Who Deserves Mercy?

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." – John 8:7

It’s one of the most beloved accounts in any of the Gospels.

In John 8, Jesus was teaching in the temple courts when he was rudely interrupted by the teachers of the law and some Pharisees. They brought Him a woman and said: “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?” (vs. 4-5). And then John adds a quick little FYI in verse 6: “They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.”

You see, the religious leaders knew that if Jesus said they SHOULDN’T stone the woman, they could arrest Him for rebelling against the Law of Moses. On the other hand, if Jesus said the woman SHOULD be stoned, He could be arrested by the government, because it was against Roman law for the Jews to carry out capital punishment without Roman approval.  So, Jesus was stuck with a lose-lose question. Or so everyone thought.

But Jesus’ response in verse 7 is genius: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

At that, the woman’s accusers slunk away, one by one, too convicted by their own sins to start hurling rocks. When Jesus was left alone with the woman, He asked, “Has no one condemned you?” And when she responded with a “no,” He said, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (v. 11).

Jesus showed the woman mercy – undeserved forgiveness. And in this passage, Jesus gives us three important lessons about showing mercy:

1. Legalists prefer to CONDEMN. Jesus prefers to FORGIVE. Often, it’s easier to condemn than it is to forgive. But when we start preferring condemnation over forgiveness, we can be sure that we are following in the footsteps of the Pharisees. Forgiveness is the path of Christ.

2. Jesus’ mercy comes with an implied warning: “If you reject My mercy, one day you will suffer God’s wrath.” Some Christians think that Jesus was soft on this woman’s sin. But He really wasn’t. Notice that He didn’t just say, “Neither do I condemn you. Tell your lover I said ‘Hi!’” He said, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” Jesus called upon this woman to make a radical change in her life.

4. Where legalists see miserable sinners, Jesus sees potential saints. Throughout the New Testament, we see lives radically transformed by following Jesus Christ. God doesn’t offer us a time machine to go back and change what we’ve done. But Jesus Christ gives us the next best thing: a second chance. Jesus is the God of second chances. He gives you the opportunity to change your life – beginning today.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for worship on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, or livestream us on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Do You Show Mercy and Grace?

“Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.” – John 5:8-9 

Imagine you’re awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a lawnmower. When you get out of bed and step onto the front porch, you see your next-door neighbor, who’s been in a wheelchair for 38 years. And he’s dancing around your front yard, mowing your lawn like he just won the lottery. How would you respond? Would you yell across the yard, “Charlie! I can’t believe it! How on earth did you get out of that wheelchair?” Or would you wave your fist at him and say, “What in tarnation are you doing at this time of night? GET OFF MY LAWN!” 

That’s Pastor Chuck Swindoll’s great illustration of the two different ways religious leaders could have reacted after Jesus healed a paralyzed man in John 5.

The man was one of many disabled people who used to gather around the Pool of Bethesda, hoping for a healing. The name “Bethesda” can be translated as “house of mercy and grace.” But the place didn’t live up to its name. At that time, it was believed that an angel from heaven came down to the pool every now and then to stir up the waters. We know now that this was most likely from an underground spring. But back then, those disabled people believed that the first person into the stirred-up pool would be healed. In other words, the fastest person into the water gets healed—so, most likely, it’s the one who least needs the healing. So, was Bethesda a true house of mercy and grace? Not really!

Thankfully, the God of grace and mercy, Jesus Christ, stepped onto the pool deck. And he wasn’t looking for the fastest or healthiest man to heal. When the paralyzed man explained to Jesus that he had no one to help him get to the water first, Jesus had just one thing to say to him: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” (v. 8). Immediately, the man was healed—so he got up and did just that. It should have been a happy ending, right?

But as it turns out, the healing took place on the Sabbath Day, and the religious leaders didn’t take kindly to anyone doing anything that even resembled work on the Sabbath. So, when they saw the healed man walk into the temple courts carrying his bed mat, all the religious leaders could say was, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” The healed man responded, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’” (vs. 10-11).

Now, what is the most remarkable detail in this man’s statement? Is it A) that someone had just healed his severed spinal cord and paralyzed legs? Or B) that the healer told him to carry his sleeping bag? That’s a real stumper, isn’t it? But look at what the religious leaders focused on in verse 12. They asked: “Who is this fellow who told you to pick up your mat and walk?”

Be very careful that you don’t make the same mistake that the religious leaders made in John 5. They were so entrenched in their legalism that they completely flushed grace down the toilet. They were staring an earth-shattering miracle right in the face, and all they could see was an out-of-place sleeping bag. How sad!

Here are three Life Lessons we can draw from these passages:

Life Lesson #1: Just like in Jesus’ day, our community is filled with hurting people who are searching for a house of mercy and grace. And as Jesus’ followers, we have what they so desperately need. Every week, people walk through the church door who are hurting or sick. Every week, there are people watching church services online who, like the crippled man, have been pushed around and mistreated, and they feel like they don’t have a friend in the world. You and I who follow Jesus are called to offer them kindness, mercy and grace.

Life Lesson #2: Just like in Jesus’ day, there is healing in the house of mercy and grace. The same Jesus who healed the crippled man in John 5 is working in this world today. And His power to heal back then is still available to heal right now. Maybe you need physical healing. Maybe you long for an emotional healing from depression, anxiety or addiction. Or maybe you recognize your greatest need: a spiritual healing. You need to get saved and be born again. Maybe it’s your day to be healed. But if it’s not, keep coming back to the house of mercy and grace, believing that your healing is coming.

Life Lesson #3: Just like in Jesus’ day, there are wet blankets in the house of mercy and grace. I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised that the religious leaders in His time were ignoring the miracle and focusing on the infraction, because, honestly, sometimes you and I do the same thing. Hurting people are being ministered to and decisions for Christ are being made, but we’re complaining about the service going too long. The Word of God is being preached in power, and Christians are growing in their faith, but we’re all miffed because someone “took my seat.” There are any number of ways that we can be wet blankets in the house of mercy and grace. Let’s stop doing that.

