A facebook post that made me think

'In the church context, it was culturally unacceptable to have problems; it was called being sinful. At Alcoholics Anonymous, it was culturally unacceptable to be perfect; that was called denial. In church, people looked better and got worse, and in the AA group they looked worse and got better!’ [Henry Cloud, Changes That Heal]

A friend of mine posted this on facebook recently. I got to thinking about it. This is a bit of an overstatement, but has enough truth to be a source of sadness. Of course, there is victory in the Christian life and it is not denial to testify to it. And wallowing in sin and defeat is sinful. Still, this is something to consider.

The churches I pastored had a culture of testifying. I am persuaded this is a very healthy practice. But I realized at some point that people usually shared victory and answers to prayer. These are good, but only half the story. We tried to address this. These same churches were also praying churches, frequently meeting in small groups for prayer. I believe this was one way the brethren could share their struggles: “Pray for me about…” and “I’m praying about…”

I would also often ask for testimonies of salvation. One Sunday, the Lord showed me that by doing this I was magnifying the sensational ("Man, I was really bad...") and marginalizing the saints who had been believers since childhood. The way we were doing this, they had no story. And yet they did! In addition, the Spirit showed me that the Lord Jesus said, Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. He said confess, not testify.

From that day forward I changed my approach. I began asking, "Anyone want to confess their faith in Christ?" or, "Anyone willing to confess they believe Jesus is the Son of God?" That way, everyone who had accepted Christ at the age of 5 and had never wandered off into sin had a glorious testimony too! And isn’t that what Jesus called for? confess me before men. And it was effective.

I believe Jesus saves, that there is victory in Christ, that God answers prayer, and that we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. And I believe in the practice of testifying. Frequent testimonies are a sign of a vibrant church. Churches have to be careful lest they create the culture described in the quote above, but testifying and the expectation of victory should be the norm in a church.

We used to sing:

Victory, O victory, it is mine 2x

If I hold my peace, 

let the Lord fight my battles

Victory, O victory, it is mine

Victory, O victory, it is yours… 

Victory, O victory, it is ours…

We should hold forth expectations of God moving in our midst and doing great things. We should also have the tradition of testifying to what He is doing and has done. But, to be a fully biblical church, we also need the freedom and transparency to Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. Otherwise we fall into the trap mentioned at the beginning.

Isn’t it cool when a simple facebook post causes you to think?

Walk humbly with thy God

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

I searched mishpat (judgment) and chesed (mercy). Now for walk humbly with thy God. Funny thing is, this is the only occurrence of this word in the Old Testament. So there's no word search but just a few thoughts on to walk humbly…

Pride is a problem we all face. But it is an especially insidious temptation in spiritual matters. What?!? What could I ever be tempted to be proud about? This is spiritual pride: I know something, have something, experienced something that you don’t know, don’t have, have not experienced.

“I know God. My sins are forgiven. I have eternal life. I have a spiritual gift. I know the Bible. God answers my prayers. I’m walking in victory. Our church is growing. Our church is Bible-based… and you don’t.”  You don’t consciously think this way, but it so easily creeps in. “Those that are spiritual proud, have a high conceit of these two things, their light, and their humility.” (Jonathan Edwards).

But this need not be! But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:6, 10

I can humble myself. And as I consciously humble myself before God, he will give me more grace.

Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 

Ephesians 4:1-2  I … beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love

Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 

Amen. I put on lowliness of mind and God gives me grace to be truly humble.

“The eminently humble Christian is as it were clothed with lowliness, mildness, meekness, gentleness of spirit and behavior, and with a soft, sweet, condescending, winning air and deportment; these things are just like garments to him, he is clothed all over with them.” Jonathan Edwards

Amen. Be a doer of his Word (do judgment), love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

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Spiritual Pride

by Jonathan Edwards

"those that are spiritual proud, have a high conceit of these two things, their light, and their humility"

Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others; whereas an humble saint is so suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The spiritually proud person is apt to find fault with other saints, that they are low in grace; and to be much in observing how cold and dead they are; and being quick to discern and take notice of their deficiencies. But the humble Christian has so much to do at home . . . that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts . . . He is apt to esteem others better than himself, and is ready to hope that [everyone] has more love and thankfulness to God than he.

