Leadership Thought: You Don't Have to Live with Regret over the Choices You Have Made.

Dear Friends,

"In life we do things. Some we wish we had never done, some we wish we could replay a million times in our heads, but they all make us who we are. And in the end, those experiences shape every detail about us. If we were to reverse any of them, we wouldn't be at the exact place that we are today. So just live. Make mistakes and have wonderful times but never ever second guess who you are, where you have been, and most importantly, where it is that you are going."― "The Last Words,"- Source Unknown

I sent this quote to a friend of mine, and the next day I received the following response.: "I am so touched by this e-mail. I'm going through some cut to the heart experiences (that) I am having with my slow growth! I say this with tears because the timing is so perfect. I feel God's grace through this e-mail. My heart is so heavy about who I am and how I am doing and how long it's taking for me to be better in my response when frustrated with people.! From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your Shepherd's heart."

It didn't take much time to copy this quote and send it to this friend. In receiving the person's response, I was again reminded of how little effort it takes to make a difference in a person's life. I just read a quote, thought of a person who might appreciate it, copied and pasted it, and with one click  sent it through cyber space, and God  used it to encourage its recipient.

Now the only reason I sent it to this person, was because it first spoke to me, and perhaps it will speak to you, just as it also did to a group of men in an addiction ministry we host at our church.

We all have made poor choices, and wrong decisions in our lives, and those choices and decisions can birth a pain of regret that will hound us for the rest of our lives.  

But as I reminded those men at our addiction meeting, God can and will use even our poor choices and wrong decisions to bring us to the place where we are, a place where we now have the chance for recovery, and a new life with Jesus in control of their lives.  

God has a plan and purpose for all of our lives, and He is able to use even the mistakes we make to bring His plan and purpose to fulfillment.

The Apostle Paul writes: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). 

Those men at that meeting were present because of the poor choices and decisions they had made in their past. But those decisions and choices had now brought them to the place where they could discover the transforming power of Jesus to break the chains of their addiction. 

So, as the unknown writer of the "Last Words" has said, "Just live. Make mistakes and have wonderful times but never ever second guess who you are, where you have been, and most importantly, where it is that you are going."

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: What to Do with Conflict When It Comes.

Dear Friend

Did you ever feel guilty about something you said, and your words caused conflict? I have and I plead guilty.

Recently in a heated conversation with a special friend, I uttered the words “You’re selfish.”

My words weren’t true and if anyone was selfish, I confess it was me.

I recognized my hurtful words had caused a rift in our relationship, and this afternoon I will be meeting with this person to personally apologize and seek to heal the wounds my words had caused.

Like most people I don’t like conflict, and I try to avoid it when possible. But in today’s polarized world, it is hard to avoid, and so when it happens, we need to be quick to deal with it.

This morning in a daily e-mail devotional I receive, I read a very helpful article on the subject by Benjamin Webster. His words enabled me to see that conflict is not always a bad thing and that conflict can be something positive if viewed from the right perspective.

I share his words with you in hopes that when conflict comes, and come it will, you will be able to address it in a positive and beneficial way. 

