Hypocrisy is as sneaky as humility is elusive.  To absolve oneself of guilt is to teeter toward hypocrisy.  To claim humility is to watch it escape us.  So what do we do?

When we witness injustice, violence, or greed, how do we confront it without exuding self-righteousness?  When we are seeking redress for wrongdoing, how do we avoid vengeance?  This is tough.

MLK would remind us that,

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

With all that’s going on right now socially and politically, I’ve been wondering why this season is so painful and disappointing for so many of us.  It’s not like we haven’t faced difficult times before.  None of this is new!  

I think part of the struggle is that we realize how entangled and entrenched we all are in this system.  All of us. We are victims of

and complicit to a wicked system that demands ‘haves and have nots.’ Our economy is built on the exploitation of laborers, domestic and foreign. Our desire for convenience outweighs the need to conserve natural resources and to preserve our planet. We are good capitalists – we are materialistic and  individualistic – but not very good Christians.  Lord, have mercy!

 Even our protests flaunt our designer proclivities.  We are all mixed up in this mess together.  So what do we do?

First, we must admit some humility.  None of us is all right or all wrong.  Then we must take a long slow look in the mirror and confess our own flaws and weaknesses – our complicity to these wicked systems, and confront our hypocrisy and contradictions. Then we must discuss how we dig ourselves out of this mess, by the grace of God!

Listen:

How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Luke 6:42

We got work to do!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

In seasons of distress, we are sustained when we realize that as God’s children, we always have something to look forward to. 

Like a runner who senses the finish line is near, though just beyond view, we are rejuvenated at the very thought of a breakthrough. 

Hope is what energizes us when we would otherwise quit.  Hope encourages when life tempts us to give up.  Hope invigorates us when the road is rough and rugged.

Hope is our reminder of God’s faithfulness even amid the bleakest of circumstances.  Hope is like the air; lifting us with its invisible power when we are weary and exhausted.  We can’t see it but we can certainly feel it!

Hope is the unseen power that compels us to press on when our own strength is gone!  But hope also gives us the resolve to wait faithfully on God’s promises to be revealed.

Hope is what sustained the prophets and apostles – God’s people across the ages! Hope is what sustained our ancestors through unimaginable hardship and persecution.  And, this hope is what will sustain us now –  even as we are waiting on better!

Hope! 

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 8:24–25

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Because God is faithful, Christians can look forward hopefully.  No matter how things appear – we can remain undeterred because God has capable hands and God’s character is unfailing! 

Our hopefulness is more than just optimism amid uncertainty – it is confidence that sees, understands, and is at work on our behalf, for our good, and our perfecting.

For our good…

I heard it said that ‘if it ain’t good, then God’s not done!’ I am inclined to agree.  

While we may be facing a mountain today, or navigating a storm, or facing a crisis, God is working things out for our good!

We are Resurrection people.  The worst things will never be the last things!  

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials…

1 Peter 1:3–6

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

When I was a child, I feared the darkness, and if I’m honest about it, darkness still frightens me. When I was a child, my eyes played tricks on me in the darkness- creating monsters in the shadows. But now, it’s not the physical darkness that haunts me.

It’s the darkness within that scares me.  It is the darkness of human hearts that raises the hair on the back of my neck.  The violence, the greed, the carelessness, the cruelty, the hatefulness – this destructiveness is terrifying!  The hardheartedness – the ignorance, and the arrogance makes me shudder. But, then I remember Jesus.  I recall the goodness of God. I remember that when the Son rises darkness flees! 

I remember the living hope that I have in the Resurrection! 

As dark as things may appear, I remain hopeful – it’s a brand new day!

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

We live in a time where the ‘if you can’t beat them, join them,’ mentality has seized the day. Lying and bullying are the modus operandi. 

Even believers are tempted to get caught up and to do the things that we once resisted because of frustration or anger. 

I want to encourage us to hold on.  We cannot take up the ways of those who oppress, abuse, slander, and disrespect others.  We cannot, as Dr. King said, ‘let any man drag us so low as to hate him…’

We must not compromise our integrity.  We must not allow ourselves to be goaded into a violation of conscience. We must not abandon hope.  

Even under intense pressure, may we continue to look to the One who is our steadfast hope and bless the LORD who redeems us!

11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me. 12 My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.

Psalm 26:11–12

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

The sun is up again this morning.  And if you are reading this, you have a reasonable portion of health and strength, and something of a right mind.  The blood is still running warm in your veins – which means we have another chance!

Even while circumstances are less than ideal, we are still here, and this is God’s grace to us. How should we use it?