Let’s all be ministers of mercy and grace. Let’s spill mercy and grace all over everybody, and then watch and see what miracles Jesus Christ performs when we do.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for worship on Sunday at 8:30am or 10am at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, or livestream us on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Ready to Live The Golden Rule?

 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” - Matthew 7:12

You’ve probably run into a lot of people who say they follow The Golden Rule. They might say, “I’m not into church or religion, but I follow the Golden Rule.” Or, “I’m a pretty good person. I try to live by The Golden Rule.” But God’s word answers back, “No, you don’t! You don’t live by The Golden Rule, because you CAN’T live by The Golden Rule! It’s impossible—utterly impossible—for you to consistently ‘Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.’ You CAN’T do it! You WON’T do it … unless I do it through you.” 

You see, it’s impossible to follow The Golden Rule on the OUTSIDE unless Jesus Christ is working on the INSIDE. And faithful, heartfelt, persistent prayer is the only soil from which The Golden Rule will grow.

Jesus shares The Golden Rule this way in Matthew 7:12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Critics of the Bible like to make the case that Jesus didn’t come up with this Golden Rule. They say it was around for centuries before he spoke it. They point out that Confucius said, “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” And the Greek king Nicocles wrote, “Do not do to others the things which make you angry when you experience them at the hands of other people.”

There’s no doubt that many ancient philosophers and teachers taught something very similar to The Golden Rule. But all of them are NEGATIVE forms of The Golden Rule: “Don’t do unto others what you don’t want them to do unto you.” But Jesus did something revolutionary. He gave us a POSITIVE form of the command. And there’s a big difference between the negative and positive forms of The Golden Rule.

William Barclay explains it this way: “It is one thing to say, ‘I must not injure people’ … It is quite another to say, ‘I must go out of my way to help other people and to be kind to them.’ Barclay goes on to say, “It is never difficult not to do things.… A man might forever refrain from doing any injury to anyone else, and yet be a quite useless citizen to his fellow men. A man could satisfy the negative form of the rule by simple inaction; if he consistently did nothing he would never break it.”

Think about it. If being a successful brain surgeon only requires us to not injure anyone during surgery, we could all be millionaire brain surgeons right now without any medical training. All we’d have to do is scrub up, walk into the Operating Room and do nothing. Doing nothing would mean success. And our Yelp Reviews would all be 5 stars because we would never injure anyone’s brain.

So many people think that they live by Jesus’ Golden Rule. But the truth is, they’re just living by Confucius’ inferior, negative version of it. They think, “I have a perfect record. I’ve never murdered anyone, never raped anyone, never robbed a bank, never cheated on my wife.” Well, whoop-dee-doo! Just about every atheist on the planet can say the same thing.

Once again, Jesus raises the bar. His Golden Rule is not natural. It’s supernatural. The reason most people who know The Golden Rule don’t live it out is because they can’t. Living out The Golden Rule requires a supernatural overhaul on the inside—an overhaul that can only be done by Jesus Christ. Unless Jesus gives you a new heart, a new mind and a new love for those around you, and helps you every step of the way, you can never live by The Golden Rule. But what is impossible with man is possible with God. You can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you.

So, how can you learn to live out The Golden Rule? Well, you can begin praying these three prayers:

Prayer #1: Father in heaven, please forgive me for my sin. If you have unforgiven sin in your life, you will not be able to “do unto others.” You cannot love supernaturally if your heart and mind are filled with unnatural wickedness.

Prayer #2: Father in heaven, please help me get to know and love you better and better. Because The Golden Rule is supernatural, there’s no way that you could possibly live it out until you see it lived out by your supernatural Savior. You must spend serious time in God’s word and in prayer to know Him better. Jesus Christ is your role model, the only One to perfectly live out The Golden Rule. Pay careful attention to the way He loves undeserving people, so that you can love undeserving people too. And your love for Christ must deepen in order for your love for people to deepen. You can’t love people better unless you love Christ better.

Prayer #3: Father in heaven, please help me to LOVE as Jesus loves. If you want to live out The Golden Rule, God will help you. But you’ve got to really, really want it. You’ve got to keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. And if you do, God will answer your prayers. He will help you love the people around you with a supernatural, unconditional love. And when that happens, the people around you will experience heaven on earth like never before. They will experience Jesus like never before—through you.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

3 More Prayer Requests from Jesus

 “Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:11-13

I think most of us understand that there’s a wrong way to pray. For example, this year’s Super Bowl was an absolute slaughter. At halftime the Chiefs were down 21-6 to the underdog Buccaneers. And by that time, you can guess what many Chiefs fans were doing, especially those who had bet on the game: They began praying for a miracle. After all, they had a lot riding on that game: money, pride and bragging rights. Do I even need to say it? That’s the wrong way to pray.

Another wrong use of prayer is to take someone else on a guilt trip. Instead of confronting them face-to-face, we choose the passive-aggressive approach and pray in front of them. “Lord, thank you for Jennifer. But I pray that she’ll stop being late all the time.” Or, “Father in heaven, help John to stop being so rude to me.” Most of us parents, at one time or another, have performed some guilt-trip prayers in front of our kids. After all, why confront them with their bad behavior when we can just pray for them at the dinner table? Friends, that’s another wrong way to pray.

But in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins teaching us the right way to pray. He says, “This, then, is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:9). And He proceeds to teach us The Lord’s Prayer. There are six prayer requests in this short prayer. Many Christians assume the first three requests in The Lord’s Prayer are focused on God’s needs and wants—“Hallowed by Your name,” “Your Kingdom come,” and “Your will be done”—while the last three requests focus on our needs and wants. But that’s only partly true. The last three prayer requests are very personal and practical, but each one still stems from a desire to see God’s name honored, God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done. Let’s take a look.