Pride magnifies the faults of other Christians and diminishes their graces, while it diminishes the faults and magnifies the graces of its subject. It is apt to treat the needs of others as occasions of contempt and laughter rather than as sources of concern or shock.

"Spiritual pride takes great notice of opposition and injuries that are received, and is apt to be often speaking of them, and to be much in taking notice of their aggravations, either with an air of bitterness or contempt."
The humble Christian is as it were clothed with lowliness, mildness, meekness, gentleness of spirit and behavior, and with a soft, sweet, condescending, winning air and deportment; these things are just like garments to him, he is clothed all over with them . . . Pure Christian humility has no such thing as roughness, or contempt, or fierceness, or bitterness in its nature; it makes a person like a little child, harmless and innocent, that none need to be afraid of; or like a lamb, destitute of all bitterness, wrath, anger, and clamor; agreeable to Eph. iv.31. . . . [Ministers] ought indeed . . . not to be gentle and moderate in searching and awakening the conscience, but should be sons of thunder . . . Yet they should do it without judging particular persons, leaving it to conscience and the Spirit of God to make the particular application. But all their conversation should savor of nothing but lowliness and good-will, love and pity to all mankind; so that such a spirit should be like a sweet odor diffused around them wherever they go. They should be like lions to guilty consciences, but like lambs to men’s persons.

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And for a fuller discussion of spiritual pride:

http://www.grace-abounding.com/Articles/Sin/Pride_Edwards.htm

and to love mercy

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8

My last post was what I learned about the phrase, to do justly or to do judgment. My next search was the phrase, to love mercy. Wow!

The Hebrew word for mercy is chesed. It is usually translated mercy, lovingkindness, or kindness. I learned some interesting things about mercy.

† it is linked with a variety of interesting words. (chesed is in italics)
mercy and truth, mercy and favour, longsuffering and mercy, grace and favour, life and favour, goodness and mercy, tender mercies and lovingkindnesses, mercy and judgment.

† there are other Hebrew words for mercy, and they are sometimes used with chesed (again, in italics).
Psalm 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

I noted these other words but did not study them. But it looked interesting

† mercy is used most often in reference to God. In fact, in the Psalms it is only used of God.

Nehemiah 9:17 …but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness…

Psalm 86: 15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Psalm 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

And it is God’s lovingkindness that serves as the motive and model for our showing mercy.

† And here is the main point: chesed (mercy, lovingkindness) is not so much an attitude as it is the action that flows from that attitude. “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” Chesed is that compassion, grace, and longsuffering in action. God has compassion on me and shows me mercy. Even so with us, mercy is doing something for another.

Joshua 2:12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:
13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
 14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

Rahab was not interested in their compassion. She asked for chesed – save my family.

So, how do we love mercy? How do we show mercy to people around us? Clearly it is the kindness we show to people. Even though Jesus did not quote this verse, he obviously taught the truth of this verse.

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  
This is the first and great commandment.  
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

And Jesus illustrates this loving your neighbor as yourself in Luke 10:30-38. To love mercy is to treat people the way I wish they treated me, to do for them what I would want done for me.

This is big. This is really big! Mercy is acts of kindness, compassion in action. Giving, doing, helping. Even little things like a kind word. Amen.

What doth the Lord require of thee but to do judgment and to love mercy

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Psalm 86:5

O Lord, help me to fully know your mercy toward me, fill my heart with your love and teach me to love mercy.


Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Hosea 12:6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

Zechariah 7:9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

Amen.

To do justly or Gottes Wort halten

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8

We sang the Maranatha! Praise version of this chorus in church a few weeks ago. I thought at the time, “Wow, we could end church right now!” I began meditating on this verse and a couple of weeks after that I decided to search the Old Testament for the words justly and mercy in order to get a better understanding. Oh my, lots of verses!

I recently finished justly. I was rather surprised at what I found. Before this study, I would have completely agreed with one of my favorite commentators, “To do justly; to give to all their due.” I was startled to learn that on this verse he had not done his homework! Let’s do ours.

