Every sinner has a future and every saint has a past. Let that perk for a bit in your mind.

          Two questions on a questionnaire sent out to clergy, who have served for a long time, that jumped out to me. “What is the thing that distresses you every time you encounter it?” And, “What is the thing that bothers you the most about Christians in church?” There were many other questions, as well, but these two rested heavy on me.

          Early one morning, about 5 o’clock, I was sitting at my aunt’s kitchen table in Indianapolis drinking a cup of coffee and reading my Bible. This aunt was always in church. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night and Thursday morning Lady’s Bible Study. She taught Sunday School and sang in the choir, although rumor had it that in choir, they asked her to sing really, really quietly. I had come the day before bringing my mother, who was going to be there for a prolonged visit. Mom drove around her town some, but she no longer made the long trips. I would take her to Indy, drop her off and come back whenever she was ready to head home. On this morning I was waiting for Mom to wake up so I could say goodbye and head back to Ohio. I was working on that pot of coffee when my aunt walked in.

          “Oh, child!” You know aunts. Their nieces and nephews never grow up. “It must be wonderful to be a preacher! Such a serene and peaceful life. Just you and God and not a care in the world!”

          I actually didn’t know what to say to that. Sure, at 5 AM over coffee it was pretty serene and peaceful, until your clueless aunt wandered in. She was serious. I wondered then just how many Christians out there think that being in the ministry is all joy and smiles.

          To those people who have that notion in their minds, the two questions on the questionnaire would have seemed foolish. But for those of us in the pastoral ministry, the questions were thought provoking. So, let me ask you my version of these two questions and then we will get back to the original sentence.

          First, have you ever wondered what it is that distresses your pastor? Do you assume it is the death of a church member? For me, I will miss that person, but I am not distressed. As a Christian, they have gone on to heaven. Doris Mattern’s graveside was this week. It was cold. The breeze was straight out of the north. It was really cold. I was asked before hand to keep it at around ten minutes and for once I was inclined to agree with that request. We were all cold. But Doris was walking the streets of glory. In heaven, she wasn’t with a small group of people huddled against the elements. She was immersed in the glorious light and warmth of the Savior and having a wonderful reunion time. No, the death of a Christian does not bother me at all. The regular church goer might come up with many things that would distress the pastor. Usually, it would be something that would also distress that particular church member. However, over the years I find that less and less distresses me. Since I have been at the Yoke, I have learned to put even more things off of the distressing list. But there is one thing.

          You are talking to someone about their need for Jesus and, with downcast eyes, they utter the most distressing words I can hear; “But you don’t know what I have done. Jesus could never love me.” If you aren’t hearing that, you are not talking to lost people about Jesus, which is a subject for another blog.

          And they believe that with all their hearts. They believe that what they have done is so awful that even Jesus won’t touch them. It is distressing because it is a lie from Satan that is so very hard to defeat. These people cannot see a future with Jesus.

          Second, have you ever wondered what it is about church folk that bothers your pastor the most? Again, you might consider something that bothers you. People coming in late, people always sitting in the same pew, folks with vision or hearing problems sitting towards the back of the sanctuary. But those things don’t really bother me. To me, so long as they are in time for the message, they are not late. To me, if they are in the same pew every week, I know quickly who is in church. To me, if they have vision or hearing problems and sit toward the back, I just have to assume that if they really wanted to see or hear better, they would move up. No, those things are just people being people. But there is one thing.

          Many Christians will turn their noses up at someone who has committed a sin of any kind. Now, at the Yoke, I have seen less of that than anywhere else, but it is still out there. Some Christians forget where they have been and they forget that the Lord was required to be crucified for their sin as well.

          Which brings us to the original sentence; “Every sinner has a future and every saint has a past.”

          No sin is so great, so vile, so disgusting that it cannot be forgiven by the Lord. Isn’t that amazing? Only the sin of unbelief will send the soul to an everlasting punishment. You might remember hearing of a case in Cleveland several years ago of a man who, over a period of some years, had kidnapped three teenage girls and kept them captive in his house. They were chained to radiators and he repeatedly beat them and raped them and abused them in all manner of ways. After he was caught and the girls freed and their stories began to emerge, radio talk and news shows were alive with the story. At one point a caller called in and said to the host of the show that, if the perpetrator confessed his sin to the Lord and asked for forgiveness, he would be forgiven and would be a brand-new Christian. Which was true! Salvation is for all who believe! But then, the talk show host, who claimed to be a Christian, said that if Jesus would really do that, he (the host) wanted no part of that Jesus. Imagine, calling yourself a Christian and still having that attitude. Of course, that is the extreme. But here is one for you, How would you react to the following woman coming to church?