Jesus’ 4th Prayer Request (v. 11): “Give us today our daily bread.” Many ask, “What does Jesus mean by ‘daily bread’?” Well, we know that “bread” is a common symbol in the Bible, usually used as a synonym for food. So, Jesus’ 4th request in The Lord’s Prayer most likely boils down to this: “Our Father in heaven, give us the food we need today for our sustenance and support.” Or, as the New Living Translation puts it: “Give us today the food we need.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Give us this month the food we need.” Or even “Give us over the next few days the food we need.” Jesus wants us to express our dependence on God every day. 

Jesus’ 5th Prayer Request (v. 12): “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” In Jesus’ day, Jewish teachers used the word “debts” as a synonym for “sins.” So, Jesus is teaching us to pray that God will “forgive us for our sins, as we also have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” And if you’re wondering if Jesus is actually saying what you think He’s saying, the answer is YES … HE IS. Jesus is teaching us to basically pray, “Father in heaven, please forgive me for my sins. But only forgive me to the extent that I have already forgiven others who have sinned against me.” And all God’s children say, “Uh-oh!!!”

In case we miss what Jesus is saying here, He clarifies this 5th prayer request later on, in verses 14 and 15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Is Jesus actually saying that God will refuse to forgive us if we refuse to forgive others? Bingo! That’s exactly what He’s saying. Think about it: How can we possibly expect God to forgive us for a sin that we fully intend to commit again and again--tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that?

So, according to Jesus, this is the right way to pray: “Our Father in heaven, You are a God of great mercy and forgiveness. So, as we follow in Your footsteps, we have shown mercy and forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. Now, that we ourselves aren’t holding on to any unforgiveness, please forgive us for the sins we’ve committed against You.”

Jesus’ 6th Prayer Request (v. 13): “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The Bible teaches us, “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone” (James 1:13b). So what does this prayer request mean? Here’s a great insight that I learned from Pastor John Piper: “All our experiences are tests from God and are temptations from Satan.” He goes on to explain, “Pleasant Experiences – God wants us to thank Him. Satan wants us to idolize the pleasure. Painful Experiences – God wants us to trust Him. Satan wants us to curse God.” Learn to think of everything that you go through in life—whether it’s good, bad or ugly—as a test from God and as a temptation from Satan.

I pray that you’ll take these prayer requests to heart and pray them daily, alone AND with your family. Express to God your complete dependence upon Him to meet your needs today. Forgive others first, and ask God for forgiveness second. And finally, ask God to deliver you from anything—even blessings—that might pull you and your family away from God.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Blessed Are the Compassionate

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” — Matthew 5:7

Normally, when we think of mercy, we think of withholding someone’s just punishment. Our 5-year-old deserves a swat, but in mercy … we only give him a scolding. We deserve a ticket after blowing through a stop sign, but in mercy … the police officer lets us off with only a warning. A convicted felon deserves three years in prison, but in mercy … the judge only gives probation.

That’s normally the kind of thing we think of when we hear the word mercy. But that’s not what Jesus focuses on in Matthew 5:7 when he says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” As he delivers this fifth beatitude in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ main focus in is on active kindness and compassion shown to the poor and the hurting.

In Matthew 9:27, two blind men called out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” They desperately needed a healing. So, they cried out for mercy … and Jesus gave them mercy.

In Matthew 15:22, a woman whose son was demon-possessed cried out to Jesus, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” And of course, Jesus did. In Matthew 17:15 a father whose son suffered greatly from seizures knelt at Jesus’ feet and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son.” And once again, Jesus did.

Time and time again, Jesus showed compassion, kindness and mercy to those who were poor and hurting. And he did this because mercy is one of God’s greatest character traits. Psalm 103:8 says: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8). “The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made” (Psalm 145:9). “[God’s] mercies never fail. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23). And because mercy is one of God’s greatest character traits, heaven is full of mercy. So, as you and I are called to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth, one of the most important things that God calls us to bring to our corner of the world is—you guessed it—mercy.

We must show that we are followers of our heavenly Lord by extending undeserved mercy to those around us. I emphasize the word “undeserved” because mercy—by definition—is ALWAYS undeserved. How can you possibly give a second chance to those around you who don’t deserve a second chance? Because Jesus gave YOU a second chance when you didn’t deserve it. How can you find the time and energy to show compassion and mercy to the broken people around you? Because Jesus showed YOU compassion and mercy when you were broken. How can you muster the motivation to help a homeless man who smells like urine, or a family member who does nothing but complain, or a freeloader friend who doesn’t even say, “Thank you”? You can do it because you know that Jesus showed you kindness and mercy when you smelled bad, complained and were ungrateful.

Pastor John Piper says it so well: “Mercy comes from mercy. Our mercy to each other comes from God’s mercy to us…. The key to becoming a merciful person is to become a broken person. You get the power to show mercy from the real feeling in your heart that you owe everything you are and have to sheer divine mercy. Therefore, if we want to become merciful people, it is imperative that we cultivate a view of God and ourselves that helps us to say with all our heart that every joy and virtue … of our lives is owing to the free and undeserved mercy of God.”

If we are followers of Jesus Christ, you and I have both stepped out from under the storm clouds of heaven to be bathed in the mercy of God. And everyone in your little corner of the world needs to experience that same slice of heaven: to be bathed in God’s mercy—through you. Our world needs less of our judgment and more of our mercy. Our world needs less of us giving people what they deserve and more of giving people what they don’t deserve: kindness, forgiveness, and compassion.

In Christ’s kingdom, poor and hurting people are a higher priority than us getting enough sleep. Poor and hurting people are a higher priority than eating three square meals a day. And poor and hurting people are a higher priority than our precious schedules. Showing Christ’s mercy to poor and hurting people will cost you—a lot. But show them mercy anyway. And as we do, guess what? What goes around comes around. As we forgive others, God will forgive us. And as we give others undeserved kindness and mercy, God will give us undeserved kindness and mercy. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service tomorrow at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Be a Bridge Builder

“‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” – John 8:11

You probably don’t know this, but I love a good poem. And one of my favorites is a very inspiring one: “The Bridge Builder,” by Will Allen Dromgoole. It tells the story of an old man who came to a vast chasm while traveling on foot on a cold, gray evening. To cross it, he had to wade through a “sullen tide.” Although “the sullen stream had no fear for him,” once the old man had safely reached the other side, he turned around and built a bridge back the way he had come.