First, the Hebrew word translated justly is mishpat. That tells you everything, right? Well, I confess, not me. I did learn, though, that the basic meaning of mishpat is judgment.

Second, I learned that mishpat occurs quite often, over 400 times in the Old Testament! And yes, I read through every single one. This must be a very important word and concept, since it occurs so often and in nearly every book of the Old Testament.

Third, it is translated by a lot of different English words. Some of them: judgment, manner, right, cause, ordinance. That’s because it is used in a variety of ways. And that is what I found so surprising. And helpful.

and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do judgment. Judgment is often used to refer to just that, judgment. By God or by human leaders.  But judgment is also one of the words used by God concerning the Law. Commandments, statutes, ordinances, judgments. Now the light is getting brighter. I came to the conclusion that to do judgment meant to keep the Law, obey the Word. I have often read that to do justly means to do the right thing. And that is correct, except we’re still left with, What is the right thing? But when we understand mishpat (judgment), that question is answered. In the Law He gave His judgments, what is the right thing to do. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

And in speaking of the coming Messiah, we read in Isaiah 42
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.  
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.  
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.  
4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 

Messiah will bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Is that not what he did? “You have heard it said…but I say...”

And in some collateral reading I came across Martin Luther’s translation of to do justly, Gottes Wort halten. Oh yeah, that is as helpful as mishpat! Well, Gottes Wort halten in plain English is keep God’s Word. Amen! Martin Luther agrees with me! Well, I should say, I came to the same conclusion he did, just a few years before me.

Anyway, the thing that mattered the most to God in the Old Testament was this, that a man should keep His commandments. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee but to keep his word. And while this verse is never quoted in the New Testament, is this not the same thing taught by Christ?

if any many love me he will keep my commandments

And the Apostles picked up on this:

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments

This is really cool. Really plain. Straightforward and simple. and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to Gottes Wort halten, keep God’s Word. Jesus Christ has brought forth judgment to the Gentiles, in his own teaching and through his apostles. What is good and what does God require of me? but to do these judgments, to Gottes Wort halten, keep God’s Word.

In Isaiah 26:8-9 we read
Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Where am I going to find God? in the way of his judgments, that is, by walking in the truth and ordering my life by his Word. Then I will learn righteousness. Amen.

Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

Hosea 12:6

He hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee but to

Gottes Wort halten

A Sunday Drive

I woke up at 4:30. Nothing unusual in that on my day off. I contemplated trying to go back to sleep, but decided to get up and prepare for a Sunday drive. “Yes, I’m going to Augusta today and I’m going to try and leave at 6.”

I showered, dressed, gathered what I wanted to take and was out the door shortly after 6. I headed to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast: two Boston Kremes and a cup of hot chocolate. They were so nice at Dunkin Donuts. All their Boston Kremes on the shelf were ruined by an orange drizzle (Halloween), I turned to go but they made two new ones just for me!

Ah, but I had forgotten an item and had to head back to the house to get it. And at 6:15, I was off!

It is still night at 6 am. When I turned onto the on ramp for I-77, it was dark. So dark I could barely see the ramp! But being the ‘plodder’ that I am, I pressed on. In the dark. The deep, deep dark, thankful that there wasn’t a lot of traffic. When I got into Chester County, it began to rain. “This is great, it is dark AND raining.” A one-eyed driver’s picture perfect trip. I pressed on, after all, Lucca and DC are at the other end.

Dawn. What an absolutely beautiful time of day. What was shrouded in darkness is now being revealed. It’s like the first day of creation all over again. The light is unlike the full light of day, and everything looks different. And beautiful. I was in awe of creation and wanted to take every road. Everything was so inviting. The entire trip was marked by distinct and changing colors, and the freshness of the morning. It was so beautiful, I had a brief moment of sadness, thinking about how it would all be changed by the light of full day.