          It was at least thirty years ago. A local hospital called me and said they had a woman in their psyche ward that needed to talk to someone but was refusing to talk to the psychiatrist. She wanted a minister. They didn’t tell me what the need was, just she needed to talk to someone. I went up and was shown to her room. She sat on her bed rocking back and forth, moaning softly. I told her who I was and asked her if she wanted to talk. Her story came out while she rocked. She had been pregnant and had her baby. She and her husband were overjoyed. But, when they took the baby home the child had become colicky. It cried and cried and cried and one day the young mother snapped and killed the child. That had been some time before, but she was convinced that the baby had gone to heaven and she would go to hell and thus she would never be able to tell the little one how sorry she was. To be truthful, I was appalled. I wanted nothing to do with this woman. I didn’t even want to breathe the same atmosphere. However, it was like I slipped into automatic. I told her how there was no sin to big for Jesus. He could, and would, forgive her and save her soul if she would just ask. We prayed and she accepted Christ. I had mixed feelings leaving there that day. She had been forgiven, YAY! But I was feeling like she shouldn’t have been forgiven.

          I got over that, but a few weeks later she and her husband walked into church. What she had done was well known. People visibly recoiled at seeing her there. And then, one of our ladies got up and went to them and brought them back to her pew and that was that.

          In that situation, how would you react? I had to come around to it. But Christ died for all sin and in His eyes, there are no good or bad sins. We all need Jesus.

          Every sinner has a future and every saint has a past.

           We are being told that the current political environment will destroy the country as we know it. We are also being told that we as Christians need to rise up and do something about it, even if it means taking up arms. We are also being told that it is our duty toward God.

          Cool your jets, Bubba. Before you let religious leaders and political leaders and survivalist leaders tell you what you should be doing, let’s look at the Word of God to see what we really should be doing.

          Ah, yes, of course. We don’t really want to do that, do we? We want to snatch a verse here and a verse there to make our point. That is what much of Christianity has become. Manipulating Scripture to make our point. Back in 1974, when I surrendered to the ministry through the leading of the Holy Spirit, I really didn’t know much. But I knew enough to know that EVERYTHING I did needed to be rooted in Scripture. That has been a lot of years ago, but it is still true.

          First off, we need to pray for our leaders. Not pray that a meteor will crash down on the White House while the new president and his VP are sitting down to double lattes, or whatever it is they drink. 1 Timothy 2:1-7-

1.)            First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2.) for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, Godly and dignified in every way, 3.) This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4.) who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5.) For there is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6.) who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7.) For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Look at verse 1; among other things we are to be thankful. Verse 2 says our lives, because of our prayers, are to peaceful and quiet and Godly and dignified. Verse 4 seems to indicate that our purpose in life is to seek to see people come to Christ. What is our job as a Christian? To see people come to Jesus. If we are marching on Washington or tearing our leaders down, we are not winning people to Christ. “Yeah, but Pastor, look what they are doing!!!” Doesn’t matter. We have a job. Remember…..Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel.

I had a huge blessing this week. Back in the late 1990s the church I was at had some of our younger girls who were Girl Scouts. One of the girls brought another Girl Scout in her troop to our church. Her name was Nicole and she was one wired up little squirt. I only got to have her for a few years and then her parents took her away. It is sad, but it happens. Now it has been 23 years. She has been trying to find me. She did an on-line search (she only ever knew me as Pastor Wade, no first name) and came up with the Yoke’s Facebook page. Mary Earle is the administrator and so Nicole reached out to her. Mary connected us and on Wednesday we had our first conversation in two decades. It seems the turning point in her life came because when she was nine years old, I gave her a Bible and shared Jesus with her. She had some rough years after that, but she always came back to that Bible. Now, she is a mother of three, the wife of a Christian man and is in church on Sunday. Why do I mention that? Because Bill Clinton was president, religious leaders were up in arms over having someone like him in the Oval Office and we were being told that society was about to collapse. If I had been all fired up about Clinton and had been allowing Jerry Falwell to work up my congregation and been planning to be in the Moral Majority Christian march on Washington, would I have sat down on that front pew one Saturday afternoon and handed that Bible (which she still uses) to Nicole and would I have taken the time to tell her about Jesus? No. And I would have felt justified, thinking I was doing God’s work. But I will tell you this; Nicole’s salvation and the witness she presented to her boyfriend and his ultimate salvation and the very possible salvation of her little ones is of far greater importance to me. It is my primary job and it is your primary job. ACT LIKE A CHRISTIAN.