A fellow traveler asked the old man: Why, when his journey was nearly over, would he build a bridge he would never need to use? The old man explained that on his journey, he had seen a “fair-haired youth” who would be traveling the same way after him. The chasm that had been no problem for the old man, he said, might be a pitfall to the young man who would follow. The old man concluded: “He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”

There are two types of people in this world: those who build bridges and those who burn them. Which type are you? There’s no doubt that Jesus Christ was a bridge builder. One clear example of this can be found in John 8, when some Pharisees bring a woman to Jesus who was caught committing adultery. They said to Jesus, “‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’” (vs. 3-5). As usual, the Pharisees were trying to trip him up. But as usual, Jesus was way ahead. His simple way of dismissing these charges was to doodle on the ground for a few moments before standing up and saying, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (v. 7).

That got rid of the crowd quickly. But that’s when Jesus’ ministry to the woman really began. He stood and asked her, “‘Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’“ (vs. 10-11).

You’ve probably heard it said that God loves the sinner, but hates the sin. This account in John 8 illustrates this truth beautifully. Jesus built a bridge of mercy and compassion to this woman who didn’t deserve it. Why? Because he loved her. She was one of his most precious creations, and he didn’t’ want to see her die in her sin without God and without hope.

But in that love, Jesus didn’t ignore her sin. He didn’t overlook her adultery. He told her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” With those words, Jesus demonstrated the perfect balance between compassion and speaking the hard truth. Usually you and I focus on one or the other. Sometimes we’re very compassionate to those who have messed up royally, but we don’t correct them. We don’t point them to the truth about their sin, so they end up doing the same stupid thing over and over. And at other times we’re quite good at spewing truth all over someone who’s goofed up, but we do it with very little compassion. The truth hurts by itself; we don’t need to beat people over the head with it.

Remember what the Apostle John writes about Jesus in John 1:17: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” In John 8, Jesus shows us the perfect balance between grace and truth, between mercy and justice. He speaks the truth in love—building a bridge of grace and truth to a broken woman who was lost and dying in her sin. And Jesus has called you and me as his followers to do the same.

When’s the last time you reached out to someone who felt they didn’t have a friend in the world and you showed them the compassion and love of Christ? Jesus was a bridge builder. He came to build bridges to sinners and save them. He built bridges to fishermen, lepers, prostitutes and tax collectors; he built bridges to those who were sick, hurting and hopeless. And, thank God, he built bridges to you and to me. So, if you and I are serious about following him, we need to put down our matches and lighter fluid and start building bridges instead of burning them.

As I shared in last week’s column, 2020 has been a pop quiz given to us by God to prepare us for tougher tests up ahead. And honestly, many Christians haven’t been doing very well on this quiz, especially in regard to building bridges to people who desperately need God. Many Christians have very strong opinions about COVID, and at times this year we’ve burnt bridges with friends and family who believe differently. And if you haven’t noticed this in the past few months, many Christians have some VERY strong opinions about politics. At times this year we’ve carried out a scorched-earth policy on friends and family who hold different political views.

It’s easy to forget that the clock is ticking. We don’t have much time to reach those around us who are lost and dying without Jesus Christ. Two weeks ago I did a funeral for a 19-year old man who found himself in a very dark place and took his own life. Last week I assisted with a funeral for a young woman whose life ended tragically on her 24th birthday. Friends, life is so short. We don’t have time to burn bridges with those who need to hear the good news of Christ’s hope, peace and healing. Let’s finish 2020 strong—building bridges for people who need both grace and truth.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our live worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

Why Does God Allow COVID-19?

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17 

Seventeen years ago my wife Christine and I went through one of the most difficult times of our lives. Our daughter Kayla had just turned a year old, and we had just found out that Baby #2 was on the way. We were so excited. Our little family of three was going to expand to four! About five weeks into the pregnancy, Christine and I saw the baby’s first ultrasound. The baby was tiny but looked like it was doing great. But when we went back a month later for the second ultrasound, we noticed something odd. The baby didn’t look like he had grown, and he didn’t have a heartbeat. A few minutes later the doctor sat us both down and told us that our little baby hadn’t survived.

Christine and I were devastated. Over the next week we prayed and prayed, but nothing changed. A follow-up ultrasound revealed that the baby had, in fact, died in Christine’s womb. Christine and I wanted to know: How could a loving, all-powerful God allow our precious baby to die? We had followed and served God faithfully for years. We knew that He could have saved our baby if He wanted to. So, why didn’t He?

The question of why God would allow our miscarriage is part of the same broader question as “Why does God allow COVID-19?” That broader question is: “How could a loving God allow pain and suffering?”

First, it’s important to understand that God doesn’t CAUSE all of our pain and suffering. Let’s be honest with each other: Much of our pain and suffering is our own darn fault—caused by our own poor choices and sin. At other times it’s the result of other people’s poor choices and sin. Some pain and suffering is the result of Satan’s attacks. Still other pain and suffering results from natural disasters that are part of the fallout of living in a sin-cursed world.

Well, that’s all well and good, but it still begs the question: If God is both loving and all-powerful, why doesn’t He snap His fingers and stop all the agony?

I’ll give you the honest answer, but I must warn you—you probably won’t like it. In fact, more than a few Christians have walked away from the faith because they felt let down by the answer. You see, the answer is … we don’t know. Why did God allow my wife to have a miscarriage? We don’t know. Why did God allow that horrible tornado to sweep through Mississippi on Easter Sunday? We don’t know. And why does God allow COVID-19 to linger? We don’t know. When it comes to pain and suffering, there are so many things that we just don’t know. But allow me to share with you four things that we DO know.