It’s pretty much downhill from Rock Hill to Augusta. The respective elevations:

Rock Hill 676 ft
Columbia 292 ft
Augusta 136 ft

I’ve noticed this before, but everything looks different in the early morning. I would come to a hill and what a sight! Shortly after mile marker 50 on I-77 you can see the midlands below you. Beautiful. From Rock Hill (676) to Ridgeway (614) at exit 34, there is a drop of 62 feet. Right after this, Wow! You round a corner and the South Carolina midlands is in plain view. Beautiful! (You reckon they call it ‘Ridgeway’ for that reason?)

Same thing happens between Columbia (292 ft) and Augusta (136 ft). This is more dramatic by the rise to Aiken (515 ft), which obviously sits on some kind of ridge itself. You round a bend, and you can see for miles and miles and miles. And you know you are heading down to a river. Amazing!

Between Columbia and Augusta my attention was drawn to 2 Timothy 1:7, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. I delivered a wonderful teaching on the spirit of fear!

I arrived at Mary K’s house at 8:40. Lucca greeted me with, “We love you, Granddaddy.” This day just gets better and better!! We hopped into Mary K’s car and headed to church. Pretty good service. We sang “Come, thou fount” with all the original words! Even,

He to rescue me from danger

Interposed his precious blood

And we confessed (a slightly edited version of) the Apostle’s Creed. In a Baptist church!

We spent the afternoon at Mary K’s house, mostly in her backyard. When I announced I was leaving, DC said, "No" and grabbed me. So, I picked him up and hugged him for a while. Then at 4, I hopped into the jeep and headed back. Uphill all the way. Yet I made better time coming back.

It was a good day.

Mary K made a small fire. Lucca is adding sticks

Playing with Lucca on the swing. She had a wonderful laugh

Wednesday Night

Wednesday night, what a beginning!

Right at the start, a man came in to cash in two lottery tickets. He won $100 on the first ticket. I have a line forming and I know I don’t have that much money in my drawer, And actually, when you pay out $100 and more you are supposed to give them a money order. It is a little after 11 and I can’t do money orders right now. Since I am now concerned that he has won a lot, I ask if the other ticket is like the first. No, just $15. I asked him if wanted the money or if he wanted to buy some more tickets. More tickets (they nearly always buy more tickets). $25 worth. He got a lot of ones!

The woman behind him in line has three separate orders:
1. Gas on her debit card.
2. Sodas on her EBT card
3. Cigarettes with cash.

My night begins with two of my favorite things – lottery and EBT!

Shortly after this, a group of loud and profane young men come in. First guy makes a purchase and then asks for change for a $20. My third favorite thing, being treated like the bank! He got a lot of ones as well. He wasn’t too happy about it either. His buddy comes to the counter and asks for a cigar. He says, “I don’t have my ID, but I’m 21.” (People do this all the time, run around at night with no ID, intending to buy age-restricted products. They always seem surprised when asked for one, too.) I couldn’t tell if his look was a challenge or some kind of threat. I said, “Man, if you hadn’t told me you didn’t have an ID you would've been alright. But now that you’ve told, I can’t sell this to you.” He feebly argued that he was 21 but then turn to his friend and said, “OK, you get the cigar.” I said, “No. Can’t do that. I know he’s buying for you.”

As I said, what a beginning. Things slowed down for the rest of the night. Then, at 4:50 AM (I know what time it was because I had just finished day close and he was my first customer) a man brought a 12 pack of Milwaukee’s Best beer to the counter. I know he’s not on his way to work, but this IS ‘on the way to work’ time, so I commented, “Man, I gotta find out where you work so I can go to work like this too!” (I’m joking with the fellow, I don’t really want to go to work and drink 12 beers. Besides, I hear that Milwaukee’s Best is nasty stuff!) He said, “I’m a musician, we do what we want to!” HAHA! And he really was. He is the driver for one band, and had just returned from a ‘gig’ at Myrtle Beach, and the bass player for another band. And he spent ten years associated in some way with Chairman of the Board. We had a good laugh.

A little bit later, the manager of the McDonald’s across the street came in for her coffee for the morning and sodas for the day. She seems like a nice person and always positive and upbeat. I asked her, “Do you ever have a bad day?” She paid for her purchase and then replied, “Yeah, I have bad days now and then, but I get over them quickly.” Pretty cool, don’t you think?

