Wanna bet?

John 18:33-34 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34  Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?"

 

 

I read this scripture this morning, and something struck me, that I had not thought of before. Christ was not just asking Pilate if he thought Jesus was a king, or if Pilate had just heard about Him. No, Christ was asking Pilate “have you been saved?” It might be easy to miss, just as it is today. You see Christ was asking Pilate are you calling me King, or do you just say that because that is what everyone else says? Pilate…..do you believe, or are you just saying what is easy to say? I would imagine that is a question we will all be asked at some point, and I am fairly sure Christ will be asking. It makes me think of our lives, how we live them, what we do, what we say. DO we proclaim Christ is King because we believe it, or because that is the easy thing to do?

 

In today’s world there are many that might call Christ King, but just as Christ suspected of Pilate, they only profess what they have heard. In short, they are living out Pascal’s wager. For those of you that are not familiar, Pascal was a 17^th century philosopher and mathematician.  One of the things he is known for was the argument that even if you do not believe in God, you should live as if you do, because the cost of living a life without belief  is worse than a life lived as if you do believe. In other words, take a gamble, and take the side with the better payout. This is exactly what we do when we say we believe in Christ, yet knowingly and willingly live a life contradictory to that.  

 

It is an interesting idea though isn’t it? Want the salvation, the grace, the forgiveness, and the love that comes with Christ? Fake it. Just say the words, and all is good. Do your good deeds, give your money, go to church, and life here and in the next will be great. SO if you say it, and you act like it in your deeds, then what is the difference? How will you know, how will the Lord know, how will anyone else ever figure it out? It comes down to defining moments. One very much like Pilate is about to come to in this passage. If Pilate believed Christ was King, would he have washed his hands? Or would he have stood with Christ and proclaimed to the masses, we cannot kill this man He is the Son of God. We encounter moments like this all of the time, it is where the rubber meets the road, where life happens, when it is time to put up or shut up. However you would like to term it, we find ourselves in situations where we too much choose to show grace, love, mercy, forgiveness….what will we do? How will we respond? Will our lives emulate the life of our Savior? Will we show the world the power of Christ by showing His traits through us? Or will we cave? Will we crumble under the pressure of the world and turn our backs?

 

Maybe that is where you find yourself today. Perhaps you do want to live that life, but you know that you have in the past turned your back. You know that you have professed to be a Christian, but lived a life that is anything but. Here is the good news! It is not too late to change that. Even Peter denied Christ, yet Christ never denied Him. We make these choices every day, and you need to understand that even when we fall short, there is still the next decision to make. Another opportunity, another chance. The promises of God do not have an expiration date. There is not a number of times we can fall, there is not a limit on the number of times we can fail. The salvation is found in the rising. We will stumble, we will fall, what counts is that we get back up. Do not lay on the ground with the rest of the world defeated, simply raising your hand next time  someone is looking for a Christ follower. Christ fell three times on the way to that wicked hill. Each time He rose, ready to carry out His task well beyond the limits of His human body. So it is with us, do not resign yourself to live out life as a “safe bet”. Live your life out loud. Live your life looking for those moment to test yourself, and show your Faith. You might stumble, but the world will know you believe, it will know where you stand, and it will know, that in the end, there is but One King!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian  Thetford

 

Trust in Peace

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

 

Peace I leave, my peace I give.. Peace….peace like none we have known, and none that we can bestow or receive from another human. It is not the weak peace offering that we offer to each other. As if any of us can truly grant peace to another individual. The peace we offer is one that is only temporary at best. It might keep one issue at bay, or quell one fear or the other, but I have yet to meet the man, woman, or child that can give all-encompassing life sustaining peace. Look how Christ conveyed this offering. HE left it, and He offered it. It is here, it is yours for the taking, yet Christ leaves it very open, even to those who are closest to Him. Here it is, take it if you will. That my friends is true peace, a promise that is freely given, and yours to freely take. No strings, no gimmicks, no fine print. If you would like peace, then simply take it.