#1: You are not alone. Of all the promises that God makes in the Bible, guess which one is repeated the most? “I will be with you.” If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, God doesn’t promise that your life will be free of pain and suffering. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Jesus promised us that in this life, we will have trouble and experience suffering. But in the midst of our pain and suffering, we are not alone. He is with us. God tells us in Isaiah 43:2-3,“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned…. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

#2: Jesus knows how you feel. In Hebrews 4:15, we read these words about Jesus: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” Not only was Jesus tempted in every way that we are, he has also suffered in every way that we have suffered. So, you can be certain that when you hurt, he hurts. He knows how you feel.

#3: Your pain has a purpose. I cannot tell you why God allows every bit of pain and suffering in your life. But I can tell you this with certainty: If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, your pain always has a purpose. Romans 8:28 says, “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.” Personally, I think God gets a bad rap for not stopping all of our pain and suffering. We look at COVID-19 and assume that God is letting all the viruses run rampant. We don’t stop to consider the possibility that this pandemic is a walk in the park compared to the more wretched pandemics that God has kept at bay. Friends, our pain always has a purpose.

#4: Your pain will be over soon. Would you jog 5 miles for $20? Probably not. But my guess is, most of us would do it for a million dollars. Why? The pain and suffering is worth it if the reward is big enough. Well, we’re told in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Did you catch those words, “light and momentary”? I guarantee you: Everything in this life is light and momentary. When you’re a billion years into eternity and you look back at your life here on earth, it’s going to seem like a quick blip on a radar screen. Compared to the length of eternity, your life here on earth is so short. And compared to the absolute joy and thrill of heaven, this life’s trials are tiny.

So, press on, Christian. Persevere! God is good! God is in control, and He knows what He’s doing. Trust Him! You may not understand today, but one day you will.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service tomorrow at

10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

Love Your Neighbor

“And who is my neighbor?”

- Luke 10:29

Two weeks ago, there was a deadly crash on the I-15 between Victorville and Barstow. The crash involved two big rigs, and two men were killed. But one of the men who died in the crash wasn’t in either of the trucks. He was a man named Michael Keyser, who stopped to help the driver of the first truck and was killed when the second big rig collided with the first. It wasn’t the first time Keyser had risked his own life to save someone else. In 1992, he received a hero’s citation for pulling an injured driver out of a burning vehicle. In last week’s Daily Press article, a man who knew Keyser described him as a true hero: “His life was taken doing what he did best: Saving lives of people he didn’t know.”

Keyser was the definition of a Good Samaritan – a phrase that comes straight out of one of Jesus Christ’s most famous parables, told in Luke 10:25-37. You probably know the story well. A man who was traveling alone on a dangerous road was attacked by robbers, beaten and left for dead at the side of the road. Afterward two separate men, a priest and a Levite, came down the road and saw him lying there. But instead of helping him, each man scooted to the other side of the road and kept walking. But when a lowly Samaritan came by, he treated the man’s wounds, then put the man on his own donkey, took him to the nearest inn and paid the innkeeper to take care of him for as long as needed.

Jesus shared the story of the Good Samaritan in a conversation with an “expert in the law.” This so-called “expert” was a Jewish scribe and lawyer who basically asked, "When I am obeying the second greatest command in the Bible, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,' who exactly is my neighbor?” Evidently the legal eagle thought that Jesus was going to say that his neighbor was the guy who lived next door in his upper-middle-class neighborhood or his fellow Jewish leader at the synagogue. Never in a million years would he have imagined that Jesus would single out a half-dead mugging victim as his neighbor. But that’s exactly what Jesus did in the story of the Good Samaritan. On the road to Jericho that day, the Good Samaritan was the ONLY man who had enough compassion to stop and help the half-dead stranger. Therefore, on the road to Jericho that day, the Good Samaritan was the only one who truly obeyed the second greatest command in all of Scripture: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. And Jesus ended the parable by telling the Jewish leader to “Go and do likewise.”

If you and I are going to follow the example of the Good Samaritan by “going and doing likewise," then we have to ask ourselves the right questions. For a follower of Jesus Christ, the first “right” question is not: “If I stop to help this person, what will happen to ME?” The right question is: “If I do not stop to help this person, what will happen to HIM?” We’ll never know this side of heaven why the priest and the Levite refused to stop and help the half-dead stranger. Maybe they were running late for an appointment. Maybe they didn’t want to become ceremonially unclean by touching a dying body. Maybe they were scared of getting mugged themselves. But this we do know: They were focused on themselves.

Jesus wanted the Jewish lawyer to know, as he wants you and me to know: When someone around us is hurting and needs us, there is no excuse for being self-centered. There is no reason to respond in any way other than compassionate love. When someone needs our help, that’s not the time to ask, “If I stop to help this person, what will happen to me?” It’s the time to ask, “If I do not stop to help this person, what will happen to him?” That’s the question Michael Keyser asked when he stopped to help the driver of that big rig.

The second “right” question is equally important: Do I view this hurting person in front of me as a nuisance to avoid or as a neighbor to love and help? Let’s face it: Hurting people are needy, inconvenient, and they sap our time, energy and money. But Jesus calls his followers to love and help them anyway.

Unlike the case of Michael Keyser, loving your neighbor most likely won’t cost you your life. But even if it does, Jesus calls you and me to count the cost and take up our crosses every day and follow him anyway. Regardless of the cost, Jesus Christ calls us to love our neighbors. He has shined the spotlight on a good and compassionate man who put the needs of others above his own needs. And Jesus says to you and me, “Go and do likewise.”  

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The Man Who Loved His Neighbor

“And who is my neighbor?” – Luke 10:29

Back in the 1950s and ’60s, there was a popular comic strip called Pogo. Even though Pogo was an opossum, he offered some wonderful insights about life. In one strip, Pogo was sitting beside a swamp fishing. Before long, a duck swam to the shore, waddled up and sat down beside him. The duck asked, “Has you see’d my cousin? He’s migrating north by kiddy car.” Pogo responded, “By kiddy car? Why don’t he fly?” The duck said, “Oh, he’s afraid of flying. He’s afraid he’s gonna fall.” A bit perplexed, Pogo asked, “Then why don’t he swim?” The duck responded, “Oh, he never swims. When he swims he gets seasick.” In complete frustration, Pogo looked at the duck and says, “When your cousin decided to be a duck, he entered the wrong business!”