5 Reasons to Be Thankful for Conflict by Benjamin Watson, May 30th

Sometimes when I’m in the studio, I forget how many people are watching. Several months ago, I was on ESPN analyzing the SEC when one of the other analysts made a comment about my wife, Kirsten. You can Google it if you want specifics, but it created a conflict on live television. When we had an opportunity, we talked about what happened. He apologized, and we were ready to move on. I had no idea it would go viral. Kirsten wasn’t watching but immediately started to get notifications. The whole incident was a reminder that conflict is inevitable. Whether in public, at work, or at home, someone will do or say something that will cause conflict—which is why we need to sharpen our conflict resolution skills. While most of us dislike it, conflict can actually help us in a number of ways. Rather than avoiding it, we should embrace it. Here are 5 reasons to be thankful for conflict. 1. It reminds us there are consequences for our words and actions. Conflict is a great reminder that our words and actions have an impact. They easily can cause pain and disconnection. If nobody confronts us when we wrong someone, we continue to be reckless with people’s hearts and feelings. Conflict propels us to think more deeply before we act. 2. It teaches us how to live in peace with others. The key to a great life is having healthy relationships, which is why conflict resolution skills are so important. Conflict shows us when we overstep, when we are selfish, and when we lack empathy. Conflict confronts our mistakes and attitudes that need to change. As we work on them and grow in maturity, it gives us a greater ability to live in peace with one another. 3. It teaches us how to resolve relational problems. Relationships not only make life full, but they also help us grow. This is especially true of deeper and long-lasting friendships. When we learn to handle conflict well, it helps us grow closer to people. Conflict teaches us how to work through relational problems, making those long-standing friendships possible. 4. It teaches us how to admit our wrongs and apologize. We can’t ignore a wrong. We have to deal with it, especially when we are the ones who have done it. Taking responsibility for our errors sharpens us. It molds us into people who have integrity and character. 5. It’s an opportunity to be an example to our kids. Since conflict is all around us, when we have it, it’s a great opportunity to show our kids how to navigate it. Much of the world handles conflict with aggression, defensiveness, and vindictiveness. In our house, two things we focus on quite a bit are forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness doesn’t absolve guilt or free us from consequences, but it does give us freedom and ability to heal. We can talk about it with our kids as much as possible, but nothing drives the point home better than showing it to them.

Leadership Thought: A State Ball Game, a Missed Call, and an Umpire Sprawled on the Ground in Embarrassment and the Lesson Learned.

Dear Friend

Have you ever felt the discomfort of doing or saying something that was embarrassing? I plead guilty. I can’t begin to count the number of things I have done in my life that have been embarrassing. How about calling Mrs. Snow, Mrs. White (so much for those memory association programs), preaching a stewardship sermon on Mother’s Day (not a good idea if you are concerned about pastoral longevity), or walking up to the Sunday pulpit and announcing that you were too overcome emotionally to share a message and then simply walk from the pulpit and sit down in the pew. I have done them all.

Yesterday I was in the field during a tense state baseball game. The score was tied, and the crowd was hanging on every pitch.

The batter hit a line drive right at me and in my effort to dodge being hit,  I quickly moved to my right and the next thing I knew I was sprawled  face down on the ground as the ball passed whizzed over my head. I was in no position to see if the second baseman caught the ball or not, which is not a good thing for an umpire who is supposed to make the call and yet has no idea  of what has just happened.

As you can imagine both coaches were yelling for a call. Embarrassed I had to go to my partner, something that is not uncommon for umpires to do, and fortunately he saw everything, and we got the call right.

My embarrassment was heightened, however, when I heard someone yell from the stands,  “Hey grandpa, you missed the call.”

Having said all this, I am sure you have also had your embarrassing moments, and so you probably can identify with the painful feeling of embarrassment when you did something or said something you regretted.

Imagine the embarrassment Christ must have felt when his own family thought he had lost his mind. Or when the Pharisees delighted in taunting him and sought to set traps to embarrass him and derail his witness.

Despite all these moments of potential embarrassment, Christ kept His eyes on His Father, depending solely on Him to know what to say and do in every situation.

When we find ourselves ashamed or embarrassed by something that we have said or done, we can do two things.

First, we can seek comfort from the Holy Spirit. We can allow him to take the stings of our embarrassment, trusting that He will calm and ease our discomfort (2 Corinthians 1:4). Let us  not respond in anger or try and make excuses, but simply rest and rely on the Holy Spirit to heal the discomfort of our embarrassment.

And secondly, remember everyone’s life is filled with mistakes, but as a believer we have someone who has taken every one of our mistakes to the cross.  No need for self-condemnation and it’s deadly effects.

Remember the words of that old hymn: “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”

He paid for our sins, which include every dumb or embarrassing thing we have ever said or done.

As the late saint Corrie Ten Boom used to say, “He had buried our sins (including everything you wished you had never said or done) in the deepest part of the ocean and put up a sign that says no fishing.”  

Yes, today I can laugh about my failure as an umpire, and that includes not only yesterday’s failure on the field, but  every one of those times I have called a ball a strike, or missed a call at the plate or yes,  uttered something I wished I could take back or done something that I regretted.

And today even that, “Hey grandpa, what’s the call?” is something I can laugh about!

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: So Why Is Renaming the Church So Important?

