Every church has them.

Every church, every time she gathers, is filled with people with problems and problem people.

They are not the same people.

People with problems are people who are hurting, searching, and needing guidance. People with problems are needing God to show up through the church to comfort, heal, correct, nurture, and to love them.

Problem people, on the other hand, are a totally different breed. Problem people really don’t want to solve their problems. They are not seeking guidance or direction. They are not seeking God’s correction. They are seeking attention.

Guess which one of these two are louder? People with problems rarely want to share their problems with others. And too often, they are hurting in isolation. Problem people? They thrive on attention and sympathy by telling as many people as possible. They will schedule meeting after meeting with the pastoral staff, leaders, anyone who is willing to listen and give them the time and attention they so seek.

The leadership task is in having the wisdom to distinguish between the two. How we deal with the two are different. But in the end, both people with problems and problem people need God to show up to heal them. The reason why we act and behave the way we do is because we are all hurting, seeking, and needing guidance and correction.

May God use you and your church to bring healing and wholeness to the people God has put you in charge over.

 

All is meaningless…

I get that.

I just returned from visiting with my uncle in South Korea who is dying of throat cancer. He has been battling the disease for a couple of years and the disease is getting the better of him. This once vibrant, strong man is literally half the man he used to be. He has a tube in his throat so he can breath, and a tube to his stomach so he can eat.

My uncle is a good man. He is a good husband and a good father. He is also a wealthy man. My grandfather left a sizable inheritance to all his children.

He has everything that a man could want.

Yet, as I spent time with him while cancer is destroying his body, I couldn’t help but wonder how non-Christians deal with the most important questions: the questions of life and death.

If this is all there is to life, this existence, this life…if this is all there is…all is truly meaningless.

If this is the end…if there is nothing more after my uncle finally loses his battle against cancer, then all this – his wealth, his life, his current suffering, his current struggle to fight against cancer – all this is absolutely pointless.

There is one more thing about my uncle who is dying of cancer…he’s also a Christian. He has no doubt about where he will be once he draws his last breath. He knows that he is merely passing through in this earthly life. Whether the cancer gets him now or later – this is not his home. He is created for eternity.

The aim of his life is to bring glory and honor to God in all that he does, all that he has, and all that is strives for…even his dying. It’s all for the glory of God.

I really feel bad for those who don’t know Christ as Lord and Savior. I don’t know how people can cope with death if earthly life is all they know.

But that’s just the thing. You too can trust in Jesus. You too can become a child of God by receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior by confessing that you are a sinner in need of God’s grace and receive God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life.

What’s there to lose. If I am wrong about the whole Jesus thing, you still end up living a good life. But if you are wrong about the whole Jesus thing, you will end up losing everything.

All is truly meaningless…if you don’t know Jesus.

The only thing that Ferguson proves is how deeply divided our nation is. People are hurting. People are angry. People are losing hope. People are becoming distrustful.

In to the darkness of bitterness, violence, and division…unto you a child is born.

There will be a day when there will be no more violence, no more death, no more anger, no more crime.

There will be a day when the police, armies, wars will no longer be the way we deal with conflict.

There will be a day when all people will be treated with respect and dignity, honor and charity, mercy and justice because they are our brothers and sisters.

We long for that day. Come Lord Jesus. ‪#‎Advent‬ ‪#‎Christmas‬