 

Christ furthers his point by saying not as the world gives, yes When Christ gives anything it is on a much larger scale that anything the world can give, but not just that. When the world gives, the world decides how long you get to keep it. With Christ, the choice to take it is yours, the choice to keep it is yours as well. The Lord does not give as the world gives. So do not be troubled, and do not be afraid. There is always a hard part isn’t there?  You see now we are tasked with the hardest part, trust Him. That is hard to do sometimes isn’t it? If we are honest it is hard to do a lot of the times. We have been taught to NOT trust, or as I like to think of it “trust, but verify” which is a really nice way of saying “I don’t trust you” Yet here is Christ telling us….you need it? I have it. You can have it, here I give it to you….now trust me. While it seems too good to be true…….it is true, if it seems like the deal of a lifetime…..well….it is.

 

The peace is yours to take, and it is yours to wrap yourself in, yet without the trust, it will not do much good. So what do we do? We trust, we take that leap, we make that choice. Let me ask you something, we have all done something in our lives at least once where we had to depend on someone else, right? What was that for you?  I am not talking about something little, I mean we trusted someone with something so big, that our lives would have been changed had that person not come through for us….and they did. They came through just like they said they would. Remember how that feels? Have you trusted Christ with anything near as important as that? Better yet, had you trusted that friend in your moment of need, then at the last second rushed in, and tried to do it yourself, or handle the situation on your own, how would that have turned out? not well, right? You would not have been where you needed to be, because you did not trust your friend to be where they were supposed to be. As a result the outcome would have been very different. What is keeping you from trusting Christ? How is it we are willing to trust another human, who even on their best day might cave and not follow through, yet we deny Christ the opportunity to do what he has PROMISED He will do for us?

 

It comes down to putting yourself out there, extending the trust to Christ that He will be where He needs to be, when He needs to be there. He has made the promise, will you allow Him to keep it? He has given the gift, will you accept it? Give Him your trust, and see if your life does not change for the better, just as promised. Tell Him just as you did that friend, I need you. I can’t do this without you. You said you would be there, you said I should not be afraid, you promised me peace. Without you in this, I am done for. Christ will be there, He will give you the peace, the assurance, the strength, and the power to do what needs to be done, and then He will take care of the rest of it. Give Him the opportunity, give Him the chance, He died for it you know….just for the chance to save your life, if you thought that deal you trusted your friend with was life changing, I can promise you it pales in comparison to what changes will take place if you trust in Christ.  Do not live in fear, or uncertainty. Choose to accept this promise of peace, and trust…. so that you do not need to be afraid.

 

God Bless,

 

Brian  Thetford C.T.B.

 

another year gone

Psalm 46:1   God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

I turn 42 today. As I usually do on my birthday, I take a quick reassessment of where I have been, where I am going, and just how I wound up where I am today. One thing is for sure, this Psalm has held true for me my entire life. I should explain that my whole life was not anything like it is today. I have ran as far and as fast as I could from God for a good part of my young life. I thought we had an understanding, He hosed me on my family life, so I would hose Him on my commitment. The older I get, the more I understand the “very present help” part of this verse. It is a very big reason why I am where I am, and doing what I do. You see, I ran out on God, but He never ran out on me. He never left my side. No matter how dark the shadows were that I ran into, He followed. No matter how base the environment was, He followed me in, He sent His Son to walk with me, to keep me on my feet, to keep me sane, in the insane world I was living in. I see that now, looking back. I walked away from things I should not have, I managed to live, even after I was sure my heart was dead. I know it could not of been an easy task, He enlisted the help of a woman to drag me kicking and screaming out of the shadows, and into the light. Today looking back, I am thankful that all 4 of them, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Leslie Thetford, stuck by me. It has been a long road, with many pot holes, many off road excursions, and a lot of joy, pain, laughter and tears. One thing is for sure though, If this Psalm were not true, I would not be here today. God has sheltered me, strengthened me, and bailed me out of more jams that I can recount. He sent a wonderful woman into my life, that is hard as nails, and as soft as silk all at the same time. He blessed me with two girls that keep my heart soft, and my mind sharp. He has given me more than I deserve, and continues to do that every day.  God has been there for me, and had blessed me, it is my prayer that you allow Him to do the same for you.

If you have found yourself in a place today, and you think you are alone, beaten down, and have nowhere to turn, I would challenge you to be still, quiet your heart, and listen. God is with you, a lot of times, we just think we don’t need or want Him…..at least not right now….. He is faithful, and He is working for you as we speak, give Him the chance to show you just what is possible. Let Him show you what the impossible looks like, for everything is possible through Him.

