“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

My son, Stephen and his wife Caroline went into premature labor yesterday and had their son, Conner Wayne Combs 14 weeks early. Caroline had fought for his life since her water had broke in week 18. He was born at 10:51 AM on May 3, 2012. He weighed 1 lb. and 3 oz. He lived until 1:30 AM the next morning.

We got to see him. He was a little fighter. His heart was strong, but his lungs were weak. Unable to grow to maturity, his lungs wouldn’t respond to the heroic efforts of the Duke doctors. His mother and father got to hold him before the Lord took him.

Today, as his grandfather, I went to Evergreen Memorial Gardens and bought a grave plot for Conner. I went ahead and bought two more for me and my wife next to his. I carefully selected them so that they faced East. That’s the direction Jesus will return according to biblical prophecy.

I’d like to be facing East when He returns. I don’t want to miss anything. Plus, I figured Conner would appreciate the company.

This world is temporary. Facing East, looking for Christ’s return. I’m doing that already.

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16-18 ESV).

I still remember my mother’s hands.

I have a lot of sweet memories of my mother, but for some reason, when I think of her, it’s her hands that come to mind. She was a beautiful woman. She had a ready smile and sparkling eyes. Her singing voice was one of the purest, most spiritual sopranos I’ve ever known. She was a woman of Christian character and committed to her Lord and to her church. She was a devoted mother and wife. Even after my father died, she cherished his memory and constantly reminded us of what a great man he was.

I could go on and on about my mother, but I always come back to her hands.

I have childhood memories of her touching my forehead with the back of her hand and saying, “Honey, you feel warm to me. We better check your temperature. I think you have a fever.”

I remember her reaching for a washcloth and rubbing it with a bar of Ivory soap before attacking the dirt on my neck and behind my ears. “When’s the last time you washed behind your ears son?” She said while rubbing vigorously.

Sometimes when I smell my wife cooking breakfast, I go into the kitchen to see her stirring the gravy and for a minute I think I see my mother’s hands. My Mom actually taught my wife how to make gravy when we were first married.

I’m sure my mother loved me in her heart. But I knew she loved me because I could see it in her hands.

Isn’t that the way we know that Jesus loves us? He stretched out his hands and “laid down his life for us.” Those beautiful hands were pierced and nailed to a cross to demonstrate the kind of love He has for us. He didn’t just say that He loved us. He showed it. Love is more than a word. It is an action.

And now, we are to have that kind of love in our hearts and in our hands too.

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

Who do you resemble?

Is it your mom or dad? Perhaps another family member? Has anyone ever mistaken you for a celebrity or maybe even the family pet?

Have you ever noticed that we start looking like the people with whom we spend the most time? Maybe you’ve seen an old married couple celebrating 50 years. They often have an uncanny resemblance to one another. Time together causes them to sort of rub off on the other. They laugh at the same jokes. They complete one another’s sentences. They have a family resemblance.

That’s similar to what it means to become a Christian, a Christ-follower. The longer we follow Christ, the more we should resemble Him.

However, this is more than just a matter of time together, it’s a matter of being “born of God.” When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, a spiritual birth takes place, and we are adopted, grafted into the body of Christ. We become one with Him. His divine nature begins to transform us and through the Holy Spirit, God the Father begins the process of conforming us to the image of Christ.

This becoming like Jesus doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, we experience a constant struggle between our old nature (sinful/fleshly) and our new nature (spiritual). It’s as if God has grafted this new nature into us, without doing away with the old one yet.

An apple orchard farmer would understand this idea of being grafted. Apple trees are the combination of two natures: a wild root stock and a carefully chosen cultivar or scion. The first is chosen because of its established root system and the second because the farmer has selected a branch from a tree that already produces the good apples that he desires. After the graft takes, both the root stock and the scion will begin to bud. After a while, making sure that the plant will thrive. The buds, or suckers on the root stock are pinched off, while the scion’s buds are encouraged to grow. This will become one tree, but will always have two natures. The cultivar is the one that produces the good, desirable fruit. The root stock continues to be rooted to the earth.