And then my night ended on a real positive note – my manager said, “You can go now.”

Bezaleel: An Old Testament Hero

When we think of the leading figures of the Old Testament, we usually think of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Isaiah and the other prophets. And, without a doubt, the most important characters in the Old Testament are Abraham, Moses, and David. Last night, in my reading of Exodus, I came across a man who had a very important role and one we should not overlook: Bezaleel.

Exodus 31:1-11
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:  3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship…6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee

Bezaleel. Probably pronounced something like Betsal'el in Hebrew. His name means, “in the shadow of God.” He was filled with the Spirit. We usually think of that in terms of becoming a prophet or a king; and in the New Testament, tongues, prophecy, teaching, preaching. But, as far as we know, Bezaleel never uttered a word of prophecy, yet he was filled with the Spirit. How was this manifested in his life? I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.

God wanted Israel to have a tabernacle. He showed Moses exactly what He wanted. Moses saw it, wrote it down, but he couldn’t build it. So God gave him Bezaleel, a talented craftsman. And He filled Bezaleel with the Spirit for this work. And with this filling Bezaleel was equipped in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

Exodus 35:30-39:43 is devoted to metallurgy, sewing, engraving, carpentry. Four and a half chapters devoted to Bezaleel’s building the tabernacle! And this is all neatly summed up in 38:22-23
22 And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.  
23 And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.

This is really neat - Bezaleel was every bit as important as Moses. Moses saw it, but Bezaleel built it. He was a craftsman, an artisan, a worker with his hands. He was filled with the Spirit and he built the tabernacle.

Exodus 39:33-43 gives us another neat picture:
33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses…
42 According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work.  
43 And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
Moses didn’t see it or inspect it until it was all finished. The work of building the tabernacle was totally in Bezaleel’s hands.

Bezaleel didn’t prophecy, preach, teach, heal the sick or manifest any of the other gifts of the Spirit. But when he was filled with the Spirit, his talents and skills were used in a mighty way for the glory of God. A lot of craftsmen are men of few words, they can’t preach or teach, but their sanctified skill can be used in the kingdom!

Father Damien, missionary to Hawai’i, was a craftsman, a wood-worker. When he started his ministry among the outcast lepers on Moloka’i, with his own hands he built a church building, houses and other buildings. He preached and taught, but he was a Bezaleel at heart, and God used him in a wonderful way. Amen.

As I thought about this, I sort of stretched it out. Wherever we are, whatever work we do, if we are filled with the Spirit, we can glorify God in it. We all have talents and skills and a life calling, “whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” And the amazing thing is, if we let Him, God will fill us with His Spirit and make this possible.

I think this is pretty neat.

It’s Sunday and I don’t want to be here

Yesterday, after church, we went to lunch with some friends of ours. Ever notice how ‘friends of ours’ sounds friendlier than ‘a couple from church’? Anyway, we got to talking about work and when they learned that I had to work that night they asked, “Are Sunday nights busy?” Yes. Here are some clips from my Sunday night.

I’ve been off for two days and that first day back is difficult. The counter and register area has been completely re-arranged and there is not much counter space left. My manager, I like him, but he seems to thrive in clutter. The register area is cluttered, cramped, and claustrophobic. The main walkway is like a maze. And I am busy. People just keep coming and coming. I’m pretty steady for the first two, two and a half hours. As in, I’m pretty much stuck behind the counter.

People can’t read – they plant themseleves right in front of the “This Register Closed” sign and wait for service. “Oh, you’re on the other register?” Yes.

The first couple of hours feels like the ‘hood’.

I am still selling beer at 5 am.

Sometime during the night a police officer came in and she asked me how I was doing. I said, “Alright.”
“Just alright?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to be here tonight.”
“Isn’t that every night?”
You’re right, but some nights I don’t want to be here more than others.”
And being sharp she said, “And this is one of those ‘more than others’ nights?”