I’m curious. If Pogo looked at the life of the average Christian, what would he see, and what would he say? Would he see Christians who refuse to do the basic things that Jesus has called every Christian to do? I’m afraid he might say, “When you decided to be a Christian, you entered the wrong business!” Theologian Haddon Robinson summarized Pogo’s insights this way: “Blessed is the duck who, when he decides to be a duck, does what ducks are supposed to do!” We could say much the same thing about Christians: Blessed is the follower of Christ, who when he decides to be a follower of Christ, does what followers of Christ are supposed to do.

In Luke 10, Jesus gave one of his most memorable illustrations of what followers of Christ are supposed to do in the famous Parable of the Good Samaritan. An “expert” in the law had asked Jesus to interpret the Old Testament law, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). In Luke 10: 29, the man asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Evidently this legal eagle thought Jesus would say that his neighbor was the guy next door in his upper-middle-class neighborhood, or his fellow Jewish leader at the temple. Never in a million years would he have imagined that Jesus would single out a half-dead mugging victim as his neighbor.

You probably know the story well. A certain man was traveling alone on a dangerous road. Some robbers pounced on him, beat him up, stole his clothes and belongings, and left him for dead at the side of the road. Afterward two separate men, a priest and a Levite, came down the road and saw him lying there. But instead of helping him, each man scooted to the other side of the road and kept walking. After all, according to Jewish law, they would be deemed ceremonially unclean for a full week if they touched a man who ended up dying. Obviously, both of these religious leaders valued ceremonial cleanliness more the fate of a dying stranger. But when a lowly Samaritan came by, he had compassion on the injured man—and his actions proved it. He knelt beside the man and treated his wounds. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to the nearest inn and paid the innkeeper to take care of him for as long as needed.

After telling the story, Jesus turned to the Jewish legal expert and asked him the simple question: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The man responded, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus, in a nutshell, told him, “That’s what God means when he tells you to love your neighbor. Go and do the same thing that the Samaritan did.”

A marvelous insight can be gleaned from this parable. In the words of Chuck Swindoll: “What you ARE determines what you SEE, and what you SEE determines what you DO.” In the parable, all three men saw the half-dead man on the side of the road. But why didn’t the first two men do anything to help him? Because what we do is determined by what we see. And when they saw the man on the side of the road, they saw an inconvenience, a waste of their precious time, a blemish on their ceremonial purity.

And why did they see the man that way? Because of what they were. They were religious snobs. Their religion was all head and no heart. When their religion really could make a difference in someone’s life, they took a pass. The priest and Levite didn’t DO the right thing, because they didn’t SEE the hurting man through the eyes of Jesus. And they didn’t SEE the hurting man through the eyes of Jesus because they were not followers of Jesus. What you are determines what you see, and what you see determines what you do.

So, let me ask you: What are you? Are you a new creation in Christ? If so, you will see people as Jesus sees them. You will see them as his favorite creation, in need of his love—no matter who they are, no matter what they look like, no matter how undeserving they might seem. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ you will see every man, woman and child as your neighbor, someone who is fair game for Christ’s mercy and compassion and love to be extended through you. Like the Good Samaritan, you and I must see people the way Jesus sees people, because of what we are: faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville and the author of "Holy Huldah: Lessons You Should Never Forget from Bible Characters You've Never Heard Of." For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com, and join us for our Worship Celebration Sundays at 10 a.m.

Jonah and the God of the Second Chance

“When God saw … how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened.”  – Jonah 3:10

The early 20^th century British pastor George H. Morrison used to say, “The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings.” Isn’t that true? When we fall down, Satan tries to convince us that we can’t get back up. He tries to convince us that once we’ve failed God, God won’t take us back, God won’t forgive us, and God certainly won’t ever—under any circumstances—allow us to serve Him again in any useful way.

The first time God gave Jonah an opportunity to serve Him, Jonah disobeyed and ran away. But God is the God of the second chance. After rescuing Jonah from the storm and helping him survive his stay in the belly of a big fish, God gave Jonah another chance as He lovingly said, “Go to the great city of Ninevah and proclaim to it the message I give you” (Jonah 3:2).

God had already chosen not to put Jonah to death for his sins--that’s mercy. But here, God chooses to wipe the slate clean and give him a second chance to do what He had asked Jonah to do a week earlier—that’s grace. That’s undeserved favor. Isn’t God awesome? Not only does He offer to spare us the punishment that we deserve; He also offers us a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning to live for Him and do His great work. And this time, after being showered by God’s mercy and grace, Jonah “obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh” (Jonah 3:3).

Then, in verse 4, the Bible gives us the gist of Jonah’s message when he gets to town: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” Surprisingly, that’s it. In the original Hebrew language Jonah’s message is only five words. That’s a pretty short sermon, don’t you think? Now, it’s likely that this is just a small sample of his message. Certainly, he pointed out their wickedness and violence. In all likelihood, he proclaimed God as holy and righteous. But I think it’s safe to say that Jonah’s message was short and sweet.

Yet, amazingly, verses 5-10 make it clear that the people of Nineveh did repent. They fasted. They put on sackcloth. Their king took off his robes, donned some sackcloth of his own, and sat in ashes.

Now, if the people of Nineveh had simply fasted and sat in ashes, would God have forgiven them? The most likely answer is—no. Because in Isaiah 58, God tells us He’s not impressed with fasting that does not include a sincere change in behavior. The Bible says that fasting is a wonderful spiritual discipline—when it is accompanied by sincere prayer and a sincere change in our behavior. And from what we read in Jonah 3, it’s clear that the Ninevites’ prayers and repentance were sincere. Notice what the king commands the people to do in verse 8b: “Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.”