 God Bless,

Brian  Thetford 

tired, or tireless?

Luke 17:7  "Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? 8  Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? 9  Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?

Gods work is never done. He works tirelessly, and endlessly on our behalf. Christ is just another version of the same story. There is always something else, one more prayer to answer, one more soul to find, one more life to touch. They will never stop working for the good in our lives. So when we look in the mirror what life do we see for ourselves?  I know if I am honest with myself, my life often is spent looking for the stopping point. As a matter of fact, that is how I plan a lot of my endeavors….I find the completion point, and mark it.  But what if we dared to live differently? What if we decided to live as large of a life as God has planned for us? How would we do that? Remove the end point! In truth there is no end to our story. God did not say go live and then die, He gave us His Son to ensure that we had the chance to live a life eternally with Him. This means that our work too……is never done. We serve a great God, and there is so much to be done that we could fill every hour of every day, and still not finish the list.

Now I can hear you already, Oh great another person ranting about how we do not do enough for God. WRONG! If you are looking at serving God as some chore, then you have missed the beauty of the gift that has been given to us! That is what it is, a gift. We have been tasked with bringing the good news to the world. We have been asked to live a life in the model of Christ. That my friends is not a chore, it is an honor. I would say that if you are looking at what needs to be done, and looking at where the end point is, then you are not working for God, you are working for yourself. Even noticed that anything you do alone seems to be drudgery? The task is long, and drawn out, and you can’t wait to be finished. I will tell you the truth, that is were a lot of us make our mistake. The tasks we were given were never meant to be tackled alone. We have a Spiritual army at our disposal. The Holy Trinity is waiting in the wings, hoping, and begging for you to “put them in the game”.

Oh it is true, as servants of Christ our work is never done, and there is nothing that we can do to “win the favor” of God. The favor we think we need to be given, has already been freely given, before we ever asked. It is up to us to seize it, to remove that little red pin on our map of life, and commit to work endlessly for our God. Not because of what we will get, but because of what we have already been given. You have heard the saying there ain’t no rest of the wicked?  That was a misprint. The correct phrase is there ain’t no rest for the redeemed. To fully live the life that God has in store for us, we must commit to fully live! We have to pull the pin, and attack life. Forget about when is the end, the question is what is next? When we turn off that lie in our head that tells us that we have done enough. Then we start to then a life of abundant joy pursuing God’s work.  

Think it is not worth it? Are you thinking it might be too much work? Maybe you are just not equipped……I want you to think about Christ. What if He had thought that!? Did He not go and pray the night before His death for His Father to take the cup from Him? He KNEW what was ahead, He KNEW the daunting task, He KNEW it was going to be a lot of work. Yet how did He finish  that prayer? Not by my will, but by yours. He was ready to serve His master, His Lord, His Father, until the very end, until the last breath, with every fiber of His being. He was a true servant. Folks we are going to serve someone. As a line from one of my favorite songs goes. It might be the devil, or it might be the Lord, but we are going to have to serve someone.  Wanna sit back and enjoy the comfy life? Go right ahead that will serve someone juuuust fine. Want to explode your life? Want to see your life and those around you transform from the ordinary to the extraordinary? Serve the Lord, as vigorously as He has served, and continues to serve us! Think I am kidding? I dare you to try it. you Give the Lord 2 weeks of all out service, jump right into the deep end with Him. Amazing things await.

God Bless,

Brian  Thetford

Are we thankful?

Luk 17:15  Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16  and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17  Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18  Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"

 

Where are the nine? Christ had just healed 10, only one showed up to give thanks. This brings up an interesting issue. Jesus pointed out that only one returned  and gave praise. This is easy to overlook, but the key is that only one returned. We don’t think much about the other nine do we? Do you think they went off and never thought of Jesus again? Highly doubtful. I can see them continuing along their way, talking about the “great man” that healed them, perhaps they came across some other people that had heard of Christ, do you think they would not have told the story of how Christ healed them? Of course they would have! They were healed! Christ points out that only one returned to give thanks. It makes me think of life today. How often is the Lord blessing our lives?  How often does He move on our behalf, and yet we do not return to give thanks. Much like the other nine we too run off into the world with our prayers answered. We might share our experience, we might tell people about how lucky we are, but are we returning? Are we going back to the Lord on a personal level and giving Him the thanks and credit?