Then we have Romans 13. Romans is an awesome book. Well, they are all awesome, but I really like Romans. Well, I really like all of them. sigh Anyway, Romans 13:1-7

1.)            Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2.) Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3.)  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4.) for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5.) Therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6.) For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7.) Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. “Nononononono! That can’t be right!” Look it up in your own Bible. Verse 1 tells us to be subject to governing authorities. The word ‘subject’ here is the verb, meaning we allow ourselves to be governed. We are also told that all authority is placed here by God. “Nononononono! Biden endorses the killing of babies! That isn’t from God!” No, it is not from God. But God is allowing him to be president. Verse 4 says he (the leader) is God’s servant. “Nononononono! Stop! You’re making my eyes bleed!” Verses 6 and 7 calls the leaders the ministers of God! How can this be?

In the Old Testament, the Jews had times when they were overthrown by foreign powers or when they had evil rulers rise up from within. These were times of teaching by the hand of God and it was only relieved when the people were broken and began to act like God’s people again. Could it be that God’s people have strayed so far away that they no longer resemble His people? Do Christians, do you, live holy lives? Do we have the right to dictate to others how to live their lives? If we are living holy lives, then we will be leaving it up to God.

“OK, Pastor (you stinking, socialist, Godless commie), wait now! What happens to leaders if they go contrary to God’s will and way? Isn’t it our job to set them straight?” No, it is not. It is God’s job. Psalms 2:10-12

10.) Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11.) Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12.) Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. God is not mocked. Those leaders who go in contrast to the Lord will pay the price the Lord works out. It may not come in the time we want, but it will come in the time He wants.

          Our job is to ACT LIKE CHRISTIANS!

2 Chronicles 7:14-If My people, who are called by My name, humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. The very first step is to humble ourselves. If we humble ourselves before God, we give Him power and authority. Then we can truly seek Him in prayer. AND then and only then, will He hear and forgive and heal.

          People do not like when I say this, but we are in the state we are in because Christians became more political minded than Christ minded a long time ago. We really, really need to act like Christians.

 

         Before I begin, I want to thank the Urbana Yoke Parish congregation for their amazing Christmas gift. Your generosity and love humbles me. Now, to the blog.

And, poof, I am turning 65.

         I am not sure how that happened, really. When I was much, much younger, 65 seemed really old. I guess I am really old now. Some days I feel like it, other days, not so much. But there is one word that sums it all up.

         Wow.

         For the last week or so I have been kind of reflective. Looking back over the years and remembering all sorts of things. I am blessed with this strange kind of memory that allows me to retain all sorts of information, although now a days I would be hard pressed to tell you what I had for supper last night. I don’t remember everything. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, things like that get away from me. But other things are as clear as they can be. I was three when I first met Kevin, Keith and Karen Marty. Kevin was five, Keith was three and Karen was one. Keith was best man at my wedding years later, Karen was always like my little sister and Kevin was a big brother. But I remember with clarity that very first meeting!

         So, when I say I have been reflective, remembering things, I mean literally reliving moments in time. And folks, I have to tell you, it has been a great life!

         Sure, there are things I would change if I could. I wouldn’t be a divorced man at 65, for one thing. But that is something that I could not help and still do not fully understand. Never wanted it, but it happened. However, the vast portion of my life has been one adventure after another. Not Indiana Jones adventures, but Larry Wade adventures.

For instance, how many people can say they have lived in the mountains, near the ocean, on the shores of one of the Great Lakes and in the flat lands of Indiana? How many preachers have preached in front of five people and in front of five hundred? Or, how many preachers have spoken at national conferences? How many people have worked in the Little Debbie factory? That was really an adventure. How many have been in both a hurricane and a tornado in their vehicles? Marsha was driving when we got caught in the tornado and that made that adventure even more adventurous. I have held the hands of a dozen people as they passed from this earth and I held one little girl in my arms as she died. You could say that being that close to death wasn’t an adventure, but just knowing that the last thing they felt on this earth was my hand and the first thing they felt in heaven was the hand of God…..yes, that is an adventure!

Remember when you were a kid and you had to go on those Sunday afternoon rides with the folks? You didn’t really want to go, but there always seemed to be something interesting. That has been my 65 years. Always some new and amazing thing just around the corner. Marsha said one time, maybe ten years ago, that it hadn’t always been fun, but it had never been boring.