Like a wise farmer, God continually prunes away the undesirable growth from our “root stock” (old nature), and encourages the growth of our new nature. We can cooperate with this process of sanctification by yielding to God’s work in us. As we yield to God and abide in Him we begin to bear spiritual fruit that is pleasing to Him.

Sometimes we may wonder what God is up to in our lives. Especially when times are hard. But faithful Christ-followers understand that God’s purpose is simple. He is making us like Jesus.

And someday when Christ returns, we will finally see the family resemblance.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-3 ESV).

Some years ago, on a missions trip to Indonesia, I was nearly overwhelmed by the street vendors selling their wares. While walking along the streets of Bali, we could barely take two steps before another peddler would be pulling at our sleeve, saying, “You American? You buy good watch, OK? You want Rolex, right? Only ten dollar!”

“No thanks.” I would say, while shaking my head and wagging my finger. You had to be firm in your denial because they were really persistant.

“Here, you take a look!” They would insist, holding out a handful of watches or pulling back their jacket to expose a neatly arranged inventory.

Lifting the watches in front of my face, it was difficult not to look (I tried to avoid eye contact so as not to encourage them). But with this one guy, I couldn’t help it. Looking closely I noticed that the watch he was really wanting to sell me had “ROLLEX” written on its face. Clearly, too many letter “L”s in the name, so I said, “They’re not real! They’re fake!”

I guess I shouldn’t have said that. Because he acted offended and started yelling at me in Indonesian. Then, quickly over his apparent anger, he leaned close and whispered, “OK. You have American dollar, right? OK. You give five dollar and you have special watch for half price.

“Tidak.” I responded using the Indonesian word for a firm denial and walked away. I didn’t need a watch. And I certainly didn’t need a fake one.

The vendor didn’t miss a beat before continuing his loud mantra on the next passerby, “Watches, watches! Rolex, Seiko! Ten dollar!”

I guess there’s always someone who will settle for a counterfeit. That’s what keeps vendors like this in business.

The same may be true when it comes to matters of faith. Many settle for a fake. They just go through the religious motions and hope that God isn’t looking too close.

It’s this hypocrisy that has driven many of our young people from the church. They graduate from high school and their church’s youth group pizza parties, heading off to college, never to return. The so-called faith that their parents and churches have sold them just isn’t standing up in the real world. They are looking for something authentic. They’re looking for real.

In the apostle John’s first letter, he addresses this problem of fake faith, of counterfeit Christianity. He told the first century believers that they could trust the message of the gospel that Jesus Christ had died for our sins and risen from the grave because he was an eye witness to these facts. John told them that he had heard, seen, examined closely with his eyes and handled carefully with his hands the risen Lord Jesus and he was positively sure that He was the Son of God. John believed in the reality of the resurrection because he was there!

John said that those who would walk in the light of this message would have authentic fellowship with God. Real fellowship. Real faith.

This Easter, why not look for real?

“‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:39 NIV84). 

“People pay attention when they see that God actually changes persons and sets them free. When a new Christian stands up and tells how God has revolutionized his or her life, no one dozes off. When someone is healed or released from a life-controlling bondage, everyone takes notice” (Jim Cymbala).

Perhaps the greatest failure of the modern Christian is the failure to witness. Fear is often the reason given for this shortcoming, but perhaps it could be something more. Perhaps it is because many Christians today have such shallow commitment that it has resulted in stunted growth and very little life-change. They don’t witness because they don’t have anything to talk about. They don’t see that God has done that much for them. And so, no one else can see that God has done much for them either.

When Jesus set the demoniac of Luke 8 free from his torment, he went from a tortured and lonely existence to one of peace and fulfillment. He that had been mad with a “legion” of devilish voices in his head became calm and of sound mind. He got cleaned up, dressed up and started talking different. When he went back to his home town, he told everyone how much God had done for him. And there’s no doubt that people believed him, because they could see the difference.

Ask God to make real changes in your life. When life change happens, we can’t help but tell everyone. In fact, the change kinda speaks for itself.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 ESV).

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV).

We use lamps on end tables to light up our living room. They work well. We have them plugged into outlets that are switch activated. That way, we can turn them on at the wall switch when we enter the room.

However, sometimes they don’t work. We flip the switch and nothing. No light. Usually, it’s a burned-out bulb. Easy enough to replace. But occasionally it’s something that requires a bit more thought. 

“Is it unplugged from the wall from when someone vacuumed the floor?” I ponder. That could be it. “No…”

“Perhaps there’s a short in the circuit. Better go check the breaker box.” I mutter to myself as I head to the utility room.

Sometimes, it’s because the power is out to the whole house. Then, none of the electrical stuff works.

We all know the drill for how to trouble-shoot why the lights are coming on don’t we? But why is it that most Christians don’t understand how to “turn-on-the-light” in their witnessing?

Having power for witnessing is really quite similar to turning on the lights at your house:

1. Make sure you aren’t burned out spiritually. Continue to “fan the flames” (2 Tim. 1:6). Spend regular time with God to encourage yourself and to be fully at rest in His power.
2. Make sure you’re “plugged-in” to the Spirit’s power. Confess your sins (1 John 1:9) and be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). Be under the Spirit’s influence and power.
3. Make sure you have “turned-on” the Spirit’s power by actually talking about Jesus to others. You can be resting in God’s presence and filled with His power, yet still not “turning-on” your witness by talking to others. The power is present in you through Christ, but you are not appropriating it by actually engaging others with your Christian witness. Flip the switch!

If you want to experience life-changing power as you witness of your faith in Christ to others, then make sure you check to see if your spiritual “light” is shining!

“Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” [God speaking to Moses] (Exodus 3:5 KJV).

“If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” [Moses speaking to God] (Exodus 33:15 ESV).

“We get so used to God’s absence that we don’t ache for God’s presence” (Dr. Doug Banister).

“Earth is crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes” (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh).

In the book of Exodus we read that while Moses was busy tending his father-in-law’s sheep, he noticed a bush burning in the desert without being consumed. Even though he was busy working, he said to himself, “I will turn aside to see this great sight.”

When God noticed that Moses had turned to see the burning bush, He began to speak to Moses.

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Moses hadn’t turned aside to get a closer look at the bush? I mean, he was a busy guy. He had sheep to watch. What if Moses had just kept on working? Would he have heard God speak? Or would God have looked for someone else to go “barefoot” for Him?

No, I think God was determined to use Moses. My guess is that if Moses hadn’t noticed the burning bush, God might have caught something more noticable on fire, like his staff or his tent or maybe even his shoes!

Nothing like getting the hot foot to make you kick off your shoes!

You see, when God wants to get our attention, He will do whatever it takes for us to notice His presence. The funny thing is, that God is always present. The Bible teaches us that God is omnipresent, present everywhere, all the time. Yet, most of us never notice. Most of us never turn aside to see.

Do you look for God’s presence? Do you seek Him out every morning as you open your eyes? Do you slip off to sleep at night talking to Him?

When was the last time you slipped off your sandals to walk along the beach with God?

“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.’” (John 3:5-7 ESV).

Have you noticed how we take birth and life for granted?

We live as if we know what the future holds and we make plans for tomorrow and we act as if we have control over our lives. But recently, the Combs family at least, has been reminded of just how false that sense of control really is.

Last Friday, March 2nd, my son Stephen and his wife Caroline had an ultrasound that revealed that they were having a healthy baby boy! What joy we all felt! Stephen posted the above three-photo montage on facebook to announce their happiness to the world.

Then, only a few days later, the unthinkable happened. Caroline’s water broke. She is only in her 18th week, so the baby is not viable outside the womb. Thankfully, she didn’t go into labor, but still, what could this mean?