 

If you know me even a little, you know I am big on personal responsibility. This is what I am reminded of when I read this scripture. The debt we often overlook. We are blessed, but we do not give back that blessing. Christ gave His life, God gave His Son…..we were given eternal life, and true freedom, are we thankful? Oh I know, I know, yes we are thankful on some level, but are we returning? Are we showing back up for the Lord in even a fraction of the way He has shown up for us? It is easy to say thank you, it is easy to tip a hat to the Lord, it is easy to speak the words. The challenge comes in the returning. Taking the time to get back to Christ. Taking the time to set the world aside, and be thankful.

 

Think of the last time you gave your child something, if you do not have a child then think of the last time you asked your parents for something. When it was given, or received, was it just an empty hand filled, then a quick thanks….you know the kind I am talking about, just a quick afterthought. A nicety, a good manner instilled by generations before us. That is not thanks, that is being pleasant. When we are thankful for something it overwhelms us doesn’t it? It floods our hearts with gratitude, and joy. SO much so that we first want to find that person, and shower them not just with thanks, but with a true out pouring of love, and thankfulness. Then what is the very next thing? When we are thankful, truly thankful, what is the first thing we want to do?  We say Ohhh I have to do something for them. Folks, that is the return. That is what Christ is looking for. Yes be thankful, yes, say the words, but we have to remember to return that thanks. The best way we can do that is by living that thanks out loud. I am sure that all 10 of those healed were thankful, if they were to see Christ again, I bet they would say, “hey, thanks for the hook up, that was awesome” however, the one that returned, you can bet he was changed forever. He was truly thankful, he returned, he made the trip, he put forth the effort.

 

Let us challenge ourselves to be the 1 out of 10. This week, let us be on the lookout for God’s blessing, and when we find it, let us be thankful. Let us shout form the rooftops, and let us allow it to change our lives the way the Lord intended. A blessing is only a blessing, if we allow it to be.

 

In Christ,

Brian  Thetford C.T.B.

 

Why change?

Titus 2:6  Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7  Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8  and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Why Why Why? It is the age old question….if we are so free, so saved, then why must we work so hard to be so different. In today’s world there is not a lot of difference between those of us that go to Church, and those of us that don’t. This is what Paul was warning about here. You see, God loves each of us, there is no doubt of that, each of us have the free, open ended invitation to salvation, yet we must choose it. Once chosen, we truly are a new being, a new person, a new creation…..not just for God to see, but for the world to see. From the moment we give our lives to Christ, to the day we draw our last breath, we strive to be more like Christ. Here we find the answer to the question why. Christ was not like the rest of the world. He was very different. His actions matched His teachings. Not like the rulers, and priests of His time, who practiced one thing yet preached another. Christ was in fact a living example of His Fathers word.  

Today we are called to try and walk in the same path. Will we be as successful as Christ? I can promise you, we will fall short. However we must push on, as Paul would say, we must run the race to win the prize. Most of all, we must work to live a life that shows the differences between a life of Christ, and a life of this world. The world is watching, our neighbor is watching, our friends are watching. Will we live the life Christ has called us to, or will we praise the Lord form one side of our mouth, and chase the world with the other? I am in no way saying this is easy, I am in no way saying this all happens overnight. It is a lifelong process, and that is what makes it hard.

Today we will find ourselves at work, in school, and many other social occasions, will re remember these words? Will we strive today, to live better than yesterday? Can we promise to tell one less lie, take one less short cut, to say one more (maybe it is just one) prayer, to give God thanks one extra time today? I wish I could tell you that you give your life to Christ, and, your life becomes a bed of roses. That would be a lie. It is all about that next step. Some days we take a giant leap ahead, and some days we might only move an inch forward. The point is to keep moving forward. Continue to reach for the goals in this scripture, continue to press towards the finish line. God knows you can do it, Christ died to make sure we have the chance…..the world is watching….let’s give them a picture of what Christ’s life, love, and forgiveness looks like.

Brian  Thetford

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson