to change, don't. Just desire to be in His presence because that is true holiness, and that is where lasting change will begin.

Anthony Nix

The nearness of Jesus' soon return should be the most important news that people could ever want to hear. But unfortunately, even Christians get scared of the uncertainty of what can happen when the world is falling apart. The Bible is chock-full of relevant scripture of how the history of the world will come to a close. Instead of echoing others, the Apostle Peter seems to give some counsel on how a Christian should behave as time ends. In 1 Peter 4:7, Peter emphatically tells us that the world, as we know it, is definitely coming to an end. As a result of that, he has some counsels for us as Christians living in the last days. The first thing that Peter wants us to be sure to do is to keep it together. He says, "...Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray." It seems that to Peter, our ability to stay connected to God in prayer is dependent upon our ability to remain calm and clear of mind. Next, Peter tells us to, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Not only does he believe that we should love above all things but connects it to our ability to forgive others and to admit our faults. This is super important for the people of God that are on the brink of the end because love will be something that people will not have as the day comes near. Peter then tells us in verse 9 that hospitality is paramount in the last days. The word that he used for hospitality implies that we should open our resources up to people that we don't know and may look or act totally different from us. This reminds me of the last parable in Matthew 25, where Jesus prevents a whole group of people from entering heaven because they are not hospitable to the less fortunate. Finally, Peter tells us to use our gifts to glorify God so that as people see us, they will see God and come to him through our actions. The end is near friends. What will you do? How will you react to the closing of earth's history?

Someone asked Martin Luther what he would do if the world were to end today. He replied that he would plant a tree and pay his taxes*. What Luther was trying to say is that he lived every day as if it was his last; and that he would be the same person no matter what happened. Are we living what Peter says every day? If not, I don't think anything will change in you when the end really does come.

*Schreiner, T. R. (2003). 1, 2 Peter, Jude (Vol. 37, p. 211). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

** All scriptures come from the NIV.

It’s sobering to realize how quickly life can change. Just a month ago, we were dining in restaurants, shopping in stores, playing at sports and worshiping in churches. Today, little of that remains due to a new and deadly virus that has brought the greatest country in the world to its knees. The economy is in free fall, our healthcare system is stressed, schools are closed and churches are empty.

We feel that emptiness. On several levels. Not only are buildings physically vacant, but fear and uncertainty have taxed our minds, leaving us mentally drained. Social distancing has isolated us in homes and hospital wards, causing psychological desolation. Many of us have lost sources of income, leaving us financially barren. If there is anything we have learned in this crisis, it is that we are woefully unprepared for life’s greatest challenges. And that realization has left us feeling vulnerable…and empty.

In this Easter season, we are reminded once again that there is hope. The empty cross and the empty tomb are symbols of God’s promise that one day, Sin will no longer enslave us. One day, Death will no longer reign. One day, our tombs will be empty, too!

But the greatest realization of all is that the One who hung on that cross and lay in that tomb emptied Himself to be our Savior. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2:5-8, NASB:

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Death is the worst emptiness of all. As He hung on that cross, crying “My Father, my Father, why have You forsaken me?,” Jesus experienced that ultimate emptiness because of your sin and mine. But through His emptiness, we have the opportunity to experience the fullness of His life within us…forever.

As someone wisely observed, “the promises of this world are filled with emptiness, but the emptiness of Easter is filled with promise.” A promise of Redemption. A promise of Reconciliation. A promise of Resurrection. A promise of Reunion. A promise that is ours, if we will reach out by faith to receive it.