Dear Friends,

What’s in a church name? Apparently, a lot if you are a member of the New Monmouth Baptist Church that is going through a “rebranding” of its name.

The church where I presently serve has been called New Monmouth Baptist Church since 1842, so why change the name now, some might ask.

That’s what I wanted to know, so recently I e-mailed a friend and church consultant who has been a mentor of mine as I have been undergoing training to become a church consultant.

My mentor, Dr. Bob Whitesel, who is a sought-after speaker, church consultant and award-winning writer of 14 books on missional leadership, holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary, so he has the background to address such questions as church name change.

In response to my question about name change, he has written an excellent article on the subject which you can access should you desire further information. You will find the link to his article below.

The idea of our changing the name of our church has unleashed a lot of strong emotions within our church family. “Why change the name now,” people ask? “We have been the New Monmouth  Baptist Church since 1842.”

My response is that church names are important. They identify us. They help communicate our identity: what we believe, how we govern, how we worship. 

Names are important in attracting people looking for a church.

There are many reasons for changing the name of a church, but the major one for many of us here in our church is our desire to reach our culture for Christ.

Plainly put, the word ‘Baptist’ has negative connotations for some people today. That is not to say that it doesn’t have some positive ones as well, for it does, especially if you live outside of the Baptist Belt, the area in the south where you will find a preponderance of large and vital Baptist churches.

However, the Baptist church, like many denominations has been rocked by controversy of late and for many its image has been tarnished. For some, the word “Baptist” brings up the image of fire and brimstone preaching that many may not connect with who are in search of a church home.

While we call ourselves a Baptist church, we are presently non-denominational. Twenty years ago, we left the Baptist denomination over our differences with some aspects of church government, however we continued to retain the name Baptist in our church name, even though we were no longer a Baptist church.

While we call ourselves the New Monmouth Baptist Church, we are no longer associated with the denomination, except for the fact that we do practice some Baptist beliefs-child dedication as opposed to infant baptism being one of the major ones.

Calling ourselves a Baptist Church when we are no longer a part of the Baptist denominations seems a little strange and confusing to me.

So why change now, one might ask?  And the answer is because we desire to do what we can to attract unbelievers to Christ. We wish to eliminate any impediments that might prevent someone from walking through our doors and hearing the gospel that would change their lives.

Today’s younger culture generally reacts negatively to institutionalism, something that todays’ church denominations are quickly discovering. The majority of vibrant and fast-growing churches in our country have eschewed their denominational identification and taken on names like Journey Church, The Point,  Cornerstone, Crossroads, Calvary Chapel in order to eliminate denominational identification that might generate negative feelings for potential worshippers.

We want our church to be inviting, and while New Monmouth Church, the suggested new church name, may not be as exciting to some as some of the newer and more catchy church names, it presents a neutral identification that does not run the risk of creating negative reactions that would keep potential worshippers from stepping inside our church doors

It is true that many members have strong associations with their church name: “This is where I was baptized. This is where I met my wife,  where my children came to know Christ, and where my life was changed. Because of these legitimate emotional ties, such people may harbor strong feelings when it comes to church name change.

But having said this, it is important to be reminded that as the church continues to struggle with a new and godless culture, we must be careful to do whatever we can to be as inviting and welcoming to the outside world, and  that means we must be careful to eliminate any detriments for those looking to find a church home.

If changing the name of the church is done in the interest of reaching more people for Christ, I am in, and while I may have other names I would prefer, I will go along New Monmouth Church. I know the name is not catchy or flashy like some church names; in fact, it is pretty neutral, but it does represent who and what we are: a church located in New Monmouth.

As one of our pastoral staff reminds me, the early New Testament churches were called the Church at Philippi, the Church at Thessalonica, the Church in Colossae, and if it was good enough for these New Testament saints, it is good enough for me.

Maybe there are flashier names than New Monmouth Church, but as long as find Christ at the center, the church name will not cause me much concern.

For a more  extensive and comprehensive perspective on church name change I would refer you to the following link written by my friend Dr Whitesel.

https://www.biblicalleadership.com/videos/how-changing-a-church-name-unleashes-emotions-and-guidelines-to-decide-if-you-should-change-it-part-2/

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: A Lesson in Grace I Will Never Forget

Dear Friends, 

The following story told by former big league baseball manager Clint Hurdle is a story  of grace I will never forget. 

Clint writes:  We went through the review, most of it right on the study guide, but there were some things he was reviewing that I had never heard. When questioned about it, he said that they were in the book and that we were responsible for everything in the book. We could not really argue with that.

Finally, it was time to take the test. 

"Leave them face down on the desk until everyone has one, and I'll tell you to start," our professor instructed.

When we turned them over, every answer on the test was filled in! The bottom of the last page said the following:

"This is the end of the Final Exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an 'A' on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A. You have just experienced...grAce."

He then went around the room and asked each student individually, "What is your grade? Do you deserve the grade you are receiving? How much did all your studying for this exam help you achieve your final grade?"

Now I am not a crier by any stretch of the imagination, but I had to fight back tears when answering those questions and thinking about how the Creator had passed the test for me. 

Discussion afterward went like this: "I have tried to teach you all semester that you are a recipient of grace. I have tried to communicate to you that you need to demonstrate this gift as you work with young people. Do not hammer them; they are not the enemy. Help them, for they will carry on your ministry if it is full of grace."

Talking about how some of us had probably studied hours and some just a few minutes but had all received the same grade, he pointed to a story told in Matthew 20. 
 
The owner of a vineyard hired people to work in his field and agreed to pay them a certain amount. Several different times during the day, he hired more workers. When it was time to pay them, they all received the same amount. When the ones who had been hired first thing in the morning began complaining, the boss said, "Should you be angry because I am kind?" (Matthew 20:15).

The teacher said he had never done this kind of final before and probably, would never do it again, but because of the content of many of our class discussions, he felt like we needed to experience grace to know it.

Yours in faith and friendship.

Tom

Indebted to Clint Hurdle, "Teaching Grace" May 1, 2023

Leadership Thought: The Secretary I Didn't Fire Soon Enough, A Lesson on Loyalty.

Dear Friends

Loyalty in people is something that I admire. In fact, I suspect that it might be said of me that “I am sometimes loyal to a fault.” I think I have always been that way, and there have been times when being that way has hurt me.

I remember well a secretary I had many years ago. Administratively she was top of the line. She had the ability to tidy up my desk before I even had a chance to get it messy. She was great organizationally, but poor relationally and consequently not the best kind of person to represent me. To put it mildly, she could be blunt, insensitive, and at times even rude. People kept telling me she was hurting my ministry, but I always thought she would learn and get better.

Unfortunately, it was my penchant for loyalty that kept me from doing what others kept telling me I needed to do. I did ultimately make the decision to replace her. and we found another place for her where she was more suited to serve.

It has been many years since this experience, but I still remember it and how my misguided  loyalty proved to be a temporary detriment to my ministry. I would like to say I learned a valuable lesson from that experience, but even today I will have to admit that there still have been times since when I have allowed my loyalty to impact my logic.

Loyalty is a wonderful thing as long as we don’t allow it to blind our objectivity, causing us to lose touch with reality. 

I admit I do admire loyalty, and I treasure that quality in people I know, and even the places I frequent.  I shop predominantly at Aldi’s because I am loyal to the brand, and I  drive 40 minutes to eat Thai food in a restaurant in East Brunswick rather than frequent one of the several I could dine at locally because I am loyal to the owner. 

Yes, I admit I may be more than a little bit irrational when it comes to some forms of loyalty, but it is the rational kind of loyalty that I hope others will appreciate and always admire in me.

The disciple Thomas was the kind of person I admire. Sure, he has been given that terrible moniker, “The Doubter,” and perhaps it is well deserved. But in my mind, I like to think of Thomas in another light. 

When the disciples and Jesus were on their way to Jerusalem, and it looked as if there was a mutiny brewing, and Jesus might be left to walk into Jerusalem alone, it was Thomas, loyal and courageous Thomas, who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” 

He put Peter and John to shame. As a result of his words, the spirits of those disciples were suddenly settled and all twelve of them arose to follow their Master to his death. Thomas may have been a doubter, but at least he was a dependable, devoted, and dutiful doubter.

George Whitefield, that mighty preacher of the 1700’s was heard to shout at one of his critics, “If I am going to be damned at least it will be at the feet of Jesus.”

Proverbs 3:3-4 exhorts us  to “Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace, write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will gain a good reputation.”

A young man in the army confided to his pastor that he never went about with another girl if he was less than fifty miles from home. His loyalty went only fifty miles.

How far does our loyalty to Jesus go? I hope it is more than a fifty-mile loyalty.”  

May each one of us possess this kind of loyalty that we might say with Thomas, “Let us go, (to Jerusalem) that we may die with Him.” 

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: The Night I Missed a Meeting and the Lesson I Learned from It.

Dear Friends,

It's an awful feeling when you miss a meeting. It happened last night.

I had an evening meeting scheduled with a couple of our church leaders, but unfortunately, I trusted my memory and not my calendar for the meeting. The call came. As soon as I saw the name flash on my phone, I knew what I had done. I missed a meeting I was scheduled to be at.

When things like this happen, and hopefully they don't happen very often, the guilty party is generally filled with discomfort and embarrassment.

What do you do? What do you say? How do you apologize? And most importantly how do you deal with the guilt you feel for wasting the valuable time of those involved who are impacted by your oversight?

I simply apologized for missing the meeting, for inconveniencing them, and wasting their valuable time. 

All of this got me to thinking about another missed meeting that happened over 2,000 years ago.  It was the evening after Jesus was raised from the dead, and all the disciples were gathered in the Upper Room when suddenly he unexpectedly appeared to them. They were all there except one.  Thomas was missing. 

I wonder why Thomas missed the meeting. Did he have a good excuse?  Did he forget that the disciples had planned to be together-perhaps to commiserate the death of the One who had transformed their lives? Did he just not care about being with his spiritual family? For whatever reason, he missed the meeting of a lifetime.

I often share with people who are absent from worship that we are not the same without them. We are a family and when one of our family members is not present, we are not the family we are meant to be.

Meeting together is an important part of Christianity, the early church "continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship" (Acts 2:42).  "As we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another" I John 1:7).

Fellowship allows us "to instruct one another" (Romans 15: 14). If we are absent from the body, we miss the opportunity for our spiritual family to teach and instruct us.

Fellowship allows us "to bear one another's burdens" (Galatians 6: 2). We all have burdens as we journey through life, and sometimes those burdens are too heavy to bear ourselves, and we need our brothers and sisters to help carry the load.

We can't carry one another's burdens from a distance. Bearing burdens requires a level of intimacy that is not possible when we don't have fellowship with others.

Fellowship allows us "to comfort and edify and build up one another" (1 Thessalonians 5:11). When we are absent from worship, we miss the opportunity to encourage, and build up one another.

Fellowship allows us "to stir one another up to love and good works". (Hebrews, 10: 24). It's impossible for us to stir up one another if we're at home sitting in the comfort of our easy chair. Absence discourages, rather than encourages others.

We cannot live the Christian life in isolation. We need each other.

Tonight, I missed the meeting with my two church elder friends, and I'm the worst for it. And when you and I miss our weekly opportunity to be with other brothers and sisters in worship, not only are we the worst for it, but your family is the worse for it as well.

Yes, ministry takes place from the pulpit to the pew and from the pew to the pulpit, but it also takes place from the pew to the pew and when those pews or chairs are empty, the church is not the family it was meant and called to be.

Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren't rubbed in but rubbed out. Fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice." Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: How to Make Yourself Well Remembered While Making the World a Little Better Place to Live.

Dear Friends,

I have a friend in our baseball umpiring association who recently sent me a list of reminders of the actions he seeks to take each day he awakes. He has it conspicuously posted where he will see it before he heads to work.

It is a wonderful list, and one, if followed, would make the world a much better place in which to live as well as making the one practicing them a most remembered friend.

1. Compliment three people every day.

2. Watch a sunrise at least once a year.

3. Be the first to say, “Hello.”

4. Live beneath your means.

5. Treat everyone like you want to be treated.

6. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen.

7. Forget the Joneses.

8. Never deprive someone of hope. It may be all he has.

9. Pray, not for things, but for wisdom and courage.

10. Be tough minded, but tender hearted.

11. Be kinder than necessary.

12. Don’t forget a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

13. Keep your promises.

14. Learn to show cheerfulness, even when you don’t feel like it.

15. Remember that overnight success usually takes about 15 years.

16. Leave everything better than you found it.

17. Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do.

18. When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say, brighten everyone’s day.

19. Don’t rain on other people’s parades.

20. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

And I would personally add an additional thought to my friend’s list.

21. The best way to remember and practice each of the above is to do what Jesus commands: “Love one another as I He has loved you.” When you heed this command, you will automatically be practicing each one of the above reminders, and best yet, the world will know that you are His disciple. 

Enough said.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Indebted to Tony Benedetto for his 20 reminders.

Leadership Thought: Protestants and Roman Catholics Agree There Is Only One Way to Heaven.

Dear Friends,

One of our members recently handed me a reprinted article dated Nov. 3, 1999. It was from the Wall Street Journal, and it was titled “By Grace Alone.”  In reading it, I discovered that Roman Catholics and Protestants are much closer theologically than I had ever imagined. Maybe it was my fault for not knowing what Pope Paul 11 had said in 1999 when he declared that Roman Catholics and Protestants share the same beliefs regarding justification by faith alone.

It was 504 years ago that that Roman Catholics and Protestants went their separate ways over the issue of how one enters heaven. It was Martin Luther who boldly proclaimed that it is faith alone that saves an individual and opens the door to eternal life. Prior to that time the Roman Catholic church had emphasized that it was not just one’s faith but a combination of one’s faith and good works that led to salvation. It is faith alone, or faith plus works that justifies a person and opens the doorway to eternal life?

When Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, he sent spiritual shockwaves around the world. The Protestant church was birthed. It separated from the Roman Catholic Church over a number of issues, but foremost among them was the difference regarding the pathway to salvation. Now after 504 years of separation, the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church are much closer theologically than I had imagined.

In 1999 at a conference between Protestant Lutherans and Roman Catholics the churches resolved their long-standing debate over how one is saved. The Roman Catholic Church acknowledged that they were wrong in what they were teaching.

I quote from the Wall Street Journal, “The doctrine of works, Luther charged, had the effect of convincing bad people, abetted by the Catholic church's then practice of selling indulgences, that they could buy their way into heaven. The Catholic Church put an end to indulgences in 1562 at the council of Trent. But the dispute over justification, and the Catholic Church’s official condemnation of Lutheran teaching, persisted until Sunday.”  

On a Sunday 24 years ago, the Roman Catholic church under Pope Paul 11 “conceded the theological debate to Luther: agreeing that it is by grace alone, in faith in Christ’s  saving work and not because of any merit on our part , we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit.”

This was a significant step in mending an important theological difference separating the two churches. At this conference in Augsburg, Germany it was announced that there was agreement between Protestants and Roman Catholics regarding how one enters heaven. It was declared that salvation is the result of faith, and faith alone, and not a combination of faith plus one’s works. This was a startling concession by the Roman Catholic Church.

I share this because I recently was communicating with a Roman Catholic friend of mine who was upset by a comment I had made in quoting Isaiah 64:6 which states “all our good works are as filthy rags.” I was making the point that no matter how good our good works may be, they will never be good enough to open the doorway to heaven.  

Our good works have nothing to do with our salvation. They are simply a product of our salvation. Our good works spring from our understanding and acceptance of God’s  amazing grace that saves sinners such as you and I. When we realize what Christ did for us on the cross, we desire to show our love for Him by serving Him by serving others. 

It has been said that the only good work that saves is the good work that was done for us upon the cross.

What good work could the penitent thief do on the cross that might save him. The answer is none. His hands and feet were nailed to a cross, and there was nothing he could accomplish that could earn his way into heaven. So helplessly, he tuned to Jesus saying, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). And Jesus turned to him and said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Luther and Pope Paul 11 were right. There is only one way to heaven and that is through “faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone. If you haven’t made that decision, and if you are trusting in your own efforts and your good works to help get you into heaven, stop trying and start trusting, and simply put your faith in Christ alone for your salvation.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

It is true that “faith without works is fruitless, but it is also true that works without faith is rootless.”