Jonathan Herron

Everyone Needs Compassion

Three thoughts for church leaders who are wrestling through their thoughts on the interwebs today:

1. I consider Michael a friend.
   We both planted churches at the exact same time, cheered one another on from afar, and talked most recently at Unleash 2010.  A while back Micheal led his church plant to financially support ours, Catalyst, and I will always be grateful for his partnership in advancing the Gospel.
2. Prayers, not Rocks.  The heartbeat of Jesus Christ is this: Everyone needs compassion. 
   God honors repentance (see 1 John 1:9). 
   God does not honor rock-throwing (see Acts 7).  May we pray fervently.
   And by the way, we could all learn lessons from how to handle crisis in a godly way:  Bravo to Brian Bloye and his team in their handling of this situation.
3. Here's my personal heart-check that I shared with our leadership today:
   We have an Enemy who is on the prowl. 
   Perry once said to me, "Trust me, its never a question of IF; Satan WILL MAKE SURE you are tempted and WILL give you an opportunity to disqualify yourself."  This should cause all church leaders to transparently reexamine our own hearts, confess sin, and seek Jesus anew as we pray for brothers and sisters undergoing restoration.

Jesus, Judas, and Barabbas

Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward...

Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. - John 18.4-5 (ESV)

Jesus isn't surprised when we mess up. 

We are sin-stained.  He knows what's ahead.
And yet he chooses us. 
Jesus eternally erases the black marks of future sins.

We are Judas. 
We walk closely to Jesus, even handling his money.
We sit in the seat of honor next to Jesus. 
And then we betray him with our sins.

"I find no guilt in him...  Do you want me to release the King of the Jews?"

"Not this man, but Barabbas!"
- John 18.38-40 (ESV)

He is Jesus.  We are Barabbas.
Jesus is innocent.  We are guilty.
He is condemned.  We are set free.

Barabbas in Greek means, son of the father.
The son of the father is released while
the Son of the Father is tortured.

Yet the scandal of the gospel is that
God's will is fulfilled.

The Guiltless One assumes our guilt. 
The Innocent Prince absorbs God's wrath.
The Trinity is torn assunder.

And salvation is offered to all through this sacrifice.
To Judas' and Barabbas' everywhere.

When God Says No: G. Campbell Morgan on Denied Prayers

Prayer is not merely asking for something in order that I may obtain it for myself.

"Not my will, but Thine be done."

Which means, if the thing I ask for - however much I desire it, however good it seems to me to be - will hinder or postpone, by a hair's breadth or a moment, the ultimate victory, it will be denied to me.

Those who know the real secret of the prayer life have discovered the fact that denial is over and over again the graciousness of overwhelming answer.

Church Leaders - Have Faith!

Church leaders - let's lead with FAITH this weekend!

Listen to God.  Do what He says. 
Step up to bat in faith and let 'er rip!

When you launch onto the stage before your people
or pray over the hurting
or have that hard conversation in the church lobby,
do so with courageous faith.

Don't place your hopes and emotions on what you see.  Live by faith.

"Faith is the angelic messenger between the soul and the Lord Jesus in glory.

Through faith, God's messages of love fly so fast that before we call He answers.

Faith links me with Divinity.

Faith clothes me with the power of God." (Spurgeon)

God has not called you into ministry and then left you to your own devices.  Move forward not cautiously, but boldly in faith!

"If Christ really does live inside you,

why would you panic when you've reached the limit of your natural wisdom or strength?" (Tripp)

Spurgeon on Loving My Neighbors

But, perhaps, you say, "I cannot love my neighbors, because, for all I do for them, they return ingratitude and contempt."

That leaves more room for the heroism of love.

Would you be a featherweight warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love?

He who dares the most will win the most.

If your path of love is rough, tread it boldly, still loving your neighbors through thick and thin.

                - C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

God's Will

"We're afraid of God's will being done because we can't control what He will do, when He will do it, how He will do it, and what the outcome might be. 

God's will requires surrender and trust,
and it's something we're unwilling to offer."  - Peter Scazzero

Endure a little bit of Hell now...

Romans 9:3 captures the anguish of Paul.

His heart for people far from God - his own people - was tremendous.

Paul wrote that he would choose an eternity in Hell
if it would result in his community being saved.

Of course there can only be One Substitute.

But don't miss the heartbeat of Paul:
he was willing to do anything and endure anything to advance the Gospel.

This challenges me.
Am I willing to endure a little bit of Hell now to ensure my community tastes Heaven later?

Do I have Paul's same passion today?
Am I willing to sacrifice all to help rescue all?