They rushed to the doctor and after another ultrasound, they found that the baby boy is still living. His heart is beating (160 bpm). Kidneys functioning. He’s still moving (Caroline felt him kick just yesterday morning). But there’s no amnotic fluid in the womb now. The doctor said that this fluid is a necessity for the development of his lungs. She said there is a great danger of infection and risk to the mother’s life. She didn’t offer much hope. The doctor sent them home on bed rest to wait and see.

Because this baby is a wanted baby, Stephen got on the phone and made arrangements to get a second opinion with specialists at Duke Hospital. They went there yesterday.

The doctors at Duke gave a bleak picture too, “Yes, the baby is normal for 18 weeks. Yes, there is a possibility that Caroline could stay infection free and carry the baby until 24 weeks (when viability is possible). His body will continue growing, but his lungs will not develop without amniotic fluid. Even if she can carry the baby to term, he will not be able to breathe outside the womb.

“We can induce labor now or wait and see.” They said. “What do you want to do?” The doctors asked.

“We want to give the baby a chance!” Stephen immediately responded. “Listen,” he continued. “We’re going to pray. And we’re going to ask a lot of people to pray with us. So, you’re the doctor. What specifically should we pray for?”

“Well, I guess the only hope would be for Caroline’s membranes to reseal, so that the amniotic fluid could build back up.” The doctor responded flatly.

“Have you ever seen that happen?” Stephen asked.

“No, not in a case like this. I’ve never seen it happen.” The doctor answered.

“Is it possible that it could reseal? Could it happen?” Stephen questioned.

“Hmm… I suppose. Yes, it’s possible, but highly unlikely.” The doctor replied, not wanting to offer false hope.

Talking and praying with our family over the last few days, we have been reminded that all of life is a miracle. We think we can just “plan” to have a baby and “Viola!” But every birth is a miracle. Every detail of the birth process is a work of God.

This is true for birth and it’s also true for rebirth. Without a touch of the miraculous neither can take place.

Jesus told Nicodemus that the only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven was to be born again. His words to Nicodemus remind all of us that God is the only source of life and that this life is only found through faith in God’s Son, Jesus the Christ.

This is why prayer is not a footnote to life. It is not the thing to do when all else fails. It is the thing to do because “all else” will always fail without God’s miraculous power.

So, we’re praying that our unborn grandson will be born by “water” (We realize just how important this is now!) and by the Spirit. We’re praying that Caroline’s womb would heal, the amniotic “waters” would build back up, and that this baby boy would be born not only healthy, but anointed by the Spirit to bring glory to God for all of his life.

And we’re asking you to pray with us. Pray for our unborn grandson. Also pray for every person who hasn’t experienced the new birth that Christ gives.

Prayer is not a footnote to our lives. It’s our top note!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 ESV).

“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ” (Philemon 1:6).

When Jesus was giving final instructions to his disciples, he didn’t say that they should be his witnesses. He said to them, “You will be my witnesses.” Jesus expected his disciples to bear witness. You might say that he saw it as a mark of authenticity for true discipleship.

Witnessing is more than just a mark of a true disciple. It is a discipline that produces spiritual growth in the one who is obedient to this calling.

Perhaps this is why there are so many immature and weak Christians in our churches today. They don’t practice their faith. They think of it as something to be kept to themselves. Faith for them belongs at church. It doesn’t permeate their lives. It doesn’t fill their minds and hearts. It doesn’t overflow into their conversations.

The apostle Paul told his friend Philemon that he should be “active in sharing” his faith, so that he could get a “full understanding” of what it means to be a Christian. In other words, Paul says if we want to grow up, we need to get active in witnessing. That’s where our faith is truly sharpened.

So let’s break out of our holy huddles and start talking to the people outside of our churches about how our story and God’s story has intersected.

Perhaps the clearest mark of a mature Christian is not the soundness of their doctrine, nor the fervency of their worship, but the sacrificial love they express by telling others about their Savior.