The king knew there weren’t any guarantees that God would spare Nineveh the destruction He had threatened. He told his subjects in verse 9, “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from His fierce anger so that we will not perish.” And that’s exactly what the God of the second chance did: “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened” (verse 10).

Twice at the end of the chapter we find this wonderful word, “compassion.” As Jonah says to God in the next chapter, “You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2). On the heels of showering Jonah with undeserved mercy and grace, God showered the wicked people of Nineveh with grace as well.

You see, neither Jonah nor the people of Nineveh were too far gone to be reached by God’s mercy and grace. And neither are you. We need to pay attention to Jonah’s example. When God gives you a second chance, take it. So, you blew it the first time. There’s nothing you can do about that now. But don’t blow it this time. Despite how much you disobeyed Him yesterday, receive His mercy and grace and obey Him today. Like Jonah, you can do it by God’s grace.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Running TO God

“In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry.” – Jonah 2:2

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you feel helpless? It’s like you’ve been swept away in a strong, swirling current, with no control over what happens to you. You don’t know which way to turn. Then, when you feel like you’re going down for the last time, you realize there’s nowhere for you to look but … up. And that’s when you find God has been there waiting for you the whole time.

That’s pretty much the situation the prophet Jonah found himself in. He’d been rebelling against God’s marching orders for the whole first chapter of the Book of Jonah. Finally, in chapter 2—after he was thrown off the ship he’d hitched a ride on to escape God’s will—Jonah came to his senses and cried out to God in prayer. And it’s clear that Jonah didn’t wait until he was being digested by some big fish to start praying. He started crying out to God before the fish ever swallowed him. When he was thrown overboard, the waters engulfed him and seaweed wrapped around his head as he sank. He was going down, down, down until, in desperation, he looked up and cried out to God for deliverance.

And what did God do? Did He say, “Forget you, Jonah! You’re getting what’s coming to you! Good riddance, you worthless piece of fish food!” Thankfully, no. As Jonah sank down into his watery tomb, God broke through. God prepared a great fish and instructed the fish to swallow Jonah. And we all know what happened next. Unlike Jonah, the fish obeyed God’s instructions.

Now, we could talk about what kind of fish or whale might have swallowed Jonah—a whale shark? A sperm whale? A blue whale?—or how Jonah got by for three days in that creature’s digestive tract. But we’ve got bigger fish to fry. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Because as Jonah turned back to God in prayer, there are two very powerful words in verses 8 and 9 that I don’t want us to miss: grace and salvation.

Let’s start with grace. As Jonah prays to God from inside the belly of the great fish, he says in verse 8: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” This is such a great verse. As a prophet of God, Jonah had a pretty solid understanding of God’s judgment and God’s grace. He didn’t always agree with how God chose to apportion that judgment and grace, but Jonah understood it pretty well. He knew that if anyone stubbornly refused to give up all the stuff in his life that he considered to be more important than God, that person—to His own peril—was forfeiting the grace of God that could have been his.

Chances are, a lot of people reading this are running from God in some way or another. If you are, believe what Jonah is saying here: You are forfeiting the grace, mercy and faithful love of God that could be yours. Or if you’re putting Him on the back burner—you’ve got all sorts of people and things in your life that are higher priorities to you than God—once again, you are forfeiting the grace, mercy and faithful love that could be yours.

It’s time to stop running from God. It’s time to stop putting other things and people ahead of God. It’s time to take hold of the grace, mercy and faithful love that He offers to you when you humbly call out to Him and start obeying His commands.

As Jonah ran to God, he ran to God’s grace. But it’s clear that he also ran to God’s salvation. As Jonah is praying to God from inside the belly of the great fish, he says in verse 9, “But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”

This is so cool. Guess what the Hebrew word is that is translated “salvation” in this verse. It’s … wait for it …“yeshua”—Jesus’ name in Hebrew. Jesus (yeshua) means “salvation, deliverance, aid, victory.” Salvation comes form the LORD, Yahweh. Or if we do a quick substitution, Jesus comes from the Yahweh. Isn’t that the truth!

Some of us have made promises to God that we aren’t fulfilling. Like Jonah, we’ve made promises to God that we haven’t kept, and we’ve run from God’s marching orders. I believe God is telling you today to make good on your promises. Some of us still desperately need God’s salvation from our hopeless circumstances. I believe God is telling you today to turn to the only one who can throw you a life preserver--Jesus Christ. Jesus is salvation.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

Running from God

“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” – Jonah 4:2b

You’ve heard the story—probably since you were a kid. After all, it’s one of the Old Testament’s greatest hits, right up there with Noah and the Ark and David and Goliath. Yes, the story of Jonah is one of the best-known stories in the Bible, but a closer look reveals that it’s much more than a kids’ story. It’s an eye-opening book that urges those of us who follow Christ to take a long look in the mirror.

How do we get that from a story about a guy who was swallowed by a big fish? You see, familiar as the story is, it’s easy to miss the heart of the book. As the book opens, Jonah had been prophesying in Northern Israel. He had heard, loud and clear, God’s prophetic word that judgment was coming on Israel—and that judgment would come through the swords of the Assyrians, a cruel and bloody nation that took pride in their ability not just to kill their enemies, but to creatively torture and dismember them. So God ordered Jonah into the heart of Assyria, the capital city of Ninevah, “because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2).

Jonah’s reaction? He high-tailed it in the other direction. Instead of heading 500 miles northeast of Israel to Ninevah, he took a boat headed 2,000 miles west, toward the city of Tarshish in Spain. We’re plainly told in verses 3 and 4 that he was fleeing from the Lord. Why? Well, there’s no kind way to put it: Jonah was afraid that if he preached to the people of Ninevah, they would repent, and God would spare them His judgment. And Jonah didn’t want that. He wanted Assyria to continue sinning so that God would judge them. He wanted them to be slaughtered. Given the choice, he much preferred a dead and condemned Assyrian to a live and forgiven Assyrian. Jonah was consumed by hatred, resentment and revenge. By contrast, throughout the story, God shows Himself to be consumed by compassion and love.