The last 45 years of the 65 have belonged to the Lord. In the course of the ministry, I have been allowed to witness some remarkable things. I say ‘allowed’ because it is as though God has punched a special ticket for me. I am not talking financial blessings. I am talking Spiritual blessings. Sunrise Services with the sounds of crashing surf at the foot of the cliff. Sunrise Services in a quiet cemetery with just the birds to give music as the sun comes up. Which was the most beautiful? Both, in their own breathtaking way. Baptizing people in a church baptistry or in a quiet pond or in a running river or in a pounding surf. Of those, which was more heart stirring? All of them. There have been instances of leading people to the Lord on their death beds. There have been times of taking guns out of the hands of people intent on either harming one of my congregation or harming their own selves. Once I had a gun pointed at me and told not to preach on a particular subject. And once, inevitably, a gun was fired at my head and I felt the bullet flash past my face. It seems there has been more diversity in my ministry than any other pastor I have ever met.

Oh, and the people! From the loving, compassionate and thoughtful to the crazy types who talk to their fists to the absolute evil people who stalk the earth doing the works of Satan. All of them, regardless, needed Jesus. There have been many who shared laughter, and many who shared tears. Once in preparation for the funeral of a member of my congregation, the next of kin, a nephew, told me he didn’t want any religious mumbo jumbo. I put in as much religious mumbo jumbo as I could. His aunt had been an awesome Christian and I wanted to tell people. So many precious people have been in my life! Two of those precious people are my son and his wife. Adam is a solid young man (who is turning forty soon!) and Kimberly is a gentle soul, almost fairy like. (She is also a hugger. We had to work through that.) God has blessed me beyond imagination.

And there have always been challenges. God created in me a love of challenges. What is the point to life without a challenge? God also created in me the need to go into each challenge with prayer. What is the point to the challenge if you go it alone? You will fail. As Larry Wade, I have failed. As Jesus and Larry Wade, with Him holding me up, we have done some really cool things.

Turning 65 is not all sweetness. I have some physical limitations. But the passion for the Word of God has grown. The genuineness of His majesty fills my spirit. The peace that passes all understanding has become more and more pronounced in my heart. If we go back to that illustration of going on the Sunday drive with the folks; the drive was pretty good, but as we neared the end we would stop at an ice cream stand in the country and get a cone. That is where I am in my life, the best part of the drive.

What happens next? I honestly don’t know. Retire? I can’t see that. I don’t even like vacations. I suppose at some point I will not be able to go on physically or mentally, but I am not to that point yet. Am I? Hmmm. If I was not able to go on mentally, I wouldn’t necessarily know. Someone is going to have to keep an eye on me! I can tell you that as long as the Lord wants to use me and will continue on this journey with me, I want to keep on. The future is in His hands.

But hey! I am turning 65! Except for a few really rough moments, it has been great. And it isn’t over! There are challenges to be had, ministry to accomplish, people to mess with. And, when no one is looking, cookies to eat.

I know a lady. She was born on January 16^th and I was born on the 17^th but I was born 10 years earlier. She was about to turn 40 and I was about to turn 50. She referred to ‘milestone’ birthdays. Turning 10, 16, 18, 21. Good milestones. But then 30 had not been a good milestone and 40 was going to be awful. She said each milestone birthday was like opening a new door to another room in a house you were looking to buy. The first new rooms were great, but then the house started to look shabby. A couple of days before her big 4-0, we sat and talked about it. She was weepy and blue. I tried to lift her up, but it wasn’t happening. After she left, I pondered the visit. You are either going to grow older or you are going to die. Those are the choices. If you pass through a door and the next room looks a little worn, get some paint or hang some curtains. It is your room! Live in it!

It has been pretty cool. It has been made that way by the people along the way. So, thank you all. May God bless you as richly as He has blessed me.         

          We met maybe ten years ago. A Christian man, he is a political conservative. That is not the same as saying he is a Republican. Most Republicans in government are way to liberal for him. I always enjoyed talking with him because he was so easy to light up. He would go off on a rant and then he would stop, realizing I was playing with him, and then he would start laughing. He is on Facebook and I still pull his chain occasionally.

         He was not in a laughing mood on Wednesday night, though. The Capitol Building had been stormed. My friend started his Facebook rant with the words, “The war has started!!!” A veteran of the US Army, he was offended that the Capitol had been attacked, but he has been offended by politicians, Democrat and Republicans, for as long as I have known him. The actions of that mob, however, really set him off.

         There are many on both sides who want civil war. The liberals want war to beat down the conservatives. The conservatives want war in order to wipe out socialism in this country. And I agree. The war has started. The first thing you need to decide is which of the three sides you are on.

         ‘Uh, OK. There are only two sides, Pastor.’

         Not really. There are three sides. There is the liberal side, there is the conservative side and there is the Christian side. The liberal would believe that the Bible says God is love and they love everyone, other than conservatives, who are too stupid to love. So they believe liberalism and Christianity are one in the same. Afterall, when speaking out in support for late term abortions, Nancy Pelosi said that they were doing the Lord’s work. The conservative would believe that God is on their side because they espouse Christian and family values, which, oddly, are different than Christian and family values of fifty years ago. Those values are subject to change. And then there is the Christian, who is influenced by society and politics and tends to be confused as to which way to turn.

         To the liberal and to the conservative, the world would be a much better place if the other side no longer existed. Liberal commentators and politicians and comedians talked often of the President dying. Conservative politicians and regular citizens often wished, out loud, that Pelosi and others would die. The big difference is that the liberals talked of actually killing people while the conservatives talked about age or disease doing the job. The end result is the same.

         Meanwhile, Christian leaders insisted on taking sides and supporting one side or the other, as though this was the Godly thing to do. But, were they acting in a Godly way? What do we, as Christians, do during this time of national emergency?

         I suppose the answer lies in a question we were asked in seminary. Do you identify yourself first as an American or as a Christian? Are you a liberal first or a Christian? Are you a conservative first or a Christian? If you are a member of the church I pastor and someone asks you what you are, do you say Christian or nondenominational? If you are Methodist or Baptist or Brethren or whatever, do you reply with your denomination or Christian? We assume that whatever we are associated with is the same as being a Christian. It is not.

         Christians should look at the world, and therefore, the war, differently.

         Please do not misunderstand me. I love my country. During a time in the 1970s when anyone in the military was ridiculed and spit on and called names, I enlisted in the Army. There is a time for war and Christians need to be there for their country. But this is not a normal circumstance.

         So, what does a Christian do and how do we fight the war?

         There is a passage in Ephesians that we all like. It makes a great visual for little children in Sunday School. But as adults we are pulled into whatever label we prefer for ourselves and this little passage goes by the wayside. Ephesians 6:10-18---¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the Spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

         First, our war is not against physical threats. It is against the evil spiritual forces that guide those threats. We have to be prepared in a different way. Verse 14, the belt of truth. In that time the Roman soldier wore a belt that had places to attach various weapons, not unlike a present day soldier wears a web belt. The principle weapon of that time would be the sword, which would be in a sheath attached to the belt. Paul says in the Spiritual way, truth has to be manifest in us. Verse 14 also speaks of the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate protected the vital areas of the body and was what the enemy saw as he attacked. In the Spiritual war, righteousness needs to be our hallmark. Someone said to me a while back that Mike Pence calls himself a Christian but is the biggest hypocrite of all. I asked the young woman what Pence had done that made him a hypocrite, other than being a Republican. She had no answer. That is what the breastplate of righteousness does. Verse 15 tells us to wear shoes that lead us to share the Gospel of peace. That means to share Jesus with people. We are bold about our politics; are we bold about our Savior? Verse 16 shows us the shield of faith. The shield of faith allows us to see the turmoil and to know that God is in control and our job is to be consistent in our faith. Verse 17 tells us that we must put on the helmet of salvation. Unless we are born again, we will be struck down in this war. And verse 17 also tells us to take up the sword that is the Word of God. Not the feel good devotional, but the real, true, Word of God. Verse 18 tells us that all of this has to have the basis of prayer…..

         The war. It has always been there. Satan has always attacked and attacked. We have to fight the war. We are not liberal or conservative in this war, we are not Democrat or Republican in this war, we are not even American in this war. We are Christians. Are you a person of truth, or only when it is convenient? Are you striving for righteousness, or only on Sunday? Are you sharing the Gospel of Christ? Do you have real faith in the Savior? Have you accepted Jesus as Savior, or is He still a baby in a manger to you? Do you really read the Bible? Do you consume it? And what about prayer? How important is prayer in your life?

         These are dark, dark times in our country and in our world. Christians need to answer the call to stand and put on the whole armor of God.