The Bible is filled with people who model how we should live out our faith in our daily lives. As a pastor, I am always looking for role models in the Scriptures. The classic Old Testament list includes Joseph, David, Elijah, Ruth, Nehemiah, and the donkey who saved Balaam the prophet's life. I am also a big fan of Ziba. I may not be able to achieve the spiritual strides of Joseph or Elijah, but the donkey gives me hope!  In the New Testament you have the core disciples, Paul the former bounty hunter, turned laser-focused missionary, and Timothy his spiritual son. And everyone who has heard me teach through Philippians knows I love Epaphroditus, the blue-collar super-star. 
 
We should thank the Lord weekly for giving us good examples to follow. I believe we should read their stories and their backstories to glean life lessons. Mary of Magdalene is one of those super role models for us to follow. For our Easter service at Northside, I highlighted her life and suggested she teaches us exactly how we should respond to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
 
Here are five lessons Mary of Magdalene taught me about my faith:
 
First: Be sure to accept your full freedom with joy. 

Consider that she was freed from her demonic oppression by the Lord Jesus. "Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons." (Mark 16:9) Her life with oppression would have been filled with suffering: emotional, psychological, physical, and mental agony.  At some point Jesus crossed her path, had great compassion on her and cleansed her of those demons. She accepted the freedom from her past and the Enemy of her soul and devoted her life to serving Jesus.

Second: Exercise your faith by following Jesus. 

Luke 8:1-3 records that Mary and other prominent women were with Jesus and the disciples and were contributing to their support out of their private means. Mary of Magdalene become one of his disciples. She dedicated herself to serving his purposes. I know a number of people who let Christ help them be free from sin and their past, only to continue living a lifestyle that did not serve the Lord or honor Him. Mary accepted her freedom and chose to become a devoted follower. Many new church models use the term "fully devoted followers of Christ" as part of their purpose statement. Mary exemplifies this purpose from the time she met Christ. 
 
Third: Be strong enough to identify with Jesus' suffering.

The Apostle Paul wrote that his highest priorities included knowing Christ with deep personal understanding, and to fellowship with his suffering, "becoming like Him in His death." (Philippians 3:10) Mary of Magdalene did exactly that. "Therefore the soldiers did these things. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the {wife} of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. " (John 19:25) There is great wisdom in this passage. The death of Christ is a powerful moment in any true Christ-follower's life. We do not need to skip over this moment in history or these passages. In fact, I contend that we need to regularly review the cross. My life verse is Galatians 6:14 which explains we should only boast in the cross.  Mary was willing to stand at the foot of the cross with Jesus and endure His suffering with Him. How can you identify with Jesus suffering? May I suggest we need to speak of Jesus openly in our culture as our Savior, Lord, Redeemer and Friend. In doing so, you will possibly incur some pushback and maybe some ridicule. Mary was willing to take all the ridicule at the foot of the real cross because she loved Jesus so much for paying for her sins. Why wouldn't we be willing to identify with Jesus' suffering by speaking of His grace, love and sacrifice? Tell somebody today about what Jesus did for you. 
 
Fourth: Support and serve Jesus with undeniable faith. 

Mary helped bury Jesus. Mary saw the hundreds of cuts, gashes, and wounds from the scourging Jesus endured. She saw the nail holes in his hands and feet. She saw the large deep wound in his side where a Roman soldier's spear pierced him under his ribs. She saw him placed in Joseph's tomb and knew the burial was rushed. It was not complete. So she got up before daylight on the first day of the week to go finish His burial preparations. Her devotion to Christ was so strong that she wanted to be there at the moment the sun broke over the horizon. By Jewish law she was not to be in the graveyard unless the sun was up. I picture her dressed and ready to go early, spices in her bag, standing at the edge of the graveyard waiting for the sunlight to peak over the horizon. The very second she sensed the sun on the graveyard, she rushed to Jesus' tomb. She was committed to Him even in His death. While all of the disciples would have been in shock as to the events of the trial and crucifixion of their Savior, Mary is serving. Surely she is confused and filled with questions about what happened and how did Jesus allow Himself to be executed. But she is there again, beside Him, wanting to serve.  Faith in God says we serve Jesus. If things go wrong we serve Jesus. If we don't understand, we serve Jesus. If we are confused, we serve Jesus. If we are afraid, we serve Jesus.  Even if we do not understand what is going on around us, we must serve Jesus. May God give us all the fortitude that Mary had to rush to the graveside of "her Lord" even in the confusion, and to serve Him.
 
Fifth: Choose to believe all the time, even when it seems dark and hopeless. 

John 20 records that even as Mary stood bitterly weeping outside the tomb, confused and troubled about Jesus' body missing, she told the angels, "They have taken away, my Lord!” She still declares Jesus as her Lord, even though in her mind He is a corpse on a slab in a tomb. This is a faith that is rich and deep. Mary did not stop serving, loving and honoring Jesus in all the darkness of His death and burial. This is troubling to her, but it did not change how she related to Jesus. Jesus was personal ("my") and Jesus was the "Lord" of her life. I wish when troubled times washed into our lives we could all declare Him Lord, even when He seems distant. Job understood how to do that! (Job 1:20-22) David many times in the Psalms made it clear that even when God was distant, He was enthroned and in charge. (Psalm 22:2-3) Even the donkey in Numbers 22 was willing to take a beating and trusted God's pathway. (Numbers 22:26-31) When you are in a dark place, choose to believe. Use Mary of Magdalene as your example and believe. Believe when it seems hopeless. Believe when it seems all is lost. Believe, not on hope or good things, but believe on Jesus and let your relationship with Him be your guide. 
 
It is my sincere belief that Jesus met first with Mary of Magdalene after His resurrection because she was last at his tomb and first at his graveside. Her faith was undeniable and darkness or doubt did not deter it from showing up as actions of love toward Jesus. May we love Jesus with the same passion and display this love to others in a fallen world. This world needs a lot more Mary Magdalenes who will model freedom from sin with faithful and fervent following. 

For further reflection on Mary Magdalene, you can check out part two of my Easter 2019 sermon series "As If" on Northside's sermon audio page or iTunes podcast. 
 
P.S. there is a great donkey story in the New Testament also...Just sayin'!
 
6.14 Ministries is dedicated to rescuing healthy churches and encouraging saints to keep serving faithfully. We welcome your prayers and support. Learn more about us, what we do, and how we do it by visiting 614ministries.org. 

It is Easter season for the family of God. This is the time of year that we consider to be the highlight of the Christian faith and one of the holiest and most wonderful seasons to celebrate our faith. It is indeed both painful and beautiful because it is a time that we celebrate Christ's death and His resurrection simultaneously. We call “good Friday” good, but it's when we remember that the Holy Son of God, sinless, perfectly loving, was brutally beaten and executed for my sins and your sins. But Sunday celebrates the resurrection and new life and eternal hope. With recent trends of our culture and society wanting to imply that the message of the Christian faith is antiquated at best and inappropriate at every level, we must declare the message of grace clearer than ever. Liberal and progressive thinkers shun the message of Jesus and His word like a country boy shaking fire ants from his boots. But most often I have found that the message of Jesus is not hard for them to accept. In fact, the real message of Christ is something most people are starving for if they would just search deep enough within themselves and not fear what they find.  
 
I propose that this Easter season, and the days to follow, we who know Christ need to talk as much about Him as we possibly can. We need to look for ways to share the message of grace and the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Here are four ways to talk about God in everyday conversations. 
 
#1. God is a Comforting God.  

We are in a society that is rapidly deteriorating into depression, fear, insecurity, and high anxiety. The suicide rates are climbing. February and March are months where suicides typically sore. Loneliness and emptiness are highest on the list of challenges facing many young people today. But God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 God teaches us He is the God of all comforts, who will comfort you in all your afflictions.
 
When I find someone lonely, empty, or afraid, it is easy for me to share with him or her that I have had such feelings. I share with them that in my personal experience when it seems like no one else can understand or even cares what is hurting my heart, God is there for me. God has been, is, and will be my comfort. I share it with great confidence. I know most of you reading this have had that same experience with God. Listen for people to express hurts or emptiness, anxiety or fears and then tell them about your experience with our comforting God.  (Below this blogpost we will give you some specific ways and times God has comforted hurting people.)
 
#2. God is a Giving God.   

God is the greatest giver of all times. I recently heard a fellow minister teach in a chapel at a rehabilitation center where I share that God made trees that produce fruit and plants that produce vegetables. You can simply pick your food from a plant or tree and eat. That is pretty cool when you think about it. He talked about how God made cows, chickens, deer and rabbits and how tasty they can be! Can I get an amen? As a deer hunter, I thought at least the cows and chickens are easy to catch! How good is God to us! James 1:17 says He is the Father of all good gifts. Every good thing you have is from God. I have a good Labrador retriever laying at my feet as I type, who was given to me by a great friend about 15 years ago. I love Dakota. She is a gift from God and my friend, Scott, to our family.  God made chocolate. How good is that! I have a great Ford F-150 pick-up with 340K miles on it. I affectionately call my truck "Shadow." (It’s a country boy thing to name your truck.) Shadow is a gift from God and has served many single moms, young families, widows and my family for 12 years now. The computer I use to create my blogs is a gift. My music that is playing now as I write is a gift.

My church family is a gift from God. I am blessed with many friends. Each is a gift from God. My wife and children are gifts from God. My first grandson, born just three weeks ago, is a gift from God. I have some amazing friends, really amazing close friends who I consider all special gifts from God. Drinking water, breathable air, soft beds, guitars, chocolate, traditional recurve bows, books, movies, chocolate, napkins, photographs, toilets and accompanying paper supplies, flowers, birds, sunsets, work opportunities, and chocolate — well you get the idea — these are all gifts!

Take time to be thankful, and you will be able to share with those who may struggle in the area of thankfulness. He is a generous and loving giver. Ephesians 1:3 says that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. 1 Peter 1 says that He has given us all we need for life and godliness. The greatest gift ever is Jesus. We read in John 3 that God so loved us He gave us His Son Jesus to save us from our sins. In Romans 8 we read that He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Please use this time of year to remind your co-workers and friends that God is a giving God. He is the best provider you will ever know. I hope and pray you can and will say that with conviction this Easter season. Also, anytime you are called on to pray for a meal you can say, “Thank you Lord for being the best provider ever and giving us Jesus Christ and the only means of our salvation.”

#3. God is a Creative God.

Have you ever really looked at a hippopotamus or an elephant or a crocodile? How about the zebra and the giraffe? You can see this truth in almost any area. Insects, stars, clouds, sky colors, people's taste in clothing, food, hairstyles, etc. The list is endless. God created this world with millions of colors and beauty beyond words. There is creative beauty in nature, music, art, in loving behavior, in children playing carefree without schedules and time frames. Our world is filled with creativity. You can start this conversation in a Walmart line. Just a few weeks ago at a long check-out line in a local gas station several people were talking about the new M&M flavor: jalapeno. Yep, you read that right! Just in case you have not heard, that is the recent new flavor!  Introvert that I am, I stood there for almost three minutes hoping the line would move. Then I remembered that years ago God whispered to me, "I put you in long, slow lines so you can talk about me!" Oh, yeah! Duh! So with a quick "Jesus help me" prayer, I blurted out, "Well as creative as M&M has become, they have long way to go to catch up on God's creativity and they are using all of God's ingredients!"

Certainly with all the "Pinterest" creativity out there, you can find a way to compliment a friend's decorum and highlight how wonderfully creative God is at the same time! God created mature wine from jugs of water in John 2.  He created stars so beautiful it made angels sing we are told in Job 38. Best of all, He created a way for lost, lonely and helpless sinners to go to heaven and live with Him forever. Now that's creative! 
 
#4. God loves the underdog.

If you know any Bible stories at all, you probably know at least one about an underdog that God blessed and helped. Young David, a shepherd boy, (“pizza delivery guy” as I like to call him; just a shout out to my camp friends) faced down a 9 foot tall, seasoned warrior with more battle scars than David had hairs on his chest, is a good underdog story. Gideon, the "fraidy cat" threshing wheat in a hole in the ground for fear of being seen by the Midianite terrorists, was an underdog. He questioned God several times, snuck around at night, and played "prove-it" games with God using a rug! God used him to become the warrior who helped defeat the Midianite army that held Israel captive for over seven years. How about Joseph, the favored son of the all-important Jacob? He was sold into slavery by his brothers, abandoned in jail, and forgotten. Later he was unjustly accused of sexual crimes against an official’s wife and put back into prison. Yet he became a great ruler who would save Egypt and Israel during a great famine. Let's not forget Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, who is listed in the lineage of Jesus Christ. Think of Joseph, the carpenter, who was privileged to care for the only, holy, begotten Son of God. Think of Zacchaeus, that tree-climbing little man, whom Jesus knew by name. Think of others such as Levi the tax-collector, Peter the fisherman with a rocky path to walk, or Paul, the violently aggressive bounty hunter turned super-missionary. God loves the underdogs. God loves redeeming and rescuing “unredeemable”.  

Somehow I think you have a personal story of an underdog season of your life when God showed up and showed off His grace in your weakness.  Most every Sunday that I speak somewhat coherently in our pulpit is one of those moments for me. It is when a country bumpkin, introverted, speech class dropout shares the Word of God and people are helped by the Spirit of God in that moment. 

So many people today feel unloved, unimportant, insecure, ashamed and afraid. In this Easter season you can brag about how God loves the unlovable. Jesus turned a raving demon-controlled man with no identity into a missionary in Luke 8.  He transformed an arrogant and bigoted Samaritan woman, with deep hollows in her heart, into a vibrant missionary in John 4. In everyday conversations you will hear people talking about underdogs. Maybe in the sports world they will mention the final four. (Auburn? Really?)  Maybe in the political realm an underdog candidate will be discussed.  Maybe a t-ball team or a student who graduated despite severe handicaps will be discussed, and you can inject how God loves serving the underdog. Take a shot and testify that He is a loving, gracious and caring God. 

Final note to my friends who are pastors: Please, please, please, lead the way in showing your church family how to share in everyday conversations. Tell a waitress, a gas clerk, a stranger asking directions something wonderful about God and let the adventure begin. Let's not miss the opportunity during this special season to share about the greatness of our God and His Son Jesus. 

If 6.14 Ministries can be of any service to you and/or your church, please feel free to email us at 614rebuild@gmail.com. We want to see your ministry thrive. You can also contact us through our website by clicking here.

Footnote: God comforts those with 

• Heartache—Luke 7:11-17 Widow’s only son
• Insecurities—Exodus 4:1, 10 Six times Lord spoke to Moses
• Fear–Joshua 1:6-9 Great responsibility
• Depression — 2 Timothy 4:6,10-16, 17-18
• Loneliness and fear—1 King 19:9-14 Elijah comforted by God v.19– companion found
• Great defeat—Lamentations 3:19-21 Great is thy Faithfulness God is faithful, we can have hope.

 

Meet Everett Lee Givens, my grandson! Annette and I and the family are thrilled with his arrival. As a new grandfather, I have hundreds of thoughts daily regarding Everett. Here's a sample:
 
I can’t wait to see:

• What kind of music you will fall in love with.
• What instrument you will play
• What hand you will throw ball with as we play together
• What your favorite color will be
• What songs you will love
• What Bible stories you like to tell
• What Bible stories will you like us to tell you
• Who your best friend will be
• What your spiritual gifts will be
• What your favorite books to read will be
• What your singing voice will sound like
• What will make you giggle uncontrollably 
• What silly jokes will you tell your grandparents
• What year Ford Mustang will be your favorite (it’s a family thing)
• What your heart becomes when God's grace consumes it.
• What you will name your first dog
• What stories of your mom and dad will you like best
• What your favorite movie will be
• Who your first “crush” will be
• What passions will drive your life to achieve excellence
• What mission work and mission field will touch your heart the deepest

​
​I have prayed for Everett for months before he was born, and I pray for him daily now. I believe God will use him mightily to serve the Kingdom of God. You are all invited to join me in those prayers, but I want to challenge you regarding prayers for your family. 
 
A friend of mine on the phone the other day was congratulating me on my first grandchild and reminded me that I had numerous spiritual grandchildren. I realized at that moment, I should pray for, hope in and long for my spiritual children and grandchildren to be strong in their faith. Do you think about your spiritual children often? Do you pray for your spiritual children to continue to lead others to Christ, so you have spiritual grandchildren? As Christ-followers and ministers, our spiritual family are the most important family we have. The heritage of our spiritual children can change the world. I realized I can pray ahead of time for my grandchildren. Are you praying for spiritual children and grandchildren?  Let's all pray with faith and work with diligently to raise a strong family of sincere and passionate Christ-followers.  What are you looking forward to learning about your spiritual grandchildren?