When Jonah runs from God in verses 2 and 3, we get the impression in verse 4 that he didn’t make it very far. After his boat set sail, God sent a “great wind” and a “violent storm” that engulfed the ship. The captain and crew were convinced that if there wasn’t some miraculous improvement in their situation, they would all die. But as all the sailors were crying out to their pagan gods, Jonah was snoozing below decks, oblivious. So, the captain slapped Jonah upside the head and said, “Get up and call on your God! Maybe He will take notice of us, and we will not perish.”

Isn’t it sad that the pagan captain was more concerned about the life of one of God’s followers than God’s follower was about the lives of all the lost and dying sailors aboard that ship? It’s a sad indictment on Christ’s followers when nonChristians show more compassion, patience and love than we do.

The sailors were convinced that the storm was somebody’s fault—that someone on the ship had ticked off one of the gods. And in this case, they were right. So when they cast lots to find out who was responsible for the calamity, it’s not surprising that Jonah drew the oddball lot. But even when he admitted that he was the one who’d angered his Lord, and told his shipmates that if they threw him overboard, the sea would calm, they didn’t want to do it. They tried instead to row back to land. Only when that failed did they do what Jonah suggested and throw threw him overboard. Instantly the waters grew calm, and the sailors were blown away. In verse 16, we’re told that “The men greatly feared the Lord and made vows to Him. “

If only Jonah had feared and respected God as much! Even though he believed in God, his correct theology didn’t keep him in the center of God’s will. And unlike the pagan sailors who hesitated to throw him overboard, he didn’t want to show compassion and mercy to the wicked Ninevites who waited for him. Simply put, even though he believed right, he didn’t obey right.

How different are we from Jonah? Think of your least favorite politician. How often do you pray for him or her? Think about a family member you’ve written off, or an ex-friend who’s stabbed you in the back. How often do you think about them with compassion and love? Not very often, right?

You see, the book of Jonah matters today because YOU are Jonah. I am Jonah. All of us have, at one time or another, run from God’s marching orders. And our friends and family who don’t know Christ are citizens of Ninevah, who need to be warned about God’s coming judgment. And God desires for us—unlike Jonah—to have a heart like His, a heart of compassion and mercy. Like our Lord, we need to be “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.”

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

A Heart for the Lost

“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” – Romans 10:1

I wish I were more like the nerd. His name was Steven, and he looked like he had just stepped out of the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.” I met him while I was in college. He had been enrolled at Cal State Fullerton for over 12 years for one reason: he wanted access to students on campus so that he could tell them about Jesus. Steven looked funny and talked funny, but I will always admire his heart for the lost.

Steven was much like Paul, who wrote in Romans 9:2: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart” (Romans 9:2). Paul understood better than anyone how wonderful Jesus is. He was amazed by Christ’s forgiveness, floored by his grace, and absolutely blown away by Christ’s love. But at the very same time, Paul understood better than anyone how horrible the consequences will be for those who turn their backs on Christ. He understood that those who reject Jesus Christ will stumble through this life shut off all of that forgiveness, mercy and love. Far worse, Paul realized that those who reject Christ during this life will spend eternity in Hell—where there is absolutely no grace, no comfort, no peace, no hope and no love.

So, Paul’s heart literally broke for those who rejected Christ, and it pained him to know that so many of his Jewish brothers and sisters had denied their only chance of salvation. In Romans 8, when Paul looked at Christ, his heart rejoiced. But in chapter 9, when he looked at his fellow Jews, his heart wept.

Paul’s love and compassion for the lost is such a rare thing today. But it shouldn’t be. We should all have a heart for the lost like Paul’s. And if we did, we would be praying every day that all of our lost brothers and sisters in the Victor Valley would be saved. We would reach out to our neighbors and co-workers and classmates in any way that we could, inviting them to church and telling them the Good News about Jesus.

If you’re a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, God has graciously given you a new perspective on people. As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” What does that have to do with sharing Christ? Well, as Warren Wiersbe points out, “Because ‘all things are become new,’ we also have a new view of people around us. We see them as sinners for whom Christ died. We no longer see them as friends or enemies, customers or coworkers; we see them the way Christ sees them, as lost sheep who need a shepherd.”

So, as a follower of Jesus Christ, you are not to view people as the rest of the world views people. I’m sure you’ve noticed that in the past few years, we Americans have taken to slapping critical labels on each other left and right. You’re not a Republican—you’re an alt-right neo-fascist. You’re not a Democrat—you’re a Marxist socialist liberal. It’s absolute madness! We lump people into different subgroups based on the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their political leaning, some psychiatrist’s diagnosis, and a hundred other things.

And God’s word tells us: Don’t buy into the labels! Don’t buy into the world’s categories. Don’t separate people into a thousand different groups that are constantly changing in our depraved, sinful culture. In Christ we have been given a new perspective. We need to view people as Christ views people. And Christ’s perspective is very simple and straightforward. There are only TWO categories of people: “Lost” and “Found.” Or you could say it this way: “Dead” or “Alive.”

That’s it! Either someone is lost in spiritual darkness without Christ, or he/she has been found by Christ and is secure in his arms. Our greatest concern is no longer whether the person we’re speaking to voted for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or Elmer Fudd. Our greatest concern is no longer whether the person in front of us is black, white, brown or yellow. Like Paul, our hearts are to be laser-focused on people’s salvation. If that person is found, we love him as a brother in Christ. And if he is lost, we reach out to him, pray for his salvation and point him to Christ at every opportunity. We want him to be found.

We would never have done those things before we found Christ, but today, we have a new perspective on people, and it’s Jesus’ perspective. It’s the desire for all of those around us to be saved. Until we share Christ, too many of those around us will never experience the forgiveness and the grace and the love that can only come through Jesus. Paul understood this well. So did my college friend, Steven. Do you?

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.