Epic Failure!!

So the Newsboys lead singer Michael Tait has been in the news with a moral failure of epic proportions! He has been accused of some horrific things and has admitted to doing them. And now some more accusations have come out implicating some of the crew for the band as well. The whole situation makes me sick to my stomach. I can't believe a person with that kind of high profile would do such horrendous things. If you look back over the course of history, many people in a high profile position have had epic moral failures. King David. The Samaritan woman at the well. Peters denial. Paul's past. How about more recently? Jim Baker. Robert Morris. The list can go on and on. It is by no means exhaustive!

My point is that Mr. Tait is not the first high profile person to have moral failure. He is just the latest. Unfortunately there will be more. It's just our human nature!

Romans 3:23 English Standard Version

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

What I don't understand is now K Love and other radio stations are dropping the Newsboys from their playlists. Their record label has dropped them. Because of one persons actions. The whole band has not been accused, just the one member. So why punish the whole band?

Isn't that passing judgement?  

Matthew 7:3 New Living Translation

3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?

I wonder how many of the music programmers working for these stations are sin free? How many of the people working at the record label are sin free? I'm going to go out on a limb and say "none".

I'm not condoning what Mr. Tait has done. It is horrendous to say the least. But don't judge his sin because he sinned differently than you. Sin is sin. No matter how big or small "we" think it is. It is still sin in God's eye!

Aren't we supposed to walk with our brothers and sisters in Christ when they stumble or fall? See that they get the help that they need. Repent and turns from their sin. Not abandon them in their hour of need. That seems un-Christ like to me.

1 Peter 5:10 Living Bible

10 After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever.

If Michael Tait came through the door of our church, I would hug him, tell him I am praying for him and offer whatever help I could. I would not shame him, or shun him! Jesus used all the people mentioned above after their epic sins against Him. He can do the same for Michael Tait!

Let's show the love of Jesus, even to the ones who have committed an epic failure.

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

Twisted Flags.

 The company I work for have three flags that fly over the main entrance. One is the American flag, one is the State of Illinois and the other is the DeKalb county flag. The hang on three different poles sticking out of the side of the building. The are always blowing around and getting tangled and wrapped up with each other. I have noticed these flags everyday for the last thirteen years. I have seen them get tangled and then untangled! It is a constant struggle to keep them from doing this. Can't really control the wind. How hard it blows and in which direction.

Anyway............

I'm walking across the parking lot from my van this week to go to punch in. I look up at the flags, like I said I have done everyday for the last thirteen years. But today they hit me different. Not sure why, but God was speaking to me through those flags.

He had me notice that they were tangled and wrapped up in each other more than usual. I thought that was weird.

God was like "isn't this like my children?" "Walking straight and righteous when all of sudden a gust of wind will whip up and get them tangled and wrapped up in sin!" How many times have we heard something different that goes against what we know is true, so we think that we'll give that a try and all of a sudden here comes the gale of wind. Blowing us this way and that way. Next thing we know, we are intwined, wrapped, tangled in a situation that we know better to be in.

Romans 7:15 Amplified Bible

15 For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled and bewildered by them]. I do not practice what I want to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate [and yielding to my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity].

If we are grounded in Christ and His word, no matter how hard or what direction the wind blows, we will not be swayed!! We will stay straight and true! Not saying the winds won't come or the storms, they will trust me but, we have Jesus to lean on!

Ephesians 4:14 New Living Translation

14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

To get the flags untangled and straightened around, our maintenance dept. has to go out with a scissor lift and fix them.

We don't need a maintenance dept to fix our problem. We have the ultimate fixer in Jesus! He is our savior. No matter how hard or which direction the wind blows. He fixes us with His unfailing grace and mercy.

I encourage you to get grounded in Christ, so that when the winds and storms do come, you have the ultimate anchor to hold you in place, JESUS!

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

Remember That One Time.

 We have been learning at church the last few weeks about memorials. When God did something for someone, they would build an altar of memorial. To remind them of what God has done for them. They would gather 12 stones, one for each tribe of Israel and pile them up to make an altar to The Lord, to mark the place where a miracle happened. When the younger generation would pass by and see this memorial they would ask what it was for. The older generation would tell them "remember that one time?" "When God did this for us."

They did this when God stopped the Jordan river so the Israelites could cross to the other side.

Joshua 4:6-7 New Living Translation

6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

An altar is a physical reminder of God's faithfulness. Our memories can fade as we get older, but with these physical altars to look at, it will remind us again "remember that one time!"

What kind of altars do you erect in this modern world? I'm sure gathering stones has gone by the wayside, but there are other ways to build an altar to remind of what God has done for us.

How about dates on a calendar? You have specific dates circled or highlighted. Some special date that God did something for you. Or came through for you in a mighty way. People can see the dates that you have circled or highlighted and ask you what those dates mean to you. Oh, let me tell you what God did for me on those dates.

Dec 2: Proposed to my girlfriend. She said yes.

May 31: Got custody of my daughter.

May 15: Bought our first house.

July 22: My salvation day. The day that I said yes to The Lord!

I could go on and on but I think that you get the idea. All of these dates are my memorial altars. Days I can reflect on "remember that one time!"

Psalm 77:11-12 New Living Translation

11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord, I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. 12 They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

So I encourage you to remember all that God has done for you and in some special way, make something to remember that date. It will be a constant reminder of God's faithfulness.

God bless.

Rev. Kev.