But the high note of the night came sometime between 1 and 1:30. Two guys come in and look around. One man comes to the counter for his purchase while his friend lingers at the doughnut case. He says to his friend, “Man, that red velvet muffin looks good.”
I have already counted them as waste so I say to him, “Tell you what, you can have it.”
"What?"
"Yes, you can have it."
"What?"
"You can have it."
This goes on for a couple of minutes as even his friend tries to convince him it is not a trick. I get this response a lot so it makes me wonder how many stores have tricked customers with fake free donuts and then charged them with shoplifting.
Then he asks, “Why? Why are you giving me this donut for free?”
So I explain that I put them out new every morning and then throw out the ones that don’t sell when I come back to work. His friend gets the picture, “Can we have them all?”
“Yep.”
They take several, thank me and head out to their car. But ‘red velvet man’ comes back inside and to the counter. He offers an explanation that I cannot hear and then he pulls out a Starburst candy from his pocket, “I was gonna steal this from you, but you were so nice that I brought it back.”
My response? “Thank you. The Lord bless you, man.”

That changed the night for me.

Why would God be so restrictive?

Three days ago I had a conversation with a customer about freedom and rights and how we are slowly losing both in America. It took an odd turn and he began to talk about the financial benefits of vice – as in, vice is what has made America prosperous. He ended the conversation (he left to go off to work) with this, “If it weren’t for vice there would be no need for religion.” I thought, “What an odd view. I need to take this up again next time he comes in.”

He came in this morning. And I did. I reminded him of his parting comment and said, “I won’t speak about ‘religion’ but Christianity is not about governing vice, it is about knowing God.”

He immediately replied, “You’re being rather narrow and restrictive.” I admit, I thought he was commenting on my definition of a Christian (someone who knows God) and I answered, “Intentionally so.” Ah, but he was talking about religion. Clearly, he had thought a lot about this and began to throw a lot of “religion has done lots of bad things” at me. I’m pretty sure he has done this before and is used to people being overwhelmed by this display, but I swept that aside. I was able to slowly direct him to the main issue, but time and an incredible amount of customers at that hour caused a halt. His main point was that all religions are talking about the same God, just using different names for Him. And to my objection to this he asked, “Why would God be so restrictive?”

Indeed, Why would God be so restrictive as to limit Himself to Christianity? This is an excellent question!

What is it about the Christian faith that makes it “better” than all other religions? Do we worship better? Pray better? Have better ‘rules’ than everyone else? If that were the case, then it would be just another religion and you could just pick the one that fits your culture best. But there is something absolutely unique about Christianity that sets it apart from everything else. What is it?

Jesus.

Which is where I was directing our conversation. How is Jesus different from Mohammed and Buddha? He was a man, they were men. He lived and died, they lived and died. What’s so different about him?

He is the Son of God. Not ‘a’ son of God, as in one of many, but ‘the Son’. The biblical term is, the only begotten Son. Christianity is unique among the faiths of the world because of Jesus.

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Nothing can compare to what the Son reveals about God.

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
No one knows the Father, except the Son. If you want to know God it has to be through His Son. When the Son speaks that’s final. This is exclusive.

Jesus.

He’s the difference. Jesus was born to a woman. All men are born to a woman. Nothing unique here. But Jesus was born of a virgin. That’s because he is the Son of God:
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Jesus died. All men die. Nothing unique here either. But Jesus was raised from the dead. That’s because he is the Son of God:
And declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead

Jesus is the X-factor in all this. God has spoken, He has revealed Himself in a rich, full and complete way in Jesus, His only begotten Son. Nothing else needs to be added to this, or can be.

We are not arguing religious rules, ceremonies, practices, culture. We're saying Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. That’s what makes what he says “better” than what anybody else, everybody else, says.

Why would God be so restrictive? He only has one Son! Jesus and Buddha are mutually exclusive. If Jesus is the Son of God, Buddha is wrong. If Buddha is right, Jesus is not the Son of God.

True Christianity is Jesus: born of a virgin, lived, died on the cross, rose from the dead. The only begotten Son of God, who came to restore us to God. In other words, All roads may lead to Rome, but not all religions lead to God. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

I don't know if I will get to go this far with this fellow, but this is where I want to take him and where I was leading him.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, 

and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.