As for me, I will try to do some good.  I will try to extend to others the grace I have been afforded.  I will muster the courage to be light and loving even when shadows darken my path.  I will try.

Ultimately, those who find peace and meaning are those who refuse to give up seeking it.  So, as I rise to meet this day, I will do so with the stubborn hope that the ‘arc of the universe is bending toward justice.’ (MLK). 

Be encouraged, my friends.  Hope sometimes requires intense effort, but I’m willing to try.  How about you?

God is still good.  God remains sovereign.  Jesus is LORD. The Holy Spirit remains present with me, so I will not give in to despair.  

Today is a gift.  Let’s be grateful and generous.  Let’s do some good!

After all, 

‘… whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin…’

James 4:17

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

In the Gospels, Peter is the most vocal and animated of all Jesus’ disciples.  His passion and zeal among the original twelve was unrivaled.  Jesus noticed Peter’s passion, but also let him know that trials were coming that would rock him to the core.

Passion and zeal are not the same as discipline.  Passion and zeal may inspire momentary motivation, but what happens when this motivation wanes?  What happens when we are confronted with heartbreaking situations, harrowing circumstances, and hardships?  

We need more than zeal and passion in tough times.  We need the discipline that comes from the Word and the Spirit. We need some divine intervention!  

Thankfully, as Jesus did for Peter, He continues to do for you and me!  Jesus intercedes for us!  Crushing and sifting will come. Trials and temptations will come. We will fall.  But there will be a turn-around!  Thank God, that God will turn it around!

 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Luke 22:31–32

“When you have turned again,” Jesus says.  

Isn’t that good news?  

Jesus says, ‘when’ not ‘if’!  

Things will turn around! You will turn again!  Your change will come.  Which means, You can try again with Jesus!  

Try again with Jesus!  

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

Peter and Andrew were fishing when Jesus called out to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men…’ (Mark 4:19)

Under pressure, Peter denied Jesus, but after he realized what he’d done, he went away and wept bitterly.  Three times, Peter denied Jesus.  

But after the resurrection, Jesus found Peter in the same place, doing the same thing he was doing when He was first called. Peter had returned to fishing!

Once again, Jesus called out to Peter.  Jesus challenged Peter three times  Peter confirmed his love for Jesus, three times.  

Then in a moment, Jesus restored Peter and renewed His call…

“…And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

John 21:19

Yes, we mess up.  Yes, we fall short.  Yes, every single one of us is guilty.  But Jesus comes after, calls out, challenges us, and He restores us!  Beyond our betrayals and failures – Jesus calls, ‘Follow me…’

So, no matter where you are, what you may have done, or how you got there, hear the voice of Jesus, get up and try again!  

Try again with Jesus!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

One of the mysteries of our humanity is that the most important lessons in our lives are often the result of failure.   Think about it.  What meaningful lessons,  what lessons have we retained?  Did they not come through failure? 

Learning to walk, run, ride a bike, make a friend… Learning math, throwing and catching a ball, falling in love.  Oh, the lessons we’ve learned.  

Resilience comes as a result of encountering hardship, adversity, or setback, and learning how to respond to failures!  Resilience is, in fact, learning how to fail forward.  What does this mean?

So, how do we fail forward? 

We realize that failure is inevitable.  We realize that failure is a teacher.  We realize that we need help.  Help is available.  For believers, our help comes from the LORD.  We have what we need to get up and go on!

So… Let’s try again… Try again with Jesus!

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

2 Corinthians 4:8

Good Morning, I love you all!

Ihs,

just adam

To acknowledge God and to submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit gives us a strange and particular confidence.  

I say strange and particular because to lean in God’s direction, to be led by God, and to love and delight in his way does not mean that one will enjoy a perfect journey.  

There will be struggles, stumbles, slips, and yes, there will be falls…

But, those who belong to God ‘shall not be cast headlong!’ She will not be recklessly hurled down, sent reeling, or utterly destroyed!  

Why?

Because, the Lord upholds her hand!

Ever watch a loving and attentive parent watch their child learn to walk – at a distance but somehow always in arms reach – somehow always stepping between their beloved and dangerous sharp edges – ready to lift  them up as they teeter and plop down on their little bottoms?  

God is the most loving and attentive parent, and as God’s beloved we can be sure that God holds our hands, helps us when we stumble, and lifts us even when we fall!  

We can get up and try again – because the Lord upholds our hands! Get it? 

Now get up, and try again!  We may have fallen, but we are always in arms reach – the Lord upholds our hands!

Get up, and try again! 

23  The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; 24  though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

Psalm 37:23–24

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam