Being Wide Open Throttle Means Being Committed.

Mike Hosey

Being Wide Open Throttle means taking a risk. If you twist that throttle all the way around, or if you press that pedal all the way to the floor then you are going to take off, go fast, and feel some power. It’s risky business. In order to “safely” go Wide Open Throttle, you have to be committed to the risk, the speed, and the excitement. If you’re not committed, then you’ll second guess at the wrong time, and that can be quite dangerous.

John the Baptist had the right kind of commitment to live Wide Open Throttle, and that’s exactly what he did! It had been prophesied that he would herald Jesus into his ministry (Matthew 3:3). John lived that prophesy out (Matthew 3:1-16)! He lived in the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey, and dressed in coarse robes of camel hair and a leather belt. He probably looked like something out of The Hobbit, or some other fantasy movie. He baptized those who came to him and confessed their sins. When the religious leaders of the day came to watch him baptize those people, he chastised them. He called them a brood of vipers -- which would would have been akin to a number of modern profane insults. Talk about taking a risk. Then after calling them such a derogatory name, he schooled them on how being a child of Abraham wasn’t measured by bloodlines, but by behavior. He then indirectly referenced Jesus, and hinted to those religious leaders that they may be burned up like worthless chaff.

John the Baptist didn’t pull any punches. He twisted the throttle all the way the way for the kingdom of God. So much so that Jesus referenced him as the greatest prophet (Matthew 11:9-11). Imagine Jesus calling you the greatest prophet of anyone before you!

John kept the throttle wide open all the way to his death. In his last days, his life had intersected with the life of Herod, the king of Galilee. Herod had been flirting and dabbling with incestuous ideas and relationships. John warned him that this was against the law of God. This angered Herod, who had him imprisoned, and then later beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12). You don’t get any more wide open throttle than that.

So in your Christian walk, what is the last risk you took? When were you last wide open throttle? When was the last time you were half throttle?

Are Your Wheels Connected to Your Throttle?

Mike Hosey

Being Wide Open Throttle is about going places. You twist the throttle or press the pedal and your vehicle is put in motion toward a goal. But there’s something really obvious about that vehicle that we usually overlook.  It is a complex machine that is made up of many moving parts that are all very, very different, but still work together toward the common aim of moving you and your stuff safely down the road. Those different parts are so intertwined, and so interdependent, and so good at working together that we view the car as a seamless, single object rather than as a bunch of different parts.

The Christian walk is very much like this. You can twist your throttle all you want, but if you haven’t bound yourself to your bike, and your bike to your wheels, then you aren’t going anywhere.  Binding yourself to other Christians, who are different than you, but who also are united to you in common purpose is invaluable to that walk. Paul talks about this in depth where he argues that a body needs it’s different parts, but then argues that each of those parts make up the same body (1 Corinthians 12:12-31).

One great illustration of this is found in the story of three Jews with the Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3:1-30). They resisted a king who had required them by law to bow down and worship a giant idol.  If they did not worship as he had decreed they would be thrown into a deadly heated furnace. All three men were unique individuals. And all three men were able to bind together and withstand the King’s evil requirement. They were able to do this because they were united in their love, respect, honor, fear and trust for the one true God. The king did, indeed, have them thrown into the furnace.  Miraculously, God protected them. But it is interesting to note that they were willing to go into the furnace and stand up for their God even if he chose not to save them (Daniel 3:16-18). It’s unlikely that they could have made such a resistance without being bound to each other and to their common God. They demonstrated with perfection Solomon’s wisdom that when three separate cords are woven together into a single strand, they become very hard to break (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Are you Wide Open Throttle?  Have you bound yourself to others who are different from you, but united with you in purpose? Your Wide Open Throttle can’t take you anywhere if you aren’t.

Challenging Your Culture Is Wide Open Throttle.

Living your life Wide Open Throttle means allowing the maximum amount of fuel from God’s word to run into your engine, then burning that fuel with the maximum amount of air from prayer and the Holy Spirit. But you can’t live life Wide Open Throttle until you put that engine into gear and do something with all of that power. If your engine is just idling with the throttle wide open, then you’re just wasting fuel. Interestingly, if you’re in gear, but your throttle isn’t open, then your engine will die from lack of fuel and air, and you won’t go anywhere either.

Mike Hosey, An Elder

The prophet Elijah is a great example of how a person can throttle up and win for the Kingdom of God. He is also an example of how a person can choke the power of God by taking a hand off of the throttle and letting an engine sputter out. Consider his victory at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:21-29). The evil King Ahab of Israel had allowed the people to worship pagan Gods. Elijah challenged the king at the top of Mount Carmel to follow a real God.  Then in a true display of God’s power, he vanquished 450 prophets of Baal when he called down fire on an altar. But only after he had dared them to call down fire from their false God. They didn’t succeed. The people saw Elijah's demonstration of power, and then at his command killed all the evil prophets. Elijah had understood the word of God. He believed it’s power, he spoke to God regularly, and he acted on that word! He was wide open throttle!

But just one chapter over (1 Kings 19:1-18), Ahab’s queen, Jezebel, hears of Elijah’s victory. In her anger over the deaths of her false prophets, she vows to kill Elijah. Elijah, the man who had just called down fire from heaven, becomes afraid of a pagan woman who worships an impotent God who could not display any power at all when called upon by 450 prophets. She was an evil woman who did not love or know God! Elijah forgot about God’s power, and his own status as a prophet. He forgot to pray for the fuel of God’s word, or a renewal of his spirit, and instead retreats into the wilderness, and prays a whiney prayer asking to die. He had cut off his throttle, and he had taken himself out of gear. His engine was sputtering instead of roaring. Thankfully, at the top of Mount Horeb, God breaks Elijah’s self focus and restores his fuel and spirit.

What areas in your life are open throttle? What areas aren’t? When was the last time you refueled? When was the last time you prayed a prayer to throttle up? When was the last time you challenged a pagan world with the fire of God?

Wide Open Throttles

Mike Hosey, An Elder

There’s a saying in the biker culture that goes something like this: “Some pop pills, others tilt bottles, but we solve our problems with wide open throttles.” A throttle is the  human/machine interface on an engine that governs the flow of fuel and air. When a throttle is wide open, say on a motorcycle, or when the pedal is to the metal in an automobile, the greatest amount of air and fuel possible flow into the engine, and it performs at peak. The engine will produce maximum output, and the vehicle will assume maximum speed for the gear that it happens to be in. When bikers cite this bit of wisdom, they are proclaiming that the dismal problems of the world pale in comparison to the exhilaration they experience when they fully commit themselves and their machines to the open road. There’s no doubt that this principle is true across several life areas. Consider the drug addict who

commits his life completely to his habit. When he opens the throttle wide open, the responsible world is drowned out. It pales in comparison (he thinks) to the pleasures of his drugs. The business woman who commits herself fully to her endeavors experiences a ride that drowns out the distractions of all other potential roads. When she opens the throttle wide open, she may end up building an organization that reshapes her economy, and perhaps the economies of multitudes of others.

The bible is full of men and women who lived wide-open-throttle lives. People like Daniel, or John the Baptist, or Paul, or Jesus. Their lives, quite literally changed the world. If you are reading this, you have benefitted -- even if you are not a believer -- from how they lived their lives with throttles wide open. Consider how Paul, the apostle, boasts of his strivings for Christ in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 where he shares, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food,[b] in cold and exposure.”

His wide open throttle life gave us most of the New Testament, and modeled for us how we can change from something old, to something much better. How open is your throttle?

Can I Get a Witness?

Mike Hosey, an Elder

We use the word “witness” in our modern language a lot. We usually define it as: “one who gives evidence; specifically, one who testifies in a cause, or before a judicial tribunal.” Sometimes, it is defined as, “something serving as evidence or proof.” So a witness is someone or something that supports the truth of something else. If you see a murder, and are asked to testify in court about what you saw, then you become a witness. If the police find a video tape of the murder, and use it in court, then that video tape becomes a witness to the horrible event. If you see Superman save the day, and the newspaper reporter asks you what you saw, and you describe the excitement of a man jumping over a building in a single bound, then you are a witness to the miraculous. If the police find a couple of burglars tied with a Bat Rope and tagged with a note to the light post at 34th and Archer, then that rope and note are a witness to the crime busting activities of the Dark Knight.

And this is exactly how the term is used in the Bible. For instance, Deuteronomy 17:6 commands how witnesses are used in a death penalty proceeding. In Isaiah 30:8, the famous prophet is commanded to write down the ways of rebellious Israel, so that there is a permanent written witness to their condition.

The Bible is serious about witnesses. So serious, in fact, that it forbids false witnesses. It prohibits witnessing about something that isn’t true (Exodus 20:16). And it describes such behavior as murderously harmful (Proverbs 25:18). It pulls no punches when it lists a false witness with murder, adultery, slander, stealing and sexual immorality (Matthew 25:19). God seriously hates it (Proverbs 6:16-19).

God directs his people to serve as a witness to his grace, mercy, power, and commands (Matthew 28:19-20). And it is his expectation that his direction be carried out far and wide (Acts 1:8).
So ask yourself this question: “What is my life witnessing to the world?” Then examine your life to see what it is witnessing. Do your behaviors, your allegiances, your friendships, and your words witness to the truths of the one good King of all? Or do they bear a false witness about the ways of the world?

What Does Your Mirror Reflect?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Psychologists have noticed for a long time that human beings tend to emulate one another. For instance, if someone smiles at you, you are likely to smile back. If you are at a public event and everyone claps, then you likely will feel some compulsion to clap along. If you are with a group of people who are eating together, you will likely stop eating when the group stops eating, or if the group continues to eat, you also will likely continue to eat. If your group is happy, you will tend to be happy. If your group has experienced a loss, you will tend to reflect(and even experience) their emotional pain. This is a social aspect of our biology. You have almost no control over it. When it happens, it happens at a level that you are usually not aware of. It wasn’t until the 1990s that psychologists discovered that we have whole circuits in our brains made up of mirror neurons that actuate these behaviors. These mirror neurons cause us to “mirror” the other humans around us. Their existence explains things like public clapping, laughter, and other group behaviors.

This physiological discovery has many social implications. But the biggest implication it might have has already been touched on in the bible. Consider Proverbs 13:20 where we read that whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but whoever walks with fools suffers harm. The reason for this is that we tend to emulate those that we are around. If you live among wise people, you are going to learn their ways. Of course, they will teach you things. And of course, you will consciously observe and learn from their modeling. But amazingly, you will also unconsciously begin to mirror their wisdom. Almost as if by some magical psychological osmosis, you will begin to absorb their wise qualities. Doing so is hardwired into your biology. On the other hand, if you hang out with people who live recklessly, without considering consequences or costs, your biology will cause you to mirror their bad traits. Because you will be following their lead, you will make their same bad decisions. And you will likely experience the same misery that stupid decisions usually bring. It’s true. Life is hard, but it’s harder if your stupid (or foolish).

So if you want to build habits that compel you up the hill, rather than habits that cause you to fall down the hill, then consider the company you keep, and the kind of reflection that you shine. Surround yourself with people who are better than you, and shape your habits accordingly.

Are You Aligned with Your Purpose?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Purpose is a word used to label our reason for existence. Everything has a purpose -- or a reason for existence. The computer I’m typing on at this moment has the purpose of providing me a tool by which I can communicate with you. Most things have many purposes. My hands, for instance, have the purposes of grasping objects, helping me to count, bringing food to my mouth, sensing elements of my world with touch, or manipulating my environment. And while my hands have many purposes, those purposes are unified by a single general reason for the existence of my hands. That single reason is to serve me for my best benefit. That’s why my hands exist. When they feed me, they are doing it so that I can survive and thrive. When they sense the world with their touch, they are doing it so that I can explore and expand my horizons and my understanding. When they assist me in counting, they do so to help me keep track of things. But if I use my hands in ways that are not aligned with that single purpose of serving me for my best benefit, then my hands become a hindrance to me. If I use my hands to feed myself poisonous drugs, then my hands are not aligned with their purpose. If I use my hands solely to feed myself, then my hands are not aligned with my purpose, and I will suffer from that misalignment.

In a larger sense, our whole lives have purpose. If our lives get out of line with that purpose then we suffer, the people around us suffer, and our purpose is not met. I can remember coming across a couple of fellow hikers on the Appalachian Trail a number of years back. Just a few short miles into my hike, I noticed an iron skillet, and a loaded laundry bag, and canned dog food strewn every hundred meters down the trail. Then, as I was descending into a gap between two mountains I came across the folks who had been leaving their stuff behind. A young couple and their dog. They were exhausted. Their dog, with long thick hair ill suited for the Georgia climate, and panting heavily, sprawled himself out before them, clearly as exhausted as they were -- if not more so. Spread around were pieces of gear that betrayed their poor alignment - a heavy pole tent, large thick foam pads, more canned food, and kitchen pots. Their hike was out of alignment with their purpose of making it to the first suitable campsite. They’d never make it to their destination carrying all of that stuff, and they’d have to return to start.

You have a purpose. It is a purpose ordained by God. That general purpose is to serve him by serving others. Is your life aligned with that purpose? If it is not, consider getting rid of all the baggage that gets in the way of that purpose (Hebrews 12:1).

If You Lie with Dogs, Then You'll Get Fleas

Mike Hosey, An Elder

In a number of different ways, the bible teaches with relative clarity that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). In other words, the process that the Holy Spirit uses to make us into new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17), is to shape the way we think. The reason for this is easy to understand. What we think determines what we do. It also determines how we feel (Philippians 4:8). It is one of the reasons that faith is so important to God (Hebrews 11:6), because what we believe determines what we think. Therefore, what we believe, ultimately produces behavioral results. If you think about bad things, you’ll be tempted to do bad things. If you believe bad things are good, you’ll behave in ways that are bad. Your feelings will follow suit! If you believe that God has saved you from a terrible state of sin, than you’ll love God, and you’ll avoid paths of sin.

So how do you renew your mind? There are many ways. The bible talks about prayer, which is a focused and sustained mental effort of communicating with God, and meditating on his ways and laws. It also talks about the importance of having God’s word in your heart (Hebrews 4:12, Acts 17:11, Proverbs 3:1-2, Psalm 119:11).

But I think one of the best ways to renew your mind is to stretch your thoughts and challenge yourself by being around other people in your faith community (Hebrews 10:24-25, James 5:16, and Colossians 3:16). I particularly like that Colossians verse. It commands us to teach and admonish each other in all wisdom. When we do this, we grow in both the renewal of our minds, and in the renewal of our behaviors. Goodness can’t help but be reinforced when when we spend our time and efforts in a faith community that is intent on loving us and helping us grow. There is an old cliche that is full of truth: “if you lie with dogs you’ll get fleas.” If you lie with the world, then your mind will be infested with the fleas of the world. They’ll bite and you’ll scratch. It’s a miserable existence. But if you spend your time with people who are dedicated to God, you’ll get peace, wisdom, and maturity as they help you to continually improve your thought life by strengthening your faith, and ultimately changing your behaviors. It quite literally changes you from one kind of person to another. You may go from being a liar and a fool to a prophet and a sage, or from a sinner to a saint.

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally!

Mike Hosey, An Elder

One of the first algebraic concepts I learned in school was called the Order of Operations. If you don’t know this concept, then you cannot do simple algebra. I was taught a simple memory device so that I would never forget the order of operations, and I still use that device to this day, some 40 years later. That device was “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.” Today, students simply refer to it as PEMDAS. It stands for Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. If you try to solve any mathematical equation without going through that order you will get the answer completely wrong. If you try to subtract before you add, or you try to multiply before dealing with the exponent values, or before solving the stuff inside the parenthesis, then you will end up with a mangle jangle mess of an answer. Your building won’t stand up. Your Investment projections will fail. And you won’t understand the statistical garbage with which a bad insurance salesman, or a fraudulent expert tries to persuade you.

You will find the order of operations in many forms and in many places in life. For instance, try getting a good job as a surgeon before getting a medical degree. If you do, it won’t be long before you’re talking to someone with a law degree. Sometimes, people engage in intimate behaviors with the opposite sex before a marriage commitment. Far too often, this disregard for the order of operations leads to a mangle jangle mess of a life with someone that they must learn to love instead of lust after. Or consider expecting a child to follow your written chore list before he or she has learned to read. It simply won’t work.

The most important element in all of the orders of operation is to put God first. When you put God first, the rest of your life falls into place. It saves you heartache, it gives you purpose, and it keeps you in right standing with the one who provides all good things. This concept is found throughout the bible. It’s implied in places like Deuteronomy 6:5 where we’re told to love God with everything, or in places like Romans 12:2, where Paul tells us to be transformed by putting the will of God as a prime measuring stick for life. Jesus puts it more directly in Matthew 6:25-33 when he instructs us to seek the Kingdom of God first, and God will make sure that our lesser needs are met. So take an inventory of your world, and see if you have been correctly applying the order of operations in all the equations that make up your life.

The Importance of Evangelism

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Evangelism has a bad rap. In secular culture, it means a T.V. preacher stealing people’s money to grow a very unholy kingdom under the guise of holiness. To some in the political arena, it means conservative Republicans who want to beat their morality into a secular culture by force of law. To some in Church World, it means getting out of your comfort zone and having people think of you as weird because of you’re going to try to sell them some Jesus -- or some Jaayzusss. But it is none of those things.

Okay, okay, okay . . . you might have to get out of your comfort zone a bit, but it isn’t selling Jesus.

An evangelist is simply a bringer of good tidings. That’s it. He or she is someone who delivers the good news. In regards to Christianity, the good news is that Jesus saves people from a whole host of uglies. Uglies like sin, hell, and worldly chains. He rescues marriages, and careers, and families.

Evangelism doesn’t mean persuading someone to believe that stuff. It doesn’t mean convincing someone that they're wrong. It doesn’t mean showing them that you’re right. Those certainly can be part of the evangelism process, but they’re not necessary for it. All that is necessary is to share the good news. The best way to share that good news is to tell others what God has done for you. After that, the Holy Spirit does the rest. 

And the rest that he does is an incredible amount. Benefits to evangelism are significant, numerous, and huge. It deepens our faith by putting us close to the action so that we can see the supernatural power of God as he rescues people from despair. It sharpens our knowledge so that if someone asks us a question we have a good answer. It causes us to work in familial concert with our fellow Christians so that we can encourage one another in the work that God has given us. And it does so much more than I can write in this short blog. But one of the biggest benefits is how it impacts your church, or your local faith community. Listen to what Paul tells the church at Colossae (Colossians 1:5-6). He reminds them of how the good news changed their lives, made them into a church, and is now producing fruit wherever it is heard! The gospel, or the good news, grows churches! If you want your church to grow, then be sure to evangelize. If you want the kingdom of God to spread in this dark world, then evangelize. And all that means is telling people about what God has done for you!

Why I Don't Think John 3:16 is the Most Important Verse in the Bible

Mike Hosey, An Elder

If you ask any evangelical Christian what the most important verse in the bible is, you are likely to be met with an enthusiastic reply of, “John 3:16.” -- For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son . . . This verse is so important to Christians that almost every person in Church World has memorized it. Famous football players paint it on their faces. Conservative, dedicated, bible thumping preachers put it in their tracts. Seminaries devote classes to it. Sunday School teachers make sure that the little ones in their charge not only learn it, but that they understand it. We are reminded of its gravity in bloody reenactments of the crucifixion.

It is, indeed, a very important verse. But I don’t think it is the most important verse. I have long taught that the most important verse is Hebrews 11:6. It teaches that without faith it is impossible to please God. It goes on to explain why. A person must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him. A person who doesn’t believe such things won’t draw near to him. This is a simple truth, really. If you don’t trust that your company is going to keep paying you, then you won’t go to work. If the treasure hunter doesn’t believe there’s a chest at the bottom of the ocean, he won’t go on hunting. If a pastor no longer believes in his calling, he will no longer shepherd.

Some believers have glimpsed the importance of this verse, but have applied it improperly. They tend to focus on the rewards portion of the verse, and then apply that to earthly benefits. If you have faith, they argue, then you will be blessed with money, or health, or a spouse, or some worldly pleasure. Of course, it is true that God provides those things on earth. But he isn’t primarily interested in those things for your life. In fact, his greatest followers often suffered without earthly pleasures. Our greatest example was a suffering servant (Isaiah 53, 1 Peter 2:21-25). Notice that Hebrews 11:6 is nested squarely in the middle of a passage about how some of the bible’s greatest heroes obeyed God because of what they believed, and not about how they were rewarded. In fact, Hebrews 11:13 points out that all of them died without receiving what was promised. Their reward was in heaven, and that reward is far, far greater than any prize they could enjoy on earth.

Read Hebrews 11:6 again. It is impossible to please God without faith. The verse is about pleasing God - not receiving rewards. If you don’t believe that God exists, then you won’t believe it when he tells you that you need a savior. You won’t believe his love for you, and John 3:16 will be meaningless. You certainly won't love him back. Most importantly, if you don’t believe and trust God, then you won’t obey him when he tells you to do something in the service of his will.

An Apple Can't Confess. But You Can.

Mike Hosey, An Elder

I love apples. I especially love those that have been bred to be particularly sweet. They look so wonderful and apetizing on the outside. In fact, I eat one every day for lunch. The other day I took a big bite out of one. There was that initial sweet and crisp rush as my teeth broke it’s skin. But then there followed a bitterness, and a terrible aftertaste that lingered far longer than I liked. When I looked at my apple, I noticed that its meat was brown and mushy in spots instead of it’s normal white firmness. Although it looked perfectly fine on the outside, it was rotting on the inside. At some point in it’s development a fungus had gotten into the apple, and as the apple grew, so did the fungus in it’s core. It wasn’t detectable from the outside at all.

So much of your life can be just like that apple. Sin, shortcomings, and hurt invade your life, and if you don’t deal with them, then you begin to rot from the inside out. You may have a smile and a shiny glow, but your heart is slowly suffering, and dying -- your spirit failing into mushy brown spots. And when it is time for you to serve God and your fellow man, you risk leaving everyone with a bad aftertaste. You may be reading this right now, knowing full well the danger that your heart and spirit are in.

This rot in the human heart affects the most those who never confess their sins or their problems. Consider the wisdom of the Psalmist who cried out that when he kept silent, his bones wasted away inside of him (Psalm 32:1-3). He realized that he, too, was just like that apple. But there’s good news. He also recognized that God can and does take care of the rot whenever we confess it (Psalm 32:5). Even more interesting is that when we confess our sins and problems to trusted fellow Christians there is healing power (James 5:16a)! James argues that we should confess our problems so that we can be healed. Healed from what? The rot that our hurts, sins, and earthly problems cause us. The truth is that you can’t fix a problem until you acknowledge it. And one way that you can acknowledge it is to share it with God, and with one of his children with whom you’ve built trust.

An apple doesn’t have the ability to ask someone to remove it’s rot. But you do! So take the opportunity to get it out of you before it hurts your heart any further.

What is the Sin that Leads to Death?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Among the most difficult passages in the bible is 1 John 5:16-17. The reason that it is difficult is that John doesn’t give us much clarity about what he actually means. In the passage John argues that there is a sin that does not lead to death, and if we see a fellow Christian committing that sin, then we are to pray for that person, and God will restore him or her. Then he argues that there is a sin that does lead to death. He does not command us to pray for that person. It seems kind of scary. Of course this passage has produced a lot of debate among Christians about what these sins are. The debate is rooted in many ideas, but the chief idea is that the bible seems to teach unequivocally that all sin leads to death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23, James 1:15, Romans 5:12 . . . ). So what are these sins and how can we interpret these verses? Well, here are some possibilities. None are perfect, but perhaps they can give us something to study and pray about.

1) Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-30). Disrespecting the Holy Spirit is a sin that cannot be forgiven, which certainly leads to a spiritual death in hell. However, in his difficult passage, John refers to the potential sinner as a brother or fellow believer. It seems very unlikely that a person who truly knows Jesus and has been truly saved would commit this particular sin.

2) Chronic or unrepentant sin. This seems to be a better candidate. No doubt, continuing to sin will lead to physical death. For instance, an alcoholic who remains in his sin of drunkeness will likely eventually succumb to liver disease, or death by bad decisions. But John tells us in chapter 3 that true believers don’t keep on sinning (1 John 3:9). And yet we know that even the best believers can struggle with sin in some way. Note the apostle Paul’s personal use of the present tense (Romans 7:19-20).

3) There is a difference between physical death and spiritual death (Matthew 10:28). It is possible that a person’s body can die, but his spirit be given a new body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). In fact, this is true of every saved person (Philippians 3:21). We all will die, because our sins all lead to the death of our physical bodies. But some will also die a spiritual death in hell because they haven’t submitted their lives to Christ. The alcoholic who has submitted his life to Christ, but continues to struggle with his addiction is sinning unto physical death, but his spirit may be redeemed with a new body in Heaven because of his commitment to Christ. Then, of course, there are those sins for which God may proclaim immediate destruction of the individual body so that his church body can be kept healthy (Acts 5:1-11, 1 Corinthians 5:1-5). Notice how in that Corinthians verse that the person is turned over to Satan so that his sinning body can be destroyed in order that his spirit be saved. It may be for this reason that John doesn't ask us to pray for the restoration of that person. Perhaps such a person is so damaged by sin that God must deal with him drastically so that he can be protected eternally, and the community to which he belongs can be protected in the present.

In any event, we can all agree that John is making the case that all sin is serious, and must be dealt with.

Here's Why You Have to Know the REAL Jesus

Mike Hosey, An Elder

I know a guy in Mississippi, a family friend, who learned a costly lesson a few years ago. He’s an experienced man, old enough to have acquired plenty of wisdom. He is a man who’s knowledge of farm and rural life had endowed him with powers of discernment. One day, he pulled into a gas station and bought some items from the convenience store, then filled up his new truck. For whatever reason, he had not taken the time to practice the discernment he already knew how to use. As he pulled away from the gas station, he was confident that all was well and that his day would end comfortably as it always did. But it didn’t. A few miles down the road his new truck met its fate. He had put gasoline in his diesel engine.

It’s not an uncommon mistake. Diesel and gasoline are pumped from machines that are very similar in appearance. Diesel looks like gasoline. In their unburned states, they smell somewhat similar. The nozzles that dispense the fuels, on first glance, appear identical. But all of this is only appearance and not reality. A diesel nozzle is larger than a gasoline nozzle so that you can’t fit it into a gasoline vehicle. On the other hand, because it is smaller, a gasoline nozzle fits far too easily into a diesel tank. Diesel is also a lubricant in addition to being a fuel, so it will often have a black oily residue on it’s pump and nozzle. A diesel pump is almost always painted green, and labeled with big letters that say DIESEL.

But none of those differences matter if you don’t take time to discriminate.

The world of bible teaching is similar to the diesel problem, with one big difference. Diesel is a good fuel that is meant for running certain kinds of cars. False bible teaching, is destructive fuel meant to damage any person interested in learning about Jesus or true spirituality. Unfortunately, the bad bible teaching often comes from a “pump” that looks, smells, and feels o.k. at first glance. But the apostle John knew better, and warned his students to test every spirit to see if it comes from God (1 John 4:1). He gave them a test to help make that discernment (1 John 4:2-3). John argued that a teacher who didn’t pass that test wasn’t from God, but was instead a kind of antichrist. So look carefully at the pumps where you get your spiritual fuel. If you don’t practice discernment, you’ll break your spiritual engine.

4 Ways To Honor Your Mother Everyday

Mike Hosey, An Elder

One of the most important commands in the bible is to honor our mothers. It is one of the first direct commands the bible gives us, and it is repeated directly at least 8 times throughout scripture (Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16, Matthew 15:4, Matthew 19:19, Mark 7:10, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, Ephesians 6:2). It’s also repeated indirectly numerous times (Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 30:17). Jesus himself modeled the concept (Luke 2:43-51). The Hebrew word for those Old Testament verses means to make something weighty. The Greek word for those New Testament verses means to place value or esteem in something. So to honor your mother means to place weight or value in her positional relationship to you.

So how can you honor your mother? Well first, don’t limit your efforts to Mother’s Day!

1) Adopt a Proper Attitude: Monitor your thoughts about your mother. Are they resentful? Are they resistant? If so, is this resentfulness or resistance justifiable? Or is it because you just didn’t get your way? Enough thoughts will coalesce into an attitude, and your attitude will then shape your behavior, and your behavior will reflect your level of honor. If your having a problem with your attitude, take it to God in prayer. He specializes in helping you through such problems.

2) Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude: Be thankful for the things your mother has done for you. Remember that she is human, and raising another human is easily one of the world’s most difficult tasks. She birthed you. She took care of you when you could not take care of yourself. And she probably raised you in a world that did not have the tools and luxuries that you have. Gratitude will also shape your behaviors.

3) Honor Her With Your Words: Tell her that you love her. Tell her that she looks nice in her new clothes. Tell her that you enjoyed the meal. Tell her that you are thankful for her. Everyone likes to hear such things, even if they won’t admit it. Remind her of the good things that have shaped the good parts of you. She gets discouraged, and often thinks of the mistakes she made while raising you.

4) Honor Her With Your Actions: Be committed to her well being. Love her dearly with your behaviors. Carry the groceries in for her. Wash her car. Fix the pipe under the sink. Give her a day off regularly. Hug her. Kiss her on the cheek. Help her when she needs help. Do all of it without asking.

Doing these things comes with a promise from God (Ephesians 6:1-3).

What Does Love Got To Do With It?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

The bible is a book of action. Rarely does it introduce a concept and not follow up that concept without its application in the form of some kind of real action. Just consider God’s first creative moments. In Genesis 1:3, God said, “let there be light,” and there was light. His words had real evidence behind their utterance. The bible famously declares in Isaiah 55:11 that the words of God shall not return to him void, but that they will accomplish his purpose. In other words, when God speaks, things happen. This shows that he means what he says.

James develops this idea more fully. He argues that a person who truly hears the word, acts on what he hears (James 1:22-25). He takes this a bit further in James 2:14-17 where he strongly states that a person who says he has faith, but then doesn’t do anything with that faith, is a person who has a defunct faith, or no faith at all. Faith, without works, he says, is dead. True faith always produces behavioral results.

Love, like faith, is measured in deeds and not words. Therefore, real love also produces behavioral results. If it doesn’t then it isn’t love. John presents this idea in no uncertain terms. In 1 John 3:16-18 he shares that the reason we know love is because Jesus laid down his life for our spiritual well being. The actions of Jesus demonstrated his love. He drives even harder, and tells us that we ought to lay down our own lives for the people who belong to our faith community. In other words, we are to show our love in the same ways that Jesus did. He then asks how can the love of God be in us if we aren’t willing to commit to the well being of those brothers and sisters around us. Finally, he sums it up by encouraging us to love in deeds and in truth, and not just with words (1 John 3:18).

Words without actions are just words. Faith without works is dead. And love that doesn’t produce sacrificial deeds isn’t love. Your love and your beliefs should produce behavioral results. And those behavioral results should be evidenced most in your families and in your faith communities. If they don’t, go to God and ask him what’s missing in your walk.

What it Means to Keep on Sinning.

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Sometimes the bible presents us with disturbing truths. These truths serve as dire warnings of terrible things to come, and they should not be ignored. However, some teachers have relied too heavily on these dark truths as a means of scaring people into serving God, rather than inspiring them to serve God by illustrating his enormous love and overflowing grace. When this is the sole tactic used, people serve God because they don’t want to be punished, and not because they actually love him. This makes for fake service. Imagine a wife who supplies her husband with intimacy because she fears that if she doesn’t she’ll be beaten. Such intimacy is either cold, or fraudulent. 

Because these ominous truths are so potentially terrible, they sometimes color how we read other parts of the bible. If we are not careful, we will misinterpret those other passages too darkly. One such place where that often happens is in 1 John 3. In that passage, the apostle whom Jesus loved tells us that “no one who lives in him keeps on sinning, and that no one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him (1 John 3:6).” A truly saved person gets a gut check after reading that. Most people freak a bit because they realize that even though they’ve honestly submitted their lives to Jesus, they continue to have moments of sin. In fact, they may even continue to battle sinful desires. Their fear comes because they have focused on the second part of the verse, and forgotten the first. It also serves as evidence of their salvation. Whenever we are living in Jesus -- that is whenever we are placing him as the highest priority in our lives, and following in his footsteps, and adopting his attitudes -- we won’t keep sinning. In other words, we won’t make a practice of sinning. Because we can’t. Our lives will have a different pattern and a different proclivity. If we are living in Jesus, we will feel remorse for sin, and try to correct it. It’s actually a very positive message. A person who lives in Jesus does not keep sinning as a practice and lifestyle, because his new nature supernaturally compels him or her to separate from sin. This may play out in long, painful and difficult battles against the former patterns in our lives, but it will play out. On the other hand, a person who has never really known, or never really seen Jesus, will continue in a lifestyle of sin, will have no remorse for transgression, and will fight no painful battles against his or her former patterns of behavior. In fact, his or her sin will compel him or her to avoid holiness. If sin doesn’t bother you, then you might not have actually submitted yourself to Jesus. And if you didn’t, you are missing out on a life that’s way better than any fleeting (and corrosive) pleasures your sins currently bring you.

How Healthy are Your Food Sources

Mike Hosey, An Elder

You’ve heard the old saying, “you are what you eat.” Obviously, this statement is not to be taken absolutely literally. Instead, its a figure of speech designed to help you remember to watch your eating habits. For instance, the statement doesn’t mean that if you eat carrots, you’ll turn into a root vegetable. And it doesn’t mean that if you eat twinkies that you’ll turn into a spongy, cream filled pastry. What the saying means is that if you put healthy food into you, then you’ll be healthy, but if you fill yourself with junk food then your body will pay the price of becoming unhealthy.

 So much of the truth of that statement is to remind us to consider the source of what we intake. An interesting process occurs based on how we source our food. The more good food you eat, the more your body will crave good food. And the more junk food you eat, the more your body will crave junk food. If you drink sodas all of the time, then when you become thirsty, your body will crave soda. If you drink water all of the time, then when you are thirsty, your body will crave water. When you discipline your body’s sourcing, it takes on the attributes of that sourcing. A person who is healthy doesn’t regularly partake in unhealthy activities, because to do so would change him or her into something unhealthy.

John talks about this in 1 John 2:15-17. He reminds us that if we pursue the things of the world -- things that are associated with lust, or pride, or fleshly desires -- then we don’t have the love of God in us. But if we pursue the things of God, then our love for God is evident. The more we pursue worldly things, the more worldly we become. The more we pursue spiritual things, the more we become spiritual.

Finally, he reminds us that spiritual things are superior because they last forever. Worldly things, are temporary. In other words, you can have the fleeting pleasures of junk food, or you can have the everlasting well being of healthy food. So take some time this week with God to check your intake sources.

Living in a Faith Community

Mike Hosey, an Elder

Every Christian must live his or her life under authority. We are to live under the authority of the Bible, and under the authority of Jesus, and his Holy Spirit, and under the authority of God the father.  We are instructed to live our church lives under the authority of our church elders and the wisdom that God flows through them. We are even to live our lives under the authority of secular governments as long as they don’t conflict with God’s authority (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-17).

This can be a difficult task because we don’t always like what God wants us to do. Further, our human authorities are human enough to be quite wrong every now and then. 

John metes out some of that authority in 1 John 2:7-8 when tells his readers that he is giving them both an old commandment and new commandment. In other words, he tells them that there is a command authority they are to respect. Typical of John in this particular letter, he doesn’t immediately identify that commandment. Instead, he moves quickly into a discussion of how hating one’s brother is a form of walking in sinful darkness. But his reference to a new commandment echoes the words of Jesus in the gospel of John 13:34-35.  In that passage, Jesus gives his disciples the “new” commandment to love one another as he has loved them, and that this will show the world that they belong to him.  Interestingly, most of the chapter before that specific command has Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. He is loving them in a service capacity. He then tells them to love each other as he has loved them. 

This sheds a great deal of light on John’s unnamed old/new commandment and his statements about hating one’s brothers and walking in darkness.  John is reminding his readers that they should be loving each other with works of service, and that if they are not doing so, but are instead actively neglecting them, then they are walking in darkness, and potentially showing the world that they may not belong to Jesus. 

The larger point is that we are commanded to live in community with one another. This is a recurring theme throughout the New Testament. The act of feet washing that Jesus taught was symbolic of loving by serving one’s faith community.  So how do you follow that command to love others in your faith community? Do you serve in children’s ministry, or clean your church building, or invite others to worship, or freely give your tithe, or take meals to someone who is sick, or serve on workday, or greet new comers, or help at a small group?  There are plenty of great opportunities!